Sunday, September 29, 2024

ARP329 Signing the Peace Treaty


Back in Episode 320, we covered the preliminary peace agreement that the delegations from Britain and the US reached in the fall of 1782.  That preliminary agreement resulted in a cessation of hostilities and great celebration. But the war would not actually be over until that preliminary agreement became a final treaty.

One of the big impediments to the final treaty was the fact that the US could not sign off on a final peace until Britain and France also did so.  France could not sign off on a peace until Spain also agreed to a peace with Britain.

Gibraltar

Spain had entered the war back in 1779 with the primary goal of taking back Gibraltar.  Spain had ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713, as part of an agreement to get Britain to end its role in the War of Spanish Succession.  Ever since then, Spain had been trying to get back this small rocky outcropping at the southern tip of Spain.

Spain and France had been besieging Gibraltar since 1779.  While the attacks had greatly damaged the area, the highly defensible position and several successful resupply missions prevented the British garrison from being dislodged.  The final push by France and Spain to recapture the rock failed in October, 1782.

Unfinished painting showing US peace delegation
The following month, at the same time Britain was negotiating terms with the Americans, it was also in negotiations with France.  Gerard de Rayneval came to London to negotiate directly with Prime Minister Shelburne.  France was treaty obligated to help Spain regain control of Gibraltar, so this was critical to any final peace.  In these discussions, Shelburne suggested that Britain might consider giving up Gibraltar, if France and Spain could compensate it with other properties.  These might include Minorca in the Mediterranean, which France had recently taken from Britain.  Shelburne also wanted West Florida, which would give Britain access to the Mississippi River.  Britain was also considering several valuable sugar islands in the West Indies.

The two sides worked out a complicated series of land swaps that touched on the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, which would result in a return of Gibraltar to Spain.  The French negotiator, Gerard de Rayneval returned to Paris in late November with a preliminary deal in hand.  French foreign Minister Vergennes summoned the Spanish Ambassador, Conde de Aranda, to discuss the deal.  The men agreed to the terms.

When Gerard de Rayneval returned to Britain with the good news, he learned that Shelburne could not finalize the deal.  Shelburne’s own cabinet revolted at the idea of turning over Gibraltar to Spain.  The recent heroic defense of Gibraltar had captured the popular mood in London.  The only way this was going to work was if Spain and France offered more valuable sugar islands to compensate Britain.

The talks appeared on the verge of collapse, then Spain blinked.  The Conde de Aranda told Vergennes he had been authorized to negotiate on letting Britain keep Gibraltar if Spain could get a valuable price of other real estate.  If Spain could get both East and West Florida, as well as Minorca, it might be willing to forgo its demand of Gibraltar.

The debates went back and forth into December.  By this time, the terms of the peace deal with the Americans were known to all. Prime Minister Shelburne was facing a possible vote of no confidence in Parliament, which could throw all of this work back to square one.

There was also another deadline.  Recall a few episodes back that I mentioned that Spain and France were putting together an Armada at Cadiz, led by the Admiral d’Estaing and General Lafayette.  This armada planned to sail to recapture Jamaica, expel the British from New York and recapture Canada.  The ships were ready to leave port. Once they left, they could not be recalled.  Those attacks would pretty much guarantee that the war would continue for at least another year, and that the final treaty terms would be greatly impacted by the success or failure of that mission.

As a result, even if Spain was ultimately agreeable to the deal currently on the table, the lack of a quick answer might be as good as a no.  Fortunately, the Spanish Ambassador Aranda approved the deal without demanding to consult with leaders in Madrid.

The powers still quibbled over a few other details, but by January 20, 1783, Britain, France, and Spain all agreed on terms for a final peace.  Although the agreement was provisional and had to receive final approval from all governments, that seemed likely.  

In Cadiz, the Armada had been scheduled to depart on January 16, but after d’Estaing received word that a peace treaty was imminent, he delayed his departure.  After receiving word of the treaty on February 2, d’Estaing shut down the mission.

The Netherlands had largely been left out of the negotiations.  With all of its allies agreeing to peace terms, the Dutch had to give the British acceptable terms.  The Netherlands agreed to the general cease fire that became effective in January 1783.  They would eventually sign a treaty with Britain more than a year later.

Peace Terms

The US received just about everything the Commissioners wanted.  Britain acknowledged the US as free, sovereign, and independent states.  It recognized the US boundary reaching west to the Mississippi and agreeable boundaries with Canada and Florida.  There was also a secret provision, setting the border between Georgia and Florida, depending on where Spain or Britain ultimately claimed Florida.  The British army would leave US territory and turn over all land within US borders.  Any British property in the US would be forfeited to the US. The treaty also granted Americans fishing rights off the coast of Newfoundland.

Britain received a clause that British creditors would be allowed to pursue lawful debts.  The US would not confiscate property in the future from loyalists, but would only “recommend” to the states to provide restitution for property already taken from loyalists.  

The Treaty between France and Great Britain permitted France to keep several islands in the West Indies, including St. Lucia and Tobago.  France gave up Grenada, the Grenadines, St. Vincent, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Montserrat.  Britain ceded Minorca and east and west Florida to Spain, but took the islands of Providencia, and the Bahamas, as well as retaining Gibraltar.

Waiting for Approval

With the diplomats having completed their work, they next had to wait for the various governments to confirm the agreements that they had reached.  For the American diplomats in Paris, this meant that they had to remain in Europe to finalize the treaty.  Even so, the peace agreement seemed so established that Benjamin Franklin considered making a trip to England in the spring of 1783.  Six months earlier, such a visit probably would have resulted in his imprisonment in the Tower of London.  He ended up not making the trip, but it had nothing to do with any fear from British authorities. 

Another of the delegates, Henry Laurens, who actually did serve time as a prisoner in the Tower of London, returned to Britain after the preliminary peace agreement.  He wanted to relax and recuperate in Bath.

Franklin occupied himself by returning to printing.  He printed a bound copy of all the state constitutions, in French, to be distributed to diplomats and other government officials throughout Europe.  He also began working on a treaty of Amity and commerce between the US and Sweden, and started similar initiatives with Denmark and Portugal.

Franklin had been willing to abandon his obligations under the treaty with France, and agreed with the other American delegates to sign a preliminary peace treaty with France.  Despite Franklin's willingness to be flexible, John Adams still believed that Franklin was too captivated by French interests.  Adams did not let up on his criticisms of Franklin as the delegates waited in France.

