Browsing: Papers of John Adams, Volume 3

Second in command under Washington after the Battle of Bunker Hill, Ward was soon the focus of much discontent. Adams' friends wrote about his incompetence and wondered how the Massachusetts delegation could have supported his candidacy as first major general. Within less than a year he was complaining of bad health and seeking to retire. Despite all the complaints and invidious comparisons with generals like John Thomas, Ward stayed on; Washington had no replacement for him, and Adams was pleased to see him made commander of the Eastern Department. He was relieved in March 1777.