Appointed postmaster general, he donated his £1,000 annual salary to care for wounded soldiers, then organized a system of mail riders every twenty-five to thirty miles from Maine to Savannah, ready to travel day or night. He sketched elaborate motifs for Continental currency to thwart counterfeiters. He designed an infantry pike, organized Delaware River defenses, and urged, unsuccessfully, the use of long bows in combat, since an archer “can discharge four arrows in the time of charging and discharging one bullet.” Diligent in attending the various congressional committees to which he was
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