American Revolution Podcast

Sunday, October 18, 2020

ARP171 The Conway Cabal

Following the victory at Saratoga, General Horatio Gates was the toast of America. The surrender of Burgoyne’s army was an unprecedented event. Gates had long thought that he was a better General than Washington and had a history of looking for an opportunity to replace him as Commander in Chief. In late 1777, with Gates credited with the victory at Saratoga, and Washington losing Philadelphia to Howe, many others started to think maybe Gates could be a better commander.

Thomas Conway

The Conway Cabal is the name given to a loosely defined group of leaders in Congress and in the military who made some efforts to replace Washington with Gates as commander of the Continental Army.

Thomas Conway
(from Wikimedia)

Thomas Conway, who is the title conspirator in this matter is probably not even the leading figure in the events that unfolded. But he does play a role in these events.

I’ve already introduced Conway, one of many French officers who arrived in Philadelphia in 1777 with commissions in hand to become generals in the Continental Army. Although born in Ireland, Conway moved to France at age six, and became a lieutenant in the Irish Brigade of the French army at age fourteen. Over the next seventeen years, he served as a capable officer, but remained a lieutenant, even through his service in Europe during the Seven Years war.

After the war ended, Conway began to find his way up the promotion ladder, finally making captain in 1765, then major and finally colonel in 1772. Conway learned the political game of flattering superiors and making the right contacts to get ahead in the army.

Seeing an opportunity for advancement in the revolution, he got a promised commission from Silas Deane and left for America in December 1776. Congress gave him a commission as brigadier general in May 1777. Conway served as a brigade commander in Washington’s army.

Conway Seeks Promotion

Conway seems to have impressed himself at the Battle of Brandywine. Based on his service there, he requested that Congress promote him to major general. Washington objected to the promotion, in a letter to delegate Richard Henry Lee, Washington wrote "General Conway's merit, then, as an Officer, and his importance in this Army, exist more in his own imagination than in reality.” Washington pointed out that Conway’s promotion over more senior brigadiers who had also performed well in recent battles, would lead to more dissension among the military leadership. Earlier, Washington endorsed Conway’s commission as a brigadier, so this was a different attitude. Washington’s reluctance to support Conway’s bid for promotion led to a tiff between the two leaders.

With Washington appearing to be an impediment to his advancement, Conway opted to reach out to General Gates, whose star was on the rise after Saratoga. In early November 1777, word reached Washington that Conway had written a letter to Gates saying “Heaven has been determined to save your country; or a weak General and bad counselors would have ruined it.” The “weak general” was an obvious reference to Washington. When Washington received the note, he sent it along to Conway noting the quote. Conway denied that he had ever used the term “weak general” but did not shy away from the fact that he was critical of Washington’s leadership. The original letter has been lost, so we’ll never know exactly what it said. Henry Laurens, who did read the original letter before it was lost, said in a letter to a friend that Wilkinson did not get the quote verbatim, but that Conway’s original letter was “ten times worse in every way.”

Gates Gets Mad

The matter might have ended there, but when General Gates received word that Washington had received information from his private correspondence, he wrote an angry letter to Washington in December saying that it was outrageous that someone had been going through his private correspondence and demanded that Washington find out who had committed this invasion of his privacy.

Gates did not name names in his letter, but it became clear later that he suspected the culprit was Alexander Hamilton. Recall last week, I talked about how Hamilton had ridden up to Gates’ headquarters in November to facilitate Gates moving some of his army south to assist Washington. Gates suspected that had Hamilton rifled through his papers while in Albany and reported this information back to Washington. Hamilton was in his sick bed in Peekskill when this whole matter erupted.

James Wilkinson

As it turned out, Hamilton had nothing to do with it. Word had gotten to Washington from other officers who had heard the quote at a dinner with Gates’ aide, Colonel James Wilkinson. It seems that when Wilkinson was taking his time travelling from Albany to York to bring word to Congress of the victory at Saratoga, he had let slip the gossip.

Wilkinson dined with several officers, including General Lord Stirling and his aide, Major James Monroe. After a few drinks had quoted a few choice excerpts from the letter, which Gates had read aloud to his aides. When Washington filled in Gates about the source of the information, Gates had to put aside his efforts to shift the conversation from who leaked the letter to instead dealing with the substance of the correspondence.

Board of War

That could have been the end of the incident, except for the fact that many powerful leaders were looking for a way to replace Washington and did not want the incident to go away. A contrite General Conway offered his resignation to Congress on November 14. Instead of accepting his resignation, Congress granted Conway his desired promotion to major general.

Thomas Mifflin
(from Wikimedia)

On top of that, Congress reorganized the Board of War around this same time, in a way that appears to have been designed as an insult to Washington. Up until this time, John Adams had been running the Board of War. In November, however, Adams resigned his seat to return home to Massachusetts.

Congress decided that perhaps soldiers, rather than delegates, should run the Board of War. They named General Horatio Gates as the new President of the Board. Major General Thomas Mifflin, who had been Quartermaster General, also sat on the board. Having military officers on the board created an obvious problem. Gates and Mifflin were both military subordinates to General Washington. Yet their position on the board gave them the ability to give orders to Washington.

Many in Congress, including the recently departed John Adams, had come to the position that Gates would make a better commander in Washington. Other powerful members of this group included Samuel Adams, James Lovell, and Richard Henry Lee. Another former member, Benjamin Rush, was also an outspoken critic of Washington. He wrote several letters, including one to Patrick Henry, saying so.

Inspector General

In December, in addition to promoting General Conway, Congress approved his appointment as Inspector General of the Army. In this position, Conway could second guess and attack Washington with impunity.

