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route toward Princeton. But there was no rebel army to face them. Washington had advanced his army out of his camp at Morristown, but only as far as Middlebrook, settling the rebels into another series of stout hills, this time within ten miles of Brunswick. As Howe marched his army toward Princeton, Washington would not take the bait, and abruptly, Cornwallis received orders to turn back, to gather the entire army at Brunswick. Howe was determined to bring Washington off his hills, and the next march was north, toward Metuchen, an attempt to outflank the rebels. But again Washington stayed in his defenses, and Howe’s frustration spread through the entire army. But Cornwallis knew that no matter how much his men wanted a fight, Howe would not order them to attack a position they could never carry. After eighteen days of marching and countermarching, Cornwallis realized that Howe had made a huge mistake. Howe’s plan was to continue on to Philadelphia, but Cornwallis knew they could not just march past Middlebrook as though the rebels weren’t there. Washington’s army would be coiled for a strike at the rear of Howe’s army, could seriously torment the flanks and rear guard all the way to the Delaware River. If Howe attempted to move into Pennsylvania, Washington could strike him during the crossing of the river, the very tactic Cornwallis had failed to accomplish in December. As Cornwallis watched Howe’s plan unravel, he knew that Howe was still focused on Philadelphia, the strategy fixed in his mind, stubborn and inflexible. If they could not assault the rebel capital by land, Howe would find another way.

On June 30, the army was ordered to march again, this time back to Amboy, to board the boats that would carry them to Staten Island. Once again Cornwallis shared the mood of his men, the utter disbelief that nearly three weeks of maneuvers and marching had gained them a few sharp skirmishes and nothing else. As Cornwallis stepped away from the wharf at Amboy, he fought the despair, the frustration mixed with a growing sense of alarm. Precious time had been lost, the time they would need to capture Philadelphia and return to assist Burgoyne, the time they would need to bring this war to a conclusion before another winter brought Howe and his grand strategies to yet another standstill.

20. GREENE

JULY 1777

FOR WEEKS HE HAD MAINTAINED HIS POSITION ON THE HILLS NORTH OF the Raritan, watching the great one-sided chess game play out below him, the British throwing up earthworks around Brunswick, then marching west, then back again. Washington had finally ordered him down to pursue Howe’s rear guard, and when the British had turned and marched back to Brunswick, Greene had followed. He had maneuvered his troops with great care, knew that if the British realized he had come down from the safety of the hills, they might suddenly turn back on him, his men perhaps caught in the open, no time to build their own defenses. But when Howe had abandoned his march toward Princeton, it had been no ruse, no bait to draw Greene too close. It was as though the British were more focused on their own display, a strategy that made little sense to Washington.

Greene would not be careless, kept close enough to the British to monitor their movements, but not so close that a sudden burst of British mobility might catch his division in a fight he didn’t want. But there was nothing about the British that suggested mobility, either in their movements or the planning of their commander. Greene could only wonder at the mind of William Howe, that once the man put some plan to paper, the strategy required no further thought, simply did not allow for the possibility of change.

When the British had gathered back into their defenses at Brunswick, Washington had ordered Greene once more to pull back to the safety of the hills, in case Howe ordered a sudden thrust toward Princeton. But when the British took to the road again, they went north, leaving Greene to worry if Washington had fortified the passes into the hills with sufficient strength.