George Washington had again proposed to assault Boston in October, but his officers thought it best to wait until the harbor has frozen over.

In February, when the water has frozen between Roxbury and Boston Common, Washington thinks that in spite of his shortage in powder he will try an assault by rushing across the ice; but his officers again advise against it.

Washington's desire to launch an attack on Boston arises from his fear that his army will desert in the winter, and how easily he knows that Howe can break the lines of his army in its present condition.

He has not yet learned how completely he can trust in Howe's inactivity; he abandons an attack across the ice with great reluctance in exchange for a more cautious plan, to fortify Dorchester Heights using cannon arrived from Fort Ticonderoga.

In early February a British raiding party crosses the ice and burns several farmhouses in Dorchester.