completed the new works at Lechmere Point, and being desirous of
keeping up the spirit of his men, resolved to treat them to an
exploit. Accordingly, from his "impregnable fortress" of Cobble Hill,
he detached a party of about two hundred, under his favorite officer,
Major Knowlton, to surprise and capture a British guard stationed at
Charlestown. It was a daring enterprise, and executed with spirit. As
Charlestown Neck was completely protected, Knowlton led his men across
the mill-dam, round the base of the hill, and immediately below the
fort; set fire to the guard-house and some buildings in its vicinity;
made several prisoners, and retired without loss; although thundered
upon by the cannon of the fort.

Meanwhile, Washington was incessantly goaded by the impatient murmurs
of the public, as we may judge by his letters to Mr. Reed. "I know the
integrity of my own heart," writes he, on the 10th of February, "but
to declare it, unless to a friend, may be an argument of vanity. I
know the unhappy predicament I stand in; I know that much is expected
of me; I know that, without men, without arms, without ammunition,
without anything fit for the accommodation of a soldier, little is to
be done; and, what is mortifying, I know that I cannot stand justified
to the world without exposing my own weakness, and injuring the cause,
by declaring my wants; which I am determined not to do, further than
unavoidable necessity brings every man acquainted with them."

He still adhered to his opinion in favor of an attempt upon the town.
He was aware that it would be attended with considerable loss, but
believed it would be successful if the men should behave well. Within
a few days after the date of this letter, the bay became sufficiently
frozen for the transportation of troops. "This," writes he to Reed, "I
thought, knowing the ice would not last, a favorable opportunity to
make an assault upon the troops in town. I proposed it in council; but
behold, though we had been waiting all the year for this favorable
event, the enterprise was thought too dangerous."

At length the camp was rejoiced by the arrival of Colonel Knox, with
his long train of sledges drawn by oxen, bringing more than fifty
cannon, mortars, howitzers, beside supplies of lead and flints. The
zeal and perseverance which he had displayed in his wintry expedition
across frozen lakes and snowy wastes, and the intelligence with which
he had fulfilled his instructions, wo