perhaps, be no greater proof of the solidity of his
judgment than this capacity to estimate himself correctly, free from all
the prickings of personal vanity or popular praise. With reference to
the army he probably thought that if raw militia would fight so well
behind breastworks at Bunker Hill, they could be depended upon to do so
elsewhere, under the same conditions. His idea, therefore, was to fight
only in intrenched positions, and this was the general plan of campaign
for 1776.[6]

Footnotes:

[1] As will be seen farther on, New England had no strategic value in
this relation.

[2] Continentals. This term, for want of a better, arose from the
practice of speaking of the colonies, as a whole, as the Continent, to
distinguish them from this or that one, separately.

[3] The last brigade to march at this time is meant. As a matter of
fact one brigade was left at Boston, as a guard against accidents. Later
on it joined Washington.

[4] General Lee had been sent to New York as early as January. He took
military possession of the city, with militia furnished by Connecticut.

[5] In a private letter General Knox indignantly styles it "this rabble
army."

[6] "Being fully persuaded that it would be presumption to draw out our
young troops into open ground against their superiors, both in numbers
and discipline, I have never spared the spade and pickaxe."--_Letters._

II

PLANS FOR DEFENCE

[Sidenote: Troops sent to Canada.]

Washington's army had no sooner reached the Hudson than ten of the best
battalions[1] were hurried off to Albany, if possible, to retrieve the
disasters which had recently overwhelmed the army of Canada, where three
generals, two of whom, Montgomery and Thomas, were of the highest
promise, with upwards of 5,000 men, had been lost. The departure of
these seasoned troops made a gap not easily filled, and should not be
lost sight of in reckoning the effectiveness of what were left.

[Sidenote: Strength of the army.]

This large depletion was, however, more than made good, in numbers at
least, by the reinforcements now arriving from the middle colonies, who,
with troops forming the garrison of the city, presently raised the whole
force under Washington's orders[2] to a much larger number than were
ever assembled in one body again. A very large proportion, however,
were militiamen, called out for a few weeks only, who indeed served to
swell the ranks, without adding much real st