Under the Washington Elm

We had been waiting for weeks, knowing a new commander was coming from Virginia. When he arrived, there was no great ceremony. He simply read his commission under an elm tree on the Common, took the salute, and went to work. He was taller than any of us, with an air of command that made you straighten your spine. But what struck me most was how quickly he got to business—inspecting positions, asking questions, discovering that we had almost no powder. The general's face when he heard that news... I never want to see that expression again.