CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH—ARNOLD'S TREASON. 1780.
During the winter which followed the campaign of 1779, Washington, with
his army hutted on the heights of Morristown, was beset by pressing
and formidable difficulties. The finances of Congress were in a most
depressed condition, and the urgent wants of the army were but ill
supplied. The evils of short enlistment, though distinctly understood
and strongly felt, could not be remedied, and the places of those men
who were leaving the army on the expiration of their stipulated term
of service could not easily be filled up. Besides, the troops were
in danger of perishing by cold and famine. During the preceding year
General Greene and Colonel Wadsworth had been at the head of the
quartermaster and commissary departments, and notwithstanding their
utmost exertions, the wants of the army had been ill supplied. After
being put into winter quarters it was in great danger of being dissolved
by want of provisions or of perishing through famine. The Colonial paper
money was in a state of great and increasing depreciation, and in
order to check the alarming evil Congress, which, like other popular
assemblies had in it no small share of ignorance and self-sufficiency,
resolved to diminish the circulation and keep up the value of their
paper currency by withholding the necessary supplies from the public
agents. This foolish resolution threatened the ruin of the army. Nobody
was willing to make contracts with the public and some of those entered
into were not fulfilled.
Congress, jealous of the public agents, because ignorant of what was
really necessary, repeatedly changed the form of its engagements
with them, and, at length, by its fluctuating policy, real wants, and
imprudent parsimony, brought matters to such extremities that Washington
was compelled to require the several counties of the State of New Jersey
to furnish his army with certain quantities of provisions within six
days in order to prevent them from being taken by force. Although the
province was much exhausted, yet the people instantly complied with the
requisition and furnished a temporary supply to the army. [1]
Soon after Clinton sailed on his expedition against Charleston a frost
of unexampled intensity began. The Hudson, East river, and all the
waters around New York were so completely frozen that an army with its
artillery and wagons might have crossed them in all directions with
perfect safety. New York lost all the advantages of its insular
situation and became easily accessible on every side. The city was
fortified by the British, but on account of its insular situation,
several parts being considered of difficult access were left undefended.
By the strength of the ice, however, every point became exposed, and in
that unforeseen emergency, Knyphausen who commanded in the city with a
garrison of 10,000 men took every prudent precaution for his defense and
fortified every vulnerable part, but the inefficiency of the American
army was his best security. Washington easily perceived the advantages
which the extraordinary frost gave him, but from the destitute state
of his army he was unable to avail himself of them. The army under his
immediate command was inferior in number to the garrison of New York;
it was also ill clad, scantily supplied with provisions, and in no
condition to undertake offensive operations.
The British had a post on Staten Island, and as the ice opened a free
communication between the island and the New Jersey coast, Washington,
notwithstanding the enfeebled condition of his army resolved to attack
the garrison, and appointed Lord Stirling to conduct the enterprise.
The night of the 14th of January (1780) was chosen for the attempt, but,
though the Americans used every precaution, the officer commanding on
Staten Island discovered their intention and took effectual measures
to defeat it. The attack was repulsed, but little loss was sustained on
either side.
The extreme cold occasioned much suffering in New York by want of
provisions and fuel, for as the communication by water was entirely
stopped the usual supplies, were cut off. The demand for fuel in
particular was so pressing that it was found expedient to break up some
old transports, and to pull down some uninhabited wooden houses for
the purpose of procuring that necessary article. As the British paid in
ready money for provisions or firewood carried within the lines many of
the country people, tempted by the precious metals, so rare among them,
tried to supply the garrison. The endeavors of the British to encourage
and protect this intercourse and the exertions of the Americans to
prevent it brought on a sort of partisan warfare in which the former
most frequently had the advantage. In one of the most important of those
encounters, early in February (1780), near White Plains, a captain and
14 men of a Massachusetts regiment were killed on the spot, 17 were
wounded, and 90, with Colonel Thompson, the officer who commanded
the party, were made prisoners. Washington, writing to General Heath
respecting this affair, says: "It is some consolation that our officers
and men appear to have made a brave resistance. I cannot help suspecting
that our officers in advance quarter too long in a place. By these
means the enemy by their emissaries gain a perfect knowledge of their
cantonments and form their attacks accordingly. Were they to shift
constantly the enemy could scarcely ever attain this knowledge."
Congress found itself placed in very difficult circumstances. It always
contained a number of men of talents and manifested no small share of
vigor and activity. Many of the members were skilful in the management
of their private affairs, and having been successful in the world
thought themselves competent to direct the most important national
concerns, although unacquainted with the principles of finance,
legislation, or war. Animated by that blind presumption which generally
characterizes popular assemblies they often entered into resolutions
which discovered little practical wisdom. In pecuniary matters they were
dilatory and never anticipated trying emergencies, or made provision
for probable events, till they were overtaken by some urgent necessity.
Hence they were frequently deliberating about levying troops and
supplying the army when the troops ought to have been in the field, and
the army fully equipped for active service. This often placed Washington
in the most trying and perilous circumstances.
Congress had solemnly resolved not to exceed $200,000,000 in Continental
bills of credit. In November, 1779, the whole of that sum was issued
and expended also. The demand on the States to replenish the treasury
by taxes had not been fully complied with, and even although it had
been completely answered would not have furnished a sum adequate to the
expenses of government. Instead of maturely considering and digesting
a plan, adhering to it, and improving it by experience, Congress often
changed its measures, and even in the midst of those distresses which
had brought the army to the verge of dissolution, was busy in devising
new and untried expedients for supporting it. As the treasury was empty
and money could not be raised, Congress, on the 25th of February
(1780), resolved to call on the several States for their proportion of
provisions, spirits, and forage for the maintenance of the army during
the ensuing campaign, but specified no time within which these were
to be collected, and consequently the States were in no haste in the
matter. In order to encourage and facilitate compliance with this
requisition it was further resolved that any State which should have
taken the necessary measures for furnishing its quota, and given notice
thereof to Congress, should be authorized to prohibit any Continental
quartermaster or commissary from purchasing within its limits.
