And the victory over the British troops at
Princeton, by a harassed and wearied party, who had been engaged the
day before and marched all night without refreshment, is attended with
such a scene of circumstances and superiority of generalship, as
will ever give it a place in the first rank in the history of great
actions.
When I look back on the gloomy days of last winter, and see
America suspended by a thread, I feel a triumph of joy at the
recollection of her delivery, and a reverence for the characters which
snatched her from destruction. To doubt now would be a species of
infidelity, and to forget the instruments which saved us then would be
ingratitude.
The close of that campaign left us with the spirit of conquerors.
The northern districts were relieved by the retreat of General
Carleton over the lakes. The army under your command were hunted
back and had their bounds prescribed. The continent began to feel
its military importance, and the winter passed pleasantly away in
preparations for the next campaign.
However confident you might be on your first arrival, the result
of the year 1776 gave you some idea of the difficulty, if not
impossibility of conquest. To this reason I ascribe your delay in
opening the campaign of 1777. The face of matters, on the close of the
former year, gave you no encouragement to pursue a discretionary war
as soon as the spring admitted the taking the field; for though
conquest, in that case, would have given you a double portion of fame,
yet the experiment was too hazardous.
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