What historical example of panic does Thomas Paine cite in The Crisis?

Thomas Paine speaks of the panic that Britain was subjected to because of the exploits of Joan of Arc.  The Maid of Orleans, as she has been called, was a young peasant girl that organized an army to rebel against British rule in France in the 1420's.  She scored some early victories but was captured and burned at the stake by British forces.  Paine facetiously wonders if a maiden will arise from New Jersey to have similar success in the colonial struggle against Britain.  

Paine feels that a panic may offer advantages because they tend to fade fast, and in the end, the panic may create a firmer resolve.  He also feels that panic tends to reveal the true intentions of a man for all to see, like a ghost witnessing a murder.