It was well known to Washington that the British Government was so related to Continental rivals that about forty thousand troops would be the extreme limit of her contributions to subdue America. It will appear from official tables, appended to this narrative, that, during the entire war, the British force of every kind, throughout America, exceeded this number slightly in only one year; and that Washington’s plans, from time to time submitted to Congress, were based upon requisitions fully competent to meet the largest possible force which could be placed in the field by Great Britain. It was further evident that resistance of the first attempt of the British to land, and the reduction of their numbers and supplies, by constant, persistent, and confident battle, would not only dispirit that army, but equally arouse the spirit of the American army, assure its discipline, and stimulate both Congress and the people to furnish adequate men and means to prosecute the war to success. Prolonged face to face hostilities in and about New York, therefore, indicated not only Washington’s faith in success, but prolonged the restriction of British operations to a very limited field. The Declaration of American Independence, on the Fourth Day of July, 1776, was an emphatic act that enlarged his faith and inspired resistance, upon the plans so carefully matured before that event. And, even if there be taken into account the peculiar circumstances which facilitated the eventual retreat from Brooklyn Heights, it is no less true that the Battle of Long Island, the resistance at Pell’s Point, Harlem Heights, White Plains, and about Fort Washington, were characterized by a persistency of purpose and a stubbornness of hand-to-hand fighting, which kept his main army practically intact, and enabled him to terminate the campaign of 1776 with a master stroke that astounded the world, and challenged the admiration of the best soldiers of that period. CHAPTER X. BRITAIN AGAINST AMERICA.—HOWE INVADES NEW YORK.