Just as the delegation was finalizing its negotiations on the preliminary peace treaty, another rift began to divide Adams and Franklin.  Adams wanted to appoint a man named Edmund Jenings as the secretary to the diplomatic mission in France.   Adams introduced Jenings to Henry Laurens, who at first seemed to like the idea, but then quickly grew cool to the idea.  Jenings was an American who had been living in Europe during the war and had published a number of pamphlets.  Several of these seemed designed to divide the American peace commissioners.

Meanwhile, Franklin had someone else in mind to be secretary.  He wanted his grandson, William Temple Franklin.  Now 21 years old, Temple had been serving as his grandfather’s personal secretary for seven years.  He spoke French and had developed his own relationships in the French Court at Versailles.

Franklin wrote to Congress’ Secretary for Foreign Affairs, recommending Temple for the position, and suggesting that if Temple did not get the job, that Franklin was considering leaving his post to take his grandson on a grand tour of Europe.

Having completed the preliminary treaty, Franklin decided on his own to make Temple the secretary of the Peace Commission near the end of 1782.  Franklin got John Jay to agree to the appointment, but did not even bother to ask, or even notify John Adams.

When he found out, Adams was livid.  It wasn’t just that Franklin was handing out a lucrative position to a family member.  After all, John Quincy Adams was serving at the time as an aide to the American delegation in Russia, thanks to his father’s efforts.  Edmund Jenings, the man Adams wanted for secretary, was a cousin of his wife Abigail.

Adams disliked Temple for many of the same reasons that he disliked Temple’s grandfather.  The puritanical New Englander was disgusted by the lavish lifestyle, punctuated by drinking and womanizing, in which the Franklins engaged.  Adams’ mindset was probably not helped by the fact that he was trying to fight a battle via correspondence to Massachusetts, trying to convince his daughter Nabby not to marry an aggressive suiter.  

Adams was also open to the criticisms levied by Arthur and William Lee.  These men had opposed Franklin for years, and levied all sorts of accusations.  They turned their wrath on Temple. Arthur Lee called Temple a “young insignificant boy” implying that only his Grandfather’s status gave him any chance at a government position.  William Lee referred to Temple as a bastard, twice over, referring to his illegitimate birth, as well as his father’s.  Adams himself wrote in a letter regarding Franklin: “His whole Life has been one continued Insult to good Manners and to Decency.” 

The fact that Temple’s father was an infamous Tory, by this time living in London, and the fact that Temple had only lived in America for 18 months of his life, led to concerns about whether he had America’s true interests at heart.  

Adams had already expressed concerns that Benjamin Franklin had seemed too pro-French.  In several letters to America, Adams expressed the belief that France had actually delayed a peace with Britain by several years and that Franklin was a pawn that Vergennes was using to promote French interests.  Since Temple spoke fluent French and had served in Versailles, Adams believed that Temple also had become more French than American.

Adams also came to believe that Franklin was setting up Temple to replace his grandfather on the peace commission in France so that Franklin could take a position as Ambassador to Britain in the Court of St. James. In truth, Franklin had zero interest in serving in London. Adams, however, did want that position and worried that Franklin was a rival.

When Temple met with Adams in January 1783, to request that Adams sign a document approving his appointment as secretary retroactive to the previous October, Adams exploded.  Temple already had the commission signed by the other three commissioners.  Franklin had written the document.  Jay apparently signed some time in October, when the commission was finalizing the preliminary treaty and Franklin was sick in bed.  Temple was the active courier for Franklin during this time.  Henry Laurens did not arrive in France until late November, and returned to Britain in January.  He signed the commission just before crossing the channel, in hopes of spending some time relaxing at Bath.

After receiving Laurens’ signature, Temple went to see Adams.  Because Adams had originally been appointed the sole peace commissioner, he considered himself the head of the delegation and thought it an effrontery that Franklin had gotten all the other commissioners to agree to the appointment without even discussing the matter with Adams.  Temple used his best efforts with humility and respect to win over Adams, but nothing seemed to work.  Since Temple had the approval of three of the four commissioners, he continued to serve as secretary.  Adams eventually came around and signed the document nine months later, in September, 1783.

Debating Ratification

The Peace Commissioners had little to do but bicker with each other for months after sending the preliminary treaty to Congress in November, 1782.  In early 1783, Congress was still debating whether to give the commissioners more latitude in negotiating a treaty without France when the preliminary treaty arrived.

The pro-French delegates in Congress were outraged by the fact that the commissioner had negotiated a separate peace with Britain, cutting France out of the negotiations.  They saw this as a betrayal of the French alliance and something that would hurt the US in international relations.  There was particularly intense debate about a secret clause that set a border between the US and Florida if Britain held Florida, but a different border if Spain ultimately took control of Florida.

Of course, the delegates in favor of giving the delegates more latitude were very pleased with the favorable terms that the treaty gave to the US, based on those in France taking the initiative.  Congress continued to debate before receiving word in March, 1783 that France and Britain had also come to terms on a preliminary treaty.  At that point, the matter seemed settled.

Secretary Livingston finally wrote a response to the delegates in late March, congratulating them on the provisions in the preliminary treaty but also criticizing them for negotiating without France’s involvement.  In April, he confirmed to the Commissioners that Congress had ratified the preliminary treaty. By May, Livingston was complaining that he had not heard any further progress on the final treaty.

David Hartley

There was reason for concern.  At the end of March, the Shelburne Ministry in London fell after only eight months.  In April, a coalition under Charles James Fox and Lord North took control of Parliament.  The new Prime Minister was William Cavendish-Bentinck, the Duke of Portland, but everyone knew that Fox and North were the real powers in Parliament.  The two factions could not have been more different.  Fox’s liberal coalition has supported American independence for years.  North, of course, continued the war longer than almost anyone else wanted and held the very conservative positions that King George had espoused.  The two factions disagreed on just about any issue, and were together only because of their shared hatred of Shelburne as Prime Minister.

For the Americans, there was real cause for concern.  Without a final treaty, Britain could back out of the preliminary agreement and resume the war.  It did not help that North pushed for a vote condemning the peace treaty that the Shelburne government had already negotiated and approved.

The new government sent David Hartley to negotiate the final terms of a treaty.  Although Hartley was a liberal in Parliament, and had been outspoken for years about ending the war with the colonies, he was also a close ally of Lord North and had voted against the Shelburne Peace Plan in Parliament.

The Commissioners were relieved when Hartley revealed that Britain was still willing to sign a final treaty largely based on the terms spelled out in the preliminary treaty.  Franklin had know Hartley since the 1760’s and the two men got along quite well.  Hartley and the Commissioners debated a few more issues, mostly related to trade. The Commissioners agreed that US ports would be open to British trade following the final evacuation of the British Army from New York.  Much of their discussion at this time was the details on getting the British Army evacuated.