Conway met with Washington at Valley Forge in late December As was typical with someone who had disrespected him, Washington met Conway with a cold formality. Conway’s ego, by this time in full bloom, took offense at Washington’s treatment. He wrote a letter to Washington, basically saying that the cold reception that he got indicated that Washington was unhappy about all this and apparently unwilling to work with the new inspector general. Conway said he had better things to do in France and had no reason to stick around in America if Washington would not support him.

Thoughts of a Freeman

Many saw Congress’ new Board of War and Inspector General as an attempt to insult Washington in hopes that he would simply resign and go home. In January, 1778, Congress also received a pamphlet entitled Thoughts of a Freeman which criticized Washington’s leadership during the Philadelphia campaign and warned that the people were holding him up as a false idol.

This was yet another attempt to discredit Washington. In addition attacking his military decisions the document implied that Washington was taking on an irrational popularity among some and that this posed a danger to Congress. It played on the common fear that a military leader would rise up like Cromwell or Caesar, overthrow the legislature, and become a dictator.

Both Washington’s lack of military success, especially when compared with Gates, and the danger that he was becoming too powerful a leader, contributed to the growing opposition to him in Congress. It increased the desire of many to remove and replace him.

Plans to Invade Canada

The new Board of War met in York in December and January to discuss future plans. They largely ignored Washington and planned a new invasion of Canada.

Gen. Guy Carleton
(from Wikimedia)

The thinking was that, with Burgoyne’s army out of action, a new assault on Quebec would succeed. Following Burgoyne’s surrender, the British had abandoned Fort Ticonderoga in November, destroying most of it, and retreating back to Canada. Once again, the Gibraltar of North America fell without even a battle fought. If the Americans could launch an attack before spring, when the British might send reinforcements to Quebec, they might take the region and win the support of the locals.

General Guy Carleton still commanded an army of thousands in Quebec. Most of the New York and New England Militia who had won Saratoga did not want to invade Quebec. The massive losses suffered by the armies that had invaded in 1775 were still too fresh.

Gates and the Board of War concocted a new plan to invade Quebec, with the Marquis de Lafayette leading the conquering army. The Board gave the second in command to General Thomas Conway. Board members thought that the Marquis would be a figurehead, given that the twenty year old former French captain would defer to the more experienced Conway. By placing French generals at the head of the army, the Board hoped that the French speaking subjects of Quebec would rally around this army of liberation. The Board also added General John Stark as third in command in hopes of getting more New England militia in favor of the attack.

Even the plan itself was tentative. Lafayette received instructions to raid St. Johns and to capture the ships and dockyards there. Only if he could win the support of the locals to join the American cause, he should proceed further. If not, he was to burn St. Johns and pull back into New York.

Congress approved the plan in late January. Gates’ Board of War informed Washington of the planned invasion and requested that he deploy some of his army to Albany to participate. Washington, in a private letter a couple of weeks later called the plan the “child of folly” and thought it would be a mess. But he kept his mouth shut, and complied with the Board’s directives. Since the Board did not ask for his advice on the matter, Washington did not offer it.

Almost immediately, the project began to fly off the rails. First, the assumption that Lafayette would defer to Conway proved terribly wrong. Lafayette travelled to York where he dined with General Gates and other top officers on his first night back in town. At the end of the meal, the men offered a series of toasts. Lafayette noticed the conspicuous absence of any toasts to General Washington, and so he offered one himself. His toast, met with confused silence, helped him to understand just how much this group was seeking to undermine the commander-in-chief.

Marquis de Lafayette
(from Wikimedia)

Next, Lafayette appeared before Congress to oppose the Board’s decision of Conway as second in command. Lafayette demanded that General Johann Dekalb be given that role. Congress complied, and Conway once again found himself on the outs.

With that Lafayette travelled to Albany where he found an invasion army of less than 1000 men, some of them boys as young as twelve and old men above the age of sixty. Further, there were no supplies, equipment, or even clothing to conduct a winter campaign, even if they could gather the necessary men quickly.

Gates also told Lafayette that Stark would probably have already taken St. John by the time Lafayette got to Albany. Instead, he simply found a letter from Stark asking when he would like to get started and how many men he might need? Stark did not say so, but was likely ticked off. Months earlier, Gates had promised Stark would command the invasion of Canada. Now finding himself third in command behind two French officers probably left Stark less excited about the mission.

Lafayette consulted with other generals in the area, including Philip Schuyler, Benjamin Lincoln, and Benedict Arnold. With the exception of General Conway, who had joined the group without having a command and who was eager to proceed, the other generals all believed that this was headed for disaster. After determining that there was no way for the army to assemble the necessary soldiers and supplies in time, Lafayette wrote back to Congress saying that he would not proceed.

Washington Strikes Back

Washington had remained quiet through all of this, but was not ready to fade quietly into the night. He knew that any kind of power play opposing the inspector general or the board of war would just play into the hands of his enemies and convince people that he was a danger to civilian rule. Instead, Washington just threw the whole thing back at Congress.

He dispatched the correspondence that had gone between himself and General Conway, as well as the correspondence with General Gates about the revelation of Conway’s comments to him. In sending this information to Congress, he said the following:

If General Conway means, by cool receptions...that I did not receive him in the language of a warm and cordial friend, I readily confess the charge….my feelings will not permit me to make professions of friendship to a man I deem my enemy….At the same time, Truth authorizes me to say that he was received and treated with proper respect to his official character, and that he has no cause to justify the assertion that he could not expect any support for fulfilling the duties of his appointment.

Washington found that, while he had critics in Congress, he also had supporters. One of his key supporters was President Henry Laurens. Communications with his son John Laurens, serving as Washington’s aide-de-camp, helped President Laurens to appreciate everything Washington was doing.

Following Washington’s letters came a memorial sent by nine Continental brigadiers who objected to General Conway being promoted over them, just as Washington had predicted. In addition a group of colonels protested Wilkinson’s brevet to brigadier over more senior colonels with more command experience.

