The Army to be discharged.—Parting Address of Washington.—Evacuation
of New York.—Parting Scene of Washington with his Officers at New
York.—Washington resigns his Commission to Congress.—Retires to
Mount Vernon.
By a proclamation of Congress, dated 18th of October, all officers and
soldiers absent on furlough were discharged from further service; and
all others who had engaged to serve during the war, were to be
discharged from and after the 3d of November. A small force only,
composed of those who had enlisted for a definite time, were to be
retained in service until the peace establishment should be organized.
In general orders of November 2d, Washington, after adverting to this
proclamation, adds: “It only remains for the commander-in-chief to
address himself once more, and that for the last time, to the armies of
the United States, however widely dispersed the individuals who compose
them may be, and to bid them an affectionate and a long farewell.”
He then goes on to make them one of those paternal addresses which so
eminently characterize his relationship with his army, so different from
that of any other commander. He takes a brief view of the glorious
struggle from which they had just emerged; the unpromising circumstances
under which they had undertaken it, and the signal interposition of
Providence in behalf of their feeble condition; the unparalleled
perseverance of the American armies for eight long years through almost
every possible suffering and discouragement, a perseverance which he
justly pronounces to be little short of _a standing miracle_.
Adverting then to the enlarged prospects of happiness opened by the
confirmation of national independence and sovereignty, and the ample and
profitable employments held out in a Republic so happily circumstanced,
he exhorts them to maintain the strongest attachment to THE UNION, and
to carry with them into civil society the most conciliatory
dispositions; proving themselves not less virtuous and useful as
citizens, than they had been victorious as soldiers; feeling assured
that the private virtues of economy, prudence, and industry would not be
less amiable in civil life, than the more splendid qualities of valor,
perseverance, and enterprise were in the field.
After a warm expression of thanks to the officers and men for the
assistance he had received from every class, and in every instance, he
adds:
“To the various branches of the army the general takes this last and
solemn opportunity of professing his invariable attachment and
friendship. He wishes more than bare professions were in his power; that
he was really able to be useful to them all in future life. He flatters
himself, however, they will do him the justice to believe, that whatever
could with propriety be attempted by him has been done.
“And being now to conclude these his last public orders, to take his
ultimate leave in a short time of the military character, and to bid a
final adieu to the armies he has so long had the honor to command, he
can only offer in their behalf his recommendations to their grateful
country, and his prayers to the God of armies. May ample justice be done
them here, and may the choicest of Heaven’s favors, both here and
hereafter, attend those who, under the Divine auspices, have secured
innumerable blessings for others. With these wishes, and this
benediction, the commander-in-chief is about to retire from service. The
curtain of separation will soon be drawn, and the military scene to him
will be closed for ever.”
There was a straightforward simplicity in Washington’s addresses to his
army; they were so void of tumid phrases or rhetorical embellishments;
the counsels given in them were so sound and practicable; the feelings
expressed in them so kind and benevolent, and so perfectly in accordance
with his character and conduct, that they always had an irresistible
effect on the rudest and roughest hearts.
A person who was present at the breaking up of the army, and whom we
have had frequent occasion to cite, observes, on the conduct of the
troops, “The advice of their beloved commander-in-chief, and the
resolves of Congress to pay and compensate them in such manner as the
ability of the United States would permit, operated to keep them quiet
and prevent tumult, but no description would be adequate to the painful
circumstances of the parting scene.” “Both officers and soldiers, long
unaccustomed to the affairs of private life, turned loose on the world
to starve, and to become the prey to vulture speculators. Never can that
melancholy day be forgotten when friends, companions for seven long
years in joy and in sorrow, were torn asunder without the hope of ever
meeting again, and with prospects of a miserable subsistence in
future.”[100]
Notwithstanding every exertion had been made for the evacuation of New
York, such was the number of persons and the quantity of effects of all
kinds to be conveyed away, that the month of November was far advanced
before it could be completed. Sir Guy Carleton had given notice to
Washington of the time he supposed the different posts would be vacated,
that the Americans might be prepared to take possession of them. In
consequence of this notice, General George Clinton, at that time
Governor of New York, had summoned the members of the State council to
convene at East Chester on the 21st of November, for the purpose of
establishing civil government in the districts hitherto occupied by the
British; and a detachment of troops was marched from West Point to be
ready to take possession of the posts as they were vacated.