After a few weeks, Hartley sent the terms to London for final approval.  He and the delegates then waited most of the summer with no word from the government.  In fairness the coalition was a mess.  The King, who loathed Fox, refused to cooperate with the coalition in any way.  The two factions agreed on very little.  It was a matter of debate whether this divided government would even survive much longer.

After nearly two months of waiting for a decision from London, Hartley decided on his own to just finalize the official treaty.  Although the two sides had discussed a few changes, Hartley proposed they simply sign a final treaty based on the preliminary one without any substantive changes.  He could at least justify that without any further word from London.

The Signing

The parties agreed to meet on September 3 for the formal signing.  Franklin, Jay, and Temple rode to Paris where Adams joined them.  Laurens, still in Britain, did not participate.  The secretaries reviewed four copies of the treaty.  The only substantive changes were an added provision spelling out a ratification process, and the removal of the provision related to the Florida border since Spain by this time had set the border based on its own treaty with Britain.

Treaty of Paris Signatures
At 10:30, the three delegates signed and affixed their seals to the treaty, as did Hartley, acting on behalf of the King.  Hartley also assured the commissioners that they would continue to negotiate a treaty on trade once this peace treaty had been resolved.  

Traditionally, the two countries exchanged gifts following a treaty.  The King had suggested a cash gift.  Hartley discussed the matter, offering a £500 cash gift to each of the four delegates.  Since the delegates had nothing to give in return and were concerned about insulting the king by refusing his gift, there was some discussion about the matter.  In the end, no gifts were exchanged and the matter was just dropped.

The commissioners sent a copy of the treaty to Versailles, where Vergennes signed the peace treaty, along with the Spanish Ambassador that same day, ending the war with Britain.  The Dutch had reached a preliminary treaty with Britain the day before, but that final treaty would not be finalized for several more months.  That afternoon, Vergennes hosted a dinner for everyone involved in the treaties.  There were 31 people who attended.

Following the event, Franklin commented to Jay that this treaty would probably be the most notable achievement for which they would be remembered.  He then referenced the Bible “blessed are the peacemakers.  Jay responded that he would be proud of his role.  Adams, ever the pessimist, worried that the treaty could have been better and hoped they would not see another war in their lifetimes.

As far as all the government leaders were concerned though, the war was over and it was time to start living in the new peace.

Next week: The British Army Evacuates New York.

- - -

Next Episode 330 British Evacuation New York (Available October 6, 2024)

Previous Episode 328 Cuddalore, The Last Battle

 Contact me via email at mtroy.history@gmail.com

 Follow the podcast on Twitter @AmRevPodcast

 Join the Facebook group, American Revolution Podcast 

 Join American Revolution Podcast on Quora 
 
Discuss the AmRev Podcast on Reddit

American Revolution Podcast Merch!

T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, pillows, totes, notebooks, wall art, and more.  Get your favorite American Revolution logo today.  Help support this podcast.  http://tee.pub/lic/AmRevPodcast


American Revolution Podcast is distributed 100% free of charge. If you can chip in to help defray my costs, I'd appreciate whatever you can give.  Make a one time donation through my PayPal account. You may also donate via Venmo (@Michael-Troy-20) or Zelle (send to mtroy1@yahoo.com)


Click here to see my Patreon Page
You can support the American Revolution Podcast as a Patreon subscriber.  This is an option making monthly pledges.  Patreon support will give you access to Podcast extras and help make the podcast a sustainable project.

An alternative to Patreon is SubscribeStar.  For anyone who has problems with Patreon, you can get the same benefits by subscribing at SubscribeStar.

Help Support this podcast on "BuyMeACoffee.com"


Visit the American Revolution Podcast Bookshop.  Support local bookstores and this podcast!





Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

* indicates required

Further Reading

Websites

“The American Peace Commissioners: Commission for William Temple Franklin, [1 October 1782],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-38-02-0125

“From John Adams to Robert R. Livingston, 22 January 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0126

“From John Adams to Edmund Jenings, 28 January 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0135

“From John Adams to James Warren, 13 April 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0253

 “Robert R. Livingston to the American Peace Commissioners, 25 March 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0233

“Robert R. Livingston to the American Peace Commissioners, 21 April 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0269

“Robert R. Livingston to the American Peace Commissioners, 28 May 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0317

 “Definitive Treaty of Peace between the United States and Great Britain, 3 September 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-40-02-0356

Free eBooks

(from archive.org unless noted)

The Treaty of Paris (1783) in a changing states system: papers from a conference, January 26-27, 1984 (borrow only). 

Bemis, Samuel F. The Diplomacy Of The American Revolution, Indiana Univ. Press, 1935. 

Pellew, George John Jay, Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Co. 1890. 

Perkins, James B. France in the American Revolution, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Co. 1911. 

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Dull, Jonathan A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution, Yale Univ. Press, 1985.

Hoffman, Ronald and Peter Albert (eds) Peace and the Peacemakers: The Treaty of 1783, Univ. Press of Va., 1986 (borrow on archive.org). 

Hutson, James H. John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution, Univ. Press of Kentucky, 1980 (borrow on archive.org).  

Morris, Richard B. The Peacemakers: The Great Powers and American Independence, Harper & Row, 1965 (borrow on Archive.org). 

Renehan, Edward The Treaty of Paris: The Precursor to a New Nation, Chelsea House, 2007 (borrow on archive.org). 

Schiff, Stacy, A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, Henry Holt and Co. 2005. 

Smith, Page John Adams, Vol. 1, Doubleday & Co. 1962. 

Stinchcombe, William C. The American Revolution and the French Alliance, Syracuse Univ. Press, 1969 (borrow on archive.org).

Stockley, Andrew Britain and France at the Birth of America: The European Powers and the Peace Negotiations of 1782-83, Liverpool Univ. Press, 2001. 

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.


Sunday, September 22, 2024

ARP328 Cuddalore, The Last Battle


Last week we saw the dissolution of the Continental Army back in America.  The war was coming to an end, much too slowly for most, but as politicians wrapped up the paperwork, the soldiers’ work was at an end.  All the parties had agreed to terms of peace.  But as we have seen, getting the word out about peace to distant corners of the world often took months.  Those who had not yet received word often continue the fight. 

That was the case in India.  We last looked in on India in Episode 306, when the Mysore leader Hyder Ali commanded an army in what is today southeastern India against the British army and the East India Company.  Ali and the Mysore were allied with the French, who provided naval support under Admiral Pierre André de Suffren.

