d. The brutality of those scenes are known to the world,
because they are matters of history.

Some of the ablest statesmen of England fearlessly denounced the king
and his court for prosecuting a war with such barbarity. Lord Chatham
declared:

"Were I an American as I am an Englishman, I would never lay down my
arms: never, _never_, NEVER!"

The king and his court maintained, however, that they were justified in
resorting to any measures to subdue American rebels.

Two remarkable expeditions which Washington organized that year were
those which captured Stoney Point, under General Wayne; and Paulus Hook,
under Major Henry Lee. These grand achievements inspirited the American
army, and did much to convince the British that they were engaged in a
fruitless attempt to reduce the Colonies to their domination.

As winter approached, the French fleet, which sailed from Boston to the
West Indies, appeared off the Southern coast, to co-operate with General
Lincoln, who commanded the Southern Department. On this account the
British commander was compelled to operate in that direction.

Washington, whose headquarters had been at West Point for several
months, went into winter quarters at Morristown, where the experience of
Valley Forge was repeated with additional rigor.

The cruel treatment of Americans captured by the British had long
engaged Washington's attention, and reference to it here is in point.
Many of their prisoners were confined in old ships, where they suffered
all that hunger, thirst, filth, and abuse could inflict. On account of
the dreadful sufferings endured by the prisoners, these ships were
called "floating hells."

The "Jersey Prison Ship" and the old "Sugar House," converted into
prisons by Lord Howe, are notorious for their infamous character in
American history. Congress appealed in vain to the commanding British
general, and Washington wrote to him upon the subject again and again.
In one letter Washington said:

"From the opinion I have ever been taught to entertain of your
lordship's humanity, I will not suppose that you are privy to
proceedings of so cruel and unjustifiable a nature; and I hope that,
upon making the proper inquiry, you will have the matter so regulated
that the unhappy persons whose lot is captivity may not in the future
have the miseries of cold, disease, and famine added to their other
misfortunes.... I should not have said thus much, but my injured
countrymen have long