Every man who had a practical knowledge of the subject easily perceived
the defective nature and dangerous tendency of this arrangement. It was
an attempt to carry on the war rather by separate provincial efforts
than by a combination of national strength, and if the army received
from any State where it was acting the appointed quantity of necessaries
it had no right, though starving, to purchase what it stood in need of.
Besides the carriage of provisions from distant parts was troublesome,
expensive, and sometimes impracticable.
The troops were ill clothed, their pay was in arrear, and that of the
officers, owing to the great depreciation of the paper currency, was
wholly unequal to their decent maintenance. These multiplied privations
and sufferings soured the temper of the men, and it required all the
influence of Washington to prevent many of the officers from resigning
their commissions. The long continuance of want and hardship produced
relaxation of discipline which at length manifested itself in open
mutiny. On the 25th of May (1780) two regiments belonging to Connecticut
paraded under arms, with the avowed intention of returning home, or
of obtaining subsistence at the point of the bayonet. The rest of
the soldiers, though they did not join in the mutiny, showed little
disposition to suppress it. At length the two regiments were brought
back to their duty, but much murmuring and many complaints were heard.
While the army was in such want the inhabitants of New Jersey, where
most of the troops were stationed, were unavoidably harassed by frequent
requisitions, which excited considerable discontent. Reports of the
mutinous state of the American army and of the dissatisfaction of the
people of New Jersey, probably much exaggerated, were carried to General
Knyphausen, who, believing the American soldiers ready to desert their
standards and the inhabitants of New Jersey willing to abandon
the Union, on the 6th of June (1780), passed from Staten Island to
Elizabethtown, in Jersey, with 5,000 men. That movement was intended to
encourage the mutinous disposition of the American troops, and to fan
the flame of discontent among the inhabitants of the province. Early
next morning he marched into the country toward Springfield by the way
of Connecticut Farms, a flourishing plantation, so named because the
cultivators had come from Connecticut. But even before reaching that
place which was only five or six miles from Elizabethtown, the British
perceived that the reports which they had received concerning the
discontent of the Americans were incorrect, for on the first alarm the
militia assembled with great alacrity and aided by some small parties of
regular troops, annoyed the British by an irregular but galling fire
of musketry, wherever the nature of the ground presented a favorable
opportunity, and although those parties were nowhere strong enough
to make a stand, yet they gave plain indications of the temper and
resolution which were to be encountered in advancing into the country.
At Connecticut Farms the British detachment halted. The settlers were
known to be zealous in the American cause and therefore with a little
spirit of revenge, the British, among whom was General Tryon, laid the
flourishing village, with its church and the minister's house, in ashes.
Here occurred one of those affecting incidents which being somewhat out
of the ordinary course of the miseries of war make a deep impression
on the public mind. Mr. Caldwell, minister of the place, had withdrawn
toward Springfield, but had left his wife and family behind believing
them to be in no danger. The British advanced to the industrious and
peaceful village. Mrs. Caldwell, trusting to her sex for safety and
unsuspicious of harm, was sitting in her house with her children around
her when a soldier came up, leveled his musket at the window, and
shot her dead on the spot in the midst of her terrified family. On the
intercession of a friend the dead body was permitted to be removed when
the house was set on fire. This atrocious deed excited such general
horror and detestation that the British thought proper to disavow it,
and to impute the death of Mrs. Caldwell to a random shot from the
retreating militia, though the militia did not fire a musket in the
village. The wanton murder of the lady might be the unauthorized act of
a savage individual, but can the burning of the house after her death
be accounted for in the same way? Knyphausen was a veteran officer and
cannot be supposed capable of entering into local animosities or of
countenancing such brutality, but Tryon was present and his conduct on
other occasions was not unblemished.
Mr. Caldwell had rendered himself particularly obnoxious to the enemy,
and was cordially hated by Tryon for his zealous devotion to the
patriotic cause. He had served as a chaplain in the army, was
exceedingly popular among the patriots of New Jersey, had given up his
church to be used as a hospital, and had exerted himself by eloquent
appeals to arouse his countrymen to unflinching resistance against the
enemy. For this Tryon caused his church to be burnt and did not prevent
the soldiers from shooting his wife.
After destroying the Connecticut Farms, Knyphausen advanced toward
Springfield, where the Jersey brigade, under General Maxwell, and a
large body of militia had taken an advantageous position and seemed
resolved to defend it. General Knyphausen, however, had met with a
reception so different from what he expected that without making
any attempt on the American post he withdrew during the night to
Elizabethtown.
On being informed of the invasion of New Jersey, Washington put his army
in motion early on the morning of the day in which Knyphausen marched
from Elizabethtown and proceeded to the Short hills behind Springfield,
while the British were in the vicinity of that place. Feeble as his army
was, he made the necessary dispositions for fighting, but the unexpected
retreat of Knyphausen rendered a battle unnecessary. The British were
followed by an American detachment, which attacked their rear guard next
morning but was repulsed. Instead of returning to New York, Knyphausen
lingered in the vicinity of Elizabethtown and on Staten Island, and
Washington, unwilling with his inadequate force to hazard an engagement
except on advantageous ground, remained on the hills near Springfield to
watch the movements of the British army. At that time the army under the
immediate orders of Washington did not exceed 4,000 effective men.
