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e Battle of Bunker Hill, which had just been fought (June 17, 1775). The British had been victorious, but not until more than half their number had been killed and the patriots had fired their last round of ammunition. When Washington was told how bravely the militia had stood their ground, he said, "The liberties of the country are safe!" He was not troubled by the triumph of the British, because he felt sure the Americans would win when properly armed and drilled. This news made him more anxious to reach the scene of action and he traveled on as fast as he could. He left General Schuyler to command the patriot forces in New York. [Illustration: The Charge at Bunker Hill] On July second, he reached his headquarters in Cambridge, where he was received with cheers and the thunder of cannon. The men had so little powder that they could not give him a great salute, but they spared all they could. The next day, July 3, 1775, Washington took command of the Continental Army under a large elm tree, which still stands on the Cambridge Common. The patriot army was a rather discouraging sight. The 16,000 men had been called together without any preparation. They were farmers, fishermen and shop-keepers. They had very little discipline or order and were in need of everything--arms, ammunition, food, clothing, tents, shoes. As yet they were not one army, but a collection of separate companies from the different New England colonies. Each had its own regulations, its own officers and its own interests. There were jealousy and often misunderstanding among them. After reviewing this army, General Washington visited the American forts strung in an irregular semi-circle around Boston, within which the British forces were besieged. He found the men camped in rough board shacks, or shelters made of turf and brush, and dressed in the clothes they wore on their farms and in the villages. Here and there was a tent. No wonder the British, in their orderly tents and fine scarlet uniforms, thought they could soon scatter this mixed crowd! There was but one exception. General Nathanael Greene, of Rhode Island, had raised and drilled a body of men and brought them to Boston under fine discipline, with good tents and clothing. His camp showed what could be done. General Greene became one of Washington's most faithful and lifelong friends, and was one of the greatest generals of the Revolution. In contrast with the undisciplined, ragged
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