LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
 
 TARED SPARKS. 
 \\ 
 
 ABRIDGED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 rsm 
 
 BOSTON: 
 PUBLISHED BY FERDINAND AKDREWS. 
 
 1840. 
 
 .* 
 
Entered according to act of Co/gress in the year 1840, by 
 
 JARED SPARKS, 
 in the Clerk s office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE: 
 
 STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY 
 
 FOLSOM, WELLS, AND THURSTON, 
 
 PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 VOLUME SECOND. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Spurious Letters written and circulated in the Name of 
 Washington. Conway s Cabal. Persons concerned in 
 it. Honorable and generous Conduct of Lafayette in re 
 lation to this Affair 1 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Sufferings of the Army at Valley Forge. New Arrange 
 ments concerted with a Committee of Congress. Half- 
 pay granted to the Officers for a Term of Years. Pro 
 ceedings in Regard to Lord North s conciliatory Bills. . 17 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Arrival of the French Treaties of Alliance and Commerce. 
 
 Comparative Strength of the British and American Ar 
 mies. Discussions respecting an Attack on Philadelphia. 
 
 Plans of the Enemy. Evacuation of Philadelphia 
 
 The Army crosses the Delaware. Battle of Monmouth. 
 
 Arrest and Trial of General Lee 33 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Arrival of the French Fleet under Count d Estaing. Plans 
 for combined Operations between the Fleet and the Amer 
 ican Army. Failure of an Attempt against the Enemy 
 at Rhode Island. Cantonments of the Army for the Win- 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 k ter. Exchange of Prisoners. Congress. Project of 
 an Expedition to Canada 52 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Conferences with a Committee of Congress, and Plans for 
 the next Campaign. Sullivan s Expedition against the 
 Indians. The Enemy commence a predatory Warfare. 
 
 The Burning of New Haven, F airfield, and Norwalk. 
 Stony Point stormed and taken. Successful Enterprise 
 against Paulus Hook. Washington s Interviews with the 
 French Minister. Plans proposed for cooperating with 
 Count d Estaing. The Army goes into Winter Quarters. 
 
 ^ Depreciation of the Currency, and its Effects. ... 69 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Arrival of the Marquis de Lafayette, with the Intelligence 
 that a French Armament was on its Way to the United 
 States. The Army takes a Position near Hudson s River. 
 
 The French Squadron arrives at Newport. Count de 
 Rochambeau s Instructions. French Fleet blockaded. 
 Interview between General Washington and the French 
 Commander at Hartford. The Treason of Arnold. 
 Plans for attacking New York 92 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Mutiny of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Troops. Agen 
 cy of Washington in procuring Supplies from France. 
 Operations of the Enemy in the Chesapeake. Detach 
 ment to Virginia under Lafayette. General Washington 
 visits Count de Rochambeau at Newport. Condition of 
 the Army. Interview between the American and French 
 Commanders at Weathersfield. Plan of Operations. 
 A Combined Attack on New York proposed 109 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Junction between the American and French Armies. Intel 
 ligence from Count de Grasse in the West Indies changes 
 
CONTENTS. V 
 
 the Objects of the Campaign. Successful Operations of 
 Lafayette against Cornwallis. The combined Armies 
 cross the Hudson and march to Virginia. The Fleet of 
 Count de Grasse enters the Chesapeake. Siege of York- 
 town. Capitulation. The American Army returns to 
 Hudson s River ; the French remains in Virginia. . . .126 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Preparations for another Campaign recommended and en 
 forced by General Washington and approved by Congress. 
 Lafayette returns to France. The Affair of Captain 
 Asgill. Backwardness of the States in recruiting the 
 Army. Proposal to General Washington to assume Su 
 preme Power, and his Reply. Sir Guy Carleton gives 
 Notice, that Negotiations for Peace had begun. The 
 French Troops march from Virginia, join General Wash 
 ington, and afterwards embark at Boston 145 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Dissatisfaction of the Army. The Officers send a Memorial 
 to Congress. The anonymous Addresses at Newburg. 
 Intelligence arrives, that a Treaty of Peace had been sign 
 ed at Paris. General Washington s Sentiments concern 
 ing the civil Government of the Union. His Circular 
 Letter to the States. He makes a Tour to the North. 
 Repairs to Congress at the Request of that Body. His 
 Farewell Address to the Army. The British evacuate 
 New York. Washington resigns his Commission, and 
 retires to private Life at Mount Vernon X156 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 He declines receiving pecuniary Compensation for his pub 
 lic Services. His Feelings on being relieved from the 
 Burden of Office. Devotes himself to Agriculture. 
 Makes a Tour to the Western Country. His extensive 
 Plans for internal Navigation. These Plans adopted by 
 the State of Virginia. Visit of the Marquis de Lafayette 
 to America. Washington refuses to accept a Donation 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 from the State of Virginia. His liberal Acts for the En 
 couragement of Education. Approves the Countess of 
 Huntington s Scheme for civilizing and Christianizing the 
 Indians 177 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 His Operations in Farming and Horticulture. Visitors at 
 Mount Vernon. His Habits. Houdon s Statue. Con 
 dition of the Country and Defects of the Confederacy. 
 Washington s Sentiments thereon. First Steps towards 
 effecting a Reform. Convention at Annapolis 194 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Proposal for a general Convention, and Washington appoint 
 ed a Delegate from Virginia. His Reasons for wishing 
 to decline. Society of the Cincinnati. Washington ac 
 cepts the Appointment as Delegate. Attends the Con 
 vention, is chosen its President, and affixes his Name to 
 the New Constitution. His Opinion of the Constitution. 
 It is adopted by the People. Washington chosen the 
 first President of the United States 207 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 He receives official Notice of being chosen President. 
 His Journey to the Seat of Government at New York. 
 His Oath of Office and Inaugural Speech. Acquaints 
 himself with the State of public Affairs. His Attention 
 to his private Pursuits. His Manner of receiving Visits 
 and entertaining Company. Afflicted with a severe Ill 
 ness. Death of his Mother. Economy of his House 
 hold. Executive Departments formed 224 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Officers of the Executive Departments appointed. Judici 
 ary System organized. Washington s Opinion of the Su 
 preme Court. His Rule in Appointments to Office. 
 His Journey through the Eastern States. System of 
 
CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 Funding the public Debts. Place for the permanent Seat 
 of Government agreed upon 239 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 The President visits Rhode Island and Mount Vernon. 
 Foreign Relations of the United States. France, Eng 
 land, Spain. Indian War. Washington s Policy respect 
 ing the Indians. Congress meets at Philadelphia. A 
 National Bank established. Tax on distilled Spirits. 
 The President s Tour through the Southern States. Ap 
 portionment Bill. Parties and their Causes. Dissen 
 sions between the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 
 the Treasury. Washington s Attempts to reconcile them. 256 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Washington is elected President for a Second Term. 
 Takes the Oath of Office. Relations between the United 
 States and France. Opinions of the Cabinet. Procla 
 mation of Neutrality. Party Divisions and Excitements. 
 Genet received as Minister from France. His ex 
 traordinary Conduct. Meeting of Congress. The Pres 
 ident recommends Measures of Defence. Commercial 
 Affairs. Mr. Madison s Commercial Resolutions. Mr. 
 Jay appointed Envoy Extraordinary to negotiate a Treaty 
 with England. Military Preparations 276 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Insurrection in Pennsylvania. Measures adopted by the 
 President for suppressing it. Plan for redeeming the 
 Public Debt. The British Treaty ratified by the Sen 
 ate. Popular Excitement respecting it. The Treaty 
 confirmed by the Signature of the President. Resigna 
 tion of Mr. Randolph. Circumstances attending it. . . 294 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 The President refuses to furnish Papers to the House of 
 Representatives in relation to the British Treaty. Cap- 
 
Vill CONTENTS. 
 
 tivity of Lafayette, and Means used by Washington to 
 procure his Liberation. Difficulties with France in re 
 gard to the British Treaty. Recall of Mr. Monroe. 
 Washington s Farewell Address. His last Speech to Con 
 gress. Inauguration of his Successor. Testimony of 
 Respect shown to him by the Citizens of Philadelphia. 
 He retires to Mount Vernon. Review of his Adminis 
 tration 311 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 Washington devotes himself to his private Affairs. Troubles 
 between France and the United States. Preparations for 
 War. Washington appointed Commander-in-chief of the 
 Provisional Army of the United States. Organization and 
 Arrangement of the Army. Disputes with France ad 
 justed. His last Illness and Death. His Character. . 326 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Spurious Letters written and circulated in the Name of Wash 
 ington. Conway s Cabal. Persons concerned in it. Hon 
 orable and generous Conduct of Lafayette in relation to this 
 Affair. 
 
 THE command of the American armies, and 
 the responsibilities attending that high office, 
 were not the only causes of vexation, which 
 at this time harassed the mind of Washington. 
 Attempts were made by his public adversaries, 
 and by secret foes wearing the mask of friend 
 ship, to destroy his influence and ruin his char 
 acter. 
 
 A pamphlet was published in London, con 
 taining a series of letters, purporting to have 
 been written by him in the summer of 1776, 
 and with his signature attached to them. It 
 was stated in the preface, that, when Fort Lee 
 was evacuated, General Washington s servant 
 
 VOL. II. 1 
 
2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 
 
 was left behind indisposed ; that in his posses 
 sion was a small portmanteau belonging to the 
 General, in which, among other things of tri 
 fling value, were the drafts of several private 
 letters to Mrs. Washington, Mr. Lund Wash 
 ington, and Mr. Custis ; and that these had 
 been transmitted to England by an officer, into 
 whose hands they had fallen. This fiction 
 was contrived to deceive the public into a be 
 lief of the genuineness of the letters, although 
 in reality not one of General Washington s 
 servants, nor a single article of his baggage, 
 was taken by the enemy in the whole course 
 of the war. But the tenor of the letters was 
 the most insidious part of the fabrication. 
 Washington is represented as expressing senti 
 ments totally at variance with his conduct, 
 and as deprecating the misguided zeal and 
 rashness of Congress in declaring indepen 
 dence, and pushing the opposition to Great 
 Britain to so perilous an extremity. The let 
 ters were reprinted in New York, and indus 
 triously circulated in various forms through 
 the agency of disaffected persons. The dis 
 guise was too flimsy to cover so nefarious a 
 purpose. Whatever credit they may have 
 gained in England, they could have no influ 
 ence on his countrymen, who understood his 
 character. 
 
^Er. 45.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 3 
 
 The author of these spurious epistles was 
 never publicly known. They were written 
 with considerable art, and by a person ac 
 quainted with many particulars of General 
 Washington s family concerns. It is probable, 
 also, that parts of intercepted letters actually 
 written by him were interwoven. He never 
 thought the subject worthy of his notice, till 
 near the end of his presidency, when a new 
 edition of these same forgeries was palmed 
 upon the public to gratify the spleen of a ma 
 lignant party spirit, and to effect a purpose 
 even more infamous than the one contemplated 
 by their original author. He then declared 
 them, in a letter to the Secretary of State, to 
 be spurious and false. 
 
 Whilst the enemies of his country were 
 thus employed in scattering the seeds of de 
 traction and falsehood, the agents of faction 
 were secretly at work, both in the army and 
 in Congress, to disparage and undermine his 
 reputation. This conspiracy has been called 
 Conway s Cabal, from the name of the indi 
 vidual who acted the most conspicuous part. 
 The other prominent leaders were General 
 Gates and General Mifflin. The causes and 
 origin of the disaffection of these officers to 
 the Commander-in-chief have not been ex 
 plained. When they joined the service, at the 
 
4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 
 
 beginning of the war, they professed to be his 
 friends, and probably were such. It was 
 mainly at his instance, that General Gates re 
 ceived his first appointment. Being an Eng 
 lishman by birth, some of the members of 
 Congress had scruples on the subject, thinking 
 their cause would be safest in the charge of 
 native Americans, both on account of their in 
 fluence over the people, and of the ardor and 
 sincerity of their patriotism. These scruples 
 were waved, however, in favor of Gates and 
 Charles Lee, and in each case at the solicita 
 tion of Washington, who had confidence in 
 their attachment to American liberty, and be 
 lieved important aid might be derived from 
 their military skill and experience. 
 
 The first symptoms of discontent are sup 
 posed to have been manifested at Cambridge. 
 Gates was adjutant-general of the army, with 
 the rank of brigadier. Mifflin went there as 
 aid-de-camp to the Commander-in-chief, by 
 whom, under the authority of Congress, he 
 was appointed quartermaster-general, with the 
 rank of colonel. After the organization of the 
 first Continental army, Gates applied for the 
 command of a brigade, and Mifflin of a regi 
 ment. These requests were declined by Wash 
 ington, on the ground, in the first place, that 
 the duties of their offices required their whole 
 
^Er. 45.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 5 
 
 attention, and, in the next, that such an indul 
 gence would interfere with the just claims of 
 other officers. This refusal is thought to have 
 given an offence, that was not forgotten. It is 
 certain, that, after the army marched from 
 Cambridge, General Gates made interest with 
 Congress to be employed at a distance from 
 Washington s immediate command, and con 
 tinued to do so ; and the correspondence with 
 him on the part of Gates, made necessary by 
 his official relation to the Commander-in-chief, 
 so far from being cordial and friendly, was 
 marked with " an air of design, a want of 
 candor in many instances, and even of polite 
 ness." These are the words of Washington, 
 contained in a letter to the President of Con 
 gress three years after the army left Cam 
 bridge, and they are verified by the correspond 
 ence since published. 
 
 Conway, by birth an Irishman, had been in 
 the French service from his youth, and found 
 ed his claim to consideration on the circum 
 stance of his being an officer of thirty years 
 experience. He joined the army at Morris- 
 town, having the rank of brigadier, by the 
 appointment of Congress. Of all the men in 
 the world, he was the last to conciliate the fa 
 vor of Washington. Boastful, presumptuous, 
 and intriguing, bent on pushing his fortune, 
 
6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 
 
 and looking only to personal aggrandizement, 
 he was unprincipled in regard to the means 
 and reckless of consequences. Abundant proofs 
 of these traits of character and of sinister aims 
 were exhibited during the campaign ; and, 
 when it was rumored that Conway was to be 
 promoted, Washington wrote to a member of 
 Congress a letter of strong remonstrance against 
 it, assigning his reasons without reserve. The 
 success of the northern army, in the capture 
 of Burgoyne, was the signal for the malecon- 
 tents to assume a bolder attitude in prosecuting 
 their machinations. Anonymous letters were 
 sent to the President of Congress and the Gov 
 ernor of Virginia, filled with insinuations, com 
 plaints, and exaggerated statements, and as 
 cribing all the misfortunes of the campaign to 
 the incapacity, or ill-timed Fabian policy, of 
 the Commander-in-chief. It was affirmed, with 
 as much effrontery as falsehood, that his force 
 had been three or four times as large as that 
 opposed to him ; and no pains were spared to 
 make it appear, that all his plans and opera 
 tions evinced a want of military knowledge, 
 judgment, and decision. 
 
 These artifices, though practised in secret 
 for a time, were well known to Washington. 
 His scrutinizing observation easily penetrated 
 the designs of those, who acted under the 
 
^Er. 45.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 7 
 
 cloak of a pretended attachment : and his real 
 friends, moved not less by a sense of duty 
 to their country, than of justice to him, took 
 care to put him on his guard, and to acquaint 
 him with the intrigues of the cabal, as far as 
 they could be ascertained from overt acts, or 
 inferred from less obvious indications. The 
 affair was at length brought to his notice in a 
 definite shape. When Colonel Wilkinson, one 
 of Gates s aids-de-camp, was on his way from 
 Saratoga to Congress, as bearer of despatches 
 announcing the capitulation of Burgoyne, he 
 stopped at the quarters of Lord Stirling, who 
 was then at Reading. In a free conversation 
 while there, Wilkinson repeated part of a letter, 
 which Gates had received from Conway, con 
 taining strictures on the management of the 
 army under Washington, accompanied with 
 disparaging reflections. Prompted by patriot 
 ism and friendship, Lord Stirling communi 
 cated to him an extract from the letter as re 
 peated by Wilkinson. A correspondence on 
 the subject followed between Washington, 
 Gates, and Conway. The genuineness of the 
 extract was denied, but the letter itself was 
 never produced. Two or three persons after 
 wards saw it in confidence, among whom was 
 Mr. Laurens, President of Congress: and, al 
 though the words proved not to be exactly the 
 
LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 
 
 same, yet the tenor and spirit of the letter 
 were accurately reported. The transaction, and 
 the incidents springing from it, could not long 
 be concealed from the officers of the army. 
 Rumors respecting them went abroad, and the 
 public sentiment was expressed in a tone so 
 unequivocal and decided, as to discourage the 
 instigators ; and their schemes were abandoned, 
 before they had produced any of the fatal mis 
 chiefs, which must inevitably have followed, 
 if their ambitious hopes had been realized. 
 
 There is no reason to suppose, that any of 
 the officers were directly implicated in the ca 
 bal, except Gates, Mifflin, and Conway. That 
 a considerable party in Congress favored the 
 projects of these men is evident from the pro 
 ceedings of that body for several months. 
 After the capitulation at Saratoga, Gates for 
 warded the official account of the event to 
 Congress, without communicating the intelli 
 gence in any shape to the Commander-in- 
 chief, which his duty as an officer and the 
 common rules of courtesy required him to do; 
 and Congress never intimated their dissatisfac 
 tion with this breach of decorum, and marked 
 disrespect to the commander of their armies, 
 whose authority they were bound to support. 
 Nearly at the same time Congress instituted a 
 new Board of War, to which were granted 
 
^ET. 45.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 9 
 
 large powers, and of which Gates and Mifflin 
 were appointed members, Gates being placed 
 at its head. 
 
 One of the first acts of this board was a 
 projected expedition to Canada, planned by 
 Gates, and approved by Congress, without con 
 sulting Washington in the least of its particu 
 lars. The first intimation he had of it was in 
 a letter from the Board of War, enclosing 
 another to Lafayette, informing him of his be 
 ing appointed to the command of the expedi 
 tion. It was the design of this stroke of pol 
 icy to bring over Lafayette to the interests of 
 the faction. They had little knowledge of his 
 character. He was not to be deceived nor 
 cajoled. He carried the letter to Washington, 
 told him that he saw through the artifice, and 
 should decline. Washington replied, that he 
 knew not the object of the expedition, nor 
 how it was to be carried into effect, but the 
 appointment was an honorable one, which 
 would place him in a conspicuous station, 
 where he would in any event acquit himself 
 with credit ; for, if the enterprise should fail, 
 he was persuaded his conduct would be such 
 as to save him from faults and screen him from 
 censure, and the responsibility would rest with 
 its projectors. Yielding to this advice, he ac 
 ceded to the proposal, went to Albany, where 
 
10 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 
 
 he had been promised that troops and every 
 thing necessary should be provided, and, after 
 waiting there three months, his patience being 
 exhausted and all his hopes defeated, as the 
 Board of War did nothing to fulfil their prom 
 ise or promote the expedition, he returned to 
 the camp at Yalley Forge.* 
 
 And it might here be recorded to the honor 
 of Lafayette, if indeed his whole career in 
 
 * Before Lafayette commenced his journey to Albany, 
 he rode to Yorktown, for the purpose of making arrange 
 ments with the Board of War. As soon as he arrived, 
 he called on General Gates, whom he found surrounded 
 by his friends seated at a dinner-table. They greeted 
 him with much cordiality. He joined them at the table, 
 the wine passed round, and several toasts were given. 
 Determined not to act under disguise, and to take the 
 first opportunity of letting his sentiments be known, he 
 called to them, just as they were about to rise, and ob 
 served that one toast had been omitted, which he would 
 propose. The glasses were filled, and he gave as a toast, 
 "The Commander-in-chief of the American armies." 
 It is needless to say, that it was coldly received ; and it 
 is possible, that this early and bold avowal of his predi 
 lections had some influence in damping the ardor, with 
 which the leaders of the faction had planned this abor 
 tive Canada expedition. Conway was appointed second 
 in command ; but Lafayette insisted that the Baron de 
 Kalb, in whom he had confidence, should be one of the 
 officers, which was granted, but not without evident re 
 luctance. Baron de Kalb, being higher in rank than 
 Conway, was thus the second in command, and Conway 
 the third. 
 
^Er. 45.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 11 
 
 America was not a noble monument to his 
 honor, his generosity, and unwavering fidelity 
 to every trust reposed in him, that from the 
 very first he resisted every attempt that was 
 made by the flatteries of Conway, and the ar 
 tifices of others, to bring him into the league. 
 In the earliest stage of the cabal, before it had 
 been whispered to the public, he wrote to 
 Washington, stating his opinion of Conway, 
 and his fears for the unhappy consequences 
 that might flow from his conduct. " I need 
 not tell you," said he, " how sorry I am at 
 what has happened ; it is a necessary result of 
 my tender and respectful friendship for you, 
 which is as true and candid as the other senti 
 ments of my heart, and much stronger than so 
 new an acquaintance might seem to admit. 
 But another reason for my concern is my ar 
 dent and perhaps enthusiastic wish for the 
 happiness and liberty of this country. I see 
 plainly that America can defend herself, if 
 proper measures are taken ; but I begin to fear 
 that she may be lost by herself and her own 
 sons." And again in conclusion he added; 
 " My desire of deserving your approbation is 
 strong ; and, whenever you shall employ me, 
 you can be certain of my trying every exer 
 tion in my power to succeed. I am now 
 bound to your fate, and I shall follow it and. 
 
12 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 
 
 sustain it, as well by my sword as by all the 
 means in my power." To this pledge he was 
 ever true.* 
 
 Standing firm in his integrity, Washington 
 took no pains to counteract these machinations 
 of his enemies, and, whatever may have been 
 his regret and indignation at such evidences 
 of ingratitude and perfidy, he did not allow 
 them to disturb his equanimity, or to turn him 
 
 * The following extract from a letter written by Lafa 
 yette to Baron Steuben, while the faction was at its 
 height, affords an additional proof of his warm and gen 
 erous friendship for Washington. It was dated at Alba 
 ny, on the 12th of March, 1778. Baron Steuben had 
 recently arrived in the country. 
 
 " Permit me," said Lafayette, " to express my satisfac 
 tion at your having seen General Washington. No ene 
 mies to that great man can be found, except among the 
 enemies to his country ; nor is it possible for any man 
 of a noble spirit to refrain from loving the excellent qual 
 ities of his heart. I think I know him as well as any 
 person, and such is the idea which I have formed of him. 
 His honesty, his frankness, his sensibility, his virtue, to 
 the full extent in which this word can be understood, are 
 above all praise. It is not for me to judge of his milita 
 ry talents ; but, according to my imperfect knowledge 
 of these matters, his advice in council has always ap 
 peared to me the best, although his modesty prevents 
 him sometimes from sustaining it; and his predictions 
 have generally been fulfilled. I am the more happy in 
 giving you this opinion of my friend, with all the sincer 
 ity which I feel, because some persons may perhaps at 
 tempt to deceive you on this point." 
 
^Er.45.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 13 
 
 in the least degree from his lofty purpose of 
 serving his country in the sphere allotted to 
 him with the disinterestedness, diligence, and 
 ardor, that characterized his public life in 
 every vicissitude of events. In a letter to 
 President Laurens, who had enclosed to him 
 an anonymous communication of a very insid 
 ious tendency, which he had received, and 
 which the writer designed for Congress, Wash 
 ington wrote as follows. 
 
 " I cannot sufficiently express the obligation 
 I feel to you, for your friendship and polite 
 ness upon an occasion in which I am so deep 
 ly interested. I was not unapprized, that a 
 malignant faction had been for some time form 
 ing to my prejudice ; which, conscious as I 
 am of having ever done all in my power to 
 answer the important purposes of the trust re 
 posed in me, could not but give me some pain 
 on a personal account. But my chief concern 
 arises from an apprehension of the dangerous 
 consequences, which intestine dissensions may 
 produce to the common cause. 
 
 " As I have no other view than to promote 
 the public good, and am unambitious of hon 
 ors not founded in the approbation of my 
 country, I would not desire in the least degree 
 to suppress a free spirit of inquiry into any 
 part of my conduct, that even faction itself 
 
14 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 may deem reprehensible. The anonymous 
 paper handed to you exhibits many serious 
 charges, and it is my wish that it should be 
 submitted to Congress. This I am the more 
 inclined to, as the suppression or concealment 
 may possibly involve you in embarrassments 
 hereafter, since it is uncertain how many or 
 who may be privy to the contents. 
 
 " My enemies take an ungenerous advantage 
 of me. They know the delicacy of my situ 
 ation, and that motives of policy deprive me 
 of the defence I might otherwise make against 
 their insidious attacks. They know I cannot 
 combat their insinuations, however injurious, 
 without disclosing secrets, which it is of the 
 utmost moment to conceal. But why should 
 I expect to be exempt from censure, the un 
 failing lot of an elevated station ? Merit and 
 talents, with which I can have no pretensions 
 of rivalship, have ever been subject to it. My 
 heart tells me, that it has been my unremitted 
 aim to do the best that circumstances would 
 permit ; yet I may have been very often mis 
 taken in my judgment of the means, and may 
 in many instances deserve the imputation of 
 error." 
 
 To what extent the members of Congress 
 were concerned in this affair, it would be dif 
 ficult now to decide. Names have been men- 
 
^Ex.45.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 15 
 
 tioned, but without such a clear statement of 
 facts as to fix a direct charge upon any indi 
 vidual. The proceedings of Congress show, 
 that the faction had supporters in that body ; 
 but who they were, or what precise objects 
 they had in view, cannot now be ascertained 
 from the testimony hitherto made public. 
 The first aim of the cabal was. no doubt, to 
 disgust Washington and cause him to resign. 
 It is probable, that Gates s immediate coadju 
 tors in the army looked to him as the succes 
 sor, and that Gates flattered himself with this 
 illusive dream. The dissatisfied members of 
 Congress, it is more likely, had their eyes up 
 on Charles Lee, who was soon to be exchanged. 
 Conway was the victim of his ambition and 
 intrigues. Being wounded by an American 
 officer in a duel, he wrote to General Wash 
 ington while he thought himself near his end, 
 expressing sorrow for his past conduct. " My 
 career will soon be over," said he ; " therefore 
 justice and truth prompt me to declare my last 
 sentiments. You are in my eyes the great 
 and good man. May you long enjoy the love, 
 veneration, and esteem of these States, whose 
 liberties you have asserted by your virtues." 
 This confession, dictated at a solemn moment 
 by a corroding conscience, although it may be 
 deemed an apology for personal injuries, can- 
 
16 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 not atone for the guilt of having endeavored, 
 in a time of public danger and distress, to kin 
 dle the flame of discord in a country, whose 
 liberties he had offered to vindicate, and 
 whose cause he was pretending to serve. He 
 unexpectedly recovered of his wound, and re 
 turned to France, leaving a name which few 
 will envy, and an example which no one will 
 be ambitious to imitate, who reflects how soon 
 a crime may be followed by a just retribution. 
 
jET.45.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Sufferings of the Army at Valley Forge. New Arrangements 
 concerted with a Committee of Congress. Half-pay granted 
 to the Officers for a Term of Years. Proceedings in Regard 
 to Lord North s conciliatory Bills. 
 
 THE winter at Valley Forge is memorable 
 in the history of the war. Owing to changes 
 in the quartermaster s and commissary s de 
 partments, according to a scheme planned by 
 Congress contrary to the judgment of Wash 
 ington, the army had been wretchedly sup 
 plied ; and at no time were the sufferings of the 
 troops so great, as they were for a few weeks 
 after they went into winter quarters. Hardly 
 were the huts begun, when information was 
 received, that a party of the enemy had left 
 Philadelphia, with the apparent design of for 
 aging and drawing subsistence from the coun 
 try. Several regiments were ordered to be in 
 readiness to march, when it was discovered 
 that they had no provisions, and that a danger 
 ous mutiny was on the point of breaking out. 
 The only remedy was to send parties abroad 
 to collect, wherever they could find it, as much 
 provision as would satisfy the pressing wants 
 of the soldiers. 
 
 VOL. n. 2 
 
18 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 The same wants recurred at different times 
 through the winter. On one occasion General 
 Washington wrote ; " For some days there has 
 been little less than a famine in camp. A part 
 of the army have been a week without any 
 kind of flesh, and the rest three or four days. 
 Naked and starving as they are, we cannot 
 enough admire the incomparable patience and 
 fidelity of the soldiery, that they have not 
 been ere this excited by their sufferings to a 
 general mutiny and dispersion. Strong symp 
 toms, however, of discontent have appeared in 
 particular instances ; and nothing but the most 
 active efforts everywhere can long avert so 
 shocking a catastrophe." Such was the scarci 
 ty of blankets, that many of the men were 
 obliged to sit up all night by the fires, without 
 covering to protect them while taking the com 
 mon refreshment of sleep; and in numerous 
 instances they were so scantily clad, that they 
 could not leave their huts. Although the offi 
 cers were better provided, yet none was ex 
 empt from exposures, privations, and hard 
 ships. 
 
 Notwithstanding this deplorable condition 
 of the army, there were not wanting those, 
 who complained of its inactivity, and insisted 
 on a winter campaign. When the encamp 
 ment was begun at Valley Forge, the whole 
 
JEr.te.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 19 
 
 number of men in the field was eleven thou 
 sand and ninety-eight, of whom two thousand 
 eight hundred and ninety-eight were unfit for 
 duty, " being barefoot and otherwise naked." 
 In making this statement to Congress, and allu 
 ding to a memorial of the legislature of Penn 
 sylvania, Washington said ; " We find gentle 
 men, without knowing whether the army was 
 really going into winter quarters or not, repro 
 bating the measure as much as if they thought 
 the soldiers were made of stocks or stones, 
 and equally insensible of frost and snow ; and 
 moreover, as if they conceived it easily practi 
 cable for an inferior army, under the disadvan 
 tages I have described ours to be, which are by 
 no means exaggerated, to confine a superior 
 one, in all respects well appointed and provid 
 ed for a winter s campaign, within the city 
 of Philadelphia, and to cover from depreda 
 tion and waste the States of Pennsylvania and 
 New Jersey. But what makes this matter still 
 more extraordinary in my eye is, that these 
 very gentlemen, who were well apprized 
 of the nakedness of the troops from ocular 
 demonstration, who thought their own soldiers 
 worse clad than others, and who advised me 
 near a month ago to postpone the execution of 
 a plan I was about to adopt, in consequence 
 of a resolve of Congress, for seizing clothes, 
 
20 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 under strong assurances that an ample supply 
 would be collected in ten days agreeably to a 
 decree of the State (not one article of which, 
 by the by, is yet come to hand), should 
 think a winter s campaign, and the covering 
 of these States from the invasion of an enemy, 
 so easy and practicable a business. I can as 
 sure those gentlemen, that it is a much easier 
 and less distressing thing to draw remonstran 
 ces in a comfortable room by a good fireside, 
 than to occupy a cold, bleak hill, and sleep un 
 der frost and snow, without clothes or blankets. 
 However, although they seem to have little 
 feeling for the naked and distressed soldiers, I 
 feel superabundantly for them, and, from my 
 soul, I pity those miseries, which it is neither 
 in my power to relieve nor prevent." 
 
 After the immediate wants of the army in 
 camp were provided for, he next employed his 
 thoughts in devising a new and improved sys 
 tem for the future. The experience of three 
 campaigns had proved the necessity of radical 
 and extensive changes in the plans hitherto 
 pursued, both in regard to the organization and 
 discipline of the army, and to the methods of 
 obtaining supplies. He deemed the subject to 
 be of the utmost importance, and one upon the 
 due adjustment of which would depend not 
 only the efficiency, but even the existence, of 
 
^Er. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 21 
 
 a Continental military force. That he might 
 act upon the soundest principles, and with all 
 the aids that could be collected from the 
 knowledge and reflections of others, he re 
 quested the general officers to state their senti 
 ments in writing. The result was a series of 
 elaborate essays, containing such facts, discus 
 sions, and opinions, as the judgment and mil 
 itary skill of the writers enabled them to pre 
 sent. 
 
 Moved by the earnest solicitations of Wash 
 ington, Congress at the same time took the 
 subject into consideration. Their debates fi 
 nally terminated in the appointment of a com 
 mittee of five members of their body, who 
 were instructed to repair to the camp at Valley 
 Forge, and invested with ample powers to con 
 fer with the Commander, and digest in concert 
 with him such a system as would correct ex 
 isting abuses, lead to salutary reforms, and put 
 the army on the footing he desired. When 
 the committee arrived in camp, he laid before 
 them a memoir, drawn up with great care, rep 
 resenting in detail the defects of previous ar 
 rangements, and containing an outline of a 
 new and improved system. The committee 
 continued in camp three months, and then re 
 turned to Congress and presented a report, 
 which was in the main adopted. 
 
22 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 On one point, however, which Washington 
 considered not more equitable in itself, than 
 essential to the continuance of an army, there 
 was great difference of opinion among the 
 members of Congress. Hitherto there had 
 been no provision made for the officers after 
 the war should .end, and no other inducement 
 offered to them than their common wages 
 while in actual service. Numerous complaints 
 and resignations convinced Washington, that 
 this motive, even when strengthened by am 
 bition and patriotism, was not enough. He 
 proposed half-pay for life, after the close of the 
 war, or some other permanent provision. 
 
 " If my opinion be asked," said he in a let 
 ter to Congress, " with respect to the necessity 
 of making this provision for the officers, I am 
 ready to declare, that I do most religiously 
 believe the salvation of the cause depends up 
 on it, and, without it, your officers will moul 
 der to nothing, or be composed of low and il 
 literate men, void of capacity for this or any 
 other business. To prove this, I can with 
 truth aver, that scarce a day passes without 
 the offer of two or three commissions ; and 
 my advices from the eastward and southward 
 are, that numbers who had gone home on fur 
 lough mean not to return, but are establishing 
 themselves in more lucrative employments. 
 
JET.4G.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 23 
 
 Let Congress determine what will be the con 
 sequence of this spirit. 
 
 " Personally, as an officer, I have no inter 
 est in their decision, because I have declared, 
 and I now repeat it, that I never will receive 
 the smallest benefit from the half-pay estab 
 lishment ; but, as a man who fights under the 
 weight of proscription, and as a citizen, who 
 wishes to see the liberty of his country es 
 tablished upon a permanent foundation, and 
 whose property depends upon the success of 
 our arms, I am deeply interested. But, all 
 this apart, and justice out of the question, up 
 on the single ground of economy and public 
 saving, I will maintain the utility of it ; for I 
 have not the least doubt, that, until officers 
 consider their commissions in an honorable and 
 interested point of view, and are afraid to en 
 danger them by negligence and inattention, no 
 order, regularity, or care, either of the men or 
 public property, will prevail." 
 
 These representations, so judicious and for 
 cible, could not fail to have some influence 
 even on the minds of those, who were the 
 most decided in their hostility to the measure. 
 But they did not produce entire conviction, 
 and the subject met with difficulties and de 
 lays. One party thought, or professed to think, 
 that Congress had no power to act in such a 
 
24 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 matter, and proposed to refer it to the State 
 legislatures ; another was haunted with the 
 fear of a standing army, a privileged class, and 
 a pension list ; and another could see no dif 
 ference between the sacrifices of the officers, 
 in defending their country, and of private cit 
 izens, whose property was plundered, ravaged, 
 and destroyed by the enemy. After much 
 discussion, the plan of half-pay for life was 
 carried, but by so small a majority that the 
 vote was reconsidered, and a compromise was 
 effected. By the ultimate decision, the offi 
 cers were to receive half-pay for the term of 
 seven years, and a gratuity of eighty dollars 
 was to be given to each non-commissioned 
 officer and soldier, who should continue in the 
 service to the end of the war. 
 
 While this subject was under discussion, 
 Washington saw with deep concern the jeal 
 ousy of the army, which was manifested in 
 Congress, and its unhappy influence on their 
 deliberations. In other countries this preju 
 dice exists against standing armies only in 
 times of peace, and this because the troops are 
 a distinct body from the citizens, having few 
 interests in common with them, and little oth 
 er means of support than what flows from 
 their military employment. But "it is our 
 policy," said he, "to be prejudiced against 
 
/T. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 25 
 
 them in time of war, though they are citizens, 
 having all the ties and interests of citizens, 
 and in most cases property totally unconnected 
 with the military line." So heavily did this 
 subject weigh upon his mind, that he unbur 
 dened himself freely in a letter to a member 
 of Congress, and used all his endeavors to 
 promote harmony, union, and a national feel 
 ing among those on whom the safety of the 
 republic depended, whether acting in a civil 
 or military capacity. 
 
 " If we would pursue a right system of pol 
 icy," he observed, "in my opinion, there 
 should be none of these distinctions. We 
 should all, Congress and army, be considered 
 as one people, embarked in one cause, in one 
 interest; acting on the same principle, and to 
 the same end. The distinction, the jealousies 
 set up, or perhaps only incautiously let out, 
 can answer not a single good purpose. They 
 are impolitic in the extreme. Among individ 
 uals the most certain way to make a man your 
 enemy is to tell him you esteem him such. 
 So with public bodies ; and the very jealousy, 
 which the narrow politics of some may affect 
 to entertain of the army, in order to a due 
 subordination to the supreme civil authority, is 
 a likely means to produce a contrary effect ; 
 to incline it to the pursuit of those measures. 
 
26 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 which they may wish it to avoid. It is un 
 just, because no order of men in the Thirteen 
 States has paid a more sacred regard to the pro 
 ceedings of Congress than the army ; for with 
 out arrogance or the smallest deviation from 
 truth it may be said, that no history now ex 
 tant can furnish an instance of an army s suf 
 fering such uncommon hardships as ours has 
 done, and bearing them with the same patience 
 and fortitude. To see men, without clothes to 
 cover their nakedness, without blankets to lie 
 on, without shoes (for the want of which their 
 marches might be traced by the blood from 
 their feet), and almost as often without pro 
 visions as with them, marching through the 
 frost and snow, and at Christmas taking up 
 their winter quarters within a day s march of 
 the enemy, without a house or hut to cover 
 them till they could be built, and submitting 
 without a murmur, is a proof of patience and 
 obedience, which in my opinion can scarce be 
 paralleled." 
 
 Bound by strong ties of attachment to the 
 army, on the good or ill fortunes of which his 
 own reputation so much depended, he spared 
 no efforts to redress its grievances, maintain its 
 rights, and mitigate its sufferings ; but he was 
 prompt and inflexible in checking the least 
 disposition to encroach on the civil power, or 
 
jE-r. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 27 
 
 to claim privileges, however reasonable in 
 themselves, which the peculiar circumstances 
 of the country rendered it hazardous or inex 
 pedient to grant. Considering the materials 
 of the army, composed of freemen brought to 
 gether and held together almost without the 
 aid of law or of authority in any supreme 
 head, unaccustomed to a soldier s life, impa 
 tient under discipline, and constantly exposed 
 .to extraordinary privations and distresses, it 
 may truly be said, that no commander ever 
 had a more difficult task to perform in dis 
 charging the duties of his station ; and this in 
 addition to the labor and responsibility of sug 
 gesting to Congress the important measures, 
 which they were to adopt in regard to milita 
 ry affairs, the vexation of seeing his plans 
 thwarted by prejudice and party dissensions, 
 and the anxiety he never ceased to feel on ac 
 count of the divided counsels, apathy, antipa 
 thies, and local predilections, which were man 
 ifested both in Congress and in the State leg 
 islatures. 
 
 About the middle of April arrived in New 
 York a draft of what were called Lord North s 
 Conciliatory Bills, containing a new project, 
 by him submitted to Parliament, for settling 
 the differences between Great Britain and the 
 United States. This movement was prompt- 
 
28 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 ed by the apprehension, that France would 
 soon acknowledge the independence of the 
 latter, and join in the war against England. 
 Governor Tryon, to whom the draft of the 
 bills was sent, had it immediately reprinted in 
 New York, and took measures to disperse 
 copies of it as extensively as possible in the 
 country, which, he said, was done in obedience 
 to " his Majesty s command." Copies were 
 enclosed by him to General Washington, with 
 a polite request that he would aid in circulat 
 ing them, " that the people at large might be 
 acquainted with the favorable disposition of 
 Great Britain towards the American colonies." 
 Washington sent them to Congress. 
 
 As to the tenor of the bills, it is enough to 
 say, that the terms held out were such as 
 would undoubtedly have been accepted in the 
 first stages of the controversy. Important 
 changes had since occurred. The Americans 
 had declared themselves an independent na 
 tion. They had shed their blood, expended 
 their means, and endured the miseries of a 
 three years war, in defence of the rights they 
 claimed, and the character they had assumed. 
 It was no part of the British ministry s plan 
 to treat with the American States as an inde 
 pendent power. They were to go back to 
 their old condition as colonies, be favored with 
 
JEr. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 29 
 
 certain privileges, and, relieved from the bur 
 den of self-government, to trust their liberties 
 again to the parental guardianship of the moth 
 er country. Till the remembrance of the past 
 should be obliterated, these proffers were not 
 likely to gain the confidence or change the 
 sentiments of those, who had taken the lead 
 in opposition after a thorough knowledge of 
 the causes, and of the grounds on which they 
 stood, and who had already risked much and 
 labored hard to secure the political existence 
 and prosperity of their country, by establish 
 ing them on the firm basis of union and free 
 dom. 
 
 Yet it was feared there were some, who, 
 weary of the war, or disheartened at the pros 
 pect of its continuance, might be soothed with 
 the voice of conciliation, and thus become 
 cold supporters of the popular cause, if not de 
 cided advocates for peace on the terms pro 
 posed. To prevent this consequence, as far as 
 the weight of his judgment would go, Wash 
 ington expressed his own opinions in very de 
 cided language to a member of Congress only 
 two days after he learned the contents of the 
 conciliatory bills. "Nothing short of inde 
 pendence, it appears to me, can possibly do. 
 A peace on other terms would, if I may be 
 allowed the expression, be a peace of war. 
 
30 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 The injuries we have received from the British 
 nation were so unprovoked, and have been so 
 great and so many, that they can never be for 
 gotten. Besides the feuds, the jealousies, the 
 animosities, that would ever attend a union 
 with them ; besides the importance, the advan 
 tages, which we should derive from an unre 
 stricted commerce ; our fidelity as a people, 
 our gratitude, our character as men, are opposed 
 to a coalition with them as subjects, but in 
 case of the last extremity. Were we easily to 
 accede to terms of dependence, no nation, upon 
 future occasions, let the oppressions of Britain 
 be ever so flagrant and unjust, would interpose 
 for our relief; or, at most, they would do it 
 with a cautious reluctance, and upon conditions 
 most probably that would be hard, if not dis 
 honorable to us." Fortunately, the subject 
 appeared in the same light to Congress. As 
 soon as the drafts of Lord North s bills were 
 received, they were referred to a committee ; 
 upon whose report a short discussion ensued ; 
 and it was unanimously resolved, that the 
 terms offered were totally inadequate, and that 
 no advances on the part of the British govern 
 ment for a peace would be met, unless, as a 
 preliminary step, they either withdrew their 
 armies and fleets, or acknowledged unequivo 
 cally the independence of the United States. 
 
^Ex.46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 31 
 
 At the same time the bills were published in 
 connexion with the proceedings of Congress, 
 and circulated throughout the country. 
 
 The three commissioners. Lord Carlisle, 
 Governor Johnstone, and William Eden, sent 
 over from England to negotiate the business 
 of conciliation, did not arrive in Philadelphia 
 till six weeks after the drafts of the bills were 
 published by Governor Tryon. Two of the 
 commissioners, Johnstone and Eden, were the 
 bearers of private letters of introduction to 
 General Washington from his friends in Eng 
 land, and also of many other letters to gentle 
 men of high political standing. To all ap 
 pearance the olive branch was fairly held out. 
 The secretary to the commission was Dr. Fer 
 guson, the celebrated professor of moral philos 
 ophy in Edinburgh. On the first landing of 
 the commissioners, they despatched their letters 
 to Washington s camp, and requested a pass 
 port for Dr. Ferguson to go to Yorktown, 
 where Congress was then sitting, and present 
 in person the papers they had brought. This 
 matter being wholly of a civil nature, he did 
 not think himself authorized to give such a 
 passport, without the direction of Congress, 
 and he forwarded to them the application. Im 
 patient at the delay, or fearing a positive re 
 fusal from Congress to receive the papers, the 
 
32 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 commissioners immediately sent them through 
 the usual medium of a flag to the President. 
 The reception they met with may be imagined 
 from the manner in which Lord North s bills 
 had been disposed of. The door to any kind 
 of compromise on the principles laid down in 
 those bills had been effectually closed, and 
 Congress adhered to their first resolution. The 
 commissioners remained several months in the 
 country, made various attempts to gain their 
 object, as well by art and address as by official 
 intercourse, and at last went back to England 
 baffled and disappointed, if indeed they ever 
 had any real hope of success, which may be 
 doubted. 
 
. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 33 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Arrival of the French Treaties of Alliance and Commerce. 
 Comparative Strength of the British and American Armies. 
 Discussions respecting an Attack on Philadelphia. Plans of 
 the Enemy. Evacuation of Philadelphia. The Army crosses 
 the Delaware. Battle of Monmouth. Arrest and Trial of 
 General Lee. 
 
 MEANTIME an important event occurred, 
 which diffused universal joy in America. 
 The King of France recognised the indepen 
 dence of the United States in a formal treaty 
 of amity and commerce, and in a treaty of de 
 fensive alliance, both signed in Paris on the 
 6th of February, by M. Gerard on the part of 
 France, and by the American commissioners, 
 Franklin, Deane, and Lee. It was of course 
 expected, that this procedure would bring on 
 a war between England and France, and the 
 parties mutually agreed not to lay down their 
 arms till the independence of the United 
 States should be assured by a treaty at the ter 
 mination of the war. The messenger, who 
 brought the news of this auspicious event, and 
 who was likewise the bearer of the treaties, 
 arrived in Yorktown on the 2d of May, ten 
 days after Congress had passed their resolves 
 respecting Lord North s bills. This last fact 
 
 VOL. II. 3 
 
34 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 is worthy of remark, as it shows that the trans 
 actions in France, being then unknown, had 
 no influence in producing those resolves. The 
 treaties were immediately ratified hy Congress. 
 The army participated in the rejoicings ev 
 erywhere manifested on this occasion. A day 
 was set apart for a public celebration in camp. 
 It began in the morning with religious services, 
 and a discourse to each of the brigades by one 
 of its chaplains. Then followed military pa 
 rades, marchings, and firings of cannon and 
 musketry, according to a plan announced in 
 the general orders. The appearance was bril 
 liant and the effect imposing. The whole cer 
 emony was conducted with perfect regularity, 
 and was closed with an entertainment, patri 
 otic toasts, music, and other demonstrations of 
 
 jy- 
 
 The British kept possession of Philadelphia 
 through the winter and the spring following ; 
 and, although Washington s camp was within 
 twenty miles of the city, yet no enterprise was 
 undertaken to molest him in his quarters. 
 Foraging parties went out and committed dep 
 redations upon the inhabitants ; but they were 
 watched by the Americans, who sometimes 
 met them in fierce and bloody rencounters. 
 When it .was told to Dr. Franklin in Paris, 
 that General Howe had taken Philadelphia, he 
 
^Er. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 35 
 
 sagaciously replied ; " Say rather, that Phila 
 delphia has taken General Howe." This pre 
 diction, if such it may be called, was verified 
 in the end. The conquest gained at the ex 
 pense of a campaign, and with a considerable 
 loss of men, actually availed nothing. Phila 
 delphia, fortified on the land side and guard 
 ed by a formidable fleet in the river, afforded 
 to the British army a resting-place for eight 
 months. This was the whole fruit of the 
 bloodshed and victory. New York would 
 have afforded the same, without the trouble of 
 a campaign, and at much less cost. 
 
 The number of troops for the Continental 
 army, according to the new establishment 
 agreed upon by the committee of Congress at 
 Valley Forge, was to be about forty thousand 
 besides artillery and horse. When a council 
 of war was called, on the 8th of May, to con 
 sider what measures should be adopted for fu 
 ture operations, it was found, that the army, 
 including the detachments on the North River 
 and at other places, did not then exceed fifteen 
 thousand men, nor was it supposed that it 
 could soon be raised higher than twenty thou 
 sand effective men. The number at Valley 
 Forge was eleven thousand eight hundred. 
 The British army in New York and Philadel 
 phia, as since ascertained from the adjutant s 
 
36 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 returns, amounted to nearly thirty thousand, 
 of which number nineteen thousand five hun 
 dred were in Philadelphia, and ten thousand 
 four hundred in New York. There were be 
 sides three thousand seven hundred in Rhode 
 Island ; making the whole British army in the 
 middle and eastern States upwards of thirty- 
 three thousand. 
 
 These numbers are much larger than was 
 imagined by the council of war. They esti 
 mated the enemy s force in Philadelphia at ten 
 thousand, in New York at four thousand, and 
 in Rhode Island at two thousand, besides cav 
 alry and artillery. Upon this basis the ques 
 tion was discussed, whether it was expedient 
 to take the field and act on the defensive, or 
 wait till the plans of the enemy should become 
 more obvious, and then be guided by circum 
 stances. There was great unanimity in the 
 decision. To take the city by storm was im 
 practicable without a vastly superior force ; 
 and equally so to carry it by siege or block 
 ade, strongly fortified as it was by nature and 
 artificial works, and by vessels of war. Mili 
 tia might be called out, but it was uncertain in 
 what numbers ; and, however numerous, they 
 could not be depended on for such an enter 
 prise. In every view of the subject, there- 
 
JE-T. 4.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 37 
 
 fore, weighty objections presented themselves 
 against any scheme of offensive operations. 
 
 It was not long before affairs began to put 
 on a new aspect. From the intelligence com 
 municated by spies, and from various indica 
 tions; it was suspected, that the enemy were 
 preparing to evacuate Philadelphia. Sir Wil 
 liam Howe, weary of a service in which he 
 found himself gradually losing the confidence 
 of his employers and supplying his enemies 
 with weapons to assail his reputation, and 
 thinking his honors dearly bought at such a 
 price, had asked to be recalled, and his request 
 was granted by the King. He was succeeded, 
 in the command of his Majesty s forces in 
 America, by Sir Henry Clinton, who had been 
 made knight of the order of the Bath during 
 the past year. The treaties between France 
 and the United States were regarded by the 
 court of Great Britain as a declaration of war 
 on the part of France, and caused a change in 
 the plans of the ministry for conducting the 
 contest in America. It was resolved to make 
 a sudden descent upon some of the French 
 possessions in the West Indies. To aid in ex 
 ecuting this project, Sir Henry Clinton was 
 ordered to send five thousand men from his 
 army ; and also three thousand more to Flori 
 da ; and to withdraw the remainder to New 
 
38 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 York. Another reason for this last movement 
 was the probability, that a French fleet would 
 soon appear at the mouth of the Delaware, and 
 thus blockade the shipping in that river, and 
 put in jeopardy the army, diminished as it 
 would be by the departure of the above de 
 tachments. 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton first intended to proceed 
 by water with his whole army to New York ; 
 but this was found impracticable for want of 
 transports. He therefore shipped his cavalry, 
 part of the German troops, the American loy 
 alists, his provision train and heavy baggage, 
 on board such vessels as were in the river, and 
 prepared to march through New Jersey with 
 the main body of his army. 
 
