To so many eager gazes, Charles once again gave a wry smile:
"Gentlemen, Pittsburgh always welcomes you, but I want to remind you of one thing: once the Continental Congress moves to Pittsburgh, a large number of civilians will surely follow. Pittsburgh's material supply absolutely cannot guarantee provisions for more than 10,000 people, so you must be prepared in advance in some aspects"
"These damned fellows, so eager to come to my Pittsburgh. If food runs short later, I will absolutely not let Patrick prioritize you people." Charles gnashed his teeth in his heart.
"That's not a problem. We can order some civilians to relocate to other towns."
"Uh... how can that be?" Charles' smile froze.
For his Pittsburgh, those civilians were more important than these Continental Congress Representatives. These representatives would move away once the battle was won, but those civilians, as long as there was work locally, generally wouldn't leave. They were the future residents of his city; how could he possibly drive them away?
"Everyone, rest assured. Although Philadelphia needs to prepare for relocation, the outcome of our army's victory or defeat has not yet been determined. I don't think a particularly large number of civilians will immediately be willing to follow everyone to Pittsburgh. So, there's no need to restrict civilians from going to Pittsburgh, as such restrictions would infringe upon their safety and interests."
"Right! Right! Councilor Charles is indeed a noble person." Those representatives, however, believed Charles' words.
Charles smiled and nodded.
Fortunately, there was an early plan to attract Philadelphia refugees. Previously, to welcome Philadelphia College and the fleeing civilians from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh had built a large number of residences and houses since last year. It's estimated that accommodating ten thousand civilians shouldn't be a problem. The difficult part was these pampered Continental Congress Representatives. If they were to live in slightly worse conditions, they might complain that Pittsburgh was not treating them well. If John Hancock hadn't spoken up, he really wouldn't have wanted them to go to Pittsburgh.
However, on second thought, this was also good. If they were sent to Virginia, wouldn't the Continental Congress be sent into Adams' territory? At that time, the Continental Congress would probably be led by this adversary again. Although he was currently facing sacrifices, no matter what, his influence in the Continental Congress was still the greatest.
Thinking this, he felt much happier.
The representatives, of course, did not take Charles' various statements to heart. They had their own way of doing things and quickly began to make specific arrangements for the retreat.
While everyone was discussing, Charles once again came to the dusty General Sullivan.
"General, I'm glad to see you again!" Charles greeted him.
The general had a messy beard and a tired face. Seeing Charles, who was the overall commander of Philadelphia's defense, approach, he was about to stand up to show respect but was gently pressed down by Charles' hand.
"Councilor Charles, the defense of Philadelphia is entrusted to you. Commander-in-Chief Washington requests that we unconditionally follow your arrangements. Please instruct us on what to do," Sullivan said spiritlessly.
After several consecutive defeats and a long march, this not-so-old general was indeed very tired. So, when Charles showed humility, he sat back down with the flow.
"General, I will arrange the defensive matters. As for the specific combat command, I will still rely on the General and other Continental army officers and soldiers. After all, I am a civilian, and personally commanding is absolutely not as professional as you military personnel. I also don't want our soldiers to be needlessly sacrificed because of my blind command," Charles smiled.
Hearing Charles' words, Sullivan regained some spirit. He had been genuinely worried that Charles, this young artillery school graduate, would monopolize military power and blindly command soldiers, relying on his success in the West. As a general who had fought the British army with real swords and guns, he would never believe that Charles' command ability could surpass his own. Now, hearing him voluntarily state that the army would still be commanded by their own people, he immediately felt much relieved.
"The Continental army is always willing to obey your command!" Sullivan stood up and saluted.
Obeying command and unconditionally following arrangements, as before, were completely different now.
"Haha! Good, General. The first thing I want you to do now is to rest well. You, and all other Continental army officers and soldiers, should all get a good night's rest. Tomorrow, we will reorganize the troops." Charles smiled and patted the general's arm.
Actually, given the age of his current body, such an action was somewhat inappropriate, but General Sullivan didn't care. After saluting, he took his leave first.
Just then, the Continental Congress had also concluded its discussions on the retreat.
This retreat was different from the historical great retreat from Philadelphia. Historically, because the fall of Philadelphia was inevitable, everyone and everything that could be evacuated was evacuated.
As a result, when the British army occupied the city, it was almost a ghost town. But this time, although Charles did not guarantee victory over the British army, he claimed that as long as Washington cooperated well, holding Philadelphia was not impossible. Therefore, for the sake of preparedness, to provide logistics for the combat troops, and even just to not leave their homes, many people chose to stay and support the Continental army's operations.
Even among the Continental Congress Representatives, several planned to stay. The foremost among them was John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress.
"Mr. President, how can you stay? This is too dangerous!" Charles was greatly surprised when he learned the outcome of the discussions.
He had originally thought this evacuation was essentially a relocation of the capital, but for some unknown reason, many of these people were preparing to stay. At least the main institutions of the Continental Congress, as well as some municipal government agencies of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, were preparing to assign a portion of their personnel to stay and continue operations.
In other words, Philadelphia was still the capital of the United States; she had not relocated. Even if most of the Continental Congress Representatives retreated to Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh could only be considered a secondary capital.
"Haha! Why can't I stay?" The old man seemed to have understood something and looked relaxed.
"You still need to lead the Continental Congress!" Charles was anxious.
"Mr. Thompson can preside over the Continental Congress. As for me, as President of the Continental Congress, I will stay with all the civilians remaining in Philadelphia. I want to tell the citizens of this country that the United States has not abandoned this city; Philadelphia is still the capital. We have not abandoned the belief in independence! As President of the Continental Congress, I will stand firmly with them and never retreat!" The old man's tone was not particularly impassioned, but every word he spoke seemed to carry infinite determination.
