 His dealings also gave him the diplomatic skills necessary to negotiate with officials at the local and provincial levels.He developed a very negative idea of the value of militia, who seemed too unreliable, too undisciplined, and too short-term compared to regulars.On the other hand, his experience was limited to command of about 1,000 men, and came only in remote frontier conditions that were far removed from the urban situations he faced during the revolution at Boston, New York, Trenton and Philadelphia.