Tipu Sultan

Hyder Ali continued to wage war against the British through 1782.  In December, the Mysore leader died from cancer.  On his death, his son Tipu Sultan took the reigns of leadership and the title of Emperor of Mysore.  Under his father, he had led armies numerous times against the British and had defeated them on several occasions.

Siege of Cuddalore
Tipu had spent most of his life fighting the British.  He began service during the First Mysore War in 1766 when he was only 15 years old.  A year later, he commanded a corps of cavalry in the invasion of Carnatic.  Tipu fought under his father during the First Anglo-Mysore War in the late 1760’s.  The treaty ending that war specified that Britain would assist Mysore if attacked by its neighbors. When Mysore was attacked a few years later, Britain did nothing.

The British bad faith led to the closer relationship between Mysore and France.  Hyder Ali went to war with the British in the Second Mysore War that began in 1780, after France and Britain were already at war with each other.

After his father’s death, Tipu continued the long standing Mysore relationship with France.  He also solidified alliances with the neighboring kingdoms of the Marathas and the Mughals.

Tipu Sultan
Britain hoped to use Hyder’s death as an opportunity to divide and conquer the Mysore Kingdom.  Many British leaders believed the Tipu would not be as capable a leader as his father.  British officers began testing him almost immediately.  One of the first regions put to the test was Malabar.

The southeastern coast of India had been under Mysore control since the 1760’s, when Hyder Ali captured the area.  The Muslim leader took a great deal of resistance from the local Hindu population, but through forced relocations and mass executions, took control of the area.

Since Mysore was allied with France, British forces took several coastal areas in the region shortly after Britain and France went to war in 1778.  This is part of what caused Mysore to declare war on Britain in 1779.  In the summer of 1782, Tipu Sultan was leading the fight against the British in this region.  His father sent another General Makhdoom Ali to assist.  Makhdoom was killed during a solid British victory at Tirurangadi.  Tipu managed to keep the British forces pinned near the coast, but ended up leaving upon receiving news from his dying father in December of 1782.

The British captured the town of Mangalore again in March, 1783.  Tipu returned to besiege and recapture Mangalore a short time later.  While Tipu was tied up on the east coast at Mangalore, the British prepared for an assault on Cuddalore on the west coast, hundreds of miles away.

James Stuart

In an earlier episode, you may recall that Sir Eyre Coote was the military commander in India. Lieutenant Colonel James Stuart had replaced Sir Coote as the military commander in the area. Stuart had served under Coote in India. Coote, however, was physically in bad shape and had to leave the field.  Coote would die of natural causes less than a year after giving up command.

James Stuart
Stuart had arrived in India in 1775. He almost immediately got caught up in a controversy between the Governor of Madras, George Pigot, and his court of directors from the East India Company.  The council and the Governor had been fighting over a number of things.  But the issue that drew the matter to a point was the political appointment of Tanjore.  The Council wanted Colonel Stuart to take the command and order it.  Pigot refused to sign the orders.  The Council argued that the governor had no authority to prevent this appointment. The governor argued that orders without his signature were not legally binding orders.  When several members of the council tried to issue the order under their own signatures, Pigot had them arrested.

After their arrest, Pigot pushed through his agenda. When other members of the Council protested, Pigot had them arrested as well.  This resulted in Colonel Stuart turning the tables and arresting Pigot himself. Pigot remained in prison for months, as word of all this traveled back to England.  There, the proprietors of the East India Company ordered that Pigot be released and restored to power.  Pigot came from a wealthy and influential family.  His brother was an admiral.  His other brother was Major General Robert Pigot, who we discussed extensively in earlier episodes because of his years of service in America during the early part of the war.

Although they ordered Pigot released and returned to power, Company officials were critical of many of his actions, and declared Pigot’s arrest of two council members to be illegal as well.  All of these even ended up in front of Parliament for a few weeks in 1777. So, while Pigot was returned to his position as a matter of restoring his honor, the Company also said that after one week following his return to power, he must turn over his position to someone else and return to England.

George Pigot
By the time they made this decision, one of that actually mattered, because by the time all of this was decided, Pigot was dead.  He had gotten sick and died in prison while officials in London continued to debate his fate.  

This was all part of a larger fight that began in 1773 when the British government tried to assume more authority over the East India Company.  During this period, the chain of command was never quite clear, and the line between the British Army and the East India Company was blurry to say the least.  Leading to power fights like the one we find here.

The reason for getting into all that, was to explain the background of the controversy for Stuart arresting Governor Pigot.  As part of the confusion in all of this, Stuart was promoted to brigadier general during this time, but then also suspended from his position and denied any command at all. He demanded a trial, but did not receive one.  Years went by.   

During that time, the dead governor’s brother, Admiral Hugh Pigot, demanded prosecutions of various council members that had acted in a way that contributed to his brother’s death.  In 1779, several members were tried in England for the unlawful arrest and imprisonment of Governor Pigot.  They were found guilty and fined £1,000 each.  A year after that, about four years after the initial arrest, Stuart finally got his own court martial.  He was acquitted since he was simply obeying the orders of the council.  He was finally returned to duty with back pay.

Despite his reinstatement, for his first five years in India, Stuart was mostly suspended from service and fighting to be reinstated.  He remained in Madras while the war went on without him.

General Stuart fought under General Coote during 1781. His notable leadership in several battles resulted in his promotion to major general.  Fighting these battles also cost him a leg, carried away by a cannon ball at the battle of Pollilore.  Stuart took command of the forces and in December, 1783 received orders to attack the Mysore army as soon as the British learned that Hyder Ali had died.

Siege of Cuddalore

Stuart refused to act precipitously.  He needed to prepare his army for battle.  In June of 1783, nearly six months after receiving orders to attack immediately, Stuart led an army to Cuddalore on the western coast of India.  He had with him at least three regiments of British regulars, two companies of Hanovarians, and thousands of Sepoys from Bengal. 

French map of Siege of Cuddalore
To cut off the enemy from the sea, the British Navy under Admiral Edward Hughes deployed 18 ships of the line, along with many more smaller ships to complete the blockade. The British took a week to land their guns and set up siege lines.

Inside Cuddalore, the French had their own army, which supplemented the Mysore soldiers who made up the bulk of the defenders.  The Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau. The Marquis had spent decades in India, taking up service in the French East India company as a young teenager in 1736.  In 1782, King Louis had named him commander of all French forces beyond the Cape of Good Hope.

As the British began their siege lines nearly two miles from the fort, de Bussy brought his forces out in front of the fort, about a half mile in front of his fort walls, to confront the British.  The French and Mysore forces built redoubts and trenches to prevent a British advance.

