A third time they advance. But now the Americans do not answer the charge. There is good reason--the powder has given out! A great rush--and the redcoats have climbed over. But it is no easy victory even now, and there is no lack of bravery on the part of the Americans. With clubbed muskets they meet the invaders. The British won the victory, but with great loss. "Many such," said one critic, "would have cost them their army." On the other hand, the Americans had fought like heroes, and news of the battle brought joy to every loyal heart. Washington heard of it when on his way to take command of the army. "Did the Americans stand fire?" was his first question. "Yes," was the answer. "Then," said he, "the liberties of the country are safe." SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 1. Impersonating Paul Revere, tell the story of his famous ride. What do you think of him? 2. Why did the British troops march out to Lexington and Concord? 3. Imagine yourself at Concord on the morning of the battle, and tell what happened. 4. Why did the Americans fortify Breed's Hill? What were the results of the Battle of Bunker Hill? 5. What did Washington say when he heard that the Americans had stood their ground in face of the British assault? CHAPTER IV GEORGE WASHINGTON IN THE REVOLUTION In electing George Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental army, the Continental Congress probably made the very wisest choice possible. Of course, this was not so clear then. For even leaders like Samuel Adams and John Adams and Patrick Henry did not know Washington's ability as we have come to know it now. But they had learned enough about his wonderful power over men and his great skill as a leader in time of war to believe that he was the man to whom they might trust the great work of directing the army in this momentous crisis. [Illustration: George Washington.] We have already learned, in a previous book, something of Washington's boyhood, so simple and free and full of activity. We recall him, as he grew up, first as a youthful surveyor, then as the trusted messenger of his colony, Virginia, to the commander of the French forts west of the Alleghanies, and afterward as an aide of General Braddock when the war with the French broke out. In the discharge of all these duties and in all his relations with men, whether above him in office or under his command, he had shown himself trustworthy and efficient, a man of clear mind and decisive action--one who commanded men's respect, obedience, and even love. After the last battle of the Last French War Washington had returned to his home at Mount Vernon, on the banks of the Potomac, and very soon (1759) married Mrs. Martha Custis, a young widow whom he had met at a friend's house while he was on the way to Williamsburg the year before. With the addition of his wife's property to his own, he became a man of much wealth and at one time was one of the largest landholders in America.