as a man eminently calculated to sympathize with
Washington in all his patriotic views and feelings, and became one of
his most faithful coadjutors. Sprung from one of the earliest and most
respectable Dutch families which colonized New York, all his interests
and affections were identified with the country. He had received a
good education; applied himself at an early age to the exact sciences,
and became versed in finance, military engineering, and political
economy. He was one of those native born soldiers who had acquired
experience in that American school of arms, the old French war. Since
the close of the French war he had served his country in various civil
stations, and been one of the most zealous and eloquent vindicators of
colonial rights.

They had scarcely proceeded twenty miles from Philadelphia when they
were met by a courier, spurring with all speed, bearing despatches
from the army to Congress, communicating tidings of the battle of
Bunker's Hill. Washington eagerly inquired particulars; above all, how
acted the militia? When told that they stood their ground bravely,
sustained the enemy's fire--reserved their own until at close
quarters, and then delivered it with deadly effect, it seemed as if a
weight of doubt and solicitude were lifted from his heart. "The
liberties of the country are safe!" exclaimed he.

The news of the battle of Bunker's Hill had startled the whole
country; and this clattering cavalcade, escorting the commander-in-chief
to the army, was the gaze and wonder of every town and village.

The journey may be said to have been a continual council of war
between Washington and the two generals. One of the most frequent
subjects of conversation was the province of New York. Its power and
position rendered it the great link of the confederacy; what measures
were necessary for its defence, and most calculated to secure its
adherence to the cause? The population of New York was more varied in
its elements than that of almost any other of the provinces, and had
to be cautiously studied. The New Yorkers were of a mixed origin, and
stamped with the peculiarities of their respective ancestors. The
descendants of the old Dutch and Huguenot families, the earliest
settlers, were still among the soundest and best of the population.
They inherited the love of liberty, civil and religious, of their
forefathers, and were those who stood foremost in the present struggle
for popular rights. A great pr