On the 18th of June (1780), Sir Henry Clinton returned from South
Carolina with about 4,000 men, and after receiving this reinforcement
the British force in New York and its dependencies amounted to 12,000
effective and regular troops, most of whom could be brought into the
field for any particular service; besides these, the British commander
had about 4,000 militia and refugees for garrison duty. The British
army directed on any one point would have been irresistible; therefore
Washington could only follow a wary policy, occupying strong ground,
presenting a bold front, and concealing the weakness of his army as far
as possible.
The embarkation of troops by Sir Henry Clinton awakened the
apprehensions of Washington lest he should sail up the Hudson and attack
the posts in the Highlands. Those posts had always been objects of much
solicitude to Washington, and he was extremely jealous of any attack
upon them. In order to be in readiness to resist any such attack, he
left General Greene at Springfield, with 700 Continentals, the Jersey
militia, and some cavalry, and proceeded toward Pompton with the
main body of the army. Sir Henry Clinton, after having perplexed the
Americans by his movements, early on the morning of the 23d of June
(1780), rapidly advanced in full force from Elizabethtown toward
Springfield. General Greene hastily assembled his scattered detachments
and apprised Washington of the march of the royal army, who instantly
returned to support Greene's division. The British marched in two
columns--one on the main road leading to Springfield and the other on
the Vauxhall road. Greene scarcely had time to collect his troops at
Springfield and make the necessary dispositions when the royal army
appeared before the town and a cannonade immediately began. A fordable
rivulet, with bridges corresponding to the different roads, runs in
front of the place. Greene had stationed parties to guard the bridges
and they obstinately disputed the passage, but after a smart conflict
they were overpowered and compelled to retreat.
Greene then fell back and took post on a range of hills, where he
expected to be again attacked. But the British, instead of attempting
to pursue their advantage, contented themselves with setting fire to the
village and laying the greater part of it in ashes. Discouraged by the
obstinate resistance they had received and ignorant of the weakness
of the detachment which opposed them, they immediately retreated to
Elizabethtown, pursued with the utmost animosity by the militia,
who were provoked at the burning of Springfield. They arrived at
Elizabethtown about sunset, and, continuing their march to Elizabeth
Point, began at midnight to pass over to Staten Island. Before 6 next
morning they had entirely evacuated the Jerseys and removed the bridge
of boats which communicated with Staten Island.
In the skirmish at Springfield the Americans had about 20 men killed and
60 wounded. The British suffered a corresponding loss. Clinton's object
in this expedition seems to have been to destroy the American magazines
in that part of the country. But the obstinate resistance which he
met with at Springfield deterred him from advancing into a district
abounding in difficult passes, where every strong position would
be vigorously defended. He seems also to have been checked by the
apprehension of a fleet and army from France.
Washington was informed of Clinton's march soon after the British
left Elizabethtown, but, though he hastily returned, the skirmish at
Springfield was over before he reached the vicinity of that place.
After Clinton left the Jerseys, Washington planned an enterprise against
a British post at Bergen point, on the Hudson, opposite New York,
garrisoned by seventy Loyalists. It was intended to reduce the post
and also to carry off a number of cattle on Bergen Neck, from which the
garrison of New York occasionally received supplies of fresh provisions.
General Wayne was appointed to conduct the enterprise. With a
respectable force he marched against the post, which consisted of
a blockhouse covered by an abattis and palisade. Wayne pointed
his artillery against the blockhouse, but his field pieces made no
impression on the logs. Galled by the fire from the loopholes, some of
his men rushed impetuously through the abattis and attempted to storm
the blockhouse, but they were repulsed with considerable loss. Though
the Americans, however, failed in their attempt against the post, they
succeeded in driving off most of the cattle.
On the commencement of hostilities in Europe, Lafayette, as we have
seen, returned home in order to offer his services to his King, still,
however, retaining his rank in the army of Congress. His ardor in behalf
of the Americans remained unabated and he exerted all his influence
with the court of Versailles to gain its effectual support to the United
States. His efforts were successful and the King of France resolved
vigorously to assist the Americans both by sea and land. Having gained
this important point, and perceiving that there was no need for his
military services in Europe, he obtained leave from his sovereign to
return to America and join his former companions in arms. He landed
at Boston toward the end of April (1780), and, on his way to Congress,
called at the headquarters of Washington and informed him of the
powerful succor which might soon be expected from France. He met with a
most cordial reception both from Congress and Washington on account of
his high rank, tried friendship, and distinguished services.
The assistance expected from their powerful ally was very encouraging
to the Americans, but called for corresponding exertions on their part.
Washington found himself in the most perplexing circumstances; his army
was feeble, and he could form no plan for the campaign till he knew what
forces were to be put under his orders. His troops, both officers and
privates, were ill clothed and needed to be decently appareled
before they could be led into the field to cooperate with soldiers in
respectable uniforms, for his half-naked battalions would only have
been objects of contempt and derision to their better-dressed allies.
In order to supply these defects and to get his army in a state of due
preparation before the arrival of the European auxiliaries, Washington
made the most pressing applications to Congress and to the several State
Legislatures. Congress resolved and recommended, but the States were
dilatory, and their tardy proceedings ill accorded with the exigencies
of the case or with the expectations of those who best understood the
affairs of the Union. Even on the 4th of July (1780), Washington had the
mortification to find that few new levies had arrived in camp and some
of the States had not even taken the trouble to inform him of the number
of men they intended to furnish.
In the month of June the State of Massachusetts had resolved to send a
reinforcement, but no part of it had yet arrived. About the same time a
voluntary subscription was entered into in Philadelphia for the purpose
of providing bounties to recruits to fill up the Pennsylvania line,
and the President or Vice-President in council was empowered, if
circumstances required it, to put the State under martial law.
