The Life of George Washington. In Words of One SyllablePollard, Josephine
History
The Life of George Washington. In Words of One Syllable
Pollard, Josephine
Presidents -- United States -- Biography -- Juvenile literature; Washington, George, 1732-1799 -- Juvenile literature
At day-break the beat of drums roused them from their sleep, but the
foe had fled, and had been so long on the way that Wash-ing-ton could
not hope to check them.
Our loss in the fight at Mon-mouth was 69, while 250 of the King's
troops were left dead on the field. Some of the troops on both sides
had died in the swamp, and some were found on the edge of a stream
that ran through it, where, worn out with their toils, and weak from
heat and thirst they had crawled to drink and die.
Lee's pride had been so hurt that he wrote to Wash-ing-ton in a way
that he should not have done to his Com-mand-er-in-chief, and he was
brought to court by the Board of War and tried for his wrong deeds.
His guilt was proved, and he was told that he could not serve for the
next twelve months. He went to his home in Vir-gin-i-a where he led a
queer kind of a life. His house was a mere shell, and had but one
room, but lines were chalked on the floor and each space was used as
if it was a room by it-self. Here was his bed, there were his books;
in this space he kept all his horse gear, and in that one he cooked
and ate his meals.
With pen and with tongue he strove to harm Wash-ing-ton, whom his
shafts failed to hurt, and who spoke not an ill word of Lee. He liked
him as a friend but did not think he was fit to lead troops to war.
Lee died in the course of four years, and on his death-bed he thought
he was on the field of war, and his last words were a call to his men
to stand by him.
For a year or two more the strife was kept up on the coast from Maine
to Flor-i-da, and both red-coats and red-skins took part in scenes
that chill the blood to read of. Houses were burnt and land laid
waste, forts were stormed and seized from our troops whose force was
too small to hold them. Now and then there was a gain for our side,
but in spite of his ill luck Wash-ing-ton held on with a brave heart,
and would die at his post but would not yield.
In the first part of the year 1780 we find Wash-ing-ton in camp at
Mor-ris-town, with a lot of half-fed and half-clad troops.
No such cold had been known in this zone. The Bay of New York froze so
hard that the ships-of-war that lay in it were ice-bound. Food was
scant, and there was a lack of fire-wood.
Wash-ing-ton saw what a chance there was for a bold stroke, but he had
no funds with which to fit out his troops, or to move them to the
coast. The cost of war was great, and gold was scarce. He could not
strike a big blow for New York to wrest it from the hands of the foe,
as he might have done at this time had his troops been well-fed and
well-clad but he would do what he could in a small way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account