CHAPTER XXXIV
'Midst furs, and silks, and jewels' sheen,
He stood, in simple Lincoln green,
The center of the glittering ring;
And Snowdon's knight is Scotland's king!
--_Lady of the Lake_.
The commencement of the following year was passed, on the part of the
Americans, in making great preparations, in conjunction with their
allies, to bring the war to a close. In the South, Greene and Rawdon
made a bloody campaign, that was highly honorable to the troops of the
latter, but which, by terminating entirely to the advantage of the
former, proved him to be the better general of the two.
New York was the point that was threatened by the allied armies; and
Washington, by exciting a constant apprehension for the safety of that
city, prevented such reenforcements from being sent to Cornwallis as
would have enabled him to improve his success.
At length, as autumn approached, every indication was given that the
final moment had arrived.
The French forces drew near to the royal lines, passing through the
neutral ground, and threatened an attack in the direction of King's
Bridge, while large bodies of Americans were acting in concert. By
hovering around the British posts, and drawing nigh in the Jerseys, they
seemed to threaten the royal forces from that quarter also.
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