The merchants and other citizens of Philadelphia, with a zeal guided
by that sound discretion which turns expenditure to the best account,
established a bank, for the support of which they subscribed £315,000,
Pennsylvania money, to be paid, if required, in specie, the principal
object of which was to supply the army with provisions. By the plan
of this bank its members were to derive no emolument whatever from the
institution. For advancing their credit and their money they required
only that Congress should pledge the faith of the Union to reimburse the
costs and charges of the transaction in a reasonable time, and should
give such assistance to its execution as might be in their power.
The ladies of Philadelphia, too, gave a splendid example of patriotism
by large donations for the immediate relief of the suffering army. [2]
This example was extensively followed, but it is not by the
contributions of the generous that a war can or ought to be maintained.
The purse of a nation alone can supply the expenditures of a nation,
and when all are interested in a contest all ought to contribute to
its support. Taxes and taxes only can furnish for the prosecution of
a national war means which are just in themselves or competent to the
object.
Notwithstanding these donations the distresses of the army, for clothing
especially, still continued and were the more severely felt when a
cooperation with French troops was expected. So late as the 20th of
June (1780) Washington informed Congress that he still labored under
the painful and humiliating embarrassment of having no shirts for the
soldiers, many of whom were destitute of that necessary article. "For
the troops to be without clothing at any time," he added, "is highly
injurious to the service and distressing to our feelings, but the want
will be more peculiarly mortifying when they come to act with those of
our allies. If it be possible, I have no doubt immediate measures will
be taken to relieve their distress.
"It is also most sincerely wished that there could be some supplies
of clothing furnished to the officers. There are a great many whose
condition is still miserable. This is, in some instances, the case with
the whole lines of the States. It would be well for their own sakes and
for the public good if they could be furnished. They will not be able,
when our friends come to cooperate with us, to go on a common routine of
duty, and if they should, they must, from their appearance, be held in
low estimation."
This picture presents in strong colors the real patriotism of the
American army. One heroic effort, though it may dazzle the mind with its
splendor, is an exertion most men are capable of making, but continued
patient suffering and unremitting perseverance in a service promising
no personal emolument and exposing the officer unceasingly not only to
wants of every kind, but to those circumstances of humiliation which
seem to degrade him in the eyes of others, demonstrate a fortitude of
mind, a strength of virtue, and a firmness of principle which ought
never to be forgotten.
Washington was greatly embarrassed by his uncertainty with respect
to the force which he might count upon to cooperate with the expected
succors from France. Writing to Congress on this subject he said: "The
season is come when we have every reason to expect the arrival of the
fleet, and yet, for want of this point of primary consequence, it is
impossible for me to form a system of cooperation. I have no basis to
act upon, and, of course, were this generous succor of our ally now
to arrive, I should find myself in the most awkward, embarrassing, and
painful situation. The general and the admiral, from the relation in
which I stand, as soon as they approach our coast, will require of me a
plan of the measures to be pursued, and there ought of right to be
one prepared; but, circumstanced as I am, I cannot even give them
conjectures. From these considerations I have suggested to the
committee, by a letter I had the honor of addressing them yesterday,
the indispensable necessity of their writing again to the States, urging
them to give immediate and precise information of the measures they
have taken and of the result. The interest of the States, the honor and
reputation of our councils, the justice and gratitude due to our allies,
all require that I should, without delay, be enabled to ascertain and
inform them what we can or cannot undertake. There is a point which
ought now to be determined, on the success of which all our future
operations may depend, on which, for want of knowing our prospects, I
can make no decision. For fear of involving the fleet and army of our
allies in circumstances which would expose them, if not seconded by us,
to material inconvenience and hazard, I shall be compelled to suspend
it, and the delay may be fatal to our hopes."
While this uncertainty still continued, the expected succors from
France, consisting of a fleet of eight ships of the line, with frigates
and other vessels, under the Chevalier de Ternay, having about 6,000
troops on board under General the Count de Rochambeau, reached Rhode
Island on the evening of the 10th of July (1780), and in a few days
afterward Lafayette arrived at Newport from Washington's headquarters to
confer with his countrymen.
At the time of the arrival of the French in Rhode Island, Admiral
Arbuthnot had only four sail of the line at New York, but in a few days
Admiral Graves arrived from England with six sail of the line, which
gave the British a decided superiority over the French squadron,
and therefore Sir Henry Clinton, without delay, prepared for active
operations. He embarked about 8,000 men and sailed with the fleet to
Huntington bay, in Long Island, with the intention of proceeding against
the French at Newport. The militia of Massachusetts and Connecticut were
ordered by Washington to join the French forces in Rhode Island, and
the combined army there thought itself able to give the British a good
reception.
As the garrison of New York was weakened by the sailing of the armament
under Clinton, Washington, having received considerable reinforcements,
suddenly crossed the North river and advanced toward New York; that
movement brought Clinton back to defend the place and consequently
Washington proceeded no further in his meditated enterprise.
The want of money and of all necessaries still continued in the American
camp, and the discontent of the troops, gradually increasing, was
matured into a dangerous spirit of insubordination. The men, indeed,
bore incredible hardships and privations with unexampled fortitude and
patience, but the army was in a state of constant fluctuation; it was
composed, in a great measure, of militia harassed by perpetual service
and obliged to neglect the cultivation of their farms and their private
interests in order to obey the calls of public duty, and of soldiers on
short enlistments, who never acquired the military spirit and habits.
In consequence of an appointment, Washington and suite set out to a
conference with Count Rochambeau and Admiral de Ternay, and on the 21st
of September (1780) met them at Hartford, in Connecticut, where they
spent a few days together, and conversed about a plan for the next
campaign.
