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.

70 WASHINGTON'S WRITINGS. [AET. 45.
ing since the battle of Brandywine; and therefore coneluded, by the advice of all the general officers, to
march from this place to-morrow morning towards Philadelphia, and on the way endeavour to form a junction
with the Continental troops under General McDougall,
from Peekskill, and the Jersey militia under General
Dickinson, both of whom are, I hope, on this side of
the Delaware. I am also obliged to wait for General
Wayne and General Smallwood, who were left upon
the other side of the Schuylkill, in hopes of falling
upon the enemy's rear; but they have eluded them as
well as us.
When I last recrossed the Schuylkill, it was with
a firm intent of giving the enemy battle wherever I
should meet them; and accordingly I advanced as far
as the Warren Tavern upon the Lancaster road, near
which place the two armies were upon the point of
coming to a general engagement, but were prevented
by a most violent flood of rain, which continued all the
day and following night. When it held up, we had
the mortification to find that our ammunition, which
had been completed to forty rounds a man, was entirely
ruined; and in that situation we had nothing left for it
but to find out a strong piece of ground, which we
could easily maintain till we could get the arms put in
order, and a recruit of ammunition. Before this could
be fully effected, the enemy marched from their position
near the White Horse Tavern, down the road leading to
the Swedes' Ford. I immediately crossed the Schuylkill above them, and threw myself full in their front,
hoping to meet them in their passage, or soon after
they had passed the river. The day before yesterday
they were again in motion, and marched rapidly up the
road leading towards Reading. This induced me to
believe that they had two objects in view, one to get