Note 123 — Chapter IX · The War in New York.

General Charles Lee was in Virginia, when he heard of the evacuation. The following characteristic letter was from his pen. “My dear General: I most sincerely congratulate you. I congratulate the public on the great and glorious event. It will be a most bright page in the annals of America; and a most abominable one in those of the beldam Britain. Go on, my dear general. Crown yourself with glory; and establish the liberties and lustre of your country on a foundation more permanent than the Capitol rock.”