 While these preparations were making with 
 as much secrecy as possible by the British 
 commander, Washington sent out from Valley 
 Forge a detachment of two thousand men un 
 der the Marquis de Lafayette, the object of 
 which was to cover the country between the 
 Delaware and Schuylkill, to interrupt the com 
 munication with Philadelphia, to obstruct the 
 incursions of the enemy s parties, and gain in 
 telligence of their motions and designs. La 
 fayette marched to Barren Hill, and, while 
 stationed there, a large part of the British army 
 came out by a forced march in the night, with 
 
JT. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 39 
 
 the intention of attacking him by surprise, and 
 cutting off his detachment. Owing to the 
 negligence, disobedience, or treachery of a 
 picket guard, Lafayette was nearly surrounded 
 by the enemy before he was informed of their 
 approach ; but, by a very skilful manoeuvre, 
 quickly conceived and performed in a masterly 
 manner, he gained a ford and drew off his 
 whole detachment across the Schuylkill, with 
 the loss of only nine men killed and taken. 
 The enemy retreated to Philadelphia. 
 
 To obstruct the progress of the British 
 troops, in case they should take the route over 
 land to New York, General Maxwell was or 
 dered to cross the Delaware with a brigade, 
 and to act in concert with General Dickinson, 
 who commanded the New Jersey militia. It 
 being more and more evident, that Sir Henry 
 Clinton was preparing to move by land, the 
 opinion of the general officers was required, as 
 to the operations in consequence of that event. 
 The principal point to be considered was, 
 whether the army should pursue the British, 
 fall upon their rear, and bring on an engage 
 ment. Opinions were various : but nearly all 
 the officers were opposed to an attack, on ac 
 count of the superiority of the enemy in force 
 and discipline. General Lee, who had been 
 exchanged, and had recently joined the army, 
 
40 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 argued vehemently against such a step. Some 
 of the officers agreed with him ; others, who 
 were unwilling to advise a general action, 
 thought that the enemy should at any rate be 
 harassed in their march, and that an engage 
 ment, though not to be sought, should not be 
 avoided if circumstances rendered it expedient. 
 The news of the evacuation of Philadelphia, 
 which took place in the morning of the 18th 
 of June, was received while the subject was 
 still under discussion. General Arnold, who 
 had not yet entirely recovered from the wound 
 he received at Saratoga, was ordered to march 
 with a small detachment into the city, and to 
 retain the command there. General Lee and 
 General Wayne, each at the head of a division, 
 took the road to Coryell s Ferry, with orders 
 to halt on the first strong ground after passing 
 the river. Washington followed, and in six 
 days the whole army had crossed the Dela 
 ware, and arrived at Hopewell, five miles from 
 Princeton. Detachments in the mean time 
 had been sent to impede the enemy s march. 
 Morgan s corps of six hundred men was order 
 ed to gain their right flank, Maxwell s brig 
 ade to hang on their left, and General Scott, 
 with fifteen hundred chosen troops, to gall their 
 left flank and rear. To these were joined the 
 New Jersey militia under General Dickinson, 
 
jEx.46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 41 
 
 and a party of volunteers from Pennsylvania 
 commanded by General Cadwalader. 
 
 After the British had crossed the river and 
 landed at Gloucester Point, they marched by 
 the way of Haddonfield and Mount Holly, and 
 moved on slowly till they came to Cross wicks 
 and Allen Town. Being encumbered with a 
 long train of wagons and bat-horses, and con 
 fined to a single road, their line extended near 
 ly twelve miles. It was necessary, also, to 
 stop and build bridges over every stream and 
 the marshy ground, as the bridges had all been 
 destroyed by the Americans. These interrup 
 tions retarded their progress. Nor was it till 
 he reached Allen Town, that Sir Henry Clin 
 ton decided what direction he should take from 
 that place. It was his first purpose to proceed to 
 the Rariton, and embark his troops at Brtmswic 
 or South Amboy for New York. But, finding 
 Washington almost in his front, and deeming 
 it imprudent to hazard a battle while his army 
 was so much encumbered, and on such ground 
 as his antagonist might choose, he turned to 
 the right, and took the road leading to Mon- 
 mouth and Sandy Hook. 
 
 At this time Washington s army had ad 
 vanced to Kingston. In a council of war, 
 convened at Hopewell, the question was again 
 discussed, as to the mode of attacking the en- 
 
42 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 emy. Sir Henry Clinton s force was supposed 
 to consist of nine or ten thousand effective 
 men. The Continental troops under Washing 
 ton amounted to a little over twelve thousand ; 
 and there were about thirteen hundred militia. 
 General Lee still persisted in the same senti 
 ments as at first ; and, as he was now next in 
 rank to the Commander-in-chief, and an officer 
 of long experience, his opinions and arguments 
 had great weight in the council. He seemed 
 averse to any kind of interference with the 
 enemy ; but he acceded to a proposal, in 
 which he was joined by five others, that fif 
 teen hundred men should be sent to hang on 
 their rear. Six general officers, namely, Greene, 
 Lafayette, Steuben, Wayne, Duportail, and 
 Paterson, were for sending twenty-five hun 
 dred men. or at least two thousand, which 
 should be followed by the main army at such 
 a distance as to afford support, if it should be 
 necessary. It was clearly the wish of these 
 officers to draw the enemy into a general en 
 gagement, if it could be done under favorable 
 circumstances. Indeed Greene, Lafayette, and 
 Wayne declared their sentiments to this effect 
 in writing. 
 
 Thus embarrassed with the divided opinions 
 of his officers, Washington had a delicate part 
 to act. There can be no doubt, however, that 
 
JT. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 43 
 
 his own judgment strongly inclined him to 
 seek an engagement, from the time he left 
 Valley Forge. The reputation of the army, 
 and the expectation of the country, in his 
 view required it ; and he believed the chances 
 of success at least sufficient to authorize the 
 attempt. After the council at Hopewell, there 
 fore, he asked no further advice, but proceeded 
 on his individual responsibility. He immedi 
 ately ordered a detachment of one thousand 
 men under General Wayne to join the troops 
 already near the enemy, and gave to General 
 Lafayette the command of all the advanced 
 parties, amounting now to about three thou 
 sand eight hundred men, including militia. 
 
 In his instructions to Lafayette he said 
 " You are to use the most effectual means for 
 gaining the enemy s left flank, and giving 
 every degree of annoyance. For these pur 
 poses you will attack them as occasion may 
 require by detachment, and, if a proper open 
 ing should be given, by operating against 
 them with your whole command." Foresee 
 ing that these orders, executed with the spirit 
 and ardor which characterized Lafayette, would 
 soon lead to an action with a large part of the 
 enemy s force, Washington prepared to sus 
 tain the advanced division, keeping within a 
 distance proper for that purpose. 
 
44 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 General Lee s seniority of rank entitled him 
 to the command of all the advanced detach 
 ments ; but, disapproving the plans of the 
 Commander-in-chief and believing they would 
 fail, he voluntarily yielded his claims to La 
 fayette. After this arrangement had been 
 made with Washington s consent, and Lafa 
 yette had marched towards the enemy, Lee 
 changed his mind and applied to be reinstated. 
 As Lafayette could not with any degree of 
 justice or propriety be recalled, Washington 
 resorted to an expedient, which he hoped 
 would preserve harmony, although it might 
 not be entirely satisfactory to either of the 
 parties. He put Lee at the head of two addi 
 tional brigades, with orders to join the advanc 
 ed detachments, when he would of course 
 have the command of the whole ; but direct 
 ed him at the same time to give Lafayette 
 notice of his approach, and to afford him all 
 the assistance in his power for prosecuting any 
 enterprise, which he might already have un 
 dertaken or planned. He wrote also to La 
 fayette, explaining the dilemma into which he 
 was thrown by the vacillating conduct of 
 General Lee, and expressing a conviction that 
 he would cheerfully acquiesce in a measure, 
 which the exigency of the occasion rendered 
 necessary. 
 
JE.T.4G.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 45 
 
 While the main army moved forward to 
 Cranberry, and the advanced parties were hov 
 ering around the enemy s flanks and rear, Sir 
 Henry Clinton changed the disposition of his 
 line, placing the baggage train in front, and 
 his best troops in the rear. With his army 
 thus arranged, he encamped in a strong posi 
 tion near Moumouth Court-House, secured on 
 nearly all sides by woods and marshy grounds. 
 This was his situation on the morning of the 
 28th of June. Washington was at this time 
 six or seven miles distant, and, receiving intel 
 ligence at five o clock, that the enemy s front 
 had begun to march, he instantly put the army 
 in motion, and sent orders to General Lee by 
 one of his aids to move on and commence the 
 attack, " unless there should be very powerful 
 reasons to the contrary," acquainting him at 
 the same time, that he should come up as soon 
 as possible to his support. 
 
 After marching about five miles, he was 
 surprised and mortified to learn, that the whole 
 of Lee s division, amounting to five thousand 
 men, was by his orders retreating, without 
 having made any opposition except one fire 
 from a party, which had been charged by the 
 enemy s cavalry. The situation was the more 
 critical and alarming, as General Lee had giv 
 en no notice of his retreat, but was marching 
 
46 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778, 
 
 his troops into the face of the rear division, 
 thus running the hazard of throwing all parts 
 of the army into confusion at the moment 
 when the enemy were pressing upon him with 
 unimpeded force. * 
 
 Washington rode immediately to the rear of 
 the retreating division, where he found General 
 Lee, and, accosting him with a warmth in his 
 language and manner, which showed his dis 
 appointment and displeasure, he ordered the 
 troops to be formed and brought into action. 
 Lee promptly obeyed, and with some difficulty 
 the order of battle was restored in time to 
 
 * Lee had manoeuvred near the enemy for some time 
 with the apparent intention of attacking them. While 
 thus engaged, a party of British troops moved towards 
 his right flank, and so placed itself that Lafayette thought 
 a fair opportunity offered for cutting it off. He rode 
 quickly up to Lee, and asked him if an attack could not 
 be advantageously made in that quarter. " Sir," replied 
 Lee, " you do not know British soldiers ; we cannot stand 
 against them ; we shall certainly be driven back at first, 
 and we must be cautious." Lafayette answered, that it 
 might be so, but British soldiers had been beaten, and it 
 was to be presumed they might be beaten again, and at 
 any rate he was for making the trial. Soon afterwards 
 one of Washington s aids arrived for intelligence, and, as 
 he was returning, Lafayette desired him to say to the 
 General, that his presence at the scene of action was 
 extremely important. Before this message reached him, 
 the retreat had begun. 
 
^T. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 47 
 
 check the advance of the enemy before the 
 other division came up. 
 
 A disposition of the left wing and second 
 line of the army was then made on an emi 
 nence, and partly in a wood, covered by a mo 
 rass in front. This wing was commanded by 
 Lord Stirling, who placed some batteries of 
 cannon in such a manner as to play upon the 
 enemy with great effect, and, aided by parties 
 of infantry, to put a stop to their advance in 
 that direction. General Greene commanded 
 the right wing, and on the march he had been 
 ordered to file off and take a road, which would 
 bring him upon the enemy s flank. On hear 
 ing of the retreat he marched up and took a 
 very advantageous position on the right. Be 
 ing warmly opposed in front, the enemy at 
 tempted next to turn the American left flank, 
 but were repulsed and driven back ; and a 
 similar movement to the right was equally un 
 successful, as they were bravely met by the 
 troops with artillery under General Greene. 
 In the mean time General Wayne advanced 
 with a body of infantry, and kept up so hot 
 and well-directed a fire upon the enemy s front, 
 that they retired behind a marshy ravine to the 
 ground which they had occupied at the begin 
 ning of the engagement. 
 
 In this situation both their flanks were se- 
 
48 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 cured by woods and morasses, and they could 
 be approached in front only through a narrow 
 pass. Two bodies of troops were ordered to 
 move round and gain their right and left, while 
 the artillery should gall them in front. Be 
 fore these movements could be effected, night 
 came on and put an end to the action. In 
 tending to renew the contest in the morning, 
 Washington directed all the troops to lie upon 
 their arms in the places where they happened 
 to be stationed at dark. Wrapped in his cloak, 
 he passed the night on the field of battle in 
 the midst of his soldiers. But, when the 
 morning dawned, no enemy was to be seen. 
 Sir Henry Clinton had silently withdrawn his 
 troops during the night, and followed his bag 
 gage train on the road leading to Middletown. 
 As he would have gained commanding ground, 
 where he might choose his own position, be 
 fore he could be overtaken, and as the troops 
 had suffered exceedingly from the intense heat 
 of the weather and fatigue, it was not thought 
 expedient to continue the pursuit. 
 
 This battle, though it can hardly be said to 
 have resulted in a victory, was nevertheless 
 honorable to the American arms, and, after the 
 inauspicious retreat of the first division, was 
 fought with skill and bravery. It was proba 
 bly in all respects as successful as Washington 
 
^Ex. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 49 
 
 had hoped. Congress passed a unanimous vote 
 of thanks to the Commander and the army. 
 
 Four British officers and two hundred and 
 forty-five privates were left dead on the field, 
 and were buried by the Americans. It appear 
 ed that others were likewise buried by the en 
 emy, making the whole number of killed 
 nearly three hundred. The American loss 
 was sixty-nine killed. Several soldiers on both 
 sides are said to have died in consequence of 
 the extreme heat of the day, and it is probable 
 that the number of Americans reported as 
 killed does not include all that died from this 
 cause. 
 
 But the loss of Sir Henry Clinton in battle 
 made but a small part of the diminution of his 
 army while marching through Jersey. One 
 hundred were taken prisoners, and more than 
 six hundred deserters arrived in Philadelphia 
 within three weeks from the time he left it, 
 being drawn thither chiefly by the attachments 
 they had formed during eight months resi 
 dence in the city. Others also escaped into 
 the country while on the march ; so that the 
 army, when it reached New York, had suffered 
 a reduction of at least twelve hundred men. 
 
 After the action, Sir Henry Clinton proceed 
 ed to Sandy Hook, where Lord Howe s fleet, 
 having come round from the Delaware, was in 
 
 VOL. II. 4 
 
50 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 readiness to convey the troops to New York. 
 Washington marched to Hudson s River, cross 
 ed at King s Ferry, and encamped near White 
 Plains. 
 
 The pride of General Lee was wounded by 
 the language, which Washington used when 
 he met him retreating. The day after the ac 
 tion, Lee wrote a letter to Washington, con 
 taining expressions, which no officer could 
 with propriety address to his superior. This 
 was answered in a tone, that rather tended to 
 increase than soothe his irritation, and he re 
 plied in terms still more offensive. In a sub 
 sequent note, written the same day, he request 
 ed that his case might be referred to a court- 
 martial. He was accordingly put in arrest, 
 under three charges ; first, disobedience of or 
 ders in not attacking the enemy, agreeably to 
 repeated instructions ; secondly, misbehavior 
 before the enemy, in making an unnecessary, 
 disorderly, and shameful retreat ; thirdly, dis 
 respect to the Commander-in-chief in two let 
 ters written after the action. A court-martial 
 was summoned, which sat from time to time 
 for three weeks while the army was on its 
 inarch ; and finally declared their opinion, that 
 General Lee was guilty of all the charges, and 
 sentenced him to be suspended from all com 
 mand in the army of the United States for the 
 
JT. 4(5.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 51 
 
 term of twelve months. In the written opin 
 ion of the court, the second charge was mod 
 ified by omitting the word " shameful " ; but 
 in all other respects the charges were allowed 
 to be sustained by the testimony. Congress 
 approved the sentence. General Lee left the 
 army, and never joined it again. He died four 
 years afterwards in Philadelphia. * 
 
 * Soon after General Lee rejoined the army at Valley 
 Forge, a curious incident occurred. By an order of Con 
 gress, General Washington was required to administer 
 the oath of allegiance to the general officers. The ma 
 jor-generals stood around Washington, and took hold of 
 a Bible together according to the usual custom; but, just 
 as he began to administer the oath, Lee deliberately 
 withdrew his hand twice. This movement was so singu 
 lar, and was performed in so odd a manner, that the offi 
 cers smiled, and Washington inquired the meaning of his 
 hesitancy. Lee replied, "As to King George, I am 
 ready enough to absolve myself from all allegiance to him, 
 but I have some scruples about the Prince of Wales." 
 The strangeness of this reply was such, that the officers 
 burst into a broad laugh, and even Washington could not 
 refrain from a smile. The ceremony was of course in 
 terrupted. It was renewed as soon as a composure was 
 restored proper for the solemnity of the occasion, and 
 Lee took the oath with the other officers. Connected 
 with the subsequent conduct of General Lee, this inci 
 dent was thought by some, who were acquainted with it, 
 to have a deeper meaning than at first appeared, and to 
 indicate a less ardent and fixed patriotism towards the 
 United States, than was consistent with the rank and 
 professions of the second officer in the command of the 
 American forces. 
 
LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Arrival of the French Fleet under Count d Estaing. Plans for 
 combined Operations between the Fleet and the American Ar 
 my. _ Failure of an Attempt against the Enemy ^t Rhode 
 Island. Cantonments of the Army for the Winter. Exchange 
 of Prisoners. Congress. Project of an Expedition to Canada. 
 
 BEFORE the army crossed the Hudson, Gen 
 eral Washington heard of the arrival of Count 
 d Estaing on the coast with a French fleet, 
 consisting of twelve ships of the line and four 
 frigates. The admiral touched at the Capes 
 of the Delaware, where he was informed of 
 the evacuation of Philadelphia, and, after de 
 spatching up the river one of his frigates, on 
 board of which was M. Gerard, the first min 
 ister from France to the United States, he 
 sailed for Sandy Hook. No time was lost by 
 General Washington in sending him a letter 
 of congratulation, and proposing to cooperate 
 with him in carrying any plans into execution, 
 which might be concerted for attacking the 
 enemy. Colonel Laurens, one of his aids-de 
 camp, was the bearer of this letter, to whom 
 the Count was referred for such information as 
 he might wish to obtain. When it was known 
 that the fleet had arrived at the Hook, Colonel 
 
jET.46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 53 
 
 Hamilton, another confidential aid, was sent 
 on board accompanied by four skilful pilots, 
 and instructed to explain the General s views 
 fully to Count d Estaing. 
 
 If it should be found practicable for the 
 French vessels to pass the bar, and engage the 
 British fleet then at anchor within the Hook, 
 it was supposed a simultaneous attack on the 
 land side might be made to advantage ; and 
 indeed not without a prospect of very fortu 
 nate results, if the French should be able by 
 a naval victory to enter the harbor and ascend 
 to the city. These hopes were soon dissipated 
 by the unanimous opinion of the pilots, that 
 there was not sufficient depth of water to ad 
 mit Count d Estaing s heavy ships over the 
 bar, and by their refusal to take the responsi 
 bility of attempting to conduct them through 
 the channel. 
 
 The only enterprise, that now remained, 
 was an attack on the enemy at Rhode Island, 
 where six thousand British troops were sta 
 tioned, chiefly in garrison at Newport, and pro 
 tected by a few small vessels, batteries, and 
 strong intrenchments. The French squadron 
 departed for that place, without being molest 
 ed by Lord Howe, whose force was not such 
 as to encourage him to go out and give battle. 
 Anticipating the French admiral s determina- 
 
54 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 tion, Washington prepared to lend all the aid 
 in his power to make it effectual. General 
 Sullivan was already in Providence, at the 
 head of a considerable body of Continental 
 troops ; and he was ordered to apply to the 
 States of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and 
 Connecticut, for militia enough to augment his 
 force to at least five thousand men. A de 
 tachment of two brigades marched from the 
 main army under Lafayette, who was followed 
 by General Greene. The events of this ex 
 pedition do not fall within the limits of the 
 present narrative. Various causes contributed 
 to its failure, by defeating the combined action 
 of the land and naval forces. Count d Estaing s 
 fleet, after leaving Newport, was so much crip 
 pled by a tremendous storm, and a partial en 
 gagement at sea, that he put in to the harbor 
 of Boston to refit, where he remained till No 
 vember. 
 
 The disagreements, which unhappily exist 
 ed between the American and French officers 
 at Rhode Island, gave the deepest concern to 
 Washington. In a letter to Lafayette, who 
 had communicated the particulars, he lament 
 ed it as a misfortune, which might end in a 
 serious injury to the public interest ; and he 
 endeavored to assuage the rising animosity of 
 
-fix. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 55 
 
 the parties by counsels equally creditable to 
 his feelings as a man and to his patriotism. 
 
 To Count d Estaing he wrote in language 
 not less delicate and conciliatory, nor less fitted 
 to remove unfavorable impressions. 
 
 In compliance with the order from the min 
 istry given early in the season, Sir Henry 
 Clinton detached five thousand men to the 
 West Indies and three thousand to Florida: 
 but there was much delay in fitting out these 
 expeditions, and the troops did not actually 
 sail till near the end of October. Lord Howe s 
 fleet in the mean time had been reinforced by 
 a squadron from Europe. As neither the or 
 ders nor the plans of the British general were 
 known, it was conjectured that he might have 
 in view a stroke upon Count d Estaing s fleet 
 in Boston harbor, and perhaps an attack upon 
 that town. It is probable, also, that General 
 Clinton gave a currency to rumors of this sort, 
 for the purpose of diverting the attention of 
 the Americans from his real objects. A report 
 gained credit, believed to have come from 
 good authority, that New York was to be 
 evacuated. Washington suspected the true 
 origin of this rumor, and could not persuade 
 himself that an eastern expedition was intend 
 ed ; yet the public impression and the convic 
 tion of some of his. officers were so strong, as 
 
56 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 to its reality, that he took measures to guard 
 against it. 
 
 He established his head-quarters at Freder- 
 icksburg, thirty miles from West Point, near 
 the borders of Connecticut, and sent forward 
 a division under General Gates to Danbury. 
 The roads were repaired as far as Hartford, to 
 facilitate the march of the troops, and three 
 brigades were despatched to that place. Gen 
 eral Gates went to Boston, and took command 
 of the eastern department, as successor to Gen 
 eral Heath. These operations kept the army 
 employed on the east side of the Hudson more 
 than four months, till it was finally ascertain 
 ed that the enemy had no designs in that di 
 rection. 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton took care to profit by 
 this diversion of the American army. Forag 
 ing parties passed over to New Jersey, and 
 ravaged the country. One of these parties at 
 tacked Baylor s dragoons in the night, at a 
 short distance from Tappan, rushing upon 
 them with the bayonet, and committing indis 
 criminate slaughter. A similar assault was 
 made upon Pulaski s legion at Egg Harbor. 
 Both these adventures were attended with 
 such acts of cruelty on the part of the enemy, 
 as are seldom practised in civilized warfare. 
 And they were not less impolitic than cruel. 
 
^T.46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 57 
 
 being regarded with universal indignation and 
 horror by the people, and exciting a spirit of 
 hatred and revenge, which would necessarily 
 react in one form or another upon their foes. 
 In fact this point of policy was strangely mis 
 understood by the British, or more strangely 
 perverted, at every stage of the contest. They 
 had many friends in the country, whom it was 
 their interest to retain, and they professed a 
 desire to conciliate others; yet they burned 
 and destroyed towns, villages, and detached 
 farm-houses, plundered the inhabitants without 
 distinction, and brought down the savages with 
 the tomahawk and seal ping-knife upon the de 
 fenceless frontier settlements, marking their 
 course in every direction with murder, desola 
 tion, and ruin. The ministry approved and 
 encouraged these atrocities, flattering them 
 selves that the people would sink under their 
 sufferings, bewail their unhappy condition, be 
 come tired of the war, and compel their lead 
 ers to seek an accommodation. The effect 
 was directly the contrary in every instance. 
 The people knew their rights, and had the 
 common feelings of humanity ; and, when the 
 former were wantonly invaded and the latter 
 outraged, it was natural that their passions 
 should be inflamed, and that they who were 
 at first pacifically inclined should be roused to 
 
58 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 resistance and retaliation. If the British cab 
 inet had aimed to defeat its own objects, and 
 to consolidate the American people into a 
 united phalanx of opposition, it could not have 
 chosen or pursued more effectual methods. 
 
 The campaign being closed, General Wash 
 ington prepared to put the army into winter 
 quarters. Nine brigades were stationed on the 
 west side of Hudson s River, exclusive of the 
 garrison at West Point. One of these was 
 near Smith s Clove, where it could serve as a 
 reinforcement to West Point, should this be 
 necessary ; one at Elizabethtown ; and the 
 other seven at Middlebrook, which place was 
 likewise selected for head-quarters. Six brig 
 ades were cantoned on the east side of the 
 Hudson and at West Point as follows ; one at 
 West Point, two at the Continental Village, a 
 post between Fishkill and West Point, and 
 three in the vicinity of Danbury in Connecti 
 cut. The artillery was at Pluckemin. A line 
 of cantonments was thus formed around New 
 York from Long Island Sound to the Dela 
 ware, so disposed as to afford security to the 
 country, and to reinforce each other in case of 
 an excursion of the enemy to any particular 
 point. The other important objects intended 
 by this disposition were the comfort, discipline, 
 and easy subsistence of the troops. General 
 
JEv. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 59 
 
 Putnam commanded at Danbury, and General 
 M c Dougall in the Highlands. In the expecta 
 tion that the British detachments, which sailed 
 from New York, might act in the winter against 
 South Carolina and Georgia, General Lincoln 
 was sent by order of Congress to take the 
 command of the southern department. 
 
 The four regiments of cavalry were widely 
 separated ; one being at Winchester in Virgin 
 ia, another at Frederic in Maryland, a third at 
 Lancaster in Pennsylvania, and a fourth at 
 Durham in Connecticut. These cantonments 
 were chosen apparently with a view to the 
 convenience of procuring forage. 
 
 The exchange of prisoners continued to be 
 a troublesome and perplexing subject. Ar 
 rangements had been made with Sir William 
 Howe, before he left Philadelphia, by which 
 exchanges to a certain extent had been effect 
 ed. But new difficulties arose in regard to 
 what were called the Convention Troops. Al 
 though Congress had ratified the convention 
 of Saratoga, yet for various reasons they did 
 not permit Burgoyne s army to embark for 
 Europe according to the terms of that conven 
 tion. Washington had no concern with this 
 affair, except to execute the orders of Congress. 
 These troops being thus retained in the coun 
 try, it was finally agreed, on the part of the 
 
60 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 British commander, that they should be ex 
 changed for American prisbners in his hands. 
 But the conditions prescribed by Congress 
 were such, that it was a long time before the 
 object was attained. They proposed that offi 
 cers of equal rank should first be exchanged ; 
 next, superior officers for an equivalent num 
 ber of inferior j and if, after all the officers of 
 the enemy should be exchanged, there should 
 still be a surplus of American officers among 
 the prisoners, they were to be exchanged for 
 an equivalent number of privates of the con 
 vention troops. 
 
 This principle was objected to by Sir Hen 
 ry Clinton on two grounds; first, it separated 
 the officers from the corps to which they were 
 attached ; and, secondly, it gave an advantage 
 to the Americans, inasmuch as their officers 
 could go immediately into active service, 
 whereas the British officers must remain idle 
 till the privates constituting the corps to which 
 they belonged should be released. Congress 
 did not choose to relax from their resolves, and 
 the business of exchange was a perpetual 
 source of vexation. In short, the interests of 
 the two parties were so much at variance, that 
 it was not easy to reconcile them. The diffi 
 culty of procuring soldiers in Europe, and the 
 great expense of bringing them over and 
 
JT. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 61 
 
 maintaining them, rendered every man of vast 
 ly more importance to the British army, than 
 in the American ranks, which could be filled 
 up with militia when the occasion required. 
 Hence the British general was always extreme 
 ly solicitous to procure the exchange of his 
 private soldiers, and Congress equally averse 
 to gratifying him in this point. There was 
 another reason, which operated with consider 
 able weight on both sides. The British pris 
 oners were mostly German troops, who had no 
 affection for the cause in which they were en 
 gaged, and who, while in the country under a 
 loose system of military discipline, had many 
 facilities and temptations to desert. 
 
 There was another cause of anxiety in the 
 breast of Washington, which began now to be 
 felt more seriously than at any former period 
 of the war. The men of talents and influ 
 ence, who had taken the lead and combined 
 their strength in raising the standard of inde 
 pendence, had gradually withdrawn from Con 
 gress, till that body was left small in number, 
 and comparatively feeble in counsels and re 
 source. For the year past, the number of del 
 egates present had seldom averaged over thir 
 ty, and sometimes it was under twenty-five. 
 Whole States were frequently unrepresented ; 
 and indeed it was seldom, that every State was 
 
62 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 so fully represented as to entitle it to a vote. 
 And at no time were private jealousies and 
 party feuds more rife or mischievous in their 
 effects. These symptoms were alarming to 
 every true friend of his country, who reflected 
 on their tendency, and they filled the mind of 
 "Washington with deep concern. To those, 
 in whom he had confidence, he laid open his 
 fears, and endeavored to awaken a sense of the 
 public danger. 
 
 The conquest of Canada was always a fa 
 vorite project with Congress j and at this time, 
 when the British forces were divided by being 
 employed against the French in the West In 
 dies, it was thought that a good opportunity 
 offered itself for turning the arms of the United 
 States against that province. After the termi 
 nation of the affair at Long Island, the Mar 
 quis de Lafayette went to Philadelphia, and 
 obtained a furlough from Congress, with the 
 intention of returning to France on a short 
 visit. In concert with him a plan was formed 
 of an attack on Canada, which was to be the 
 principal object of the ensuing campaign, and 
 the basis of which was a cooperation with a 
 French fleet and army. Lafayette was to have 
 full instructions for arranging the matter with 
 the court of Versailles, aided by the counsel 
 
&T. 46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 63 
 
 and support of Dr. Franklin, then the Ameri 
 can plenipotentiary in France. 
 
 The plan was on a very large scale. At 
 tacks were to be made by the American army 
 at three points far distant from each other, 
 namely, Detroit, Niagara, and by way of the 
 Connecticut River ; while a French fleet should 
 ascend the St. Lawrence, with four or five 
 thousand troops, and act against Quebec. The 
 scheme was discussed, matured, and approved 
 with much unanimity in Congress, and then 
 sent to Washington with the request that he 
 would communicate his sentiments. He re 
 plied in a long despatch, entering minutely into 
 the subject, and showing that the plan was im 
 practicable ; that it required resources in troops 
 and money, which were not to be had ; that it 
 would involve Congress in engagements to 
 their ally, which it would be impossible to ful 
 fil ; and that it was in itself so extensive and 
 complicated, as to hold out no reasonable hope 
 of success, even with all the requisite means 
 of pursuing it. 
 
 Such was his opinion in a military view. 
 But the subject presented itself to him in an 
 other aspect, in which he thought it deserved 
 special consideration. Canada formerly be 
 longed to France, and had been severed from 
 her in a manner, which, if not humiliating to 
 
64 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 her pride, contributed nothing to her glory. 
 Would she not be eager to recover this lost 
 province ? If it should be conquered with her 
 aid, would she not claim it at the peace as 
 rightfully belonging to her, and be able to ad 
 vance plausible reasons for such a demand ? 
 Would not the acquisition itself hold out a 
 strong temptation ? The territory abounded 
 in supplies for the use of her Islands, it opened 
 a wide field of commerce with the Indian na 
 tions, it would give her the command of posts 
 on this continent independent of the precari 
 ous good will of an ally, it would put her in a 
 condition to engross the whole trade of New 
 foundland, and above all, it would afford her 
 facilities for awing and controlling the United 
 States, " the natural and most formidable rival 
 of every maritime power in Europe." He 
 added, " France, acknowledged for some time 
 past the most powerful monarchy in Europe 
 by land, able now to dispute the empire of the 
 sea with Great Britain, and, if joined with 
 Spain, I may say, certainly superior, possessed 
 of New Orleans on our right, Canada on our 
 left, and seconded by the numerous tribes of 
 Indians in our rear from one extremity to the 
 other, a people so generally friendly to her, 
 and whom she knows so well how to concil 
 iate, would, it is much to be apprehended, 
 
^T. 46] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 65 
 
 have it in her power to give law to tnese 
 States." 
 
 These sentiments, he said, did not grow out 
 of any distrust of the good faith of France in 
 the alliance she had formed. On .the contrary, 
 he was willing to entertain and cherish the 
 most favorable impressions, in regard to her 
 motives and aims. "But," he added again, 
 " it is a maxim founded on the universal ex 
 perience of mankind, that no nation is to be 
 trusted further than it is bound by its interest ; 
 and no prudent statesman or politician will 
 venture to depart from it. In our circumstan 
 ces we ought to be particularly cautious ; for 
 we have not yet attained sufficient vigor and 
 maturity to recover from the shock of any false 
 step, into which we may unwarily fall. If 
 France should even engage in the scheme, in 
 the first instance, with the purest intentions, 
 there is the greatest danger, that, in the pro 
 gress of the business, invited to it by circum 
 stances, and perhaps urged on by the solicita 
 tions and wishes of the Canadians, she would 
 alter her views." In short, allowing all his 
 apprehensions to be unfounded, he was still 
 reluctant to multiply national obligations, or to 
 give to any foreign power claims of merit for 
 services performed beyond what was absolute 
 ly indispensable. 
 
 VOL. II. 5 
 
66 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 The observations and reasonings of the 
 Commander-in-chief were so far operative on 
 Congress, as to induce them at once to narrow 
 their scheme, though not entirely to give it up. 
 They participated in the general opinion, that 
 the war with France would necessarily employ 
 the British fleet and troops in other parts of the 
 world, and that they would soon evacuate the 
 towns on the seacoast of the United States. 
 In this event, they thought an expedition 
 against Canada should still be the object of the 
 campaign, and that preparations should accor 
 dingly be made. They requested General 
 Washington to write to Dr. Franklin, and to the 
 Marquis de Lafayette, who was then at Boston, 
 ready to depart for Europe, and state to them 
 such details as might be laid before the French 
 court, in order that eventual measures might 
 be taken for cooperation in case an armament 
 should be sent to Quebec from France. The 
 plan in this shape, however, was not more sat 
 isfactory to him, than in its original form. He 
 saw no reason for supposing the British would 
 evacuate the States, and he believed a system 
 of operations built upon that basis would fail. 
 At any rate he was not prepared to hazard the 
 responsibility of drawing the French govern 
 ment into a measure so full of uncertainty, 
 and depending on so many contingencies. 
 
^ET.46.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 67 
 
 The army being now in winter quarters, and 
 his presence with it not being essential, he 
 suggested the expediency of a personal inter 
 view with the members of Congress, in which 
 his sentiments could be more fully explained 
 than by writing. This proposition was ap 
 proved. He arrived in Philadelphia on the 
 24th of December, and, after several discus 
 sions between him and a committee of Con 
 gress, the Canada scheme was wholly laid 
 aside. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, as connected with 
 the above suspicions on political grounds, that 
 the French government was decidedly opposed 
 to an expedition against Canada. The French 
 minister in the United States was instructed, 
 before he left France, not to favor any projects 
 of conquest ; and it was the policy of the 
 court of Versailles, that Canada and Nova 
 Scotia should remain in the power of Great 
 Britain. The reasons for this policy may not 
 be obvious ; but the fact is unquestionable. 
 It is to be considered, however, that France 
 had by treaty pledged herself to carry on the 
 war, till the independence of the United States 
 should be secured ; but she had not engaged 
 to fight for conquests, nor for the extension of 
 the territories of the United States beyond 
 their original limits. Such an engagement 
 
68 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 
 
 would have bound her to continue the war in 
 definitely, with no other object than to gratify 
 the ambition or enmity of her ally, while every 
 motive of interest and of national honor might 
 prompt her to seek for peace. It was evident, 
 too, that the pride of England, humbled by 
 conceding the independence of her revolted 
 colonies, would never brook the severance of 
 her other provinces by the direct agency of 
 France. All conquests thus made, therefore, 
 would perplex the negotiations for peace, and 
 might involve France in a protracted war, 
 without the least prospect of advantage to her 
 self. Hence she resolved to adhere strictly to 
 her pledge in the treaty of alliance. But, al 
 though the French minister in America was 
 instructed not to hold out encouragement of 
 cooperation in plans of conquest, yet he was at 
 the same time directed not to throw any obsta 
 cles in the way ; thus leaving the United States 
 to decide and act for themselves. Should they 
 gain conquests by their own strength, these 
 might reasonably be claimed by them in a 
 treaty of peace, without embarrassing the re 
 lations between France and England. 
 
LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 69 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Conferences with a Committee of Congress, and Plans for the 
 next Campaign. Sullivan s Expedition against the Indians. 
 The Enemy commence a predatory Warfare. The Burning of 
 New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk. Stony Point stormed 
 and taken. Successful Enterprise against Paulus Hook. 
 Washington s Interviews with the French Minister. Plans 
 proposed for cooperating with Count d Estaing. The Army 
 goes into Winter Quarters. Depreciation of the Currency, 
 and its Efiects. 
 
 GENERAL WASHINGTON remained in Phila 
 delphia about five weeks, holding conferences 
 with a committee of Congress, and making ar 
 rangements for the campaign of 1779. He 
 suggested three plans, with remarks on the 
 mode of executing them, and the probable re 
 sult of each. The first plan had in view an 
 attempt to drive the enemy from their posts on 
 the seacoast ; the second, an attack on Niagara, 
 and an offensive position in that quarter ; and, 
 by the third, it was proposed to hold the army 
 entirely on the defensive, except such opera 
 tions as would be necessary to chastise the In 
 dians, who had committed depredations on the 
 frontiers during the past year, and who, em 
 boldened by success, might be expected to re 
 peat their ravages. 
 
 After mature deliberation, and taking into 
 
70 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779. 
 
 the account the exhausted state of the country 
 in regard both to pecuniary resources and sup 
 plies for an army, it was decided to adopt the 
 third plan as the best suited to circumstances, 
 the least expensive, and perhaps the most ben 
 eficial in its ultimate effects. It would afford 
 an opportunity to retrench the heavy charges 
 of the war, and to pursue a system of economy 
 imperiously demanded by the financial embar 
 rassments in which Congress had become in 
 volved, and thus enable them to do something 
 for the relief of public credit, and for restoring 
 the value of the currency, which was fast 
 sinking into disrepute, unsettling prices, and 
 threatening ruin to almost every branch of in 
 dustry. It would also give repose to the coun 
 try, and, by leaving a larger number of labor 
 ers to cultivate the soil, contribute to increase 
 the supplies so much wanted for the comfort 
 of the people, as well as for the subsistence of 
 the army. 
 
 Having completed all the necessary arrange 
 ments with Congress, he returned to head 
 quarters at Middlebrook. The infantry of the 
 Continental army was organized for the cam 
 paign in eighty-eight battalions, apportioned to 
 the several States, according to the ratio hith 
 erto assumed. There were four regiments of 
 cavalry and forty-nine companies of artillery. 
 
JET. 41.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 71 
 
 The objects of the campaign not requiring 
 so large a number of men in the field as on 
 former occasions, it was intended to bestow 
 the -more attention upon their discipline and 
 practical skill. Baron Steuben, trained in the 
 wars and under the eye of Frederic the Great, 
 had been appointed inspector-general of the 
 army the year before. He wrote a system of 
 tactics, which was published, adopted, and put 
 in practice. His services were of great impor 
 tance, both as an experienced officer, and as a 
 successful teacher of his system, by which the 
 discipline of the army was much improved, 
 and the discordant exercises and evolutions of 
 the troops from different States were reduced 
 to method and uniformity. 
 
 The winter and the spring passed away 
 without the occurrence of any remarkable 
 event. The British remained within their 
 lines at New York, showing no disposition for 
 hazardous adventures, and apparently making 
 no preparation for any important expedition 
 into the country. 
 
 General Washington in the mean time turn 
 ed his thoughts to the fitting out of an expe 
 dition against the Indians. The confederated 
 Indians of the Six Nations, except the Oneidas 
 and a few of the Mohawks, influenced by Sir 
 John Johnson and British agents from Canada, 
 
72 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779. 
 
 became hostile to the United States, although 
 at first they pretended to a sort of neutrality. 
 Joined by a band of Tories, and persons of 
 abandoned principles collected from various 
 parts, they fell upon the frontier settlements, 
 and waged the most cruel and destructive war 
 against the defenceless and unoffending inhab 
 itants. The massacres at Cherry Yalley and 
 Wyoming had filled every breast with horror, 
 and humanity cried aloud for vengeance on the 
 perpetrators of such deeds of atrocity. To 
 break up these hordes of banditti, or at all 
 events to drive them back and lay waste their 
 territories, was the object of the expedition. 
 
 Four thousand Continental troops were de 
 tached for the purpose, who were joined by 
 militia from the State of New York and inde 
 pendent companies from Pennsylvania. The 
 command of the whole was given to General 
 Sullivan. Three thousand men rendezvoused 
 at Wyoming, where General Sullivan first es 
 tablished his head-quarters, and from which 
 place he proceeded up the Susquehanna River 
 into the Indian country. At the same time 
 General James Clinton advanced with another 
 division from the Mohawk River, by way of 
 Otsego Lake and the east branch of the Sus 
 quehanna, and formed a junction with Sullivan 
 near the fork, where the two main branches of 
 
&T. 47.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 73 
 
 the river unite. The army, then amounting 
 to about five thousand men, including militia, 
 marched into the wilderness towards the In 
 dian settlements. It was met and opposed by 
 a body of Tories and Indians, who were soon 
 routed and driven back. There was no other 
 encounter, except slight skirmishes with small 
 parties. Sullivan pursued a circuitous route as 
 far as the Genessee River, destroying all the 
 villages, houses, corn, arid provisions, which 
 Jell in his way. Every habitation was desert- 
 el, the Indians having retired with their fami 
 lies to the neighborhood of Niagara, where 
 they were protected and supplied by a British 
 ga-rison. The purpose of the expedition being 
 attuned, the army retraced its steps down the 
 Suquehanna, to Wyoming, and arrived there 
 aftei an absence of a little more than two 
 monhs. 
 
 Si Henry Clinton early in the spring sent a 
 detaciment of two thousand five hundred men 
 to Virginia, commanded by General Matthews. 
 They landed at Portsmouth, sacked the town, 
 marched to Suffolk, destroyed a magazine of 
 provisicns in that place, burnt the village and 
 several detached private houses, and seized 
 large qiantities of tobacco. Many vessels 
 were likewise captured, others were burnt and 
 sunk, ani much plunder was taken. With 
 
74 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779. 
 
 this oooty they returned to New York. The 
 enterprise was executed in conformity with 
 orders from the ministry, who, after the ill 
 success of their commissioners, had adopted 
 the policy of a predatory warfare on the sea- 
 coast, with the design of destroying the towns, 
 ships, and magazines, conceiving, as expressed 
 by Lord George Germain, " that a war of this 
 sort, carried on with spirit and humanity, 
 would probably induce the rebellious province* 
 to return to their allegiance, or at least prevert 
 their sending out that swarm of privateers, tie 
 success of which had encouraged them to per 
 severe in their revolt." 
 
 When the squadron returned from Virghia, 
 it was immediately joined by other vessels 
 having on board a large body of troops all 
 of which sailed up Hudson s River. Phis 
 expedition was conducted by Sir Henry Clin 
 ton in person, and his first object -\\as to 
 take the posts at Stony Point and Verpknck s 
 Point, situate on opposite sides of the Hudson, 
 where the Americans had thrown up \^orks to 
 protect King s Ferry, the main chamel of 
 communication between the eastern aid mid 
 dle States. Should circumstances favor so 
 bold an experiment, he intended nett to en 
 deavor to force his way into the Highlands, 
 make himself master of the forti flections and 
 
JET. 47.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 75 
 
 strong passes, and thus secure the command of 
 the Hudson. 
 
 Being informed of the preparations in New 
 York, and penetrating the designs of the Brit 
 ish commander, Washington was at hand in 
 time to prevent the execution of the second 
 part of the scheme. By rapid marches he 
 drew his troops from their cantonments in New 
 Jersey, and placed them in such positions as to 
 discourage Sir Henry Clinton from attempting 
 any thing further, than the capture of the two 
 posts above mentioned, which were in no con 
 dition to resist a formidable fleet and an army 
 of more than six thousand men. After this 
 event, which happened on the 1st of June, Clin 
 ton withdrew his forces down the river, and at 
 length to New York, leaving a strong garrison 
 at each of the posts, with orders to extend and 
 complete the works begun by the Americans ; 
 and also directing such a number of armed 
 vessels and boats to remain there, as would be 
 necessary to furnish supplies and contribute to 
 their defence. 
 
 General Washington removed his head 
 quarters to New Windsor, a few miles above 
 West Point, distributing his army chiefly in 
 and near the Highlands, but stationing a force 
 on each side of the river below, sufficient to 
 check any sudden incursion of the enemy. 
 
76 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779. 
 
 The system of devastation and plunder was 
 vigorously pursued. About the beginning of 
 July a detachment of two thousand six hun 
 dred men, under Governor Tryon, sailed from 
 New York into Long Island Sound. They 
 first landed at New Haven, plundered the in 
 habitants indiscriminately, and burnt the stores 
 on the wharfs. This being done, they em 
 barked, and landed at Fairfield and Norwalk, 
 which towns were reduced to ashes. Dwell 
 ing-houses, shops, churches, school-houses, and 
 the shipping in the harbors, were destroyed. 
 The soldiers pillaged without restraint, com 
 mitting acts of violence, and exhibiting the 
 horrors of war m some of their most revolting 
 forms. It does not appear that there were 
 troops, magazines, or public property in either 
 of the towns. The waste and distress fell on 
 individuals, who were pursuing the ordinary 
 occupations of life. The people rallied in 
 self-defence, and a few were killed; but the 
 enemy retired to their vessels before the mili 
 tia could assemble in large numbers. 
 
 The British commander hoped that this in 
 vasion of Connecticut would draw away the 
 American army from the Highlands to a posi 
 tion where he might bring on an engagement 
 under favorable circumstances. Washington s 
 habitual caution guarded him against allowing 
 
.Ex. 47.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 77 
 
 such an advantage. On the contrary, while 
 the enemy s forces were thus divided, he re 
 solved to attack the strong post at Stony Point. 
 " The necessity of doing something to satisfy 
 the expectations of the people and reconcile 
 them to the defensive plan, which he was 
 obliged to pursue, the value of the acquisition 
 in itself, with respect to the men, artillery, and 
 stores, which composed the garrison, the effect 
 it would have upon the successive operations of 
 the campaign, and the check it would give to 
 the depredations of the enemy," were, as he 
 said, the motives which prompted him to this 
 undertaking. He reconnoitred the post him 
 self, and instructed Major Henry Lee, who 
 was stationed near it with a party of cavalry, 
 to gain all the information in his power as to 
 the condition of the works and the strength 
 of the garrison. 
 
 The enterprise was intrusted to General 
 Wayne, who commanded a body of light in 
 fantry in advance of the main army, where he 
 was placed to watch the movements of the 
 enemy, to prevent their landing, and to attack 
 separate parties whenever opportunities should 
 offer. Having procured all the requisite in 
 formation, and determined to make the assault, 
 Washington communicated general instructions 
 to Wayne in writing and conversation, leaving 
 
78 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779. 
 
 the rest to the well tried bravery and skill of 
 that gallant officer. 
 
 The night of the 15th of July was fixed 
 on for the attack. After a march of fourteen 
 miles during the afternoon, the party arrived 
 within a mile and a half of the enemy at 
 eight o clock in the evening. The works 
 were then reconnoitred by the commander and 
 the principal officers, and at half past eleven 
 the whole moved forward in two columns to 
 the assault. The van of the right column 
 consisted of one hundred and fifty volunteers 
 with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets, 
 preceded by twenty picked men to remove the 
 abatis and other obstructions. One hundred 
 volunteers, preceded likewise by twenty men, 
 composed the van of the left. Positive orders 
 were given not to fire, but to rely wholly on 
 the bayonet, which orders were faithfully 
 obeyed. A deep morass in front of the enemy s 
 works, and a double row of abatis, retarded 
 their progress ; but these obstacles were soon 
 overcome by the ardor of the troops, and the 
 assault began about twenty minutes after 
 twelve. From that time they pushed forward 
 in the face of a tremendous fire of musketry 
 and of cannon loaded with grapeshot, and both 
 columns met in the centre of the enemy s 
 works, each arriving nearly at the same in- 
 
^Ex. 47.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 79 
 
 stant. General Wayne, who advanced with 
 the right column, received a slight wound in 
 the head, and was supported into the works 
 by his aids-de-camp. 
 
 The assault was successful in all its parts. 
 The number of prisoners was five hundred 
 and forty-three, and the number killed on the 
 side of the enemy was sixty-three. Of the 
 assailing party fifteen were killed, and eighty- 
 three wounded. Several cannons and mortars 
 of various sizes, a large number of muskets, 
 shells, shot, and tents, and a proportional quan 
 tity of stores, were taken. The action is al 
 lowed to have been one of the most brilliant 
 of the Revolution. Congress passed resolves 
 complimentary to the officers and privates, 
 granting specific rewards, and directing the 
 value of all the military stores taken in the 
 garrison to be divided among the troops in pro 
 portion to the pay of the officers and men. 
 Three different medals were ordered to be 
 struck, emblematical of the action, and award 
 ed respectively to General Wayne, Colonel 
 Fleury, and Colonel Stewart. Congress also 
 passed a vote of thanks to General Washing 
 ton "for the vigilance, wisdom, and magna 
 nimity, with which he had conducted the mil 
 itary operations of the States," and especially 
 as manifested in his orders for the late attack. 
 
80 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779. 
 
