The Glorious Cause - Jeff Shaara [190]
“Privacy? I am honored, sir.”
“Don’t be, Mr. Greene. I find that my temper is short these days. I do not wish to make an unfortunate demonstration for the men.”
“Certainly, sir.”
“Mr. Greene, we have men eating dirty water and calling it soup. How long will they tolerate these conditions? How long must I? Are we so helpless? Our raids on the British supply wagons have been ineffective. General Howe has purchased the loyalty of most of the farms around Philadelphia because he can offer payment in hard currency. We offer nothing but continental paper.” He stopped, turned toward the guards, saw they were at a suitable distance.
“I have exhausted the congress with my pleas, so much so that they have now suggested that this army simply take what it wants from anyone who can assist us. We are to secure food by the point of the bayonet. Those farmers who have not yet found sympathy with the British will certainly do so now. What manner of solution is that? I am dismayed that your foraging expeditions have been so ineffective. We manage to gather a lengthy train of wagons, and they return to this camp nearly empty. What is the explanation?”
“Sir, the farms simply do not have the means to feed this army, whether we pay them with specie or threaten them with the bayonet.”
“Then what would you suggest, Mr. Greene?”
“We require a quartermaster who will not be so hesitant to insult those who control so much of the goods we require.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sir, it has been suggested in many quarters that a great deal of supply is sitting idly in warehouses along the coast. There is simply no means to compel anyone to transport it. Several states are claiming possession of the French goods that happen to arrive in their ports, taking the opportunity to better clothe their own militia, with no regard for the needs of the whole. The supplies that do find the means to reach us are mistreated, or stolen by the men whose job it is to transport them. I have seen barrels of flour spilled in great heaps beside the roadway, no doubt too much of a bother for some wagoneer who preferred his own hearth rather than the completion of his mission. We had wagons of meal and flour arrive here last week in broken barrels, soaked with rain, already molded beyond use.”
“Mr. Greene, you are telling me nothing I do not already know. I asked you for a suggestion.”
“A quartermaster. Someone who understands the needs of this army, and the means to satisfy those needs. Someone who is not so enamored by the drawing rooms of congress. Someone who will carry a whip into those halls to secure what we need. Someone with a backbone. Sir.”
“Mr. Greene, I agree. I would like you to volunteer for the position. Congress will be so informed, and I will insist they make official the appointment in a rapid manner.”
Greene looked at him with wide eyes.
“Me?”
“Since the position comes only with the rank of brigadier general, you may retain your rank on the line.”
“Surely there is . . . is there no one else . . . me, sir?”
“There is no one more capable in this army. You will not sacrifice your command. When General Howe resumes his campaign, I will require the services of every capable officer. But I will also require a capable army, men who have the strength and the means to march and fight. That . . . will be your job.”
Greene slumped in the saddle, stared down the long hill.
“General Washington, may I be allowed to volunteer my services as quartermaster general of this command?”
“We are grateful for your service, Mr. Greene.”
THE CONGRESS RELUCTANTLY APPROVED WASHINGTON’S SELECTION, and within days, Greene had made a loud presence before the Board of War, had inserted himself into the comfortable parlors of the men who had been so free in their criticism and campaigns against Washington. The congress began to hear another side of Gates’ story, Greene visited in York by Morgan and Stirling, men who told their own tales of Saratoga, who gave many in the congress a different view of Gates and his friend Conway.
Greene inserted himself as well into