The conference was useful in making the respective commanders well
acquainted with each other, and promoting a spirit of harmony between
them; but it led to no settled plan for the next campaign. A plan
of operations for the combined forces, which had been drawn up by
Washington and sent to Rochambeau by Lafayette when he went to Newport,
had contemplated the superiority of the naval force of the French, which
had now ceased to exist in consequence of the arrival of Admiral Graves
with a fleet of six ships of the line. It was consequently agreed
that nothing could be done in the way of offensive movements until the
arrival of a second division of the French fleet and army from Brest,
which was expected, or that of the Count de Guichen from the West
Indies. In the sequel, neither of these arrivals took place. The second
French division was blockaded at Brest, and never came to this country,
and de Guichen sailed direct to France from the West Indies.
Meantime Admiral Arbuthnot blockaded the French fleet at Newport, and
Rochambeau's army remained there for its protection. Both the parties
remained watching each other's movements, and depending on the
operations of the British and French fleets. Washington crossed the
Hudson to Tappan and remained there till winter.
Washington did not relinquish without infinite chagrin the sanguine
expectations he had formed of rendering this campaign decisive of
the war. Never before had he indulged so strongly the hope of happily
terminating the contest. In a letter to an intimate friend, this chagrin
was thus expressed: "We are now drawing to a close an inactive campaign,
the beginning of which appeared pregnant with events of a very favorable
complexion. I hoped, but I hoped in vain, that a prospect was opening
which would enable me to fix a period to my military pursuits and
restore me to domestic life. The favorable disposition of Spain, the
promised succor from France, the combined force in the West Indies, the
declaration of Russia (acceded to by other powers of Europe, humiliating
the naval pride and power of Great Britain), the superiority of France
and Spain by sea in Europe, the Irish claims and English disturbances,
formed in the aggregate an opinion in my breast (which is not very
susceptible of peaceful dreams), that the hour of deliverance was not
far distant; for that, however unwilling Great Britain might be to yield
the point, it would not be in her power to continue the contest. But,
alas, these prospects, flattering as they were, have proved delusive,
and I see nothing before us but accumulating distress. We have been half
of our time without provisions and are likely to continue so. We have no
magazines nor money to form them. We have lived upon expedients until
we can live no longer. In a word, the history of the war is a history of
false hopes and temporary devices, instead of system and economy. It
is in vain, however, to look back, nor is it our business to do so.
Our case is not desperate if virtue exists in the people, and there is
wisdom among our rulers. But to suppose that this great revolution can
be accomplished by a temporary army, that this army will be subsisted by
State supplies and that taxation alone is adequate to our wants is in
my opinion absurd, and as unreasonable as to expect an inversion of the
order of nature to accommodate itself to our views. If it were necessary
it could be easily proved to any person of a moderate understanding that
an annual army or any army raised on the spur of the occasion besides
being unqualified for the end designed is, in various ways that could be
enumerated, ten times more expensive than a permanent body of men under
good organization and military discipline, which never was nor will
be the case with raw troops. A thousand arguments, resulting from
experience and the nature of things, might also be adduced to prove
that the army, if it is to depend upon State supplies, must disband or
starve, and that taxation alone (especially at this late hour) cannot
furnish the means to carry on the war. Is it not time to retract from
error and benefit by experience? Or do we want further proof of the
ruinous system we have pertinaciously adhered to?"
While the respective armies were in the state of inaction to which we
have just referred, the whole country was astounded by the discovery of
Arnold's treason. The details of this sad affair disclosed traits in
the character of this officer which were previously unknown, and, by the
public generally, unsuspected.
The great service and military talents of General Arnold, his courage
in battle and patient fortitude under excessive hardships had secured
to him a high place in the opinion of the army and of his country. Not
having sufficiently recovered from the wounds received before Quebec and
at Saratoga to be fit for active service, and having large accounts
to settle with the government, which required leisure, he was, on the
evacuation of Philadelphia in 1778, appointed to the command in that
place.
Unfortunately that strength of principle and correctness of judgment
which might enable him to resist the various seductions to which his
fame and rank exposed him in the metropolis of the Union, were not
associated with the firmness which he had displayed in the field and in
the most adverse circumstances. Yielding to the temptations of a false
pride and forgetting that he did not possess the resources of private
fortune, he indulged in the pleasures of a sumptuous table and
expensive equipage, and soon swelled his debts to an amount which it was
impossible for him to discharge. Unmindful of his military character,
he engaged in speculations which were unfortunate, and with the hope of
immense profits took shares in privateers which were unsuccessful. His
claims against the United States were great and he looked to them for
the means of extricating himself from the embarrassments in which
his indiscretions had involved him; but the commissioners to whom his
accounts were referred for settlement had reduced them considerably, and
on his appeal from their decision to Congress, a committee reported that
the sum allowed by the commissioners was more than he was entitled to
receive.
He was charged with various acts of extortion on the citizens of
Philadelphia, and with peculating on the public funds. [3]
Not the less soured by these multiplied causes of irritation, from the
reflection that they were attributable to his own follies and vices, he
gave full scope to his resentments, and indulged himself in expressions
of angry reproach against what he termed the ingratitude of his country,
which provoked those around him, and gave great offense to Congress.
Having become peculiarly odious to the government of Pennsylvania, the
executive of that State (President Reed, formerly aid to Washington)
exhibited formal charges against him to Congress, who directed that he
should be arrested and brought before a court-martial. His trial was
concluded late in January, 1779, and he was sentenced to be reprimanded
by the Commander-in-Chief. This sentence was approved by Congress and
carried into execution. [4]
From the time the sentence against him was approved, if not sooner, his
proud unprincipled spirit revolted from the cause of his country and
determined him to seek an occasion to make the objects of his resentment
the victims of his vengeance.
