From Farm House to the White House - 912 Freedom Library

Farm House to the White House, by William M. Thayer 177
It was in this campaign that an officer of the army dined with Washington at his headquarters. Several guests
graced the occasion. When, agreeable to the prevailing custom, the general proposed to drink a glass of wine
with him, the officer replied, "You will have the goodness to excuse me, as I have made it a rule not to take
wine."
The other guests were surprised. They regarded the act as a direct insult to the commander-in-chief.
Washington read their feelings in their faces, and he remarked: "Gentlemen, my friend is right; I do not wish
any of my guests to partake of anything against their inclination, and I certainly do not wish them to violate
any established principle in their social intercourse with me. I honor Mr. ---- for his frankness, for his
consistency in thus adhering to an established rule which can never do him harm, and for the adoption of
which, I have no doubt, he has good and sufficient reasons."
While Washington was watching the British fleet, General Burgoyne was advancing from the north, his
Hessian soldiers and Indian allies indulging themselves in terrifying and plundering the defenceless
inhabitants. On the 16th of August the battle of Bennington was fought, in which the American troops, under
the brave General Stark, won a decisive victory. Stark addressed his troops in words of cheer before going
into battle, and closed by saying:
"Now, my men, there are the red-coats. Before night they must be ours, or Molly Stark will be a widow."
Stark captured thirty-two British officers, five hundred and sixty-four privates, four brass field-pieces, a
thousand stand of arms, and a large quantity of ammunition.
The moral effect of this victory was grand. The farmers rushed to the American camp, to follow up the victory
by surrounding Burgoyne, cutting off his supplies, and driving him to Saratoga.
Washington hailed the victory with great joy, and proclaimed it at the head of his army to inspire his troops to
nobler deeds.
Another bloody battle was fought at Fort Schuyler, where the Americans bravely defended and held the fort.
The Indians conducted so much like fiends incarnate that even the Hessians were shocked. A Hessian officer
wrote:
"These savages are heathen; huge, warlike, and enterprising, but wicked as Satan. Some say they are
cannibals, but I do not believe it; though, in their fury, they will tear the flesh of the enemy with their teeth."
A Miss McCrea, daughter of a New Jersey clergyman, was visiting friends at the North. Her lover was a Tory,
and he was in the British army, so that she felt no anxiety at the approach of Burgoyne.
Early one morning she was startled by the horrid yells of savages, who had surrounded the house where she
was visiting. Before she was scarcely aware of her peril, they burst into the house, in their wild fury, seized
her, and bore her away in triumph. While they were disputing as to whom the prize belonged, a drunken chief
buried his tomahawk in her head, whereupon she was scalped and left dead upon the ground.
Nine days after the battle of Bennington, Washington learned that General Howe was landing his troops in Elk
River, seventy miles from Philadelphia. It was not, however, until the 8th of September that the two armies
met, and the battle of Brandywine was fought.
Washington had eleven thousand men, and Howe eighteen thousand. It was a sanguinary contest, in which the
Americans were defeated, with a loss of twelve hundred. Lafayette conducted himself with great coolness and
bravery, and was wounded by a bullet that passed through his leg.