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The publication of this volume has been supported by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Volume 19 of the ""Revolutionary War Series"" documents Washington's activities during the winter and early spring of 1779, when the bulk of his army was encamped at Middlebrook, New Jersey, strategically situated where the Watchung Mountains rise from the coastal plain in the middle of the state. Washington took advantage of the relative quiet of this period to consult with a congressional committee of conference in Philadelphia. He returned to Middlebrook in early February and devoted himself yet again to reorganizing and reinvigorating the Continental Army. Recruitment problems, disputes among officers over rank, and compensation woes had grown old, but Washington corresponded at length with state officials and Congress in order to keep an effective fighting force in the field. Winter camp also allowed Washington to consider future military operations. Emphasis fell on planning a punitive expedition against Indians of the Six Nations and Loyalists whose raids had terrorized settlers along the Pennsylvania - New York frontier. Washington's most immediate challenge was simply understanding the geography of this largely unknown region, and he sought information from anybody who had direct experience with the terrain and the Indian inhabitants, a group that included army officers, prisoners, land surveyors, interpreters, traders, and missionaries. Washington carefully sifted through these reports, observations, and opinions. To aid analysis, he consolidated the most pertinent materials, in his own handwriting, into a comparative table, and appended significant related items. His final plan called for the main force to cross the Susquehanna River at or near Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and strike into the heart of the border region while a supporting column advanced from near Albany, New York. After Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates declined Washington's offer to command this expedition, citing health reasons, it was accepted by Maj. Gen. John Sullivan, who left his post at Providence, Rhode Island, to begin preparations at Middlebrook. In a late-February reply to Mount Vernon manager Lund Washington's question about selling slaves, the general expressed his confidence in the eventual success of the American struggle for independence as well as his personal resolve, saying, 'if we should ultimately prove unsuccessful (of which I am under no apprehension unless it falls on us as a punishment for our want of public, & indeed private virtue) it would be a matter of very little consequence to me, whether my property is in Negroes, or loan office Certificates, as I shall neither ask for, nor expect any favor from his most gracious Majesty, nor any person acting under his authority'. By every measure, Washington remained indispensable to the Revolutionary cause.
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As October 1779 became November, George Washington realized that autumn had advanced too far for a combined Franco-American assault against the British forces in New York City that year, and he curtailed preparations. After a large British expedition departed New York in late December, Washington concentrated on settling his Army for the winter, which already had become unusually snowy and brutally cold. Troubles confronting the army and the incipient nation did not erode Washington's sense of humanity. When Elizabeth Burgin, a widow who had assisted American prisoners in New York City, called upon him for assistance, Washington ordered the commissary at Philadelphia to provide her with provisions and successfully urged Congress to extend additional relief. He also took careful measures to facilitate his wife Martha's travels from Mount Vernon to join him at winter camp at Morristown. As British persistence, physical suffering among the troops, financial difficulties, and widespread disgruntlement eclipsed the optimism emanating from the enemy's evacuation of Rhode Island that October, Washington's personal fortitude and steadiness at this daunting time was crucial to the revolutionary cause.
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Bad weather plagued Gen. George Washington’s army during its winter encampment near Morristown, N.J., far into the spring of 1780. Finances caused further woes. Commissaries lacked both cash and credit to obtain provisions, and food shortages meant restless troops. Only vigorous exertions b largely anonymous supply officers kept Washington’s army intact. Recognizing these grave financial needs, Congress passed reform legislation in March, but any benefit from the new system lay in the future. Washington tried to be optimistic as he tackled present challenges. Numerous officer resignations worried the general, who felt the loss of such experienced men undercut the army’s effectiveness. Sensitive about morale, he pursued negotiations for a general prisoner exchange. Talks broke down quickly, however, because British negotiators acted only on local military authority rather than on the authority of the king. To Washington, that approach failed to recognize the legitimacy of the United States as a nation. Armed conflict as well as administrative perplexities occupied Washington’s thoughts. At no point could he escape the reality that soldiers fought, soldiers died, and survivors – both comrades and loved ones – grieved. Raids into the patrol areas generally east of Morristown caused significant casualties on 22 March and 16 April. A larger confrontation unfolded around Charleston, S.C., where a British expedition from New York City encircled the city and its defenders under Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln. Washington sent additional reinforcements and encouraged the beleaguered Lincoln, but Charleston’s surrender on 12 May eventually came as no surprise. Washington hoped for better things from a congressional "Committee at Headquarters," appointed to deal directly with the principal army officers to solve vexing supply questions. Such an approach promised some good after previous verbal sniping. Additionally, Major General Lafayette returned to the United States from France to announce the coming of a French expeditionary army. The king wanted this force to serve under Washington. The possibilities for this allied command undoubtedly excited the general, who openly recently had extended himself to pay proper respect to French minister La Luzerne during that official’s visit to Morristown. Army responsibilities left Washington little opportunity to address his personal business, but he doted over a carriage purchase and offered the usual futile financial advice to his stepson John Parke Custis. Legal engagements undertaken years earlier for George William Fairfax and George Mercer provoked headaches. Despite Washington’s conscientious efforts, these entanglements persisted until after the war. Washington never quailed form a personal or public obligation. Very much the realist, he knew that his army faced steep odds. Determined to overcome all obstacles, he strode ahead, fully aware that he shouldered the heaviest burdens of the revolutionary cause.