As I was with the troops at Fort Lee, and marched with them to the edge of Pennsylvania, I am well acquainted
with many circumstances, which those who live at a distance know but little or nothing of. Our situation there
was exceedingly cramped, the place being a narrow neck of land between the North River and the
Hackensack. Our force was inconsiderable, being not one-fourth so great as Howe could bring against us. We
had no army at hand to have relieved the garrison, had we shut ourselves up and stood on our defence. Our
ammunition, light artillery, and the best part of our stores, had been removed, on the apprehension that
Howe would endeavor to penetrate the Jerseys, in which case Fort Lee could be of no use to us; for it must
occur to every thinking man, whether in the army or not, that these kind of field forts are only for temporary
purposes, and last in use no longer than the enemy directs his force against the particular object which such
forts are raised to defend. Such was our situation and condition at Fort Lee on the morning of the 20th of
November, when an officer arrived with information that the enemy with 200 boats had landed about seven
miles above; Major General [Nathaniel] Green, who commanded the garrison, immediately ordered them
under arms, and sent express to General Washington at the town of Hackensack, distant by the way of the
ferry = six miles. Our first object was to secure the bridge over the Hackensack, which laid up the river
between the enemy and us, about six miles from us, and three from them. General Washington arrived in
about three-quarters of an hour, and marched at the head of the troops towards the bridge, which place I
expected we should have a brush for; however, they did not choose to dispute it with us, and the greatest part
of our troops went over the bridge, the rest over the ferry, except some which passed at a mill on a small
creek, between the bridge and the ferry, and made their way through some marshy grounds up to the town of
Hackensack, and there passed the river. We brought off as much baggage as the wagons could contain, the
rest was lost. The simple object was to bring off the garrison, and march them on till they could be
strengthened by the Jersey or Pennsylvania militia, so as to be enabled to make a stand. We staid four days at
Newark, collected our out-posts with some of the Jersey militia, and marched out twice to meet the enemy,
on being informed that they were advancing, though our numbers were greatly inferior to theirs. Howe, in my
little opinion, committed a great error in generalship in not throwing a body of forces off from Staten Island
through Amboy, by which means he might have seized all our stores at Brunswick, and intercepted our march
into Pennsylvania; but if we believe the power of hell to be limited, we must likewise believe that their agents
are under some providential control.


l want to know is this a awkward sentence