Seeing the strong objections from the military leadership and also after reviewing the correspondence that made Gates, Conway, and Wilkinson look like fools, any support for replacing Washington very quickly evaporated. Gates and Conway both testified before Congress but gave a poor performance.

The Marquis de Lafayette took it upon himself to speak on behalf of France before Congress. He said that the French viewed Washington and the revolution as one and the same. They could not conceive of another general taking command. Numerous other Continental officers also sent letters to Congress confirming that Washington had their full faith and support as Commander-in-Chief.

Fallout

With Washington’s role as commander now firmly reestablished, everyone tried to make nice again. Members of Congress at least silenced their opposition to Washington, having decided that Gates would be no improvement. General Gates wrote a series of letters to Washington trying to repair their relationship. Washington seemed to think that Gates at least was a good general, and made an effort to put the matter behind them. Gates resigned from the Board of War in the spring and took up a command in New England. There, he would remain away from Washington and from most of the actions of the war for the next few years.

Horatio Gates

When Gates discovered that Wilkinson was behind the revelation of Conway’s letters to him, the two men got into a huge fight. Not only had Wilkinson started this whole mess by revealing this information to officers loyal to Washington, he also denied to Gates that he had done it. Instead, he tried to blame one of Gates’ other aides. Gates had good reason to be angry at his aide’s poor judgment and dishonesty. He went off on an abusive tirade against the young man.

According to Wilkinson’s later recollections, the encounter ended up with Wilkinson challenging Gates to a duel and Gates accepting. Ordinarily, commanding officers did not duel with those under their command, but in this case, Gates seemed ready to resolve their dispute on the field of honor. Before the duel could take place though, the two men reconciled and put the issue behind them.

Gates was still serving on the Board of War and Wilkinson had become the board secretary. A short time later, Wilkinson read some of the letters that Gates had written to others regarding Wilkinson’s role in all of this. Wilkinson then wrote a letter to Congress accusing Gates of “treachery and falsehood” and said he could not serve as secretary with Gates as President of the Board. Congress accepted his resignation and for the next couple of years, Wilkinson did not have any official duties within the army.

Several months later, both Gates and Wilkinson appeared as witnesses at the court martial of General Arthur St. Clair. The two men got into it again and once again agreed to a duel. This time, they went through with it, firing three rounds without any hits before they decided that their honor had been satisfied.

John Cadwalader
(from Smithsonian)

Most of the public blame for the effort to unseat Washington fell on General Conway. Officially, Conway continued to serve as inspector general, although he did not really do much in that position. Congress tried to transfer him to a position in the Hudson Valley where he would be out of the action. Seeing the appointment as political exile, and realizing that he was pretty well isolated and hated by most of his fellow officers under Washington’s command, Conway once again submitted an offer of resignation to Congress in March 1778. This time, Congress accepted.

Conway did not return to France, despite his resignation. He spent his time criticizing Washington and trying to justify his actions. Later that summer, one of Washington’s supporters, Pennsylvania militia General John Cadwalader challenged Conway to a duel in Philadelphia. At the duel Cadwalader shot Conway in the mouth. Cadwalader’s only comment upon shooting Conway was “I’ve stopped the damned rascal’s tongue anyway.”

Believing that he was about to die, Conway wrote a letter of apology to Washington, calling him a great and good man. Conway did not die, but did decide it was time to return to France, where he rejoined the French army.

Washington came out of the event much stronger. Talk in Congress of replacing the commander never again approached anything serious. Those who had opposed Washington muted their complaints and tried to minimize or deny their past opposition to his leadership.

- - -

Next Episode 172 Winter at Valley Forge

Previous Episode 170 Whitemarsh

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Sunday, October 11, 2020

ARP170 Battle of Whitemarsh

For the last few weeks, I’ve been neglecting Washington’s army as we finished off Saratoga, spent a couple of weeks with the British Clearing the Delaware, and then last week catching up with the Continental Congress at York. We last left Washington retreating from his attack at Germantown on October 4, 1777 (see Episode 163).

Whitemarsh (from RevWar US)

After the retreat from Germantown, Washington and his men marched to Lansdale, about twenty miles northwest of Germantown. In the couple of weeks following the battle, Washington spent most of his time trying to consolidate his army in case there was a counterattack, trying to explain to Congress what had happened, and seeking food and supplies for his increasingly desperate soldiers.

After about two weeks, he moved his army closer to Philadelphia, setting his headquarters at the home of Peter Wentz, about 12 miles from Germantown. A few weeks after that, on November 2, he moved his army to Whitemarsh, only eight miles from Germantown. By creeping closer to the British, Washington hoped to draw British attention away from the Delaware River defenses and keep the focus on his army. If he could keep the British from seizing the forts on the Delaware, he could perhaps keep Howe’s army isolated and without supply lines over the winter.

As we saw a couple of weeks ago, that did not work. The British leveled the forts along the Delaware. The British Navy swept aside the river defenses and reached Philadelphia by late November.

Hamilton Meets with Gates

Washington’s generals were divided on next steps. Some wanted a second attack on Philadelphia. Others wanted to withdraw a short distance and give the army time to rebuild and recover. Whatever the next step, Washington knew he was going to need a larger army if he had to contend with the larger British and Hessian force occupying Philadelphia.

With the victory at Saratoga and the surrender of Burgoyne’s army, much of the northern Continental Army under General Horatio Gates would be freed up to come help Washington around Philadelphia. Convincing Gates to give up his army, however, would prove more difficult.

Washington did not want to put down in a letter the details about his army and its needs. There was too much danger that correspondence could be captured and turned over to the enemy. Instead, he sent his twenty year old aide-de-camp, Colonel Alexander Hamilton to apprise Gates personally of the situation and pass along the Commander’s orders to send the bulk of the northern army down to Pennsylvania. As Washington often did, he left some discretion with Hamilton because he might find different circumstances upon his arrival in Albany that might not make his orders to be the best course of action.