 It was his first intention, if the storming of 
 Stony Point should prove successful, to make 
 an immediate attempt against Verplanck s 
 Point, on the opposite side of the river. For 
 this purpose he had requested General Wayne 
 to forward the intelligence to head-quarters 
 through the hands of General M c Dougall, who 
 commanded at West Point, and who would be 
 in readiness to send down a detachment by 
 the way of Peekskill to attack Yerplanck s 
 Point on the land side, while it was cannona 
 ded from Stony Point across the river. By 
 some misunderstanding, the messenger neg 
 lected to call at West Point, and thus several 
 hours were lost before General M c Dougall re 
 ceived the intelligence. To this delay has 
 been ascribed the failure of the undertaking 
 against Yerplanck s Point. From the letters 
 of General M c Dougall and other officers writ 
 ten at the time, however, it is evident that the 
 want of horses and conveniences for the trans 
 portation of artillery was such, as to render it 
 impossible in any event to arrive at Verplanck s 
 Point with the adequate means of assault, be 
 fore the enemy had assembled a sufficient 
 force to give entire security to the garrison. 
 
 When Washington examined Stony Point 
 after the capture, he resolved to evacuate the 
 post, remove the cannon and stores, and de- 
 
JET. 47.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 81 
 
 stroy the works. Being accessible by the en 
 emy s vessels of war, a larger number of men 
 would be required for the defence than could 
 properly be spared from the main army; and 
 at the same time it might be necessary to haz 
 ard a general action, which was by no means 
 to be desired on such terms as would be im 
 posed, and for such an object. Every thing 
 was brought off, except one heavy cannon. 
 The enemy afterwards reoccupied the post, 
 and repaired the works. 
 
 About a month after the storming of Stony 
 Point, another enterprise similar in its charac 
 ter, and not less daring, was executed by Ma 
 jor Henry Lee. At the head of three hundred 
 men, and a troop of dismounted dragoons, he 
 surprised the enemy s post at Paulus Hook, 
 opposite to New York, and took one hundred 
 and fifty-nine prisoners, having two only of 
 his party killed and three wounded. The 
 plan originated with Major Lee, arid great 
 praise was bestowed upon him for the address 
 and bravery with which it was executed. A 
 medal of gold, commemorative of the event, 
 was ordered by Congress to be struck and pre 
 sented to him. 
 
 No other events of much importance hap 
 pened in the army under Washington s imme 
 diate command during the campaign. The 
 
 VOL. II. 6 
 
82 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779. 
 
 British troops remained inactive at New York, 
 and the Americans held their ground in the 
 Highlands. In the course of this year the 
 works at West Point and in its vicinity were 
 chiefly constructed. A part of the time two 
 thousand five hundred men were on fatigue 
 duty every day. Before the end of July the 
 head-quarters of the Commander-in-chief were 
 removed to West Point, where he continued 
 for the rest of the season. 
 
 As few incidents of a personal nature inter 
 vene to vary the monotony of military opera 
 tions, and of the great public affairs which oc 
 cupied the thoughts of Washington, it may 
 not be amiss to insert here a letter inviting a 
 friend to dine with him at head-quarters. It 
 gives an idea of the manner in which he 
 lived, and shows that he could sometimes be 
 playful, even when oppressed with public 
 cares, and in the midst of the harassing duties 
 of his command. The letter is addressed to 
 Dr. Cochran, surgeon-general in the army, and 
 dated at West Point on the 16th of August. 
 " Dear Doctor, 
 
 " I have asked Mrs. Cochran and Mrs. Liv 
 ingston to dine with me to-morrow ; but am I 
 not in honor bound to apprize them of their 
 fare ? As I hate deception, even where the 
 imagination only is concerned, I will. It is 
 
jET. 47.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 83 
 
 needless to premise, that my table is large 
 enough to hold the ladies. Of this they had 
 ocular proof yesterday. To say how it is 
 usually covered, is rather more essential ; and 
 this shall be the purport of my letter. 
 
 " Since our arrival at this happy spot, we 
 have had a ham, sometimes a shoulder of ba 
 con, to grace the head of the table ; a piece of 
 roast beef adorns the foot ; and a dish of beans, 
 or greens, almost imperceptible, decorates the 
 centre. When the cook has a mind to cut a 
 figure, which I presume will be the case to 
 morrow, we have two beefsteak pies, or dishes 
 of crabs, in addition, one on each side of the 
 centre dish, dividing the space and reducing 
 the distance between dish and dish to about 
 six feet, which without them would be nearly 
 twelve feet apart. Of late he has had the sur 
 prising sagacity to discover, that apples will 
 make pies ; and it is a question, if, in the vio 
 lence of his efforts, we do not get one of apples, 
 instead of having both of beefsteaks. If the 
 ladies can put up with such entertainment, and 
 will submit to partake of it on plates, once tin 
 but now iron (not become so by the labor of 
 scouring), I shall be happy to see them; and 
 am, dear Doctor, yours." 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton, disappointed in not re 
 ceiving additions to his army from Europe, 
 
84 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779. 
 
 began to be weary of his situation, and to de 
 spair of effecting any thing that would either 
 redound to the glory of the British arms, or 
 answer the expectations of his employers. On 
 the 21st of August he said, in a letter to Lord 
 George Germain, " I now find myself obliged 
 by many cogent reasons to abandon every 
 view of making an effort in this quarter. The 
 precautions, which General Washington has 
 had leisure to take, make me hopeless of bring 
 ing him to a general action, and the season 
 dissuades me strongly from losing time in the 
 attempt." He informs the minister, that his 
 thoughts are turned to the south, that he shall 
 put New York in a complete state of defence, 
 withdraw his troops from the posts on the 
 Hudson, and sail for South Carolina with a 
 large part of his army as soon as the season 
 will permit him to act in that climate. 
 
 After Count d Estaing left the harbor of 
 Boston, he proceeded to the West Indies, where 
 he operated during the winter, took St. Vin 
 cent and Grenada, and had a naval engage 
 ment with Admiral Byron s fleet. It was ex 
 pected, that he would return to the United 
 States in the course of the summer, and 
 M. Gerard, the French minister in Philadelphia, 
 held several conferences with a committee of 
 Congress respecting a concerted plan of action 
 
JEr. 47.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 85 
 
 between the French squadron and the Ameri 
 can forces. For the same object M. Gerard 
 went to camp, and held interviews with the 
 Commander-in-chief, to whom Congress dele 
 gated the power of arranging and executing 
 the whole business in such a manner as his 
 judgment and prudence should dictate. Vari 
 ous plans were suggested and partly matured ; 
 but, as the unfortunate repulse of the French 
 and American troops in their assault on Savan 
 nah, and the subsequent departure of Count 
 d Estaing from the coast, prevented their being 
 carried into execution, they need not be ex 
 plained in this place. 
 
 The intercourse with Washington on this 
 occasion left favorable impressions on the mind 
 of the French minister. In a letter to Count 
 de Vergennes, written from camp, he said ; "I 
 have had many conversations with General 
 Washington, some of which have continued 
 for three hours. It is impossible for me briefly 
 to communicate the fund of intelligence, which 
 I have derived from him ; but I shall do it in 
 my letters as occasions shall present them 
 selves. I will now say only, that I have form 
 ed as high an opinion of the powers of his 
 mind, his moderation, his patriotism, and his 
 virtues, as I had before from common report 
 conceived of his military talents, and of the 
 
86 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 11119. 
 
 incalculable services he has rendered to his 
 country." The same sentiments were often 
 repeated by the successor of M. Gerard, and 
 contributed to establish the unbounded confi 
 dence, which the French government placed 
 in the American commander during the war. 
 
 Although the plans of cooperation failed, yet 
 they were serviceable in embarrassing the 
 schemes of the enemy. As soon as it was 
 known that Count d Estaing had arrived in 
 Georgia, Sir Henry Clinton naturally supposed 
 that he would proceed northward, and unite 
 with Washington in a combined attack on 
 New York. Alarmed for his safety in such an 
 event, he caused Rhode Island to be evacuated, 
 and drew to New York the garrison, which 
 had been stationed nearly three years at that 
 place, consisting at times of about six thou 
 sand men. Stony Point and Yerplanck s Point 
 were likewise evacuated. The appearance of 
 Count d Estaing s fleet on the coast retarded 
 Sir Henry Clinton s southern expedition till 
 near the end of December, when, having re 
 ceived reinforcements from Europe, he em 
 barked about seven thousand troops, and sailed 
 for South Carolina, under the convoy of Ad 
 miral Arbuthnot. 
 
 The campaign being now at an end, the ar 
 my was again put into winter quarters, the 
 
jEr.48.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 87 
 
 main body in the neighborhood of Morristown, 
 strong detachments at West Point and other 
 posts near the Hudson, and the cavalry in Con 
 necticut. The head-quarters were at Morris- 
 town. The ill success of the allied arms at 
 Savannah, and the indications of Sir Henry 
 Clinton s designs against South Carolina, were 
 reasons for sending more troops to General 
 Lincoln s army ; and, before the middle of De 
 cember, two of the North Carolina regiments 
 and the whole of the Virginia line marched to 
 the south. 
 
 A descent upon Staten Island by a party un 
 der Lord Stirling, a retaliatory incursion of the 
 enemy into New Jersey at Elizabethtown, and 
 a skirmish near White Plains, were the only 
 military events during the winter. 
 
 The army for the campaign in 1780 was 
 nominally fixed by Congress at thirty-five 
 thousand two hundred and eleven men. Each 
 State was required to furnish its quota by the 
 1st day of April. No definite plan was adopt 
 ed for the campaign, as the operations must 
 depend on circumstances and the strength and 
 condition of the enemy. 
 
 One of the greatest evils, which now afflict 
 ed the country, and which threatened the most 
 alarming consequences, was the depreciation 
 of the currency. Destitute of pecuniary re- 
 
88 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 sources, and without the power of imposing 
 direct taxes, Congress had, early in the war, 
 resorted to the expedient of paper money. For 
 a time, while the quantity was comparatively 
 small, its credit was good ; but in March, 1780, 
 the enormous amount of two hundred millions 
 of dollars had been issued, no part of which 
 had been redeemed. At this time forty paper 
 dollars were worth only one in specie. Prices 
 rose as the money sank in value, and every 
 branch of trade was unsettled and deranged. 
 The effect was peculiarly oppressive on the 
 troops, and was a principal reason for the ex 
 orbitant bounties allowed to them in the latter 
 years of the war. The separate States like 
 wise issued paper money, which increased the 
 evil, without affording any. adequate relief. 
 The only remedy was taxation ; but this was 
 seldom pursued with vigor, owing, in part, to 
 the distracted state of the times and the ex 
 hausted condition of the country, and in part 
 also to State jealousy. As each State felt its 
 burdens to be heavy, it was cautious how it 
 added to them in a greater proportion than its 
 neighbors ; and thus all were reluctant to act, 
 till impelled by the pressure of necessity. 
 
 So low had the credit of the currency fallen, 
 that the commissaries found it extremely diffi 
 cult, and in some cases impossible, to purchase 
 
^T. 48.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 89 
 
 supplies for the army. Congress adopted a 
 new method, by requiring each State to furnish 
 a certain quantity of beef, pork, flour, corn, 
 forage, and other articles, which were to be de 
 posited in such places as the Commander-in- 
 chief should determine. The States were to 
 be credited for the amount at a fixed valuation 
 in specie. The system turned out to be im 
 practicable. The multitude of hands into 
 which the business was thrown, the want of 
 proper authority to compel its prompt execu 
 tion, the distance of several of the States from 
 the army, and the consequent difficulties of 
 transportation, all conspired to make it the most 
 expensive, the most uncertain, and the least 
 effectual method that could be devised. It 
 added greatly to the embarrassments of the 
 military affairs, and to the labor and perplex 
 ities of the Commander-in-chief, till it was 
 abandoned. 
 
 To keep np the credit of the currency, Con 
 gress recommended to the States to pass laws 
 making paper money a legal tender at its nom 
 inal value for the discharge of debts, which 
 had been contracted to be paid in gold or silver. 
 Such laws were enacted, and many debtors 
 took advantage of them. When the army 
 was at Morristown, a man of respectable stand 
 ing lived in the neighborhood, who was assid- 
 
90 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 uous in his civilities to Washington, which 
 were kindly received and reciprocated. Un 
 luckily this man paid his debts in the depre 
 ciated currency. Some time afterwards he 
 called at head-quarters, and was introduced as 
 usual to the General s apartment, where he was 
 then conversing with some of his officers. He 
 bestowed very little attention upon the visiter. 
 The same thing occurred a second time, when 
 he was more reserved than before. This was 
 so different from his customary manner, that 
 Lafayette, who was present on both occasions, 
 could not help remarking it, and he said, after 
 the man was gone ; " General, this man seems 
 to be much devoted to you, and yet you have 
 scarcely noticed him." Washington replied, 
 smiling ; " I know I have not been cordial ; I 
 tried hard to be civil, and attempted to speak 
 to him two or three times, but that Continen 
 tal money stopped my mouth." He considered 
 these laws unjust in principle, and iniquitous 
 in their effects. He was himself a loser to a 
 considerable amount by their operation. 
 
 At the beginning of April, when the States 
 were to have completed their quotas of troops, 
 the whole number under Washington s imme 
 diate command was no more than ten thousand 
 four hundred rank and file. This number was 
 soon diminished by sending the remainder of 
 
^T. 48.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 91 
 
 the Maryland line and the Delaware regiment 
 to the southern army. The British force at 
 New York amounted to seventeen thousand 
 three hundred effective men. From that time 
 the army of the north consisted of such troops 
 only, as were raised in the New England 
 States, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsyl 
 vania. To hasten and give effect to the ar 
 rangements for the campaign, and draw more 
 expeditiously from the States their quotas of 
 soldiers and supplies, General Washington re 
 quested a committee of Congress to attend the 
 army, with power to act in the name of that 
 body for definite objects,. The committee re 
 mained in camp between two and three months. 
 General Schuyler, then a member of Congress, 
 was one of the committee, and his experience, 
 sound judgment, and energetic character, en 
 abled him to render essential services in that 
 capacity. 
 
92 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Arrival of the Marquis de Lafayette, with the Intelligence that a 
 French Armament was on its Way to the United States. The 
 Army takes a Position near Hudson s River. The French 
 Squadron arrives at Newport. Count de Rochambeau s In 
 structions. French Fleet blockaded. Interview between 
 General Washington and the French Commander at Hartford. 
 The Treason of Arnold. Plans for attacking New York. 
 
 BEFORE the end of April, the Marquis de 
 Lafayette arrived at Boston from France, with 
 the cheering intelligence that the French gov 
 ernment had fitted out an armament of naval 
 and land forces, which might soon be expected 
 in the United States. He proceeded imme 
 diately to Washington s head-quarters, and 
 thence to Congress. Although many of the 
 Americans had hoped that their arms would be 
 strengthened by the troops of their allies, yet 
 no indications had hitherto been given, which 
 encouraged them to believe that any aid of this 
 sort would be rendered. The experiment was 
 also thought by some to be hazardous. The 
 prejudice against French soldiers, which had 
 been implanted and nurtured by the colonial 
 wars, it was feared might lead to serious con 
 sequences, if French troops should be landed 
 in the United States, and brought to act in 
 
jEr.48.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 93 
 
 concert with the American army. So strongly 
 was Count de Yergennes influenced by this 
 apprehension, that he opposed the sending of 
 troops to America, and advised that the efforts 
 of France in succoring her ally should be ex 
 pended in naval equipments, which he believ 
 ed would be more effectual in annoying and 
 weakening the common enemy. In this opin 
 ion, however, the other members of the cabi 
 net did not concur, and it was resolved to send 
 out a fleet with a body of troops to operate on 
 land. Lafayette was principally instrumental 
 in effecting this decision. It was a point upon 
 which he had set his heart before he left Amer 
 ica, and it may be presumed that he previously 
 ascertained the sentiments of Washington. At 
 any rate, his observation while in the country 
 had convinced him, that French troops would 
 be well received ; and he had the address to 
 bring the majority of the ministry to the same 
 way of thinking. 
 
 In the month of June, General Knyphausen 
 crossed over with such a force as he could spare 
 from New York, and made an incursion into 
 New Jersey. He was met by detachments 
 from the American army, and some smart skir 
 mishing ensued, particularly at Springfield, 
 where the encounter lasted several hours. The 
 
94 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 enemy were driven back, and they retired to 
 Staten Island. 
 
 The object of this adventure could not ea 
 sily be ascertained. General Washington at 
 first supposed it to be a feint to amuse him in 
 that quarter, while a more formidable force 
 should be suddenly pushed up the Hudson to 
 attack the posts in the Highlands. This opin 
 ion was countenanced by the arrival, just at 
 that time, of Sir Henry Clinton from his suc 
 cessful expedition against Charleston. No such 
 attempt being made, however, the only effect 
 was to draw General Washington s army near 
 er the Hudson, where he took a position in 
 which he could act in defence of New Jersey 
 or the Highlands, as occasion might require. 
 
 News at length came, that the French fleet 
 had entered the harbor of Newport, in Rhode 
 Island, on the 10th of July. The armament 
 consisted of seven or eight ships of the line, 
 two frigates, two bombs, and upwards of five 
 thousand troops. The fleet was commanded 
 by the Chevalier de Ternay, and the army by 
 the Count de Rochambeau. This was called 
 the first division. Another, being detained for 
 the want of transports, was left at Brest al 
 most ready to sail, which it was said would 
 soon follow. 
 
 The instructions from the ministry to Count 
 
jEr.48.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 95 
 
 de Rochambeau, were extremely judicious, 
 and contrived in every part to secure harmony 
 between the American and French armies. 
 The general and the troops were to be in all 
 cases under the command of General Wash 
 ington. When the two armies were united, 
 the French troops were to be considered as 
 auxiliaries, and to yield precedence by taking 
 the left. American officers were to command 
 French officers of equal rank, and holding 
 commissions of the same dates; and, in all 
 military acts and capitulations, the American 
 generals were to be named first and to sign 
 first. These instructions, expressed in clear 
 and positive terms, were made known to Gen 
 eral Washington by Lafayette before the troops 
 landed. A copy in detail was likewise sent to 
 him by Count de Rochambeau. They pro 
 duced all the happy effects, which could have 
 been anticipated. Perfect harmony subsisted 
 not only between the armies, but between the 
 people and the French troops, from their first 
 arrival in the country till their final departure. 
 The Continental officers, by the recommenda 
 tion of General Washington, wore cockades of 
 black and white intermixed, as a compliment 
 to the French troops, and a symbol of friend 
 ship ; the former color being that of the Ameri 
 can cockade, and the latter that of the French. 
 
96 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 A plan of combined operations against the 
 enemy in New York was drawn up by Gen 
 eral Washington, and forwarded to Count de 
 Rochambeau by the hands of Lafayette, who 
 went to Newport for the purpose of making 
 explanations, and concerting arrangements with 
 the French general and admiral. This plan 
 had for its basis the naval superiority of the 
 French over the English, by which the fleet 
 of the latter might be attacked to advantage, 
 or at least blocked up in the harbor of New 
 York. At the present time, however, this 
 was not the case. The arrival of Admiral 
 Graves, with six ships of the line, had increas 
 ed the British naval force considerably beyond 
 that of the Chevalier de Ternay : and it was 
 agreed that nothing could be done, till he 
 should be reinforced by the second division 
 from France, or by the squadron of the Count 
 de Guichen, which was expected from the 
 West Indies. 
 
 Forewarned by the British ministry of the 
 destination of the French armament, Sir Hen 
 ry Clinton made seasonable preparations to 
 meet it, and requested Admiral Arbuthnot to 
 be ready with his fleet. After considerable 
 delay he embarked six thousand troops at 
 Frog s Neck, intending to proceed through the 
 Sound and cooperate with the fleet in an at- 
 
^Ex. 48.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 97 
 
 tack on the French at Newport. In the mean 
 time Count de Rochambeau, aided by General 
 Heath, then present with the French army, 
 called in the militia of the neighboring coun 
 try, and increased the force at Newport so 
 much, that Sir Henry Clinton, despairing of 
 success, landed his men at Whitestone, on 
 Long Island, and returned to New York, with 
 out effecting any part of his object. Another 
 reason for his sudden return was, that Wash 
 ington had drawn his army across the Hudson, 
 and taken a position on the east side of that 
 river, from which he might attack the city 
 during the absence of so large a portion of the 
 troops. It was Sir Henry Clinton s first hope, 
 that, by the aid of the fleet, he should be able 
 to complete his expedition against Newport, 
 and come back to New York before Washing 
 ton could assume an attitude which would 
 menace the city ; but in this he was disap 
 pointed. 
 
 Having a decided naval superiority, howev 
 er, Admiral Arbuthnot blockaded the French 
 squadron in the harbor of Newport, and Count 
 de Rochambeau s army was obliged to remain 
 there for its protection. This state of things 
 continued through the season, and no military 
 enterprise was undertaken. The second French 
 division was blockaded at Brest, and never 
 
 VOL. n. 7 
 
98 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 came to America ; and the Count de Guichen 
 sailed from the West Indies to France without 
 touching in any part of the United States. 
 Both parties, therefore, stood on the defensive, 
 watching each other s motions, and depending 
 on the operations of the British and French 
 fleets. General Washington recrossed the 
 Hudson, and encamped below Orangetown, or 
 Tappan, on the borders of New Jersey, which 
 station he held till winter. 
 
 In this interval of leisure, a conference be 
 tween the commanders of the two allied ar 
 mies was suggested by Count de Rochambeau, 
 and readily assented to by General, Washing 
 ton. They met at Hartford in Connecticut, 
 on the 21st of September. During the ab 
 sence of General Washington, the army was 
 left under the command of General Greene. 
 The interview was more interesting and ser 
 viceable in cementing a personal friendship, 
 and promoting amicable relations between the 
 parties, than important in establishing an ulte 
 rior system of action. Nothing indeed could 
 be positively agreed upon, since a naval supe 
 riority was absolutely essential to any enter 
 prise by land, and this superiority did not ex 
 ist. All the plans that were brought into view, 
 therefore, rested on contingencies, and in the 
 end these were unfavorable to a combined op 
 eration. 
 
2ET.48.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 99 
 
 At this time General Arnold held the com 
 mand at West Point and other fortified posts 
 in the Highlands. No officer in the American 
 army had acquired higher renown for military 
 talents, activity, and courage. He had signal 
 ized himself at the taking of Ticonderoga, by 
 his expedition through the wilderness to Clue- 
 bee, in a naval engagement on Lake Cham- 
 plain, in a rencontre with the enemy at Dan- 
 bury, and above all in the decisive action at 
 Saratoga. When the British evacuated Phila 
 delphia, he was appointed to the command in 
 that city, being disabled by his wounds for 
 immediate active service. Arrogant, fond of 
 display, and extravagant in his style of living, 
 he was soon involved in difficulties," which led 
 to his ruin. His debts accumulated, and, to 
 relieve himself from embarrassment and indulge 
 his passion for parade, he resorted to practices 
 discreditable to him as an officer and a man. 
 Heavy charges were exhibited against him by 
 the President and Council of Pennsylvania, 
 which were referred to a court-martial. Af 
 ter a thorough investigation, the court sen 
 tenced him to receive a public reprimand from 
 the Commander-in-chief. He had previously 
 presented to Congress large claims against the 
 United States on account of money, which he 
 said he had expended for the public service in 
 
100 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 Canada. These claims were examined, and 
 in part disallowed. In the opinion of many, 
 they were such as to authorize a suspicion of 
 his integrity, if not to afford evidence of de 
 liberate fraud. 
 
 These censures, added to the desperate state 
 of his private affairs, were more than the pride 
 of Arnold could bear. At once to take re 
 venge, and to retrieve his fortunes, he resolved 
 to become a traitor to his country, and seek 
 employment in the ranks of the enemy. This 
 purpose was so far fixed in his mind fifteen 
 months before its consummation, that he then 
 began, and continued afterwards, a secret cor 
 respondence with Major Andre, adjutant-gen 
 eral of the British army. The more easily to 
 effect his designs, he sought and obtained the 
 command at West Point, where he arrived the 
 first week in August. From that time it was 
 his aim, by a plan concerted with the British 
 general, to deliver West Point and the other 
 posts of the Highlands into the hands of the 
 enemy. 
 
 The absence of Washington from the army, 
 on his visit to Hartford, was thought to afford 
 a fit occasion for bringing the affair to a crisis. 
 The Vulture sloop of war ascended the Hud 
 son, and anchored in Haverstraw Bay, six or 
 seven miles below King s Ferry. It was con- 
 
jEx.48.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 101 
 
 trived that a meeting should take* plaGe Be 
 tween Arnold and Andre, for the purpose of 
 making arrangements. Andi*e went ashore 
 from the Vulture in the night on the west side 
 of the river, where Arnold was waiting to re 
 ceive him. They remained together in that 
 place till the dawn of day, when, their busi 
 ness not being finished, Arnold persuaded him 
 to go to the house of Joshua H. Smith, at 
 some distance from the river, where he was 
 concealed during the day. Arnold left him in 
 the morning and went to West Point. It was 
 Andre s expectation and wish to return to the 
 Vulture ; but, this not being practicable, he 
 left Smith s house in the dusk of the evening 
 on horseback, and crossed the river at King s 
 Ferry with a written pass signed by Arnold, 
 in which the bearer was called John Anderson. 
 Before leaving Smith s house, he exchanged 
 his regimentals for a citizen s dress, over which 
 he wore a dark, loose great-coat. 
 
 The next day while riding alone towards 
 New York, he was suddenly stopped in the 
 road by three armed militia-men, Paulding, 
 Williams, and Van Wart, about half a mile 
 north of Tarrytown. They searched him, 
 and found papers secreted in his boots. From 
 this discovery they inferred that he was a spy ; 
 and, taking him back to the nearest American 
 
102 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 outpost ,at. North Castle, they delivered him 
 > Qye^ to Lieutenant-Colonel Jameson, who was 
 *stat1pj.ie d ^trje.re with a party of dragoons. 
 Jameson examined the papers, and knew them 
 to be in the handwriting of Arnold. They 
 were of a very extraordinary character, con 
 taining an exact account of the state of things 
 at West Point, and of the strength of the gar 
 rison, with remarks on the different works, and 
 a report of a council of war recently held at 
 the head-quarters of the army. Jameson was 
 amazed and bewildered. He sent a messen 
 ger to Arnold with a letter, stating that a pris 
 oner, who called himself John Anderson, had 
 been brought to him and was then in custody, 
 and that papers had been found upon his per 
 son, which seemed to him of a dangerous ten 
 dency. At the same time he despatched an 
 express to General Washington, then supposed 
 to be on the road returning from Hartford. 
 This express was the bearer of the papers, 
 which had been taken from Andre s boots. 
 
 The next morning Andre was sent, under 
 the charge of Major Tallmadge, to Colonel 
 Sheldon s quarters at New Salem for greater 
 security. Being now convinced that there 
 was no hope of escape, he wrote a letter to 
 General Washington revealing his name and 
 true character. Till this time no one about him 
 
JT. 4S.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 103 
 
 knew who he was, or that he held a military 
 rank. He submitted the letter to Major Tall- 
 madge and other officers, who read it with as 
 tonishment. 
 
 Having finished his interview with the 
 French commanders, Washington returned 
 from Hartford by the upper route through 
 Fishkill. Consequently the express, who was 
 sent with the papers, and who took the lower 
 route, by which Washington had gone to Hart 
 ford, did not meet him, but came back to North 
 Castle. In the mean time Washington pur 
 sued his journey by the way of Fishkill to 
 West Point. Two or three hours before he 
 reached Arnold s house, which was on the side 
 of the river opposite to West Point and at a 
 considerable distance below, the messenger ar 
 rived there with the letter from Jameson, by 
 which Arnold was informed of the capture of 
 Andre. He read it with some degree of agita 
 tion, and, pretending that he was suddenly 
 called to West Point, mounted a horse stand 
 ing at the door, rode to the river, entered his 
 barge, and ordered the men to row down the 
 stream. When the barge approached King s 
 Ferry, he held up a white handkerchief, and 
 the officer who commanded at Verplanck s 
 Point, supposing it to be a flag-boat, allowed it 
 to pass without inspection. Arnold proceeded 
 
104 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 directly to the Vulture, which was still at an 
 chor in the river near the place where Andre 
 had left it. 
 
 Washington arrived at Arnold s house, and 
 went over to West Point, without hearing any 
 thing of Arnold. On his return, however, in 
 the afternoon he received the abovementioned 
 letter from Andre, and the papers found in his 
 boots, which had been forwarded from North 
 Castle. The plot was now unravelled. The 
 first thing to be done was to secure the posts. 
 Orders were immediately despatched to all the 
 principal officers, and every precaution was 
 taken. 
 
 Andre was first removed to West Point, and 
 thence to the head-quarters of the army at 
 Tappan. A board of officers was summoned, 
 and directed to inquire into the case of Major 
 Andre, report the facts, and give their opinion, 
 both in regard to the nature of his oifence, and 
 to the punishment that ought to be awarded. 
 Various papers were laid before the board, and 
 Andre himself was questioned, and desired to 
 make such statements and explanations as he 
 chose. After a full investigation the board re 
 ported, that the prisoner came on shore in the 
 night, to hold a private and secret interview 
 with General Arnold j that he changed his 
 dress within the American lines, and passed 
 
jEx.48.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 105 
 
 the guards in a disguised habit and under a 
 feigned name : that he was taken in the same 
 disguised habit, having in his possession sever 
 al papers, which contained intelligence for the 
 enemy ; and that he ought to be considered as 
 a spy, and, according to the law and usage of 
 nations, to suffer death. General Washington 
 approved this decision ; and Major Andre was 
 executed at Tappan on the 2d of October. 
 
 While Andre s case was pending, Sir Henry 
 Clinton used every effort in his power to res 
 cue him from his fate. He wrote to General 
 Washington, and endeavored to show, that he 
 could not be regarded as a spy, inasmuch as he 
 came on shore at the request of an American 
 general, and afterwards acted by his direction. 
 Connected with all the circumstances, this ar 
 gument could have no weight. That he was 
 drawn into a snare by a traitor did not make 
 him the less a spy. As the guilt of Arnold 
 was the cause of all the evils that followed, an 
 exchange of him for Andre would have been 
 accepted ; but no such proposal was intimated 
 by the British general ; and perhaps it could 
 not be done consistently with honor and the 
 course already pursued. From the moment 
 of his capture till that of his execution, the 
 conduct of Andre was marked with a candor, 
 self-possession, and dignity , which betokened a 
 
106 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 brave and noble spirit. There was no stronger 
 trait in the character of Washington than hu 
 manity ; the misfortunes and sufferings of oth 
 ers touched him keenly ; and his feelings were 
 deeply moved at the part he was compelled 
 to act in consenting to the death of Andre; 
 yet justice to the office he held, and to the 
 cause for which his countrymen were shedding 
 their blood, left him no alternative.* 
 
 While these operations were going on at the 
 north, all the intelligence from the south gave 
 evidence, that affairs in that quarter were as 
 suming a gloomy aspect. The British forces, 
 with Lord Cornwallis at their head, were over 
 running the Carolinas, and preparations were 
 making in New York to detach a squadron 
 with troops to fall upon Virginia. The defeat 
 of General Gates near Camden, in South Car 
 olina, was a heavy blow upon the Americans, 
 and left them in a state from which it was 
 feared they would not soon recover. Congress 
 requested General Washington to appoint an 
 officer to succeed Gates in the command of the 
 southern army. With his usual determination 
 and judgment he selected General Greene, who 
 repaired to the theatre of action, in which he 
 
 * A full and detailed account of the particulars relating 
 to this subject is contained in SPARKS S Life and Trea 
 son of Arnold. 
 
LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 107 
 
 was so eminently distinguished during the 
 subsequent years of the war. 
 
 Gaining an increased confidence in the 
 Commander-in-chief, which a long experience 
 of his wisdom and disinterestedness author- 
 ! ized, Congress at length adopted the important 
 i measures, in regard to the army, which he had 
 earnestly and repeatedly advised and enforced. 
 They decreed that all the troops, thenceforward 
 to be raised, should be enlisted to serve during 
 the war ; and that all the officers, who contin 
 ued in the service to the end of the war, should 
 be entitled to half-pay for life. Washington 
 ever believed, that, if this system had been 
 pursued from the beginning, it would have 
 shortened the war, or at least have caused a 
 great diminution in the expense. Unfortunate 
 ly the States did not comply with the former 
 part of the requisition, but adhered to the old 
 method of filling up their quotas with men 
 raised for three years and for shorter terms. 
 The extreme difficulty of procuring recruits 
 was the reason assigned for persevering in this 
 practice. 
 
 Lafayette commanded six battalions of light 
 infantry, stationed in advance of the main ar 
 my. He projected a descent upon Staten Isl 
 and, but was prevented from executing it by 
 the want of boats. A plan was likewise formed 
 
108 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 
 
 for a general attack on the north part of New 
 York Island. The enemy s posts were recon 
 noitred, extensive preparations were made, 
 and a large foraging party was sent into West- 
 chester County to mask the design, and draw 
 the attention of the enemy that way. But 
 the sudden appearance of several armed vessels 
 in the river caused the enterprise to be deferred 
 and finally abandoned. The foraging expedi 
 tion, conducted by General Stark, was suc 
 cessful. 
 
 The army went into winter quarters at the 
 end of November ; the Pennsylvania line near 
 Morristown, the New Jersey regiments at 
 Pompton, and the eastern troops in the High 
 lands. The head-quarters of the Commander- 
 in-chief were at New Windsor. The French 
 army remained at Newport, except the Duke 
 de Lauzun s legion, which was cantoned at 
 Lebanon in Connecticut. 
 
. 49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 109 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Mutiny of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Troops. Agency of 
 Washington in procuring Supplies from France. Operations 
 of the Enemy in the Chesapeake. Detachment to Virginia 
 under Lafayette. General Washington visits Count de Ro- 
 chambeau at Newport. Condition of the Army. Interview 
 between the American and French Commanders at Weathers- 
 field. Plan of Operations. A Combined Attack on New 
 York proposed. 
 
 THE year 1781 opened with an event, 
 which filled the country with alarm, and 
 threatened dangerous consequences. On the 
 1st of January a mutiny broke out among the 
 Pennsylvania troops, stationed near Morristown, 
 and about thirteen hundred men paraded under 
 arms, refused obedience to their officers, killed 
 one captain, mortally wounded another, and 
 committed various outrages. The mutineers 
 marched in a body towards Princeton with six 
 fieldpieces, avowing their intention to proceed 
 to Philadelphia, and demand from Congress a 
 redress of their grievances. They complained 
 that their pay was in arrears, that they were 
 obliged to receive it in a depreciated currency, 
 that many of the soldiers were detained be 
 yond the term of their enlistment, and that 
 they had suffered every hardship for the want 
 
110 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 of money, provisions, and clothing. By the 
 prudence and good management of General 
 Wayne, who took care to supply them with 
 provisions on their march, they were kept from 
 plundering the inhabitants and other excesses. 
 He sent the intelligence of the revolt by an 
 express to General Washington, who, consid 
 ering the number of the mutineers, and the 
 apparent justice of their complaints, recom 
 mended to him not to use force, which might 
 inflame their passions, increase opposition, keep 
 alive resentment, and tempt them to turn 
 about and go to the enemy, who would not 
 fail to hold out alluring offers. He advised 
 General Wayne to draw from them a statement 
 of their grievances, and promise to represent 
 the case faithfully to Congress and the State 
 of Pennsylvania, and endeavor to obtain re 
 dress. 
 
 These judicious counsels had the effect de 
 sired. A committee of Congress, joined by 
 the President of Pennsylvania, met the revolt- 
 ers at Trenton, and made proposals to them, 
 which were accepted, and they gave up their 
 arms. An ambiguity in the written terms of 
 enlistment was one of the principal causes of 
 dissatisfaction. The agreement on the part of 
 the soldiers was, to serve for three years or 
 during the war. By the interpretation, which 
 
jET.49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. HI 
 
 the officers gave to these expressions, they 
 bound the soldiers to serve to the end of the 
 war ; whereas the soldiers insisted that they 
 engaged for three years only, or during the 
 war if it should come to an end before the 
 three years had elapsed. Accordingly they 
 demanded a discharge at the expiration of that 
 period. This construction being allowed, it 
 was the means of disbanding a large part of 
 the Pennsylvania line for the winter, but it 
 was recruited again in the spring to its original 
 complement. The revolters were indignant 
 at the suspicion of their going to the enemy, 
 and scorned the idea, as they expressed it, of 
 turning Arnolds. Two emissaries sent among 
 them with overtures from Sir Henry Clinton 
 were given up, tried by a court-martial, and 
 executed. 
 
 Not knowing how far this example might 
 infect the troops generally, the sufferings of all 
 of whom were not less than those of the 
 Pennsylvania line, General Washington took 
 speedy measures to prevent the repetition of 
 such a scene as had just occurred. He order 
 ed a thousand trusty men to be selected from 
 the regiments in the Highlands, and held in 
 readiness to march, with four days provisions, 
 at the shortest notice. The wisdom of this 
 precaution was soon put to the proof; for news 
 
112 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 came, that the New Jersey troops, stationed at 
 Pompton and Chatham, were in a state of mu 
 tiny, having risen in arms against their officers, 
 and threatened to march to Trenton, where the 
 legislature of the State was then in session, 
 and demand redress at the point of the bayo 
 net. The case required promptness and ener 
 gy. Six hundred men were put under the 
 command of General Howe, with orders to 
 march and crush the revolt by force, unless 
 the men should yield unconditional submission 
 and return to their duty. These orders were 
 faithfully executed. Taken by surprise, the 
 mutineers were compelled to parade without 
 their arms, make concessions to their officers, 
 and promise obedience. To impress them 
 with the enormity of their guilt, and deter 
 them and others from future acts of the kind, 
 two of the ringleaders were tried by a field 
 court-martial and shot. By this summary pro 
 ceeding the spirit of mutiny in the army was 
 subdued. 
 
 In the midst of these distracting events 
 Washington was employed, at the request of 
 Congress, in affording important counsels to 
 Colonel John Laurens, who had been appoint 
 ed on a mission to France, for the purpose of 
 obtaining a loan and military supplies. Such 
 was the deranged state of the currency, so 
 
jEr.49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 113 
 
 low had the resources of the country been 
 drained, and so feeble was the power of draw 
 ing them out, that, in the opinion of all, the 
 military efforts of the United States could not 
 be exerted with a vigor suited to the exigency 
 of the occasion, nor even with any thing more 
 than a languishing inactivity, unless sustained 
 by succors from their allies both in money and 
 supplies for the army. The sentiments of 
 Washington, communicating the fruits of his 
 knowledge, experience, and judgment, with 
 the weight of his name, were thought essen 
 tial to produce a just impression on the French 
 cabinet. He wrote a letter to Colonel Laurens, 
 remarkable for its appropriateness and ability, 
 containing a clear and forcible representation 
 of facts, with arguments in support of the ap 
 plication of Congress, which was first present 
 ed by that commissioner to Dr. Franklin, and 
 afterwards laid before the ministry and the 
 King. The influence of this letter, in pro 
 curing the aids solicited from the French gov 
 ernment, may be inferred from the circum 
 stance of a recent loan being accompanied with 
 the suggestion, that the money to be appropri 
 ated for the army should be left at the disposal 
 of General Washington. 
 
 The British general seems not to have med 
 itated any offensive operations in the northern 
 
 VOL. II. 8 
 
114 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 States for the coming campaign. His atten 
 tion was chiefly directed to the south, where 
 such detachments as could be spared from his 
 army at New York were to cooperate with 
 Lord Cornwallis. Sixteen hundred men, with 
 a proportionate number of armed vessels, were 
 sent into the Chesapeake under the command 
 of Arnold, who was eager to prove his zeal for 
 the cause of his new friends by the mischief 
 he could do to those, whom he had deserted 
 and sought to betray. Before his arrival in 
 the Chesapeake, General Leslie had left Vir 
 ginia and sailed for Charleston ; so that Arnold 
 received the undivided honor of his exploits, 
 and, what he valued more highly, a liberal 
 share of the booty that fell into his hands. 
 He burnt Richmond, seized private property, 
 and committed depredations in sundry places. 
 
 About the middle of January the British 
 fleet blockading the harbor of Newport was so 
 much shattered and dispersed by a violent 
 storm, that the scale of superiority turned in 
 favor of the French squadron. The Chevalier 
 de Ternay had recently died, and M. Destou- 
 ches, who succeeded him in the command, 
 reconnoitred the enemy s fleet after the storm, 
 and. finding it well secured in Gardiner s Bay, 
 at the east end of Long Island, he was not in 
 clined to seek an engagement. Taking ad- 
 
^T.49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 115 
 
 vantage of the opportunity, however, he de 
 tached a ship of the line and two frigates un 
 der M. de Tilly to the Chesapeake, with the 
 design to blockade Arnold s squadron, and to 
 act against him in concert with the American 
 troops on land. As soon as General Washing 
 ton heard of the damage suffered by the Brit 
 ish ships, he wrote to Count de Rochambeau, 
 recommending that M. Destouches should pro 
 ceed immediately to Virginia with his whole 
 fleet and a thousand troops from the French 
 army. This advice was not received till after 
 the departure of M. de Tilly from Newport, 
 when it was too late to comply with it, as the 
 British fleet in the mean time had gained 
 strength, and made it hazardous for M. Des 
 touches to leave the harbor. 
 
 M. de Tilly s expedition was only in part 
 successful. He entered the Chesapeake, but 
 Arnold drew his vessels so high up the Eliza 
 beth River, that they could not be reached by 
 the French line-of-battle ship j and one of the 
 frigates ran aground, and was set afloat again 
 with difficulty. As M. de Tilly could not 
 remain long in the Chesapeake without the 
 risk of being blockaded by a British force, he 
 put to sea, and arrived at Newport after an ab 
 sence of fifteen days. 
 
 Although the British had repaired their dam- 
 
116 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 aged vessels, yet by the junction of M. de 
 Tilly an equality was restored to the French ; 
 and M. Destouches, in conformity to the rec 
 ommendation of General Washington, resolved 
 on an expedition to Virginia with his whole 
 naval force, to which Count de Rochambeau 
 added eleven hundred troops, commanded by 
 Baron de Viomenil. The French were pur 
 sued by Admiral Arbuthnot with all his block 
 ading squadron, and overtaken near the capes 
 of Virginia, where an action ensued, which 
 terminated with nearly equal honor to both 
 parties. The object of the expedition was 
 thus defeated, unless it was a part of M. Des- 
 touches s purpose to bring on a naval engage 
 ment, which is not improbable. The fleet 
 returned to Newport without attempting to 
 enter the Chesapeake. 
 
 The moment Washington received the in 
 telligence, that M. de Tilly had sailed to the 
 southward, he detached twelve hundred men 
 from his army to proceed by land to the Ches 
 apeake and cooperate with the French against 
 Arnold. At the head of this detachment he 
 placed the Marquis de Lafayette, being influ 
 enced in his choice both by a political motive, 
 and by his confidence in the ability and bra 
 very of that officer. The appointment was 
 complimentary to the allies, and it was thought 
 
jEx.49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 117 
 
 that harmony would be more surely preserved 
 by a commander, who was beloved by the 
 American troops, and respected for his rank 
 and character by his own countrymen. La 
 fayette marched from Hudson s River on the 
 20th of February. On his arrival in Virginia, 
 his seniority of rank would give him the com 
 mand of all the Continental troops in that 
 State, and of all the militia drawn into the 
 -service to oppose the enemy in the waters of 
 the Chesapeake. Hitherto Baron Steuben had 
 conducted the operations against Arnold in 
 Virginia, having been detained for that purpose 
 when on his way to join General Greene. 
 
 To mature the plans for the campaign, and 
 to communicate with the French commanders, 
 on points that could not be safely intrusted to 
 writing, General Washington made a journey 
 to Newport. He left head-quarters on the 2d 
 of March, and was absent nearly three weeks. 
 He arrived a day or two before M. Destouches s 
 departure on the expedition above mentioned. 
 The citizens of Newport received him with a 
 public address, expressive of their attachment, 
 their gratitude for his services, and the joy 
 they felt at seeing him among them. In his 
 reply, he took care to reciprocate and confirm 
 the sentiments, which they had declared in 
 regard to the allies. " The conduct of the 
 
118 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 French army and fleet," said he, " of which 
 the inhabitants testify so grateful and so affec 
 tionate a sense, at the same time that it evin 
 ces the wisdom of the commanders and the 
 discipline of the troops, is a new proof of the 
 magnanimity of the nation. It is a further 
 demonstration of that generous zeal and con 
 cern for the happiness of America, which 
 brought them to our assistance, a happy pre 
 sage of future harmony, a pleasing evidence 
 that an intercourse between the two nations 
 will more and more cement the union, by the 
 solid and lasting ties of mutual affection." In 
 short, the meeting between the commanders 
 of the allied armies was in all respects satisfac 
 tory to both parties ; but the projects of the 
 enemy were so uncertain, and future operations 
 depended so much on contingent and unfore 
 seen events, that nothing more could be agreed 
 upon, than general arrangements for acting in 
 concert at such times and places as circum 
 stances should require. 
 
 Although the design of the British general 
 was not then known, it appeared afterward that 
 he aimed to transfer the seat of war to the 
 Chesapeake, and if possible to Pennsylvania. 
 This scheme was urged by Lord Cornwallis, 
 who was of the opinion that it ought to be 
 pursued even at the expense of abandoning 
 
^Er. 49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 119 
 
 New York. To aid in effecting it, Sir Henry 
 Clinton sent another detachment to Virginia, 
 consisting of two thousand men, under General 
 Phillips, who was ordered to cooperate with 
 Arnold, and ultimately with Lord Cornwallis, 
 it being presumed that Cormvallis would make 
 his way through North Carolina, and be able 
 to succor these troops in Virginia, and probably 
 to join them with his army. 
 
 The first object of Lafayette s expedition 
 was to act in conjunction with the French 
 fleet ; but, as no part of the fleet entered the 
 Chesapeake, he was disappointed in that pur 
 pose. His troops advanced no further than 
 Annapolis, although he went forward himself 
 to Williamsburg. Having ascertained that an 
 English squadron had entered the Chesapeake, 
 instead of the French, he immediately prepar 
 ed to return with his detachment to the main 
 army near the Hudson. He proceeded by 
 water to the Head of Elk, where he received 
 additional instructions from General Washing 
 ton, directing him to march to the south, and 
 either meet the enemy in Virginia, or continue 
 onward to the southern army, as should be ad 
 vised by General Greene. 
 
 The enemy ascended the Chesapeake Bay 
 and its principal rivers, with their small armed 
 vessels, plundering and laying waste the prop- 
 
120 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 erty of the inhabitants. One of these vessels 
 came up the Potomac to Mount Vernon j and 
 the manager of the estate, with the hope of 
 saving the houses from being pillaged and 
 burnt, yielded to the demands of the officers 
 in a manner, which excited the regret and dis 
 pleasure of Washington. In reply to his man 
 ager, who had informed him of the particulars, 
 he said ; "I am very sorry to hear of your 
 loss ; I am a little sorry to hear of my own j 
 but that which gives me most concern is, that 
 you should go on board the enemy s vessels, 
 and furnish them with refreshments. It would 
 have been a less painful circumstance to me to 
 have heard, that, in consequence of your non- 
 compliance with their request, they had burn 
 ed my house and laid the plantation in ruins. 
 You ought to have considered yourself as my 
 representative, and should have reflected on 
 the bad example of communicating with the 
 enemy, and making a voluntary offer of re 
 freshments to them with a view to prevent a 
 conflagration. It was not in your power, I ac 
 knowledge, to prevent them from sending a 
 flag on shore, and you did right to meet it ; but 
 you should, in the same instant that the busi 
 ness of it was unfolded, have declared explicit 
 ly, that it was improper for you to yield to the 
 request ; after which, if they had proceeded to 
 
^T. 49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 121 
 
 help themselves by force, you could but have 
 submitted ; and, being unprovided for defence, 
 this was to be preferred to a feeble opposition, 
 which only serves as a pretext to burn and de 
 stroy." The reader need not be reminded of 
 the accordance of these sentiments with the 
 noble disinterestedness, which regulated his 
 conduct through the whole of his public life. 
 
 An extract from his diary, written on the 1st 
 of May, will exhibit in a striking manner the 
 condition of the army at that time, and the 
 prospects of the campaign. 
 
 " To have a clearer understanding of the 
 entries, which may follow, it would be proper 
 to recite in detail our wants and our prospects : 
 but this alone would be a work of much time 
 and great magnitude. It may suffice to give 
 the sum of them, which I shall do in a few 
 words. Instead of having magazines filled 
 with provisions, we have a scanty pittance 
 scattered here and there in the different States ; 
 instead of having our arsenals well supplied 
 with military stores, they are poorly provided 
 and the workmen all leaving them ; instead 
 of having the various articles of field-equipage 
 in readiness to be delivered, the quartermaster- 
 general, as the dernier resort, according to his 
 account, is but now applying to the several 
 States to provide these things for their troops 
 
122 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 respectively ; instead of having a regular sys 
 tem of transportation established upon credit, 
 or funds in the quartermaster s hands to defray 
 the contingent expenses of it, we have neither 
 the one nor the other, and all that business, or 
 a great part of it, being done by military im 
 press, we are daily and hourly oppressing the 
 people, souring their tempers, and alienating 
 their affections; instead of having the regi 
 ments completed to the new establishment, 
 which ought to have been done agreeably to 
 the requisitions of Congress, scarce any State 
 in the Union has at this hour an eighth part 
 of its quota in the field, and little prospect that 
 I can see of ever getting more than half; in a 
 word, instead of having every thing in readi 
 ness to take the field, we have nothing ; and, 
 instead of having the prospect of a glorious 
 offensive campaign before us, we have a be 
 wildered and gloomy defensive one, unless we 
 should receive a powerful aid of ships, land 
 troops, and money from our generous allies, 
 and these at present are too contingent to build 
 upon." 
 
 Happily the train of affairs took a more fa 
 vorable turn than he anticipated. In a short 
 time he received the cheering intelligence, that 
 Count de Barras had arrived in Boston harbor 
 with a French frigate, that other vessels and 
 
jET.49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 123 
 
 a reinforcement of troops from France might 
 soon be looked for, and that a fleet under the 
 Count de Grasse would sail from the West In 
 dies to the United States in July or August. 
 Another meeting between the commanders of 
 the allied armies was thus rendered necessary. 
 It took place at Weathersfield, in Connecticut, 
 on the 22d of May. Count de Barras, having 
 succeeded M. Destouches in the command of 
 the French squadron, was detained at New 
 port by the appearance of a British fleet off 
 the harbor ; but the Marquis de Chastellux, a 
 major-general in the army, accompanied Count 
 de Rochambeau. On the part of the Ameri 
 cans were the Commander-in-chief, General 
 Knox, and General Duportail. 
 
