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.

102 WASHINGTON'S WRITINGS. [.ET. 45.
TO JOHN AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON.
Philadelphia County, 18 October, 1777.
DEAR BROTHER,
When my last to you was dated I know not; for
truly I can say, that my -whole time is so much engrossed, that I have scarcely a moment, but sleeping
ones, for relaxation, or to indulge myself in writing to a
friend. The anxiety you have been under, on account
of this army, I can easily conceive. Would to God
there had been less cause for it; or that our situation
at present was such as to promise much. The enemy
crossed the Schuylkill (which, by the by, above the
Falls is as easily crossed in any place as Potomac Run,
Aquia, or any other broad, shallow water) rather by
stratagem; though I do not know, that it was in our
power to prevent it, as their manceuvres made it necessary for us to attend to our stores, which lay at
Reading, towards which they seemed bending their
course, and the loss of which must have proved our
ruin. After they had crossed, we took the first favorable opportunity of attacking them.
This was attempted by a night's march of fourteen
miles to surprise them, which we effectually did, so far
as to reach their guards before they had notice of our
coming; and if it had not been for a thick fog, which
rendered it so dark at times that we were not able to
distinguish friend from foe at the distance of thirty
yards, we should, I believe, have made a decisive and
glorious day of it. But Providence designed it otherwise; for after we had driven the enemy a mile or two,
after they were in the utmost confusion and flying before us in most places, after we were upon the point,
as it appeared to every body, of grasping a complete
victory, our own troops took fright and fled with pre