Turning his eyes on West Point as an acquisition which would give value
to treason and inflict a mortal wound on his former friends, he sought
the command of that fortress for the purpose of gratifying both his
avarice and his hate.
To New York the safety of West Point was peculiarly interesting, and
in that State the reputation of Arnold was particularly high. To its
delegation he addressed himself; and one of its members had written
a letter to Washington, suggesting doubts respecting the military
character of General Robert Howe, to whom its defense was then
entrusted, and recommending Arnold for that service. This request was
not forgotten. Some short time afterward General Schuyler mentioned to
Washington a letter he had received from Arnold intimating his wish to
join the army, but stating his inability, in consequence of his wounds,
to perform the active duties of the field. Washington observed that, as
there was a prospect of a vigorous campaign he should be gratified with
the aid of General Arnold--that so soon as the operations against New
York should commence, he designed to draw his whole force into the
field, leaving even West Point to the care of invalids and a small
garrison of militia. Recollecting, however, the former application of
a member of Congress respecting this post, he added that "if, with this
previous information, that situation would be more agreeable to him than
a command in the field, his wishes should certainly be indulged."
This conversation being communicated to Arnold, he caught eagerly at
the proposition, though without openly discovering any solicitude on the
subject, and in the beginning of August (1780) repaired to camp, where
he renewed the solicitations which had before been made indirectly.
At this juncture Clinton embarked on an expedition he meditated against
Rhode Island, and Washington was advancing on New York. He offered
Arnold the left wing of the army, which he declined under the pretexts
mentioned in his letter to Schuyler.
Incapable of suspecting a man who had given such distinguished proofs of
courage and patriotism, Washington was neither alarmed at his refusal
to embrace so splendid an opportunity of recovering the favor of his
countrymen nor at the embarrassment accompanying that refusal. Pressing
the subject no further, he assented to the request which had been made
and invested Arnold with the command of West Point. Previous to his
soliciting this station Arnold had, in a letter to Colonel Robinson, of
the British army, signified his change of principles, and his wish to
restore himself to the favor of his prince by some signal proof of his
repentance. This letter opened the way to a correspondence with Clinton,
the immediate object of which, after obtaining the appointment he had
solicited, was to concert the means of delivering the important post he
commanded to the British general.
Major John André, an aide-de-camp of Clinton, and adjutant-general of
the British army, was selected as the person to whom the maturing of
Arnold's treason, and the arrangements for its execution should
be entrusted. A correspondence was carried on between them under a
mercantile disguise in the feigned names of Gustavus and Anderson;
and at length, to facilitate their communications, the Vulture,
sloop-of-war, moved up the North river and took a station convenient for
the purpose, but not so near as to excite suspicion.
The time when Washington met Rochambeau at Hartford was selected for
the final adjustment of the plan, and as a personal interview was deemed
necessary André came up the river and went on board the Vulture. The
house of a Mr. Smith, without the American posts, was appointed for the
interview, and to that place both parties repaired in the night--André
being brought under a pass for John Anderson in a boat dispatched from
the shore. While the conference was yet unfinished, daylight approached,
and to avoid discovery Arnold proposed that André should remain
concealed until the succeeding night. They continued together during
the day, and when, in the following night, his return to the Vulture was
proposed, the boatmen refused to carry him because she had shifted her
station during the day, in consequence of a gun which was moved to the
shore without the knowledge of Arnold and brought to bear upon her. This
embarrassing circumstance reduced him to the necessity of endeavoring
to reach New York by land. To accomplish this purpose, he reluctantly
yielded to the urgent representations of Arnold, and laying aside his
regimentals, which he had hitherto worn under a surtout, put on a plain
suit of clothes and received a pass from Arnold, authorizing him, under
the name of John Anderson, to proceed on the public service to White
Plains or lower if he thought proper.
With this permit he had passed all the guards and posts on the road
unsuspected and was proceeding to New York in perfect security, when
one of three militiamen [5] who were employed between the lines of the
two armies, springing suddenly from his covert into the road, seized
the reins of his bridle and stopped his horse. Losing his accustomed
self possession, André, instead of producing the pass from Arnold,
asked the man hastily where he belonged. He replied, "To below," a term
implying that he was from New York. "And so," said André, not
suspecting deception, "am I." He then declared himself to be a British
officer on urgent business, and begged that he might not be detained.
The appearance of the other militiamen disclosed his mistake too late
to correct it. He offered a purse of gold and a valuable watch, with
tempting promises of ample reward from his government if they would,
permit him to escape; but his offers were rejected, and his captors
proceeded to search him. They found concealed in his stockings, in
Arnold's handwriting, papers containing all the information which could
be important respecting West Point. When carried before
Lieutenant-Colonel Jameson, the officer commanding the scouting parties
on the lines, he maintained his assumed character and requested Jameson
to inform his commanding officer that Anderson was taken. Jameson
dispatched an express with this communication. On receiving it, Arnold
comprehended the full extent of his danger, and flying from
well-merited punishment took refuge on board the Vulture.
When sufficient time for the escape of Arnold was supposed to have
elapsed, André, no longer effecting concealment, acknowledged himself to
be the adjutant-general of the British army. Jameson, seeking to correct
the mischief of his indiscreet communication to Arnold, immediately
dispatched a packet to the Commander-in-Chief containing the papers
which had been discovered, with a letter from André relating the manner
of his capture and accounting for the disguise he had assumed.
The express was directed to meet the Commander-in-Chief, who was then on
his return from Hartford, but, taking different roads, they missed each
other, and a delay attended the delivery of the papers, which ensured
the escape of Arnold.
Washington, with Generals Lafayette and Knox, had turned from the direct
route in order to visit a redoubt. Colonels Hamilton and M'Henry, the
aides-de-camp of Washington and Lafayette, went forward to request Mrs.
