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Scathing criticism is as cruel to him as the sickening adulation that has been heaped on his military memory is cruel to other officers.

He had not expected to win the battle anyway, but had written to Congress:

"We shall attempt to harass them as much as possible, which will be all that we can do." 23

As often happens in such outpost actions, the harasser was harassed.

Captain Colby says:

""The Battle of Long Island' was not a 'battle' at all in the military sense of the word. It was merely an affair of outposts. The Brooklyn troops met the enemy and were driven behind their fortified lines, with some losses, but not decisive losses. They managed to escape . . . the entire proceeding was but the beginning of that steady withdrawal before superior force that was to characterize the operations of the next few months." 24

That escape was so perfectly managed. and attended with. such amazing luck that it has been acclaimed as a masterpiece of retreat. Even Adams 25 has this to say of it:

"That Washington, throughout these trying days, bore himself courageously and with great outward calmness in presence of imminent danger does not admit of question. On the other hand, divested of all gush, patriotism, hero worship and rhetoric generally, the cold historical truth would seem to be that, aided by a most happy fortuitous concurrence of circumstances and the extreme supineness of his opponents, he on this occasion, keeping his head under wearing conditions and taking advantage of all the resources at his command, extricated himself and his army, at a most critical juncture, from an inherently false position into which neither he nor they ever should have either put themselves, or allowed themselves to be put."

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XXXII

HIS MASTERLY RETIREMENT

OTHING but a miracle of negligence, slowness, and stupidity could possibly have saved the forces-the half of his army-which Washington had exposed on Long Island, and, in point of generalship, nothing except the English letting them go when they were there, was so miserable as Washington's sending the Americans to that island.” 1

So writes a British historian, and his words echo faintly the rage of the British officers with Howe, and the frenzy of his soldiers whom he recalled from completing their pursuit and breaking into the fortifications with the probable result of capturing Washington, Putnam and all the jumbled rebels.

General U. S. Grant described how he ordered his men to charge the first line of the Confederates at Missionary Ridge in 1863, and how the troops, having done their stint, swept on without orders in an overwhelming fury and stormed the ridge, causing a "panic so great that Bragg and his officers lost all control over their men. Thousands threw away their arms in flight." "

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If Howe's men had been less obedient they might have crushed the rebellion then and there.

But Sir William sat down to a slow siege while Washington changed his mind. First he brought over three more regiments, including many Marblehead fishermen, who proved more useful with their oars than with their guns.

Then he went about the trenches encouraging the men, who had not only to buck up under the shame of defeat and its disorganization, but to endure a protracted rain that

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forced many of them to stand waist deep in water. "continual rain," says Graydon, "though never very heavy was never less than a searching drizzle . . we had no tents to screen us from its pitiless pelting." "

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The food was pickled pork but it could not be cooked. The weapons were in bad shape and bayonets were few. Nothing is more miserable than a drenched soldier.

Of course, the enemy were also wet and wretched. Furthermore, they could do little toward advancing their parallels. There was some skirmishing on the picket lines. Washington called it "pretty smart." *

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The morning of the 29th showed that the British had thrown up a long breastwork uncomfortably close, and Washington began to realize that he must retreat. problem kept him awake and he did not sleep until it was solved.

All this time he had been too restlessly busy to send Congress more than a brief message by his secretary, Robert H. Harrison, who crossed to New York and wrote it at night. All that Harrison vouchsafed to Congress concerning the defeat was this:

"Early this morning a smart engagement ensued between the enemy and our detachments, which, being unequal to the force they had to contend with, have sustained a considerable loss; at least many of our men are missing. Among those that have not returned, are General Sullivan and Lord Stirling.'

This was mild enough certainly.

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At "half past four A.M." on the 29th, Washington wrote a little note to Congress. In dreary and unwitting irony he referred to the scheme of bribing the Hessians with offers of free land:

"As to the encouragement to the Hessian officers, I wish it may have the desired effect. Perhaps it might have been better had the offer been sooner made."

In view of the trouncing the Hessians had just given the Americans and the amount of land they had just taken without being asked, this sentence would be immensely funny if it were not so pathetic. He added:

"I am sorry to inform Congress that I have not yet heard either of General Sullivan or Lord Stirling . . . nor can I ascertain our loss. I am hopeful, part of our men will yet get in; several did yesterday morning."

He simply could not swallow the bitter medicine of his defeat. He wrote of the storm, "the weather of late has been extremely wet." The lack of tents "distresses us beyond measure . . . which has occasioned much sickness, and the men to be almost broke down." "

In his perplexity, he called a council of war and eight solid reasons were found for withdrawal, including a fear that the worn-out men could not be forced into action again; alarming evidence that the British ships in the Bay were trying to get up the river and a shift of wind would bring them across the line of retreat; and news that a number of British warships had sailed round the island, entered the Sound from above and reached Flushing Bay.'

Even if these ships could not get down through Hell Gate, they could make it easy for Howe to march away to the northern tip of the island, cross handily into Westchester county, and thus choke off all American supply and make retreat impossible.

This was what Howe should have done from the first, since he was so set upon a bloodless reconciliation. It was just what he did a little later, when the bird had flown.

Once the decision to retreat was made, Washington displayed great genius in his management. It was, of course, essential to keep the enemy from discovering his plan. It was almost more necessary to keep his own unreliable troops

from finding it out. He could not even depend on his sheep to let him extricate them from the mire.

His skill in deception was called into full play. Instead of sending for boats to carry his men back to New York, he had Mifflin send word to General Heath at Kingsbridge:

"We have many battalions from New Jersey which are coming over to relieve others here. You will please therefore to order every flat bottomed boat and other craft at your post, fit for transporting troops, down to New York as soon as possible."

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The same order was sent to New York to Assistant Quartermaster Hughes, who worked so hard to fulfil it that "for twenty-two hours he never dismounted from his horse." " The canny Washington next issued a general order to his troops:

"As the sick are an encumbrance to the Army, & Troops are expected this afternoon from the flying Camp in Jersey . . . the commanding Officers of Regt's are immediately to have such sick removed . . . As the above Forces under Gen Mercer are expected this afternoon, the General proposes to relieve a proportionate Number of Regiments, & make a change in the situation of them.

"The Commanding Officers of Regiments are therefore to parade their men with their Arms, Accoutrements, and Knapsacks, at 7 oClock, at the Head of their Encampments & there wait for Orders." 10

What could be more eloquent of Washington's distrust of his men than all this pretence, this lullaby about relieving them with fresh troops, lest they stampede and commit wholesale hara-kiri.

All sorts of boats began to arrive at dusk, rowboats, sailboats of every canvas. The regiments were shifted here and there and each supposed itself the lucky one to be relieved.

As the Marblehead men sat to their oars and the jaded

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