There was, however, a flood of volunteers of another type.

French officers fleeing from their creditors and sometimes under false names and titles, made their way to America as best they could and came to Washington with pretentious claims.

Germans and Poles there were, too, and also exiles from that unhappy island which remains still the most vexing problem of British politics.

Some of them wrote their own testimonials; some, too, were spies.

On the first day, Washington wrote, they talked only of serving freely a noble cause, but within a week were demanding promotion and advance of money.