On June 13, British forces assaulted the French redoubts.  The assault began before dawn at around 4:00 in the morning.  The French and Mysore kept up a stubborn defense which resulted in brutal fighting all day long.  After nearly 12 hours of combat, the British managed to overrun the French right flank and held their ground against a counter attack.  At around 5:00 in the evening, both sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities to tend to their wounded.  The defenders lost about 500 men killed or wounded as well as thirteen cannons.  

The British attackers took over 900 casualties, which was a substantial portion of the entire siege force.  However, General Stuart held the position he needed to begin firing on the city walls of Cuddalore.

Naval Battle

Several days before the capture of the redoubts, French Admiral  Pierre André de Suffren received orders to take the French fleet to break the siege.  The French fleet arrived in the waters off Cuddalore on June 13, the same day that Stuart attacked the redoubts.

French and British fleets at Cuddalore
Admiral Suffren realized that the British fleet that he was facing was larger than his own fleet of twelve ships, and that the winds were against him.   As a result, he pulled away from the city and anchored further out at sea.  While waiting for the winds to shift, Suffren sent messengers into Cuddalore, where they made contact with the Mysore commander Sayed Sahib.  Mysore agreed to put 1200 soldiers on the French fleet to increase the numbers available to man the French guns.

After five days, Suffren was ready to confront the enemy fleet.  The two fleets jockeyed for position for another two days.  On June 20, Suffren believed he had as good a position as he was going to get, and engaged with the British fleet.  The fighting, which lasted about three houses, was about a draw in terms of damage inflicted.  Both sides lost about 100 men killed and another 400 wounded.  But the larger British fleet was forced to withdraw, giving the French Navy control of the waters.

The British pulled back toward Madras, to the north.  The French fleet followed, anchoring between the British fleet and Cuddalore. Two days later, the two fleets spotted each other again, but the British did not engage.  Hughes later reported that too many of his ships were still damaged, hundreds of his men were sick, many with scurvy, and that his fleet was almost out of fresh water.   

French Counterattack

British forces landed at Madras, where they could receive reinforcements and repairs for their ships.  The French fleet returned to Cuddalore to return the 1200 Mysore soldiers aboard their ships. Suffren also landed another 2400 French marines to support the defense of the city.  The French naval presence also prevented the British from landing transports with more reinforcements for their side of the siege.

Admiral de Suffren
Frustrated, General Stuart sent several increasingly desperate and angry notes to Madras, complaining that he had been abandoned.  He continued his siege, calling for more reinforcements.

Since the French now had the advantage.  The Marquis planned a counter attack, moving Mysore forces in a flanking maneuver to get behind the British siege lines at attack.  An assault force under The French commander Chevalier de Dumas, struck British lines on June 25.  Again the fighting was sustained and brutal.  The summer heat in India also created problems of heat stroke.  

The French forces were unable to break the British lines.  Dumas, the French commander was taken prisoner during one failed assault, as were many other French officers.

The End

On June 29, however, a single British ship approached Cuddalore under a white flag of truce.  The ship brought a message from Admiral Hughes, still in Madras.  He just received word that Britain and France had agreed to a preliminary peace agreement seven months earlier.

No one was exactly sure what this meant. Although France and Britain were no longer at war, Mysore and Britain were, and France remained a Mysore ally.  Both sides had lost more than 1000 killed and wounded each during the battle.  News of the preliminary peace was sufficient reason for the British to withdraw and for both sides to await word of the final peace terms.

Stuart Removed

Lord George MacCartney, who had replaced Pigot as Governor of Madras.  MacCartney believed that Stuart’s seven month delay in carrying out orders to attack Cuddalore, and his mismanagement of the expedition, was the reason Cuddalore remained in French hands as the war came to an end. Stuart faced formal accusations of disobedience and misconduct.  In fact, this was part of the larger conflict I alluded to earlier.  Governor MacCartney believed the British Army in India fell under his authority in the East India Company.  General Stuart maintained independence and that he drew his authority as a British officer, with accountability to his military superiors in London.

McCartney had wanted a larger offensive, using the army to go after multiple targets at once.  Stuart had wanted to concentrate forces on Cuddalore.  They never really came to any agreement on that. Stuart had left for Cuddalore with a much smaller army than he wanted, then marched very slowly while sending orders to detachments sent elsewhere to join him at Cuddalore.

There is also some unclear evidence that Stuart may have been planning to arrest Governor MacCartney.  Stuart seems to have made some threats, as well as some efforts to prevent Company officials in Madras from collecting money owed to them by organizations in other parts of the country.

In September, MacCartney dismissed Stuart from service in the East India Company, without even a hearing.  Stuart’s performance in the Cuddalore campaign was the professed reason, but all these other things seemed to play a role. 

The Governor also appointed one of Stuart’s subordinates, Colonel Ross Lang, as a lieutenant general in order to give command of the regulars in Madras over any other possible commander.  This almost led to a civil war between British regiments as Major General John Burgoyne challenged Colonel Lang’s authority to command.  (And no, it was not the General Burgoyne from Saratoga.  This was a general who was a cousin with the same name).  Regiments following the different officers dug entrenchments around their camp to prevent the other from attacking and drying to arrest their leader.

Stuart spent a month under continent at the fort in Madras.  In October, officials summarily put him aboard a ship bound for England.  They told him he had to work out his problems there.

This phase of the power struggle in India effectively ended in 1784 when Parliament passed the India Act, which gave the British government far more direct control over policies in India and better defined relations between the Company and the British Government.  A new regime arrived in India in 1785 to enforce this new structure.  Leading this new command was Lord Charles Cornwallis, yes that Cornwallis!

Mysore War Ends

Despite the fact that the French and Mysore had successfully defended Cuddalore, the French traded it to Britain in exchange for two other cities in India that Britain had captured from France earlier in the war.

The British war against Mysore would continue for another year, but no significant battles were fought during this time.  In 1784, the two nations agreed to a peace treaty called the Treaty of Mangalore.  Under the treaty’s terms, both sides simply returned land that they had conquered during the war, and the situation returned to exactly how things were before the war had started.

Next Week: officials in Paris finally formally sign the Peace Treaty ending the war.

- - -

Next Episode 329 Signing the Peace Treaty 

Previous Episode 327 Continental Instability

 Contact me via email at mtroy.history@gmail.com

 Follow the podcast on Twitter @AmRevPodcast

 Join the Facebook group, American Revolution Podcast 

 Join American Revolution Podcast on Quora 
 
Discuss the AmRev Podcast on Reddit

American Revolution Podcast Merch!

