_Philadelphia, 23d Sept., 1782._ JOSEPH REED.
General Cadwalader.
_Maryland, 30th September, 1782._
SIR,--I received yours of the 23d inst. by the post. From the
style of your first letter, (9th Sept.) in which you required
an "immediate answer," I fully expected an immediate
interview. As you declined the interview I proposed through
Mr. Ingersoll, and left town the next morning, without saying
when you proposed returning, and having determined not to
"alter or delay" the "small publication," which you "had
prepared before the receipt of my first letter,"--I am at a
loss to know what could have occasioned your surprise at my
departure, before your return from Bucks. After having
promised to the public the most satisfactory proofs, that no
such conversation as alluded to in the queries ever passed, it
was reasonable to allow you some time to prepare your
"authentic document." Your last letter (23d Sept) informs that
they were not _then_ completed. And could you reasonably
expect that I should have remained in town till this is
completed? or could you suppose I would suffer your
publication, worked up, as it no doubt will be, with all the
cunning and misrepresentation you are master of, to pass
unanswered? As you have protracted this affair by your
_engagement_ to the public, I shall not put it in the power of
_accident_ to deprive me of the opportunity of laying the
facts I am possessed of open to public view. The question will
then be, whether what I have avowed is true? My wealth,
judgment, or passions, can have no influence, either way, with
impartial men. My own character, the character of others
concerned, and all the circumstances combined, will determine
the judgment of the public. This business being ended, an
interview may reasonably be expected.
I am, sir, your humble servant,
Gen. Reed, Philadelphia. JOHN CADWALADER.
Having for several years given over every expectation of seeing those
changes made in the constitution of Pennsylvania, which I have ever thought
necessary to secure that happiness and liberty intended by the revolution,
I retired, and have never since even expressed my sentiments concerning the
politics of this state, except among my particular friends. Your vexatious
administration hath furnished an example, to what a dangerous length the
authority of government may be carried under such a constitution.
The particular circumstances of my family made it necessary to spend a few
months in this city, last summer, without an intention of taking up my
residence here till the conclusion of the war; and though I never
interfered in politics here, except among my particulr[TN] friends, I was
attacked, in the public papers, by a party blindly devoted to you and your
measures; I made no reply, from a confidence that such intimations could
not injure me with those whose good opinion I regarded. But whether a
friend published the piece signed Brutus, in the mere spirit of
retaliation, or whether it was calculated for political purposes, at the
last election, let the author determine. The conversation, alluded to in
the queries, was known to many long before that period; among whom were
some of your friends, in proof of which I offer Mr. Prior's
certificate.[F]
Having mentioned the conversation _publicly_, those who heard it were
certainly at liberty to make what use of it they saw proper.
Being entrusted with the command of the militia and a New England brigade,
which lay at Bristol in December, 1776, I had permission from the
Commander-in-chief to make an attack on the enemy, whenever I thought it
could be done with success; I was prepared on the evening of the 22d
December, to attempt the enemy's post, above the Black Horse, with seven
hundred men; and about nine or ten o'clock, P. M., I received a letter from
the general, requesting, if the enterprise was not too far advanced, to lay
it aside, as he intended a general attack on the enemy's posts in a few
days. From this circumstance, it appears, that the general gave me the
information relating to the intended attack, the evening before you
received his letter of the 23d December, in which the precise time was
fixed. As he knew my intention to command the party myself, and therefore I
might not be at Bristol the next day, this will account for his letter, of
the 23d being directed to you. But here you mean to convey an idea that a
preference in this communication was intended to you, though he had given
me, in effect, the same information the evening before. This, too, you
adduce as a proof of the general's "unbounded confidence in you," and you
say you were sent by General Washington for the "express purpose of
assisting me;" and "whatever my abilities were, that I had less experience
of actual service than you had,--that you were received with cool civility,
and very few marks of private attention;" though you acknowledge that I, at
the same time, consulted you without reserve on our "military affairs." I
will admit, that your opportunities of acquiring experience were greater
than mine; and considering the extensive command I then had, (which was in
number nearly equal to the force under the immediate command of General
Washington,) I should have thought it no reflection on my abilities; nor
would it have hurt my feelings, if an officer of superior abilities and
rank had been sent to take the command,--or even an _inferior_ officer to
assist me. But whether your appointment was of the mere _motion_ of the
commander-in-chief, or at your instance, (for assisting me or _other
purposes_,) may at least become a _question_.