"Uh..." Charles was speechless.
When watching TV before, he often saw such scenes, right? Why would this good-natured old man also do this? According to the rules on TV, such an old man would definitely play a role at the last moment, heroically sacrifice himself, thereby inspiring everyone's fighting spirit, boosting combat power a hundredfold, easily defeating the enemy, and achieving ultimate victory... Seeing Charles constantly rubbing his forehead, Hancock smiled.
"Councilor Charles, don't worry. I will only boost morale from the rear, trying my best to solve any troubles you might encounter. I will not interfere with your command, nor will I interfere with the Continental army's combat. I won't cause you any trouble. You can rest assured."
He thought Charles was worried about him interfering with his command.
"Alas! Mr. Hancock, just leave the fighting to the soldiers. Even I am not preparing to go to the battlefield, so what are you staying for?" Charles sighed helplessly.
Knowing that forcing him to leave wouldn't work, he had already decided to let the old man stay.
—
No matter what, Hancock staying in Philadelphia indeed played a significant role in stabilizing public morale and military morale. Such a treasure should be used. However, he must prioritize the old man's safety no matter what. If the old man really died to stimulate the soldiers' fighting, he would absolutely not forgive himself for the rest of his life.
With Hancock staying to command the personnel remaining in Philadelphia, Charles' preparations for war became much easier. At least the retreat matters didn't require his arrangement, allowing him to focus all his energy on reorganizing the troops.
In fact, the number of people who could participate in the battle far exceeded Charles' original estimate.
Many ordinary adult men of Philadelphia, after sending their wives, children, and families away, resolutely took up various firearms and came to the registration point to enlist.
These people included old and young, rich and poor, strong men and weak clerks. Every single person stood firmly in front of the conscription point. They didn't need military pay, weapons, or supplies; they all brought their own pots, bowls, weapons, and equipment. They came here just waiting for an order from the regular army, telling them where to defend.
Seeing those people standing in front of the conscription station, Charles was moved for the first time.
This must be the patriotic passion that every country has.
If there hadn't been the British army's attack, these people might not have had a deep affection for this country, nor a strong sense of national belonging. But at this critical juncture, with the British army about to attack the city, these people's sense of national belonging and patriotic passion all burst forth at once.
Compared to these local Philadelphians, the militiamen who rushed from neighboring villages, towns, and states made Charles even more gratified. These people treated Philadelphia, which was not their home, as if it were their own, coming from thousands of miles away in this critical moment.
Many of them brought their own blankets and clothes, carried water bottles, and reported to the Continental Congress without distinction. Many of them were coming to Philadelphia for the first time, or even leaving their homes for the first time.
In the past, when fighting the British army, militiamen often wanted to go home if they won, and also wanted to go home if they lost. But now, with the common capital of the Thirteen American Colonies under attack, these people bravely stood up again.
Charles' reorganization of Sullivan's Continental army had not yet finished, but the supporting armed forces that had arrived in Philadelphia already exceeded ten thousand people.
Adding the original four thousand or so regular troops, Charles now had full confidence that, by fighting steadily, he could resist the British army for several months.
It can be said that it was the British army's attack that made all Americans stand under one banner, saying "No" to Britain with one voice!
Regardless of the outcome of this Philadelphia war, it was now beyond doubt that the Thirteen American Colonies would be completely united in the future.
If the Continental Congress hadn't already been preparing to move to Pittsburgh, and local security was extremely important, Charles himself almost wanted to transfer those more than one thousand Pittsburgh troops to participate in the defensive operation.
The preparations in Philadelphia were proceeding in an orderly manner under the coordinated efforts of Charles and General Sullivan and others. The British army, after paying a slight price, successfully crossed the Delaware River. Along the way, they repeatedly repelled Washington's harassing attacks, and their troops were getting closer and closer to Philadelphia's cordon.
However, at this point, it is necessary to discuss the situation within Britain. The victories of Charles' Western Expeditionary Force in the Great Lakes and Ohio area had already been spread within Britain.
The British army's military operations in America consumed huge financial expenditures each year, yet they suffered continuous losses of troops and generals. king George III demanded a new operational plan be formulated for this, tasking the British army stationed in America to decisively engage as soon as possible, annihilate the main American forces in one fell swoop, and end this protracted war.
Based on this guiding principle, the British cabinet formulated a bold and adventurous offensive plan at the end of 1776. Its overall strategy was to capture Philadelphia, occupy the capital of the United States under the control of the Continental Congress. At the same time, it aimed to draw all the main forces of the Continental army to the foot of Philadelphia, achieving the strategic goal of encircling and annihilating them, and resolving the American problem once and for all.
The troop deployment was: The First army, eight thousand men, which was the main attacking force, led personally by General Howe, would cross the Delaware River and attack Philadelphia from New York; The Second army, led by General Benedict with seven thousand men, would advance south from Canada to the Hudson River, first capturing Albany in New York state.
Once General Howe had drawn all the main forces of the Continental army to Philadelphia, they would then advance south to encircle Philadelphia; The Third army, commanded by General Cornwallis, numbering seven thousand men, would also wait until General Howe had drawn all the Continental army, then attack from New York, sailing along the eastern coastline directly to Philadelphia.
The plan formulated by the British cabinet was very ruthless. Judging solely from the paper, this plan was quite brilliant. However, war is difficult to command remotely.
At least by the time this operational plan formulated by the cabinet arrived in New York, General Howe had already set off with ten thousand men, the main force of the British army. Only the four thousand or so resting personnel led by Cornwallis remained in New York.