r Howe had to keep a good many of his troops in New York. On
the 17th Washington ordered Lee to come over and join him; but Lee
disobeyed, and in spite of repeated orders from Washington he stayed at
Northcastle till the 2d of December. General Ward had some time since
resigned, so that Lee now ranked next to Washington. A good many people
were finding fault with the latter for losing the 3000 men at Fort
Washington, although, as we have seen, that was not his fault but the
fault of Congress. Lee now felt that if Washington were ruined, he would
surely become his successor in the command of the army, and so, instead
of obeying his orders, he spent his time in writing letters calculated
to injure him.

[Sidenote: Washington's retreat through New Jersey.]

Lee's disobedience thus broke the army in two, and did more for the
British than they had been able to do for themselves since they started
from Staten Island. It was the cause of Washington's flight through New
Jersey, ending on the 8th of December, when he put himself behind the
Delaware river, with scarcely 3000 men. Here was another difficulty. The
American soldiers were enlisted for short terms, and when they were
discouraged, as at present, they were apt to insist upon going home as
soon as their time had expired. It was generally believed that
Washington's army would thus fall to pieces within a few days. Howe did
not think it worth while to be at the trouble of collecting boats
wherewith to follow him across the Delaware. Congress fled to Baltimore.
People in New Jersey began taking the oath of allegiance to the crown.
Howe received the news that he had been knighted for his victory on Long
Island, and he returned to New York to celebrate the occasion.

[Sidenote: Arnold's naval battle at Valcour Island, Oct. 11, 1776.]

While the case looked so desperate for Washington, events at the north
had taken a less unfavourable turn. Carleton had embarked on Lake
Champlain early in the autumn with his fine army and fleet. Arnold had
fitted up a small fleet to oppose his advance, and on the 11th of
October there had been a fierce naval battle between the two near
Valcour Island, in which Arnold was defeated, while Carleton suffered
serious damage. The British general then advanced upon Ticonderoga, but
suddenly made up his mind that the season was too late for operations in
that latitude. The resistance he had encountered seems to have made him
despair of achi