umber of cattle, to be delivered on
certain days; and for the honor of the magistrates, and the good
disposition of the people, I must add that my requisitions were
punctually complied with, and in many counties exceeded. Nothing
but this great exertion could have saved the army from dissolution
or starving, as we were bereft of every hope from the commissaries.
At one time the soldiers ate every kind of horse food but hay.
Buckwheat, common wheat, rye, and Indian corn composed the meal
which made their bread. As an army, they bore it with the most
heroic patience; but sufferings like these, accompanied by the want
of clothes, blankets, etc., will produce frequent desertions in all
armies; and so it happened with us, though it did not excite a
single mutiny."

At this time, various circulars and printed bills were sent to the
American army from the British, urging the men to fly from all their
hardships and miseries, and join the English force, where they would be
received, and furnished with every comfort. In this condition of things
it was very important to keep the American soldiers, cold, hungry, and
idle, from thinking too much of their troubles. Washington could not
give them balls, nor invite them to dine; but he wisely considered that
the best thing he could give them was occupation,--a most wonderful
medicine for discontent. He therefore determined to build a fort upon
the summit of the hill where the camp was situated.

His engineers therefore planned a large fortification made up of
earthworks; and on this the men were put to work, as if it had been
expected that the enemy would soon arrive, and take the place. The
desire to put their camp in a condition of defense, and the animation of
steady labor, were of as much advantage to the spirits of the soldiers
as bread and meat would be to their bodies; and, from sitting in idle
groups about their camp fires and huts, they worked on the new
intrenchments, ramparts, and redoubts with cheerful energy.

Everything was done exactly as if the new fort were soon to be called
upon to protect the town, which stretched itself beneath the hill; and
the engineers and officers were as careful in making plans and giving
directions as if they had been building a fort at the entrance of New
York Bay.

It was never expected that the fort would be attacked, and it was never
supposed, that, if the British should come