The Glorious Cause - Jeff Shaara [137]
“Mr. Lafayette, while I certainly respect the wisdom of our congress, I must ask you again. What are your intentions? Do you expect me to provide you with your own command, something appropriate to your . . . rank?”
He dreaded the answer, waited, the room completely silent now, all eyes on Lafayette. Washington could see the young man’s expression change, the nervousness replaced by confidence.
“General, I have every wish to command a division in your army. But I do not yet have the experience. I was most insistent on one point to the congress, and asked them to make special mention in this document. Since I am not yet of much value to your cause, I do not wish to be paid. I requested the rank they assigned to me, because I believe I can be of service in that rank. But I remain a volunteer, sir. I have come here to learn, not to teach.”
Lafayette sat down, and the faces turned to Washington. The young man was still looking at him, and Washington again saw the confidence, the eyes of a man who seemed above all to be honest with himself. Washington had never thought himself wise in reading a man, in knowing a man’s character by the look in his eye. But he had seen that look before, Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene, the men who had become his most trusted commanders. He had seen it as well in the most loyal and reliable member of his staff. Washington had to convince a reluctant congress to promote Tench Tilghman to lieutenant colonel, but Tilghman would still not take pay for his job. If Lafayette was truly a volunteer, it was a welcome comparison. Lafayette seemed to be waiting for his response.
“Mr. Lafayette, this army will survive on the backs of its volunteers. I should like you to begin your service by joining my staff.”
AUGUST 22, 1777
Washington was stunned to learn that Howe’s navy had disappeared off the Delaware capes, the great mass of ships abruptly raising their sails and vanishing beyond the horizon as quickly as they had appeared. The reports from the outposts offered no answers, and for several days he had felt a rising alarm, the familiar despair, wondering if Howe had indeed fooled him, that even now the British navy was sailing again through New York Harbor, already launching a massive push up the Hudson River that Washington was too weak and too distant to stop.
Though there was no hint where the ships had sailed, Washington began to receive a different report from the scouts along the south Jersey coast, that several British vessels had attempted to pass his artillery positions, coming under a brisk fire from guns whose effectiveness was doubtful. But when Howe’s ships confronted the obstructions Putnam had placed in the river, they made no attempt to slip through. Unlike that dismal day on the Hudson, when Nathanael Greene could only watch Howe’s ships mock the barricades, this time, the British had turned back, did not attempt to pass. It was a surprise, and Washington had to believe that, finally, Putnam had devised a means to block a river that might actually have worked. But that success had come with a disadvantage. If Howe could not sail up the Delaware, he had certainly altered his plan. It was a question that burned in Washington’s mind. What was Howe’s new plan?
The army made camp north of Philadelphia in a small village called Germantown. Washington found himself with no strategy of his own, no way to know if anything he did would be the correct move. As the days passed, there was still no information, no word from any quarter to explain where Howe had sailed.
The rumors began to fly, word of a panic in Boston, a great fleet appearing on the horizon that was actually no more than a bank of fog. The debate swirled through the camps, some of the men believing that Howe had gone farther south, would attack Charleston. Through it all, Washington kept his focus on two fronts. The sheer size of the fleet meant that