T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, pillows, totes, notebooks, wall art, and more.  Get your favorite American Revolution logo today.  Help support this podcast.  http://tee.pub/lic/AmRevPodcast


American Revolution Podcast is distributed 100% free of charge. If you can chip in to help defray my costs, I'd appreciate whatever you can give.  Make a one time donation through my PayPal account. You may also donate via Venmo (@Michael-Troy-20) or Zelle (send to mtroy1@yahoo.com)


Click here to see my Patreon Page
You can support the American Revolution Podcast as a Patreon subscriber.  This is an option making monthly pledges.  Patreon support will give you access to Podcast extras and help make the podcast a sustainable project.

An alternative to Patreon is SubscribeStar.  For anyone who has problems with Patreon, you can get the same benefits by subscribing at SubscribeStar.

Help Support this podcast on "BuyMeACoffee.com"


Visit the American Revolution Podcast Bookshop.  Support local bookstores and this podcast!





Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

* indicates required

Further Reading

Websites

The Tiger’s Revenge: The chase, capture and punishment of General Mathews for the Anandapuram atrocity https://toshkhana.wordpress.com/2019/02/25/the-tigers-revenge-the-chase-capture-and-punishment-of-general-mathews-for-the-anandapuram-atrocit

Smith, John L. Jr. “India: The Last Battle of the American Revolutionary War” Journal of the American Revolution, July 8, 2015. https://allthingsliberty.com/2015/07/india-the-last-battle-of-the-american-revolutionary-war

James Stuart: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Stuart,_James_(d.1793)

Hiscocks, Richard Battle of Cuddalore – 20 June 1783, Feb 11, 2018: https://morethannelson.com/battle-trincomale-20-june-1783

Vijayalakshmy, E. “The Siege of Cuddalore (1783)” International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2015. https://www.ripublication.com/ijhss/ijhssv5n1_09.pdf

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

Henty, G.A. Tiger Of Mysore, London: Blackie and Son. Ltd., 1935. 

Malleson, G.B. Final French Struggles in India and on the Indian Seas, London: W.H. Allen, 1884. 

Mill, James The History of British India, Vol. 4, London: J. Madden, 1840. 

Mohammed, Gholam, The History Of Hyder Shah Aiias Hyder Ali Khan Bahadur And Of Son, Tippoo Sultaun, Delhi: Cosmo Publications, first published 1855. 

Stuart, Andrew Letters to the Directors of the East-India Company, and the Right Hon. Lord Amherst, undated. 

Memoir of General James StuartThe Asiatic journal and monthly miscellany, Sept. 1819 (This is about James Stuart who was a colonel at Cuddalore.  He served under the General James Stuart that I discussed in this episode). 

Stuart, James Copies of some official papers concerning the proceedings at Madras, in September and October 1783, printed 1784. 

Taylor, Meadows Tippoo Sultaun: A Tale of The Mysore War, Vol. 2, London: Rchard Bentley, 1840. 

Wylly, H.C. Sir Eyre Coote, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1922. 

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Balakrishna, Sandeep Tipu Sultan The Tyrant of Mysore, RARE Publications, 2014. 

Barry, Quintin Suffren versus Hughes: War in the Indian Ocean 1781-1783,  Helion and Co. 2024. 

Cavaliero Roderick Admiral Satan: The Life & Campaigns of Suffren, I.B. Tauris, 1994. 

Glickstein, Don After Yorktown: The Final Struggle for American Independence, Westholme Publishing, 2015. 

Haroon, Anwar Kingdom of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan: Sultanat E Khudadad, Xlibris, 2013. 

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Episode 327 Continental Instability


We last left the main Continental Army under General Washington in Episode 324.  The officers were on the verge of mutiny, as they came to believe that Congress would never give them all the benefits they had been promised for their sacrifices and that they would probably be sent home as paupers, many facing debtors' prison for the debts they incurred to further the cause of liberty.  Only George Washington’s speech at Newburgh in March 1783, prevented a likely uprising of the army.

Congress itself was broke, and deeply in debt.  It had no way to repay its debts since its delegates would not agree on any real taxing authority and the states refused to come up with a way to provide the funds needed to pay off the debts to the army, and to everyone else who had made contributions to the cause of independence.

Separation Pay

Superintendent of Finance, Robert Morris, had submitted his resignation, effective at the end of May, 1783.  His abilities to create money from nothing had been pushed beyond all reasonable limits. He told Congress that finding any solution to its financial problems was simply beyond his abilities at this point, and that they should find someone else.  Of course, there was no one else.  Producing gold and silver from promises simply did not work.  Morris was one of the most skilled financiers in North American, and perhaps the world.  He could do nothing more.

Despite the lack of any money, the war was over and Congress had to send home the army.  General Washington informed the delegates that a bare minimum of three months’ separation pay had to be provided, if only to give the soldiers traveling money to get home.  In April, weeks before Morris’ departure, delegates came to him and told him he needed to come up with the necessary money before he left. 

Morris, of course, was still struggling to come up with the one month’s pay that he had promised the army in January.  Covering three months’ pay would require raising about $750,000 from nothing.  Morris said he simply could not do this.  He told the delegates that he could not in good conscience issue more promissory notes that he knew would never be repaid.

Congress formed a committee, headed by Virginia delegate Theodorick Bland, to pressure Morris into finding a way to pay off the army so the soldiers could go home.  Also on the committee were two men we know pretty well; fellow Virginian James Madison, and New York delegate Alexander Hamilton.

The delegates pressured Morris to remain in office long enough to figure out a way to cover the three month’s pay for the army so they could go home.  Morris finally relented and agreed to stay on the condition that Congress understand this was the very last thing he was going to do.

Morris knew the only way to create this money was to print more paper Morris Notes.  He would have to sign each note, guaranteeing his personal promise for repayment of the notes.

Duration of the War

Next, delegates had to decide what to do with the army itself.  Most of the soldiers had enlisted for the duration of the war.  Since a peace treaty had arrived and the enemy announced cessation of hostilities, that meant to most people that the war was over.  Soldiers had already made it clear they would not simply sit in camp, starving, without adequate clothing or shelter, just waiting until Congress decided they could leave.

Nassau Hall - Princeton
There was also still a large British Army in New York.  If the Continental Army went home, there would be nothing to confront them if the British Commander, General Guy Carlton, decided to do something.  More likely was the danger that British loyalists might come out and do harm to the surrounding region.

Congress debated the matter in April.  They agreed that the war was not over until both sides ratified the final treaty, which would not happen until some time in 1784.  At the same time, they had to begin the process of at least reducing the army and sending some men home.  Congress authorized Washington to issue mass furloughs.  This would allow the men to return home, although not formally ending their service, and allowing that they could be recalled to service if the need arose.  Furloughed units would march home with their guns and uniforms.

