of the
independence of the United States of America.

His first task was to drive the British from Boston, and he had
accomplished it by the following March. Then came a long period of
reverses and disappointments, during which his little army,
outnumbered, but not outgeneraled, was driven from Long
Island, from New York, and finally across New Jersey, taking refuge on
the south bank of the Delaware. There he gathered it together, and on
Christmas night, 1776, while the enemy were feasting and celebrating in
their quarters at Trenton, he ferried his army back across the
ice-blocked river, fell upon the British, administered a stinging
defeat, and never paused until he had driven them from New Jersey. That
brilliant campaign effectually stifled the opposition which he had had
to fight in the Congress, and resulted in his being given full power
over the army, and over all parts of the country which the army
occupied.

One more terrible ordeal awaited him--the winter of 1777-1778 spent at
Valley Forge, where the army, without the merest necessities of life,
melted away from desertion and disease, until, at one time, it consisted
of less than two thousand effective men. The next spring saw the
turning-point, for France allied herself with the United States; the
British were forced to evacuate Philadelphia and were driven back across
New Jersey to New York; and, finally, by one of the most brilliant
marches in history, Washington transferred his whole army from the
Hudson to the Potomac, and trapped Cornwallis and his army of seven
thousand men at Yorktown. Cornwallis tried desperately to free himself,
but to no avail, and on October 19, 1781, he surrendered his entire
force.

There is a pretty legend that, as Cornwallis delivered up his sword, a
cheer started through the American lines, but that Washington
stilled it on the instant, remarking, "Let posterity cheer for us."
Whether the legend be true or not, posterity _has_ cheered, for that
brilliant victory really ended the war, although two years passed before
peace was declared and the independence of the United States
acknowledged by the King of England.

Long before this, everybody knew what the end would be, and there was
much discussion as to how the new country should be governed. A great
many people were dissatisfied with the Congress, and it was suggested to
Washington that there would be a more stable government if he would
consent himself to be King or Dic