Alexander Hamilton
(from Nat Port Gallery)

Hamilton made the three hundred mile journey to Albany in five days. Along the way, he stopped at the Peekskill command to give General Israel Putnam similar orders to deploy several brigades to Washington’s command in Philadelphia.

When Hamilton reached Gates on November 5, he called for a meeting right away to convey Washington’s messages. Gates, who was cocky enough to disrespect Washington by not sending him notice of the victory at Saratoga, was irked at having to listen to orders from a 20 year old messenger boy, sent by the man he thought he should replace.

Gates told Hamilton that he was still concerned that General Clinton might bring another British army up the Hudson River that year and that he needed an army to oppose that danger if it came. He agreed to send Washington one brigade of about 600 Continentals under the command of General John Paterson.

After several days of arguing, Hamilton finally asked Gates if he should just go back to Pennsylvania and tell Washington that Gates was refusing to obey any orders to send the soldiers that Washington needed. Gates finally relented and agreed to send Morgan’s rifles, as well as troops under Generals Poor and Glover. The reinforcements finally made it to Washington, but not until it was too late to use them for the defenses at Forts Mifflin and Mercer.

It probably did not help relations between Gates and Hamilton that Hamilton was still on very good terms with General Philip Schuyler, Gates’ rival for the northern army. Hamilton stopped to spend some time with Schuyler, who was by this time, essentially retired from the army with no command of his own. He was living on his estate near Albany. It was on this visit that Hamilton had the opportunity to meet Schuyler’s daughter Elizabeth. Although it does not appear that any sparks flew at this first encounter with the future Mrs. Hamilton.

On Hamilton’s return to Pennsylvania, he discovered that Putnam’s promised reinforcements for Washington had never left Peekskill. Hamilton had to berate the major general and the general’s aide, Aaron Burr, for their failure to deploy the army. The main problem though, was not Putnam. It was that the men refused to march until they got paid.

During his travels, Hamilton got sick with a terrible fever. He took a few days to recover then continued on his way. Unfortunately, the sickness got much worse and he needed to return to bedrest. From some accounts, many witnesses thought the young man was on his death-bed, where he remained for several weeks. Shortly before Christmas, Hamilton felt well enough to travel and hired a coach to take him back to Washington’s camp. Again, though, he fell ill and had to return to a sick bed in New York. He would not make it back to Washington until late January.

Court Martial of Adam Stephen

Meanwhile back at Whitemarsh, Washington’s army settled in and waited for the British to react. As they waited, the day after arriving at Whitmarsh, November 3, Washington ordered an inquiry into the actions of Major General Adam Stephen. Stephen faced charges of drunkenness and neglect of duty at the Battle of Germantown.

During the battle Stephen’s and General Anthony Wayne’s troops fired on each other and then fled the field. Stephen’s chief accuser, Brigadier General Charles Scott, whom Stephen had criticized in his after-battle report to Washington, laid the blame back on Stephen.

Adam Stephen (from SAMS)

Remember that Stephen and Washington knew each other from way back. Stephen had come to Virginia from Scotland in 1748. He had served as a surgeon aboard a British Navy vessel during the War of Jenkin’s Ear. Having settled near Fredericksburg, he became a militia officer and served as Colonel Washington’s second in command of the 1st Virginia Regiment during the Braddock campaign of 1755. By all accounts, the two men seemed to get along reasonably well at that time.

After the French and Indian War, Stephen and Washington got into competition with each other over some western lands. They also ran against each other for the House of Burgesses seat in Fredericksburg. Although Washington won the seat, some have argued that he continued to hold a grudge against Stephen for running against him.

In truth, Stephen had a rough frontiersman persona which the elitist Washington detested. General Stephen also was not afraid to oppose the commander-in-chief councils of war. Washington had rebuked Stephen at least twice before. At Trenton, he had accused Stephen of alerting the British to the surprise attack when he sent a team to attack the Hessians. That team executed the attack without knowing about Washington’s planned attack several hours before the rest of the Continental arrived. A few months later, Washington criticized Stephen for inflating casualty numbers.

The inquiry led to a full court martial headed by Major General John Sullivan a few days later. Sullivan had been the subject of his own court martial only a few weeks earlier for his actions at Brandywine and on Long Island. While Sullivan had been acquitted, Stephen did not fare so well. Without getting into specific details, the court found him guilty of drunkenness on repeated occasions and conduct unlike an officer. It recommended Stephen be dismissed from the Army. On November 20, Washington approved the recommendation.

Stephen appealed to Congress, arguing that “a person of high rank” was out to get him - almost certainly a reference to General Washington. Nevertheless, Stephen did not have strong political support in Congress. It upheld Washington’s recommendation and cashiered Stephen.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Washington gave command of Stephen’s division to General Lafayette. The young Frenchman had been lobbying heavily for a command. Washington had been reluctant due to the Marquis’ lack of experience and a concern that if he was killed in battle, it could damage relations with France. Despite these concerns, Washington also expressed an apprehension that if Lafayette did not receive a command, he might resign and go home. That would also hurt relations with France. In the end, Lafayette took command of Stephen’s division.

Stephen returned to Virginia, where he remained active in politics. He would later go on to settle the town of Martinsburg, in what is today West Virginia.

Washington Orders Navy Ships Destroyed

Around this same time Washington ordered the remaining American ships on the Delaware River to be destroyed. The British Navy was still moving up the Delaware River toward Philadelphia. Washington feared that the British might capture several vessels that were not quite complete and outfitted for war that had been moved upriver to Bordentown, New Jersey.

