SAVING THE REVOLUTION After leaving Boston, Washington proceeded through Rhode Island and Connecticut, pushing troops forward as he advanced, and reached New York on April 13.

There he found himself plunged at once into the same sea of difficulties with which he had been struggling at Boston, the only difference being that these were fresh and entirely untouched.
The army was inadequate, and the town, which was the central point of the colonies, as well as the great river at its side, was wholly unprotected.

The troops were in large measure raw and undrilled, the committee of safety was hesitating, the Tories were virulent and active, corresponding constantly with Tryon, who was lurking in a British man-of-war, while from the north came tidings of retreat and disaster.

All these harassing difficulties crowded upon the commander-in-chief as soon as he arrived.

To appreciate him it is necessary to understand these conditions and realize their weight and consequence, albeit the details seem petty.