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