John Barry (from Wikimedia)

One of these ships, the Effingham, was commanded by Captain John Barry of the Continental Navy. At first, Barry resisted orders to sink his ship, and demanded to speak with Washington first. Barry believed he could still use the ships, and would have the ability to sink it, if needed, at a moment’s notice.

Barry ended up in a huge fight with Congressman Francis Hopkinson of the Marine Committee. Hopkinson gave Barry the orders to sink his ship, and denied him any time to question the orders. Barry argued that unless he received orders from the Marine Committee, not just one member acting on his own, he would not destroy the ship. By most accounts, Hopkinson was arrogant and dismissive of Barry’s position and called him a bunch of names that had, on other occasions, led to duels.

In the end, Hopkinson ordered Barry off his ship and gave the orders himself to sink it. This led to other problems. They had planned to sink the ship in such a way that it could be raised later. Hopkinson’s lack of experience resulted in the ship being sunk irretrievably, even though he reported to Washington that it could be raised later. The incident became a big deal because it led to Congressional Hearings against Barry in January. Congress acquitted Barry, I think mostly because they knew their colleague, Hopkinson, could be a bit of an overbearing jerk and put most of the blame for the incident on the way he had handled it.

British Attack Whitemarsh

The Continentals remained at Whitemarsh for a month, daring the British in Philadelphia, only a few miles away, to do something about it. Finally, on the night of December 4, the British marched out in full force, with about 12,000 soldiers, to take Whitemarsh. The British easily repulsed an attack by 600 Pennsylvania militia, under the command of General James Irvine before reaching the American defenses.

The surprise attack was not a surprise to Washington. Several days earlier, General Howe had discussed plans for the attack. Howe had taken a large house near the Delaware River as his headquarters. He also commandeered the house across the street to use for meetings. The house for meetings belonged to the Darraghs, a Quaker family. Although Quakers tended to be loyalists, the Darraghs supported the patriot cause. Their oldest son was fighting with the patriots outside the city.

Lydia Darragh
(from Britannica)

When Howe’s officers used the home to develop their attack plans for Whitemarsh, Lydia Darragh was forced to remain upstairs in her bedroom so that she could not overhear the plans. Darragh, however, could hear the discussions from her bedroom closet and heard the necessary intelligence about the attack. The next day, she obtained a pass to leave town, ostensibly to visit her children who were staying with relatives outside of Philadelphia. Darragh then made her way to a tavern outside of town where she could get the message to the Continental army of the imminent British attack.

When the British Army arrived in Whitemarsh in the pre-dawn hours of December 5, they found the Americans ready and waiting behind their entrenchments. The Americans were getting better at building defenses. They were on heights behind a swampy land that the attackers would have to cross. The flanks were covered by abatis and artillery. The only realistic course of attack for the British was a frontal assault that would be extremely costly if successful.

Instead, the British stopped and set up camp within sight of the Americans. They hoped to draw out the Americans into an attack. Washington, however, was not taking the bait. The Americans remained behind their defenses, watching the British for two days. Finally, shortly after midnight on December 7, the British packed up and withdrew to Germantown,

From there, they marched west, hoping to move around the American left flank and find a better way to attack. Their move, however, was not much of a secret. The British left no forces in front of the lines at Whitemarsh to distract the Americans. As they marched through small towns, they burned homes, which let everyone know where they were.

Whitemarsh (from Wikimedia)

Howe deployed General Grey’s regulars along with several companies of Hessian jaegers. Joining them was the loyalist regiment known as the Queen’s Rangers, that had recently come under the command of John Graves Simcoe. This advance column was supposed to probe for weaknesses in the enemy lines. Instead, they ran into the newly-deployed Morgan’s riflemen who Hamilton had managed to get General Gates to send back to Washington. Morgan, backed up by the Maryland militia under Mordecai Gist, contested the British advance through the forest, inflicting casualties.

Not finding any weaknesses in the American lines before dawn, the British paused. General Howe then ordered the army back to Philadelphia, arriving that evening. Washington sent out troops to harass the British rear during its retreat, but the British moved so quickly that the Americans never caught up with them.

Overall the attack cost the British nine killed, sixty wounded, and thirty-three missing. Again, those are British reports, which tend to be notoriously lower than reality. Other accounts list total British casualties at around 350 dead, wounded, or missing. American losses came primarily from the Pennsylvania militia who had attacked the British column that first night, and from the engagement with Morgan’s riflemen in the forest on the night of December 7. Overall the Americans are estimated to have lost about 150 killed or wounded and another 54 captured.

Retreat to Valley Forge

While Washington’s army could withstand the British assault, there were more persistent enemies facing the army: hunger and cold. Ever since the British took Philadelphia, Washington had been complaining that his soldiers did not have blankets, shoes, tents, and other basic necessities. There were also rampant food shortages.

Campaign around Philadelphia (from JAR)

Having spent a month at Whitemarsh, the army had ravaged the immediate area of all food, supplies, and wood for fires. These needs became worse with the December cold descending upon the ill-housed and ill-clad soldiers. Washington held a council to decide what to do next. Several officers wanted to initiate another attack on Philadelphia. But the majority rejected that, as the men were in no condition for another attack and the British defenses were too well established.

Others wanted to move the army into winter quarters at Wilmington Delaware, where they could continue to harass British movements on the Delaware River. That position, however, did not allow a good line of retreat and also opened up an undefended path of attack on York, where Congress was sitting. In addition, any British movements to the north to link up with New York would also find them out of position. The army also considered moving to Lancaster, but that was too far from Philadelphia to keep an eye on the British and also would displace a great many civilians who had fled to that area from Philadelphia.

A third option was winter quarters in an area a little further away from Philadelphia. At just over a day’s march, the distance would prevent a surprise attack. The location was also near a large forested area that would provide firewood and lumber for building cabins for winter quarters. It was also closer to farming communities that would provide a source of food for the army and had access to the Schuylkill River for water.

