expected benefit cannot be had? I am therefore inclined to
think it will not be prudent to hazard the men and stores at
Mount Washington; but as you are on the spot, leave it to
you to give such orders as to evacuating Mount Washington as
you judge best, and so far revoking the order given to Col.
Magaw to defend it to the last."

[Footnote 221: Two weeks before the attack on the fort, Magaw's
adjutant, William Demont, deserted to the enemy. This fact has lately
been established by the recovery, by Mr. Edward F. de Lancey, of the
New York Historical Society, of Demont's own letter confessing the
desertion. It is dated London, January 16th, 1792, and is in part as
follows:

"On the 2d of Nov'r 1776 I Sacrificed all I was Worth in the World to
the Service of my King & Country and joined the then Lord Percy,
brought in with me the Plans of Fort Washington, by which Plans that
Fortress was taken by his Majesty's Troops the 16 instant, Together
with 2700 Prisoners and Stores & Ammunition to the amount of 1800
Pound. At the same time, I may with Justice affirm, from my Knowledge
of the Works, I saved the Lives of many of His Majesty's
Subjects--these Sir are facts well-known to every General Officer
which was there."

Mr. De Lancey makes this letter the text of a detailed and highly
interesting account of the fall of Fort Washington (published in the
_Magazine of American History_, February, 1877), in which the new
theory is advanced that the disaster was due in the first instance to
Demont's treason. It is quite probable, as the deserter claimed, that
his information was of some use to the British general in making his
dispositions for the attack, but beyond this the incident could hardly
have affected the situation on either side. Up to the night preceding
the assault, Howe did not know whether the Americans would remain in
the fort or not. Indeed, he gave them the opportunity to evacuate it
by allowing a whole night to intervene between the summons to
surrender and the attack. He could not, therefore, have changed his
plans, as alleged, in the confident expectation of taking a large
garrison prisoners and sending home word of another great victory.
Fort Washington was simply in his way, and he would have moved against
it under any circumstances, regardless of Demont and his treachery.]

General Greene on the following day replied that he did not think the
garrison in any danger, and that