Washington saw that the English had at last found an idea, or, at least, a general possessed of one.

So long as the British confined themselves to fighting one or two battles, and then, taking possession of a single town, were content to sit down and pass their winter in good quarters, leaving the colonists in undisturbed control of all the rest of the country, there was nothing to be feared.

The result of such campaigning as this could not be doubtful for a moment to any clear-sighted man.

But when a plan was on foot, which, if successful, meant the control of the lakes and the Hudson, and of a line of communication from the north to the great colonial seaport, the case was very different.

Such a campaign as this would cause the complete severance of New England, the chief source for men and supplies, from the rest of the colonies.