But he talked.

He proved that the English could take the scrap of a fort in four hours; he exhorted and urged, and at last he won.

They said they would follow him.

From that moment he took charge, and led them along the Greenwich Road through the woods, skirting the swamps, fording the rivers, to Harlem, to safety and to eventual victory.
This was only one of many instances in which his wit, his eloquence, his good sense, his leadership and his unquestioned personal daring served his country and served her well.
When Washington moved his headquarters to the Roger Morris house near the Point of Rocks, a period of comparative mystery descended for a time upon Richmond Hill.

During the ensuing struggle, and before the formal evacuation of New York, the house is supposed to have been occupied off and on by British officers.