General Washington to the President of Congress September 20, 1776 (excerpt on the need for longer enlistments) Heights of Harlem, September 20, 1776 "As the period will soon arrive when the troops composing the present army (a few excepted) will be disbanded according to the tenour of their inlistments, and the most fatal consequences may ensue ... It is a melancholy and painful consideration to those who are concerned with the work and have the command, to be forming armies constantly, and to be left by troops just when they begin to deserve the name, or perhaps at the moment when an important blow is expected." American Archives 5, Vol. 2, column 412