On the 21st the British troops were drawn in from the oft-disputed post
of King’s Bridge and from M’Gowan’s Pass, also from the various posts on
the eastern part of Long Island. Paulus Hook was relinquished on the
following day, and the afternoon of the 25th of November was appointed
by Sir Guy for the evacuation of the city and the opposite village of
Brooklyn.
Washington, in the mean time, had taken his station at Harlem,
accompanied by Governor Clinton, who in virtue of his office, was to
take charge of the city. They found there General Knox with the
detachment from West Point. Sir Guy Carleton had intimated a wish that
Washington would be at hand to take immediate possession of the city,
and prevent all outrage, as he had been informed of a plot to plunder
the place whenever the king’s troops should be withdrawn. He had
engaged, also, that the guards of the redoubts on the East River,
covering the upper part of the town, should be the first to be
withdrawn, and that an officer should be sent to give Washington’s
advanced guard information of their retiring.
Although Washington doubted the existence of any such plot as that which
had been reported to the British commander, yet he took precautions
accordingly. On the morning of the 25th the American troops, composed of
dragoons, light infantry and artillery, moved from Harlem to the Bowery
at the upper part of the city. There they remained until the troops in
that quarter were withdrawn, when they marched into the city and took
possession, the British embarking from the lower parts.
A formal entry then took place of the military and civil authorities.
General Washington and Governor Clinton, with their suites, on
horseback, led the procession, escorted by a troop of Westchester
cavalry. Then came the lieutenant-governor and members of the council,
General Knox and the officers of the army, the speaker of the Assembly,
and a large number of citizens on horseback and on foot.
An American lady, who was at that time very young and had resided during
the latter part of the war in the city, has given us an account of the
striking contrast between the American and British troops. “We had been
accustomed for a long time,” said she, “to military display in all the
finish and finery of garrison life; the troops just leaving us were as
if equipped for show, and with their scarlet uniforms and burnished
arms, made a brilliant display; the troops that marched in, on the
contrary, were ill-clad and weather-beaten, and made a forlorn
appearance; but then they were _our_ troops, and as I looked at them,
and thought upon all they had done and suffered for us, my heart and my
eyes were full, and I admired and gloried in them the more, because they
were weather-beaten and forlorn.”
The city was now a scene of public festivity and rejoicing. The governor
gave banquets to the French ambassador, the commander-in-chief, the
military and civil officers, and a large number of the most eminent
citizens, and at night the public were entertained by splendid
fire-works.
In the course of a few days Washington prepared to depart for Annapolis,
where Congress was assembling, with the intention of asking leave to
resign his command. A barge was in waiting about noon on the 4th of
December at Whitehall Ferry to convey him across the Hudson to Paulus
Hook. The principal officers of the army assembled at Fraunces’ Tavern
in the neighborhood of the ferry, to take a final leave of him. On
entering the room, and finding himself surrounded by his old companions
in arms, who had shared with him so many scenes of hardship, difficulty,
and danger, his agitated feelings overcame his usual self-command.
Filling a glass of wine, and turning upon them his benignant but
saddened countenance, “With a heart full of love and gratitude,” said
he, “I now take leave of you, most devoutly wishing that your latter
days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been
glorious and honorable.”
Having drunk this farewell benediction, he added with emotion, “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, who was nearest, was the first to advance. Washington,
affected even to tears, grasped his hand and gave him a brother’s
embrace. In the same affectionate manner he took leave severally of the
rest. Not a word was spoken. The deep feeling and manly tenderness of
these veterans in the parting moment could find no utterance in words.
Silent and solemn they followed their loved commander as he left the
room, passed through a corps of light infantry, and proceeded on foot to
Whitehall Ferry. Having entered the barge, he turned to them, took off
his hat and waved a silent adieu. They replied in the same manner, and
having watched the barge until the intervening point of the Battery shut
it from sight, returned, still solemn and silent, to the place where
they had assembled.[101]
On his way to Annapolis, Washington stopped for a few days at
Philadelphia, where with his usual exactness in matters of business, he
adjusted with the Comptroller of the Treasury his accounts from the
commencement of the war down to the 13th of the actual month of
December. These were all in his own handwriting, and kept in the
cleanest and most accurate manner, each entry being accompanied by a
statement of the occasion and object of the charge.
