Philadelphia was threatened, Newport was in the hands of the enemy, and for ninety miles Washington had retreated, evading ruin again and again only by the width of a river.

Congress voted not to leave Philadelphia,--a fact which their General declined to publish,--and then fled.
No one remained to face the grim realities of the time but Washington, and he met them unmoved.

Not a moment passed that he did not seek in some way to effect something.

Not an hour went by that he did not turn calmly from fresh and ever renewed disappointment to work and action.
By the middle of December Howe felt satisfied that the American army would soon dissolve, and leaving strong detachments in various posts he withdrew to New York.

His premises were sound, and his conclusions logical, but he made his usual mistake of overlooking and underestimating the American general.