The biggest source of delay was that the promised three months of separation pay was not forthcoming.  Morris had agreed to print the money, but could not find enough paper in Philadelphia to print the notes.

Going Home

Despite the lack of separation pay, Washington announced the furloughs in his general orders of June 1.  The men were to prepare to go home, while paymasters would remain in camp to help settle accounts.  Officers would march their men home in units.  This was done primarily to keep order and prevent thousands of starving and impoverished men, armed with guns, from descending on the population while trying to find their way home.

The Maryland line was the first to leave camp on June 5.  Major Thomas Lansdale tried to find a route home that would avoid small towns and villages, to prevent looting by his soldiers.  The New York and New Jersey lines left the following day.  These men had the shortest travel home.  After that, New Hampshire left.  Massachusetts, which had the largest contingent in the army, left on June 8th.  By June 13, Washington’s army of 10,000 men had been reduced to about 2700.

Many officers were particularly upset.  General Horatio Gates had already left, leaving General William Heath as the senior officer after Washington.  He submitted a complaint on behalf of the officers that they were being sent home without any of their promised back pay or benefits.  General Washington understood their concern. He responded that he would make the furloughs voluntary.  Any officers who wanted to remain in camp as they waited for Congress to make good on its promises were free to do so.  Similarly, enlisted men who wanted to remain could agree to trade places with a soldier who had not yet been furloughed.

On June 12, the Maryland line arrived in Philadelphia on its way back to Maryland.  There, the soldiers finally received some good news.  Morris had managed to print at least some of the separation pay they had been promised. The soldiers received their three months’ pay.  It was simply paper, meaning that when they spent it, they might get only 40 or 50 cents on the dollar, but at least it was something.

The problems started when the men of the Maryland line bunked overnight in Philadelphia and had a chance to speak with other Continental soldiers stationed in Philadelphia.  The soldiers learned that the Maryland line had been offered furloughs and were provided with the pay they had been promised in January, as well as separation pay from Congress and additional pay from the Maryland legislature.

The soldiers stationed in and around Philadelphia, who were not part of General Washington’s immediate command in New York.  They had not been offered furloughs.  They had not received not a penny of separation pay, nor even the pay they had been promised in January.  This differential treatment among Continental soldiers was particularly galling.  

Trouble in Philadelphia

A group of noncommissioned officers sent a protest letter to Congress, demanding to know why some soldiers were getting pay and furloughs, while their units were not.  Congress did not know how to respond, and did not.

A few days later, somewhere between 80 to 100 soldiers who had been stationed in Lancaster, about 80 miles from Philadelphia, began marching to the city to “obtain justice.” Concerned about the army marching on the capital, Congress asked the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania to turn out the militia to stop the mutinous Continentals before they arrived in the city.  The Council refused.  Council President John Dickinson informed Congress that the militia was not inclined to defend Congress against the army, and might just be inclined to join them.

The Council’s secretary at the time was Major John Armstrong. He had been General Horatio Gates’ aide de camp a few months earlier and was the author of the angry letter at Newburgh that forced Washington to put down a near mutiny among the officers.  Now a civilian, Armstrong remained sympathetic with the soldiers, who were simply demanding that Congress keep its promises to them.

On June 20, the mutineers entered Philadelphia and surrounded the State House, what we today call Independence Hall.  Congress remained inside with no one to defend them.   Over the next few days more soldiers joined the protest.  The crowds around the State House grew to nearly 400.  Most of the soldiers were there with their muskets.

The mutineers did not engage in any violence.  This was simply a protest. They wanted Congress to act and were there to demand it.  Delegates were free to come and go, although they were subject to soldiers yelling at them and harassing them.  President Elias Boudinot was followed home by a group of armed soldiers who acted in a threatening and intimidating way, but did not physically assault him or hinder his walk.

While there had been no violence yet, members of Congress had no idea how long it would remain that way.  Congress attempted to negotiate with the mutineers, but delegates were unwilling to accede to their demands, especially since it would probably only encourage more mutinies. Alexander Hamilton, a former officer himself, tried to get the men to stand down.  Hamilton’s efforts at negotiating with the mutineers later led to rumors that he had instigated the mutiny in order to put more pressure on Congress.  There has never been any evidence to substantiate the idea that Hamilton encourage the protests in any way.

President Boudinot sent word to Washington that they were facing a mutiny of the Pennsylvania line and had no one to protect them.  Washington reacted quickly, sending Major General Robert Howe, with 1500 men from his camp in New York, more than half of his remaining army.  

It took days for word to reach Washington and for the relief army to reach Philadelphia.  By the time the soldiers arrived, Congress was gone.  Pennsylvania’s President John Dickinson had advised Congress to adjourn from the city.  That’s exactly what they did.  The delegates had voted to adjourn and resume their session in Princeton., New Jersey, leaving the mutineers behind.  

With Congress gone, and word that Washington was sending an army to suppress the mutiny, the mutineers dispersed.  Two of the officers, fearing the consequences of their mutiny, simply fled.  They boarded a ship bound for Ireland and left the country.  Following the departure of those to leaders, most of the mutineers surrendered and ended their protests.  Most of the mutineers were simply granted furloughs and sent home.  Several of the leaders who had remained would be arrested and prosecuted.  Eventually those who were tried and convicted would be pardoned.

Princeton Congress

Congress was in no hurry to return to Philadelphia.  It was not just the mutiny, but the fact that the Pennsylvania government did not seem to want to lift a finger to protect them during the crisis.  Some delegates believed that top officials in Pennsylvania may have even encouraged the mutiny in order to encourage Congress to act on several matters.

When President Boudinot ended the session in Philadelphia on June 24, he told delegates that Congress would resume business in Princeton on the 26th.  Most delegates could not move that fast, so it took until June 30 until they had a quorum to do any business.

Princeton, of course, was much smaller than Philadelphia, leaving many delegates struggling to find room and board.  It was mostly a college town.  The College of New Jersey, later called Princeton University, was very much in operation at the time, with students attending class alongside delegates meeting in Congress.  Congressional secretary Charles Thomson complained about the odor from the student dorms that he had to pass each day on his way to congress.

Congress met in Nassau Hall, the school’s main building.  President Boudinot was from New Jersey and was a trustee at the college.  His colleague and former delegate to the Continental Congress, John Witherspoon, was president of the college.  The school made available whatever space Congress needed.

Congress passed a resolution formally moving its meeting place to Nassau Hall and made it the new seat of government.

