“The star-spangled banner” had been raised; thirteen white stars, to represent the thirteen States, shone upon its blue field. The patriots must now win freedom beneath its folds or fall with honor. Many difficulties had been overcome, but still greater ones remained to be conquered. England was gathering all her strength together to subjugate the so-called rebels. New troops were sent to General Howe, including German subjects whom Great Britain had bought to use as executioners in America. The sale of subjects as mercenaries was of common occurrence during the heyday of the small principalities in Germany. The Princes of Hesse-Bayreuth-Anspach, Braunschweig, and Anhalt-Zerbst were engaged in this traffic. Hesse provided the greatest number, so that the German mercenaries in America were generally called Hessians. In Hesse a man who tried to get out of trouble by running away and fell into the hands of the elector’s spies was handcuffed and gagged. Complaints by his parents were answered by putting the father in irons and the mother in prison. In the market-place in Cassel, English agents bought Hessian subjects for one hundred dollars apiece. Frederick the Great said with bitter irony: “Let the lords of the country not forget to raise the duty on cattle also!” “No one,” relates the celebrated Seume, “was safe from these traders in souls [the princes]. They tried all methods—persuasion, strategem, deception. Even strangers of all kinds were attacked, locked up, and exported.” While his subjects were being marched on board ship, Alexander of Bayreuth-Anspach stood on the banks of the Main ready to shoot down any one who made an attempt to escape. In this way twenty-nine thousand Germans were sold to the English as “food for cannon.” “The thoughtful traveller,” says an English lord, “cannot look upon the magnificent gardens of ‘Wilhelmsberg’ at Cassel without a sigh, for the blood money of the citizens of Cassel and other places has been expended upon them.”  
99
As we know, General Howe had been obliged to take refuge, with his troops, on the ships in Boston Harbor. It was his intention to land in another part of the country. Washington suspected that Howe had selected New York. Therefore he had sent the second officer in command of the American forces thither and he followed him in haste. Howe’s fleet had in the meantime joined the new fleet, so that the enemy was greatly in excess of the Americans in numbers. Howe landed on Long Island near New York. His object was to take that city and from thence cut off communications between the North and the South. A battle took place in which the Hessians especially greatly distinguished themselves by their bravery. They attacked the Americans with such desperation that it seemed as though these men, so brutally torn from their homes, were seeking death. The Americans were defeated. They were even in danger, during the next few days, of being surrounded on the island and taken prisoners. Therefore Washington determined under cover of night to embark with his little army. But while he was preparing, at dusk, for the execution of his plan and had given instructions to keep the campfires burning, in order to deceive the enemy, no one suspected that treason was already at work to destroy the American army. A lady of English sympathies had sent a slave to the British to carry them word of the movements of the Americans. Fortunately the slave fell into the hands of Hessian soldiers who stood guard at the outpost. It availed him nothing to declare that he had a very important message for General Howe. The Hessians did not understand a word of the language of the frantically gesticulating negro. They thought he might be a spy, so bound him and took him into custody, not turning him over to headquarters until next morning. By this time, however, his message, which would have been worth a fortune to General Howe the night before, had lost its importance, for the embarkation was completed and the enemy, whom he thought he had caught securely in a trap, had disappeared. Under the existing conditions Washington had acted for the best, and he carried out the plan of retreat with admirable skill. He had been on horseback for forty-eight hours—until all the army was embarked.
 
101
Thus the nucleus of the American forces was saved, but their number was insignificant indeed compared with the enemy’s. Many a patriot was full of dark forebodings and Washington passed many hours and days in which he was almost overwhelmed with fear that the good cause was doomed to defeat. But he was firmly resolved to remain true to it, even if his faithfulness should cost him his life.
 
102
He who has dedicated himself to the service of his country is most faithful in its hour of need. After this battle on Long Island, a time of deep distress began for the Americans, of which we get a clear picture from Washington’s letters. He wrote to the president of Congress: “Our situation is truly distressing. The check our detachments sustained in the battle on Long Island has dispirited too great a proportion of our troops and filled their minds with apprehension and despair. The militia, instead of calling forth their utmost efforts to a brave and manly opposition in order to repair our losses, are dismayed, intractable, and impatient to return. Great numbers of them have gone off, in some instances almost by whole regiments, by half ones, and by companies at a time. This circumstance of itself, when fronted by a well-appointed ene............