Arnold not to wait breakfast. Arnold received André's billet in
their presence. He turned pale, left them suddenly, called his wife,
communicated the intelligence to her, and left her in a swoon, without
the knowledge of Hamilton and M'Henry. Mounting the horse of his
aide-de-camp, which was ready saddled, and directing him to inform
Washington on his arrival that Arnold was gone to receive him at West
Point, he gained the river shore, and was conveyed in a canoe to the
Vulture.
Washington, on his arrival, was informed that Arnold awaited him at West
Point. Taking it for granted that this step had been taken to prepare
for his reception he proceeded thither without entering the house, and
was surprised to find that Arnold was not arrived. On returning to the
quarters of that officer he received Jameson's dispatch which disclosed
the whole mystery.
Every precaution was immediately taken for the security of West Point,
after which the attention of the Commander-in-Chief was turned to André.
A board of general officers, of which General Greene was president,
and Lafayette and Steuben were members, was called, to report a precise
state of his case, and to determine the character in which he was to be
considered, and the punishment to which he was liable.
The frankness and magnanimity with which André had conducted himself
from the time of his appearance in his real character had made a very
favorable impression on all those with whom he had held any intercourse.
From this cause he experienced every mark of indulgent attention which
was compatible with his situation, and, from a sense of justice as well
as of delicacy, was informed, on the opening of the examination that he
was at liberty not to answer any interrogatory which might embarrass
his own feelings. But, as if only desirous to rescue his character from
imputations which he dreaded more than death, he confessed everything
material to his own condemnation, but would divulge nothing which might
involve others.
The board reported the essential facts which had appeared, with their
opinion that Major André was a spy and ought to suffer death. The
execution of this sentence was ordered to take place on the day
succeeding that on which it was pronounced.
Superior to the terrors of death, but dreading disgrace, André was
deeply affected by the mode of execution which the laws of war decree
to persons in his situation. He wished to die like a soldier not as
a criminal. To obtain a mitigation of his sentence in this respect he
addressed a letter to Washington, replete with the feelings of a man of
sentiment and honor. But the occasion required that the example should
make its full impression, and this request could not be granted. He
encountered his fate with composure and dignity, and his whole conduct
interested the feelings of all who witnessed it.
The general officers lamented the sentence which the usages of
war compelled them to pronounce, and never perhaps did the
Commander-in-Chief obey with more reluctance the stern mandates of duty
and policy. The sympathy excited among the American officers by his fate
was as universal as it is unusual on such occasions, and proclaims alike
the merit of him who suffered, and the humanity of those who inflicted
the punishment.
Great exertions were made by Sir Henry Clinton, to whom André was
particularly dear, first, to have him considered as protected by a flag
of truce, and afterward as a prisoner of war.
Even Arnold had the hardihood to interpose. After giving a certificate
of facts tending, as he supposed, to exculpate the prisoner, exhausting
his powers of reasoning on the case, and appealing to the humanity
of Washington, he sought to intimidate that officer by stating the
situation of many of the most distinguished individuals of South
Carolina, who had forfeited their lives, but had hitherto been spared
through the clemency of the British general. This clemency, he said,
could no longer be extended to them should Major André suffer.
It may well be supposed that the interposition of Arnold could have no
influence on Washington. He caused Mrs. Arnold to be conveyed to her
husband in New York, and also transmitted his clothes and baggage, for
which he had written, but in every other respect his letters, which were
unanswered, were also unnoticed.
The night after Arnold's escape, when his letter respecting André was
received, the general directed one of his aides to wait on Mrs. Arnold,
who was convulsed with grief, and inform her that he had done everything
which depended on him to arrest her husband, but that, not having
succeeded, it gave him pleasure to inform her that her husband was safe.
It is honorable to the American character that, during the effervescence
of the moment, Mrs. Arnold was permitted to go to Philadelphia to
take possession of her effects, and to proceed to New York under the
protection of a flag without receiving the slightest insult.
This treatment of Mrs. Arnold by Washington is the more remarkable for
its delicacy when we recollect that she was under very strong suspicions
at the time of being actively concerned in the treason of her husband.
Historians are still divided on the question of her guilt or innocence.
The mingled sentiments of admiration and compassion excited in every
bosom for the unfortunate André, seemed to increase the detestation in
which Arnold was held. "André," said General Washington in a private
letter, "has met his fate with that fortitude which was to be expected
from an accomplished man and a gallant officer, but I am mistaken if at
this time Arnold is undergoing the torments of a mental hell. He wants
feeling. From some traits of his character which have lately come to my
knowledge, he seems to have been so hardened in crime, so lost to all
sense of honor and shame, that while his faculties still enable him to
continue his sordid pursuits, there will be no time for remorse."
The traits in his character above alluded to, were disclosed in a
private letter from Hamilton, who said: "This man (Arnold) is in every
sense despicable. In addition to the scene of knavery and prostitution
during his command in Philadelphia, which the late seizure of his papers
has unfolded, the history of his command at West Point is a history
of little as well as great villainies. He practiced every dirty act of
peculation, and even stooped to connections with the sutlers to defraud
the public." [6]
From motives of policy, or of respect for his engagements, Sir Henry
Clinton conferred on Arnold the commission of a brigadier-general in
the British service, which he preserved throughout the war. Yet it
is impossible that rank could have rescued him from the contempt and
detestation in which the generous, and honorable, and the brave could
not cease to hold him. It was impossible for men of this description to
bury the recollection of his being a traitor--a sordid traitor--first
the slave of his rage, then purchased with gold, and finally secured at
the expense of the blood of one of the most accomplished officers in the
British army.
