Philadelphia is not far from New York. Once New York's defenses are compromised, I'm afraid the target will be Philadelphia, the capital of our United States.
"Charles's voice was low, but he spoke each word very clearly. "Although with General Washington's ability, even if New York falls, he should still be able to bring some of the Continental army's fighting strength back to Philadelphia, but we still need to make some preparations for fortifications in advance.
The current defenses of Philadelphia are too simple. Even for normal safety considerations, some new defensive fortifications should be built. If there are no defensive fortifications to rely on, our soldiers will have to fight decisive battles in the field again, and in that case, I'm afraid it would be a needless sacrifice of our soldiers."
In fact, Charles's only suggestion for improving the current fighting style was to fight positional warfare and trench warfare. He wanted to use the advantage of his accurate marksmanship to cover the disadvantage of his slow rate of fire.
Originally, as Washington said, without artillery cover, soldiers hiding in trenches would become prime targets for the British army's artillery. However, his steel workshop could now produce several cannons and a sufficient supply of shells every day, theoretically eliminating this risk. That's why Charles confidently proposed building fortresses and trenches for positional warfare.
Hancock's expression became very serious when he heard Charles's first sentence.
After listening to Charles's complete suggestion, he didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took out a thick pipe from a drawer, filled it with tobacco, lit it, and slowly took a puff.
"Councilor Charles! For military matters, as long as the Military and Ordnance Committee makes a decision, we will all cooperate. However, this time the defensive fortifications are to be built on Pennsylvania's land. It's not really appropriate for the Continental Congress to directly handle it. This is originally a matter for the Pennsylvania Assembly, and it would be easier for you to be responsible.
Also, if the Continental Congress were responsible for building Philadelphia's defensive fortifications, I'm afraid everyone in Philadelphia would think that the Continental Congress is preparing for a decisive battle in Philadelphia. This is, after all, the largest city in America, and it might cause panic, and the trouble caused then would not be small!" Hancock exhaled a puff of smoke.
As an old politician, he naturally considered more aspects than Charles.
Charles looked at Hancock, who had a serious expression and was unwilling to agree. He secretly wondered: Is there a power distribution and interest conflict here?
Hancock, after taking another puff of smoke, continued:
"Franklin has not yet left Philadelphia. You should seize the time to discuss it with him. In fact, as long as you can get his support, there will be no difficulties in building the fortifications. Otherwise, even if I personally approach the Pennsylvania Assembly with a request, they will not agree immediately, as it is ultimately a matter of money and power. You are someone who truly considers the United States, but some people cannot be selfless."
Charles smiled bitterly and nodded. He could only accept Hancock's final compliment as agreement.
Having been running around with Franklin and others recently, he had gained some understanding of the style of politicians at this time. They often went to great lengths over small matters of respect. If the Continental Congress built Philadelphia's defensive fortifications without the Pennsylvania Assembly's consent, it would certainly provoke their strong protest.
In fact, if Franklin hadn't been busy preparing for his trip to France this time, Charles wouldn't have directly approached Hancock. Now it seemed he still had to trouble the old man, Franklin.
"Councilor Charles, I see that you are quite proficient in military matters. That's why I specifically suggested you participate in the negotiations with the British. Now you have seen the Continental army, and you understand its situation well. You have also seen the British army, and you understand its situation equally well. From an independent standpoint, how do you think the current situation in New York will develop? Will we lose?" Hancock's aged face showed a hint of melancholy.
"Will we lose?"
Charles now realized that among the Continental Congress, besides figures like Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams, who would be famous in later generations, Hancock, who had defeated Franklin and others to become the chairman of the Continental Congress, was also no ordinary person. The last time he participated in negotiations with General Howe, he only observed their army and achieved no results, nor did he perform at all during the negotiations
. He had originally somewhat resented Hancock for pushing him to negotiate for no reason, but now, hearing his question, he realized that Hancock had another consideration: he recognized Charles's military talent and specifically sent him, an overt spy, to investigate the British army's true strength. Jefferson and Franklin were extremely capable individuals, but Hancock was very skilled at coordinating interpersonal relationships and discovering individual talents.
He looked at Hancock's expression and felt that the old man was truly worried about the long-term development of the country. He was somewhat moved.
"From my observation, our Continental army soldiers are all amateurs. Although their morale is high, there is still a gap between them and the British army. Additionally, I once saw a unit of Hessian mercenaries in the British army. Those soldiers are simply born killing machines, and our Continental army soldiers are far inferior to them in all aspects of strength. Whether in quantity or quality, we do not have an advantage. The battle for New York will undoubtedly be lost. Now we can only see if we can lose gracefully, leaving capital for future victories. I firmly believe that the final victory will belong to the United States. Justice is on our side, and God bless America!"
Although only the disadvantaged would declare themselves to represent justice and would win God's blessing, such words at this time were still very inspiring to those who firmly believed their cause was just.
Hancock's pipe suddenly glowed red, obviously due to a large influx of air causing the tobacco to burn fiercely.
"Cough, cough…" The old smoker couldn't help but cough violently, his face turning a little red.
In his excitement just now, he had inhaled too much smoke at once and choked.
"Are you alright, sir Hancock! Would you like some water?" Charles quickly stood up to greet him.
He was afraid that his conversation would make this old colonist, who was quite advanced in years, fall ill.
"Haha, haha! I'm fine, I'm fine." Hancock simply inverted the pipe and tapped it on the desk, directly knocking the tobacco ash onto the floor.
