Washington by Douglas Southall Freeman

Author:Douglas Southall Freeman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scribner
Published: 1968-12-03T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER / 15

Discomfort, chill and misgiving attended the birth of 1780 at Morristown. In the absence of furloughed Generals, the business of the Army took so much of Washington’s time that he felt he was not devoting himself as he should to the “military parts” of his task. He was isolated as well as burdened, because Congress had ordered the dismissal of the expresses in order to save the cost of the service. Communication was rendered more nearly impossible and all the miseries of camp were made torture by extreme cold. On January 2 and 3 a storm piled up snow drifts of four to six feet, with temperature so low that prolonged venture out of doors was self-murder. For weeks before the storm, bread had been scarce. On the first of the cruel new month, some of the regiments ate the last of their meat; the second found still more of the troops with nothing except their meagre, unpalatable bread. Some increase in ration was arranged on the third. After that, the badness of the public credit, added to the severity of the weather, reduced almost to nil the provisions offered the Commissaries. Washington was not sure he could provide three days’ rations even for the equivalent of one full company, assigned to special duty. Nathanael Greene broke out: “Poor fellows! They exhibit a picture truly distressing—more than half naked and two thirds starved. A country overflowing with plenty are now suffering an Army, employed for the defence of everything that is dear and valuable, to perish for want of food.”

The Continentals were patient because they were powerless, so long as the storm roared over Jersey, but as soon as they could make their way, many of those who had clothing began to slip away from their quarters. Marauding parties robbed nearby farms of food and wandered about in the darkness almost as they pleased. Washington asked himself, Would it not be less of a hardship to the natives for the Commissaries to determine what the farmers could provide, and then to take this, making lawful compensation, rather than to have the householders lose even the bread of the children to desperate prowlers? Action was dictated as soon as the question was put. Provisions in surprising volume were accumulated; within a few days Washington’s immediate task became one of transportation. It was not easy to get the meat, grain and flour to camp, with the few and hungry teams of the Army.

For a time, then, the troops would have full rations with which to combat the continuing cold, but this was reprieve and not release from the threat of famine. The weather grew colder and colder. Travelers soon were crossing the Hudson on the ice at King’s Ferry; passage of North River to and from Powles Hook was practicable about January 19 even for heavy cannon on trucks. Once the fury of the lashing wind and the pelting snow had subsided, the worst sufferers were Lord Stirling’s men, who

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