Horatio Gates, born in Malden, Essex County, England, in 1728, was
the godson of Horace Walpole. Entering the military service of Great
Britain at an early age, he soon rose to the rank of major. After
the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle he was stationed with his regiment at
Halifax. At the breaking out of the French and Indian War, he joined
General Braddock’s army in the expedition against Fort Duquesne, and
received in that battle a severe wound that prevented his taking an
active part again until near the close of the war, when he acted in
1762 as aid to General Monckton in the expedition against the island of
Martinique. After the peace of Paris in 1763, Major Gates, like many
other English officers, settled in America. He purchased a fine tract
of land in Berkeley County, Virginia, and devoted himself successfully
to agriculture. He had married Mary, the only child of James Valence of
Liverpool, and at her father’s death, just before the Revolution, she
joined her husband in this country, bringing with her $450,000, which
she freely expended. Thaddeus Kosciusko was tenderly nursed by her six
months. As his wound was a severe one, he owed his life to her generous
care.
When war became inevitable, Gates offered his services to Congress,
receiving the appointment of adjutant-general, with the rank of
brigadier-general, June[1] 17, 1775. From the first, however, he
coveted the position of commander-in-chief, and on more than one
occasion showed his jealousy of Washington. Having many powerful
friends in Congress, he was advanced to the rank of major-general
May 16, 1776, and in June was appointed to the command of the army
in Canada with his headquarters at Ticonderoga. Not finding any
army in Canada, it having been compelled to retreat to New York, he
claimed command of the whole Northern army, then under Schuyler, with
his headquarters at Albany. Congress sustained the latter general,
but this period marks the beginning of a series of intrigues which
culminated in the “Conway cabal” to supplant Washington. Gates’
complicity in this conspiracy will forever tarnish his fame, as it no
doubt saddened his life. Demoralized by hard service, insufficient food
and clothing, with their pay in arrears, and consequently no money to
send to their starving families, the Northern army could accomplish
little except to gain in discipline and knowledge of military tactics.
At length Schuyler’s prudent measures and wise strategy were beginning
to tell in northern New York, and his sacrifices and heroism were about
to be rewarded, when at this critical moment General Gates was given
command of the Northern army, and arriving on the 21st of August, 1777,
assumed the direction of affairs, already in train for a splendid
victory. The battles of Stillwater and Saratoga forced Burgoyne to
surrender his entire army with all their arms and ammunition on the
17th of the following October. The conduct of Gates during the latter
battle has led to the charge of lack of personal courage, as throughout
the engagement he remained in a position of safety two miles away,
ready to flee with the teamsters and baggage-wagons should the action
result in a defeat for the Americans. Burgoyne, on the contrary, was in
the thick of the battle, receiving three bullets in his clothing.
[1] Journals of Congress. Appleton’s Cyclopædia gives the month
July.
In 1780, Gates was given command of the Southern army, and prepared
to attack Cornwallis at Camden, South Carolina. By a serious error in
judgment, Gates suffered a most humiliating defeat, which ended his
military career. On the 5th of October, 1780, he was suspended from
service until his conduct could be investigated. Deeply mortified,
he retired to his farm in Berkeley County, but as he passed through
Richmond, the State Legislature passed a resolution expressive of
their sympathy in his misfortune and their unabated confidence in
his patriotism and military skill; he received, too, a letter from
Washington containing assurances of sincere sympathy and promises of a
command when the court of inquiry should have acquitted him. Restored
to his command on the 14th of August, 1782, he did not serve, as the
war was then practically over. The battle of Camden virtually ended his
career. In 1790, he removed to New York City, generously freeing all
his Virginia slaves, and amply providing for the aged and infirm. In
1800, he was elected to the New York State Legislature, and died on the
10th of April, 1806.