The writings of George Washington; being his correspondence, addresses, messages, and other papers, official and private, selected and published from the original manuscripts; with a life of the author, notes and illustrations. By Jared Sparks.

144 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775.
person, through the remainder of the route. He arrived in Cambridge on the 2d of July, and took command of the army the next day.
The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, then
sitting at Watertown near Cambridge, received him
with great cordiality, and presented to him an address,
proffering every aid in their power to make his command agreeable, and to strengthen his efforts in the
common cause. The testimonies of respect and satisfaction, as well from individuals as public bodies,
which he had everywhere received, were of the most
flattering kind, and demonstrated that the people were
not less unanimous in approving the choice of Congress, than the members of that assembly had been
in making it. The army greeted him with equal
warmth, and hitherto every indication tended to inspire
a just confidence in himself, and the best hopes for
the future.
His first care was to ascertain the numbers, position, and arrangements of the troops, to inspect the
posts they occupied, and to gain a knowledge of the
strength and plans of the enemy. The British general was himself stationed in Boston, with the lighthorse and a few other troops; the bulk of his army
lay on Bunker's Hill, busy in throwing up intrenchments; and the remainder were on the neck of land
between Boston and Roxbury, which had been strongly fortified. The Americans were so posted as to
form a complete line of siege around Boston, and
Charlestown, extending nearly twelve miles from
Mystic River to Dorchester. Intrenchments and redoubts had been begun at different points in this
line, and these works were still in progress. The
regiments from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and
part of those from Connecticut, occupied Winter Hill