“I have no inclination to be hanged for half-treason. When a subject draws his sword against his prince, he must cut his way through, if he means afterwards to sit down in safety. I have taken too active a part in what may be called the civil part of opposition, to renounce without disgrace the public cause when it seems to lead to danger, and have a most sovereign contempt for the man who can plan measures he has not spirit to execute.” So well did he fill this position that in 1776, on the recommendation of Washington, Congress appointed him adjutant-general in the Continental service, and well did he justify the chief’s favorable opinion of him, by the vigilance, thoroughness, and ability with which he discharged the arduous duties of this most responsible office. As adjutant-general he met the messenger of Lord Howe, when the latter sent a letter to “George Washington, Esq.,” and refused to transmit it to the commander-in-chief, because it was not properly addressed. Reed’s first taste of actual war was during the series of engagements on Long Island in August, 1776; but when Washington began his retreat through the Jerseys, he sent Reed to solicit reinforcements from the State Legislature. Having spent his boyhood in Trenton, and his college days in Princeton, his accurate knowledge of the topography of the country contributed in no small degree to the glorious victories which on the 26th of December, 1776, and 3d of January, 1777, changed the gloom and despondency of the Americans into the assurance and exultation of success.