That I received you "with cool civility, and very few marks of private
attention," I do not remember; but to give what you mean to convey its full
force, I will not hesitate to acknowledge it in its fullest extent; as you
have granted, that I consulted "without reserve on our military affairs."
In this instance, the world will do me justice, as it appears that I did
not suffer personal dislike to interfere with public duty.
Though the world have little to do with the causes of private animosities,
I shall think myself perfectly excusable, here to say a few words on this
subject, as you have assigned causes for the interruption of our intimacy
different from the true ones, and with a view of creating prejudices
against me.
I acknowledge that such intimacy subsisted between us in early life, and
you malignantly date its "dissolution" at the time of my sudden accession
of fortune as owing thereto. If I were to admit, that you could properly
date this breach from the moment you mention, I flatter myself, you would
find it very difficult to persuade those who know me, to believe that to be
the true cause. But this was really not the fact. The unworthy measures you
took to evade the payment, (till compelled by a judgment of the court,) of
Mr. Porter's order on you in favor of my brother and myself, which you had
accepted, (to be paid out of a bond assigned by said Porter to you in
trust,) was the true motive of that dissolution you complain of. If you
turn to the records of the court, or review the correspondence with my
brother on that subject, you must blush at such a subterfuge. From _that_
time, and owing thereto, I avoided your company. I could here make the
proper reflections, with respect to your veracity and integrity, but the
world will do you justice.
The critical situation of our affairs, in the winter of 1776, is well known
to every inhabitant of the United States; but those only who were at that
time in the field, can have a true idea of the circumstances which often
threatened the dissolution of the militia. My situation gave me better
opportunities of knowing the feelings and temper of both officers and
privates, than any other person; and the happy expedients used on several
occasions, to prevent their going home in a body, are well known to many
officers whom I then had the honour to command.
The first intimation we had of the capture of General Lee, was received by
a flag which arrived at my quarters. To determine whether this was a
misfortune, or an advantage to the cause of America, is at this time
immaterial. It was then, however, generally thought a matter of great
magnitude, in the British as well as in the American camp. The effect it
had on our army is well remembered by those who were present, but
particularly on the militia.
That men attached to a cause upon principle, should persevere in a
prosperous situation of affairs, is not uncommon. We were at that time
separated from our enemies only by a river, which we expected every day
might be passable on the ice,--greatly inferior in number and discipline,
and almost destitute of everything necessary even for defence. Add to this,
a proclamation of General Howe, offering pardon and protection to those who
should submit and swear allegiance before the first of January, 1777, and
this time nearly expired. I say, under such circumstances, it would be
wonderful indeed, if no officer of the army sunk under the apprehension of
those dangers that threatened him. That there were more than _yourself_, I
well know, whose expressions discovered a timidity unworthy an officer and
a patriot, who, notwithstanding, from the well-timed and spirited
remonstrances of their friends, were induced to assume a firmer tone of
behaviour, and have since rendered their country considerable services.
Having fully stated the temper of men's minds at this alarming period, and
the situation of public affairs, I shall now recite the conversation and
circumstances relating thereto, which I have avowed in my letter to you of
the 10th September, as having passed between us at Bristol.