Pierce Notes

For General Washington, the mutiny was just another sign that he was losing control.  Washington had been working on a circular to the states, arguing that they needed to maintain a strong union and a standing army now that the war was over.  Having the Continental Army threaten Congress and chase it out of Philadelphia was not helping him to make his case for retaining a standing army.  The conventional wisdom of the time was that standing armies in peacetime were tyrannical, and threatened the operation of a civilian government.  The Philadelphia mutiny played directly into that fear.

Washington had to backpedal and downplay that concern.  He noted that this was not the army going after Congress.  It was a few bad apples.  The continental army actually stopped the mutiny in the end.  Washington characterized the mutineers as raw recruits with little military experience, and that it was a relatively small number of men.

In July, the Continental officers received some welcome news.  Congress had completed its approval of a lump sum payment to officers in lieu of a pension, their back pay, and reimbursement for rations and uniforms that they were promised, but had never received.

Paymaster John Pierce was tasked with making the final payoff, which totaled about $11 million.  Of course, there was no actual money to make these payments.  Instead Pierce offered settlement certificates to each officer.  This was essentially a paper IOU from Congress.  Unlike the Morris Notes, which were backed personally by Robert Morris, these so-called Pierce Notes were simply backed by the promises of the Continental Congress to make good on them someday.

The nominal values of these certificates were pretty substantial.  Lieutenants received around $1500.  Generals received nearly $10,000.  Even so, without any credible backing, the Pierce Notes were mostly sold off at a very deep discount.  For many years afterward, the notes were used as a medium of exchange, always traded at a deep discount to face value, based on the recipient’s belief that Congress might someday make good on them.

More Waiting

Even after receiving their pay, much of the remaining army had to stay in camp, awaiting the final departure of the British Army from New York.  General Washington, however, thought that the immediate crisis was under sufficient control that he could take a short departure from camp.

In August, Washington visited upstate New York, going to Albany, Saratoga, and Ticonderoga.  He finally had an opportunity to visit some of the battlefields that had contributed to the success of the war.  Always the businessman, Washington also saw that valuable land in the Mohawk Valley, which had been the target of Loyalist and Indian attacks for most of the war, was selling for much less than it would be worth in peacetime.  He and Governor George Clinton formed a land partnership to purchase over 6000 acres along the Mohawk River.

When Washington returned to Newburgh, he found requests from Congress in Princeton that he move down to be with them.  I suspect Congress remained concerned about future mutinies and wanted Washington close by.  

Washington was not inclined to rush down to New Jersey.  His wife Martha, who was with him in camp, had come down with a fever.  Washington was also concerned about leaving the bulk of this remaining army without his presence for an extended time.  The army had to remain near New York.  Although no one expected the British to go on an offensive, there were still loyalists in New York who might cause trouble if there was not an army present to discourage them.  Washington wanted to remain with his army.

Even so, with continued pressure, and after Marth was feeling well enough to travel, Washington left Newburgh and moved his headquarters to Princeton by the end of August.  The General received spacious accommodations, taking possession of a large 320 acre plantation just south of town, named Rocky Hill.

With a much smaller army to command and being separated from the large contingent that still remained around New York City, Washington stepped away from the day to day burdens of command.  He spent much of his time dining and talking with Members of Congress.  He attended many functions in his honor and even went to a commencement ceremony at the college.  He sat for a portrait and a bust of himself.  Congress voted to pay for a statue of Washington that would someday sit in front of the legislature.  

Witnesses who had seen Washington in command of the army in earlier times and had the opportunity to interact with him in Princeton noticed a great change.  With the pressures of command mostly gone, Washington was able to relax.  Observers noted that he smiled much more often and even showed some elements of wit and humor, a countenance rarely on display during the war.

Like all the other officers and men who had served in the field for so many years, Washington was simply ready to go home.  He corresponded with his staff at Mount Vernon, hoping to put the house in shape for his return.  He hoped Congress would come up with some of the funds it owed him for his expenses over the war.  He had provided his country with a valuable service that was coming to an end.  Washington simply wanted to go home.

Next week: The British face one final battle of the war in Cuddalore, India. 

- - -

Next Episode 328 Cuddalore (Available September 22, 2024)

Previous Episode 326 Fort Carlos 

 Contact me via email at mtroy.history@gmail.com

 Follow the podcast on Twitter @AmRevPodcast

 Join the Facebook group, American Revolution Podcast 

 Join American Revolution Podcast on Quora 
 
Discuss the AmRev Podcast on Reddit

American Revolution Podcast Merch!

T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, pillows, totes, notebooks, wall art, and more.  Get your favorite American Revolution logo today.  Help support this podcast.  http://tee.pub/lic/AmRevPodcast


American Revolution Podcast is distributed 100% free of charge. If you can chip in to help defray my costs, I'd appreciate whatever you can give.  Make a one time donation through my PayPal account. You may also donate via Venmo (@Michael-Troy-20) or Zelle (send to mtroy1@yahoo.com)


Click here to see my Patreon Page
You can support the American Revolution Podcast as a Patreon subscriber.  This is an option making monthly pledges.  Patreon support will give you access to Podcast extras and help make the podcast a sustainable project.

An alternative to Patreon is SubscribeStar.  For anyone who has problems with Patreon, you can get the same benefits by subscribing at SubscribeStar.

Help Support this podcast on "BuyMeACoffee.com"


Visit the American Revolution Podcast Bookshop.  Support local bookstores and this podcast!





Signup for the AmRev Podcast Mail List

* indicates required

Further Reading

Websites

Bowling, Kenneth R. “New Light on the Philadelphia Mutiny of 1783: Federal-State Confrontation at the Close of the War for Independence.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 101, no. 4, 1977, pp. 419–50. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20091201

Gallagher, Mary A. Y. “Reinterpreting the ‘Very Trifling Mutiny’ at Philadelphia in June 1783.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 119, no. 1/2, 1995, pp. 3–35. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20092924

 Personal Ties Bring Congress to Princeton: https://www.princeton.edu/news/2015/07/02/july-4-milestone-americas-and-princetons-history

Nassau Hall, Princeton, N.J. June 30, 1783 - Nov. 4, 1783: https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/buildings/section8

The Continental Congress at Nassau Hall https://paw.princeton.edu/article/continental-congress-nassau-hall

“To George Washington from Henry Carbery, 25 July 1789,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-03-02-0172

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, Vol 24, Jan. 1 - Aug. 9, 1783, Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1904. 

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Fowler, William H. Jr. American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years after Yorktown, 1781-1783, Walker & Co. 2011. 

Head, David A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution, Pegasus Books, 2019. 

Nagy, John A. Rebellion in the Ranks: Mutinies of the American Revolution, Westholme Publishing, 2007. 

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.