The  above  intelligence  very  materially  lowered  the  immediate
prospects  of  the  proposed  campaign.  The  general  in  chief  also
realizing  the  necessities  of  the  Government  and  the  sparse
resources  at  command,  urged  upon  General  Heath  the -return
home  of  the  militia  as  soon  as  their  services  were  no  longer
required  by  the  French  commander.
With  regard  to  the  cost  of  the  works  on  Butts  Hill,  which
the  commander  of  the  allies  thought  should  be  borne  by  the
Americans,  Washington  showed  his  wonderful  tact,  observing:

I  should  be  glad  that  everything  of  this  kind  be  avoided,  so  far  as  it  can  be
done  without  impeaching  the  generosity  of  the  States,  for  while  our  allies
are  sending  fleets  and  armies  to  our  assistance  and  maintaining  them  at
their  own  expense  in  our  country,  it  might  not  be  decent  to  refuse  bearing
such  little  expenses  as  they  seem  to  expect.
S.  Doc.  537,  59-1 22


338         French  Army  and  Navy  in  America

Notwithstanding  all  that  the  French  King  had  done,  there
were  those  who  spoke  disparagingly  under  the  supposition  that
it  was  not  commensurate  with  the  conditions  of  the  alliance
and  the  importance  of  the  struggle.  Among  the  complaints
was  the  assertion  that  Doctor  Franklin,  then  in  Paris,  was  not
up  to  the  requirements  of  the  situation.