 The two principal objects brought under 
 consideration were ; first, a southern expedi 
 tion to act against the enemy in Virginia ; sec 
 ondly, a combined attack on New York. The 
 French commander leaned to the former ; but 
 he yielded to the stronger reasons for the latter, 
 which was decidedly preferred by General 
 Washington. A movement to the south must 
 be wholly by land, the French fleet being in 
 ferior to that of Admiral Arbuthnot, by which 
 it was blockaded, and of course not in a condi 
 tion to go to sea. The difficulty and expense 
 of transportation, the season of the year in 
 
124 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 which the troops would reach Virginia, being 
 the hottest part of summer, and the waste of 
 men always attending a long march, were for 
 midable objections to the first plan. It was 
 believed, also, that the enemy s force in New 
 York had been so much weakened by detach 
 ments, that Sir Henry Clinton would be com 
 pelled either to sacrifice that place and its de 
 pendencies, or recall part of his troops from the 
 south to defend them. 
 
 It was therefore agreed, that Count de Ro- 
 chambeau should march as soon as possible 
 from Newport, and form a junction with the 
 American army near Hudson s River. Before 
 leaving Weathersfield, a circular letter was 
 written by General Washington to the govern 
 ors of the eastern States, acquainting them 
 with the result of the conference, and urging 
 them to fill up their quotas of Continental 
 troops with all possible despatch, and to hold a 
 certain number of militia in readiness to march 
 at a week s notice. If men could not be ob 
 tained for three years, or during the war, he 
 recommended that they should be enlisted for 
 the campaign only, deeming the exigency to 
 be of the greatest importance, both in a milita 
 ry point of view and in its political bearings ; 
 for the zeal of the Americans, arid their wil 
 lingness to make sacrifices for the common 
 
^T.49.1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 125 
 
 cause, would be estimated by the manner in 
 which they should now second the efforts of 
 their allies, and contribute to give effect to 
 their proffered services. A body of militia 
 was likewise to be called to Newport, for the 
 defence of the French fleet in the harbor after 
 the departure of the troops. The two com 
 manders returned to their respective armies, 
 and prepared to put their plan in execution. 
 
126 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Junction between the American and French Armies. Intelli 
 gence from Count de Grasse in the West Indies changes the 
 Objects of the Campaign. Successful Operations of Lafayette 
 against Cornwallis. The combined Armies cross the Hudson 
 and march to Virginia. The Fleet of Count de Grasse enters 
 the Chesapeake. Siege of Yorktown. Capitulation. The 
 American Army returns to Hudson s River 5 the French remains 
 in Virginia. 
 
 THE attention of the Commander-in-chief 
 was but partially taken up with the affairs un 
 der his own eye. He held a constant corre 
 spondence with General Greene and Lafayette, 
 who kept him informed of the operations at 
 the south, and asked his advice and direction 
 on points of difficulty and importance. The 
 western posts beyond the Alleganies were also 
 under his command, and required much of his 
 care. Incursions of the enemy from Canada 
 kept the northern frontier in a state of alarm, 
 and a considerable portion of the New York 
 troops was called away for the protection of 
 that quarter. 
 
 The wants of the army, especially in the 
 article of bread, were at this time relieved by 
 the generous and spirited exertions of Robert 
 Morris, recently appointed Superintendent of 
 Finance by Congress. He procured from con- 
 
^Ex. 49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 127 
 
 tractors two thousand barrels of flour, promis 
 ing hard money, and pledging his own credit 
 for its payment. The act was voluntary, and 
 the relief seasonable. It was one of the many 
 valuable services, which that distinguished 
 patriot rendered to his country. 
 
 General Washington drew the several parts 
 of his army out of their quarters, and took his 
 first position near Peekskill, but soon advanced 
 towards New York, and encamped on the 4th 
 of July near Dobbs s Ferry, and about twelve 
 miles from Kingsbridge. On the 6th he was 
 joined by Count de Rochambeau with the 
 French army, which had marched in four di 
 visions from Providence by way of Hartford. 
 The Americans encamped in two lines, with 
 their right resting on the Hudson. The French 
 occupied the left, in a single line extending to 
 the river Brunx. 
 
 Preparations were made for an attack on the 
 north part of New York Island a short time 
 before the junction of the two armies. Gen 
 eral Lincoln descended the Hudson with a de 
 tachment of eight hundred men in boats for 
 this purpose, landed above Haerlem River, and 
 took possession of the high ground near Kings- 
 bridge. At the same time the Duke de Lau- 
 zun was to advance from East Chester with 
 his legion, and fall upon Delancey s corps of 
 
128 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 refugees at Morrisania. Unforeseen causes pre 
 vented the attack, and Lauzun did not arrive 
 in season to effect his part of the enterprise. 
 After some skirmishing the enemy s outposts 
 were withdrawn to the other side of Haerlem 
 River. General Washington came forward 
 with the main army as far as Valentine s Hill, 
 four miles from Kingsbridge, to support Gen 
 eral Lincoln in case it should be necessary. 
 The troops lay upon their arms during the 
 night, and the next day retired to the encamp 
 ment near Dobbs s Ferry. 
 
 At this place the two armies continued six 
 weeks. A plan of a general attack was form 
 ed, and the two commanders reconnoitred the 
 enemy s works, first by passing over the Hud 
 son and viewing them across the river from 
 the elevated grounds between Dobbs s Ferry 
 and Fort Lee, and next at Kingsbridge and 
 other places in its vicinity. But the recruits 
 came in so tardily from the States, that the 
 army was never in a condition to authorize an 
 undertaking of such magnitude without the 
 cooperation of a French fleet superior to the 
 British ; more especially as a reinforcement of 
 about three thousand Hessian recruits arrived 
 in New York from Europe. A despatch had 
 early been sent to Count de Grasse in the West 
 Indies, advising him to sail directly to Sandy 
 
^Ex.49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 129 
 
 Hook, and thus secure a naval superiority. On 
 this contingency depended the execution of 
 the plan. 
 
 While these operations were in progress, a 
 French frigate arrived at Newport with a letter 
 from Count de Grasse, dated at Cape Francois 
 in St. Domingo, stating that he should shortly 
 sail from that place, with his whole fleet and 
 three thousand two hundred land troops, for the 
 Chesapeake. This letter was received by Gen 
 eral Washington on the 14th of August. It 
 produced an immediate change in the objects 
 of the campaign. The engagements of Count 
 de Grasse in the West Indies were such, that 
 he could not promise to remain on the coast 
 beyond the middle of October. It being doubt 
 ful whether, with all the force that could be 
 collected, and with the fairest prospect of ulti 
 mate success, the siege of New York could be 
 brought to an issue by that time, it was re 
 solved at once to abandon that project, and 
 proceed to Virginia with the whole of the 
 French troops, and such a part of the Ameri 
 can army as could be spared from the defence 
 of the posts on Hudson s River and in the 
 Highlands. In this decision Count de Ro- 
 chambeau cordially united, and the march to 
 the south began without delay. 
 
 Cornwallis had advanced from North Caroli- 
 
 VOL. n. 9 
 
130 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 na, formed a junction with the British detach 
 ment in the Chesapeake, and overrun the lower 
 counties of Virginia ; but he was checked by 
 the active exertions and skilful manoeuvres of 
 Lafayette, whose generalship and prudent con 
 duct merited the greatest applause. This was 
 peculiarly gratifying to Washington, who in 
 case of failure, might have been censured for 
 intrusting to so young an officer the hazardous 
 experiment of encountering one of the most 
 experienced and accomplished generals of the 
 age. " Be assured, my dear Marquis," said 
 Washington in writing to him, " your conduct 
 meets my warmest approbation, as it must that 
 of everybody. Should it ever be said, that my 
 attachment to you betrayed me into partiality, 
 you have only to appeal to facts to refute any 
 such charge." Count de Vergennes bore sim 
 ilar testimony. In a letter to Lafayette he 
 said j " I have followed you step by step 
 through your whole campaign in Virginia, and 
 should often have trembled for you, if I had 
 not been confident in your wisdom. It requires 
 no common ability and skill to enable a man 
 to sustain himself as you have done, and dur 
 ing so long a time, before such a general as 
 Lord Cornwallis, who is lauded for his talents 
 in war ; and this too, with such a great dis 
 proportion in your forces." The minister of 
 
-T. 49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 131 
 
 war was also commanded by the King to ex 
 press the royal approbation in the warmest 
 terms, and to assure Lafayette of his being 
 raised to the rank of field-marshal in the 
 French army, when his services should be no 
 longer required in the United States. 
 
 It was the first object of Washington and 
 Rochambeau to act against Cornwallis in Vir 
 ginia. Should that general retreat to North 
 Carolina, it was then intended to pursue him 
 with a part of the combined army, and to em 
 bark the remainder on board the French fleet, 
 and proceed with it to Charleston, which was 
 at that time held by the British. The two 
 armies crossed the Hudson at King s Ferry, 
 and marched by different routes to Trenton, 
 and thence through Philadelphia to the Head 
 of Elk. The stores and baggage, with one 
 regiment, passed down the Delaware by water 
 to Christiana Creek. Sir Henry Clinton was 
 of course ignorant of the expected approach 
 of Count de Grasse to the Chesapeake, and 
 much finesse was used to misguide and bewil 
 der him in regard to the design of these move 
 ments ; it being apprehended, that, suspecting 
 the real object, he might send reinforcements 
 to Virginia before the arrival of the - French 
 fleet. Accordingly fictitious letters were writ 
 ten and put in the way of being intercepted, 
 
132 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 and a deceptive provision of ovens, forage, and 
 boats was made in New Jersey, by which the 
 British general would be led to suppose, that 
 an attack was intended from that quarter. 
 These stratagems were successful to the ex 
 tent anticipated ; and the troops had made con 
 siderable progress in their march, before Sir 
 Henry Clinton was fully aware of their desti 
 nation. 
 
 General Heath was left in the command on 
 Hudson s River. The moving army was put 
 under the charge of General Lincoln. The 
 soldiers, being mostly from the eastern and 
 middle States, marched with reluctance to the 
 southward, and showed strong symptoms of 
 discontent when they passed through Phila 
 delphia. This had been foreseen by General 
 Washington, and he urged the Superintendent 
 of Finance to advance to them a month s pay 
 in hard money. But there was no such mon 
 ey in the treasury. Mr. Morris succeeded, 
 however, in borrowing for this purpose twenty 
 thousand hard dollars from the French com 
 mander, which he promised to return within 
 thirty days. 
 
 General Washington and Count de Rocham- 
 beau preceded the army ; and the former, after 
 stopping for a short time in Philadelphia, has 
 tened forward to Mount Yernon, which lay in 
 
JET. 49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 133 
 
 his route. This casual visit was the first he 
 had paid to his home since he left it to attend 
 the second Continental Congress, a period of 
 six years and five months ; so entirely had he 
 sacrificed his time, personal interests, and lo 
 cal attachments to the service of his country. 
 Nor did he now remain any longer than to 
 await the arrival of Count de Rochambeau, 
 whom he had left at Baltimore. The two 
 generals then made all haste to the head-quar 
 ters of Lafayette s army near Williamsburg, 
 which they reached on the 14th of September. 
 In the mean time Count de Grasse, with his 
 whole fleet, consisting of twenty-six ships of 
 the line and several frigates entered the Ches 
 apeake, after a partial engagement with Admi 
 ral Graves off the Capes. He had also been 
 joined by the Count de Barras, with the French 
 squadron from Newport. Three thousand men 
 from the West Indies, commanded by the 
 Marquis de St. Simon, had already landed, and 
 united with Lafayette. Transports were im 
 mediately despatched up the Chesapeake, to 
 bring down the French and American troops 
 from the Head of Elk and Annapolis. For 
 the purpose of concerting measures for a coop 
 eration between the naval and land forces, the 
 two commanders held a conference with Count 
 de Grasse on board the Ville de Paris at Cape 
 Henry. 
 
134 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis, expecting aid from Sir 
 Henry Clinton, and hoping the British force at 
 sea would be superior to the French, had taken 
 possession of Yorktown and Gloucester, two 
 places separated by York River, and nearly 
 opposite to each other. The main part of his 
 army was at Yorktown, around which he 
 threw up strong works of defence, and prepar 
 ed to sustain a siege. To this extremity he 
 was at length reduced. All the troops being 
 assembled, the American and French generals 
 marched from the encampment near Williams- 
 burg, and completely invested Yorktown on 
 the 30th of September. The Americans were 
 stationed on the right, and the French on the 
 left, in a semicircular line, each wing resting 
 on York River. The post at Gloucester was 
 invested by Lauzun s legion, marines from the 
 fleet, and Virginia militia, under the command 
 of M. de Choisy, a brigadier-general in the 
 French service. 
 
 The siege was carried on by the usual pro 
 cess of opening parallels, erecting batteries, 
 firing shot, throwing shells, and storming re 
 doubts. The enemy were neither idle nor in 
 efficient in their efforts for defence and annoy 
 ance. The principal event was the storming 
 of two redoubts at the same time ; one by a 
 party of the American light infantry, the other 
 
jEr.49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 135 
 
 by a detachment of French grenadiers and 
 chasseurs ; the former headed by Lafayette, 
 the latter by the Baron de Viomenil. They 
 were both successful. The assailants entered 
 the redoubts with the bayonet, in a brave and 
 spirited manner, under a heavy fire from the 
 enemy. The advanced corps of the American 
 party was led by Colonel Hamilton, " whose 
 well-known talents and gallantry," said Lafa 
 yette in his report, " were most conspicuous 
 and serviceable." Colonels Laurens, Gimat, 
 and Barber were also distinguished in this as 
 sault. 
 
 The besiegers pushed forward their trenches, 
 and kept up an incessant fire from their bat 
 teries, till the 17th of October, when, about 
 ten o clock in the morning, the enemy beat a 
 parley, and Lord Cornwallis sent out a note to 
 General Washington proposing a cessation of 
 hostilities for twenty-four hours, and the ap 
 pointment of commissioners on each side to 
 settle the terms for surrendering the posts of 
 Yorktown and Gloucester. In reply General 
 Washington requested, that, as a preliminary 
 step, his Lordship would communicate in writ 
 ing, the terms on which he proposed to sur 
 render. This was complied with, and hostili 
 ties ceased. 
 
 The basis of a capitulation, furnished by 
 
136 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 the British general, was, that the garrisons 
 should be prisoners of war, with the customa 
 ry honors j that the British and German troops 
 should be sent to Europe, under an engage 
 ment not to serve against France or America 
 till released or exchanged ; that all arms and 
 public stores should be given up ; that the 
 officers and soldiers should retain their private 
 property ; and that the interest of several in 
 dividuals in a civil capacity should be attended 
 to. This last clause was designed to protect 
 the traders and other Americans, who had 
 joined the enemy. 
 
 Some of these points not being admissible, 
 General Washington transmitted an answer the 
 next day, in which he sketched the outlines 
 of a capitulation, and informed Lord Cornwal- 
 lis, that he was ready to appoint commissioners 
 to digest the articles. All the troops in the 
 garrisons were to be prisoners of war, and 
 marched into such parts of the country as 
 could most conveniently provide for their sub 
 sistence ; the artillery, arms, accoutrements, 
 military chest, and public stores, with the 
 shipping, boats, and all their furniture and ap 
 parel, were to be delivered up ; the officers re 
 taining their side-arms, and both the officers 
 and soldiers preserving their baggage and ef 
 fects, except such property as had been taken 
 
jEj.49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 137 
 
 in the country, which was to be reclaimed. 
 The surrendering army was to receive the 
 same honors as had been granted by the Brit 
 ish to the garrison of Charleston. Upon these 
 general terms a treaty was finally adjusted; 
 the commissioners being Colonel Laurens and 
 the Viscount de Noailles on the part of the 
 Americans and French, and Colonel Dun- 
 das and Major Ross on that of the British. 
 The articles of capitulation were signed on 
 the 19th of October, and in the afternoon of 
 that day the garrisons marched out and sur 
 rendered their arms. 
 
 The traders within the enemy s lines were 
 not regarded as prisoners, and they were al 
 lowed a certain time to dispose of their prop 
 erty or remove it ; but no provision was made 
 for other persons in a civil capacity within the 
 enemy s lines. At the request of Lord Corn- 
 wallis, however, the Bonetta sloop of war was 
 left at his disposal for the purpose of sending 
 an aid-de-camp with despatches to Sir Henry 
 Clinton; and in this vessel, which was suf 
 fered to depart without examination, all per 
 sons of the above description took passage for 
 New York : and thus the British commander 
 was enabled to maintain his good faith towards 
 those, who had joined him in the country, 
 without including them in the terms of capit- 
 
138 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 ulation. The Bonetta, with her crew, guns, 
 and stores was to return and be given up. 
 
 The whole number of prisoners, exclusive 
 of seamen, was somewhat over seven thou 
 sand men j and the British loss during the 
 siege was between five and six hundred. The 
 combined army employed in the siege consist 
 ed of about seven thousand American regular 
 troops, upwards of five thousand French, and 
 four thousand militia. The loss in killed and 
 wounded was about three hundred. The land 
 forces surrendered to General Washington, and 
 became prisoners to Congress ; but the seamen, 
 ships, and naval equipments, were assigned to 
 the French admiral. 
 
 The success was more complete, and more 
 speedily attained, than had been anticipated. 
 The capture of Cornwallis, with so large a 
 part of the British army in America, occasion 
 ed great rejoicings throughout the country, as 
 affording a decisive presage of the favorable 
 termination of the war. Congress passed a 
 special vote of thanks to each of the comman 
 ders, and to the officers and troops. Two 
 stands of colors, taken from the enemy at the 
 capitulation, were given to General Washing 
 ton, and two pieces of field-ordnance to Count 
 de Rochambeau and Count de Grasse respec 
 tively, as tokens of the national gratitude for 
 
JET. 49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 139 
 
 their services. Congress moreover resolved to 
 commemorate so glorious an event by causing 
 a marble column to be erected at Yorktown, 
 adorned with emblems of the alliance between 
 France and the United States, and an inscrip 
 tion containing a narrative of the principal 
 incidents of the siege and surrender. 
 
 General Washington, believing a most fa 
 vorable opportunity now presented itself for 
 following up this success by an expedition 
 against Charleston, wrote a letter to Count de 
 Grasse the day after the capitulation, request 
 ing him to join in it with his fleet. He also 
 went on board the admiral s ship, as well to 
 pay his respects and offer his thanks for what 
 had already been done, as to explain and en 
 force the practicability and importance of this 
 plan. By the instructions from his court, and 
 by his engagements to the Spaniards, Count 
 de Grasse was bound to return to the West 
 Indies without delay, and thus it was not in 
 his power to accede to the proposal. It was 
 then suggested, that he should transport a 
 body of troops to Wilmington, in North Caro 
 lina, and land them there while on his voyage. 
 To this he at first made no objection ; but, 
 when he ascertained that there would be a 
 difficulty in landing the men without running 
 the risk of dividing his fleet, or perhaps of be- 
 
140 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 ing driven off the coast with the troops on 
 board, he declined the undertaking. Lafayette 
 was to command this expedition and the pur 
 pose of it was to take a British post at Wil 
 mington, and then march into the interior and 
 unite with the southern army under General 
 Greene. 
 
 The troops commanded by the Marquis 
 de St. Simon were embarked, and Count de 
 Grasse set sail for the West Indies. Before 
 his departure, General Washington presented 
 him with two beautiful horses, as a testimony^ 
 of personal consideration and esteem. 
 
 As nothing further could be effected by the 
 allied forces during the campaign, a detach 
 ment of two thousand men, comprising the 
 Continental troops from Pennsylvania, Mary 
 land, and Virginia, was put under General St. 
 Clair, with orders to reinforce General Greene 
 at the south. The troops belonging eastward 
 of Pennsylvania were transported by water to 
 the Head of Elk, whence they marched to 
 their winter cantonments in New Jersey and 
 near Hudson s River. The French army re 
 mained in Virginia till the following summer, 
 the head-quarters of Count de Rochambeau 
 being at Williamsburg. 
 
 The prisoners were marched to Winchester 
 in Virginia, and Fredericktown in Maryland : 
 
^Ex.49.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 141 
 
 and a part of them subsequently to Lancaster 
 in Pennsylvania. Lord Cornwallis, and the 
 other principal officers, went by sea to New 
 York on parole. 
 
 All these affairs being arranged, General 
 Washington left Yorktown on the 5th of No 
 vember. The same day he arrived at Eltham, 
 where he was present at the death of Mr. 
 Custis, the only son of Mrs. Washington. He 
 stayed there a few days to mingle his grief 
 with that of the afflicted widow and mother. 
 The occasion was not less trying to his sym 
 pathy than to his sensibility, for he had watch 
 ed over the childhood and youth of the de 
 ceased with a paternal solicitude, and after 
 wards associated with him as a companion, 
 who possessed his confidence and esteem. Mr. 
 Custis was a member of the Virginia legisla 
 ture, and much respected for his public and 
 private character. He died at the age of 
 twenty-eight, leaving four infant children, the 
 two youngest of whom, a son and daughter, 
 were adopted by General Washington, and 
 they resided in his family till the end of his 
 life. 
 
 From Eltham he proceeded by the way of 
 Mount Vernon to Philadelphia, receiving and 
 answering various public addresses while on 
 his journey. The day after his arrival he at- 
 
142 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 
 
 tended Congress, being introduced into the 
 hall by two members, and greeted with a con 
 gratulatory address by the President. He was 
 requested to remain for some time in Philadel 
 phia, both that he might enjoy a respite from 
 the fatigues of war, and that Congress might 
 avail themselves of his aid, in making prepa 
 rations for vigorous and timely efforts to draw 
 every advantage from the recent triumph of 
 the allied arms. 
 
LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 143 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Preparations for another Campaign recommended and enforced by 
 General Washington and approved by Congress. Lafayette 
 returns to France. The Affair of Captain Asgill. Back 
 wardness of the States in recruiting the Army. Proposal to 
 General Washington to assume Supreme Power, and his Re 
 ply. Sir Guy Carleton gives Notice, that Negotiations for 
 Peace had begun. The French Troops march from Virginia, 
 join General Washington, and afterwards embark at Boston. 
 
 FROM the state of affairs at this time, both 
 in Europe and America, it was evident that 
 the war could not be of much longer duration. 
 Considering, however, the temper hitherto 
 manifested by the British cabinet, and the 
 spirit with which a large majority of the na 
 tion had sustained the ministerial measures, it 
 was generally supposed that another campaign 
 would be tried. This was Washington s be 
 lief: and, in his communications to Congress 
 and to persons of influence in various parts of 
 the country, he urged the importance of being 
 fully prepared. This he regarded as the wisest 
 policy in any event. If the war continued, the 
 preparations would be necessary ; if it ceased, 
 they would have a favorable effect on the ne 
 gotiations for peace. 
 
 He was apprehensive, that the people, from 
 
144 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1782. 
 
 a mistaken idea of the magnitude of the late 
 success in Virginia, would deceive themselves 
 with delusive hopes, and grow remiss in their 
 efforts. " To prevent so great an evil," said 
 he, " shall be my study and endeavor ; and I 
 cannot but natter myself, that the States, rath 
 er than relax in their exertions, will be stimu 
 lated to the most vigorous preparations for 
 another active, glorious, and decisive campaign, 
 which, if properly prosecuted, will, I trust, 
 under the smiles of Heaven, lead us to the 
 end of this long and tedious war, and set us 
 down in the full security of the great object 
 of our toils, the establishment of peace, liber 
 ty, and independence. Whatever may be the 
 policy of European courts during this winter, 
 their negotiations will prove too precarious a 
 dependence for us to trust to. Our wisdom 
 should dictate a serious preparation for war, 
 and, in that state, we shall find ourselves in a 
 situation secure against every event." 
 
 These sentiments met the full concurrence 
 of Congress. They resolved to keep up the 
 same military establishment as the year before j 
 and to call on the States to complete their 
 quotas of troops at an early day. They voted 
 new requisitions of money and supplies. These 
 resolves were adopted with a promptness, zeal, 
 and unanimity, which had rarely been shown 
 
jET. 50.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 145 
 
 on former occasions. To aid in carrying them 
 into effect, it was deemed advisable for the 
 Commander-in-chief to write two circular let 
 ters to the governors of all the States. The 
 first, relating to finance, was dated on the 22d 
 of January, 1782, and contained arguments 
 for raising money adequate to the public exi 
 gencies, particularly the payment and clothing 
 of the troops. The second, dated a week la 
 ter, exhibited the numbers and condition of 
 the army then in the field, and urged the com 
 pleting of the quotas according to the requisi 
 tion of Congress. 
 
 Other methods were also used to provide 
 means for prosecuting the war. Succors con 
 tinued to be received from France, and, by 
 the persevering application of Franklin to the 
 French court, a loan of six millions of livres, 
 payable in monthly instalments, was promised 
 for the coming year. After the capitulation at 
 Yorktown, there being no prospect of further 
 active service till the next campaign, the Mar 
 quis de Lafayette obtained permission from 
 Congress to return on a visit to his native 
 country. Besides passing resolves complimen 
 tary to his character, zeal, and military con 
 duct, Congress made him the bearer of a letter 
 to the King of France, in which he was com 
 mended to the notice of his sovereign in very 
 
 VOL. II. 10 
 
146 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1782. 
 
 warm terms. Much reliance was placed on 
 the representations he would make concerning 
 the state of affairs in America, and on his in 
 fluence to procure the desired assistance from 
 the French government. The ministers from 
 the United States in Europe were likewise in 
 structed to confer with the Marquis de Lafa 
 yette, and avail themselves of his knowledge 
 and counsels. 
 
 About the middle of April, General Wash 
 ington left Philadelphia and joined the army, 
 establishing his head-quarters at Newburg. 
 He had hardly arrived in camp, when he heard 
 of an occurrence, which produced much ex 
 citement at the time, and led to consequences 
 of considerable notoriety, though in them 
 selves of little moment. The particulars are 
 these. Captain Huddy, an American officer, 
 who commanded a small body of troops in 
 Monmouth County, New Jersey, was taken 
 prisoner by a party of refugees, conveyed into 
 New York, and put in close confinement. A 
 few days afterwards he was sent out of the 
 city, under the charge of Captain Lippencot, 
 at the head of a number of refugees, by whom 
 he was hanged on the heights near Middle- 
 town. This wanton act exasperated the peo 
 ple in the neighborhood, who knew and es 
 teemed Captain Huddy. Affidavits and a 
 
LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 statement of facts were forwarded to General 
 Washington. These he laid before a council 
 of officers, who gave it as their unanimous 
 opinion, that the case demanded retaliation, 
 that the punishment ought to be inflicted on 
 the leader of the party by which the murder 
 was committed, and that, if he should not be 
 given up, an officer equal in rank to Captain 
 Huddy ought to be selected by lot from the 
 British prisoners. 
 
 A representation of the facts was according 
 ly sent to Sir Henry Clinton, with a demand 
 for the surrender of Lippencot. This demand 
 not being complied with, an officer was desig 
 nated for retaliation. The lot fell upon Cap 
 tain Asgill, a young man only nineteen years 
 old, who was then a prisoner at Lancaster in 
 Pennsylvania. The affair was in suspense for 
 several months. Although Lippencot was not 
 delivered up, yet Sir Henry Clinton, and his 
 successor Sir Guy Carleton, not only disavowed 
 the act as having been done without authori 
 ty, but reprobated it with unmeasured severi 
 ty. The subject was referred by them to a 
 court-martial, and Lippencot was tried. From 
 the developements it appeared, that the guilt 
 of the transaction rested mainly with the 
 Board of Associated Loyalists in New York, 
 and that Lippencot acted in conformity with 
 
148 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1782. 
 
 what he believed to be the orders of the board. 
 Hence he was acquitted, as not properly an 
 swerable for the crime of the act. 
 
 When these circumstances were made known, 
 the whole matter was laid before Congress. 
 Considering the ground taken by the British 
 commanders in disavowing and censuring the 
 act, added to the irresponsible nature of Lip- 
 pencot s conduct, General Washington inclined 
 to release Captain Asgill, and was disappointed 
 and dissatisfied at the delay of Congress in 
 coming to a decision on the subject. Mean 
 while the mother of Asgill, already borne down 
 with family afflictions, which were increased 
 by the impending fate of her son, wrote a 
 pathetic letter of intercession to the French 
 ministry. This was shown to the King and 
 Queen ; and it wrought so much on their 
 feelings, that Count de Vergennes by their di 
 rection wrote to General Washington, soliciting 
 the liberation of Asgill. Although this com 
 munication arrived after it had been determined 
 not to insist on retaliation, yet it had the effect 
 to hasten the proceedings of Congress, and by 
 their order Captain Asgill was set at liberty. 
 
 Little progress was made by the States in 
 filling up their quotas of troops. When Gen 
 eral Washington arrived in camp, the whole 
 number of effective men in the northern army 
 
^Ex.50.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 149 
 
 was somewhat short of ten thousand; nor was 
 it much increased afterwards. In fact, after 
 the capitulation at Yorktown, the conviction 
 was nearly universal, that the war would not 
 be pursued any further in the United States. 
 The recruiting service consequently languish 
 ed. Relieved from danger, and worn out 
 with their long toils and sacrifices, the people 
 were slow to perceive, that large preparations 
 would be the means of procuring better terms 
 of peace, and seemed contented with the pres 
 ent prospects. News arrived in the first part of 
 May, which indicated an approaching change 
 in the British cabinet, and symptoms of pacific 
 measures. Fearful of the effect which this 
 intelligence might produce, Washington took 
 occasion to express his own sentiments without 
 reserve in a circular letter, which he was just 
 at that time despatching to the governors of 
 the States. 
 
 " Upon the most mature deliberation I can 
 bestow," he observed, " I am obliged to de 
 clare it as my candid opinion, that the meas 
 ures of the enemy in all their views, so far as 
 they respect America, are merely delusory (they 
 having no serious intention to admit our inde 
 pendence upon its true principles), and are cal 
 culated to quiet the minds of their own people, 
 and reconcile them to the continuance of the 
 
150 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1782. 
 
 war ; while they are meant to amuse the coun 
 try into a false idea of peace, to draw us off 
 from our connexion with France, and to lull 
 us into a state of security and inactivity, which 
 having taken place, the ministry will be left 
 to prosecute the war in other parts of the 
 world with greater vigor and effect. Even if 
 the nation and Parliament are really in earnest 
 to obtain peace with America, it will undoubt 
 edly be wisdom in us to meet them with great 
 caution and circumspection, and by all means 
 to keep our arms firm in our hands, and, instead 
 of relaxing one iota in our exertions, rather to 
 spring forward with redoubled vigor, that we 
 may take the advantage of every favorable op 
 portunity, until our wishes are fully obtained. 
 No nation ever yet suffered in treaty by prepar 
 ing, even in the moment of negotiation, most 
 vigorously for the field." 
 
 The discontents of the officers and soldiers, 
 respecting the arrearages of their pay, had for 
 some time increased ; and, there being now a 
 prospect, that the army would ultimately be 
 disbanded without an adequate provision by 
 Congress for meeting the claims of the troops, 
 these discontents manifested themselves in au 
 dible murmurs and complaints, which forebod 
 ed serious consequences. But a spirit still 
 more to be dreaded was secretly at work. In 
 
JET. 50.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 151 
 
 reflecting on the limited powers of Congress, 
 and on the backwardness of the States to com 
 ply with the most essential requisitions, even 
 in support of their own interests, many of the 
 officers were led to look for the cause in the 
 form of government, and to distrust the stabil 
 ity of republican institutions. So far were 
 they carried by their fears and speculations, 
 that they meditated the establishment of a 
 new and more energetic system. A colonel in 
 the army, of a highly respectable character, 
 and somewhat advanced in life, was made the 
 organ for communicating their sentiments to 
 the Commander-in-chief. In a letter elabo 
 rately and skilfully written, after describing 
 the gloomy state of affairs, the financial diffi 
 culties, and the innumerable embarrassments 
 in which the country had been involved dur 
 ing the war, on account of its defective politi 
 cal organization, the writer adds ; 
 
 " This must have shown to all, and to mili 
 tary men in particular, the weakness of repub 
 lics, and the exertions the army have been able 
 to make by being under a proper head. There 
 fore I little doubt, that, when the benefits of a 
 mixed government are pointed out, and duly 
 considered, such will be readily adopted. In 
 this case it will, I believe, be uncontroverted, 
 that the same abilities, which have led us 
 
152 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1782. 
 
 through difficulties, apparently insurmountable 
 by human power, to victory and glory, those 
 qualities, that have merited and obtained the 
 universal esteem and veneration of an army, 
 would be most likely to conduct and direct 
 us in the smoother paths of peace. Some peo 
 ple have so connected the ideas of tyranny and 
 monarchy, as to find it very difficult to separ 
 ate them. It may therefore be requisite to 
 give the head of such a constitution, as I pro 
 pose, some title apparently more moderate j 
 but, if all other things were once adjusted, I 
 believe strong arguments might be produced 
 for admitting the title of KING, which I con 
 ceive would be attended with some material 
 advantages." 
 
 To this communication, as unexpected as it 
 was extraordinary in its contents, Washington 
 replied as follows. 
 
 Newburg,22May,178!2. 
 " Sm, 
 
 " With a mixture of great surprise and as 
 tonishment, I have read with attention the sen 
 timents you have submitted to my perusal. Be 
 assured, Sir, no occurrence in the course of the 
 war has given me more painful sensations, than 
 your information of there being such ideas ex 
 isting in the army, as you have expressed, and 
 I must view with abhorrence and reprehend 
 
^T.50.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 153 
 
 with severity. For the present, the communi 
 cation of them will rest in my own bosom, 
 unless some further agitation of the matter 
 shall make a disclosure necessary. 
 
 " I am much at a loss to conceive what part 
 of my conduct could have given encourage 
 ment to an address, which to me seems big 
 with the greatest mischiefs, that can befall my 
 country. If I am not deceived in the knowl 
 edge of myself, you could not have found a 
 person to whom your schemes are more disa 
 greeable. At the same time, in justice to my 
 own feelings, I must add, that no man possess 
 es a more sincere wish to see ample justice 
 done to the army than I do ; and, as far as rny 
 powers and influence, in a constitutional way, 
 extend, they shall be employed to the utmost 
 of my abilities to effect it, should there be any 
 occasion. Let me conjure you, then, if you 
 have any regard for your country, concern for 
 yourself or posterity, or respect for me, to ban 
 ish these thoughts from your mind, and never 
 communicate, as from yourself or any one else, 
 a sentiment of the like nature. I am, Sir, &c. 
 " GEORGE WASHINGTON." 
 
 Such was the language of Washington, 
 when, at the head of his army and at the 
 height of his power and popularity, it was 
 
154 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1782. 
 
 proposed to him to become a king. After this 
 indignant reply and stern rebuke, it is not 
 probable that any further advances were made 
 to him on the subject. 
 
 Sir Guy Carleton arrived at New York early 
 in May, and superseded Sir Henry Clinton as 
 commander of the British armies in America. 
 His first letter to Washington was pacific in 
 its tone, and showed, that at least a temporary 
 change had taken place in the sentiments of 
 Parliament respecting the principles on which 
 the war had been conducted, and the policy 
 of continuing it. Nothing of a positive nature 
 was communicated, however, till the beginning 
 of August, when Sir Guy Carleton again wrote, 
 that he was authorized to give notice, that ne 
 gotiations for a general peace had commenced 
 at Paris, and that the independence of the 
 United States would be conceded as a prelimi 
 nary step. From this time, therefore, prepara 
 tions for war ceased, and no further acts of 
 hostility were committed by either party. It 
 not being certain, nevertheless, that the nego 
 tiations would actually result in peace, no part 
 of the American army was dismissed, but the 
 posture of defence was maintained with the 
 same caution and vigilance as before. 
 
 The French troops had continued in Virgin 
 ia since the capitulation at Yorktown. They 
 
jEx.50.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 155 
 
 marched to Hudson s River, and formed a 
 junction with the forces under Washington 
 about the middle of September. The two ar 
 mies had been encamped on the east side of 
 the river near Verplanck s Point more than a 
 month, when the French marched to Boston, 
 where a fleet was ready to receive them, and 
 sailed before the end of December, having 
 been in the country two years and a half. 
 The Baron de Yiomenil commanded the troops 
 when they went on board the fleet at Boston. 
 The Count de Rochambeau, accompanied by 
 the Marquis de Chastellux, sailed some days 
 later from Baltimore. 
 
 General Washington had drawn the larger 
 part of his army down the river to Verplanck s 
 Point, more as a mark of courtesy to the allied 
 troops in meeting them there, than for any mil 
 itary object ; and, after their departure, he re 
 turned to his former encampment at Newbtirg, 
 where head-quarters continued till the army 
 was disbanded. 
 
156 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1782. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Dissatisfaction of the Army. The Officers send a Memorial to 
 Congress. The anonymous Addresses at Newburg. Intelli 
 gence arrives, that a Treaty of Peace had been signed at Paris. 
 General Washington s Sentiments concerning the civil Gov 
 ernment of the Union. His Circular Letter to the States. 
 He makes a Tour to the North. Repairs to Congress at the 
 Request of that Body. His Farewell Address to the Army. 
 The British evacuate New York. Washington resigns his 
 Commission, and retires to private Life at Mount Vernon. 
 
 THE winter being a season of inactivity, 
 and the prospect of peace becoming every day 
 less doubtful, the officers and soldiers had leis 
 ure to reflect on their situation, and to look 
 forward to the condition awaiting them at the 
 end of the war. When they compared their 
 long services and sufferings with the sacrifices 
 of those, who had been engaged only in the 
 pursuits of private life, and with the rewards 
 hitherto received, they felt that they had 
 claims, as well on the gratitude and generosity, 
 as on the justice, of their country. At the 
 same time, various circumstances conspired to 
 make them apprehensive, that these claims 
 would neither be adequately met nor duly es 
 timated. Congress had no funds ; the States 
 were extremely backward in applying the only 
 remedy by an effectual system of taxation; 
 
^T.50.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 157 
 
 and the resource of foreign loans was nearly 
 exhausted. It was natural, that this state of 
 things, added to long arrearages of pay, and 
 accounts unsettled and without any security 
 for a future liquidation of them, should cause 
 much excitement and concern. 
 
 In the month of December, the officers in 
 camp determined to address Congress on the 
 subject of their grievances. A memorial was 
 accordingly drawn up, which was understood 
 to express the sentiments of the army. It 
 contained a representation of the money actu 
 ally due to them, a proposal that the half-pay 
 for life should be commuted for a specific sum, 
 and a request that security should be given by 
 the government for fulfilling its engagements. 
 The commutation it was believed would be 
 more generally acceptable to the public than 
 half-pay for life, which had always been op 
 posed by a strong party, as favoring the idea of 
 a pension list and a privileged class, and as 
 hostile to republican institutions. Three offi 
 cers were deputed as a committee to carry 
 this memorial to Congress, and instructed to 
 use their endeavors to obtain for it a successful 
 hearing. 
 
 The dissensions, which had long existed in 
 Congress, were brought to bear on this subject. 
 Many of the members were disposed to do 
 
158 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 
 
 ample justice to the army, and to all other 
 public creditors, by assuming their claims as a 
 Continental charge, and providing for the set 
 tlement of them by a Continental fund and 
 securities ; while others, jealous of State rights 
 and State sovereignty, disapproved this course, 
 and urged the plan of referring unsettled ac 
 counts to the respective States. Congress 
 took the memorial into consideration, and 
 passed resolves indefinite in their character, 
 and not such as were likely to answer the ex 
 pectations or quiet the uneasiness of the army. 
 The claims of public creditors were recog 
 nised, but no scheme was suggested for estab 
 lishing funds, or giving security. On an esti 
 mate of the average ages of the officers, it 
 was decided, that half-pay for life was equiva 
 lent to five years whole pay ; but the requi 
 site number of nine States could not be ob 
 tained in favor of the commutation. Appre 
 hending a defeat, if they pressed the subject, 
 and hoping that the vote would ultimately be 
 carried, the committee thought it prudent to 
 delay further proceedings, and one of them 
 returned to camp with a letter containing a 
 report of what had been done. 
 
 The representations thus communicated were 
 by no means satisfactory to the officers. Dis 
 appointed and irritated, many of them were 
 
Mr. 51.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 159 
 
 for resorting to measures, which should con 
 vince Congress, not only of the justice of their 
 demands, but of their resolution to enforce 
 them. Hence originated the famous Neu-burg 
 Addresses. At a private consultation of sev 
 eral officers it was agreed, that a meeting of 
 the general and field officers, a commissioned 
 officer from each company, and a delegate 
 from the medical staff, ought to be called for 
 the purpose of passing a series of resolutions, 
 which should be forwarded to their committee 
 at Congress. On the 10th of March a notifi 
 cation to this Deflect was circulated in camp, 
 fixing the time and stating the object. The 
 same day an anonymous address to the army 
 was sent out, written in a strain of passionate 
 and stirring eloquence, and extremely well 
 suited to excite the feelings and rouse the 
 spirit of those for whom it was intended. 
 Foreseeing the fatal consequences that might 
 result from an assembling of the officers under 
 such circumstances, and at the same time 
 deeply impressed with the justice of their 
 complaints and the reality of their wrongs, 
 Washington had a delicate task to perform ; 
 but he executed it with his characteristic de 
 cision, firmness, and wisdom. He sought 
 rather to guide and control the proceedings 
 
160 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 
 
 thus begun, than to check or discountenance 
 them by any act of severity. 
 
 In general orders the next morning, after 
 censuring the anonymous paper and invitation 
 as irregular and disorderly, he appointed a day 
 and hour for the meeting of the officers, when 
 they might "devise what further measures 
 ought to be adopted, as most rational, and best 
 calculated to attain the object in view." This 
 was followed by another anonymous address, 
 in a tone more subdued than the former, but 
 expressing similar sentiments, and representing 
 the orders as favorable to the purpose desired, 
 the time of meeting only being changed. 
 The Commander-in-chief, however, took care 
 to frustrate the design of this interpretation by 
 conversing individually with those officers in 
 whom he had the greatest confidence, setting 
 before them in a strong light the danger that 
 would attend a rash or precipitate act in such 
 a crisis, inculcating moderation, and using his 
 utmost efforts to appease their discontents, and 
 persuade them to deliberate without passion, 
 and under a deep conviction that the vital in 
 terests of their country were involved in the 
 measures they should adopt. 
 
 When the officers were assembled at the 
 time appointed, General Washington addressed 
 them in very impressive terms, reminding them 
 
JT. 51.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 161 
 
 of the cause for which they had taken up 
 arms, the fidelity and constancy with which 
 they had hitherto devoted themselves to that 
 cause, and the sacred trust which was still re 
 posed in them as the defenders of their coun 
 try s liberty ; appealing to the honor and pa 
 triotism, by which they had so nobly and gen 
 erously shown themselves to be actuated in 
 the perils of the field, and amidst the unex 
 ampled sufferings of a protracted war; and 
 imploring them not to cast a shade over the 
 glory they had acquired, nor tarnish their well- 
 earned reputation, nor lessen their dignity, by 
 an intemperate or indiscreet act at the moment 
 when the great object of their toils was 
 achieved, and the world was loud in its praise 
 of their valor, fortitude, and success. He ac 
 knowledged the equity of their claims, and 
 the reasonableness of their complaints; but 
 he deprecated the idea, that on this account 
 they should distrust the plighted faith of their 
 country, or the intentions of Congress; ex 
 pressing his firm belief, that, before they should 
 be disbanded, every thing would be adjusted 
 to their satisfaction ; and pledging himself, 
 from a sense of gratitude for their past servi 
 ces, and from the attachment he felt to an ar 
 my, which had adhered to him in every vicis 
 situde of fortune, to employ all his abilities 
 
 VOL. U. 11 
 
162 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 
 
 and his best exertions to procure for them 
 complete justice, as far as it could be done con 
 sistently with the great duty he owed to his 
 country, and to the authority which every citi 
 zen was bound to respect. 
 
 After speaking these sentiments, and others 
 of a similar tendency, suited to soothe their 
 feelings and inspire confidence, he retired from 
 the assembly. The deliberation of the officers 
 was short, and their decision prompt and unan 
 imous. They passed resolutions, thanking the 
 Commander-in-chief for the course he had pur 
 sued, and expressive of their unabated attach 
 ment ; and also declaring their unshaken reli 
 ance on the good faith of Congress and their 
 country, and a determination to bear with pa 
 tience their grievances till in due time they 
 should be redressed. A full account of the 
 transactions was transmitted to Congress and 
 published in their journals. 
 
 The incidents are clearly and briefly related 
 by General Washington in a letter to Governor 
 Harrison of Virginia, written immediately af 
 ter their occurrence. 
 
 " You have not been unacquainted, I dare 
 say, with the fears, the hopes, the apprehen 
 sions, and the expectations of the army, rela 
 tive to the provision which is to be made for 
 them hereafter. Although a firm reliance on 
 
jET. 51.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 163 
 
 the integrity of Congress, and a belief that the 
 public would finally do justice to all its ser 
 vants and give an indisputable security for the 
 payment of the half-pay of the officers, had 
 kept them amidst a variety of sufferings toler 
 ably quiet and contented for two or three years 
 past ; yet the total want of pay, the little 
 prospect of receiving any from the unpromis 
 ing state of the public finances, and the abso 
 lute aversion of the States to establish any 
 Continental funds for the payment of the debt 
 due to the army, did at the close of the last 
 campaign excite greater discontents, and threat 
 en more serious and alarming consequences, 
 than it is easy for me to describe or you 
 to conceive. Happily for us, the officers of 
 highest rank and greatest consideration inter 
 posed ; and it was determined to address Con 
 gress in an humble, pathetic, and explicit man 
 ner. 
 
 " While the sovereign power appeared per 
 fectly well disposed to do justice, it was dis 
 covered that the States would enable them to 
 do nothing ; and, in this state of affairs, and 
 after some time spent on the business in Phila 
 delphia, a report was made by the delegates of 
 the army, giving a detail of the proceedings. 
 Before this could be fully communicated to 
 the troops, while the minds of all were in a 
 
164 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 
 
 peculiar state of inquietude and irritation, an 
 anonymous writer, though he did not step forth 
 and give his name boldly to the world, sent 
 into circulation an address to the officers of the 
 army, which, in point of composition, in ele 
 gance and force of expression, has rarely been 
 equalled in the English language, and in which 
 the dreadful alternative was proposed, of relin 
 quishing the service in a body if the war con 
 tinued, or retaining their arms in case of peace, 
 until Congress should comply with all their 
 demands. At the same time, and at the mo 
 ment when their minds were inflamed by the 
 most pathetic representations, a general meet 
 ing of the officers was summoned by another 
 anonymous production. 
 
 "It is impossible to say what would have 
 been the consequences, had the author suc 
 ceeded in his first plans. But measures hav 
 ing been taken to postpone the meeting, so as 
 to give time for cool reflection and counterac 
 tion, the good sense of the officers has termi 
 nated this affair in a manner, which reflects 
 the greatest glory on themselves, and demands 
 the highest expressions of gratitude from their 
 country." 
 
 Thus, by the prudent measures of the Com 
 mander-in-chief, the excitement was allayed, 
 and tranquillity was restored to the army. Nor 
 
JET. 51.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 165 
 
 did he delay to fulfil the pledge he had made, 
 writing to Congress with an earnestness and 
 force of argument, which showed him to be 
 moved not less by his feelings, than by a sense 
 of duty, in asserting the rights and just claims 
 of those, who, to use his own words, "had so 
 long, so patiently, and so cheerfully suffered 
 and fought under his direction," and urging a 
 speedy decision in their favor. His represen 
 tations and appeals were not disregarded. The 
 subject was again considered in Congress, and 
 the requisite number of States voted for the 
 commutation of half-pay, and for the other 
 provisions solicited by the officers in their me 
 morial.* 
 
 In a few days the joyful news arrived, that 
 a preliminary treaty of peace had been signed 
 at Paris. The intelligence was brought in a 
 French vessel from Cadiz, with a letter from 
 the Marquis de Lafayette, who was then at 
 that place preparing for an expedition to the 
 West Indies under Count d Estaing. Shortly 
 
 * The anonymous addresses were from the pen of Ma 
 jor John Armstrong, at that time an aid-de-camp to Gen 
 eral Gates. They were written at the request of several 
 officers, who believed that the tardy proceedings of Con 
 gress, and the reluctance of that body to recognise the 
 claims of the public creditors, called for a more decided 
 expression of the sentiments of the army. 
 
166 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 
 
 afterwards Sir Guy Carleton communicated the 
 same, as from official authority, and announced 
 a cessation of hostilities. A proclamation to 
 this effect was made to the American army on 
 the 19th of April; precisely eight years from 
 the day on which the first blood was shed in 
 this memorable contest at Lexington. 
 
 Although the military labors of General 
 Washington were now drawing to a close, in 
 the attainment of the great object to which he 
 had devoted himself with an ardor, constancy, 
 endurance, and singleness of purpose, that had 
 never been surpassed by any commander, yet 
 his anxiety for the future was scarcely dimin 
 ished. The love of liberty, which had prompt 
 ed him to such trials and disinterested exer 
 tions in the cause of his country, was equally 
 alive to the success of that cause in building 
 up the fabric of freedom on a firm and durable 
 basis. 
 
 The preparation of a plan for a peace es 
 tablishment, which had been solicited by Con 
 gress, and some preliminary arrangements with 
 the British commander in regard to the evac 
 uation of New York, occupied him several 
 weeks. For these latter objects he had a per 
 sonal conference with Sir Guy Carleton at 
 Orangetown. 
 
 The circular letter, which he wrote to the 
 
^Er. 51.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 167 
 
 governors of the States, as his last official com 
 munication, and which was designed to be laid 
 before the several legislatures, is remarkable 
 for its ability, the deep interest it manifests for 
 the officers and soldiers, who had fought the 
 battles of their country, the soundness of its 
 principles, and the wisdom of its counsels. 
 Four great points he aims to enforce as essen 
 tial in guiding the deliberations of every public 
 body, and as claiming the serious attention of 
 every citizen, namely, an indissoluble union 
 of the States ; a sacred regard to public jus 
 tice ; the adoption of a proper military peace 
 establishment ; and a pacific and friendly dis 
 position among the people of the States, which 
 should induce them to forget local prejudices, 
 and incline them to mutual concessions for the 
 advantage of the community. These he calls 
 the pillars by which alone independence and 
 national character can be supported. On each 
 of these topics he remarks at considerable 
 length, with a felicity of style and cogency of 
 reasoning in all respects worthy of the subject. 
 No public address could have been better 
 adapted to the state of the times ; and coming 
 from such a source, its influence on the minds 
 of the people must have been effectual and 
 most salutary. 
 
