A soldier, he said, could shoot four arrows to one bullet.

An arrow wound was more disabling than a bullet wound; and arrows did not becloud the vision with smoke.

The bullet remained, however, the chief means of destruction, and the fire of Washington's soldiers usually excelled that of the British.

These, in their turn, were superior in the use of the bayonet.
Powder and lead were hard to get.

The inventive spirit of America was busy with plans to procure saltpeter and other ingredients for making powder, but it remained scarce.