I had occasion to speak with you a few days before the intended attack on
the 26th December, 1776, and requested you to retire with me to a private
room at my quarters; the business related to intelligence; a general
conversation, however, soon took place, concerning the state of public
affairs; and after running ever a number of topics,--in an agony of mind,
and despair strongly expressed in your countenance and tone of voice, you
spoke your apprehensions concerning the event of the contest,--that our
affairs looked very desperate, and we were only making a sacrifice of
ourselves; that the time of General Howe's offering pardon and protection
to persons who should come in before the first of January, 1777, was nearly
expired; and that Galloway, the Allens, and others, had gone over, and
availed themselves of that pardon and protection, offered by the said
proclamation; that you had a family, and ought to take care of them, and
that you did not understand following the wretched remains (or remnants) of
a broken army; that your brother (then a colonel or lieutenant-colonel of
militia,--but you say of the five months' men, which is not material,) was
then at Burlington, with his family; and that you had advised him to remain
there, and if the enemy took possession of the town, to take a protection
and swear allegiance; and in so doing he would be perfectly justifiable.
This was the substance, and I think nearly the very words; but that "_you
did not understand following the wretched remains (or remnants) of a broken
army_," I perfectly remember to be the _very words_ you expressed.
That our situation was critical, and the dangers that threatened us great,
were universally acknowledged; but I was astonished to hear such
expressions from the _Adjutant-General_ of the army, as your conduct had
been approved of by report; for your good behaviour was not personally
known to me. Judging from appearances, and from all circumstances at the
time, I imputed these sentiments _solely_ to timidity; and therefore, to
rouse your feelings, and give new vigor to a mind weakened by fear, I
recalled to your memory your former public professions and conduct, and
endeavoured to paint, in the strongest colours, the fatal consequences,
that would ensue from such an example, particularly to the militia; that if
officers, (more especially one in your station,) discovered a want of
firmness, we could not reasonably expect private soldiers to remain in the
field; and added, that as I was commanding officer there, I should not pass
over such expressions in future; appearing to be invigorated by these
remonstrances, your subsequent conversation induced me to hope from you a
more honourable resolution. The immediate turn in our affairs confirmed
this hope. I had, besides, at the moment, a still stronger dissuasive. I
foresaw that an "arrest," or discovery, on my part, would produce all the
bad effects naturally to be apprehended from actual desertion; I mean with
respect to the discouragement which such an example would have caused in
the army, but particularly in the militia; and especially, as at that time
the militia were assembling at Philadelphia, under General Putnam, from
every part of the country, influenced by the example of the city troops, as
well as by a sense of danger and duty. If, then, the city militia had
disbanded, no person can hesitate to determine what would have been the
fate of those from the country.
The reasons of my concealing it from the General were, that nothing but an
arrest, on his part, could have prevented the execution of this plan of
desertion, and the bad consequences ensuing from it, the betraying of
secrets; and such arrest would have wrought the _other_ ill consequences I
have spoken of. In this dilemma, I used a discretion which I considered
most advantageous to my country; and trusted to my hopes, that so important
an event, as your defection, would not happen, and thus avoid the
_immediate_ and _certain_ EVIL. And besides, I have, in every stage of the
war, shown a disposition to overlook political weaknesses, conceiving that
every man we could retain in the service an acquisition, tending to draw
forth the whole strength and abilities of my country against the common
enemy.
That the conversation alluded to is a new tale, devised in the malignancy
of party, has been asserted by you; and on this assertion is founded many
of your strongest conclusions in favour of your own innocence. But what
must the world think of your effrontery, when they read the following
letter of Col. Alexander Hamilton, who was then Aid-de-Camp to the
Commander-in-chief, and now a delegate in Congress; whose conduct and
character are well known and approved by the citizens of every State in the
Union,--a gentleman, who, being a resident of the State of New York, cannot
be supposed in any manner concerned in the politics of Pennsylvania?
PHILADELPHIA, _14th March, 1783_.
DEAR SIR:--Though disagreeable to appear in any manner in a
personal dispute; yet I cannot, in justice to you, refuse to
comply with the request contained in your note. I have delayed
answering it, to endeavour to recollect, with more precision,
the time, place and circumstances of the conversation, to
which you allude. I cannot, however, remember with certainty
more than this: that some time in the campaign of
seventy-seven, at head-quarters in this State, you mentioned
to me and some other gentlemen of General Washington's family,
in a confidential way, that at some period in seventy-six, I
think after the American army crossed the Delaware in its
retreat, Mr. Reed had spoken to you in terms of great
despondency respecting American affairs, and had intimated,
that he thought it time for gentlemen to take care of
themselves, and that it was unwise any longer to follow the
fortunes of a ruined cause, or something of a similar import.
