“In the history of warfare I do not recollect a more fortunate retreat”, one of George Washington’s closest aides once said. The reference was to events in the late summer of 1776, when the Continental Army was being routed by the British in New York. General Washington was spent. He had exhausted himself riding up and down the lines at Brooklyn Heights, rallying dispirited troops. One of every five of his solders was sick from either dysentery or smallpox. Militia units were deserting in droves. There was heavy pressure from Congress to defend New York harbor.Under cover of a dense …read more
Source: The American Interest