March to Valley Forge (from MOAR)

Washington’s generals were pretty evenly divided on the three locations. Washington made the decision for the third option: Valley Forge. The army broke camp at Whitemarsh on December 11. The men trudged through freezing rain and muddy roads as they made their way to the undisclosed location.

As the column began to cross the river at Matson’s Ford on the Schuylkill River, it unexpectedly ran into a force of several thousand British soldiers under the command of General Cornwallis. The British had been out on a large foraging party. Neither side had expected to see the other. The British were on the east side of the river. The surprised Americans quickly retreated back to the western side. Although Washington’s army far outnumbered Cornwallis’ brigade, it was not prepared for the fight, and allowed the British to escape.

The Americans reported five killed, twenty wounded and another twenty captured from the advance force that had encountered Cornwallis. The British reported capturing 160 prisoners after a “stubborn resistance.”

Washington paused his march for a week, sending out groups to look for more British in the area, camping at an area known as the Gulph, or Gulph Mills. On December 19, finding no more British, the army continued its march to Valley Forge. It reached its intended destination the following day.

With that, the two armies went into winter quarters, with no more major operations planned until spring.

Next week, we return to France where the King is finally ready to enter into a secret alliance with the Americans.

- - -

Next Episode 171 The Conway Cabal

Previous 169 Articles of Confederation

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

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Sunday, October 4, 2020

ARP169 Articles of Confederation

We last checked in with the Continental Congress in Episode 141, as the delegates held a session in Philadelphia. They had returned to Philadelphia from Baltimore in March 1777, having fled the prior December when they feared the British might invade Philadelphia from New Jersey. When that fear passed, they returned.

Then in September 1777, the British army once again threatened Philadelphia, this time marching up from Maryland. The delegates left town as the Continentals under George Washington attempted in vain to halt the British advance.

Lancaster

The delegates had adjourned in Philadelphia on September 18th, with plans to meet in Lancaster. They could not simply move straight from Philadelphia to Lancaster, as they would be passing over the same ground where the two armies under Washington and Howe were doing battle. Instead, the members took a circuitous route, first, travelling up to Trenton, New Jersey, then over to Easton Pennsylvania. From there, they moved west to Bethlehem. They remained in Bethlehem for a few days, where many soldiers from Brandywine and other area battles were still recovering. There were also Hessian prisoners of war there, who needed to be moved south to prevent the enemy from liberating them. After a few days, the delegates made their way west to Lancaster.

Lancaster Courthouse hosted Congress for one day
(from Explore Pa History)

On September 27, the day after the British Army marched into Philadelphia, the delegates met at the Lancaster courthouse to open a new session. They read a few letters from various generals, including one from the 15th from General Horatio Gates at Bemis Heights, getting ready for the big showdown with Burgoyne’s army. Gates had not yet fought the battle of Freeman's Farm, but was optimistic about his chances of victory. Congress read another from General Washington from the 23rd. At the time he wrote it, Washington still hoped to block the British army and begged for more supplies.

Lancaster was about sixty miles from Philadelphia, probably at least two day’s march for the British Army. However, the delegates decided it was not quite far enough. After tending to a little more business in that one-day session, Congress adjourned. It ended the one day session in Lancaster with a resolution to meet three days later in the town of York, Pennsylvania. The new location would be twenty miles further from Philadelphia. It would also be across the Susquehanna River, placing another natural barrier between Congress and the British Army in Philadelphia.

Another reason for the move was that the Pennsylvania legislature was also meeting in Lancaster. The combination of the two legislative bodies was probably more than the small town could handle. Thus Lancaster had its one day as the nation’s capital.

York

York would be the seat of Congress for nine months. On the first day in York, President Hancock received more correspondence from General Gates with updates. He forwarded them to General Washington, since Gates was not keeping the commander up to date directly. Hancock added his own note, saying he hoped to receive word from Washington soon that he had totally reduced General Howe’s army.

York Courthouse (rebuilt) where Congress met.

Washington made his attempt on October 4, when he attacked Germantown (see Episode 163). Despite the failure at Germantown, Congress nevertheless congratulated Washington on the attempt and ordered a medal struck in his honor. Despite the congratulations, delegates were not optimistic. John Adams wrote in his diary indicating his desire for a new military leader who could lead America to victory:

Heaven grant us one great soul. One leading mind would extricate the best cause from the ruin that seems to await it. We have as good a cause as ever was fought for. One active, masterly capacity would bring order out of this confusion and save our country.

Samuel Adams made a speech to the delegates where he said:

Our affairs are said to be desperate, but we are not without hope and not without courage. The eyes of the people of this country are upon us here, and the tone of their feeling is regulated by ours. If we as delegates in Congress give up in despair, and grow desperate, public confidence will be destroyed and American liberty will be no more.

He ended his speech by seeking hope from God to save the cause:

There have been times since the opening of this war when we were reduced almost to distress, but the great arm of Omnipotence has raised us up. Let us still rely for assistance upon Him who is mighty to save. We shall not be abandoned by the Powers above so long as we act worthy of aid and protection. The darkest hour is just before the dawn. Good news may soon reach us from the army and from across the sea.

Laurens Replaces Hancock

About this time many members of Congress either took temporary leave or permanently left Congress to attend to other business Among them was the President of Congress, John Hancock, who stepped down in October. He wanted to return to Boston and attend to business. He gave a simple farewell speech and a delegate moved to thank Hancock for his nearly two and a half years of service.

You would think a motion just saying thank you to a retiring officer would be pretty non-controversial, but it wasn’t. Members objected and the motion barely passed by a vote of six states to four. Among those opposed was Hancock’s own Massachusetts. Opponents argued it was improper to thank any delegate for simply discharging the duties of his office.

