The crisis, no. 1 by thomas paine (excerpt) as i was with the troops at fort lee, and marched with them to the edge of pennsylvania, i am well acquainted with many circumstances, which those who live at a distance know but little or nothing of. our situation there was exceedingly cramped, the place being a narrow neck of land between the north river and the hackensack. our force was inconsiderable, being not one-fourth so great as howe could bring against us. we had no army at hand to have relieved the garrison, had we shut ourselves up and stood on our defence. our ammunition, light artillery, and the best part of our stores, had been removed, . . i shall not now attempt to give all the particulars of our retreat to the delaware; suffice it for the present to say, that both officers and men, though greatly harassed and fatigued, frequently without rest, covering, or provision, the inevitable consequences of a long retreat, bore it with a manly and martial spirit. 5 select the correct answer. which statement best describes thomas paine's use of evidence in the passage? a. paine used empirical evidence to support the claim that the continental army had performed creditably. b. paine used empirical evidence to support his claim that howe's army had decisively defeated the continental army. c. paine used anecdotal evidence to support his claim that the continental army had performed creditably. d. paine used anecdotal evidence to support his claim that howe's army had decisively defeated the continental army.