The empire would soon possess not a single port on the Atlantic seaboard between Canada and Florida. The ignominy of being evicted from Boston stung every man proud of his uniform. Notwithstanding the loan of food, many army officers blamed the navy for their predicament. “O the glory of the British Navy,” one major complained bitterly. “Flags flying with all the pomp of war, and the Yankee can spit in their face.” Yet others detected a broader culpability. “Hope to God,” a colonel wrote, “they will send us some generals worthy the command of a British army.”
