live from hand to mouth, and have nothing to subsist on but what we
collect with armed parties.... I fear this department is to be the great
Serbonian bog to the American armies and particularly to the general
officers."

The vision of a Serbonian bog acted only as a magnet, and Lafayette
started to join Greene. On his way, however, he was recalled by the
commander-in-chief, General Washington, to take command of an expedition
against Benedict Arnold, the traitor, now a brigadier-general in the
enemy's army, who was marching into Virginia and with revengeful fury
carrying fire and sword wherever he went. Lafayette was dispatched
against him with specific orders that if Arnold surrendered there should
be no stipulation made for his safety, and at the same time forbidding
the slightest injury to his person;--it being the purpose of Washington,
never however fulfilled, to bring Arnold to public punishment according
to the rules and regulations of the army.

Lafayette's command seems to have been no better than Greene's. In a
letter to Greene he describes his men as being in a condition of
"shocking nakedness." Even the officers were destitute of money,
clothing, and everything that could contribute to cleanliness and
comfort. As for the men, they were poorly fed, their shoes worn out,
without tents, and destitute of almost any protection from the
inclemency of the weather. Some of his officers assured the Marquis that
his command would speedily be reduced one-half by desertion,--and as a
matter of fact thirteen out of one company deserted in a single day. A
nauseous and contagious disease, generally produced by a want of
cleanliness, overspread nearly the entire command. In consequence of
these difficulties, Arnold escaped, but Lafayette forced his retreat.

The military genius of George Washington at last turned the tide of war.
In October, 1781, he had the enemy's troops under Cornwallis cornered at
Yorktown. In the course of the siege it became necessary to capture a
certain redoubt possessed by the enemy. Washington determined to carry
it with the bayonet, and appointed Lafayette to conduct the charge. The
American infantry advanced with irresistible power, relying entirely
upon their bayonets, and carried the redoubt by assault.

Shortly afterward Cornwallis surrendered his entire army to Washington,
and the last battle of the American Revolution had been fought. In
November, 1781, the confederated republics havin