 Many of the troops went home on furlough : 
 
168 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 
 
 and General Washington, having little to do in 
 camp till the arrival of the definitive treaty, 
 resolved to employ the interval in making a 
 tour to the nortrnvard, for the double purpose 
 of gratifying his curiosity in visiting the scenes 
 of the late military operations in that quarter, 
 and of ascertaining from observation the natu 
 ral resources of the country. In company with 
 Governor Clinton he ascended the Hudson to 
 Albany, and proceeded thence over the battle 
 fields of Saratoga, as far as Ticonderoga and 
 Crown Point. Turning then to the Mohawk 
 River, he extended his journey westward to 
 Fort Schuyler. He was absent from Newburg 
 nineteen days. Ever regarding the condition 
 and affairs of his country on a comprehensive 
 scale, and fixing his thoughts on its importance 
 as a nation, he saw, while on this tour, the 
 immense advantages that would result from a 
 water communication between the Hudson and 
 the great lakes, and believed in its practicabil 
 ity. His hopes and his anticipations have 
 since been realized in the magnificent work, 
 opening a passage for boats by a canal from 
 the Hudson to Lake Erie, and effected by the 
 enterprise and wealth of the State of New 
 York. 
 
 When he returned to Newburg, he found a 
 letter from the President of Congress, asking 
 
^Ex. 51.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 169 
 
 his attendance on that assembly, then in ses 
 sion at Princeton. The object of this request 
 was, to consult him on the arrangements for 
 peace, and other public concerns. While he 
 was making preparations to leave camp, Con 
 gress conferred on him new honors. It was 
 voted unanimously, that an equestrian statue 
 of General Washington should be erected at 
 the place where the residence of Congress 
 should be established, and that it should be 
 executed by the best artist in Europe, under 
 the superintendence of the Minister of the 
 United States at the Court of Versailles. 
 
 Leaving the army under the immediate com 
 mand of General Knox, the officers higher in 
 rank having gone home by permission, Wash 
 ington obeyed the summons of Congress, and 
 went to Princeton, where he was introduced 
 into the assembly while in session by two of 
 the members appointed for the purpose. He 
 was then addressed by the President, who con 
 gratulated him on the success of the war, in 
 which he had acted so conspicuous and impor 
 tant a part. " In other nations," said the Pres 
 ident, " many have performed eminent services, 
 for which they have deserved the thanks of 
 the public. But to you, Sir, peculiar praise is 
 due. Your services have been essential in ac 
 quiring and establishing the freedom and inde- 
 
170 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1733. 
 
 pendence of your country. They deserve the 
 grateful acknowledgments of a free and inde 
 pendent nation." To this address Washington 
 replied in the presence of Congress, and then 
 retired. A house was provided for him at 
 Rocky Hill, three or four miles from Prince 
 ton, where he resided, holding conferences from 
 time to time with committees and members of 
 Congress, and giving counsel on such subjects 
 as were referred to his consideration. 
 
 A large part of the officers and soldiers had 
 been permitted during the summer to retire 
 from the army on furlough, and Congress issued 
 a proclamation, on the 18th of October, dis 
 charging them from further service, and all 
 others who had been engaged to serve during 
 the war. The army was thus in effect dis 
 banded. A small force only was retained, con 
 sisting of such troops as had been enlisted for 
 a definite time, till the peace establishment 
 should be organized. 
 
 This proclamation was followed by General 
 Washington s farewell address to the army, a 
 performance not less admirable in its principles 
 and its objects, than his circular letter to the 
 States. To his cordial and affectionate thanks 
 for the devotedness of the officers and soldiers 
 to him through the war, and for the manner in 
 which they had discharged their duty, he adds 
 
J&T. 51.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 171 
 
 seasonable advice as to their conduct in re 
 suming the character of private citizens, and 
 in contributing to the support of civil govern 
 ment. " Let it be known and remembered," 
 said he, " that the reputation of the federal ar 
 mies is established beyond the reach of ma 
 levolence ; and let a consciousness of their 
 achievements and fame still incite the men, 
 who composed them, to honorable actions ; 
 under the persuasion, that the private virtues 
 of economy, prudence, and industry, will not 
 be less amiable in civil life, than the more 
 splendid qualities of valor, perseverance, and 
 enterprise were in the field. Every one may 
 rest assured, that much, very much, of the fu 
 ture happiness of the officers and men will de 
 pend upon the wise and manly conduct, which 
 shall be adopted by them when they are min 
 gled with the great body of the community. 
 And, although the General has so frequently 
 given it as his opinion in the most public and 
 explicit manner, that, unless the principles of 
 the Federal Government were properly sup 
 ported, and the powers of the Union increased, 
 the honor, dignity, and justice of the nation 
 would be lost for ever ; yet he cannot help 
 repeating, on this occasion, so interesting a sen 
 timent, and leaving it as his last injunction to 
 every officer and every soldier, who may view 
 
172 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 
 
 the subject in the same serious point o light, 
 to add his best endeavors to those of his wor 
 thy fellow citizens towards effecting these 
 great and valuable purposes, on which our 
 very existence as a nation so materially de 
 pends." 
 
 At length Sir Guy Carleton received orders 
 from the ministry to evacuate New York, and 
 gave notice to General Washington that he 
 should soon be ready for that event. Delay 
 had been occasioned by the want of transports 
 in sufficient numbers to send to Nova Scotia 
 the refugees, who had sought protection in 
 New York during the war, and the large 
 amount of goods, stores, and military supplies, 
 which had accumulated in that city. Many 
 of these persons would gladly have remained 
 in the country, having property which they 
 desired to recover, and relatives and friends 
 whom they were reluctant to abandon ; but 
 they were exiled by the laws of the States, 
 and could not be admitted to the privileges of 
 a residence till these laws were repealed. 
 
 Washington repaired to West Point, to 
 which place General Knox had drawn the 
 troops, that still remained in the service. Ar 
 rangements were made with Governor Clinton, 
 the chief magistrate of the State of New 
 York, by which the city was to be delivered 
 
^T. 51.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 173 
 
 into his charge. A detachment of troops 
 marched from West Point to Haerlem, and 
 was joined there by General Washington and 
 Governor Clinton. In the morning of the 
 25th of November, they advanced to the upper 
 part of the city, where they continued till one 
 o clock, when the British parties retired from 
 the posts in that quarter, and were followed by 
 the American infantry and artillery, preceded 
 by a corps of dragoons. Meantime the British 
 troops embarked. Possession being thus ta 
 ken of the city, the military officers, and the 
 civil officers of the State, made a public entry. 
 The General and Governor rode at the head 
 of the procession on horseback. Then came 
 in regular succession the lieutenant-governor 
 and members of the council, General Knox 
 and the officers of the army, the speaker of 
 the Assembly and citizens. They were es 
 corted by a body of Westchester light-horse, 
 as a compliment to the Governor and civil au 
 thority ; the Continental military jurisdiction 
 being supposed to have ceased, or at least to 
 have been suspended in deference to the civil 
 power of the State. Governor Clinton gave a 
 public entertainment, with which the transac 
 tions of the day were closed. Perfect order 
 and quiet prevailed from the beginning to the 
 end, and no untoward incident occurred to mar 
 
174 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 
 
 the interest of an occasion, which had been 
 so long wished for, and was so joyfully wel 
 comed. 
 
 A trial of feeling now awaited the Comman 
 der-in-chief, which for the moment was more 
 severe and painful, than any he had been call 
 ed to bear. The time had arrived, when he 
 was to bid a final adieu to his companions in 
 arms, to many of whom he was bound by the 
 strongest ties of friendship, and for all of whom 
 he felt a lively gratitude and sincere regard. 
 " This affecting interview took place on the 
 4th of December. At noon, the principal of 
 ficers of the army assembled at Frances s tav 
 ern, soon after which their beloved commander 
 entered the room. His emotions were too 
 strong to be concealed. Filling a glass, he 
 turned to them and said, c With a heart full of 
 love and gratitude, I now take leave of you ; 
 I most devoutly wish, that your latter days 
 may be as prosperous and happy, as your for 
 mer ones have been glorious and honorable. 
 Having drunk, he added, I cannot come to 
 each of you to take my leave, but shall be 
 obliged if each of you will come and take me 
 by the hand. General Knox, being nearest, 
 turned to him. Washington, incapable of ut 
 terance, grasped his hand, and embraced him. 
 In the same affectionate manner he took leave 
 
JEr. 51] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 175 
 
 of each succeeding officer. The tear of man 
 ly sensibility was in every eye ; and not a 
 word was articulated to interrupt the dignified 
 silence and the tenderness of the scene. Leav 
 ing the room, he passed through the corps of 
 light infantry, and walked to White Hall, 
 where a barge waited to convey him to Paulus 
 Hook. The whole company followed in mute 
 and solemn procession, with dejected counte 
 nances, testifying feelings of delicious melan 
 choly, which no language can describe. Hav 
 ing entered the barge, he turned to the com 
 pany, and, waving his hat, bid them a silent 
 adieu. They paid him the same affectionate 
 compliment ; and, after the barge had left 
 them, returned in the same solemn manner to 
 the place where they had assembled."* 
 
 Congress had adjourned from Princeton to 
 Annapolis in Maryland. Washington travelled 
 slowly to that place, greeted everywhere on 
 the road by the acclamations of his fellow citi 
 zens, and the most gratifying tokens of their 
 love and respect. As he passed along, public 
 addresses were presented to him by the legis 
 latures of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Mary 
 land, the Philosophical Society and the Univer 
 sity in Philadelphia, citizens of towns in their 
 
 * MARSHALL S Life, of Washington, 2d ed., Vol. II. 
 p. 57. 
 
176 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 
 
 corporate capacity, religious societies, and va 
 rious incorporated associations. Arrived at the 
 seat of Congress, he informed the President, 
 that he was ready to resign the commission, 
 with which he had been honored in the ser 
 vice of his country. This ceremony was per 
 formed in the Hall of Congress on the 23d of 
 December, all the members and a large con 
 course of spectators being present. At the 
 close of his address on this occasion, he said ; 
 " Having now finished the work assigned me, 
 I retire from the great theatre of action ; and, 
 bidding an affectionate farewell to this august 
 body, under whose orders I have so long acted, 
 I here offer my commission, and take my leave 
 of all the employments of public life." He 
 then advanced and gave his commission into 
 the hands of the President, who replied to his 
 address. The ceremony being ended, he with 
 drew from the assembly, divested of his offi 
 cial character, and sustaining no other rank 
 than that of a private citizen. 
 
 The next morning he left Annapolis, and 
 reached Mount Vernon the same day, having 
 been absent in the command of the army 
 somewhat more than eight years and a half, 
 during which period he had never been at his 
 own house except accidentally while on his 
 way with Count de Rochambeau to Yorktown, 
 and in returning from that expedition. 
 
LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 177 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 He declines receiving pecuniary Compensation for his public 
 Services. His Feelings on being relieved from the Burden of 
 Office. Devotes himself to Agriculture. Makes a Tour to 
 the Western Country. His extensive Plans for internal Navi 
 gation. These Plans adopted by the State of Virginia. Visit 
 of the Marquis de Lafayette to America. Washington refuses 
 to accept a Donation from the State of Virginia. His liberal 
 Acts for the Encouragement of Education. Approves the 
 Countess of Huntington s Scheme for civilizing and Christian 
 izing the Indians. 
 
 GENERAL WASHINGTON believed his career 
 as a public man to be now at an end. He 
 seems indeed to have formed a resolution never 
 again to leave his retirement, unless called out 
 by some great exigency in the affairs of his 
 country, which at that time he neither foresaw 
 nor expected. However much he might have 
 been gratified with the honors bestowed upon 
 him by his countrymen, with the success of 
 his long and unwearied services, and the ap 
 plause of the whole civilized world, it was 
 nevertheless with a heartfelt delight which 
 none of these could give, that he returned to 
 the quiet scenes and congenial employments 
 of private life. For we may here repeat what 
 has been said in a former part of this narrative, 
 that no occupations interested him so much, 
 
 VOL. II. 12 
 
178 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784. 
 
 or engaged his thoughts so constantly, as those 
 of the practical agriculturist. He was fond 
 of adorning and improving his grounds as an 
 amusement, and was devoted to the cultivation 
 of his farms, upon a thorough, economical, and 
 systematic plan, both as a means of increasing 
 his property, and as being suited to his tastes 
 arid early habits. 
 
 His first care, after establishing himself at 
 Mount Yernon, was to examine minutely into 
 the state of his private affairs, which had be 
 come deranged by his long absence and the 
 disorders of the times. His fortune was am 
 ple for a republican citizen, and a man who 
 derived neither consequence nor pleasure from 
 display, but it had necessarily suffered a dimi 
 nution during the war. Adhering rigidly to 
 the resolution he had formed, when he accept 
 ed the command of the army, not to receive 
 any remuneration from the public, either in 
 the shape of pay or other pecuniary reward, 
 he now considered it a duty to repair the loss 
 es he had sustained, as well by economy in 
 his style of living, as by all the usual efforts 
 to increase the productiveness of his estates. 
 
 Some of his countrymen, estimating his ser 
 vices to the public at their just value, and 
 knowing the injury his private affairs had suf 
 fered in consequence of them, hoped to change 
 
^T. 52.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 179 
 
 his purpose of refusing pecuniary compensa 
 tion. A few days before he resigned his com 
 mission, the Supreme Executive Council of 
 Pennsylvania sent the following instructions on 
 this subject to the delegates in Congress from 
 that State. 
 
 " Though his Excellency General Washing 
 ton proposes in a short time to retire, yet his 
 illustrious actions and virtues render his char 
 acter so splendid and venerable, that it is 
 highly probable the admiration and esteem of 
 the world may make his life in a very consid 
 erable degree public, as numbers will be desir 
 ous of seeing the great and good man, who 
 has so eminently contributed to the happiness 
 of a nation. His very services to his country 
 may therefore subject him to expenses, unless 
 he permits her gratitude to interpose. 
 
 " We are perfectly acquainted with the dis 
 interestedness and generosity of his soul. He 
 thinks himself amply rewarded for all his la 
 bors and cares, by the love and prosperity of 
 his fellow citizens. It is true, no rewards 
 they can bestow can be equal to his merits. 
 But they ought not to suffer those merits to be 
 burdensome to him. We are convinced that 
 the people of Pennsylvania would regret such 
 a consequence. 
 
 " We are aware of the delicacy, with which 
 
ISO LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784. 
 
 this subject must be treated. But, relying 
 upon the good sense of Congress, we wish it 
 may engage their early attention." 
 
 These instructions were received by the 
 delegates, and a copy was forwarded to Gen 
 eral Washington after he had arrived at Mount 
 Yernon. It was not thought advisable to lay 
 them before Congress, or take any steps in ful 
 filling them, without his previous knowledge 
 and approbation. In this case, as in every 
 other, he acted consistently with his character. 
 He promptly declined the intended favor. All 
 proceedings on the subject were accordingly 
 stopped. There can be no doubt, that the 
 sentiments of the Executive Council of Penn 
 sylvania would have been responded to by the 
 whole nation, and that a liberal grant from 
 Congress would everywhere have met with a 
 cordial assent. 
 
 The feelings of Washington, on being re 
 lieved from the solicitude and burdens of office, 
 were forcibly expressed in letters to his friends. 
 "At length," said he, in writing to Lafayette, 
 " I am become a private citizen, on the banks 
 of the Potomac and, under the shadow of 
 my own vine and my own figtree, free from 
 the bustle of a camp, and the busy scenes of 
 public life, I am solacing myself with those 
 tranquil enjoyments, of which the soldier, who 
 
^T.52.j LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 181 
 
 is ever in pursuit of fame, the statesman, 
 whose watchful days and sleepless nights are 
 spent in devising schemes to promote the wel 
 fare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other 
 countries, as if this globe was insufficient for 
 us all, and the courtier, who is always watch 
 ing the countenance of his prince, in hopes of 
 catching a gracious smile, can have very little 
 conception. I have not only retired from all 
 public employments, but I am retiring within 
 myself, and shall be able to view the solitary 
 walk, and tread the paths of private life, with 
 a heartfelt satisfaction. Envious of none, I 
 am determined to be pleased with all ; and 
 this, my dear friend, being the order for my 
 march, I will move gently down the stream of 
 life, until I sleep with my fathers." 
 
 To General Knox he wrote ; " I am just 
 beginning to experience that ease and freedom 
 from public cares, which, however desirable, 
 takes some time to realize j for, strange as it 
 may seem, it is nevertheless true, that it was 
 not till lately I could get the better of my usu 
 al custom of ruminating, as soon as I waked 
 in the morning, on the business of the ensuing 
 day ; and of my surprise at finding, after re 
 volving many things in my mind, that I was 
 no longer a public man, nor had any thing to 
 do with public transactions. I feel now, how- 
 
182 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784. 
 
 ever, as I conceive a wearied traveller must do, 
 who, after treading many a painful step with a 
 heavy burden on his shoulders, is eased of the 
 latter, having reached the haven to which all 
 the former were directed, and from his house 
 top is looking back, and tracing with an eager 
 eye the meanders by which he escaped the 
 quicksands and mires which lay in his way ; 
 and into which none but the all-powerful Guide 
 and Dispenser of human events could have 
 prevented his falling." 
 
 The time and thoughts of Washington were 
 now confined to his farms, and to such acts 
 of hospitality as were demanded by the nu 
 merous visits from strangers and his acquaint 
 ances, who were drawn to Mount Vernon by 
 motives of curiosity, admiration, and respect. 
 However onerous these visits might be, on 
 some occasions, his house was open to all that 
 came, and his personal civilities were so ren 
 dered as to strengthen the affections of his 
 friends, and win the esteem of those, who had 
 known him only by his fame, and revered him 
 for his public character. And it is but just to 
 say, that in all these duties Mrs. Washington 
 performed her part with such discretion, assi 
 duity, and courtesy, without ostentation on the 
 one hand or constraint on the other, as, at the 
 same time that it proved the goodness of her 
 
JT. 52.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 183 
 
 heart and her power to please, insured the com 
 fort and enjoyment of her guests, and con 
 vinced them of the domestic harmony and 
 happiness, that reigned in the mansion at 
 Mount Vernon. 
 
 In the month of September, 1784, Wash 
 ington made a tour to the Western country, for 
 the purpose of inspecting the lands he owned 
 beyond the Allegariy Mountains, and also of 
 ascertaining the practicability of opening a 
 communication between the head waters of the 
 rivers running eastward into the Atlantic, and 
 those that flow westward to the Ohio. The 
 extent of this journey was six hundred and 
 eighty miles, the whole of which he travelled 
 -on horseback, using pack-horses for the con 
 veyance of a tent, the necessary baggage, and 
 such supplies as could not be procured in the 
 wild and unsettled regions through which he 
 was to pass. He crossed the mountains by the 
 usual route of Braddock s Road, and spent sev 
 eral days in surveying and inspecting his lands 
 on the Monongahela River, a part of which was 
 occupied by settlers. His first intention was to 
 descend the Ohio, as he had done in the year 
 1770. to the Great Kenhawa, where he owned 
 a large tract of wild land ; but the hostile tem 
 per of the Indians rendering this expedition 
 hazardous, and the motive not being strong 
 
184 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784. 
 
 enough to induce him to run risks, he advanced 
 westward no further than the Monongahela. 
 Returning by a circuitous route, he passed 
 through the heart of the wilderness, first as 
 cending the Monongahela River, and thence 
 traversing the country far to the south between 
 the ridges of the Allegany Mountains, with the 
 special view of deciding the question in his 
 own mind, whether the Potomac and James 
 Rivers could be connected by internal naviga 
 tion with the western waters. He conversed 
 on the subject with every intelligent person he 
 met, and kept a journal in which he recorded 
 the results of his observations and inquiries. 
 
 His thoughts had been turned to this enter 
 prise before the Revolution ; and, since the 
 peace, he had used unwearied diligence by an 
 extensive correspondence to procure facts re 
 specting the rivers falling into the Ohio from 
 the west, and into the great Lakes, and also 
 the distances from various navigable points 
 in those rivers and lakes to the head waters 
 of the streams flowing towards the Atlantic. 
 Soon after returning from his western tour, he 
 communicated to the governor of Virginia the 
 fruits of his investigations in a letter, one of 
 the ablest, most sagacious, and most important 
 productions of his pen. Presenting first a 
 clear state of the question, and showing the 
 
^T. 52.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 185 
 
 practicability of facilitating the intercourse of 
 trade between the east and the west by im 
 proving and extending the water communica 
 tions, he then proceeds by a train of unan 
 swerable argument and illustration to explain 
 the immense advantages, that would arise from 
 such a measure, in strengthening the union of 
 the States, multiplying the resources of trade, 
 and promoting the prosperity of the country. 
 
 At this time the State of Virginia, being 
 large arid powerful, stretching on one side to 
 the Atlantic ocean and on the other to the 
 western waters, and having in its bosom two 
 noble rivers descending from the summits of 
 the Alleganies, he thought the most favorably 
 situated for beginning the great work. He 
 recommended, therefore, as a preliminary step, 
 that commissioners should be appointed to sur 
 vey the Potomac and James Rivers from tide 
 water to their sources, and the portages be 
 tween them and the principal western streams, 
 following these streams to their junction with 
 the Ohio, measuring with accuracy the distan 
 ces, noting the obstructions to be removed, and 
 estimating the probable expense. He also ad 
 vised a similar survey of the rivers west of the 
 Ohio, as far as Detroit. " These things being 
 done," said he, " I shall be mistaken if preju 
 dice does not yield to facts, jealousy to candor, 
 
186 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784. 
 
 and finally, if reason and nature, thus aided, 
 do not dictate what is right and proper to be 
 done." The governor laid this letter before 
 the legislature. It was the first suggestion of 
 the great system of internal improvements, 
 which has since been pursued in the United 
 States. 
 
 A short time before his journey to the west, 
 Washington had the satisfaction of receiving 
 at Mount Vernon the Marquis de Lafayette, for 
 whom he cherished the warmest friendship, 
 heightened by gratitude for the disinterested 
 ness and ardor with which he had espoused 
 the cause of American freedom, and the sig 
 nal services he had rendered. Two or three 
 months were passed by Lafayette in the mid 
 dle and eastern States, and in November he 
 arrived at Richmond in Virginia. Washington 
 met him at that place, where they were both 
 received with public honors by the legislature 
 then in session. They returned together to 
 Mount Vernon ; and, when Lafayette s visit 
 was concluded, Washington accompanied him 
 on his way to Annapolis. 
 
 In a letter to Lafayette s wife he said ; " We 
 restore the Marquis to you in good health, 
 crowned with wreaths of love and respect from 
 every part of the Union." The parting of the 
 two friends was affecting, and showed the 
 
JT. 52.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 187 
 
 strength of the ties by which they were unit 
 ed. As soon as he reached home, Washington 
 wrote to him as follows. " In the moment of 
 our separation, upon the road as I travelled, 
 and every hour since, I have felt all that love, 
 respect, and attachment for you, with which 
 length of years, close connexion, and your 
 merits have inspired me. I often asked my 
 self, as our carriages separated, whether that 
 was the last sight I ever should have of you ? 
 And, though I wished to say No, my fears an 
 swered Yes. I called to mind the days of my 
 youth, and found they had long since fled to 
 return no more : that I was now descending 
 the hill I had been fifty-two years climbing, 
 and that, though I was blest with a good con 
 stitution, I was of a short-lived family, and 
 might soon expect to be entombed in the man 
 sion of my fathers. These thoughts darkened 
 the shades, and gave a gloom to the picture, 
 and consequently to my prospect of seeing you 
 again/ This melancholy presage was fulfill 
 ed. They never met afterwards. But their 
 attachment remained indissoluble, and Wash 
 ington lived to sympathize in the misfortunes 
 of his friend, and to have the consolation of 
 using all the means in his power to rescue him 
 from the sufferings he so long endured in a 
 cruel imprisonment. 
 
188 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784. 
 
 The hopes of General Washington, in re 
 gard to his favorite scheme of internal naviga 
 tion, were more than realized. The legislature 
 of Virginia, after duly considering his letter to 
 the governor, not only appointed the commis 
 sion for surveys, but organized two companies, 
 called the Potomac Company and the James 
 River Company, for the purpose of carrying 
 the plan into effect. They moreover compli 
 mented him without a dissenting voice, by a 
 donation of fifty shares in the former company, 
 and one hundred shares in the latter ; the fifty 
 shares being estimated at ten thousand dollars, 
 and the others at five thousand pounds sterling. 
 Aware of his delicacy on the subject of re 
 ceiving money from the public, the legislature 
 contrived to frame the preamble of the act in 
 such language, as, it was hoped, would re 
 move his scruples. " It is the desire of the 
 representatives of this commonwealth to em 
 brace every suitable occasion of testifying 
 their sense of the unexampled merits of George 
 Washington towards his country ; and it is 
 their wish in particular, that those great works 
 for its improvement, which, both as springing 
 from the liberty which he has been so instru 
 mental in establishing, and as encouraged by 
 his patronage, will be durable monuments of 
 
jEr.52.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 189 
 
 his glory, may be made monuments also of the 
 gratitude of his country." 
 
 If he was highly gratified, as he must have 
 been, with this public testimony of affection 
 and respect, he was scarcely less embarrassed 
 by it. Not that he hesitated, as to the course 
 he should pursue, but the grant had been 
 made in so liberal a manner, and from motives 
 so pure, that he feared a refusal might be re 
 garded in an unfavorable light, as evincing 
 either ingratitude to his friends, or a disposi 
 tion to gain applause by a show of disinterest 
 edness, unusual if not unnecessary. He stated 
 his difficulties freely in private letters to the 
 governor, and to some of the principal mem 
 bers of the legislature ; declaring, at the same 
 time, that he could not, consistently with his 
 principles, accept the proffered gift in such a 
 way, that he should derive from it any emolu 
 ment to himself. A positive decision was not 
 required till the next session of the legislature, 
 when he wrote officially to the governor de 
 clining the grant ; but, lest the operations of 
 the companies should be retarded by with 
 drawing the subscriptions for the shares, which 
 had been made by the treasurer on his account, 
 he suggested, that, if the Assembly should 
 think proper to submit to him the appropriation 
 of them for some object of a public nature, he 
 
190 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 would accept the trust. His proposition was 
 cheerfully acceded to ; and, by an act of the 
 Assembly, the shares were assigned to such 
 public objects, as he should direct during his 
 life, or by his last will and testament. 
 
 The purpose, which he first had in view, 
 was the encouragement of education, and this 
 purpose was ultimately accomplished. Some 
 time before his death, he made over the shares 
 in the James River Company to an institution 
 in Rockbridge County, then called Liberty 
 Hall Academy. The name has since been 
 changed to Washington College. The fifty 
 shares in the Potomac Company he bequeathed 
 in perpetuity for the endowment of a univer 
 sity in the District of Columbia, under the 
 auspices of the government ; and, if such a 
 seminary should not be established by the 
 government, the fund was to increase till it 
 should be adequate, with such other resources 
 as might be obtained, for the accomplishment 
 of the design. The establishing of a national 
 university was always one of his favorite 
 schemes. He recommended it in his mes 
 sages to Congress, and often in his letters 
 spoke of the advantages, which would be de 
 rived from it to the nation. 
 
 It may here be added, that he was a zealous 
 advocate for schools and literary institutions 
 
jEx.53.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 191 
 
 of every kind, and sought to promote them, 
 whenever an opportunity offered, by his public 
 addresses and by private benefactions. In this 
 spirit he accepted the chancellorship of Wil 
 liam and Mary College, being earnestly solicit 
 ed by the trustees. In his answer to them, 
 accepting the appointment, he said ; "I rely 
 fully in your strenuous endeavors for placing 
 the system on such a basis, as will render it 
 most beneficial to the State and the republic 
 of letters, as well as to the more extensive 
 interests of humanity and religion." The 
 chancellor s duty consisted chiefly in suggest 
 ing and approving measures for the manage 
 ment of the college, and in recommending 
 professors and teachers to fill vacancies in the 
 departments of instruction. 
 
 The acts of charity by which he contribut 
 ed from his private means to foster education 
 were not few nor small. During many years, 
 he gave fifty pounds annually for the instruc 
 tion of indigent children in Alexandria; and 
 by will he left a legacy of four thousand dol 
 lars, the net income of which was to be used 
 for the same benevolent object for ever. Two 
 or three instances are known, in which he 
 offered to pay the expenses of young men 
 through their collegiate course. When Gen 
 eral Greene died, he proposed to take under 
 
192 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1785. 
 
 his protection one of the sons of his departed 
 friend, pay the charges of his education, and 
 bring him forward into life. Fortunately the 
 circumstances, in which General Greene left 
 his family, rendered this act of munificence 
 and paternal care unnecessary. Other exam 
 ples might be cited ; and, from his cautious 
 habit of concealing from the world his deeds 
 of charity, it may be presumed many others 
 are unknown, in which his heart and his hand 
 were open to the relief of indigent merit. 
 
 The Countess of Huntington, celebrated for 
 her religious enthusiasm and liberal charities, 
 formed a scheme for civilizing and Christian 
 izing the North American Indians. Being a 
 daughter of the Earl of Ferrers, who was de 
 scended through the female line from a remote 
 branch of the Washington family, she claimed 
 relationship to General Washington, and wrote 
 to him several letters respecting her project of 
 benevolence and piety in America. It was her 
 design to form, at her own charge, in the 
 neighborhood of some of the Indian tribes, a 
 settlement of industrious emigrants, who, by 
 their example and habits, should gradually in 
 troduce among them the arts of civilization ; 
 and missionaries were to teach them the prin 
 ciples of Christianity. Lady Huntington pro 
 posed, that the government of the United 
 
JET. 53.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 193 
 
 States should grant a tract of wild lands upon 
 which her emigrants and missionaries should 
 establish themselves. A scheme, prompted by 
 motives so pure, and founded on so rational a 
 basis, gained at once the approbation and coun 
 tenance of Washington. He wrote to the 
 President of Congress, and to the governors 
 of some of the States, expressing favorable 
 sentiments of Lady Huntington s application. 
 Political and local reasons interfered to defeat 
 the plan. In the first place, it was thought 
 doubtful whether a colony of foreigners set 
 tled on the western frontier, near the English 
 on one side and the Spaniards on the other, 
 would in the end prove conducive to the pub 
 lic tranquillity. And, in the next place, the 
 States individually had ceded all their wild 
 lands to the Union, and Congress were not 
 certain that they possessed power to grant any 
 portion of the new territory for such an object. 
 Hence the project was laid aside, although 
 Washington offered to facilitate it as far as he 
 could on a smaller scale, by allowing settlers 
 to occupy his own lands, and be employed 
 according to Lady Huntington s views. 
 
 VOL. u. 13 
 
194 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1785. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 His Operations in Farming and Horticulture. Visitors at Mount 
 Vernon. His Habits. Houdon s Statue. Condition of the 
 Country and Defects of the Confederacy. Washington s Sen 
 timents thereon. First Steps towards effecting a Reform. 
 Convention at Annapolis. 
 
 IN the spring of 1785, he was engaged for 
 several weeks in planting his grounds at Mount 
 Vernon with trees and shrubs. To this inter 
 esting branch of husbandry he had devoted 
 considerable attention before the war, and dur 
 ing that period he had endeavored to carry out 
 his plans of improvement. In some of his 
 letters from camp, he gave minute directions 
 to his manager for removing and planting 
 trees ; but want of skill and other causes pre 
 vented these directions from being complied 
 with, except in a very imperfect manner. The 
 first year after the war, he applied himself 
 mainly to farming operations, with the view 
 of restoring his neglected fields and commenc 
 ing a regular system of practical agriculture. 
 He gradually abandoned the cultivation of 
 tobacco, which exhausted his lands, and sub 
 stituted wheat and grass, as better suited to 
 the soil, and in the aggregate more profitable. 
 
Mr. 53.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 195 
 
 He began a new method of rotation of crops 
 in which he studied the particular qualities of 
 the soil in the different parts of his farms, 
 causing wheat, maize, potatoes, oats, grass, 
 and other crops to succeed each other in the 
 same field at stated times. So exact was he 
 in this method, that he drew out a scheme in 
 which all his fields were numbered, and the 
 crops assigned to them for several years in 
 advance. It proved so successful, that he pur 
 sued it to the end of his life, with occasional 
 slight deviations by way of experiment. 
 
 Having thus arranged and systematized his 
 agricultural operations, he now set himself at 
 work in earnest to execute his purpose of 
 planting and adorning the grounds around the 
 mansion-house. In the direction of the left 
 wing, and at a considerable distance, was a 
 vegetable garden ; and on the right, at an 
 equal distance, was another garden for orna 
 mental shrubs, plants, and flowers. Between 
 these gardens, in front of the house, was a 
 spacious lawn, surrounded by serpentine walks. 
 Beyond the gardens and lawn were the or 
 chards. Very early in the spring he began 
 with the lawn, selecting the choicest trees 
 from the woods on his estates, and transferring 
 them to the borders of the serpentine walks, 
 arranging them in such a manner as to pro- 
 
196 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1785. 
 
 duce symmetry and beauty in the general ef 
 fect, intermingling in just proportions forest 
 trees, evergreens, and flowering shrubs. He 
 attended personally to the selection, removal, 
 and planting of every tree ; and his Diary, 
 which is very particular from day to day 
 through the whole process, proves that he en 
 gaged in it with intense interest, and anxious 
 ly watched each tree and shoot till it showed 
 signs of renewed growth. Such trees as were 
 not found on his own lands, he obtained from 
 other parts of the country, and at length his 
 design was completed according to his wishes. 
 The orchards, gardens, and green-houses 
 were next replenished with all the varieties 
 of rare fruit-trees, vegetables, shrubs, arid flow 
 ering plants, which he could procure. This 
 was less easily accomplished ; but, horticulture 
 being with him a favorite pursuit, he contin 
 ued during his life to make new accessions 
 of fruits and plants, both native and exotic. 
 Pruning trees was one of his amusements j 
 and in the proper season he might be seen 
 almost daily in his grounds and gardens with 
 a pruning-hook or other horticultural imple 
 ments in his hands. Skilful gardeners were 
 sought by him from Europe, whose knowl 
 edge and experience enabled him to execute 
 his plans. 
 
jEr.53.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 197 
 
 Although relieved from public cares, he 
 soon discovered, that the prospect, which he 
 had so fondly cherished, of enjoying the repose 
 of retirement, was much brighter than the 
 reality. Writing to General Knox, he said, 
 " It is not the letters from my friends, which 
 give me trouble, or add aught to my perplex 
 ity. It is references to old matters, with which 
 I have nothing to do : applications which 
 oftentimes cannot be complied with : inquiries 
 which would require the pen of an historian to 
 satisfy ; letters of compliment, as unmeaning 
 perhaps as they are troublesome, but which 
 must be attended to j and the commonplace 
 business, which employs my pen and my 
 time, often disagreeably. Indeed these, with 
 company, deprive me of exercise, and, unless 
 I can obtain relief, must be productive of dis 
 agreeable consequences." The applications, 
 of which he complains, were chiefly from of 
 ficers or other persons, who had been connect 
 ed with the army, and who wished to obtain 
 from him certificates of character, or of ser 
 vices rendered during the war, or some other 
 statement from his pen, for the purpose of 
 substantiating claims upon the government. 
 His real attachment to all who had served 
 faithfully in the army, as well as his humani 
 ty, prompted him to comply with these re- 
 
198 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1785. 
 
 quests ; but in many cases they were unrea 
 sonable, and in all troublesome, as they re 
 quired an examination of his voluminous pa 
 pers, and a recurrence to facts which often 
 could not be easily ascertained. And then his 
 correspondence on topics of public interest, 
 friendship, and civility, with persons in Europe 
 and America, was very extensive. Add to 
 this, his private affairs, the keeping of ac 
 counts, and his letters of business. For more 
 than two years after the close of the war he 
 had no clerk or secretary, and he was there 
 fore incessantly employed in writing. At 
 length this labor was in some degree lessened 
 by the aid of Mr. Lear, who became his sec 
 retary, and resided in his family many years 
 on terms of intimate friendship. 
 
 The multitude of visiters at Mount Vernon 
 increased. They came from the Old World 
 and the New. Among them were foreigners 
 of distinction, particularly from France and 
 other countries on the continent of Europe, 
 bringing letters of introduction from the Mar 
 quis de Lafayette, Count de Rochambeau, 
 Count d Estaing, and some of the other gen 
 eral officers, who had served in America. The 
 celebrated authoress and champion of liberty, 
 Catherine Macaulay Graham, professed to have 
 crossed the Atlantic for the sole purpose of 
 
JST. 53.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 199 
 
 testifying in person her admiration of the char 
 acter and deeds of Washington. His own 
 countrymen, in every part of the Union, as 
 may well be supposed, were not less earnest in 
 their good will, or less ready to prove their re 
 spect and attachment. Some came to keep 
 alive friendship, some to ask counsel on pub 
 lic affairs, and many to gratify a natural and 
 ardent curiosity. This throng of visiters ne 
 cessarily demanded much of his time ; but in 
 other respects the task of receiving them was 
 made easy by the admirable economy of the 
 household under the management of Mrs. 
 Washington. 
 
 His habits were uniform, and nearly the 
 same as they had been previously to the war. 
 He rose before the sun, and employed himself 
 in his study, writing letters or reading, till the 
 hour of breakfast. When breakfast was over, 
 his horse was ready at the door, and he rode 
 to his farms and gave directions for the day to 
 the managers and laborers. Horses were like 
 wise prepared for his guests, whenever they 
 chose to accompany him. or to amuse them 
 selves by excursions into the country. Re 
 turning from his fields, and despatching such 
 business as happened to be on hand, he went 
 again to his study, and continued there till 
 three o clock, when he was summoned to din- 
 
200 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1785. 
 
 her. The remainder of the day and the eve 
 ning were devoted to company, or to recreation 
 in the family circle. At ten he retired to 
 rest. From these habits he seldom deviated, 
 unless compelled to do so by particular cir 
 cumstances. 
 
 The State of Virginia having resolved to 
 erect a statue in honor of General Washington, 
 the governor was authorized to employ an art 
 ist in Europe to execute it. Dr. Franklin and 
 Mr. Jefferson, then in Paris, were commission 
 ed to select the artist and make the contract. 
 They chose M. Houdon, who was accounted 
 one of the first statuaries of his time. It was 
 the intention, that the statue should bear an 
 exact resemblance to the original. M. Houdon 
 engaged in the undertaking with great enthu 
 siasm, and came to America in the same vessel, 
 that conveyed Dr. Franklin home from his long 
 and brilliant mission to France. He was at 
 Mount Yernon three weeks, in the month of 
 October, 1785, and modelled a bust of General 
 Washington, as exact in all its lineaments as 
 his skill could make it. The statue is a pre 
 cise copy of the model, and is undoubtedly the 
 best representation of the original that exists. 
 
 However much Washington was devoted to 
 his private pursuits, so congenial to his taste 
 and so exacting in their claims on hk atten- 
 
jET.53.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 201 
 
 tion, yet neither his zeal for the public good, 
 nor the importunity of his correspondents, 
 would allow his thoughts to be withdrawn 
 from the political condition of his country. 
 His opinions were asked and his advice was 
 sought by the patriotic leaders in the public 
 councils, and by such eminent persons as had 
 been his coadjutors in the great work of inde 
 pendence, who now looked with concern upon 
 the system of national government, which was 
 confessedly inadequate to stand by its own 
 strength, much less to sustain the Union of the 
 States. This union had hitherto been pre 
 served by the pressure of war. It was rather 
 the last resort of a stern necessity, than the 
 spontaneous choice of all the thirteen repub 
 lics. Peace had taken away its main props, 
 and was fast dissolving the slender bands by 
 which it was bound together. Congress was 
 its centre of action ; and this body, imperfect 
 ly organized, possessing little real authority, 
 never confident in what it possessed, and often 
 distracted by party discords, had become almost 
 powerless. 
 
 The confederation had proved itself to be 
 defective in many points absolutely essential to 
 the prosperity of a national government, if not 
 to its very existence. The most remar-kable 
 of thefSfe defects was the want of power to reg- 
 
202 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1785. 
 
 ulate commerce, and to provide for the pay 
 ment of debts contracted by the confederacy. 
 Without such power it was impossible to exe 
 cute treaties, fulfil foreign engagements, or 
 cause the nation to be respected abroad ; and 
 equally so, to render justice to public creditors 
 at home, and to appease the clamor of discon 
 tent and disaffection, which so glaring a breach 
 of public faith would naturally raise. 
 
 It was evident to all, that an alarming crisis 
 was near at hand, scarcely less to be dreaded 
 than the war from which the country had just 
 emerged, unless a timely and effectual remedy 
 could be provided. Washington s sentiments 
 were often, freely, and feelingly expressed. 
 " That we have it in our power," said he, " to 
 become one of the most respectable nations 
 upon earth, admits, in my humble opinion, of 
 no doubt, if we would but pursue a wise, just, 
 and liberal policy towards one another, and 
 keep good faith with the rest of the world. 
 That our resources are ample and increasing, 
 none can deny ; but, while they are grudging 
 ly applied, or not applied at all, we give a vital 
 stab to public faith, and shall sink, in the eyes 
 of Europe, into contempt. It has long been a 
 speculative question among philosophers and 
 wise men, whether foreign commerce is of real 
 advantage to any country j that is, whether 
 
JET. 54.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 203 
 
 the luxury, effeminacy, and corruptions, which 
 are introduced along with it, are counterbal 
 anced by the convenience and wealth which 
 it brings. But the decision of this question is 
 of very little importance to us. We have 
 abundant reason to be convinced, that the spirit 
 of trade, which pervades these States, is not 
 to be restrained. It behoves us then to estab 
 lish just principles and this cannot, any more 
 than other matters of national concern, be done 
 by thirteen heads, differently constructed and 
 organized. The necessity, therefore, of a con 
 trolling power is obvious ; and why it should 
 be withheld is beyond my comprehension." 
 
 In short, the embarrassments growing out 
 of the weakness of the confederacy, the utter 
 inability of Congress to collect the means for 
 paying the public debts or to provide for their 
 security, the jealousies of the States, and the 
 factious spirit of individuals, filled the mind 
 of every true friend to his country with gloom 
 and despondency. Congress had recommend 
 ed an impost, or rate of duties, which was to 
 be uniform in all the States, and the proceeds 
 of which were to be appropriated to relieve 
 the national wants. The States came tardily 
 into this measure, as it seemed to be yielding 
 a power, which was claimed as a special pre 
 rogative of State sovereignty. The States, in 
 
204 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1786. 
 
 which commerce chiefly centred, were influ 
 enced by another motive. A larger amount 
 would be drawn from the revenue in such 
 States, than in others of equal or greater ex 
 tent, population, and internal wealth. The 
 fact was overlooked or disregarded, that the 
 consumers, wherever they resided, actually 
 paid the impost, and that the commercial 
 States, by controlling the imposts in their own 
 ports, enjoyed advantages which the others did 
 not possess. New York never acceded to the 
 recommendation of Congress in such a manner 
 as to make it operative j and, as the success of 
 the measure everywhere depended on the ca 
 price of the legislatures, and a rigid system of 
 collection faithfully administered, there was 
 but little hope of its answering the important 
 end of supplying the national treasury. 
 
 A dissolution of the Union, or an early and 
 thorough reform, was inevitable. The mode 
 of effecting the latter, and saving the republic, 
 was a theme upon which Washington dwelt 
 with deep solicitude in his correspondence and 
 conversations with his friends. By a concur 
 rence of favorable circumstances his advice 
 and personal efforts were made available at the 
 beginning of the train of events, which ended 
 in the achievement of the constitution. " To 
 form a compact relative to the navigation of 
 
-fir. 54.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 205 
 
 the rivers Potomac and Pocomoke, and of part 
 of the bay of Chesapeake, commissioners were 
 appointed by the legislatures of Virginia and 
 Maryland, who assembled at Alexandria, in 
 March, 1785. While at Mount Vernon on a 
 visit, they agreed to propose to their respective 
 governments the appointment of other commis 
 sioners, with power to make conjoint arrange 
 ments, to which the assent of Congress was to 
 be solicited, for maintaining a naval force in 
 the Chesapeake, and to establish a tariff of du 
 ties on imports, to which the laws of both 
 States should conform. When these proposi 
 tions received the assent of the legislature of 
 Virginia, an additional resolution was passed, 
 directing that which respected the duties on 
 imports to be communicated to all the States 
 in the Union, which were invited to send dep 
 uties to the meeting." * 
 
 Accordingly, in January following, the As 
 sembly of Virginia appointed commissioners, 
 who were instructed to meet such as should 
 be appointed by the other States, " to take into 
 consideration the trade of the United States, 
 to examine the relative situation and trade of 
 the said States, to consider how far a uniform 
 
 * MARSHALL S Life of Washington, 2d edition, Vol. II. 
 p. 105. 
 
206 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1786. 
 
 system in their commercial relations may be 
 necessary to their common interest and their 
 permanent harmony, and to report to the sev 
 eral States such an act relative to this great 
 object, as, when unanimously ratified by them, 
 will enable the United States in Congress as 
 sembled effectually to provide for the same." 
 The commissioners met at Annapolis, in Sep 
 tember, 1786. Five States only sent deputies, 
 and some of these came with such limited 
 powers, that it was soon ascertained that noth 
 ing could be done towards effecting the object 
 for which they had come together. Their de 
 liberations ended in a report to their respective 
 States, in which they represented the defects 
 of the federal system, and the necessity of a 
 revision. They likewise recommended anoth 
 er convention of deputies from all the States, 
 furnished with requisite powers, who should 
 meet at Philadelphia on the second day of 
 May. At the same time they sent a letter to 
 Congress accompanied with a copy of their re 
 port to the States. 
 
54.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 207 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Proposal for a general Convention, and Washington appointed a 
 Delegate from Virginia. His Reasons for wishing to decline. 
 Society of the Cincinnati. Washington accepts the Ap 
 pointment as Delegate. Attends the Convention, is chosen its 
 President, and affixes his Name to the New Constitution. His 
 Opinion of the Constitution. It is adopted by the People. 
 Washington chosen the first President of the United States. 
 
 WHEN the legislature of Virginia assembled, 
 the report of the deputies was taken into con 
 sideration, and it was resolved to appoint seven 
 delegates to meet those from the other States 
 in a general convention. Washington s name 
 was put at the head of the list, and he was 
 chosen by a unanimous vote of the representa 
 tives. The intelligence was first communica 
 ted to him by Mr. Madison, then a member of 
 the Assembly, and afterwards officially by the 
 governor. 
 
 He was not a little embarrassed with this 
 choice for, although he heartily approved the 
 measure, yet he thought there were reasons of 
 a personal nature, which made it inexpedient, 
 if not improper, for him to take any part in 
 it. He did not absolutely decline, but suggest 
 ed his difficulties, and expressed a hope, that 
 some other person would be appointed in his 
 
208 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1786. 
 
 place. As the weight of his name and the 
 wisdom of his counsels were felt to be ex 
 tremely important, in giving dignity arid suc 
 cess to the proceedings of the convention, and 
 as several months would intervene before the 
 meeting, neither the governor nor his other 
 friends pressed him to a hasty decision, trust 
 ing that time and reflection would remove his 
 doubts. 
 
 His objections were frankly stated, and they 
 are among the many evidences of his scrupu 
 lous regard to directness and consistency in 
 every act of his life. "It is not only incon 
 venient for me to leave home," said he to the 
 governor, "but there will be, I apprehend, too 
 much cause to charge my conduct with incon 
 sistency in again appearing on a public theatre, 
 after a public declaration to the contrary ; and 
 it will, I fear, have a tendency to sweep me 
 back into the tide of public affairs, when re 
 tirement and ease are so much desired by me, 
 and so essentially necessary." There can be 
 no doubt, that, when he resigned his commis 
 sion in the army, he firmly believed nothing 
 could again occur to draw him from the retire 
 ment, to which he returned with such un 
 feigned satisfaction, and which no other con 
 sideration than the superior claims of his 
 country could induce him to forego. On the 
 
^Ex. 54.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 209 
 
 present occasion he was not convinced, that 
 his services would be more valuable than those 
 of other citizens, whose ability and knowledge 
 of public affairs, as his modesty would per 
 suade him, better qualified them for the task 
 of devising and maturing a system of civil 
 government. 
 
 There was another objection, also, which 
 seemed to bear with considerable weight on 
 his mind. At the close of the war, some of 
 the officers had formed themselves into an as 
 sociation, called the Society of the Cincinnati, 
 the object of which was to establish a bond 
 of union and fellowship between the officers, 
 who had served together during the war, and 
 were then about to be separated, and particu 
 larly to raise a permanent fund for the relief 
 of unfortunate members, their widows, and or 
 phans. Although Washington was not con 
 cerned in forming this society, yet he was 
 well pleased with its benevolent design, and 
 consented to be its president. Unexpectedly 
 to him, however, and to all others connected 
 with it, a very general dissatisfaction arose 
 throughout the country, in regard to some of 
 the principles upon which the society was 
 founded. It was to be hereditary in the fami 
 lies of the members ; it had a badge, or order, 
 offensive in republican eyes, as imitating the 
 
 VOL. II. 14 
 
210 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1786. 
 
 European, orders of knighthood ; it admitted 
 foreign officers, who had served in America, 
 and their descendants ; it provided for an in 
 definite accumulation of funds, which were to 
 be disposed of at the discretion of the mem 
 bers. Discontents grew into clamorous cen 
 sures. Pamphlets were written against the 
 society, and it was denounced as anti-republi- 
 .can, and a dangerous political engine.. At the 
 first general meeting, which was held at Phil 
 adelphia in May, 1784, Washington exerted 
 himself successfully to have the most objec 
 tionable features altered, and the articles of 
 association were new modelled conformably 
 to his suggestions. After these changes the 
 alarmists were less vehement in their attacks ; 
 but they were not silenced, and the society 
 continued. to be looked upon with jealousy and 
 disapprobation. 
 
 A second general meeting was to take place 
 in Philadelphia at the time appointed for the 
 assembling of the convention. Before receiv 
 ing notice that he was chosen a delegate, 
 Washington had written a circular letter to the 
 branches of the Society in the different States, 
 declaring his intention to resign the presidency, 
 and giving reasons why it would be incon 
 venient for him to attend the general meeting. 
 He thought himself thus placed in a delicate 
 
^T. 54.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 211 
 
 situation. Were he to be present at the con 
 vention, the members of the Cincinnati Soci 
 ety might suppose they had just grounds for 
 suspecting his sincerity, or even of charging 
 him with having deserted the officers, who had 
 so nobly supported him during the war, and 
 always manifested towards him uncommon re 
 spect and attachment. Having a grateful sense 
 of their affection, and reciprocating in reality 
 all their kind feelings, he was reluctant to put 
 himself in a condition, by which their favor 
 able sentiments would be altered, or their sen 
 sibility in any degree wounded. 
 
