dge, and appoint a general. He then proceeded to advance the
name of Washington. The subject was postponed to a future day. On the
15th of June, the army was regularly adopted by Congress, and the pay
of the commander-in-chief fixed at five hundred dollars a month.]

In this stage of the business Mr. Johnson, of Maryland, rose and
nominated Washington for the station of commander-in-chief. The
election was by ballot, and was unanimous. It was formally announced
to him by the president on the following day, when he had taken his
seat in Congress. Rising in his place, he briefly expressed his high
and grateful sense of the honor conferred on him and his sincere
devotion to the cause. "But," added he, "lest some unlucky event
should happen unfavorable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered
by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare with the
utmost sincerity I do not think myself equal the command I am honored
with. As to pay, I beg leave to assure the Congress that, as no
pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept this arduous
employment, at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not
wish to make any profit of it. I will keep an exact account of my
expenses. Those, I doubt not, they will discharge, and that is all I
desire."

Four major-generals were to be appointed. General Ward was elected the
second in command, and Lee the third. The other two major-generals
were Philip Schuyler, of New York, and Israel Putnam, of Connecticut.
Eight brigadier-generals were likewise appointed; Seth Pomeroy,
Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John
Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathaniel Greene.

At Washington's express request, his old friend, Major Horatio Gates,
then absent at his estate in Virginia, was appointed adjutant-general,
with the rank of brigadier.

In this momentous change in his condition, which suddenly altered all
his course of life, and called him immediately to the camp,
Washington's thoughts recurred to Mount Vernon and its rural delights,
so dear to his heart, whence he was to be again exiled. His chief
concern, however, was on account of the distress it might cause to his
wife. His letter to her on the subject is written in a tone of manly
tenderness. "You may believe me," writes he, "when I assure you, in
the most solemn manner, that, so far from seeking this appointment, I
have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it, not only from my