ell, but,
in that little inclosure of green logs and sand, only one gun was
silenced.

The defense of Fort Sullivan ranks as one of the few complete
American victories of the Revolution. The moral effect of the victory
was perhaps more far-reaching than the battle of Bunker Hill. Many of
the Southern people who had been lukewarm now openly united their
fortunes with the patriot cause.

Honors were showered upon the brave Colonel Moultrie. His services to
his state and to his country continued through life. He died at a
good old age, beloved by his fellow citizens.

{50}

CHAPTER IV
THE PATRIOT SPY

It was plain that Washington was troubled. As he paced the piazza of
the stately Murray mansion one fine autumn afternoon, he was saying
half aloud to himself, "Shall we defend or shall we quit New York?"

At this time Washington's headquarters were on Manhattan Island, at
the home of the Quaker merchant, Robert Murray; and here, in the
first week of September, 1776, he had asked his officers to meet him
in council.

Was it strange that Washington's heart was heavy? During the last
week of August, the Continental army had been defeated in the battle
of Long Island. A fourth of the army were on the sick list; a third
were without tents. Winter was close at hand, and the men, mostly new
recruits, were short of clothing, shoes, and blankets. Only fourteen
thousand men were fit for duty, and they were scattered all the way
from the Battery to Kingsbridge, a distance of a dozen miles or more.

The British army, numbering about twenty-five thousand, lay encamped
along the shores of New York Bay and the East River. The soldiers
were veterans, and {51} they were led by veterans. A large fleet of
war ships, lying at anchor, was ready to assist the land forces at a
moment's notice. Scores of guard ships sailed to and fro, watching
every movement of the patriot troops.

To give up the city to the British without battle seemed a great
pity. The effect upon the patriot cause in all the colonies would be
bad. Still, there was no help for it. What was the use of fighting
against such odds? Why run the risk of almost certain defeat?
Washington always looked beyond the present, and he did not intend
now to be shut up on Manhattan Island, perhaps to lose his entire
army; so, with the main body, he moved north to Harlem Heights. Here
he was soon informed by scouts that the British were getting ready to
move at once. Whither,