 Again, some -of his friends in various parts 
 of the country expressed themselves doubting- 
 ly in their letters, as to the propriety of his 
 going to the convention, and some advised 
 against it. Many thought the scheme illegal, 
 since there was no provision in the articles of 
 the confederation for such a mode of revision, 
 and it had not been proposed by Congress. It 
 was feared, therefore, that the doings of the 
 convention would end in a failure, and perhaps 
 in the disgrace of the delegates. They, who 
 were perplexed with apprehensions of this sort, 
 were unwilling that the brilliant reputation of 
 Washington should be put to the hazard of be 
 ing tarnished by an abortive experiment, and 
 believed the interests of the country required 
 
212 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1786. 
 
 it to be held in reserve for a more fitting op 
 portunity. 
 
 These obstacles, formidable for a time, were 
 at last removed. Congress took the subject 
 into consideration, and recommended to the 
 States to send delegates to the convention for 
 the purposes mentioned in the Annapolis report. 
 Thus the measure was sanctioned by law. 
 Congress likewise appointed the second Mon 
 day in May, as the day for the delegates to as 
 semble at Philadelphia. The time was fixed 
 with reference to the meeting of the Cincin 
 nati, which was to be a week earlier, whereby 
 General Washington would be -enabled to join 
 his brethren of that fraternity, should he think 
 proper, and explain his motives for declining 
 to be again elected president. 
 
 After these proceedings, and after it was 
 found that the more enlightened part of the 
 community very generally approved the scheme 
 of the convention, his friends everywhere urg 
 ed him to accept the appointment as one of the 
 delegates from Virginia, and he acceded to 
 their wishes. Another circumstance had much 
 influence in bringing him to this decision. It 
 began to be whispered, that the persons op 
 posed to the convention were at heart mon 
 archists, and that they were glad to see the 
 distractions of the country increasing, till the 
 
jEr.54.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 213 
 
 people should be weary of them, and discover 
 their only hope of security to consist in a 
 strong government, as it was generally called, 
 or, in other words, a constitutional monarchy ; 
 for no one was ever supposed to dream of a 
 despotic power in America. It has been said 
 and believed, that a small party, in despair of 
 better things, actually meditated such a project, 
 and turned their eyes to some of the royal 
 families in Europe for a sovereign suited to 
 control the jarring elements of republicanism 
 in the United States. However this may be, 
 it is certain that no imagined remedy could 
 have been more severely reprobated by Wash- 
 ington. We have seen with what a stern re 
 buke the proposal to be a king was met by 
 him, even when he literally had the power of 
 the nation in his hands. From the beginning 
 of the Revolution to the end of his Hie, he 
 was an uncompromising advocate for a repub 
 lican system. In the abstract he regarded it 
 as the best ; and he had faith enough in the 
 virtue of the people, and in the efficacy of 
 their former habits, to convince him that it 
 might be successfully established. At all 
 events he was for having the experiment thor 
 oughly tried ; and his whole conduct proves, 
 that, in regard to himself, he was ready to risk 
 his reputation, his property, and his life, if 
 
214 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1787. 
 
 necessary, in a cause so momentous to the 
 welfare of his country and to the social pro 
 gress of mankind. 
 
 He did not go to the convention unprepared 
 for the great work there to be undertaken. 
 His knowledge of the institutions of his own 
 country and of its political forms, both in their 
 general character and minute and affiliated 
 relations, gained by inquiry and long expe 
 rience, was probably as complete as that of 
 any other man. But he was not satisfied with 
 this alone. He read the history and examined 
 the principles of the ancient and modern con 
 federacies. There is a paper in his handwrit 
 ing, which contains an abstract of each, and 
 in which are noted, in a methodical order, 
 their chief characteristics, the kinds of au 
 thority they possessed, their modes of oper 
 ation, and their defects. The confederacies 
 analyzed in this paper are the Lycian, Am- 
 phictyonic. Achaean, Helvetic, Belgic, and 
 Germanic. He also read the standard works 
 on general politics and the science of gov 
 ernment, abridging parts of them, according 
 to his usual practice, that he might impress 
 the essential points more deeply on his mind. 
 He was apprehensive, that the delegates might 
 come together fettered with instructions, which 
 would embarrass and retard, if not defeat. 
 
jEr.55.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 215 
 
 the salutary end proposed. " My wish is/ 
 said he, " that the convention may adopt no 
 temporizing expedients, but probe the defects 
 of the constitution to the bottom, and provide 
 a radical cure, whether they are agreed to or 
 not. A conduct of this kind will stamp wis 
 dom and dignity on their proceedings, and 
 hold up a light, which sooner or later -will 
 have its influence." Such were the prepara 
 tions, and such the sentiments, with which 
 he went to the convention. 
 
 His arrival at Philadelphia was attended 
 with public honors. At Chester he was met 
 by General Mifflin, Speaker of the Assembly 
 of Pennsylvania, and several officers and gen 
 tlemen of distinction, who proceeded with 
 him from that place. At Gray s Ferry a com 
 pany of light-horse took charge of him and 
 escorted him into the city. His first visit was 
 to Dr. Franklin, at that time President of 
 Pennsylvania. All the States were represent 
 ed in the convention, except Rhode Island ; 
 and, when the body was organized for busi 
 ness, General Washington was elected by a 
 unanimous vote to the president s chair. The 
 convention was in session four months, and 
 the diligence of the members is proved by the 
 fact, that they sat from five to seven hours a 
 day. The result was the Constitution of the 
 
216 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1787. 
 
 United States, which was proposed to be sub 
 stituted for the Articles of Confederation. On 
 the 17th of September, 1787, the constitution 
 was signed by all the members present, except 
 three, and forwarded with a letter to Congress. 
 By that assembly it was sent to the State 
 legislatures, for the purpose of being submitted 
 in each State to a convention of delegates 
 chosen by the people, in conformity with a 
 resolve of the general convention. 
 
 The constitution, as it came from the hands 
 of its framers, was regarded by no one as the 
 oretically perfect. To form a compact, which 
 should unite thirteen independent republics 
 into a consolidated government possessing a 
 control over the whole, was not a work of easy 
 achievement, even if there had been a uni 
 formity in the previously established systems 
 of the several States. The difficulty was in 
 creased by the wide differences in their situa 
 tion, extent, habits, wealth, and particular in 
 terests. Rights and privileges were to be 
 surrendered, not always in proportion to the 
 advantages which seemed to be promised as an 
 equivalent. In short, the constitution was an 
 amicable compromise, the result of mutual 
 deference and concession. Dr. Franklin said, 
 in a short speech near the close of the con 
 vention ; " I consent to this constitution, be- 
 
JET. 55.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 217 
 
 cause I expect no better, and because I am not 
 sure it is not the best. The opinions I have 
 had of its errors I sacrifice to the public good." 
 And Washington wrote not long afterwards ; 
 " There arer some things in the new form, I 
 will readily acknowledge, which never did, 
 and I am persuaded never will, obtain my cor 
 dial approbation : but I did then conceive, and 
 do now most firmly believe, that in the aggre 
 gate it is the best constitution, that can be ob 
 tained at this epoch, and that this, or a disso 
 lution, awaits our choice, and is the only al 
 ternative." Again; "It appears to me little 
 short of a miracle, that the delegates from so 
 many States, different from each other in their 
 manners, circumstances, and prejudices, should 
 unite in forming a system of national govern 
 ment, so little liable to well-founded objec 
 tions. Nor am I yet such an enthusiastic, par 
 tial, or undiscriminating admirer of it, as not 
 to perceive it is tinctured with some real 
 though not radical defects." 
 
 Similar sentiments were doubtless entertain 
 ed by all the prominent friends to the consti 
 tution. Faulty as it was, they looked upon it 
 as the best that could be made, in the existing 
 state of things, and as such they wished it to 
 be fairly tried. It was moreover remarkable, 
 that what one called a defect, another thought 
 
218 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1788. 
 
 its most valuable part, so that in detail it was 
 almost wholly condemned and approved. This 
 was a proof, that there was nothing in it es 
 sentially bad, and that it approached very 
 nearly to a just medium. If we judge from 
 the tenor of Washington s letters, after it was 
 sent out to the world, he watched its fate with 
 anxious solicitude, and was animated with joy 
 at the favor it gradually gained with the pub 
 lic and its ultimate triumph. It was univer 
 sally agreed, that his name affixed to the con 
 stitution carried with it a most effective in 
 fluence on the minds of the people. 
 
 The legislatures of all the States, which 
 had been represented in the general conven 
 tion, directed State conventions to be assem 
 bled, consisting of delegates chosen by the 
 people for the express purpose of deciding on 
 the adoption of the constitution. The ratifi 
 cation of nine States was necessary to give it 
 validity and effect. The conventions in the 
 several States met at different times, and it 
 was nearly a year before the requisite number 
 had passed a decision. In the mean time, 
 both the friends and opponents of the consti 
 tution were extremely active. The weight of 
 opinion, however, was found everywhere to 
 preponderate on the side of the constitution. 
 In some of the States it was adopted unani- 
 
JET. 56.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 219 
 
 mously, and in nearly all of them the majority 
 was much larger than its most zealous advo 
 cates had ventured to hope. Amendments 
 were recommended in some instances, but in 
 none was the ratification clogged by positive 
 conditions of this sort. The same spirit of 
 compromise and mutual concession seemed to 
 prevail, that had been manifested in the gen 
 eral convention. In fine, though the opposi 
 tion was strong, and upheld by a few of the 
 ablest and best men in the country, yet the 
 popular voice was so decidedly expressed on 
 the other side, as to afford the most encourag 
 ing presages of the successful operation of the 
 new form of government. 
 
 Each State convention transmitted to Con 
 gress a testimonial of its ratification, signed by 
 all its members. When these testimonials had 
 been received from the requisite number of 
 States, an act was passed by Congress appoint 
 ing a day for the people throughout the Union, 
 to choose electors of a President of the United 
 States, according to the constitution, and an 
 other day for the electors to meet and vote for 
 the person of their choice. The former elec 
 tion was to take place on the first Wednesday 
 in February, 1789, and the latter on the first 
 Wednesday in March following. 
 
 It was no sooner ascertained, that the con- 
 
220 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1788. 
 
 stitution would probably be adopted, than the 
 eyes of the nation were turned upon Wash 
 ington, as the individual to be selected for that 
 office, the highest, most honorable, and most 
 responsible, that could be conferred by the 
 suffrages of a free people. His reluctance to 
 being farther engaged in public life was well 
 known, but every one knew also, that he nev 
 er refused to obey the call of his country, or 
 to make personal sacrifices for the public good. 
 This was a ground of hope and of confidence. 
 In him the whole people would be united. 
 As to other candidates, there would be differ^ 
 ences of opinion, rivalships, and, it was feared, 
 unhappy divisions, that might mar the work 
 so successfully begun, and perhaps end in its 
 overthrow and ruin. The interest felt in the 
 subject, therefore, was intense ; and at no pe 
 riod, even during the struggle of the Revolu 
 tion, was the strong support of Washington 
 more necessary, than at this crisis. 
 
 The public sentiment was too openly and 
 loudly proclaimed to be concealed from him. 
 Indeed those of his compatriots and associates, 
 whose intimacy entitled them to use such a 
 freedom, began early to prepare him for the 
 result, by such arguments and advice, as they 
 knew would be candidly considered, and be 
 the best suited to act upon his mind. Some 
 
&T. 56.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 221 
 
 time before the election, in reply to a letter in 
 which the subject had been brought pointedly 
 before him by a gentleman, then a member of 
 Congress, he wrote as follows. 
 
 " Should the contingency you suggest take 
 place, and should my unfeigned reluctance to 
 accept the office be overcome by a deference 
 to the reasons and opinions of my friends, 
 might I not, after the declarations I have 
 made, (and Heaven knows they were made in 
 the sincerity of my heart,) in the judgment 
 of the impartial world and of posterity, be 
 chargeable with levity and inconsistency, if 
 not with rashness and ambition ? Nay, far 
 ther, would there not be some apparent foun 
 dation for the two former charges ? Now jus 
 tice to myself and tranquillity of conscience 
 require, that I should act a part, if not above 
 imputation, at least capable of vindication. 
 Nor will you conceive me to be too solicitous 
 for reputation. Though I prize as I ought the 
 good opinion of my fellow citizens, yet, if I 
 know myself, I would not seek or retain popu 
 larity at the expense of one social duty or 
 moral virtue. 
 
 " While doing what my conscience inform 
 ed me was right, as it respected my God, my 
 country, and myself, I could despise all the 
 party clamor and unjust censure, which might 
 
222 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 be expected from some, whose personal enmity 
 might be occasioned by their hostility to the 
 government. I am conscious, that I fear alone 
 to give any real occasion for obloquy, and that 
 I do not dread to meet with unmerited re 
 proach. And certain I am, whensoever I shall 
 be convinced the good of my country requires 
 my -reputation to be put in risk, regard for my 
 own fanle will not come in competition with 
 an object of so much magnitude. If I declin 
 ed the task, it would lie upon quite another 
 principle. Notwithstanding my advanced sea 
 son of life, my increasing fondness for agricul 
 tural amusements, and my growing love of 
 retirement, augment and confirm my decided 
 predilection for the character of a private citi 
 zen, yet it would be no one of these motives, 
 nor the hazard to which my former reputation 
 might be exposed, nor the terror of encounter 
 ing new fatigues and troubles, that would .de 
 ter me from an acceptance ; but a belief, that 
 some other person, who had less pretence, and 
 less inclination, to be excused, could execute 
 all the duties full as satisfactorily as myself." 
 
 Suffice it to say, that his scruples yielded 
 to the earnest solicitations of his friends, to 
 mature reflection, and to the counsels of his 
 unerring judgment. The day of election 
 came, and GEORGE WASHINGTON was chosen, 
 
^Er. 57.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 223 
 
 by the unanimous vote of the electors, and 
 probably without a dissenting voice in the 
 whole nation, the first President of the United 
 States. 
 
224 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 He receives official Notice of being chosen President. His 
 Journey to the Seat of Government at New York. His Oath 
 of Office and Inaugural Speech. Acquaints himself with the 
 State of public Affairs. His Attention to his private Pursuits. 
 
 His Manner of receiving Visits and entertaining Company. 
 
 Afflicted with a severe Illness. Death of his Mother. 
 Economy of his Household. Executive Departments formed. 
 
 IT being known that the choice of the peo 
 ple had fallen on General Washington foi 
 President, he made preparations to begin the 
 duties of the office as soon as his election 
 should be notified to him by the proper au 
 thority. The 4th of March was assigned as 
 the day for the meeting of Congress, but a 
 quorum did not come together till a month 
 later. The votes of the electors were then 
 opened and counted ; and a special messenger 
 was despatched to Mount Vernon with a letter 
 from the President of the Senate to General 
 Washington, conveying official intelligence of 
 his election. John Adams was at the same 
 time declared to be chosen Vice-President of 
 the United States. Two days after receiving 
 the notification, Washington left home for 
 New York, which was then the seat of Con 
 gress. 
 
^T. 57.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 225 
 
 His feelings on this occasion are indicated 
 in the following extract from his Diary, writ 
 ten on the day of his departure. " About ten 
 o clock I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, to pri 
 vate life, and to domestic felicity ; and, with 
 a mind oppressed with more anxious and pain 
 ful sensations than I have words to express, 
 set out for New York in company with Mr. 
 Thomson and Colonel Humphreys, with the 
 best disposition to render service to my coun 
 try in obedience to its call, but with less hope 
 of answering its expectations." The whole 
 journey was a kind of triumphal procession. 
 He had hardly left his own house, when he 
 was met by a company of gentlemen from 
 Alexandria, who proceeded with him to that 
 town, where an entertainment was provided 
 for him, and where he received and answered 
 a public address. The people gathered to see 
 him as he passed along the road. When he 
 approached the several towns, the most re 
 spectable citizens came out to meet and wel 
 come him ; he was escorted from place to 
 place by companies of militia ; and in the 
 principal cities his presence was announced by 
 the firing of cannon, ringing of bells, and mili 
 tary display. 
 
 A committee of Congress, consisting of 
 three members of the Senate and five of the 
 
 VOL. II. 15 
 
226 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 House of Representatives, was appointed to 
 meet him in New Jersey and attend him to 
 the city of New York. To Elizabeth town 
 Point came many other persons of distinction, 
 and the heads of the several departments of 
 government. He was there received in a 
 barge, splendidly fitted up for the occasion, 
 and rowed by thirteen pilots in white uni 
 forms. This was followed by vessels and 
 boats, fancifully decorated, and crowded with 
 spectators. When the President s barge came 
 near to the city, a salute of thirteen guns was 
 fired from the vessels in the harbor, and from 
 the Battery. At the landing he was again 
 saluted by a discharge of artillery, and was 
 joined by the governor and other officers of 
 the State, and the corporation of the city. A 
 procession was then formed, headed by a long 
 military train, which was followed by the 
 principal officers of the State and city, the 
 clergy, foreign ministers, and a great concourse 
 of citizens. The procession advanced to the 
 house prepared for the reception of the Presi 
 dent. The day was passed in festivity and 
 joy, and in the evening the city was brilliant 
 ly illuminated. 
 
 /The first public act of the President was 
 that of taking the oath of office. It was de 
 cided by Congress, that this should be done 
 
^Ex.57.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 227 
 
 with some ceremony. In the morning of the 
 day appointed, April 30th, at nine o clock, re 
 ligious services suited to the occasion were 
 performed in all the churches of the city. At 
 twelve the troops paraded before the Presi 
 dent s door, and soon afterwards came the 
 committees of Congress and the heads of de 
 partments in carriages, to attend him to the 
 Federal Hall, where the two houses of Con 
 gress were assembled. The procession moved 
 forward with the troops in front, next the 
 committees and heads of departments, then 
 the President in a coach alone, followed by 
 the foreign ministers, civil officers of the State, 
 and citizens. Arrived at the Hall, he ascend 
 ed to the senate-chamber, and passed thence 
 to a balcony in front of the house, where the 
 oath was administered to him in presence of 
 the people by Chancellor Livingston. The 
 President returned to the senate-chamber, in 
 the midst of loud acclamations from the sur 
 rounding throng of spectators, and delivered to 
 the two branches of Congress his Inaugural 
 Speech. He then went on foot to St. Paul s 
 Church, where prayers were read by the bish 
 op, and the ceremonies were closed. Tokens 
 of joy were everywhere exhibited, as on the 
 day of his arrival, and at night there was a 
 display of illuminations and fireworks. 
 
228 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 Under auspices thus favorable, Washington 
 entered again upon the career of public life, 
 surrounded and sustained by the eminent lead 
 ers, who had acted with him in establishing 
 the liberties of his country, and cheered with 
 the conviction of having received the volun 
 tary suffrage and possessing the good wishes 
 of every American citizen. Yet he was aware, 
 that the task he had undertaken was one of 
 no common responsibility or easy execution. 
 The hopes and expectations of his country 
 men, he knew, were in proportion to the unan 
 imity with which they had crowned him with 
 honors, and laid the burden of their public 
 cares on his shoulders. A new system of 
 government was to be put in action, upon 
 which depended the destiny of his country, 
 and with the good or ill success of which his 
 future reputation would be identified. 
 
 In his inaugural speech, after expressing his 
 deep sense of the magnitude of the trust con 
 fided to him, the struggles his mind had un 
 dergone in deciding to accept it, and a con 
 sciousness of his deficiencies, he added j " In 
 this conflict of emotions, all. I dare aver is, 
 that it has been my faithful study to collect 
 my duty from a just appreciation of every 
 circumstance by which it might be affected. 
 All I dare hope is, that, if in accepting this 
 
Mr. 51] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 229 
 
 task I have been too much swayed by a grate 
 ful remembrance of former instances, or by an 
 affectionate sensibility to this transcendent 
 proof, of the confidence of rny fellow citizens, 
 and have thence too little consulted my inca 
 pacity, as well as disinclination for the weighty 
 and untried cares before me, my error will be 
 palliated by the motives which misled me, 
 and its consequences be judged by my coun 
 try with some share of the partiality in which 
 they originated." With these sentiments, and 
 with fervent supplications to the Almighty 
 Being, whose guidance and overruling Provi 
 dence he acknowledged in all the events of 
 his life, he commenced the arduous duties of 
 chief magistrate of the nation. In conformity 
 with the rule to which he had hitherto ad 
 hered, he gave notice to Congress, that he 
 should accept no other compensation for his 
 services, than such as would be necessary to 
 defray the expenses of his household and other 
 charges incident to his public station. 
 
 As the various departments of government 
 under the new system could not be instituted, 
 till Congress had passed laws for their organ 
 ization and support, the business belonging to 
 these departments continued to be transacted 
 by the officers, who had previously been 
 charged with it. Mr. Jay acted as secretary 
 
230 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 of foreign affairs, and General Knox as secret 
 ary of war. The treasury was under the con 
 trol of a board of commissioners. The Pres 
 ident requested from each of them an elab 
 orate report, that he might become acquainted 
 with the actual state of the government in all 
 its foreign and domestic relations. These re 
 ports he read and condensed with his own 
 hand, particularly that from the treasury board, 
 till he made himself master of their contents. 
 In regard to foreign affairs, he pursued a still 
 more laborious process. With pen in hand he 
 perused from beginning to end the official cor 
 respondence, deposited in the public archives, 
 from the date of the treaty of peace at the 
 termination of the war till the time he entered 
 upon the Presidency. These voluminous pa 
 pers he abridged and studied, according to his 
 usual practice, with the view of fixing in his 
 mind every important point that had been 
 discussed, as well as the history of what had 
 been done. 
 
 Among the private reasons, which had dis 
 inclined him to leave his retirement at Mount 
 Vernon, were his growing attachment to agri 
 culture, and his desire to pursue the system 
 adopted for the cultivation of his farms. Since 
 the war he had devoted himself with equal 
 delight and constancy to this pursuit, and 
 
yEr.57.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 231 
 
 brought his plans into a train, which promised 
 the most satisfactory results. He had pro 
 cured from Europe the works of the best 
 writers on the subject, which he read with 
 diligence and reflection, drawing from them 
 such scientific principles and practical hints, 
 as he could advantageously use in improving 
 his modes of agriculture. He was resolved to 
 mature his designs, and in the intervals of 
 public duties to bestow a part of his leisure 
 upon that object. With his chief manager at 
 Mount Vernon he left full and minute direc 
 tions in writing, and exacted from him a 
 weekly report, in which were registered the 
 transactions of each day on all the farms, such 
 as the number of laborers employed, their 
 health or sickness, the kind and quantity of 
 work executed, the progress in planting, sow 
 ing, or harvesting the fields, the appearance 
 of the crops at various stages of their growth, 
 the effects of the weather on them, and the 
 condition of the horses, cattle, and other live 
 stock. By these details he was made perfect 
 ly acquainted with all that was done, and 
 could give his orders with almost as much 
 precision as if he had been on the spot. 
 
 Once a week regularly, and sometimes twice, 
 he wrote to the manager, remarking on his 
 report of the preceding week, and adding new 
 
232 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 directions. These letters frequently extended 
 to two or three sheets, and were always writ 
 ten with his own hand. Such was his labo 
 rious exactness, that the letter he sent away 
 was usually transcribed from a rough draft. 
 A press copy was taken of the transcript, 
 which was carefully filed with the manager s 
 report for his future inspection. In this habit 
 he persevered with unabated diligence through 
 the whole eight years of his Presidency, ex 
 cept during the short visits he occasionally 
 made to Mount Vernon, at the close of the 
 sessions of Congress, when his presence could 
 be dispensed with at the seat of government. 
 He moreover maintained a large correspond 
 ence on agriculture with gentlemen in Europe 
 and America. His letters to Sir John Sin 
 clair, Arthur Young, and Dr. Anderson, have 
 been published, and are well known. Indeed 
 his thoughts never seemed to flow more free 
 ly, nor his pen to move more easily, than 
 when he was writing on agriculture, extolling 
 it as a most attractive pursuit, and describing 
 the pleasure he derived from it and its supe 
 rior claims not only on the practical econo 
 mist, but on the statesman and philanthro 
 pist. 
 
 The President had not been long in New 
 York, before he found it necessary to establish 
 
JET. 51.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 233 
 
 rules for receiving visiters and entertaining 
 company. There being no precedent to serve 
 as a guide, this was an affair of considerable 
 delicacy and difficulty. In the first place, it 
 was essential to maintain the dignity of the 
 office by such forms as would inspire deference 
 and respect ; and, at the same time, the nature 
 of republican institutions and the habits of the 
 people required the chief magistrate to be ac 
 cessible to every citizen on proper occasions 
 and for reasonable purposes. A just line was 
 therefore to be drawn between too much pomp 
 and ceremony on the one hand, and an ex 
 treme of familiarity on the other. Regard was 
 also to be had to the President s time and con 
 venience. After a short experiment of leaving 
 the matter to the discretion of the public, it 
 was proved, that without some fixed rule he 
 would never have an hour at his disposal. 
 From breakfast till dinner his door was be 
 sieged with persons calling to pay their re 
 spects, or to consult him on affairs of little 
 moment. His sense of duty to the claims of 
 his office, and to himself, convinced him that 
 this practice could not be endured. The Vice- 
 President, Mr. Jay, Mr. Madison, Mr. Hamilton, 
 and other gentlemen, concurred in this opin 
 ion, and by their advice a different mode was 
 adopted. 
 
234 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 Every Tuesday, between the hours of three 
 and four, he was prepared to receive such per 
 sons as chose to call. Foreign ministers, 
 strangers of distinction, and citizens, came and 
 went without ceremony. The hour was pass 
 ed in free conversation on promiscuous topics, 
 in which the President joined. Every Friday 
 afternoon the rooms were open in like manner 
 for visits to Mrs. Washington, which were on a 
 still more sociable footing, and at which Gen 
 eral Washington was always present. These 
 assemblages were of the nature of public lev 
 ees, and they did not preclude such visits of 
 civility and friendship, between the President s 
 family and others, as is customary in society. 
 On affairs of business by appointment, wheth 
 er with public officers or private citizens, the 
 President was always ready to bestow his time 
 and attention. He accepted no invitations to 
 dinner, but invited to his own table foreign 
 ministers, officers of the government, and 
 strangers, in such numbers at once as his do 
 mestic establishment would accommodate. On 
 these occasions there was neither ostentation 
 nor restraint, but the same simplicity and ease 
 with which his guests had been entertained at 
 Mount Vernon. 
 
 No visits were received on Sundays. In 
 the morning he uniformly attended church, 
 
JET. 57.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 235 
 
 and in the afternoon he retired to his private 
 apartment. The evening was spent with his 
 family, and then an intimate friend would 
 sometimes call, but promiscuous company was 
 not admitted. 
 
 Having laid down these general rules, which 
 soon became known to the public, he found 
 relief from a heavy tax upon his time, and 
 more leisure for a faithful discharge of his du 
 ties. In the course of the summer, however, 
 he was seized with a violent malady, which 
 reduced him very low, and which for a few 
 days was thought to endanger his life. He 
 was confined six weeks to his bed, and it was 
 more than twelve before his strength was re 
 stored. A constitution naturally strong, and 
 the attendance of Dr. Bard, a physician equal 
 ly eminent for the excellence of his character 
 and skill in his profession, enabled him to rise 
 from an illness the most painful and trying 
 that he had ever endured. From the effects 
 of it he never entirely recovered. 
 
 He had hardly gained strength to go abroad, 
 when he heard of the death of his mother, 
 who died in August, at the age of eighty-two. 
 Writing to his sister on this occasion he said ; 
 " Awful and affecting as the death of a parent 
 is, there is consolation in knowing, that Heaven 
 has spared ours to an age beyond which few 
 
236 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 attain, and favored her with the full enjoyment 
 of her mental faculties, and as much bodily 
 strength as usually falls to the lot of fourscore. 
 Under these considerations, and a hope that 
 she is translated to a happier place, it is the 
 duty of her relatives to yield due submission 
 to the decrees of the Creator." A short time 
 before he left Mount Vernon for New York, he 
 made a visit to his mother at Fredericksburg, 
 the place of her residence. She was then 
 sinking under a disease, which he foresaw 
 would prove fatal ; and he took an affecting 
 and final leave of her, convinced he should 
 never see her again. She had been a widow 
 forty-six years. Through life she was remark 
 able for vigor of mind and body, simplicity of 
 manners, and uprightness of character. She 
 must have felt a mother s joy at the success 
 and renown of her son, but they caused no 
 change in her deportment or style of living. 
 Whenever he visited her at her dwelling, even 
 in the height of his greatness, he literally re 
 turned to the scenes and domestic habits of his 
 boyhood. Neither pride nor vanity mingled 
 with the feelings excited by the attentions she 
 received as the mother of Washington. She 
 listened to his praises and was silent, or added 
 only that he had been a good son, and she be 
 lieved he had done his duty as a man. 
 
JET. 57.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 237 
 
 As soon as he was established in his office, 
 Washington introduced strict habits of econo 
 my into his household, which were preserved 
 without essential change to the end of his 
 public life. The whole was under the care of 
 a steward, to whom he gave general directions. 
 All other persons connected with the establish 
 ment were accountable to the steward, but 
 each of them was required to keep an exact 
 record of the purchases and expenditures made 
 by him, specifying every particular. These 
 accounts, with tradesmen s bills and other 
 vouchers, were presented once a week to Wash 
 ington, who inspected them minutely, and cer 
 tified with his own signature that they were 
 approved. By this method he was enabled to 
 ascertain at any moment the precise state of 
 his pecuniary affairs, and to guard against ex 
 travagance and waste. He might say with 
 Seneca ; " I keep an account of my expenses; 
 I cannot affirm that I lose nothing, but I can 
 tell you what I lose, and why, and in what 
 manner." The salary of the President, as 
 fixed by law, was twenty-five thousand dollars 
 a year. But with the most rigid economy his 
 expenses were seldom within this limit, and 
 he was of course obliged to draw on his pri 
 vate fortune to make up the deficiency. 
 
 Congress continued in session till near the 
 
238 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 end of September, when they adjourned for 
 three months. They had been mostly occu 
 pied in passing laws for the organization of 
 the government, the administration of justice, 
 and the raising of a revenue. Mercantile reg 
 ulations were established, imposing duties on 
 tonnage and imported goods. Amendments to 
 the constitution were framed, and recommend 
 ed to the States for adoption. Three execu 
 tive departments were formed, at the head of 
 each of which was to be a secretary, name 
 ly, the departments of foreign affairs, of the 
 treasury, and of war. The first was after 
 wards called the department of state, and in 
 cluded both foreign and domestic affairs. So 
 large a portion of the administration of gov 
 ernment is effected by the executives of the 
 several States, that a separate department for 
 internal affairs was not thought necessary. 
 The navy too was at this time so small, as not 
 to require a distinct department. It was main 
 ly in the charge of the secretary of war. 
 
. 57.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 239 
 
 CHAPTER XXXY. 
 
 Officers of the Executive Departments appointed. Judiciary 
 System organized. Washington s Opinion of the Supreme 
 Court. His Rule in Appointments to Office. His Journey 
 through the Eastern States. System of Funding the Public 
 Debts. Place for the permanent Seat of Government agreed 
 upon. 
 
 THE requisite laws being passed, it next de 
 volved on the President to select proper per 
 sons to fill the several offices. In regard to the 
 executive departments, this was of very great 
 importance, inasmuch as the secretaries were 
 not only to discharge the duties assigned to 
 them by the constitution and laws, but were 
 to be his cabinet, or council of state. On the 
 wisdom of his choice, therefore, would in a 
 great degree depend the character and success 
 of his administration. So much time had 
 elapsed in the session of congress, that he had 
 been able to take a full survey of the subject, 
 and to decide with deliberation. 
 
 Long experience in public affairs, a high po 
 litical standing, and acknowledged talents, 
 pointed out Thomas Jefferson as eminently 
 qualified for the state department. He was 
 about to return from France, where he had 
 filled the office of minister plenipotentiary, as 
 
240 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [17CO. 
 
 successor to Dr. Franklin, with much credit to 
 himself and his country. Alexander Hamil 
 ton was appointed to the head of the treasury. 
 His transcendent abilities, integrity, firmness, 
 and patriotism were well known to Washing 
 ton, after a thorough trial and familiar acquaint 
 ance in the Revolution j and they were scarce 
 ly less known or less appreciated by his coun 
 trymen at large. In the convention. Hamilton 
 disapproved and opposed some of the principal 
 articles of the constitution ; and the more 
 praise is due to him, that, after it was carried 
 by a majority, and was proved to be the best 
 that could be hoped for in the circumstances 
 of the times, he gave up his predilections, 
 joined heartily with its friends, and put into 
 their scale the whole weight of his great 
 powers of eloquence and argument, both in 
 debate and by the use of his pen. Henry 
 Knox was continued secretary of war, which 
 station he had held under the confederation. 
 As an officer, a man, and a friend, he was es 
 teemed by Washington ; and his steady prin 
 ciples and public services had gained for him 
 a general confidence. The post of attorney- 
 general was conferred on Edmund Randolph, 
 a gentleman distinguished by success in his 
 profession at the bar, and by having been gov 
 ernor of Virginia, and a conspicuous member 
 
jEx.57.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 241 
 
 of the convention that framed the constitution. 
 Such were the heads of the executive depart- 
 
 i ments, and such the composition of the coun 
 cil, on which the President was mainly to rely 
 
 - for advice and support. 
 
 For administering justice, in the execution of 
 
 : the laws for national purposes, the constitution 
 had provided, that there should be a supreme 
 court, and such inferior courts as Congress 
 should establish. In organizing the judiciary 
 system, it was decided that the supreme court 
 should consist of a chief justice and five asso 
 ciate justices, and that there should be district 
 courts, with one judge in each State. An as 
 sociate justice and a district judge constituted 
 a circuit court. Washington s opinion of the 
 importance of the supreme court is forcibly 
 described in his own language. " Impressed 
 with a conviction," said he, " that the due ad 
 ministration of justice is the firmest pillar of 
 good government, I have considered the first 
 arrangement of the judicial department as es 
 sential to the happiness of the country, and to 
 the stability of its political system. Hence 
 the selection of the fittest characters to ex 
 pound the laws, and dispense justice, has been 
 an invariable object of my anxious concern. r> 
 And again, in giving notice to Mr. Jay of his 
 appointment as chief justice ; " I have a full 
 
 VOL. II. 16 
 
242 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 confidence that the love which you bear to 
 our country, and a desire to promote the gen 
 eral happiness, will not suffer you to hesitate a 
 moment to bring into action the talents, knowl 
 edge, and integrity, which are so necessary to 
 be exercised at the head of that department, 
 which must be considered the keystone of our 
 political fabric." 
 
 These views of the judiciary department, 
 as forming a most essential branch of the gov 
 ernment, and as claiming the highest consid 
 eration, he always entertained ; and in the 
 appointment of justices, and judges of the 
 district courts, he was extremely solicitous to 
 secure the services of those, who were eminent 
 for judicial knowledge, talents, personal worth, 
 and experience. In placing John Jay at the 
 head of the supreme court, he consulted alike 
 the public good, the dignity of the court, and 
 his own feelings. No man in the nation pos-; 
 sessed a larger share of confidence, whether mJ 
 regard to his ability or his legal attainments ;| 
 none was more valued for the services he had 
 rendered to his country, none more esteemed 
 for his private virtues. The choice of his as 
 sociates was also fortunate, and the court as 
 sumed a respectability and weight suited to the)! 
 rank conferred upon it by the constitution. 
 
 No part of the President s duties gave him 
 
Mi. 51.} LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 243 
 
 more anxiety, than that of distributing the offi 
 ces in his gift. Applications innumerable flow 
 ed in upon him even before he left Mount 
 Vernon. many of them from his personal friends, 
 and others supported by the recommendations 
 of his friends ; nor did they cease as long as 
 any vacancies remained. He early prescribed 
 to himself a rule, however, from which he 
 never swerved, which was to give no pledges 
 or encouragement to any applicant. He an 
 swered them all civilly, but avowed his deter 
 mination to suspend a decision till the time of 
 making the appointments should arrive, and 
 then, without favor or bias, to select such indi 
 viduals as in his judgment were best qualified 
 to execute with faithfulness and ability the 
 trust reposed in them. His sentiments and 
 motives are well explained in a letter written 
 to a gentleman, who had solicited an office for 
 another person. 
 
 " From the moment when the necessity had 
 become more apparent," said he, "and as it 
 were inevitable, I anticipated, with a heart 
 filled with distress, the ten thousand embar- 
 rassments, perplexities, and troubles, to which 
 I must again be exposed in the evening of a 
 life already nearly consumed in public cares. 
 Among all these anxieties, I will not conceal 
 from you, I anticipated none greater, than those 
 
244 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 that were likely to be produced by applications 
 for appointments to the different offices, which 
 would be created under the new government. 
 Nor will I conceal, that my apprehensions have 
 already been but too well justified. Scarcely 
 a day passes, in which applications of one kind 
 or another do not arrive ; insomuch that, had 
 I not early adopted some general principles, I 
 should before this time have been wholly oc 
 cupied in this business. As it is, I have found 
 the number of answers, which I have been 
 necessitated to give in my own hand, an almost 
 insupportable burden to me. 
 
 " The points in which all these answers 
 have agreed in substance are, that, should it 
 be my lot to go again into public office, I 
 would go without being under any possible 
 engagements of any nature whatsoever ; that, 
 so far as I knew my own heart, I would not 
 be in the remotest degree influenced, in mak 
 ing nominations, by motives arising from the 
 ties of family or blood ; and that, on the 
 other hand, three things, in my opinion, ought 
 principally to be regarded, namely, the fitness 
 of characters to fill offices, the comparative 
 claims from the former merits and sufferings 
 in service of the different candidates, and the 
 distribution of appointments in as equal a pro 
 portion as might be to persons belonging to the 
 
^Er.57.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 245 
 
 different States in the Union. Without pre 
 cautions of this kind, I clearly foresaw the 
 endless jealousies, and possibly the fatal con 
 sequences, to which a government, depending 
 altogether on the good-will of the people for 
 its establishment, would certainly be exposed 
 in its early stages. Besides, I thought, what 
 ever the effect might be in pleasing or dis- 
 ; pleasing any individuals at the present moment, 
 a due concern for my own reputation, not less 
 decisively than a sacred regard to the interests 
 of the community, required, that I should hold 
 myself absolutely at liberty to act, while in 
 office, with a sole reference to justice and the 
 public good." 
 
 In practice he verified these declarations, 
 acting in every case with perfect independence, 
 looking first to the national interests, and next 
 to the best means of promoting them, and ad 
 mitting no other ground of preference between 
 candidates, whose pretensions were in other 
 respects equal, than that of former efforts or 
 sacrifices in serving their country. 
 For some time it had been the President s 
 intention in the recess of Congress to make a 
 tour through the eastern States, as well for the 
 reestablishment of his health, as for observing 
 the condition of the people, and the general 
 disposition in regard to the new form of gov- 
 
246 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 ernment. He anticipated pleasure also in re 
 viewing the scenes of his first military cam 
 paign as Commander-in-chief, and in meeting 
 the associates, who had contributed to lessen 
 his toils and invigorate his spirit in times of 
 peril and despondency. About the middle of 
 October he left New York, accompanied by his 
 two secretaries, Mr. Lear and Mr. Jackson, and 
 he was absent a month. He travelled in his 
 own carriage, and proceeded by way of New 
 Haven, Hartford, Worcester, Boston, Salem, 
 and Newburyport, as far as Portsmouth in New 
 Hampshire. He returned by a different route 
 through the interior of the country to Hartford, 
 and thence to New York. 
 
 Such was the enthusiasm, which was now 
 felt by all classes of the community in regard 
 to Washington, an enthusiasm inspired by his 
 virtues and his fame, that it was impossible for 
 him to move in any direction, without drawing 
 around him thousands of spectators, eager to 
 gratify their eyes with a sight of his person, 
 to greet him with acclamations of joy, and to 
 exhibit testimonies of their respect and vene 
 ration. Men, women, and children, people of 
 all ranks, ages, and occupations, assembled 
 from far and near at the crossings of the roads 
 and other public places, where it was known 
 he would pass. Military escorts attended him 
 
jEx.57.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 247 
 
 on the way, and at the principal towns he 
 was received and entertained by the civil 
 authorities. Addresses were as usual present 
 ed to him by corporate bodies, religious socie 
 ties, and literary institutions, to which he re 
 turned appropriate answers. 
 
 This journey was in all respects satisfactory 
 to him, not more as furnishing proofs of the 
 strong attachment of the people, than as con 
 vincing him of the growing prosperity of the 
 country, and of the favor which the constitu 
 tion and the administration of government 
 were gaining in the public mind. He was 
 happy to see, that the effects of the war had 
 almost disappeared, that agriculture was pur 
 sued with activity, that the harvests were 
 abundant, manufactures increasing, the towns 
 nourishing, and commerce becoming daily 
 more extended and profitable. The condition 
 of society, the progress of improvements, the 
 success of industrious enterprise, all gave to 
 kens of order, peace, and contentment, and a 
 most cheering promise for the future. 
 
 The time for the adjournment of Congress 
 having expired, the two houses reassembled 
 in the first week of January. The President 
 met them in the senate-chamber, and delivered 
 his speech at the opening of the session. Such 
 was the custom during Washington s admin- 
 
248 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 
 
 istration ; but it was afterwards changed, and 
 the President communicated with Congress 
 only by written messages. This was like 
 wise Washington s practice, except at the be 
 ginning of a session, when he addressed the 
 two houses in person. These addresses were 
 called speeches, and other communications 
 were designated as messages. At this time, j 
 after congratulating Congress on the prosper- | 
 ous condition of the country, and the favor ! 
 with which their previous doings had been 
 received, he recommended several subjects as 
 claiming their attention, particularly a pro 
 vision for the common defence ; laws for nat 
 uralizing foreigners ; a uniformity in the cur 
 rency, weights, and measures ; the encourage 
 ment of agriculture, commerce, and manufac 
 tures ; the promotion of science and literature ; 
 and an effective system for the support of 
 public credit. 
 
 To the difficulties involved in this last sub 
 ject may indeed be traced the primary causes 3 
 of the constitution, and it had already attract- 
 ed the notice of the national legislature. The 
 former session had necessarily been consumed 
 in framing laws for putting the new govern 
 ment in operation ; but, a few days before its 
 close, a resolution was passed by the House 
 of Representatives, in which it was declared 
 
JE-r.51.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 249 
 
 that an adequate provision for the support of 
 public credit was essential to the national hon 
 or and prosperity, and the Secretary of the 
 Treasury was directed to prepare a plan for 
 the purpose, and report it to the House at the 
 next session. The national debt had its origin 
 chiefly in the Revolution. It was of two 
 kinds, foreign and domestic. The foreign 
 debt amounted to nearly twelve millions of 
 dollars, and was due to France, the Holland 
 ers, and a very small part to Spain. The do 
 mestic debt, due to individuals in the United 
 States for loans to the government and sup 
 plies furnished to the army, was about forty- 
 two millions. These debts had been con 
 tracted by Congress, and were acknowledged 
 to be a national charge. There was another 
 description of debts, amounting by estimate to 
 about twenty-five millions of dollars, which 
 rested on a different footing. The States in 
 dividually had constructed works of defence 
 within their respective limits, advanced pay 
 and bounties to Continental troops and militia, 
 and supplied provisions, clothing, and muni 
 tions of war. The secretary proposed, that 
 all the domestic debts, including those of the 
 particular States, should be funded, and that 
 the nation should become responsible for their 
 payment to the full amount. 
 
250 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790. 
 
 The report was able, perspicuous, and com 
 prehensive, embracing a complete view of the 
 subject, and containing arguments of great 
 cogency in support of the plan suggested. 
 As to the foreign debt, there was no question 
 in the mind of any one, that it ought to be 
 discharged according to the strict letter of 
 the contracts, but in regard to the domestic 
 debts a difference of opinion prevailed. The 
 secretary endeavored to prove, that no distinc 
 tion should be admitted, that the expenditures 
 had all been made for national objects, and 
 that in equity the public faith was solemnly 
 pledged for their reimbursement. The obli 
 gation was increased by their being " the price 
 of liberty," without which the nation itself 
 could never have attained an independent ex 
 istence. He argued that the policy of the 
 measure was not less obvious than its justice, 
 that public credit was essential to the support 
 of government under any form, and that this 
 could be maintained only by good faith in all 
 transactions, and by honorably fulfilling en 
 gagements. Who would confide in a govern 
 ment, that had refused to pay its debts, or re 
 spect a nation that had shown a disregard to 
 the principles, which constitute the cement of 
 every well ordered community ? 
 
 When the report was considered in Con- 
 
jEx.58.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 251 
 
 gress, it gave rise to warm and protracted de 
 bates. The opponents of the secretary s plan 
 were not without plausible reasons. As to the 
 debt contracted by Congress, it was said that 
 the usual maxims could not properly be ap 
 plied. The evidences of this debt consisted 
 in a paper currency and certificates, which, as 
 there was no gold or silver, the creditors were 
 from the necessity of the case obliged to take. 
 This paper had in most cases passed through 
 many hands, and was immensely depreciated 
 below its nominal value. The original cred 
 itors, therefore, and the subsequent holders, 
 had lost in proportion to the scale of deprecia 
 tion. Hence the proposal to assume the whole 
 debt, as it stood on the face of the paper, and 
 pay it to the present holders, was said to be 
 inequitable, inasmuch as these had purchased 
 it at the depreciated value, and had no claim 
 to be remunerated for the losses of the previ 
 ous holders. 
 
 Mr. Madison proposed a discrimination, by 
 which the purchasers should be paid a certain 
 portion, and the original holders the remain 
 der. This was objected to as unjust and im 
 practicable. By the form and tenor of the 
 certificates, the debt was made payable to the 
 original creditor or bearer. On these terms 
 they had been sold, and the sellers had relin- 
 
252 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790. 
 
 quished all their claims to the purchasers for 
 what was deemed an equivalent. When the 
 transfers were made, it was understood by 
 both parties to be on this principle, and the 
 purchaser took the risk of eventual payment. 
 It was clear, also, that it would be impossible 
 to make the discrimination, except to a lim 
 ited extent and in a partial manner, since the 
 numerous transfers of the original creditors 
 could not be ascertained and examined ; and 
 even at best no provision was offered for the 
 losses of the intermediate holders by the gradual 
 depreciation. After a long debate in the House 
 of Representatives this scheme was rejected. 
 
 Next came up the State debts ; and the 
 proposition to assume them created still great 
 er divisions and heats in Congress, and much 
 excitement abroad. It brought into action all 
 the local prejudices and high-toned doctrines 
 of State rights and State sovereignty, which 
 had been so heavy a stumblingblock in the 
 way of union and concord from the beginning 
 of the Revolution. The debts of the respec 
 tive States were very unequal in amount. 
 This led to an investigation of the services 
 rendered by each, and to invidious compari 
 sons. The project was opposed as unconsti 
 tutional and unjust. Congress, it was said, 
 had no power to take this burden upon the 
 
JEr. 58.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 253 
 
 nation. Such an assumption of power was 
 moreover an encroachment upon the sove 
 reignty of the States, tending to diminish 
 their importance, and lead to a consolidation 
 destructive of the republican system. Each 
 State was responsible for the debts it had con 
 tracted, and there was no reason for taxing 
 those States, which owed little, to pay a por 
 tion of the large debt of others. 
 
 It was argued in reply, that, as the expen 
 ditures had all been for the common cause of 
 the nation, they came strictly within the le 
 gitimate control of Congress ; and also, as the 
 constitution had transferred to the national 
 legislature the entire power of raising funds 
 from duties on imports and the sales of public 
 lands, the principal sources of revenue, it was 
 just that the debts should be paid out of these 
 funds. The States could pay them only by 
 excise duties, or direct taxes, which would be 
 odious to the people and difficult to collect. 
 In any event there must be long delays, 
 and much uncertainty as to the result. The 
 creditors had a right to claim more prompt 
 payment, and better security from the nation. 
 
 At last the secretary s plan for funding all 
 the domestic debts was carried by a small 
 majority in both houses of Congress. In re 
 gard to the State debts, however, the original 
 
254 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790. 
 
 proposition was modified. The specific sum 
 of twenty-one millions and a half of dollars 
 was assumed, and apportioned among the 
 States in a proximate ratio to the amount of 
 the debts of each. An act was passed by 
 which the whole of the domestic debt became 
 a loan to the nation. It was made redeema 
 ble at various times, and at various rates of 
 interest. 
 
 One of the principal arguments for funding 
 the debt, in addition to that of its equity, was 
 the advantage that would be derived from it 
 as an active capital for immediate use. Sus 
 tained by the credit of the nation, bearing in 
 terest and redeemable at certain times, the 
 paper securities of the government would have 
 a permanent value in the market, and thus be 
 a spur to enterprise, and increase the prosper 
 ity of the country in its agriculture, manufac 
 tures, and commerce. All that was anticipat 
 ed from the funding system, in these respects, 
 was realized. Politically considered, how 
 ever, it had an unhappy influence. It widened 
 the breach of parties, produced irritations, and 
 excited animosities. Nor was it to be expect 
 ed that the adversaries of the plan, and these 
 a large minority, would readily change their 
 opinion after the strenuous opposition they 
 had shown, or cease from their hostility. The 
 
jET.58.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 255 
 
 President expressed no sentiments on the sub 
 ject while it was under debate in Congress, 
 but he approved the act for funding the public 
 debt, and was undoubtedly, from conviction, 
 a decided friend to the measure. 
 
 Another important point, upon which Con 
 gress under the old Confederation had been 
 for a long time divided, was settled in the 
 course of this session. Local interests, and 
 other considerations, made it difficult to agree 
 on the place for the permanent seat of gov 
 ernment. It was at length determined, that 
 it should be removed for ten years to Phila 
 delphia, and then be established at some place 
 on the Potomac River. Ultimately the posi 
 tion was selected, which has since been called 
 the District of Columbia; and the territory 
 was surveyed, the city planned, and the pub 
 lic buildings commenced under the direction 
 of Washington, this duty devolving on him 
 as President. For three or four years it oc 
 cupied a great deal of his attention ; and, in 
 compliance with the laws, he appointed com 
 missioners for managing the business, with 
 whom he carried on a voluminous correspond 
 ence, giving personal directions, and requiring 
 exact accounts of all proceedings. 
 
