Many a time he had thought the game lost, and he had found himself under the necessity of abandoning posts he had mastered to fall back upon Philadelphia.

"What will you do if Philadelphia is taken ?" he was asked.

"We will retire beyond the Susquehanna, and then, if necessary, beyond the Alleghanies," answered the general without hesitation.

Unwavering in his patriotic faith and resolution, he relied upon the savage resources and the vast wildernesses of his native country to wear out at last the patience and courage of the English generals.

At the end of the campaign, Washington, suddenly resuming the offensive, had beaten the king's troops at Trenton and at Princeton one after the other.