THE SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 79 



Lee at Northcastle, with the other half of the army, 

 about seven thousand men, with instructions to await 

 his orders and move promptly upon receiving them. 

 As soon as it had become evident that Howe was 

 about to throw a superior force against Washington, 

 the latter sent an order to Lee to cross the Hudson 

 River without a moment's delay, and effect a junction 

 of the two parts of the army. But Lee pretended to 

 regard the order in the light of mere advice, raised 

 objections, fumed and quibbled, and did not stir. 

 While Washington was now obliged to fall back 

 through New Jersey, in order to avoid fighting against 

 overwhelming odds, his daily messages to Lee grew 

 more and more peremptory, but no heed was paid to 

 them. Many people were throwing the blame for the 

 loss of Fort Washington upon the commander-in-chief, 

 and were contrasting him unfavourably with the " hero 

 of Charleston " ; and Lee, instead of obeying orders, 

 busied himself in writing letters calculated to spread 

 and increase this disaffection toward Washington. 

 Among his correspondents were some of the men who 

 in the course of the next year became implicated with 

 the Conway cabal, such as Gates and Dr. Benjamin 

 Rush. In letters to prominent New England men, he 

 tried to play upon the most contemptible of all the 

 mean feelings that disgrace human nature, the feel- 

 ing of sectional dislike and distrust which many in 

 that part of the country entertained toward the great 

 Virginian. At the same time he tried to assume com- 

 mand over General Heath, whom Washington had left 

 in charge of the Highlands with very explicit instruc-' 

 tions. Lee wished to detach part of Heath's force, 

 and announced that since a broad river intervened 