His representations of the discontent of the country and of the army,
concurring with reports from other quarters, had excited the hope that
the Loyalists and the dissatisfied, allured by British gold and the
prospect of rank in the British service, would flock to his standard
and form a corps at whose head he might again display his accustomed
intrepidity. With this hope he published an address to the inhabitants
of America in which he labored to palliate his own guilt, and to
increase their dissatisfaction with the existing state of things.
This appeal to the public was followed by a proclamation addressed "To
the officers and soldiers of the Continental army, who have the real
interests of their country at heart, and who are determined to be no
longer the tools and dupes of Congress or of France."
The object of this proclamation was to induce the officers and soldiers
to desert the cause they had embraced from principle by holding up to
them the very flattering offers of the British general, and contrasting
the substantial emoluments of the British service with their present
deplorable condition. He attempted to cover this dishonorable
proposition with a decent garb, by representing the base step he
invited them to take as the only measure which could restore peace, real
liberty, and happiness to their country.
These inducements did not produce their intended effect. Although the
temper of the army might be irritated by real suffering, and by the
supposed neglect of government, no diminution of patriotism had been
produced. Through all the hardships, irritations, and vicissitudes of
the war Arnold remains the solitary instance of an American officer who
abandoned the side first embraced in this civil contest, and turned his
sword upon his former companions in arms.
In the whole course of this affair of Arnold's treason, Washington,
according to the habitually religious turn of his mind, distinctly
recognized the hand of Divine Providence. Writing to Col. John Laurens
he says: "In no instance since the commencement of the war has the
interposition of Providence appeared more remarkably conspicuous than
in the rescue of the post and garrison of West Point from Arnold's
villainous perfidy. How far he meant to involve me in the catastrophe of
this place does not appear by any indubitable evidence, and I am rather
inclined to think he did not wish to hazard the more important object
of his treachery by attempting to combine two events, the less of
which might have marred the greater. A combination of extraordinary
circumstances, an unaccountable deprivation of presence of mind in a man
of the first abilities, and the virtue of three militiamen, threw the
adjutant-general of the British forces, with full proofs of Arnold's
treachery, into our hands. But for the egregious folly, or the
bewildered conception, of Lieutenant-Colonel Jameson, who seemed lost
in astonishment and not to know what he was doing, I should undoubtedly
have got Arnold."
Arnold, however, had not yet displayed the whole of his character.
Savage revenge and ruthless cruelty were yet to become apparent in his
conduct as an officer in the British service. It seems to have been the
design of Providence that Americans, in all ages, should learn to detest
treason by seeing it exhibited in all its hideous deformity, in the
person of "ARNOLD, THE TRAITOR." [7]
1. Footnote: While Washington was in winter quarters at Morristown,
he requested Congress to send a committee to the camp, as had been
previously done at Valley Forge, for the purpose of giving effect to the
arrangements for the ensuing campaign, and drawing more expeditiously
from the States their respective quotas of soldiers and supplies.
General Schuyler, who had retired from the army and was then in
Congress, was a member of this committee. He rendered essential service
at this time by his judgment and experience. The committee remained in
camp between two and three months.
2. Footnote: It is pleasant to know that Mrs. Washington was at the head
of this movement. Dr. Spencer says: "In all parts of the country the
women displayed great zeal and activity, particularly in providing
clothing for the soldiers. In Philadelphia they formed a society, at
the head of which was Martha Washington, wife of the Commander-in-Chief.
This lady was as prudent in private affairs as her husband was in
public. She alone presided over their domestic finances, and provided
for their common household. Thus it was owing to the talents and virtues
of his wife, that Washington could give himself wholly to the dictates
of that patriotism which this virtuous pair mutually shared and
reciprocally invigorated. Mrs. Washington, Mrs. Reed, Mrs. Bache, the
daughter of Dr. Franklin, with the other ladies who had formed the
society, themselves subscribed considerable sums for the public; and
having exhausted their own means, they exerted their influence, and went
from house to house to stimulate the liberality of others."
3. Footnote: While these charges were hanging over his head, Arnold
courted and married Miss Shippen, a young lady, not yet eighteen, the
daughter of Mr. Edward Shippen, of Philadelphia.
4. Footnote: "Our service,"--such were his words,--"is the chastest
of all. Even the shadow of a fault tarnishes the lustre of our finest
achievements. The least inadvertence may rob us of the public favor,
so hard to be acquired. I reprimand you for having forgotten, that in
proportion as you had rendered yourself formidable to our enemies, you
should have been guarded and temperate in your deportment toward your
fellow-citizens.
"Exhibit anew those noble qualities which have placed you on the list of
our most valued commanders. I will myself furnish you, as far as it
may be in my power, with opportunities of gaining the esteem of your
country."
5. Footnote: The names of these militiamen were John Paulding, David
Williams, and Isaac Van Wart.
6. Footnote: "I am inclined to believe that Arnold was a finished
scoundrel from early manhood to his grave; nor do I believe that he had
any real and true-hearted attachment to the Whig cause. He fought as a
mere adventurer, and took sides from a calculation of personal gain, and
chances of plunder and advancement."--_Sabine's "American Loyalists_,"
p. 131.
7. Footnote: On the third of November it was resolved, "That Congress
have a high sense of the virtuous and patriotic conduct of John
Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart; in testimony whereof,
ordered, that each of them receive annually $200 in specie, or an
equivalent in the current money of these States, during life, and that
the Board of War be directed to procure for each of them a silver medal,
on one side of which shall be a shield, with this inscription--FIDELITY:
and on the other, the following motto--VINCIT AMOR PATIAE, and forward
them to the Commander-in-Chief, who is requested to present the same,
with a copy of this resolution, and the thanks of Congress for their
fidelity, and the eminent service they have rendered their country."