It runs in my mind, that the expressions you declared to have
been made use of by Mr. Reed were, that he thought he ought no
longer to "risk his life and fortunes with the shattered
remains of a broken army:" but it is the part of candour to
observe, that I am not able to distinguish with certainty,
whether the recollection I have of these words arises from the
strong impression made by your declaration at the time, or
from having heard them more than once repeated within a year
past.
I am, dear sir, with great esteem, your obedient servant,
A. HAMILTON.
To General Cadwalader.
At the time I communicated the contents of Colonel Hamilton's certificate
to him, in confidence, it appears by your own acknowledgment, that[G] "no
party or prejudices existed, (at least as to you,")--"the intercourse
arising from these mingled duties and services, which were continued until
the army went into winter quarters, at the VALLEY FORGE, soon did away the
coolness which had for some years subsisted, and in no small degree revived
our former habits of friendship;"--"but it was our lot to meet again, a few
days before the battle of Monmouth; here we were again united in confidence
and danger. After the battle, we left the army together, and that period
closed our friendly intercourse forever." From these, (your expressions,)
you affect to believe, and wish the world to think, that our former
friendship was restored. It was not so; I cannot call it friendship. The
transaction I have mentioned occasioned the dissolution of that intimacy,
contracted in early life, which but little accorded with my notion of
perfect integrity. From that time, and owing solely to that cause, I took
the resolution to avoid your company, as a private gentleman, and which I
constantly adhered to. Meeting in the army, where we served most of the
time in the character of volunteers, I did not think it right to suffer
former dislikes to interrupt the duties and services required of us by the
commander-in-chief, so necessary for mutual and general safety. If, then,
my dislike to you did not proceed from such motives as sometimes induce men
to seek for opportunities of gratifying their resentments, for what purpose
could I have invented such a "_tale_?" or if my resentment was such as you
represent, why did I not gratify it by making it public immediately? at
that time, my mind could not have been "inflamed by party;" because you
admit, that no parties then existed, ("at least as to you;") nor could my
ambition have been disappointed,--because, being commanding officer of the
Pennsylvania Militia, (the council of safety, who then held the powers of
government,) could not gratify me further. I could not have "mistaken a
conversation with some other person," because there was not that "distance
of time," which you suppose, nor can it be conceived by the most credulous
to be "some jocular expression;" because the situation of affairs rather
suppressed than excited in you the appearance of mirth. Having mentioned
this conversation long before parties were formed here, it must appear to
every impartial person, that it could not have been the mere invention of
my own "brain," suggested in the spirit of party; and it is still more
absurd to suppose, that I could have foreseen that you, who then thought as
I did concerning the essential objections to the constitution of
Pennsylvania, should refuse the appointment of Chief Justice, because you
could not, in conscience, take the oath of office; that Mr. Wharton (the
first President,) should die; and yet that you should afterwards accept the
chair of government. It is, however, incontestibly proved, that the
conversation alluded to was spoken of by me at an early period, and long
before your appointment to the chair of government; and yet you say, "the
prosecution of General Arnold, I have no doubt, gave rise to it." If I was
to leave it to your ingenuity to explain to the world my motives for
inventing such a "tale," to what purposes could you possibly impute my
design? It could not be to gratify my resentment for the injury you
attempted upon my property; because I did not then make it public; it could
not be occasioned by any personal offence taken in 1777, (when I privately
mentioned it to Colonel Hamilton,) because you contend that our "former
habits of friendship" were revived, and acknowledge, that I never made it
public for several years afterwards. Here, then, the man of humanity may
ask me, why did you, at so late a date, publicly mention a circumstance
injurious to General Reed's reputation, as adjutant-general of the army and
a patriot, which after-services ought to have consigned to oblivion? The
question is a natural one, and I will give it an answer. The first occasion
of my mentioning this matter publicly was this: soon after our return to
the city, in the year 1778, among the victims selected for public examples,
there was a young gentleman, with whom I had formed an intimacy in early
life. I considered him, as he was by many, (and his acquittal justified the
opinion,) as unjustly persecuted; but General Reed, who had resumed his
original profession, _voluntarily_ aided the prosecution, and with all the
force of declamation, labored to inflame his judges and jury against him.