Henry Laurens

Many of the delegates had grown to dislike Hancock, not the least of whom were Samuel and John Adams, who had worked with Hancock for decades. They considered Hancock vain and disliked his efforts to help friends secure political office. When a delegate asked Samuel Adams if he could forgive Hancock, he said, he would both forgive him and forget him.

For the new President, Congress chose Henry Laurens of South Carolina. Laurens came from a wealthy family of rice farmers, but had made a fortune as a partner in one of the largest slave-trading companies in North America. He had served as a lieutenant colonel in the militia during the French and Indian War where he led several campaigns against the Cherokee in the carolinas.

In the years leading up to the revolution, Laurens served in the colonial assembly, where he was considered a moderate in the political arguments with Parliament and led efforts to broker a political compromise. However, as South Carolina got further radicalized, so did Laurens. He served in the Provincial Congress in 1775 and became the state’s first vice president in 1776. He had come to the Continental Congress as a delegate only a few months prior to his election as the body’s new presiding officer.

His son, John Laurens, had been studying law in London before the war. He returned to America over his father’s objections and took a commission in the Continental Army. To keep him out of direct combat, Henry got his son a position as an aide to General George Washington. This direct connection between Washington’s inner circle and the President of Congress would prove crucial in the coming months.

Word of Saratoga

Just before Hancock resigned, Congress received unofficial word of a victory by Gates over Burgoyne in New York. For several weeks though, these were just rumors. Gates had won the Battle of Bemis Height on October 7, and then accepted Burgoyne’s formal surrender on October 17. Both General Washington and General Putnam forwarded to Congress news of the victory which arrived on October 21. Neither Washington nor Putnam had received official word directly from anyone in the army, but had heard the news from New York Governor George Clinton.

James Wilkinson
(from Wikimedia)

General Gates sent word to Congress via his messenger Colonel James Wilkinson. Traditionally a commander would send a messenger of a great victory with the expectation that Congress would award the messenger with a promotion, in this case to general. Wilkinson, however, did not seem in any hurry to get to Congress. He left Albany on October 20th. He made his way to Easton, Pennsylvania four days later, where he dined with local officials. He managed to get to Reading by the 27th, where he dined with Lord Stirling, still recovering from wounds received at Brandywine. Also present was a young Major James Monroe, still recovering from his wounds at Trenton. At that dinner, Wilkinson drank a little too much and began discussing possibilities of replacing Washington with Gates as commander of the Continental Army. It took him another four days to make the fifty mile trip to York where he finally arrived on October 31.

Although he had stopped to meet with a number of other officers, he did not bother to stop and provide General Washington with the news, nor did Gates make any effort to transmit the information to his commander at any time. Washington finally received definitive notice from Congress, not from Gates.

While Congress was happy to receive confirmation of the great victory, they were not happy with how long it took Wilkinson to arrive. By the time of his arrival, Hancock had resigned, but Laurens had not yet been elected. Wilkinson gave his message to Secretary Charles Thompson, who was presiding in the interim. A few days later, after Laurens’ election, Congress voted to give Wilkinson a ceremonial sword. Several delegates remarked that perhaps ceremonial spurs or a whip might be better to assist the young man in traveling a little faster. It also voted to give Wilkinson a brevet promotion to brigadier general.

Congress also was not happy with the terms of surrender that Gates had given to Burgoyne’s army. The decision to allow them to return to England seemed to undercut the value of capturing the army in the first place. Whatever, their concerns, publicly Congress voted on November 4 to thank General Gates for his great victory. It also voted to set December 18 as a national day of thanksgiving to God for allowing such a great victory.

Duché Letter

Much of Congress’ daily work involved correspondence. Congress regularly received letters from all sorts of people. Many came from generals, state politicians and other notable men. Typically, such letters would be read aloud and acted upon by the entire body, or sent to a committee for further consideration.

Jacob Duché (from Wikimedia)

In mid-October, General Washington forwarded a letter from the Reverend Jacob Duché in Philadelphia. Duché had served as a minister to the First Continental Congress and was considered a patriot. He had remained in Philadelphia when the British army occupied the city. There, he was arrested on charges of treason against the King.

A few days later, Duché sent a letter to General Washington, essentially saying that he never really supported independence and that the rebellion was pretty much lost at this point. He called on Washington to renounce independence, seek a negotiated peace, accept pardons from General Howe, and return royal authority to America.

Washington often forwarded letters to Congress without comment. In this case, however, made clear that he thought the author’s comments were "curious," "extraordinary," and "ridiculous." Even so, it was Congress’ place to respond to any political proposal, not the place of a military commander. Congress read the letter, but did not act. The letter eventually reached state officials who charged Duché with treason against the state of Pennsylvania and confiscated all of his lands. Duché would be forced to leave Philadelphia with the British, and would be exiled from his home state. Such defeatism would not be tolerated.

Articles of Confederation

Within a few days of opening the York session, even with all the other things happening, the Congress resumed its debate on the Articles of Confederation. Since just after passage of the Declaration of Independence, more than a year earlier, Congress had debated the Articles two or three days each week. After getting started in York, the delegates made a final push, spending some time each day to finalize an agreement on the articles.

Debate remained contentious. One of the biggest issues was over representation. Should each state be represented equally? should it be based on population? or should it be based on the wealth of each state and how much money each contributed to Congress?

Other contentious issues over the next few weeks included the power to tax, the authority to settle state boundaries, and the length of terms for delegates.

Finally, on November 15, Congress agreed to the final wording of the Articles of Confederation. They sent the document to the printers so that they could send them to the states for ratification.

Articles of Confederation (from Const. Amer.)

The articles were the product of considerable debate and disagreement. The delegates, however, reached a compromise in the interest of having some sort of governing document. The loss of Philadelphia seemed to focus the debate. Some were doubting whether Congress could remain a body at all. Many of its most prominent delegates had left for positions within their states or abroad. Without some agreed document establishing Congress’ legitimacy, it could possibly just fade away.

