der the lead of Greene, until safety
was reached. The action, while it lasted, had been very sharp, and the
losses on both sides were severe, the Americans suffering most.

Washington, as usual when matters went ill, exposed himself
recklessly, to the great alarm of his generals, but all in vain. He
was deeply disappointed, and expressed himself so at first, for he saw
that the men had unaccountably given way when they were on the edge
of victory. The underlying cause was of course, as at Long Island
and Brandywine, the unsteadiness of raw troops, and Washington felt
rightly, after the first sting had passed, that he had really achieved
a great deal. Congress applauded the attempt, and when the smoke of
the battle had cleared away, men generally perceived that its having
been fought at all was in reality the important fact. It made also
a profound impression upon the French cabinet. Eagerly watching the
course of events, they saw the significance of the fact that an army
raised within a year could fight a battle in the open field, endure
a severe defeat, and then take the offensive and make a bold and
well-planned attack, which narrowly missed being overwhelmingly
successful. To the observant and trained eyes of Europe, the defeat
at Germantown made it evident that there was fighting material among
these untrained colonists, capable of becoming formidable; and that
there was besides a powerful will and directing mind, capable on
its part of bringing this same material into the required shape and
condition. To dispassionate onlookers, England's grasp on her colonies
appeared to be slipping away very rapidly. Washington himself saw the
meaning of it all plainly enough, for it was but the development of
his theory of carrying on the war.

There is no indication, however, that England detected, in all that
had gone on since her army landed at the Head of Elk, anything more
than a couple of natural defeats for the rebels. General Howe was
sufficiently impressed to draw in his troops, and keep very closely
shut up in Philadelphia, but his country was not moved at all. The
fact that it had taken forty-seven days to get their army from the
Elk River to Philadelphia, and that in that time they had fought two
successful battles and yet had left the American army still active
and menacing, had no effect upon the British mind. The English were
thoroughly satisfied that the colonists were cowards and were sure to
be defeated, no m