About the end of April several British transports advanced up the river, but came no farther than Dobbs Ferry. In May Washington dispatched Generals Greene and Knox to Peekskill, who, in conjunction with Generals McDougall, George Clinton, and Anthony Wayne, made a careful examination of the Highland situation and submitted a joint report, in which the importance of the chain was dwelt upon, but it was expressly urged that there was no need of additional defenses on the west shore below Fort Clinton. A fatal recommendation, as the event proved. Immediately after the inspection by the board of generals, Washington, regarding the Peekskill command as too important to be held by an officer of the minor rank of brigadier-general, removed McDougall and substituted for him Major-General Putnam, having previously offered the position to Benedict Arnold, who declined it. Putnam, though brave as a lion, zealous, and despite his advanced years indefatigable, was not equal to the administration of such a post, and the great catastrophe of October, 1777, was largely due to his deficiency in the nicer qualities of generalship. Under his superintendence the chain received the most conscientious attention. The organization of the civil government of the new State of New York, born at White Plains on the Oth day of July, 177(5, was delayed for many months on account partly of The protracted military operations and partly of the very methodical proceedings of the gentlemen who had that important business in charge. On the 1st of August, 1776, the " Convention of Representatives of the State of New York v appointed a committee of thirteen (our Gouverneur Morris being one of its members) to prepare a kk form of government," and that body in turn delegated the task to John Jay. Mr. Jay set to work conscientiously to draft a State constitution, which, having been approved by the committee, was reported to the convention (then sitting at Fishkill) on the 12th of March, 1777.