256 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 The President visits Rhode Island and Mount Vernon. Foreign 
 Relations of the United States. France, England, Spain. 
 Indian War. Washington s Policy respecting the Indians. 
 Congress meets at Philadelphia. A National Bank established. 
 Tax on distilled Spirits. The President s Tour through the 
 Southern States. Apportionment Bill. Parties and their 
 Causes. Dissensions between the Secretary of State and the 
 Secretary of the Treasury. Washington s Attempts to recon 
 cile them. 
 
 RHODE ISLAND having adopted the constitu 
 tion, and acceded to the Union, the President 
 made a visit to that State immediately after 
 the session of Congress. In his eastern tour 
 he had avoided going to Rhode Island, because 
 it had not then joined the Union under the 
 new government. 
 
 Another severe disease, and constant appli 
 cation to business, had much impaired his 
 health ; and he determined to take advantage 
 of the recess of Congress, throw off for a brief 
 space the burden of public cares, and seek re 
 pose and recreation in his own quiet home at 
 Mount Vernon. He always returned to that 
 spot with delight ; and it was now doubly 
 dear to him, as it promised rest from labor, re 
 freshment to his weary spirit and debilitated 
 body, and a few days of leisure to ride over 
 
^T. 58.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 257 
 
 his farms, view his gardens, orchards, and 
 fields, and observe the progress of his agricul 
 tural operations. 
 
 The foreign relations of the United States, 
 at the beginning of the new government, 
 though not complicated, were nevertheless in 
 an unsettled condition. With France there 
 was a good understanding, the treaties of alli 
 ance and commerce having been scrupulously 
 fulfilled on both sides. The revolutionary dis 
 orders, however, soon broke out, and produced 
 disagreements, alienation, and trouble. 
 
 With Morocco a sort of informal treaty ex 
 isted, and Washington wrote two letters to the 
 Emperor, who had received American vessels 
 into his ports, and promised his aid to concili 
 ate the Barbary powers. This promise was 
 unavailing. The Algerines had seized vessels 
 belonging to citizens of the United States, and 
 held the officers and sailors in bondage for sev 
 eral years. 
 
 The government stood in a more delicate 
 relation to England, than to any other power. 
 The old feuds and bitter feelings of the war 
 subsided slowly. All attempts to bring about 
 a treaty of commerce between the two coun 
 tries had failed. The British cabinet, probably 
 distrusting the stability of the Union under 
 the old Confederation, had shown no disposi- 
 
 VOL. n. 17 
 
258 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790. 
 
 tion to enter into a treaty of this sort, and had 
 never sent a minister to the United States. 
 The military posts on the frontiers had not 
 been given up, as was stipulated in the treaty 
 of peace. The reason assigned, that some of 
 the States had refused to pay the debts due to 
 British subjects, which they were likewise 
 bound to do by the treaty, was plausible, and 
 perhaps well founded. Congress had but a 
 limited power to enforce a compliance with 
 treaties ; and it was natural in such a case, 
 that other nations should be tardy in making 
 them. This state of things being altered by 
 the constitution, President Washington thought 
 it desirable to ascertain the views and inten 
 tions of the British government, in regard to 
 complying with the treaty of peace, and to fu 
 ture intercourse. To attain this end he com 
 missioned Gouverneur Morris as a private agent 
 to hold conversations with the British minis 
 ters, deeming it of great importance, as he 
 said, that errors should be avoided in the sys 
 tem of policy respecting Great Britain. 
 
 Affairs with Spain were yet more unpromis 
 ing. At the outset of the Revolution, his 
 Catholic Majesty, yielding to the solicitations 
 of France, seemed to abet the American cause j 
 but he soon changed his mind, refused to join 
 with France in acknowledging the indepen- 
 
^T. 53.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 259 
 
 dence of the United States, even when he de 
 clared war against England, and gave his 
 sanction to the treaty of peace with no good 
 will. He feared the effect, and not without 
 reason, which the example of the northern re 
 publicans might have upon his colonies in 
 South America. A negotiation had been go 
 ing on, tedious as it was unprofitable, down to 
 the time of Washington s election to the Pres 
 idency, but no apparent progress had been 
 made. The Floridas and Louisiana belonged 
 to Spain. The navigation of the Mississippi 
 was the great point of controversy. This was 
 essential to the settlers in the West, and was 
 becoming every day more and more so on ac 
 count of the rapid increase of the population. 
 Spain persisted in withholding all rights and 
 privileges in that navigation from citizens of 
 the United States. There were various grounds 
 of policy for this refusal, but probably the most 
 operative was a secret hope, that the western 
 inhabitants, weary of these obstacles to their 
 commerce, and dissatisfied with the national 
 government for not removing them, might 
 sooner or later dissever themselves from the 
 Union, and form a separate republic, which 
 would easily fall under the control of Spain. 
 
 Other circumstances, growing out of the re 
 lations with England and Spain, were extreme- 
 
260 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790. 
 
 ly injurious to the interests of the country. 
 During the war, the Indians on the borders of 
 the United States had almost everywhere been 
 allied with the enemy. When peace came, it 
 found them in the attitude of hostility, their 
 savage spirit roused, and their vindictive tem 
 pers eager for slaughter and revenge ; and the 
 United States were left to appease and concili 
 ate them as they could. In any case this would 
 have been an arduous task, but the difficulty 
 was soon perceived to be increased by a foreign 
 influence, keeping alive their enmity, and stim 
 ulating them to acts of outrage. British agents 
 and traders on the northern frontier furnished 
 the Indians with arms, ammunition, and cloth 
 ing. In Florida the Spaniards tampered with 
 the Creeks and other Southern Indians, and 
 kept them at variance with their white neigh 
 bors. These acts were not acknowledged, 
 possibly not authorized, by the English and 
 Spanish governments, but they were certainly 
 not restrained, and they were repeated long 
 after full representations had been made. 
 
 The effect was a protracted and expensive 
 war. Washington s policy in regard to the 
 Indians was always pacific arid humane. He 
 considered them as children, who should be 
 treated with tenderness and forbearance. He 
 aimed to conciliate them by good usage, to ob- 
 
^Er. 58.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 261 
 
 tain their lands by fair purchase and punctual 
 payments, to make treaties with them on terms 
 of equity and reciprocal advantage, and strictly 
 to redeem every pledge. In these respects he 
 looked upon the Indian tribes as holding the 
 same rank and the same rights as civilized na 
 tions. But their faithlessness, ravages, and 
 murders were not to be tolerated, from what 
 ever causes they arose. After failing in every 
 attempt at a pacification, he was convinced 
 that war was the only alternative. It contin 
 ued four or five years, with many vicissitudes 
 of misfortune and disaster, the defeats of Har- 
 mar and St. Clair, unsuccessful campaigns, 
 and much waste of blood and treasure, till 
 General Wayne put an end to it, first by a bat 
 tle, and then by a treaty of peace. This war 
 lasted through a large part of Washington s 
 administration. It was a source of regret and 
 pain to him, on account both of its cause, the 
 necessity of subduing by force the turbulence 
 of an ignorant and deluded race of men, and 
 of the heavy charge it imposed on the nation 
 for maintaining an army. 
 
 Congress commenced their third session at 
 Philadelphia, and the President returned from 
 Mount Vernon to that city, where he after 
 wards resided till the term of his office expired. 
 The debates of this session were scarcely less 
 
262 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790. 
 
 vehement, or less deeply tinged with party an 
 tipathies, than those of the preceding. Two 
 important measures were brought forward, dis 
 cussed, and adopted ; a national bank, and a 
 tax on ardent spirits distilled in the United 
 States. 
 
 The Secretary of the Treasury had previ 
 ously recommended a national bank, as of 
 great utility in administering the finances of 
 the country, and facilitating the operations for 
 the support of public credit. He now called 
 the attention of Congress to the subject by a 
 special report, in which his views were ex 
 plained with the same perspicuity and vigor 
 of argument, which marked every thing that 
 came from his pen. The project met with a 
 strong opposition. It was attacked chiefly 
 on the ground of its being unconstitutional. 
 Much was said of the express, incidental, and 
 implied powers conferred on Congress by the 
 constitution ; and it was averred, that none of 
 these, nor all of them together, authorized the 
 incorporating of a bank. Its policy was ques 
 tioned, and the utility of banking systems de 
 nied. To this it was answered, that such in 
 cidental powers must necessarily belong to 
 every form of government, as will enable it to 
 carry into effect the positive and vested powers, 
 and to employ all the usual means for that 
 
jEr.59.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 263 
 
 purpose j and that a construction of the con 
 stitution according to this fundamental princi 
 ple fairly included the means afforded by a 
 bank, to which almost all commercial nations 
 had resorted, and the advantages of which had 
 been proved by long experience. 
 
 The arguments were somewhat metaphys 
 ical and attenuated on both sides ; and indeed 
 the attempt to define what is intended or im 
 plied by a written instrument, on points about 
 which it says nothing, must naturally lead to 
 abstractions little suited to enlighten or con 
 vince. No other rule of interpretation would 
 seem to be applicable in practice, than that a 
 proposed measure shall contribute to the public 
 good, and not contravene any express power. 
 The contest ended in the establishment of a 
 bank, with a capital of ten millions of dollars, 
 of which eight millions were to be held by 
 individuals, and the residue by the govern 
 ment. 
 
 On this subject the cabinet was divided. 
 Jefferson and Randolph being opposed to the 
 bank as unconstitutional, and Hamilton and 
 Knox of a contrary opinion. The President 
 requested from each a statement of his rea 
 sons in writing, and he is understood, to have 
 reflected deeply, and deliberated even with 
 
264 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1791. 
 
 more than his usual caution, before he affixed 
 his signature to the act. 
 
 The object of the tax on distilled spirits 
 was to provide a fund for paying the interest 
 on a portion of the domestic debt. The duties 
 on imports were said to be strained as far as 
 they would bear, without injury to commerce, 
 and perhaps to the revenue by holding out a 
 temptation to smuggling ; and, as a new tax 
 must be laid somewhere, the Secretary of the 
 Treasury thought it could fall on no commodi 
 ty less objectionable than ardent spirits distilled 
 in the country. The tax was opposed as im 
 politic and unequal in its application. It was 
 branded as an odious excise, hostile to liberty, 
 the collecting of which would inflame the 
 people, and lead to evasions and perhaps to re 
 sistance. It was unequal, because distilling 
 was practised mostly in the West, and a few 
 limited districts in other parts. This argu 
 ment was more specious than sound, since the 
 consumers would actually pay the tax ; but it 
 was vehemently urged by some of the repre 
 sentatives. The bill was carried, and was 
 more remarkable for its consequences, than for 
 its characteristics as a legislative act, in what 
 ever light it may be viewed. 
 
 The President had fixed on the next recess 
 of Congress for a tour through the southern 
 
JET. 59.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 265 
 
 States. He set off about the middle of March, 
 and was gone three months, performing in 
 that time a journey of eighteen hundred and 
 eighty-seven miles with the same horses. His 
 route was through Richmond, Wilmington, 
 and Charleston, as far as Savannah ; whence 
 he returned by way of Augusta, Columbia, 
 and the interior of North Carolina and Virginia. 
 Before leaving home, he had ascertained with 
 great accuracy the distances between one place 
 and another, settled the precise day upon 
 which he should arrive at each, and the length 
 of time he should stop. Not a single accident 
 occurred ; and with such exactness and meth 
 od had his calculations been made, that his 
 original plan was executed in every particular, 
 except that he stayed one day more in one 
 place than he intended, and one day less in 
 another. He everywhere received the same 
 proofs of respect and attachment, which had 
 been manifested in his travels through the 
 middle and eastern States. 
 
 The principal laws passed at the next ses 
 sion were those for apportioning the represen 
 tatives, establishing a uniform militia system, 
 and increasing the army. The constitution had 
 prescribed, that the representatives in the na 
 tional legislature should be apportioned among 
 the several States according to the respective 
 
266 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1791. 
 
 numbers of their population, but that the whole 
 number of representatives should riot exceed 
 one for every thirty thousand. When the new 
 apportionment bill was proposed, it was found 
 that no ratio could be chosen, which would 
 not leave large fractions to some of the States. 
 For instance, if thirty thousand were taken as 
 the ratio, there would be an unrepresented sur 
 plus of fifteen or twenty thousand, more or 
 less, in some of the States. To remedy this 
 imperfection, a bill was introduced and passed, 
 which fixed the ratio at thirty thousand. The 
 total population was divided by this ratio, 
 which gave one hundred and twenty as the 
 whole number of representatives. But this 
 included the sum of all the fractions ; and, af 
 ter apportioning to each State one representa 
 tive for every thirty thousand, the residuary 
 members, to make the whole number of one 
 hundred and twenty, were distributed among 
 the States in which the fractions were the 
 largest. The President decided, that this bill 
 did not conform to the constitution, it being 
 obvious that the ratio was meant to apply to 
 the States individually, and not to the aggre 
 gate amount of population in them all. He 
 therefore returned the bill to Congress, with 
 his reasons for not affixing his signature. A 
 new bill was then framed and approved, fixing 
 
JSx.59.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 267 
 
 the ratio at thirty-three thousand, and throw 
 ing out the fractions. 
 
 The subject derived an importance from the 
 spirit of party, and local jealousies, which en 
 tered into the discussion. Many of the mem 
 bers were strenuous for as large a representa 
 tion as possible, by which the rights of the 
 States would be better preserved, and a check 
 afforded to the undue increase of executive 
 power. The bill for the increase of the army 
 was opposed on the same grounds. It would 
 enlarge the executive patronage, which might 
 ultimately be adverse to liberty, and a greater 
 evil than the Indian war, for the prosecution 
 of which the army was wanted. 
 
 It became evident, indeed, from many indi 
 cations, both in Congress and abroad, that the 
 advocates for different measures were fast ar 
 ranging themselves into two distinct parties, 
 the administration and its friends on one side, 
 and its opponents on the other. In the first 
 place, they who had opposed the constitution 
 would naturally have their prejudices arrayed 
 against it when put in practice, and be ready 
 to find fault with any system by which this 
 was effected. Again, all those who had watch 
 ed with solicitude over the rights of the States, 
 and believed these in danger, would be pre 
 pared to see the fulfilment of their predictions 
 
268 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1791. 
 
 in the acts of the general government, however 
 administered. If to these we add the bias of 
 personal feelings, the influence of the passions, 
 an unlimited freedom of speech, and the ten 
 dency of opposition to beget opposition, we 
 shall have abundant materials for creating par 
 ties and aliment for their support. And, as 
 parties gain strength by union, it was easy for 
 these elements, at first discordant, gradually to 
 assimilate. Nor need we question the motives 
 of any individual or class of men. It is fair 
 to presume, that, at this stage of our political 
 progress, there was as much patriotism and 
 sincerity on both sides as at any other period. 
 It is true, that, when a man gives himself up 
 to a party, he is apt to forget his country ; yet 
 in all free communities there must be parties, 
 and every man must belong to one or another, 
 so that his motives should be judged by his 
 conduct and character, rather than by the side 
 he takes. The necessity of parties is not 
 identical with their abuse. The former is the 
 safeguard of liberty, the latter its bane. If the 
 people would enjoy the one, they must be en 
 lightened enough to perceive and virtuous 
 enough to correct the other. 
 
 But this is not the place to examine into the 
 origin or principles of the two great parties, 
 which at that time began to divide the country, 
 
;T. 60.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 269 
 
 and which have continued ever since, with such 
 modifications as have sprung from events and 
 circumstances. It needs only to be said, that 
 they were viewed with deep regret by Wash 
 ington, and with a painful apprehension of their 
 effects. Conscious of acting with the single 
 aim of administering the government for the 
 best interests and happiness of the people, he 
 was mortified to find his endeavors thwarted 
 at every step by party discords and personal 
 enmities among those, who controlled public 
 opinion by their standing and talents, and on 
 whose aid he relied. It was not in Congress 
 alone, that these jarrings occurred. They 
 crept into the cabinet, disturbing its harmony, 
 and dividing its counsels. 
 
 He had for some time been aware of a radi 
 cal difference of opinion between the Secretary 
 of State and the Secretary of the Treasury, on 
 some of the most important measures of the 
 administration. The causes were deeply seat 
 ed. Hamilton regarded the constitution as af 
 fording inadequate powers to the general gov 
 ernment, and believed its weakness to be its 
 greatest defect. Hence he thought its success 
 could be hoped for only by construing and ad 
 ministering it in such a manner, as would add 
 the greatest degree of strength to the execu 
 tive. Jefferson s sentiments and fears ran in 
 
270 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1792. 
 
 an opposite direction. To him it appeared, 
 that there was too much power in the head, 
 that the exercise of the executive authority 
 ought to be restrained, and that the rights of 
 States and the liberty of the people were in 
 jeopardy. The funding system, the assump 
 tion of the State debts, the bank, and the tax 
 on domestic spirits, were all at variance with 
 his principles. 
 
 These measures originated with Hamilton, 
 and constituted the prominent features of the 
 administration. The ability with which they 
 had been planned, and their success, contrib 
 uted to elevate their author in the public esti 
 mation, which, to say the least, could not be 
 supposed to gratify the feelings of his colleague, 
 especially as he looked upon the measures 
 themselves to be wrong and fraught with mis 
 chief; nor could it be expected, that the two 
 secretaries would harmonize in devising the 
 means of carrying them into execution. It 
 should be stated, nevertheless, that Jefferson 
 discharged the duties of his office to the entire 
 satisfaction of the President. Though differ 
 ing in opinion from the majority of the cabi 
 net, he did not allow his private views to in 
 fluence his conduct as a member of that coun 
 cil, or as holding a responsible station in the 
 government. Nothing more, perhaps, could 
 
JET. 60.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 271 
 
 reasonably be required of him, under the cir 
 cumstances in which he was placed ; yet, as it 
 regarded the success of the administration, a 
 reluctant performance of duty was far from 
 being the same thing as the cordial and vigor 
 ous support of a willing mind. In all respects, 
 therefore, these disagreements were unpropi- 
 tious, embarrassing to the President, and inju 
 rious to the public welfare. 
 
 The deep anxiety he felt on this subject, 
 his ardent desire to heal the breach, and the 
 means he took to accomplish it, will appear in 
 the following extract from a letter, which he 
 wrote to Jefferson. 
 
 "How unfortunate, and how much to be 
 regretted is it, that, while we are encompassed 
 on all sides with avowed enemies and insidi 
 ous friends, internal dissensions should be har 
 rowing and tearing our vitals. The latter, to 
 me, is the most serious, the most alarming, and 
 the most afflicting of the two ; and, without 
 more charity for the opinions and acts of one 
 another in governmental matters, or some more 
 infallible criterion by which the truth of spec- 
 ulative opinions, before they have undergone 
 the test of experience, are to be forejudged, 
 than has yet fallen to the lot of fallibility, I 
 believe it will be difficult, if not impracticable, 
 to manage the reins of government, or to keep 
 
272 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1792. 
 
 the parts of it together ; for if, instead of lay 
 ing our shoulders to the machine after meas 
 ures are decided on, one pulls this way and 
 another that, before the utility of the thing is 
 fairly tried, it must inevitably be torn asunder ; 
 and in my opinion the fairest prospect of hap 
 piness and prosperity, that ever was presented 
 to man, will be lost perhaps for ever. 
 
 " My earnest wish and my fondest hope, 
 therefore, is, that, instead of wounding suspi 
 cions and irritating charges, there may be lib 
 eral allowances, mutual forbearances, and tem 
 porizing yieldings on all sides. Under the 
 exercise of these, matters will go on smoothly, 
 and, if possible, more prosperously. Without 
 them, every thing must rub ; the wheels of 
 government will clog ; our enemies will tri 
 umph, and, by throwing their weight into the 
 disaffected scale, may accomplish the ruin of 
 the goodly fabric we have been erecting. 
 
 " I do not mean to apply this advice, or 
 these observations, to any particular person or 
 character. I have given them in the same 
 general terms to other officers of the govern 
 ment ; because the disagreements, which have 
 arisen from difference of opinions, and the at 
 tacks, which have been made upon almost all 
 the measures of government, and most of its 
 executive officers, have for a long time past 
 
^Er. 60.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 273 
 
 filled me with painful sensations, and cannot 
 fail, I think, of producing unhappy consequen 
 ces at home and abroad." 
 
 He wrote likewise to Hamilton, nearly at 
 the same time and almost in the same words, 
 and added ; " Differences in political opinions 
 are as unavoidable, as, to a certain point, they 
 may perhaps be necessary ; but it is exceed 
 ingly to be regretted, that subjects cannot be 
 discussed with temper on the one hand, or de 
 cisions submitted to without having the mo 
 tives, which led to them, improperly implicated 
 on the other ; and this regret borders on cha 
 grin, when we find that men of abilities, zeal 
 ous patriots, having the same general objects 
 in view, and the same upright intentions to 
 prosecute them, will not exercise more charity 
 in deciding on the opinions and actions of one 
 another. When matters get to such lengths, 
 the natural inference is, that both sides have 
 strained the cords beyond their bearing, and 
 that a middle course would be found the best, 
 until experience shall have decided on the 
 right way, or (which is not be expected, be 
 cause it is denied to mortals,) there shall be 
 some infallible rule by which we could fore 
 judge events." 
 
 In another letter to Jefferson, after again 
 recommending mutual forbearance and con- 
 
 VOL. II. 18 
 
274 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1792. 
 
 dilation, he said ; " A measure of this sort 
 would produce harmony and consequent good 
 in our public councils. The contrary will in 
 evitably introduce confusion and serious mis 
 chiefs ; and for what ? Because mankind can 
 not think alike, but would adopt different 
 means to attain the same ends. For I will 
 frankly and solemnly declare, that I believe 
 the views of both of you to be pure and well 
 meant, and that experience only will decide, 
 with respect to the salutariness of the meas 
 ures, which are the subjects of dispute. Why, 
 then, when some of the best citizens in the 
 United States, men of discernment, uniform 
 and tried patriots, who have no sinister views 
 to promote, but are chaste in their ways of 
 thinking and acting, are to be found, some on 
 one side and some on the other of the ques 
 tions, which have caused these agitations, 
 should either of you be so tenacious of your 
 opinions, as to make no allowances for those 
 of the other ? I could, and indeed was about 
 to add more on this interesting subject, but will 
 forbear, at least for the present, after expressing 
 a wish, that the cup, which has been presented 
 to us, may not be snatched from our lips by a 
 discordance of action, when I am persuaded 
 there is no discordance in your views. I have 
 a great, a sincere esteem and regard for you 
 
^Er. 60.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 275 
 
 both, and ardently wish that some line may 
 be marked out by which both of you could 
 walk." 
 
 Unhappily this line was never found. The 
 two secretaries continued to diverge from each 
 other, both in their political course and their 
 private feelings, till their differences settled 
 into a personal enmity, which neither the ad 
 vice of friends could modify, nor time eradi 
 cate. This was the more lamented by Wash 
 ington, as, according to his own declaration 
 and the whole tenor of his intercourse, he had 
 a sincere attachment to both of them and con 
 fidence in their patriotic intentions, and as he 
 foresaw the fatal consequences, which might 
 result from a heated strife between men whose 
 talents and political consideration gave them 
 so commanding an influence over the public 
 will. 
 
276 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1792. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Washington is elected President for a Second Term. Takes 
 the Oath of Office. Relations between the United States and 
 France. Opinions of the Cabinet. Proclamation of Neu 
 trality. Party Divisions and Excitements. Genet received 
 as Minister from France. His extraordinary Conduct. 
 Meeting of Congress. The President recommends Measures 
 of Defence. Commercial Affairs. Mr. Madison s Commer 
 cial Resolutions. Mr. Jay appointed Envoy Extraordinary to 
 negotiate a Treaty with England. Military Preparations. 
 
 WHEN the President s term of office, as pre 
 scribed by the Constitution, was drawing to a 
 close, no little anxiety was felt and expressed, 
 as to his willingness again to receive the suf 
 frages of the people. The reluctance with 
 which he had consented to the first election 
 was so great, that it was feared he could not 
 be prevailed upon to remain longer in public 
 life. From his friends in different parts of 
 the country he received early communications 
 on the subject, urging him not to decide hasti 
 ly, and, if possible, to reconcile himself to a 
 second election. Three members of the cab 
 inet, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Randolph, each 
 wrote to him a long letter, containing reasons 
 why it was of the utmost importance to his 
 own reputation and to the public interests, 
 
JT. 60.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 277 
 
 that, for the present at least, he should not 
 retire. 
 
 Each of these gentlemen drew a picture of 
 the condition of the country, its future pros 
 pects, and the state of parties ; and, although 
 they differed radically concerning some of the 
 principal measures of the administration, they 
 agreed in opinion, that the character, influence, 
 and steady hand of Washington were neces 
 sary to secure the stability of government, if 
 not to preserve the nation from anarchy. 
 
 These sentiments, uttered by his confiden 
 tial advisers, whose political opinions he knew 
 were at variance with each other, could not 
 fail to make a deep impression, and the more 
 so as they were reiterated from every quar 
 ter. He seems to have resolved at one time 
 to follow his inclination, and retire at the 
 end of his first term of service. This is evi 
 dent from his having prepared a farewell, ad 
 dress to the people, designed for the occasion 
 of his taking leave of them. But he never 
 made a public declaration to that effect, and 
 he was finally chosen for a second period of 
 four years by the unanimous vote of the elec 
 tors. On the 4th of March, 1793, he took the 
 oath of office in the senate-chamber, in pres 
 ence of the members of the cabinet, various 
 
278 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793. 
 
 public officers, foreign ministers, and such 
 other persons as could be accommodated. 
 
 In addition to the Indian war, the contests 
 of parties, and other internal troubles with 
 which the administration was embarrassed, 
 the foreign relations of the United States were 
 every day becoming peculiarly delicate and 
 inauspicious. Scarcely had the President en 
 tered upon his new term of office, when the 
 intelligence was received, that France had 
 declared war against England and Holland. 
 The French revolution, in its earliest stages, 
 was hailed by almost every one in the United 
 States as a joyful event, and as affording a 
 presage of the happiest results to the cause of 
 freedom and the welfare of mankind. Such 
 would naturally be the first impulse of a 
 people, who had recently been engaged in a 
 similar struggle, encouraged by the good wish 
 es and strengthened by the assistance of the 
 French nation. Washington partook of this 
 general sentiment. 
 
 The sanguinary acts that followed, and the 
 ferocious temper shown by the leaders, left 
 but little ground for hope ; yet there were 
 causes still, which induced many to cling to 
 the interests of France, and approve the revo 
 lution, although they looked with horror upon 
 the means employed to carry it forward. It 
 
JE.T. 61.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 279 
 
 was believed to be a warfare of the oppressed 
 against their oppressors, in which justice was 
 asserting her rights, and rescuing from thral 
 dom the victims, who had been so long borne 
 down by the yoke of bondage, and scourged 
 by the rod of despotism. A new era was sup 
 posed to have arisen, when liberty was about 
 to go forth successful in conquest, breaking 
 down the strong-holds of tyranny, and build 
 ing up her temples of peace and concord on 
 their ruins. Ardent minds were easily cap 
 tivated by this illusion, especially when it 
 harmonized with their opinions on other sub 
 jects. Their impressions also derived force 
 from the prejudices against England, deeply 
 rooted and of long standing, which the con 
 duct of the British cabinet since the peace had 
 not contributed to remove. 
 
 Gouverneur Morris had been sent to France 
 as minister plenipotentiary from the United 
 States. A friendly intercourse had been kept 
 up between the two countries, on the basis of 
 the treaties of alliance and commerce ; but. 
 after the downfall of the King, and amidst the 
 distractions succeeding that event, the minis 
 ter s situation was embarrassing. It was the 
 opinion of Washington, in which his cabinet 
 agreed with him, that every nation had a right 
 to govern itself as it chose, and that other 
 
280 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793. 
 
 nations were bound to recognise and respect 
 the existing authority, whatever form it might 
 assume. Mr. Morris was furnished with in 
 structions according to this view of the sub 
 ject. But the difficulty for a time consisted 
 in ascertaining whether there was any actual 
 government resting on the will of the nation. 
 His prudence in this respect, and his caution 
 not to commit his country rashly, gave um 
 brage to the nominal rulers, or rather the lead 
 ers of the contending factions, who complain 
 ed, and expressed dissatisfaction, that the Unit 
 ed States manifested so little sympathy with 
 their earliest friends and allies, the vindicators 
 of liberty and the rights of man. Such was 
 the state of things when war was declared 
 against England. 
 
 It was perceived, that this aspect of affairs 
 would have a direct influence on the foreign 
 relations of the United States, and that it 
 would require the greatest circumspection to 
 prevent the country from being embroiled 
 with the belligerent powers, particularly Eng 
 land and France. When the President first 
 heard the news of the declaration of war, he 
 was at Mount Vernon ; and he wrote imme 
 diately to the Secretary of State, avowing his 
 determination to maintain a strict neutrality 
 between the hostile parties. Vessels in the 
 
MT. 61.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 281 
 
 ports of the United States were understood to 
 be already designated as privateers, and he 
 desired that measures to put a stop to all such 
 proceedings should be adopted without delay. 
 
 On his return to Philadelphia, he summoned 
 a meeting of the cabinet, submitting to each 
 member at the same time a series of questions, 
 which he requested might be considered as 
 preparatory to the meeting. The substance 
 of these questions was, whether a proclama 
 tion of neutrality should be issued ; whether 
 a minister from the French republic should 
 be received, and, if so, whether it should be 
 absolutely or with qualifications ; whether, in 
 the present condition of France, the United 
 States were bound by good faith to execute 
 the treaties between the two nations, or wheth 
 er these ought to be suspended till the gov 
 ernment should be established ; and whether 
 the guarantee in the treaty of alliance was 
 applicable to a defensive war only, or to a war 
 either defensive or offensive. These points 
 involved very important considerations. If 
 the treaty was binding in the case of an offen 
 sive war, then a state of neutrality could not 
 be assumed in regard to France : and, if it 
 was applicable to a defensive war only, the 
 intricate question was still to be settled, 
 whether the war on the part of the French 
 
282 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793. 
 
 was offensive or defensive, or of a mixed and 
 equivocal character, and how far the guarantee 
 ought to be applied under such circumstances. 
 
 The cabinet decided unanimously, that a 
 proclamation should be issued, " forbidding 
 the citizens of the United States to take part 
 in any hostilities on the seas, either with or 
 against the belligerent powers, and warning 
 them against carrying to any such powers any 
 of those articles deemed contraband according 
 to the modern usages of nations, and enjoin 
 ing them from all acts and proceedings incon 
 sistent with the duties of a friendly nation 
 towards those at war." It was also agreed, 
 with the same unanimity, that a minister from 
 the French republic should be received. On 
 the subject of qualifying his reception, the 
 members of the cabinet were divided in opin 
 ion, Jefferson and Randolph being opposed to 
 any qualification implying that the relations 
 between the two countries were changed, and 
 Hamilton and Knox being in favor of it, be 
 cause they believed there was in reality no 
 fixed government in France, and they feared 
 that a recognition of the existing authority 
 might involve the United States in difficulties 
 with that nation and with other powers. 
 
 As to the question of guarantee, the two 
 former thought it not necessary to come to 
 
MT. 61.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 283 
 
 any formal decision, while the two latter ar 
 gued that the treaty of alliance was plainly 
 defensive, and that the guarantee could not 
 apply to a war, which had been begun by 
 France. The President required the opinions 
 and arguments of each member of the cabinet 
 in writing ; and, after deliberately weighing 
 them, he decided, that a minister should be 
 received on the same terms as formerly, and 
 that the obligations of the treaties ought to re 
 main in full force, leaving the subject of guar 
 antee for future consideration, aided by a better 
 knowledge of the condition and prospects of 
 France. 
 
 The proclamation of neutrality was signed 
 on the 22d of April, and immediately publish 
 ed. This measure, in regard both to its char 
 acter and its consequences, was one of the most 
 important of Washington s administration. It 
 was the basis of a system, by which the inter 
 course with foreign nations was regulated, and 
 which was rigidly adhered to. In fact it was 
 the only step, that could have saved the United 
 States from being drawn into the vortex of the 
 European wars, which raged with so much vi 
 olence for a long time afterwards. Its wisdom 
 and its good effects are now so obvious, on a 
 calm review of past events, that one is aston 
 ished at the opposition it met with, and the 
 
284 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793. 
 
 strifes it enkindled, even after making due al 
 lowance for the passions and prejudices, which 
 had hitherto been at work in producing discord 
 and divisions. - 
 
 Washington for a time was allowed to keep 
 aloof from the contest. His character, revered 
 by the people, shielded by their affections, and 
 equally above reproach and suspicion, was too 
 elevated a mark for the shafts of malevolence. 
 But a crisis had now arrived, when the sacred- 
 ness of virtue, and the services of a life spent 
 in promoting the public weal, could no longer 
 secure him from the assaults of party animosi 
 ty. The enemies of the administration per 
 ceived, that the attempt to execute their plans 
 would be vain, unless they could first weaken 
 his influence by diminishing his popularity. 
 The task was hard and repelling ; and it may 
 reasonably be presumed, that a supposed polit 
 ical necessity, rather that cordial good will, led 
 them to engage in so ungrateful a work. It 
 was pursued with a perseverance, and some 
 times with an acrimony, for which the best of 
 causes could hardly afford an apology ; but, 
 however much it might disturb his repose or 
 embarrass his public measures, it could neither 
 shake his firmness, nor turn him from his 
 steady purpose of sacrificing every other con 
 sideration to the interests of his country. 
 
jEr.61.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 285 
 
 In the midst of these ferments, M. Genet 
 came to the United States as minister from the 
 French republic. He landed at Charleston, in 
 South Carolina, and travelled thence through 
 the country to Philadelphia. He was received 
 everywhere with such enthusiasm and extrav 
 agant marks of attention, as to deceive him in 
 to a belief, that the great body of the Ameri 
 can people heartily espoused the cause of the 
 French revolution, and was ready to join the 
 citizens of the new republic in carrying the 
 banner of liberty and equality to the ends of 
 the earth. Being of an ardent temperament, 
 and emboldened by these indications, the citi 
 zen minister, as he was called, at once com 
 menced a career, as unjustifiable as it was ex 
 traordinary. Even before he left Charleston 
 he gave orders for fitting out and arming ves 
 sels in that port to cruise as privateers, and 
 commit hostilities on the commerce of nations 
 at peace with the United States. Notwith 
 standing this act of presumption and rashness, 
 which was known before he reached Philadel 
 phia, he was received by the President with 
 frankness, and with all the respect due to the 
 representative of a foreign power. 
 
 Genet declared, that his government was 
 strongly attached to the United States, and 
 had no desire to engage them in the war ; but 
 
286 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793. 
 
 his secret instructions, which he afterwards 
 published, were of a different complexion, and 
 proved very clearly, that the designs of his 
 employers were contrary to the professions of 
 their minister. Indeed his whole conduct, 
 from beginning to end, could have no other 
 tendency, than to bring the United States into 
 an immediate conflict with all the powers at 
 war with France. The privateers commis 
 sioned by him came into the American ports 
 with prizes. This produced remonstrances 
 from the British minister, and a demand of 
 restitution. The subject accordingly came 
 before the cabinet. In regard to the lawful 
 ness of the seizures, there was but one opinion. 
 It was decided, that, since every nation had 
 exclusive jurisdiction within its own territory, 
 the act of fitting out armed vessels under the 
 authority of a foreign power was an encroach 
 ment on national sovereignty, and a violation 
 of neutral rights, which the government was 
 bound to prevent. 
 
 A declaration was accordingly made, that 
 no privateers, fitted out in this manner, should 
 find an asylum in the ports of the United 
 States ; and the customhouse officers were in 
 structed to keep a careful watch, and report 
 every vessel which contravened the laws of 
 neutrality. The question of restitution involv- 
 
JEx. 61.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 287 
 
 ed intricate points of maritime law, and opin 
 ions on this subject varied. It was unanimous 
 ly agreed, however, that the original owners 
 might justly claim indemnification, and that, 
 if the property was not restored by the captors, 
 the value of it ought to be paid by the govern 
 ment. 
 
 The French minister protested against these 
 decisions, became angry and violent, wrote of 
 fensive letters to the Secretary of State, and 
 seemed to forget alike the dignity of his sta 
 tion and his character as a man. He still con 
 tinued to encourage armed vessels to sail from 
 American ports under the French flag. By 
 the firmness of the executive a check was put 
 to this effrontery. Measures were taken to 
 prevent by force the departure of such vessels. 
 The madness of the minister was increased by 
 the obstacles he encountered. Finding him 
 self baffled in all his schemes, he resorted to 
 menaces, accused the President of having 
 usurped the powers of Congress, and more 
 than insinuated that he would appeal to the 
 people for redress. This insult, aggravated by 
 his previous conduct, could neither be tolerated 
 nor passed over in silence. It was obvious, 
 indeed, that nothing could be hoped from any 
 further intercourse with so wrongheaded a man. 
 A statement of the particulars was drawn up, 
 
288 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793. 
 
 and forwarded to the French government, with 
 a request that he might be recalled. A more 
 remarkable chapter can hardly be found in the 
 history of diplomacy, than might be furnished 
 from the records of this mission of Genet. It 
 is a memorable instance of the infatuation to 
 which a man of respectable talents and private 
 character may be driven by political frenzy. 
 
 When Congress assembled, the state of af 
 fairs, both external and internal, was largely 
 explained in the President s speech, and in a 
 separate message accompanied with many doc 
 uments. In these were comprised the reasons 
 for the course he had pursued, respecting for 
 eign powers, and suggestions for additional 
 legislative enactments to protect the rights of 
 American citizens, and maintain the digni 
 ty of the country. While he sought peace, 
 and urged a faithful discharge of every duty 
 towards others, he recommended, that prompt 
 measures should be taken, not only for defence, 
 but for enforcing just claims. " There is a 
 rank due to the United States among nations," 
 said he, " which will be withheld, if not abso 
 lutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If 
 we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to 
 repel it ; if we desire to secure peace, one of 
 the most powerful instruments of our prosperi 
 ty, it must be known, that we are at all times 
 
&i. 61.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 289 
 
 ready for war/ These communications were 
 well received by the two houses. Indeed 
 both parties in Congress found so much to 
 condemn in the conduct of the belligerent 
 powers towards neutrals, that on this point 
 they seemed for a moment to forget their dis 
 sensions ; and, although the proclamation of 
 neutrality continued to be made a theme of 
 declamation and abuse by violent partisans 
 and the presses hostile to the administration, 
 it met with no marks of disapprobation from 
 Congress. 
 
 Near the beginning of the session an impor 
 tant report was made by the Secretary of 
 State, respecting the commercial intercourse 
 of the United States with other nations, par 
 ticularly in regard to its privileges and restric 
 tions, and the means for improving commerce 
 and navigation. The report was able, elab 
 orate, and comprehensive, presenting a view 
 of the trade between the United States and 
 the principal countries of Europe. 
 
 Two methods were suggested by the sec 
 retary for modifying or removing restrictions ; 
 first, by amicable arrangements with foreign 
 powers ; secondly, by countervailing acts of 
 the legislature. He preferred the former, if 
 it should be found practicable, and gave his 
 reasons. The subject of navigation was also 
 
 VOL. n. 19 
 
290 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1794. 
 
 discussed, and a system of maritime defence 
 recommended. 
 
 Shortly after making this report, Mr. Jeffer 
 son retired from the office of Secretary of 
 State, in conformity with an intimation he 
 had given some months before j having been 
 prevailed upon by the President, apparently 
 against his own inclination, to remain till the 
 end of the year. He was succeeded by Ed 
 mund Randolph, whose place as Attorney- 
 General was supplied by William Bradford of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 The secretary s report gave rise to Mr. Mad 
 ison s celebrated commercial resolutions, which 
 were long debated in the House of Repre 
 sentatives with a degree of animation, and 
 even of asperity, that had not been exceeded 
 since the adoption of the funding system. 
 These resolutions embraced the general prin 
 ciples of the report, but they aimed at a dis 
 crimination in the commercial intercourse with 
 foreign countries, which was viewed in very 
 different lights by the two parties in Congress. 
 They imposed restrictions and additional du 
 ties on the manufactures and navigation of 
 nations, which had no commercial treaties 
 with the United States, and a reduction of 
 duties on the tonnage of vessels belonging to 
 nations with which such treaties existed. In 
 
^T. 62.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 291 
 
 this scheme the friends of the administration 
 saw, or imagined they saw, hostility to Eng 
 land and undue favor to France, neither war 
 ranted by policy, nor consistent with neutral 
 ity ; while the other party regarded it as 
 equitable in itself, and as absolutely necessary 
 to protect the commerce of the country from 
 insulting aggression and plunder. Mr. Madi 
 son s plan was modified in its progress ; but a 
 resolution, retaining the principle of commer 
 cial restrictions, finally passed the House of 
 Representatives. It was rejected in the Sen 
 ate by the casting vote of the Vice-President. 
 While these discussions were going on with 
 much heat in Congress, a measure was resort 
 ed to by the President, which produced con 
 siderable effect on the results. Advices from 
 the American minister in London rendered it 
 probable, that the British cabinet were dis 
 posed to settle the differences between the 
 two countries on amicable terms. At all 
 events the indications were such, that Wash 
 ington, firm to his purpose of neutrality and 
 peace, resolved to make the experiment. Ac 
 cordingly, on the 16th of April, he nominated 
 Mr. Jay to the Senate, as an envoy extraordi 
 nary to the court of Great Britain. " My 
 objects are," said he, in a letter to the Secre 
 tary of State, " to prevent a war, if justice 
 
292 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1794. 
 
 can be obtained by fair and strong representa 
 tions of the injuries, which this country has 
 sustained from Great Britain in various ways, 
 to put it in a complete state of military de 
 fence, and to provide eventually for the exe 
 cution of such measures as seem to be now 
 pending in Congress, if negotiation in a rea 
 sonable time proves unsuccessful." The nom 
 ination was confirmed in the Senate by a 
 majority of more than two to one ; but it was 
 strenuously opposed by the principal members 
 of the democratic party, particularly Mr. Mon 
 roe, and was disapproved by the same party in 
 the House of Representatives. 
 
 As a war seemed inevitable, if Mr. Jay s 
 mission should terminate unfavorably, Con 
 gress passed acts for putting the country in a 
 state of defence. The principal harbors were 
 to be fortified, and eighty thousand militia to 
 be held in readiness for immediate service. 
 The importation of arms was permitted free 
 of duty, and the President .was authorized to 
 purchase galleys, and lay an embargo, if he 
 should think the public interest required it. 
 Additional taxes were levied to meet the ex 
 pense. 
 
 Congress adjourned, after a long and bois 
 terous session, which had contributed not a 
 little to increase the acrimony of parties, mul- 
 
jEx.62.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 293 
 
 tiply the causes of dissension, and inflame the 
 minds of the people. The administration, 
 however, stood firm ; and neither the policy 
 nor the opinions of Washington were in any 
 degree changed. In fact, having no personal 
 objects to gain, thinking and acting only for 
 his country, divested of partiality and preju 
 dice as far as it was possible for any man to 
 be, and invariably taking counsel of his con 
 science and judgment, he stood aloof from 
 the commotions of party and the contagious 
 influence of party spirit. Justice to all na 
 tions, peace with all, and a preparation for war 
 as the best safeguard of peace, were the rules 
 of his policy, and his constant aim. 
 
294 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1794. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Insurrection in Pennsylvania. Measures adopted by the Presi 
 dent for suppressing it. Plan for redeeming the Public Debt. 
 The British Treaty ratified by the Senate. Popular Ex 
 citement respecting it. The Treaty confirmed by the Signa 
 ture of the President. Resignation of Mr. Randolph. Cir 
 cumstances attending it. 
 
 IN the course of the preceding winter, M. 
 Fauchet arrived in the United States as min 
 ister from France. At the request of the 
 French government, Mr. Morris was recalled, 
 and James Monroe was appointed as his suc 
 cessor. This selection afforded a strong proof 
 of the impartiality of the President, and of 
 his ardent desire to conciliate differences at 
 home, and preserve amity with foreign nations. 
 Mr. Monroe, being a leader among the oppo 
 nents to the administration, had shown him 
 self a zealous advocate for France. 
 
 Soon after Congress adjourned, the Presi 
 dent s attention was called to another subject, 
 of very serious import, both as it regarded 
 the authority of the laws, and the stability of 
 the union. The act of Congress imposing a 
 tax on distilled spirits had, from its first oper 
 ation, excited much uneasiness in various parts 
 
^T.62.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 295 
 
 of the country, and in some districts it had 
 been evaded and openly resisted. The in 
 spectors of the revenue appointed by the gov 
 ernment were insulted, threatened, and even 
 prevented by force from discharging their du 
 ty. To so great a length had these outrages 
 gone in some places, as early as September, 
 1792, that a proclamation was published by 
 the President, admonishing all persons to re 
 frain from combinations and proceedings, which 
 obstructed the execution of the laws, and re 
 quiring the magistrates and courts to exert the 
 powers vested in them for bringing to justice 
 the offenders. Bills of indictment were found 
 against some of these persons, and the marshal 
 attempted to serve the processes issued by the 
 court. He was met by a body of armed men, 
 seized, detained, and harshly treated. The 
 malecontents proceeded from one degree of 
 excess to another, holding seditious meetings, 
 arming themselves, abusing the officers of the 
 government, and bidding defiance to the laws, 
 till they assumed the attitude of insurrection, 
 and prepared for an organized resistance. 
 
 The moderation and forbearance, which, 
 according to his usual practice, the President 
 had exercised towards these deluded people 
 for more than two years, served only to in 
 crease their violence, and encourage their de- 
 
296 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1794. 
 
 termined spirit of hostility. He could no 
 longer hesitate, as to the course he ought to 
 pursue. He resolved to employ the means 
 intrusted to him by the laws, and suppress 
 the insurrection by a military force. As a 
 preparatory step, he issued a proclamation, 
 dated on the 7th of August, in which, after 
 briefly narrating the criminal transactions of 
 the insurgents, and what had been done by 
 the government to allay their discontents and 
 turn them from their treasonable practices, he 
 declared his determination to execute the laws 
 by calling the militia to his aid, and com 
 manded the insurgents and all persons con 
 cerned in abetting their acts to disperse and 
 retire peaceably to their abodes before the first 
 day of September. 
 
 Having sent out this proclamation, as a 
 preliminary measure exacted by the laws, he 
 next made a requisition for militia on the gov 
 ernors of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Mary 
 land, and Virginia. The insurgents chiefly 
 resided in the western counties of Pennsylva 
 nia. It was supposed there were among them 
 about sixteen thousand men capable of bear 
 ing arms, and that they could bring at least 
 seven thousand into active service. The num 
 ber of militia at first ordered out was twelve 
 thousand, and it was subsequently increased 
 
^Er.62.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 297 
 
 to fifteen thousand. The Governors of Penn 
 sylvania and New Jersey took the field at the 
 head of the troops from their respective States, 
 and the command of the whole was conferred 
 on Governor Lee of Virginia. The place of 
 rendezvous for the Pennsylvania and New 
 Jersey troops was Bedford. Those from Vir 
 ginia and Maryland assembled at Cumberland, 
 the site of Old Fort Cumberland, at the junc 
 tion of Will s Creek with the Potomac River. 
 From every quarter the militia came forward 
 with alacrity, and the best disposition was 
 shown by officers and privates to execute the 
 orders of the government. 
 
 The President, accompanied by the Secre 
 tary of War, inspected the army at the two 
 places of rendezvous. He went, by way of 
 Harrisburg and Carlisle, first to Cumberland, 
 and thence to Bedford, these places being 
 about thirty miles apart. He gave directions 
 for each division to march across the Allegany 
 Mountains, meet on the other side, and act 
 against the insurgents as circumstances should 
 require. Ascertaining from personal examina 
 tion that every thing was in readiness, and 
 leaving written instructions with General Lee, 
 he returned to Philadelphia. Congress was 
 soon to meet, and it was important for him to 
 
298 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1794. 
 
 be there at that time. He was absent four 
 weeks. 
 
 When he left home he intended to cross 
 the mountains and lead the army in person, 
 if this should seem expedient ; but the intelli 
 gence he received on the way, and the spirit 
 which animated the troops, convinced him 
 that the insurgents would make no formidable 
 resistance to such a force, and that his further 
 attendance on the expedition was not neces 
 sary. The Secretary of War went on with 
 the army to Pittsburg. The result was even 
 more fortunate than could have been expect 
 ed. No resistance was attempted, and no blood 
 was shed. To preserve quiet, and secure what 
 had been gained, a body of troops continued 
 for some time in the disaffected country, under 
 the command of General Morgan. 
 
 In the President s speech to Congress, after 
 mentioning somewhat in detail the course he 
 had taken to suppress the insurrection, he 
 recommended further provisions for defence, 
 particularly a reform of the militia system, 
 and also advised that some plan should be 
 adopted for redeeming the public debt, which 
 now amounted to about seventy-six millions 
 of dollars. While this last subject was under 
 discussion in Congress, the Secretary of the 
 Treasury reported a scheme, which he had 
 
LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 299 
 
 matured on the basis of the laws previously 
 enacted for regulating the fiscal operations of 
 the government. A sinking fund had already 
 been established by setting apart for that pur 
 pose a portion of certain specified taxes ; and 
 he proposed that this fund should be enlarged 
 by increasing the duties on imports, tonnage. 
 and distilled spirits, by the money accruing 
 from the sales of public lands, the dividends 
 on bank stock, and the surplus revenue re 
 maining after the annual appropriations had 
 been expended, and that the fund, thus in 
 creased, should be applied to the redemption 
 of the debt. This report occasioned much 
 debate, but the secretary s plan was substan 
 tially approved, and an act conformable to it 
 was passed. 
 
 Before the end of the session, Hamilton re 
 signed the office of Secretary of the Treasury. 
 The vacancy was filled by Oliver Wolcott, 
 who was strongly recommended by Hamilton, 
 and whose character was well known and 
 highly respected by the President. General 
 Knox likewise retired from the war depart 
 ment, and was succeeded by Timothy Pick 
 ering, at that time Postmaster-general, whose 
 services in the Revolution had qualified him 
 in an eminent degree for executing the duties 
 of Secretary of War. 
 
300 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1795. 
 
 The treaty with Great Britain, negotiated 
 by Mr. Jay, arrived at the seat of government 
 in March, shortly after the session of Congress 
 was closed. The Constitution had provided, 
 that all treaties should be ratified by the Sen 
 ate, and the President summoned that body to 
 meet in June, for the purpose of considering it. 
 
