The formal exchange of command occurred the day after George arrived in Cambridge. As many soldiers who could be spared from the front line were drawn up on Cambridge common to witness the command pass from General Ward to General Washington, and then to be reviewed by their new commander. After the ceremony George toured the various posts and fortifications all around Boston. It would take a few days for George to find out that he had only 14,000 men under his command but even on that first day he could see how raw and untrained the militia were. Most of the men had no uniforms, every unit had its own rules and regulations, and many of the militiamen seemed to confuse freedom with a right to be insubordinate to their officers. It was immediately obvious to George that the line around Boston was too weak and might be broken by a determined attack from the British. Within the first few days he called a council of war to decide if the American troops should be pulled back to safer positions. The conclusion of the generals was that such a move would be too demoralizing. No matter how weak it might be, that line must be held. George put the men to work digging and building stronger defenses. He let congress know he would need at least 20,000 men to keep the British from getting out of Boston, and to keep supplies from getting in. In the meantime the troops were divided into three divisions: a right wing at Roxbury under General Ward, a left wing at Prospect Hill under General Lee, and a center at Cambridge under General Putnam. Finally George ordered that saddled horses should be kept at several points along the line so that any emergency messages could be brought to him without delay.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 01:32:57 +0000
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