It was then, recollecting how near he once appeared to the commission of
the same offence which he charged upon the other, or at least to a
defection from the cause, that my indignation broke out at the trial,
saying to those around me, that "_it argued the extremity of effrontery and
baseness, in one man to pursue another to death, for taking a step which
his own foot had been once raised to take_!"[H] This was anterior to his
elevation to the Presidency, and whilst his powers of doing mischief, were
he so inclined, were circumscribed by the narrowness of his sphere of
action; at such a time, could I think his loss of fame so essential to the
public good, or, if he will, to the purposes of party, as to be willing to
attempt it, at the expense of my private veracity, my honour and
conscience.
The inconsistency of such ostensible conduct, and the baseness of a
meditated defection, is not irreconcilable to those who have had
opportunities of knowing that he is not incapable of such vast extremes;
who have seen him at the bar of the assembly he himself disqualified by the
non-compliance with the test of laws, as since fully appears by a
publication signed Sidney, unblushingly attempt to set aside the famous
Chester election, upon the suggestion of its having been carried by
electors disqualified from the like circumstances.
It is thus I would have answered the question, why I have mentioned
publicly your meditated defection, and I trust that such provocation
merited those reflections which might otherwise have remained in my own
breast.
The objection to the force of my single testimony thus obviated, did no
other offer to corroborate it, I should not hesitate to submit it, under
such circumstances, to the judgment of the public, resting _their_
determination upon the credit of _my_ veracity against _yours_. Having
supported an unblemished character, I dare defy any person to produce an
instance where I have even been suspected of an untruth, or of a base or
dishonourable action. Conscious of the truth of what I have asserted, I
have no fears that my conduct will ever "dishonour me with the wise and
virtuous."
The reason I have assigned for the dissolution of our intimacy antecedent
to the war, will afford a better proof of your ingenuity than your
integrity; and further, (with respect to your veracity,) if any other
instance is necessary, let me add one which happened at camp, (at
head-quarters,) in the year 1777, soon after the battle of Germantown, when
in my hearing, and in the presence of three officers of the first rank in
the army, you was charged to your face with a falsehood, and which was
fully proved the next day, by the general officer who made the charge.
And now, before I introduce the concurrent testimony in support of my
assertion, I shall take but a momentary notice here of those disrespectful
expressions with which you have decorated your pamphlet. Weakness of head,
is an accusation of a kind which it would equally puzzle the fool and the
wise to reply to; but against that of badness of heart, my known tenor of
conduct, in private and public life, must be my defence; if that fails, it
must be needless in me to set up any other.
But if even prejudiced men should still doubt the truth of my assertion,
with respect to the conversation alluded to, in the above representation,
every doubt must be removed upon reading the following certificates.
_Hermitage, 5th October, 1782._
DEAR GENERAL,--In the winter of 1776, after we had crossed the
Delaware, General Reed, in conversation with me, said that he,
and several others of my friends, were surprised at seeing me
there. I told him, I did not understand such a conversation;
that as I had engaged in the cause from principle, I was
determined to share the fate of my country; to which he made
no reply, and the conversation ended. As I had the honour of
commanding the militia of New Jersey, both duty and
inclination led me to use every exertion, in support of a
cause I had engaged in from the purest motives. I was really
much surprised at General Reed's manner, considering the
station he then acted in, and his reputation as a patriot; but
I considered it as the effect of despondency, from the then
gloomy prospect of our affairs.
This I mentioned to several of my friends at the time, who all
viewed it in the same point of light.