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The month of February drew near its close, when Washington, in the retirement of his headquarters, decided no longer to postpone his attack upon the city and its defences. Two floating batteries of light draught and great strength were quickly constructed, and forty-five batteaux, like the modern dredge-scow, each capable of transporting eighty men, were assembled and placed under a special guard. In order to provide for every contingency of surmounting parapets, or improvising defences in streets, or otherwise, fascines, gabions, carts, bales of hay, intrenching-tools, two thousand bandages, and all other contingent supplies that might, under any possible conditions, be required, were also gathered and placed in charge of none but picked men. Gen. Thomas Mifflin, his Quartermaster-General, who had accompanied him from Philadelphia, shared his full confidence, and was unremitting by night and by day in hastening the work intrusted to his department.

The inflexibility of purpose which marked Washington’s career to its close, asserted its supremacy at this crucial hour of the Revolutionary struggle, when, for the first time, America was to challenge Britain to fight, and fight at once. It had begun to appear as if his submission of a proposition to a council of officers implied some doubt of its feasibility, or some alternate contingency of failure. Washington discounted all failure, by adequate forethought. Jomini, who admitted that Napoleon seemed never to provide for a retreat, very suggestively added: “When Napoleon was present, no one thought of such a provision.” In like manner Washington had the confidence of his troops.