The final document recognized the independence and sovereignty of each individual state. It recognized that each state retained all of its general sovereign authority except for a few explicitly defined powers that were granted to Congress.

Many of the provisions simply defined the mechanics of how Congress would operate, or was already operating. Delegates would be selected by states for one-year terms beginning each November. Delegations could be between two and seven members, whatever the state wanted, and within those limits could change the delegation at any time. States also had the authority to recall a delegate at any time. Regardless of how many delegates a state sent, each state got one vote in Congress. Delegations would hold their own votes to decide how the state would vote on any issue. Each Congress would select a president for a one-year term. No person could hold that office for more than one out of every three years.

States would work together for mutual defense. Congress retained for itself the power to declare war or peace. No state could go to war against another country unless actually invaded. During war, states could commission officers below the rank of colonel. Congress would commission colonels and generals. States could not keep their own navies in time of peace, unless authorized by Congress. Congress would retain sole authority to run prize courts for ships or other property captured by privateers.

Costs of prosecuting the war would be incurred by Congress, who would collect shares of the costs from each state based on the total value of property in that state. State governments would be responsible for actually collecting the taxes however they liked and sending the money to Congress.

The document further stated that Congress held the authority to maintain diplomatic relations with other countries. States could not send their own ambassadors or open embassies in other countries. Congress retained the exclusive right to enter into treaties, including commercial treaties with other countries.

States could not form treaties with each other. All relations between states would be through the Congress. States could not impose taxes on foreigners that differed from those of their own citizens, nor could they create import or export restrictions on goods.

States agreed to give full faith and credit to each other’s laws and court decisions. If a criminal fled from one state to another, a state would have to return the fugitive for trial or punishment in the state that retained jurisdiction for the crime. Free citizens would have all the privileges and immunities of citizenship in each state, and may travel freely between states, except of course for slaves, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives.

Congress retained the power to set standards for coins and currency. It would be the final arbiter of any state boundary disputes.

Any decisions by Congress to enter a treaty, borrow money, authorize expenditures, increase the size of the military, engage in an act of war, or even appoint a commander of the army or navy, would require a vote of nine states. In other words it would require a two-thirds majority if all thirteen states voted. The Articles authorized Canada to join the union if it desired. Any other state wishing to join the Union would also require the approval of at least nine states.

Approval of the articles would require the ratification by all thirteen states before it could go into effect. Any future amendments to the Articles would also require unanimous approval by all the states, as well as the approval of Congress itself.

Ratification

Congress submitted the Articles to the states for ratification. Just as debate had been contentious within Congress, so it was in the state legislatures. One of the biggest sticking points for many state leaders was the authority given to Congress to set state boundaries.

Articles, printed (from Northwestern)

Many states had claims on land stretching all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Some also had boundary disputes with neighboring states. State leaders had great concerns about letting Congress make decisions about how to resolve them. Congress would likely make new western states out of most of their land, and use land sales to pay off promises to veterans or raise other funds. The value of those western lands were seen as future income for many states. They did not simply want to give that wealth away.

At the same time, many States without western land claims absolutely wanted those lands turned over to Congress. They did not want to be next to huge states that dominated the continent and dwarfed their own limited land claims. These states would not ratify the Articles until the larger states showed a willingness to give up their claims to western lands.

It had taken Congress well over a year to work out the proposed Articles of Confederation. The states would debate ratification for another nearly four years. The last hold out, Maryland, would ratify the Articles in 1781, finally allowing them to take effect.

Until then, Congress would continue to operate under its own ad hoc rules, making up rules as they went along, and hoping the States would comply. Meanwhile, the Congress continued to publish the Articles, even producing a French version to send to Benjamin Franklin in Paris. Delegates hoped it would help convince France to recognize the United States as an independent nation.

In the meantime, the war continued to rage.

Next week, the British under General Howe attack Washington’s Army at Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania.

- - -

Next Episode 170 Whitemarsh

Previous Episode 168 Forts Mercer and Mifflin

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

Follow the podcast on Twitter @AmRevPodcast

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American Revolution Podcast

Sunday, October 18, 2020

ARP171 The Conway Cabal

Thomas Conway

Conway Seeks Promotion

Gates Gets Mad

Board of War

Inspector General

Thoughts of a Freeman

Plans to Invade Canada

Washington Strikes Back

Fallout

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

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

Sunday, October 11, 2020

ARP170 Battle of Whitemarsh

Hamilton Meets with Gates

Court Martial of Adam Stephen

Washington Orders Navy Ships Destroyed

British Attack Whitemarsh

Retreat to Valley Forge

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

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

Sunday, October 4, 2020

ARP169 Articles of Confederation

Lancaster

York

Laurens Replaces Hancock

Word of Saratoga

Duché Letter

Articles of Confederation

Ratification

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

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

Sunday, October 18, 2020

ARP171 The Conway Cabal

Thomas Conway

Conway Seeks Promotion

Gates Gets Mad

Board of War

Inspector General

Thoughts of a Freeman

Plans to Invade Canada

Washington Strikes Back

Fallout

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks(from archive.org unless noted)

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

Sunday, October 11, 2020

ARP170 Battle of Whitemarsh

Hamilton Meets with Gates

Court Martial of Adam Stephen

Washington Orders Navy Ships Destroyed

British Attack Whitemarsh

Retreat to Valley Forge

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks(from archive.org unless noted)

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

Sunday, October 4, 2020

ARP169 Articles of Confederation

Lancaster

York

Laurens Replaces Hancock

Word of Saratoga

Duché Letter

Articles of Confederation

Ratification

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks(from archive.org unless noted)

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

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

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

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

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

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

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