HISTORY OF VERMONT. 157 



togs.. In a letter to the British minister, he 

 said, that as a duty of justice, he took upon him- 

 self the measure of passing Hudson's river, in 

 order to force a passage to Albany ; and did 

 not think himself justified to call any men into 

 Council, when the peremptory tenor of his or* 

 ders, and the advanced season of the year, ad* 

 mitted of no alternative. In a subsequent part 

 of the same letter, his reasonings upon the sub- 

 ject are thus expressed : " The expedition I 

 commanded was evidently rheant at first to be 

 hazarded. . Circumstances might require it 

 should be devoted ; a critical junction of Mr. 

 Gates' force with Mr. Washington, might pos- 

 sibly decide the fate of the war ; the failure of 

 my junction with sir Harry Clinton, or the loss 

 of my retreat to Canada, could only be a partial 

 misfortune." This statement might serve to 

 amuse the British minister, but it was so little 

 applicable to the state of things in America at 

 that time, that it was scarcely possible that it 

 should have had any influence on the conduct 

 of general Burgoyne. The truth seems to have 

 been, the different passions of hope, fear, and 

 ambition, were all at work in the general's mind ; 

 the distinguishing trait in his character was an 

 agitating ambition ; and by this he was led to 

 pass Hudson's river, and place his army in a 

 situation more hazardous than it had ever been 

 before. From his camp at Saratoga, in a few 

 days he advanced along the side of the river, 

 and encamped on the heights, about two miles 

 from the camp of general Gates. 



From the ambition and confidence ivhich 

 seems to have distinguished the character of 



VOL. II. R 



