On the night of the 25th of December, 1776, General Greene crossed the Delaware, and in command of the left wing of the army, surprised the enemy at Trenton, seized their artillery, and prevented their retreat to Princeton. He never left the army during the following winter, but bore his share in its hardships and glories. He commanded the left wing of the American army at the battle of Germantown. “Such was the distressed situation of the American army through the winter of that year, that Washington was doubtful of his ability to take the field the ensuing season. Every exertion was made to put the army in a condition for the campaign, and General Greene was urged to accept the appointment of quarter-master general. The office was accepted with great reluctance, for his inclination was to serve in the line; and the charge and disbursing the public money was to him of all things unpleasant. The necessities of the army, however, and the strong expression of Washington, that ‘some one must make the sacrifice,’ at last induced him to consent; but not until the condition was acceded, that he should not lose his right to command in action. Of this he availed himself at the battles of Monmouth, and on the retreat from Rhode Island. The duties of his new station were arduous and embarrassing, but were rendered more so by the unhappy factions which divided the councils of the country. Notwithstanding the distress and poverty which threatened ruin to the cause, intrigue and slander were in active operation, to undermine the reputation and character of the men who were devoting themselves to accomplish the almost hopeless work. Washington himself was assailed; and Greene, who was supposed to have been his favorite officer and confidential adviser, was made an object of suspicion; but the purity and integrity of General Greene’s character bore him above the storm.--Congress did him justice, and his personal friends never faltered in the discharge of their duty towards him.” In 1780, General Greene was appointed to the command of the southern department; on his arrival at Charlotte, he found the southern army destitute of almost everything: no artillery, baggage or stores. In a letter to Lafayette, he says:--“Were you to arrive now, you would find a few ragged, half-starved troops in the wilderness, destitute of everything necessary for the comfort or convenience of soldiers.” He had arrived in an exhausted country, the inhabitants divided into hostile parties, and an enemy before him, well provided, and flushed with the prospect of victory. His only dependence and hope of success were in a number of spirited and devoted officers, who gathered around him, and the promise of reinforcements from the states he had passed through during his route. General Greene thought it most prudent to remove to a place where subsistence and the means of transportation could be obtained.