The men were stubborn; they did not want to retreat. But he
talked. He proved that the English could take the scrap of a fort in
four hours; he exhorted and urged, and at last he won. They said they
would follow him. From that moment he took charge, and led them along
the Greenwich Road through the woods, skirting the swamps, fording the
rivers, to Harlem, to safety and to eventual victory.
This was only one of many instances in which his wit, his eloquence,
his good sense, his leadership and his unquestioned personal daring
served his country and served her well.
When Washington moved his headquarters to the Roger Morris house near
the Point of Rocks, a period of comparative mystery descended for a
time upon Richmond Hill. During the ensuing struggle, and before the
formal evacuation of New York, the house is supposed to have been
occupied off and on by British officers. But in 1783 they departed for
good! and in 1789, Vice-president John Adams and Mistress Abigail came
to live there.
We have already read two examples of Mrs.
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