"You think New York will definitely lose?"
Charles did not answer. He just nodded affirmatively.
"But you just said we would win in the future, didn't you?" Hancock pressed on.
"Of course. As a Continental Congress Representative, I firmly believe that our righteous cause will definitely succeed." Charles didn't mind praising his own nobility. "Besides, this is also a fact. The British are fighting a long-distance war and do not sympathize with the people. After defeating the Continental army, they will sweep across the American continent, killing, plundering, and robbing. The people will absolutely not tolerate it, so their occupation will definitely not last long. I firmly believe that we will certainly achieve victory."
"Indeed! I think so too." Hancock's complexion returned to normal. "And we also have international aid. This time, Franklin and his companions are going to France to meet king Louis XVI. Perhaps in less than a year, we can fight alongside the powerful French army."
—
"Yes, but this year will be the hardest!" Charles could only say that.
In reality, French soldiers only appeared at the very end of the war of Independence, and a large portion of them arrived late at the decisive battle of Charlestown. However, it must be admitted that it was France's various aids, including the most crucial army commanders, that gave the Continental army a chance to defeat the British army.
"Oh! Then we really should make more preparations. Prepare for defense against the British!" Hancock nodded. "This time, the defensive fortifications will still have to be handled by the Pennsylvania state government, because the Continental Congress is out of money after continuous appropriations.
The money borrowed from the Pennsylvania State Legislature last time, along with the three million dollars issued last year, has almost all been used. This construction will definitely require a large amount of money. The Continental Congress probably cannot afford that sum."
What more could Charles say? He could only spread his hands, expressing regret.
As the chairman of the Continental Congress, Hancock was still very responsible. After ending the conversation, he temporarily proposed to meet Robert Morris, the person in charge of finance for Pennsylvania, along with Charles. He was also a Continental Congress Representative and the founder of the Bank of America.
As the financial officer for both the Continental Congress and Pennsylvania, Morris had always managed all income and expenses for both sides. It was a good idea to consult him first on how to proceed. It was estimated that even if the Pennsylvania Assembly were to allocate funds, it would mainly depend on his opinion.
Morris' office was also in the same building. Morris was very surprised by the simultaneous visit of Hancock and Charles, but he still received the two very warmly.
After Hancock repeated Charles's proposal for building Philadelphia's defensive fortifications, Morris also frowned.
He was only in charge of finance and did not directly state whether the construction should proceed. He merely calmly presented his views to the two:
"Philadelphia is currently the largest city in America, and it is also a port city. To build effective defensive fortifications, three land fortifications and one coastal defense fortress must be constructed. If the land fortifications are mainly trenches, they would only require manpower and time, and the cost would not be very high. Even if cannons need to be purchased, issuing a certain amount of currency and increasing loans could sustain the completion of the work."
"But as for the coastal defense fortification, I believe it is basically impossible to construct. New York City also discussed building a coastal defense fortress before, but the final assessment concluded that it would require at least over one hundred thousand pounds of investment.
This is even more expensive than building several hundred-gun battleships, and the effect is far inferior to several large battleships. That's why it was not built in the end; otherwise, the British army would not be able to land so easily now.
As for Philadelphia's coastal defense, we have long considered it. If we were to build fortresses and coastal artillery, I could never come up with that much money. At the end of September last year, when Franklin was chairman of the Pennsylvania Committee of Public Safety, he already used a simple method: he led people to set up seventeen obstacles in the river and built thirteen warships.
These warships were fifty feet long, with twelve oarsmen on each side and thirty to fifty soldiers. They were equipped with guns, making them like mobile fortresses when put into use, and thus had a certain level of coastal defense capability."
Charles and Hancock were both startled by the figure of one hundred thousand pounds. Was coastal defense really that expensive?
At this time, coastal defenses, besides fortresses and strongholds, also included coastal artillery, iron chains across rivers, and the like. These were all costly and time-consuming things. Basically, except for particularly strong and essential cities, the ports of ordinary countries would not be fully equipped. Even if they were to be built, it would take a very long time to complete, certainly not like now, hastily preparing for construction on the eve of war, which was impossible in terms of both time and money.
"Then let's arrange the land fortifications first. With Franklin's arrangements, it will be more difficult for the British army to attack Philadelphia by sailing up the river. I think Philadelphia's greatest threat still comes from land, from the direction of New York." Charles could only choose this.
"Haha! I'm afraid that's still not possible. Although there is money for land fortifications, I cannot give it now because this money belongs to Pennsylvania. And building fortifications falls under military affairs, and the Continental army's military and ordnance are the responsibility of the Continental Congress." Morris smiled and shook his head.
Charles understood Morris' smile very well. As Pennsylvanians, they naturally did not want this matter, which concerned all of America, to be borne solely by Pennsylvania. At the very least, the Continental Congress should share a portion of the cost.
"I will propose to the Military and Ordnance Committee to request an appropriation for building defensive fortifications." Charles nodded.
"I'm afraid that's also unlikely to happen." Morris continued to shake his head.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you saying the Continental Congress is out of money?"
Hancock and Charles asked one after another.
"Yes, sir Hancock, in fact, I also have some matters I was preparing to report to you. After using up Pennsylvania's loan, the Continental Congress no longer has any spare money for new budgets. Every penny in my hand has been allocated for a purpose. If new funds cannot be brought in, from now on I will only need to disburse money according to the budget, and no longer have to deal with appropriation requests." Morris said with a smile, spreading his hands.