The gross amount was about fourteen thousand five hundred pounds
sterling; in which were included moneys expended for secret intelligence
and service, and in various incidental charges. All this, it must be
noted, was an account of money actually expended in the progress of the
war; not for arrearage of pay; for it will be recollected Washington
accepted no pay. Indeed, on the final adjustment of his accounts, he
found himself a considerable loser, having frequently, in the hurry of
business, neglected to credit himself with sums drawn from his private
purse in moments of exigency.
The schedule of his public account furnishes not the least among the
many noble and impressive lessons taught by his character and example.
It stands a touch-stone of honesty in office, and a lasting rebuke on
that lavish expenditure of the public money, too often heedlessly, if
not willfully, indulged by military commanders.
In passing through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, the scenes of
his anxious and precarious campaigns, Washington was everywhere hailed
with enthusiasm by the people, and greeted with addresses by legislative
assemblies and learned and religious institutions. He accepted them all
with that modesty inherent in his nature; little thinking that this
present popularity was but the early outbreaking of a fame, that was to
go on widening and deepening from generation to generation, and
extending over the whole civilized world.
Being arrived at Annapolis, he addressed a letter to the President of
Congress on the 20th of December, requesting to know in what manner it
would be most proper to offer his resignation; whether in writing or at
an audience. The latter mode was adopted, and the Hall of Congress
appointed for the ceremonial.
A letter from Washington to the Baron Steuben, written on the 23d,
concludes as follows: “This is the last letter I shall write while I
continue in the service of my country. The hour of my resignation is
fixed at twelve to-day, after which I shall become a private citizen on
the banks of the Potomac.”
At twelve o’clock the gallery, and a great part of the floor of the Hall
of Congress, were filled with ladies, with public functionaries of the
state and with general officers. The members of Congress were seated and
covered, as representatives of the sovereignty of the Union. The
gentlemen present as spectators were standing and uncovered.
Washington entered, conducted by the Secretary of Congress, and took his
seat in a chair appointed for him. After a brief pause the president
(General Mifflin) informed him, that “the United States, in Congress
assembled, were prepared to receive his communication.”
Washington then rose, and in a dignified and impressive manner,
delivered a short address.
“The great events,” said he, “on which my resignation depended, having
at length taken place, I now have the honor of offering my sincere
congratulations to Congress, and of presenting myself before them, to
surrender into their hands the trust committed to me, and to claim the
indulgence of retiring from the service of my country.”
After expressing his obligations to the army in general, and
acknowledging the peculiar services and distinguished merits of the
confidential officers who had been attached to his person, and composed
his family during the war, and whom he especially recommended to the
favor of Congress, he continued,—
“I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my
official life, by commending the interests of our dearest country to the
protection of Almighty God; and those who have the superintendence of
them, to his holy keeping.
“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 long acted, I here offer my commission,
and take my leave of all the employments of public life.”
“Few tragedies ever drew so many tears from so many beautiful eyes,”
says a writer who was present, “as the moving manner in which his
Excellency took his final leave of Congress.”[102]
Having delivered his commission into the hands of the president, the
latter, in reply to his address, bore testimony to the patriotism with
which he had answered to the call of his country, and defended its
invaded rights before it had formed alliances, and while it was without
funds or a government to support him; to the wisdom and fortitude with
which he had conducted the great military contest, invariably regarding
the rights of the civil power, through all disasters and changes. “You
retire,” added he, “from the theatre of action with the blessings of
your fellow-citizens; but the glory of your virtues will not terminate
with your military command; it will continue to animate remotest ages.”
The very next morning Washington left Annapolis, and hastened to his
beloved Mount Vernon, where he arrived the same day, on Christmas-eve,
in a frame of mind suited to enjoy the sacred and genial festival.
“The scene is at last closed,” said he in a letter to Governor Clinton;
“I feel myself eased of a load of public care. I hope to spend the
remainder of my days in cultivating the affections of good men, and in
the practice of the domestic virtues.”
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