and encamped that night on Stony Creek (Norristown), marching thence to Germantown. On the 26th Lord Cornwallis took possession of Philadelphia.

During all these movements Washington's men suffered severely, being poorly clad and having but few blankets. At least one thousand men made these marches with bare feet. Undaunted by their sufferings the Americans marched to Pennypacker's Mills (Schwenksville), and after a brief rest, on to Skippack and Worcester. From thence the army moved at seven o'clock on October 3d to attack the British at Germantown. That brilliant attempt ended in failure, and Washington retreated to the camp on the Perkiomen.

After three days' rest the army was again on the march,

moving toward Philadelphia. On October 8th it was at Towamencin, where a week was spent. The next stop was at Worcester, where the army received the joyful news of the surrender of Burgoyne. Whitpain was the next halting place. During this halt General Wayne was tried by a court-martial on the charge of neglect of duty at Paoli and was "acquitted with the highest honor." On November 2d the army went into camp at Whitemarsh. While encamped there Howe marched out from Philadelphia (December 4th) to make a night attack on the American army. News of this plan was brought to Washington, by Mrs. Lydia Darrah, some say, and consequently the army was on the alert. After manoeuvring for a few days Howe returned to the city without attempting to attack Washington. This practically ended the campaign of 1777.

On December 11th the army evacuated the camp at Whitemarsh and marched to Matson's Ford. The first division had crossed and part of the second when a force under Lord Cornwallis was discovered on the heights on both sides of the Gulph Road. Under the impression that the British had again left Philadelphia the troops recrossed the river and the army moved up to Swedes' Ford (Ford street, Norristown), where it crossed during the night of the 12th and the morning of the 13th, and then took position at Gulph Mills. This seems to have been considered as a site for the winter encampment, but the army remained there less than a week, suffering severely from exposure. The final march of the year was from Gulph Mills to Valley Forge, the site selected for the winter quarters of the army. It is supposed that Valley Forge was selected on the recommendation of General Wayne, whose home was near at hand, and who well knew the country. Here six months were spent, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778-the most critical period of American history.

Dark as were the days at Morristown, when Paine wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls," those at Valley Forge were darker, indeed the darkest that America has seen. The short enlistments, largely due to the terrifying vision of a standing army, were a constant source of weakness and expense. The depreciation of the paper currency made the poor

pay of the soldier only a starving wage, and officers were compelled to resign because they had not the means to eke out their expenses. Congress held out no hope of a future recognition of services rendered such as have at other times relieved the soldier of concern for his future or for that of those dependent upon him. The foolish arrangement by which each State was to have its quota of promotions deprived the army of the advantage of officers of the highest merit and was a constant source of irritation.

The poor soldiers were the helpless victims of a meddling Congress and an incompetent commissary department. While the whole country was fairly prosperous the men at Valley Forge starved. While they froze to death "hogsheads of shoes, stockings, and clothing were lying at different places on the

roads and in the woods, perishing for want of teams, or of money to pay the teamsters." On the 23d of December, Washington reported to Congress that "Two thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight were unfit for duty, because barefoot or otherwise naked. Only eight thousand two hundred men were present for duty." It is estimated that three thousand men perished on these hills during the six months of the encampment, while in the twenty-six principal engagements of the Revolution the number of killed and wounded did not greatly exceed nine thousand!

During these months the cause of American independence was endangered by a diabolic plot to supplant Washington. The "Conway Cabal," as it was called, had eager supporters in Congress and the army, and for awhile it seemed as if its evil design would be accomplished. It was an added burden for Washington to bear. "The intrigue against him he watched in stern silence till it was ripe and evident, then he crushed it with sudden exposure, and turned away in contempt, hardly so much as mentioning it in his letters to his friends."

The weakest point was Congress. Its best men were in the army, or at home busily engaged in the effort to establish State governments. A mere handful of men gathered in York, often not enough for a quorum. These had little power and often less judgment. They could only advise the States and their advice was not much heeded. There was in fact no central government.

If these were the darkest days theirs was the darkness which precedes the dawn. The first sign of this was the realization on the part of the American people of the character of Washington. "As the silly intrigues against him recoiled upon their authors, men began to realize that it was far more upon his consummate sagacity and unselfish patriotism than upon anything that Congress could do that the country rested its hopes of success in the great enterprise which it had undertaken. As the nullity of Congress made it ever more apparent that the country as a whole was without a government, Washington stood forth more and more conspicuously as the living symbol of the union of the States. In him and his work were

centered the common hopes and the common interests of all the American people."

While this change was being made in the minds of the people, Washington, with the help of Steuben, was making the army ready for its greater deeds. The days at Valley Forge were busy with preparation. New tactics were introduced, the arms were improved, and the discipline made more strict. Here the little State armies were welded into the army of the United States.

Finally, upon these hills the patriots of America beheld the sunrise of national glory. On February 6, 1778, the treaties of amity and commerce between France and the United States were signed. As the late Secretary Hay has happily expressed it: "The act of France gave us a standing abroad which we had hitherto lacked. A man's character is made by himself; his reputation exists in the minds of others. Our Declaration asserted our independence, the French alliance proved it. Even before 1776 we were a nation; but until our treaties with France the world regarded us as a rebellion."