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.

APPENDIX.] BATTLE OF THE BRANDYWINE. 461
Sergeant Tucker of the light-horse, sent by me cn purpose to make
discoveries; and who had passed, as he said, to the Lancaster
Road. This intelligence did by no means alter my opinion, which
was founded, not upon any knowledge I had of the facts, but upon
an apprehension, that General Howe would take that advantage,
which any good officer in his situation would have done. I considered, however, that if my opinion, or the intelligence I had sent
to the General, should bring him into a plan of attacking the
enemy on the advantageous heights of which they were possessed,
and a defeat should thence follow, I should be justly censured for
withholding from him part of the intelligence I had received, and
thereby brought on the defeat of our army. I therefore sat down
and wrote Major Spear's account from his own mouth, and forwarded it to his Excellency by a light-horseman, and ordered the
Major to follow himself. I never made a comment, or gave any
opinion upon the matter.,
"' Colonel Harrison, a member from Virginia, is possessed of a
copy of the letter, as the General's aid-de-camp informed me. I
beg Congress to see it, and then judge whether I could have been
excused for withholding that intelligence, merely because my opinion
did not coincide with the declaration. Had the General crossed
over, and left his own advantageous post, and found the whole
British army well posted in his front, and his army put to rout,
having a river unfordable in his rear, except in one or two places,
and most of his troops pushed into it, which must inevitably have
been the case, if he was defeated; I say, if this had all happened,
which was at least possible, and he had afterwards found out, that
I had received and withheld the intelligence, which might have
prevented this misfortune, and demanded my reason, I believe I
never should have been able to give one, which would be satisfactory to him, to Congress, or to the world. I know it to be part
of my duty to give him every intelligence I receive, without withholding any part of it because it does not coincide with my own
opinion; and I as well know it is exceedingly hard to be censured
for doing my duty, which has been too much the case with me,
since I have been in the army."
As to the fourth charge, he observed, " When I received orders
to march, I marched in the most direct road to the enemy, and
met them a mile from the place where I had before been posted,
with my out-guards flying before them." Lord Cornwallis had
ample time to form his men for action. At a quarter past one
o'clock Colonel Bland saw his advanced guard about half a mile
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