Quotes from Bruce Chadwick

James Buchanan's niece: "He often worked just for work's sake.

He kept a watchful eye on politics through his reading of numerous newspapers and had aides keep him updated on the results of elections so that he could immediately send congratulatory letters to the winners. Knowing that those who lost might be back again, in that office or some other, he sent them letters too, thanking them for their service to their country.

The people had to admire and respect the army before they could help it.

Knox, who possessed a booming voice that could be heard throughout the camp, had never fired a cannon in his life when he became head of artillery in 1775. He was a local bookseller in Boston who was fascinated by weapons. He had read just about every book published on ordnance and convinced Washington to put him in charge of his artillery,

Washington wanted to give the men some kind of inspirational speech before they boarded the boats, but knew that he was no orator. So, instead, he handed out copies of the latest patriotic essay by Tom Paine, The American Crisis.

Apparently on a personal front, Tom Paine complained bitterly that all of the prostitutes in America were Tories.)

At other times he just wanted to hold casual conversations that had no military importance at all. The soldiers saw these friendly visits, albeit brief, as evidence that he cared for them.

Everyone was impressed by his humility, and one visitor was stunned that "he speaks of the war as if he had not directed it;

He was strident in his writing, but never desperate. The tone let his officers and politicians know that the situation was critical, but that somehow a solution could be found. It was a tone he would maintain throughout the war, constantly preparing his correspondents for the worst, but hoping for the best.

Washington, who monitored his supplies on a daily basis, sometimes checking on them every few hours, complained bitterly about the inefficient operations

The numbers seemed overwhelming. By the end of the summer, there were, in fact, four thousand more British soldiers in New York than the entire population of Philadelphia, America's largest city.

The commander spoke to them as he always did, with sincerity and determination, but without theatrics.

Washington paid for the education of his twenty-two nieces and nephews.

American trade represented one third of the British economy).

He was cognizant that perception would be as important as experience.