 In the interval, he examined and studied 
 the treaty with the closest attention. It was 
 not altogether such as he wished, perhaps 
 not such as he had hoped. Points were left 
 untouched, which he would gladly have seen 
 introduced and definitively settled ; others 
 were so arranged, that he feared they would 
 not prove a sufficient guard against future 
 difficulties between the two nations. But he 
 had perfect confidence in the ability, knowl 
 edge, and patriotism of Mr. Jay. He was con 
 vinced, that more favorable terms could not 
 be obtained, and that the only alternative was 
 this treaty or none. Some valuable privileges 
 were secured, nothing had been sacrificed, the 
 national honor was maintained, and a pledge 
 of amity was held out. If the treaty was 
 rejected, a war would certainly follow, the 
 calamities of which, in the actual state of 
 Europe, would be incalculable, and no one 
 could predict when they would end, or to 
 what they would lead. Deeply impressed 
 
JET. 63.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 301 
 
 with these sentiments, and believing peace 
 the greatest blessing his country could possess, 
 he resolved, in case the treaty should be ap 
 proved by the Senate, to affix to it his signa 
 ture. 
 
 The Senate assembled in June, and, after 
 two weeks discussion, advised the ratification. 
 One article, however, was excepted. By this 
 article it was stipulated, that a direct trade be 
 tween the United States and the British West 
 India Islands should be allowed to American 
 vessels not exceeding the burden of seventy 
 tons, laden with the produce of the States or 
 of the Islands ; but that molasses, sugar, cof 
 fee, cocoa, and cotton should not be transport 
 ed in American vessels, either from the United 
 States or the Islands, to any part of the world. 
 As cotton was then becoming a product of 
 much importance in the southern States, and 
 had begun to be exported, this restriction was 
 deemed inadmissible ; and the ratification of 
 the Senate was to be valid only on condition 
 that an article should be introduced, cancelling 
 the one in which the restriction was contained. 
 Nor was there a unanimity even with this lim 
 itation. A bare constitutional majority, that 
 is, exactly two thirds of the members, voted 
 in favor of the treaty. 
 
 As this was a novel case, the President was 
 
302 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1795. 
 
 somewhat at a loss to determine how to dis 
 pose of it. Whether the act of the Senate 
 could be regarded as a ratification of the 
 treaty, before this new article should be ap 
 proved by the British government, and .wheth 
 er his signature could properly be affixed to it 
 previously to that event, were questions which 
 he took time to consider. A new obstacle was 
 thrown in the way by intelligence from Eu 
 rope, that the British cabinet had renewed the 
 order for seizing provisions in vessels bound to 
 French ports. As this order might imply a 
 construction of the treaty, which could never 
 be admitted in the United States, it was neces 
 sary still further to suspend his decision. View 
 ing the subject in all its relations, however, 
 he inclined to the opinion, that it was best to 
 ratify the treaty with the condition prescribed 
 by the Senate, and at the same time to accom 
 pany it with a memorial or remonstrance to 
 the British government against the provision 
 order. 
 
 Meantime the treaty was published. At 
 first an imperfect abstract only appeared j but 
 a complete copy was soon after furnished by a 
 member of the Senate to the editor of a news 
 paper. It thus came clandestinely before the 
 public, without the authority of the executive, 
 and without any of the official documents and 
 
jET. 63.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 303 
 
 correspondence, by which the objects and rea 
 sons of the negotiators could be explained. It 
 was dissected, criticized, and condemned, in a 
 tone of passionate and violent declamation, 
 which could scarcely have been exceeded, if 
 the instrument had reduced the United States 
 to their former colonial dependence on Eng 
 land. The merits of the treaty were studi 
 ously kept out of sight, and all its objection 
 able parts were thrust forward, exaggerated, 
 and censured as disgraceful and humiliating to 
 the nation. It was impossible that a clamor so 
 loud and so universal should not produce a 
 strong impression upon every class of the com 
 munity. The friends of the administration 
 rallied in its defence, but they used the weap 
 ons of reason and argument ; they talked of 
 moderation and peace, of consistency and good 
 faith. They found few patient listeners, and 
 fewer impartial judges. The torrent was nei 
 ther to be stemmed, nor diverted from its 
 course. Public meetings were held ; and res 
 olutions and addresses condemning the treaty, 
 and designed to have a popular effect, and to 
 intimidate the executive, were voted, publish 
 ed, and widely circulated among the people. 
 
 The first resolves of this sort proceeded 
 from a meeting in Boston. They were for 
 warded by an express to the President, with a 
 
304 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1795. 
 
 letter from the selectmen of the town. He 
 received them at Baltimore, while on his way 
 to Mount Vernon. Ten days afterwards, hav 
 ing carefully reviewed the subject, arid ascer 
 tained the sentiments of the cabinet, he an 
 swered the letter. It had been his aim, he 
 said, in every act of his administration, to seek 
 the happiness of his fellow citizens, to discard 
 personal, local, and partial considerations, to 
 look upon the United States as one nation, and 
 to consult only their substantial and permanent 
 interests. " Without a predilection for my 
 own judgment," he added, " I have weighed 
 with attention every argument, which has at 
 any time been brought into view. But the 
 Constitution is the guide, which I never can 
 abandon. It has assigned to the President the 
 power of making treaties, with the advice and 
 consent of the Senate. It was doubtless sup 
 posed, that these two branches of government 
 would combine, without passion, and with the 
 best means of information, those facts and 
 principles, upon which the success of our for 
 eign relations will always depend ; that they 
 ought not to substitute for their own convic 
 tion the opinions of others, or to seek truth 
 through any channel but that of a temperate 
 and well informed investigation. Under this 
 persuasion, I have resolved on the manner of 
 
/Ex.63.1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 305 
 
 executing the duty before me. To the high 
 responsibility attached to it, I freely submit ; 
 and you. Gentlemen, are at liberty to make 
 these sentiments known as the grounds of my 
 procedure. While I feel the most lively grat 
 itude for the many instances of approbation 
 from my country, I can no otherwise deserve 
 it, than by obeying the dictates of my con 
 science." To these sentiments he steadily 
 adhered, and he answered many of the ad 
 dresses sent to him in nearly the same lan 
 guage. 
 
 From the excitement that prevailed, how 
 ever, and from the resolves of meetings in all 
 parts of the country, he soon perceived, that a 
 formidable attempt was making to stir up the 
 people, with a view of operating on the exec 
 utive. To defeat this purpose, and to put an 
 end to the disorders hourly increasing by the 
 combined action of overheated zeal, artifice, 
 and party spirit, he returned to Philadelphia, 
 summoned the cabinet, and submitted the 
 proposition for immediately ratifying the treaty. 
 It was approved by all the members except the 
 Secretary of State, who. although he had be 
 fore been in favor of it, now thought the step 
 premature, till the provision order should be 
 revoked, and the war between England and 
 France should cease. This opinion had no 
 
 VOL. ii. 20 
 
306 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1795. 
 
 effect on the President. He signed the treaty, 
 the order was in due time repealed, and the 
 ratification, on the terms advised by the Sen 
 ate, was reciprocated by the British govern 
 ment. 
 
 It would be impossible, within the limits 
 of the present narrative, to sketch even an 
 outline of the transactions relating to this 
 treaty. No more can be said, than that the 
 controversy, occasioned by it, increased the vi 
 olence of party discord to almost an incredible 
 extent ; and that even the motives and charac 
 ter of Washington did not escape a full meas 
 ure of the abuse, which was poured out upon 
 all, who approved the acts of the administra 
 tion. Regardless of truth and decorum, his 
 detractors assailed him with a license and ma 
 lignity, which showed an utter despair of ac 
 complishing their ends by honorable means. 
 But however they might excite his commise 
 ration, they could not disturb his peace of 
 mind. " I have long since resolved," said he, 
 writing to the governor of Maryland, " for the 
 present time at least, to let my calumniators 
 proceed without any notice being taken of 
 their invectives by myself, or by any others 
 with my participation or knowledge. Their 
 views, I dare say, are readily perceived by all 
 the enlightened and well disposed part of the 
 
JEr. 63.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 307 
 
 community ; and by the records of my admin 
 istration, and not by the voice of faction, I 
 expect to be acquitted or condemned here 
 after." 
 
 In relation to the treaty, time disappointed 
 its enemies, and more than fulfilled the expec 
 tations of its friends. It saved the country 
 from a war, improved its commerce, and served 
 in no small degree to lay the foundation of its 
 durable prosperity. The great points, which 
 were said to be sacrificed or neglected, the im 
 pressment of seamen, neutral rights, and colo 
 nial trade, have never yet been settled, and are 
 never likely to be settled satisfactorily, while 
 England maintains the ascendency she now 
 holds on the ocean. 
 
 The day following that on which the Presi 
 dent affixed his name to the treaty, Mr. Ran 
 dolph resigned the office of Secretary of State. 
 The circumstances are these. While Wash 
 ington was at Mount Vernon, the British min 
 ister, Mr. Hammond, put into the hands of 
 the Secretary of the Treasury a letter from 
 M. Fauchet to the French government, which 
 had been intercepted at sea, whence it found 
 its way to the British cabinet, and was for 
 warded to Mr. Hammond. The letter was 
 translated by Mr. Pickering, and shown to the 
 President when he arrived in Philadelphia. Its 
 
308 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1795. 
 
 contents were such, as to excite suspicions of 
 Mr. Randolph s conduct. It appeared that his 
 political relations with the French minister 
 had been more intimate and confidential, than 
 was compatible with the office he held in the 
 administration. At all events, it seemed a fair 
 inference from the language of the letter, that 
 M. Fauchet valued his services as having been 
 useful to the French interests, and calculated 
 on them for the future. 
 
 In the presence of the other members of the 
 cabinet, the President handed this letter to 
 Mr. Randolph and asked an explanation. He 
 had not before heard of it ; and, although he 
 read it without emotion, he expressed much 
 displeasure at the President s manner of bring 
 ing it to his notice, and complained that he 
 did not first converse with him on the subject 
 privately. He said that he wished more leis 
 ure to examine the letter, before making any 
 detailed remarks on its contents, but added, 
 that, considering the treatment he had received, 
 he could not think of remaining in his office a 
 moment longer. Accordingly he sent in his 
 resignation the same day. 
 
 Mr. Randolph published a pamphlet vindicat 
 ing his conduct, and explaining such parts of 
 the intercepted letter as related to him. From 
 M. Fauchet, who was then on the point of 
 
J3T.63.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 309 
 
 leaving the country, he also obtained a certifi 
 cate, in which that minister declared, that in 
 his letter he had no intention to say any thing 
 to the disadvantage of Mr. Randolph s charac 
 ter. The statements presented by Mr. Ran 
 dolph, in proof of his innocence, were not such 
 as to produce entire conviction ; but the nature 
 of his task rendered it difficult, if not impossi 
 ble, for him to adduce positive evidence. He 
 moreover allowed himself to be betrayed into 
 a warmth of temper, and bitterness of feeling, 
 not altogether favorable to his candor. After 
 all that has been made known, the particulars 
 of his conversations with Fauchet, and his de 
 signs, are still matters of conjecture. 
 
 One fact connected with this affair should 
 be mentioned, as being highly creditable to 
 Washington. In preparing his vindication, 
 Mr. Randolph applied for a certain letter, and 
 intimated that papers were withheld. Wash 
 ington said, in reply j " That you may have 
 no cause to complain of the withholding of 
 any paper, however private and confidential, 
 which you shall think necessary in a case of 
 so serious a nature, I have directed that you 
 should have the inspection of my letter agree 
 ably to your request, and you are at full liber 
 ty to publish without reserve any and every 
 private and confidential letter I ever wrote to 
 
310 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1795. 
 
 you j nay, more, every word I ever uttered to 
 you, or in your hearing, from whence you can 
 derive any advantage in your vindication." 
 When it is remembered, that Mr. Randolph 
 had been in the cabinet from the beginning of 
 the administration, the liberty here given af 
 fords a striking proof of the consciousness felt 
 by Washington of the perfect rectitude of his 
 own proceedings. 
 
 Mr. Pickering was transferred from the war 
 department to the office of Secretary of State, 
 and James M c Henry of Maryland was appoint 
 ed Secretary of War. Mr. Bradford, the At 
 torney-general, had recently died. He was 
 succeeded by Charles Lee of Virginia. 
 
. 64.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 311 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 The President refuses to furnish Papers to the House of Repre 
 sentatives in relation to the British Treaty. Captivity of La 
 fayette, and Means used by Washington to procure his Libera 
 tion. Difficulties with France in regard to the British Treaty. 
 
 Recall of Mr. Monroe. Washington s Farewell Address. 
 
 His last Speech to Congress. Inauguration of his Suc 
 cessor. Testimony of Respect shown to him by the Citizens 
 of Philadelphia. He retires to Mount Vernon. Review of 
 his Administration. 
 
 THE foreign relations of the United States 
 had begun to put on a more favorable aspect. 
 Treaties were negotiated with Spain and Al 
 giers, by which the prisoners who had been in 
 bondage for many years under the latter power, 
 were released, and the difficulties with the 
 former, respecting boundaries and the naviga 
 tion of the Mississippi, were amicably adjusted. 
 The victory of General Wayne had also 
 smoothed the way to a treaty with the Indians. 
 On this state of affairs the President congratu 
 lated both houses of Congress, when he met 
 them at the opening of the session. 
 
 But the British treaty was destined to be a 
 cause of still further agitation. Great exer 
 tions had been made throughout the country 
 to obtain signatures to petitions against it, 
 which were to be presented to the House of 
 
312 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796, 
 
 Representatives. And, when the treaty was 
 submitted to Congress, as having been ratified 
 by his Britannic Majesty, the members opposed 
 to it indicated a determined purpose to defeat 
 its operation by refusing to pass the laws 
 necessary for carrying it into effect. The 
 warfare was commenced by a resolution, to 
 which a large majority assented, requesting the 
 President to lay before the House the instruc 
 tions to Mr. Jay, and the correspondence and 
 other documents relating to the negotiation. 
 
 This request imposed a delicate task on the 
 President. In his opinion, the power to form 
 treaties rested wholly with the chief magis 
 trate and the Senate, and he believed that the 
 House of Representatives had no right to make 
 a demand, which would imply an encroach 
 ment on this power, nor in any manner to in 
 terfere with the negotiation of treaties. Yet, 
 in the present excited state of public feeling, 
 a refusal of the request would expose him to 
 the charge of showing disrespect to the repre 
 sentatives of the people, raise suspicions of his 
 motives, and probably furnish a pretext for in 
 sinuations, that he had personal reasons for 
 concealment. 
 
 From the line of duty, however, he was 
 never known to deviate ; and in this case it 
 was too plain to be mistaken. In his answer 
 
jET.64.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 313 
 
 to the communication from the house, he re 
 fused a compliance with the request, and gave 
 his reasons. He said it was clear to his mind, 
 that the power of making treaties was vested 
 by the Constitution exclusively in the Presi 
 dent, with the advice and consent of the Sen 
 ate : that, having been a member of the con 
 vention, he knew this was the understanding 
 of the framers of the Constitution ; that the 
 subject was fully discussed ; that there were 
 reasons for believing the State conventions un 
 derstood it in the same way : that this con-, 
 stmction had hitherto been acquiesced in by 
 the House of Representatives ; and that a just 
 regard to the Constitution, and to the duty of 
 his office, required him to resist the principle 
 contended for by the house. If allowed to be 
 put in practice, it would destroy the confi 
 dence of foreign powers in the executive, de 
 range the government, and lead to the most 
 mischievous consequences, when it would be 
 too late to apply a remedy. 
 
 The members, who voted for the resolution, 
 were not prepared for this refusal : nor did 
 they conceal their disappointment and dissatis 
 faction. The message gave rise to a debate, 
 which continued for many days, and in which 
 the merits of the treaty, and the constitutional 
 powers of the several departments of the gov- 
 
314 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796. 
 
 ernment, were elaborately discussed. Passion, 
 party zeal, eloquence, and argument were all 
 brought to bear on the subject ; and the 
 speeches show, that both sides of the question 
 were maintained with unusual ability and 
 force of reasoning. In the end, a majority of 
 the members who were opposed to the treaty 
 yielded to the exigency of the case, and, prob 
 ably more from expediency than conviction, 
 united in passing the laws necessary for its 
 fulfilment. 
 
 Among the events, which contributed to 
 harass the mind and weigh upon the spirits of 
 Washington, none affected him more keenly 
 than the captivity of Lafayette. Gratitude for 
 the services rendered by Lafayette to the 
 United States in times of distress and peril, a 
 respect for his character, founded on a long and 
 intimate acquaintance, and a knowledge of his 
 pure and disinterested principles, had created 
 an ardent attachment, of which many proofs 
 have been exhibited in this narrative, and 
 many others might be added. In proportion 
 to the strength of this attachment was his 
 affliction at the sufferings of his friend 
 
 After receiving the intelligence of his cap 
 ture, Washington wrote letters to the Mar 
 chioness de Lafayette, expressive of his sym 
 pathy, and affording all the consolation in his 
 
>ET.64.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 315 
 
 power. His regret was the greater, because, 
 being at the head of the nation, the family of 
 Lafayette, and the friends of humanity in 
 Europe, expected much from his aid ; while 
 in reality he could do nothing more, except by 
 his personal influence, than any other individ 
 ual. Lafayette was a prisoner, first in the 
 Prussian dominions, and next in the Austrian. 
 There was no diplomatic intercourse between 
 those countries and the United States. Hence 
 the American government, without authority 
 to make a demand or power to enforce it, 
 either directly or through the agency of other 
 governments, could take no decisive steps for 
 his release. 
 
 Instructions were sent, and often repeated, 
 to the American ministers at foreign courts, 
 directing them to use all their efforts in his 
 favor. These instructions were faithfully 
 obeyed. Nothing more could be done. The 
 mediation of the British cabinet was sought, 
 but not obtained. That he might leave no 
 means untried, Washington at last wrote a 
 letter to the Emperor of Germany, stating his 
 friendship for Lafayette, suggesting in delicate 
 terms that his sufferings had perhaps been as 
 great as the nature of his case demanded, and 
 requesting that he might be permitted to come 
 to the United States under such restrictions 
 
316 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796. 
 
 as his Majesty, the Emperor, might think it 
 expedient to prescribe. What influence this 
 letter may have had on the mind of the Em 
 peror, or on the fate of Lafayette, is not known. 
 When restored to liberty, he was delivered 
 over, by order of the Austrian government, to 
 the American consul at Hamburg. 
 
 When the wife and daughters of Lafayette 
 left France, to join him in the prison of Ol- 
 mutz, his son, George Washington Lafayette, 
 came to the United States. He was affec 
 tionately received into the family of President 
 Washington, where he resided nearly two 
 years, till he returned to Europe on hearing of 
 the liberation of his father. 
 
 Not long after the treaty was conditionally 
 ratified by the Senate, a copy of it was fur 
 nished to the French minister, M. Adet, the 
 successor of M. Fauchet. He objected to some 
 parts of it, as at variance with the treaty sub 
 sisting between France and the United States. 
 His objections were answered by the Secre 
 tary of State, and such explanations were 
 given as showed, that the treaty could in no 
 degree injure the interests of France, and that 
 the government of the United States was re 
 solved faithfully to fulfil their compact with 
 that nation, according to the strict principles 
 of neutrality, which it was bound to observe 
 
^Er. 64.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 317 
 
 in regard to the belligerent powers of Europe. 
 But the rulers of the French republic had 
 viewed with jealousy Mr. Jay s negotiation, 
 as diminishing their hope of a war between 
 Great Britain and the United States ; and it is 
 not surprising, that they should be quick to 
 find out points in the treaty, which, by their 
 construction, might be turned to the disadvan 
 tage of France. Foreseeing this result, and 
 anxious to remove every ground of dissatis 
 faction, Washington caused very full instruc 
 tions to be sent to Mr. Monroe, that he might 
 be able to explain the articles of the treaty, as 
 understood by the American government, and 
 also their designs and conduct in making it. 
 
 From the tenor of Mr. Monroe s letters, and 
 from the proceedings of the French Directory, 
 the President was led to believe, that the min 
 ister had been backward in using his instruc 
 tions, and in furnishing the required explana 
 tions. It was known, likewise, that he was 
 hostile to the treaty ; and of course, with the 
 best disposition to do his duty, he could hardly 
 enter into the views of the government with 
 the zeal, and represent them with the force of 
 conviction, which the importance of the occa 
 sion demanded. The only remedy was to 
 send out another minister. It was resolved, 
 therefore, to recall Mr. Monroe, and make a 
 
318 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796. 
 
 new appointment. This resolution was unan 
 imously approved by the cabinet. Mr. Mon 
 roe was accordingly recalled, and Charles 
 Cotesworth Pinckney was sent to supply his 
 place. 
 
 Some months previously, Mr. Thomas Pinck 
 ney had been permitted to return home, hav 
 ing discharged the duties of his office in Eng 
 land, and on a mission for negotiating a treaty 
 at Madrid, to the entire satisfaction of the ex 
 ecutive and of his country. Rufus King, who 
 had been a senator from the beginning of the 
 new government, was appointed as his succes 
 sor at the court of Great Britain. 
 
 When the second period of four years, for 
 which Washington had been elected to the 
 Presidency, was approaching its termination, 
 many of his friends, concerned at the present 
 state of the country, and fearing the conse 
 quences of the heats and divisions that would 
 arise in choosing his successor, pressed him 
 earnestly to make a still further sacrifice of his 
 inclination to the public good. But his pur 
 pose was fixed, and not to be changed. He 
 believed that he had done enough, and that 
 he might now, without any dereliction of 
 duty, resign the helm of government into oth 
 er hands. Having determined to retire, he 
 thought proper to make this determination 
 
^Er.64.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 319 
 
 known in a formal manner, and at so early a 
 day, as to enable his fellow citizens to turn 
 their thoughts to other candidates, and prjepare 
 for a new election. 
 
 Accordingly his Farewell Address to the 
 people of the United States was published on 
 the loth of September, nearly six months be 
 fore his term of office expired. In this paper 
 are embodied the results of his long experience 
 in public affairs, and a system of policy, which 
 in his opinion was the best suited to insure to 
 his country the blessings of union, peace, and 
 prosperity, and the respect of other nations. 
 For the vigor of its language, the soundness 
 of its maxims, the wisdom of its counsels, and 
 its pure and elevated sentiments, this perform 
 ance is unrivalled ; and the lapse of forty 
 years has rather increased than diminished the 
 admiration with which it was universally re 
 ceived. The sensation, which it produced in 
 every class of the community, was as strong 
 as it has been permanent. Even the fierce 
 spirit of party could not resist the impulse, nor 
 weaken its force. The State legislatures, 
 when they assembled, and other public bod 
 ies, voted addresses and thanks to the Presi 
 dent, expressing a cordial approbation of his 
 conduct during the eight years in which he 
 had filled the office of chief magistrate, and 
 
320 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796. 
 
 their deep regret that the nation was to be 
 deprived of his services. In some of the 
 States, the Farewell Address was printed and 
 published with the laws, by order of the legis 
 latures, as an evidence of the value they at 
 tached to its political precepts, and of their 
 affection for its author. 
 
 The two houses of Congress came together 
 in December, and Washington met them for 
 the last time. As he had usually done in his 
 former speeches, he first presented a clear and 
 comprehensive view of the condition of the 
 country, and the executive proceedings within 
 the last year, and then recommended to their 
 consideration certain me asures, which he deem 
 ed important. Among these were the gradual 
 increase of the navy, a provision for the en 
 couragement of agriculture and manufactures, 
 the establishment of a national university, and 
 the institution of a military academy. The 
 relations with France were made the subject 
 of a separate message. At the end of his 
 speech he said ; 
 
 " The situation in which I now stand, for 
 the last time, in the midst of the representa^ 
 tives of the people of the United States, nat 
 urally recalls the period when the administra 
 tion of the present form of government com 
 menced ; and I cannot omit the occasion to 
 
JE.T. 64,] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 321 
 
 congratulate you and my country, on the suc 
 cess of the experiment, nor to repeat my fer 
 vent supplications to the Supreme Ruler of 
 the Universe and Sovereign Arbiter of Na 
 tions, that his providential care may still be 
 extended to the United States ; that the virtue 
 and happiness of the people may be preserved ; 
 and that the government, which they have in 
 stituted for the protection of their liberties, 
 may be perpetual." 
 
 Little was done during the session. Public 
 attention was engrossed with the pending 
 election. The votes of the electors were re 
 turned to Congress, and in February they 
 were opened and counted in the presence of 
 both houses. It appeared that John Adams 
 was chosen President, and Thomas Jefferson 
 "Vice-President, the former having the highest 
 number of votes, and the latter the next high 
 est. The strength of the parties was tried in 
 this contest. Mr. Adams was supported by 
 the friends of the administration, or the federal 
 party, and Mr. Jefferson by its opponents, or 
 the democratic party. 
 
 On the 4th of March the President elect 
 took the oath of office and assumed its duties. 
 The ceremony was performed in the hall of 
 the House of Representatives, and in the same 
 manner as had been practised on former occa- 
 
 VOL. II. 21 
 
322 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1797. 
 
 sions. Washington was present as a specta 
 tor, happy in resigning the burden of his of 
 fice, and gratified to see it confided to one, 
 whose long and patriotic services in the cause 
 of his country rendered him worthy of so high 
 a trust. 
 
 The citizens of Philadelphia celebrated the 
 day by a testimony of respect for the man, 
 whom they, in common with the whole na 
 tion, loved and revered. A splendid enter 
 tainment was prepared, which was designed 
 for him as the principal guest, and to which 
 were invited foreign ministers, the heads of 
 the departments, officers of rank, and other 
 distinguished persons. A spacious rotunda 
 was fitted up for the occasion, in which were 
 elegant decorations, emblematical paintings, 
 fanciful devices, and a landscape representing 
 Mount Vernon and the scenery around it, all 
 conspiring to revive associations connected 
 with the life of Washington. 
 
 The following anecdote was communicated 
 by the late Bishop White. " On the day be 
 fore President Washington retired from office, 
 a large company dined with him. Among 
 them were the foreign ministers and their la 
 dies, Mr. and Mrs. Adams, Mr. Jefferson, and 
 other conspicuous persons of both sexes. Dur 
 ing the dinner much hilarity prevailed ; but, 
 
.Ex.65.1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 323 
 
 on the removal of the cloth, it was put an end 
 to by the President, certainly without design. 
 Having filled his glass, he addressed the com 
 pany, with a smile, as nearly as can be recol 
 lected in the following words ; Ladies and 
 gentlemen, this is the last time I shall drink 
 your health as a public man. I do it with 
 sincerity, wishing you all possible happiness. 
 There was an end of all pleasantry. He, who 
 gives this relation, accidentally directed his 
 eye to the lady of the British minister, Mrs. 
 Liston, and tears were running down her 
 cheeks." 
 
 Being once more a private citizen, and hav 
 ing already made preparation for his departure, 
 he proceeded immediately with his family to 
 Mount Yernon. In passing along the road he 
 was welcomed with the same hearty demon 
 strations of attachment, as when clothed with 
 the dignity and power of office. Before he 
 reached Baltimore, he was met by a military 
 escort and a large concourse of the inhabitants, 
 who accompanied him into the city ; and it 
 was not till he had actually arrived at his own 
 mansion, in the tranquil retreat of Mount Yer 
 non, that he could say he was no longer a 
 public man. 
 
 In reviewing the administration of Wash 
 ington, now that the effervescence of party is 
 
324 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1797. 
 
 subsided, and in tracing its effects on the for 
 mation and progress of the government, there 
 can hardly be a difference of opinion. No one 
 can doubt its wisdom or its success. Whether 
 another system, more conformable to the views 
 of those who opposed his principal measures, 
 might not have operated equally well, is not a 
 question which needs to be discussed. When 
 a great and permanent good has been done, 
 with the purest motives on the part of the 
 actor, it is not necessary, in forming a just 
 estimate of this good, to inquire by what other 
 means the same end might have been attained. 
 Notwithstanding the innumerable embarrass 
 ments, which attended the first operations of 
 the new government, the nation was never 
 more prosperous than while Washington was 
 at its head. Credit was restored, and estab 
 lished on a sound basis ; the public debt was 
 secured, and its ultimate payment provided 
 for ; commerce had increased beyond any 
 former example ; the amount of tonnage in 
 the ports of the United States had nearly 
 doubled ; the imports and exports had aug 
 mented in a considerably larger ratio ; and the 
 revenue was much more abundant than had 
 been expected. The war with the Indians 
 was conducted to a successful issue ; and a 
 peace was concluded, which promised quiet to 
 
jET. 65.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 325 
 
 the frontier inhabitants, and advantages to the 
 uncivilized tribes. Treaties had been made 
 with foreign powers, in which long standing 
 disputes were amicably settled, contending 
 claims adjusted, and important privileges gain 
 ed to the United States. The relations with 
 France alone remained in a state of incerti 
 tude and perplexity ; and this was owing to 
 the condition of affairs in Europe, and not to 
 any thing that had grown out of the acts or 
 policy of the American government. 
 
326 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1797. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 Washington devotes himself to his private Affairs. Troubles 
 between France and the United States. Preparations for 
 War. Washington appointed Commander-in-chief of the 
 Provisional Army of the United States. Organization and 
 Arrangement of the Army. Disputes with France adjusted. 
 His last Illness and Death. His Character. 
 
 BEING established again at Mount Vernon, 
 and freed from public toils and cares, Wash 
 ington returned to the same habits of life, and 
 the same pursuits, which he had always prac 
 tised at that place. It required neither time 
 nor new incitements to revive a taste for occu 
 pations, which had ever afforded him more 
 real enjoyment than any others. Although he 
 had been able to exercise a partial supervision 
 over his private affairs, yet he found, that, 
 after an absence of eight years, much was to 
 be done to repair his houses, restore his farms 
 to the condition in which he had left them, 
 and complete his favorite system of agricul 
 ture. To these employments he devoted him 
 self with as lively an interest, as if nothing 
 had occurred to interrupt them. 
 
 In writing to a friend, a few weeks after he 
 arrived at Mount Vernon, he said that he be- 
 
jE T . 65.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 327 
 
 gan his daily course with the rising of the 
 sun, and first made preparations for the busi 
 ness of the day. " By the time I have ac 
 complished these matters," he adds, " break 
 fast is ready. This being over, I mount my 
 horse and ride round my farms, which em 
 ploys me until it is time to dress for dinner, 
 at which I rarely miss to see strange faces 
 come as they say out of respect to me. And 
 how different is this from having a few social 
 friends at a cheerful board. The usual time 
 of sitting at table, a walk, and tea, bring me 
 within the dawn of candlelight ; previous to 
 which, if not prevented by company, I re 
 solve, that, as soon as the glimmering taper 
 supplies the place of the great luminary, I 
 will retire to my writing-table, and acknowl 
 edge the letters I have received. Having 
 given you this history of a day, it will serve 
 for a year." And in this manner a year passed 
 away, and with no other variety than that of 
 the change of visiters, who came from all 
 parts to pay their respects or gratify their cu 
 riosity. 
 
 But, in the midst of these scenes, it once 
 more became his duty to yield to the claim 
 of his country. The French Directory had 
 rejected the overtures for a reconciliation, and 
 committed outrages and insults against the 
 
328 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1798. 
 
 United States, which no independent nation 
 icould bear. Mr. Pinckney, the American 
 plenipotentiary, had been treated with indig 
 nity, first by a refusal to receive him as min 
 ister, and next by an order to leave the terri- 
 ytories of the Republic. At the same time, 
 depredations were made upon American com 
 merce by French cruisers, in violation of the 
 treaty which had subsisted between the two 
 nations. President Adams summoned Con 
 gress, submitted the subject to them, and rec 
 ommended preparations for military defence. 
 That no method might be left unattempted 
 for bringing about a reconciliation and insur 
 ing peace, two envoys extraordinary, John 
 Marshall and Elbridge Gerry, were sent out 
 to join Mr. Pinckney. The three envoys pro 
 ceeded to Paris, but their mission was unsuc 
 cessful. 
 
 It seems that the rulers of France had been 
 deceived into a belief, that the people of the 
 United States would not sustain their govern 
 ment in a war against that country. The 
 opposition shown to the British treaty had 
 contributed to foster this delusion ; and in 
 deed the conduct of the French ministers in 
 the United States, from the time Genet arrived 
 at Charleston, had clearly indicated a design 
 to separate the people from the government. 
 
JEx. 66.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 329 
 
 Such was the confidence of the Executive 
 Directory in this hope, and such their igno 
 rance of the American character, that they 
 had the effrontery to demand money of the 
 envoys as a preliminary to any negotiation for 
 settling the differences between the two na 
 tions. This demand was made under the pre 
 tence of a redress of grievances, in conse 
 quence, as it was alleged, of the unfavorable 
 operation of the British treaty, and of the sys 
 tem of neutrality adopted by the American 
 government. So degrading a proposal could 
 not of course be regarded in any other light 
 than as an insult. 
 
 Nothing now remained to be done but to 
 prepare for war. Congress authorized the 
 President to enlist ten thousand men, as a 
 provisional army, and to call them into actual 
 service, if war should be declared against the 
 United States, or whenever in his opinion 
 there should be danger of an invasion. 
 
 As soon as it was foreseen, that a resort to 
 arms might be necessary, all eyes were turned 
 upon Washington as the individual to be plac 
 ed at the head of the army. The weight of 
 his name was of the utmost importance to 
 produce unanimity in the leaders, and secure 
 the confidence and support of the people. 
 " You ought to be aware," said Hamilton, in 
 
330 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1798. 
 
 writing to him, " that, in the event of an open 
 rupture with France, the public voice will 
 again call you to command the armies of your 
 country ; and, though all who are attached to 
 you will from attachment, as well as public 
 considerations, deplore an occasion, which 
 should once more tear you from that repose 
 to which you have so good a right, yet it is 
 the opinion of all those with whom I con 
 verse, that you will be compelled to make the 
 sacrifice. All your past labors may demand^ 
 to give them efficacy, this further, this very 
 great sacrifice." The President also wrote to 
 him ; " We must have your name, if you will 
 permit us to use it. There will be more effi 
 cacy in it than in many an army." This let 
 ter was written before any appointments had 
 been made. The following is an extract from 
 Washington s reply. 
 
 " From a view of the past and the present, 
 and from the prospect of that which seems to 
 be expected, it is not easy for me to decide 
 satisfactorily on the part it might best become 
 me to act. In case of actual invasion by a 
 formidable force, I certainly should not in 
 trench myself under the cover of age and re 
 tirement, if my services should be required by 
 my country to assist in repelling it. And, if 
 there be good cause, which must be better 
 
^ET. 66.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 331 
 
 known to the government than to private cit 
 izens, to expect such an event, delay in pre 
 paring for it might be dangerous, improper, and 
 not to be justified by prudence. The uncer 
 tainty, however, of the event, in my mind, 
 creates my embarrassment ; for I cannot fairly 
 bring it to believe, regardless as the French 
 are of treaties and of the laws of nations, and 
 capable as I conceive them to be of any spe 
 cies of despotism and injustice, that they will 
 attempt to invade this country, after such a 
 uniform and unequivocal expression of the 
 sense of the people in all parts to oppose them 
 with their lives and fortunes." 
 
 Before receiving this reply, the President had 
 nominated him to the Senate as Commander-in- 
 chief of the armies of the United States. The 
 nomination was unanimously confirmed on the 
 3d of July, the day after it was made. The 
 Secretary of War was despatched in person to 
 Mount Vernon, as the bearer of the commis 
 sion. Washington accepted the appointment, 
 with two reservations ; first, that the principal 
 officers should be such as he approved ; sec 
 ondly, that he should not be called into the 
 field, till the army was in a condition to re 
 quire his presence, or till it became necessary 
 by the urgency of circumstances. He added, 
 hoAvever, that he did not mean to withhold 
 
332 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1798. 
 
 any assistance he could afford in arranging and 
 organizing the army ; and, in conformity with 
 the rule he had always followed, he declined 
 receiving any part of the emoluments annexed 
 to his appointment, until he should be in a sit 
 uation to incur expense. 
 
 There was much embarrassment in appoint 
 ing the principal officers. Some of those, who 
 had served in the Revolution, were prominent 
 candidates for appointments in the new army. 
 It became a question, whether their former 
 rank should be taken into account. If this 
 were decided in the affirmative, it would de 
 prive the army of the services of men, whose 
 talents, activity, and influence were of the 
 greatest moment, but who would not accept 
 subordinate places. It was the opinion of 
 Washington, that, since the old army had long 
 been disbanded, and a new one was now to be 
 formed upon different principles and for a dif 
 ferent object, no regard ought to be paid to 
 former rank, but that the best men should be 
 selected, and so arranged as most effectually to 
 promote the public good. This opinion pre 
 vailed. 
 
 The inspector-general was to be the second 
 in command, and there were to be likewise 
 two major-generals. For these offices Wash 
 ington proposed Alexander Hamilton, Charles 
 
jET.66.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 333 
 
 Cotesworth Pinckney. and Henry Knox, who 
 were to rank in the order in which their names 
 here stand. They were thus appointed. The 
 President was not satisfied with the arrange 
 ment. His choice for the inspector-general 
 rested upon Knox, but he acquiesced in the 
 decision of Washington. Unfortunately Gen 
 eral Knox was displeased with the arrange 
 ment, and declined accepting his commission. 
 He believed that his former services gave him 
 higher claims, than could be advanced for the 
 two younger officers who were placed over 
 him. 
 
 From this time to the end of his life a great 
 part of Washington s attention was taken up 
 with the affairs of the new army. His corre 
 spondence with the Secretary of War, the 
 major-generals, and other officers, was unre- 
 mitted and very full, entering into details and 
 communicating instructions, which derived 
 value from his long experience and perfect 
 knowledge of the subject. His letters during 
 this period, if not the most interesting to many 
 readers, will ever be regarded as models of 
 their kind, and as affording evidence that the 
 vigor and fertility of his mind had not de 
 creased with declining years. He passed a 
 month at Philadelphia, where he was assidu 
 ously employed with Generals Hamilton and 
 
334 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1799. 
 
 Pinckney in making arrangements for raising 
 and organizing the army. After the plan was 
 finished, he applied himself, with all the ardor 
 of his younger days, to effect its execution. 
 
 He never seriously believed, that the French 
 would go to the extremity of invading the 
 United States. But it had always been a max 
 im with him, that a timely preparation for war 
 afforded the surest means of preserving peace ; 
 and on this occasion he acted with as much 
 promptitude and energy, as if the invaders 
 had been actually on the coast. His opinion 
 proved to be correct, and his prediction was 
 verified. When it was discovered, that a war 
 with the United States would not be against 
 the government alone, but that the whole peo 
 ple would rise to resist aggression and maintain 
 their rights and dignity as a nation, the French 
 rulers relaxed into a more pacific temper. In 
 timations were given by them of a willingness 
 to cooperate in effecting a friendly and equita 
 ble adjustment of existing differences. Lis 
 tening to these overtures, the President again 
 appointed three envoys extraordinary, and in 
 vested them with full powers to negotiate with 
 the French government. When they arrived 
 in Paris, they found Bonaparte at the head of 
 affairs, who, having taken no part in the pre 
 ceding disputes, and perceiving no advantage 
 
^T. 67.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 335 
 
 in continuing them, readily assented to an ac 
 commodation. No event was more desired by 
 Washington, but he did not live to participate 
 in the joy with which the intelligence was re 
 ceived by his countrymen. 
 
 Since his retirement from the Presidency, 
 his health had been remarkably good ; and. 
 although age had not come without its infir 
 mities, yet he was able to endure fatigue and 
 make exertions of body and mind with scarce 
 ly less ease and activity, than he had done in 
 the prime of his strength. On the 12th of 
 December he spent several hours on horse 
 back, riding to his farms, and giving directions 
 to his managers. He returned late in the af 
 ternoon, wet and chilled with the rain and 
 sleet, to which he had been exposed while 
 riding home. The water had penetrated to 
 his neck, and snow was lodged in the locks 
 of his hair. A heavy fall of snow the next 
 day prevented his going abroad, except for a 
 short time near his house. A sore throat and 
 hoarseness convinced him, that he had taken 
 cold ; but he seemed to apprehend no danger 
 from it. He passed the evening with the fam 
 ily, read the newspapers, and conversed cheer 
 fully till his usual hour for going to rest. 
 
 In the night he had an ague, and before the 
 dawn of day the next morning, which was 
 
336 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1799. 
 
 Saturday, the 14th, the soreness in his throat 
 had become so severe, that he breathed and 
 spoke with difficulty. At his request he was 
 bled by one of his overseers, and in the mean 
 time a messenger went for Dr. Craik, who 
 lived nine miles off, at Alexandria. As no re 
 lief was obtained by bleeding, and the symp 
 toms were such as to alarm the family, another 
 messenger was despatched for Dr. Brown, who 
 resided nearer Mount Vernon. These physi 
 cians arrived in the morning, and Dr. Dick in 
 the course of the day. All the remedies, which 
 their united counsel could devise, were used 
 without effect. 
 
 His suffering was acute and unabated 
 through the day, but he bore it with perfect 
 composure and resignation. Towards evening 
 he said to Dr. Craik ; " I die hard, but I am 
 not afraid to die. I believed from my first at 
 tack, that I should not survive it. My breath 
 cannot last long." From that time he said 
 little, except to thank the physicians for their 
 kindness, and request they would give them 
 selves no more trouble, but let him die quietly. 
 Nothing further was done, and he sank gradu 
 ally till between ten and eleven o clock at 
 night, when he expired, in the sixty-eighth 
 year of his age, and in the full possession of 
 his mental faculties j exhibiting in this short 
 
^x.67.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 337 
 
 and painful illness, and in his death, the same 
 example of patience, fortitude, and submission 
 to the Divine will, which he had shown in all 
 the acts of his life. On Wednesday, the 18th 
 of December, his remains were deposited in 
 the family tomb at Mount Vernon. 
 
 Congress was at this time in session at Phil 
 adelphia ; and, when the news of the melan 
 choly event arrived at the seat of government, 
 both houses immediately adjourned for the re 
 mainder of the day. The next morning, as 
 soon as the House of Representatives had con 
 vened, Mr. Marshall, afterwards Chief Justice, 
 rose in his place, and addressed the Speaker 
 in an eloquent and pathetic speech, briefly 
 recounting the public acts of Washington. 
 He then offered three resolutions, previously 
 prepared by General Henry Lee, which were 
 accepted. By these it was proposed, that the 
 house should in a body wait on the President 
 to express their condolence ; that the Speaker s 
 chair should be shrouded in black, and the 
 members and officers of the house be dressed 
 in black, during the session ; and that a com 
 mittee, in conjunction with a committee from 
 the Senate, should be appointed " to consider 
 on the most suitable manner of paying honor 
 to the memory of the man, first in war, first 
 
 VOL. n. 22 
 
338 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1799. 
 
 in peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow 
 citizens." 
 
 The Senate testified their respect and sor 
 row by similar proceedings. A joint com 
 mittee of the two houses was appointed, who 
 reported resolutions recommending, that a mar 
 ble monument should be erected to commemo 
 rate the great events in the military and polit 
 ical life of Washington ; that an oration, suited 
 to the occasion, should be pronounced in the 
 presence of both houses of Congress ; that the 
 people of the United States should wear crape 
 on the left arm thirty days as a badge of mourn 
 ing j and that the President, in the name of 
 Congress, should be requested to write a letter 
 of condolence to Mrs. Washington. These 
 resolutions were unanimously adopted. The 
 funeral ceremonies were appropriate and sol 
 emn. A discourse was delivered on the oc 
 casion by General Lee, then a representative 
 in Congress. 
 
 But no formal act of the national legislature 
 was required to stir up the hearts of the peo 
 ple, or to remind them of the loss they had 
 sustained in the death of a man, whom they 
 had so long been accustomed to love and re 
 vere, and the remembrance of whose deeds 
 and virtues was so closely connected with that 
 of their former perils, and of the causes of 
 
^T.67.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 339 
 
 their present prosperity and happiness. The 
 mourning was universal. It was manifested 
 by every token, which could indicate the pub 
 lic sentiment and feeling. Orators, divines, 
 journalists, and writers of every class, re 
 sponded to the general voice in all parts of the 
 country, and employed their talents to solem 
 nize the event, and to honor the memory of 
 him, who, more than any other man, of an 
 cient or modern renown, may claim to be 
 called THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY. 
 
 The person of Washington was command 
 ing, graceful, and fitly proportioned ; his stat 
 ure six feet, his chest broad and full, his limbs 
 long and somewhat slender, but well shaped 
 and muscular. His features were regular and 
 symmetrical, his eyes of a light blue color, and 
 his whole countenance, in its quiet state, was 
 grave, placid, and benignant. When alone, or 
 not engaged in conversation, he appeared se 
 date and thoughtful ; but, when his attention 
 was excited, his eye kindled quickly and his 
 face beamed with animation and intelligence. 
 He was not fluent in speech, but what he said 
 was apposite, and listened to with the more 
 interest as being known to come from the 
 heart. He seldom attempted sallies of wit or 
 humor, but no man received more pleasure 
 from an exhibition of them by others ; and, 
 
340 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1799. 
 
 although contented in seclusion, he sought his 
 chief happiness in society, and participated 
 with delight in all its rational and innocent 
 amusements. Without austerity on the one 
 hand, or an appearance of condescending fa 
 miliarity on the other, he was affable, courte 
 ous, and cheerful ; but it has often been re 
 marked, that there was a dignity in his person 
 and manner, not easy to be denned, which im 
 pressed every one that saw him for the first 
 time with an instinctive deference and awe. 
 This may have arisen in part from a convic 
 tion of his superiority, as well as from the 
 effect produced by his external form and de 
 portment. 
 
 The character of his mind was unfolded in 
 the public and private acts of his life ; and 
 the proofs of his greatness are seen almost as 
 much in the one as the other. The same 
 qualities, which raised him to the ascendency 
 he possessed over the will of a nation as the 
 commander of armies and chief magistrate, 
 caused him to be loved and respected as an 
 individual. Wisdom, judgment, prudence, and 
 firmness were his predominant traits. No man 
 ever saw more clearly the relative importance 
 of things and actions, or divested himself more 
 entirely of the bias of personal interest, par 
 tiality, and prejudice, in discriminating be- 
 
JEx. 67.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 341 
 
 tween the true and the false, the right and 
 the wrong, in all questions and subjects that 
 were presented to him. He deliberated slowly, 
 but decided surely ; and, when his decision 
 was once formed, he seldom reversed it, and 
 never relaxed from the execution of a meas 
 ure till it was completed. Courage, physical 
 and moral, was a part of his nature ; and, 
 whether in battle or in the midst of popular 
 excitement, he was fearless of danger and re 
 gardless of consequences to himself. 
 
 His ambition was of that noble kind, which 
 aims to excel in whatever it undertakes, and 
 to acquire a power over the hearts of men by 
 promoting their happiness and winning their 
 affections. Sensitive to the approbation of 
 others and solicitous to deserve it, he made no 
 concessions to gain their applause, either by 
 flattering their vanity or yielding to their ca 
 prices. Cautions without timidity, bold with 
 out rashness, cool in counsel, deliberate but 
 firm in action, clear in foresight, patient under 
 reverses, steady, persevering, and self-possess 
 ed, he met and conquered every obstacle that 
 obstructed his path to honor, renown, and suc 
 cess. More confident in the uprightness of 
 his intentions, than in his resources, he sought 
 knowledge and advice from other men. He 
 chose his counsellors with unerring sagacity ; 
 
342 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1799. 
 
 and his quick perception of the soundness of 
 an opinion, and of the strong points in an ar 
 gument, enabled him to draw to his aid the 
 best fruits of their talents, and the light of 
 their collected wisdom. 
 
 His moral qualities were in perfect harmony 
 with those of his intellect. Duty was the 
 ruling principle of his conduct ; and the rare 
 endowments of his understanding were not 
 more constantly tasked to devise the best 
 methods of effecting an object, than they were 
 to guard the sanctity of conscience. No in 
 stance can be adduced, in which he was actu 
 ated by a sinister motive, or endeavored to 
 attain an end by unworthy means. Truth, 
 integrity, and justice were deeply rooted in his 
 mind ; and nothing could rouse his indignation 
 so soon, or so utterly destroy his confidence, 
 as the discovery of the want of these virtues 
 in any one whom he had trusted. Weakness 
 es, follies, indiscretions, he could forgive ; but 
 subterfuge and dishonesty he never forgot, 
 rarely pardoned. He was candid and sincere, 
 true to his friends, and faithful to all, neither 
 practising dissimulation, descending to artifice, 
 nor holding out expectations which he did not 
 intend should be realized. His passions were 
 strong, and sometimes they broke out with 
 vehemence, but he had the power of checking 
 
^Ex.67.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 343 
 
 them in an instant. Perhaps self-control was 
 the most remarkable trait of his character. It 
 was in part the effect of discipline ; yet he 
 seems by nature to have possessed this power 
 to a degree which has been denied to other 
 men. 
 
 A Christian in faith and practice, he was 
 habitually devout. His reverence for religion 
 is seen in his example, his public communica 
 tions, and his private writings. He uniformly 
 ascribed his successes to the beneficent agency 
 of the Supreme Being. Charitable and hu 
 mane, he was liberal to the poor, and kind to 
 those in distress. As a husband, son, and 
 brother, he was tender and affectionate. With 
 out vanity, ostentation, or pride, he never 
 spoke of himself or his actions, unless re 
 quired by circumstances which concerned the 
 public interests. As he was free from envy, 
 so he had the good fortune to escape the envy 
 of others, by standing on an elevation which 
 none could hope to attain. If he had one pas 
 sion more strong than another, it was love of 
 his country. The purity and ardor of his 
 patriotism were commensurate with the great 
 ness of its object. Love of country in him 
 was invested with the sacred obligation of a 
 duty : and from the faithful discharge of this 
 duty he never swerved for a moment, either in 
 
344 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1799. 
 
 thought or deed, through the whole period of 
 his eventful career. 
 
 Such are some of the traits in the character 
 of Washington, which have acquired ,r him 
 the love and veneration of mankind. If they 
 are not marked with the brilliancy, extrava 
 gance, and eccentricity, which in other men 
 have excited the astonishment of the world, so 
 neither are they tarnished by the follies nor 
 disgraced by the crimes of those men. It is 
 the happy combination of rare talents and 
 qualities, the harmonious union of the intel 
 lectual and moral powers, rather than the daz 
 zling splendor of any one trait, which consti 
 tute the grandeur of his character. If the 
 title of great man ought to be reserved for 
 him, who cannot be charged with an indiscre 
 tion or a vice, who spent his life in establish 
 ing the independence, the glory, and durable 
 prosperity of his country, who succeeded in 
 all that he undertook, and whose successes 
 were never won at the expense of honor, jus 
 tice, integrity, or by the sacrifice of a single 
 principle, this title will not be denied to 
 Washington. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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