army that had joined this faction, was appointed inspector general,
and was promoted, above senior brigadiers, to the rank of major
general. These were evidences that, if the hold which the
Commander-in-chief had taken of the affections and confidence of the
army and of the nation could be loosened, the party in congress
disposed to change their general, was far from being contemptible in
point of numbers. But to loosen this hold was impossible. The
indignation with which the idea of such a change was received even by
the victorious troops who had conquered under Gates, forms the most
conclusive proof of its strength. Even the northern army clung to
Washington as the saviour of his country.

[Footnote 97: See note No. XI. at the end of the volume.]

These machinations to diminish the well-earned reputation of the
Commander-in-chief, could not escape his notice. They made, however,
no undue impression on his steady mind, nor did they change one of his
measures. His sensibilities seem to have been those of patriotism, of
apprehension for his country, rather than of wounded pride. His desire
to remain at the head of the army seemed to flow from the conviction
that his retaining that station would be useful to his country, rather
than from the gratification his high rank might furnish to ambition.
When he unbosomed himself to his private friends, the feelings and
sentiments he expressed were worthy of Washington. To Mr. Laurens, the
president of congress, and his private friend, who, in an unofficial
letter, had communicated an anonymous accusation made to him as
president, containing heavy charges against the Commander-in-chief, he
said, "I can not sufficiently express the obligation I feel towards
you for your friendship and politeness upon an occasion in which I am
deeply interested. I was not unapprised that a malignant faction had