Unhappy it is though to reflect, that a Brother's Sword has been sheathed in a Brother's breast, and that, the once happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with Blood, or Inhabited by Slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous Man hesitate in his choice?
- General George Washington, 31 May 1775, to George William Fairfax, The Writings of George Washington, III, p. 292, John C Fitzgerald, ed. , 1931.
