After eight bloody years of conflict, and having defeated the British at Yorktown, the Revolutionary War was drawing to a close.
But the great American experiment of independence found itself at the brink of being overtaken by a military coup.
And General Washington’s leadership in a tense moment saved a fledgling nation by defusing the Newburgh Conspiracy.
On March 15, 1783, hundreds of officers of the Continental Army assembled to discuss what actions to take against the Congress of the Confederation.
Soldiers had not been paid in a year, supplies continued to be minimal, and Congress had an inability to meet its promised financial obligations to the military.
Once again, it would be George Washington who would step into the breach. This time not to win a war but to quell a mutiny.
Discontent grows in the Continental Army
As spring approached in 1783, the Continental Army under General George Washington found itself quartered in the village of Newburgh, New York, located on the west bank of the Hudson River, just north of West Point.
The Continentals were keeping an eye on the British Army, which still occupied New York City, as peace negotiations were held across the Atlantic Ocean in Paris, France.
The soldiers who bivouacked at Newburgh were tired, worn out, and homesick. Worse yet, they had not received any pay in a year. The men’s families continued to suffer as they served.
The Congress had not settled officers’ accounts for repayment of food and clothing they had purchased. Adequate basic supplies continued to be an issue.
There appeared to be little hope that the pensions they were promised would ever be paid, as money had not been collected from the states. The Congress was grossly derelict in delivering the promised financial obligations to the army.
Petitions began being circulated amongst the army’s ranks, criticizing the Congress of the Confederation, the country’s governing body. There was open talk of mutiny.
Meeting is called
The growth of the discontent came to Washington’s attention when he learned of two anonymous letters that were being distributed amongst his officer corps.
One letter disparaged an ungrateful “country that tramples on your rights, disdains your cries, and insults your distresses.”
The other letter called for a mass meeting on March 11.
Washington issued an order cancelling the March 11 meeting and called for a new meeting on March 15.
On March 15, a Saturday, the officers convened. Numbers vary between 300 and 400 in attendance. Some units who could not send an officer sent a representative. Most in the room were angry.
Horatio Gates, 2nd in command of the army and an ambitious man, stepped forward to lead and began the proceedings.
An unexpected guest
The gathering was interrupted, as unexpectedly, in the rear doorway of the building appeared General Washington. He inquired of Gates, “Might I be able to say a few things to the officers?”
Gates of course consented, hoping Washington remarks would be brief, and the coup could then proceed.
Washington began by denouncing the anonymous summons that had called for the gathering, “By an Anonymous summons, an attempt has been made to convene you together – how inconsistent with the rules of propriety! How unmilitary! And how subversive of all order and discipline – let the good sense of the Army decide.”
He appealed to the officers to “express your utmost horror & detestation of the Man who wishes, under any specious pretenses, to overturn the liberties of our Country, & who wickedly attempts to open the flood Gates of Civil discord & deluge our rising Empire in Blood.”
The General implored the men assembled to place their “full confidence in the purity of the intentions of Congress.”
Washington’s intention was to blunt any attempt to undermine civilian control of America’s government.
The room appeared unmoved.
One moment changes history
To close out his thoughts, the General related that he wished to read to them a letter of support from Virginia Congressman Joseph Jones. He drew the paper from his breast pocket and stumbled reading through the first paragraph.
Then the most poignant moment occurred that would change everything.
Washington paused, and fumbled in another jacket pocket, drawing out and revealing a pair of spectacles. None of the assembled had ever seen their commanding General with glasses before.
Washington stated, “Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for, I have grown not only gray, but almost blind in the service of my country.”
Many soldiers were stunned as the General appeared for the first time, vulnerable, realizing at that moment that the General had given as much in the service of their new nation as any of them. Some were so deeply moved that they openly wept.
They realized that, though valid in their grievances, they were concentrating only on themselves, and not the higher ideals of the revolution, a gift that was being given not only to Americans, but the world.
After Washington finished and left the room, within minutes the officers voted unanimously to express confidence in the Congress.
The crisis had passed.
They also voted to present to their General “the unanimous thanks of the officers” and stated, “The officers reciprocate his affectionate expressions, with the greatest sincerity of which the human heart is capable.”
Outcome of Washington’s actions
Three days later, March 18, 1783, Washington wrote a letter to the Congress, assuring them the upheaval with the officers corps was over.
He reported that the result of the “grand convention of the officers,” should be “considered as the last glorious proof of patriotism which could have been given by men who aspired to the distinction of a Patriot army; and will not only confirm their claim to the justice, but will increase their title to the gratitude of their country.”
General Washington clearly understood the stakes that the young nation faced at Newburgh.
In explaining his reasoning for addressing the assembled officers to Alexander Hamilton, he stated, “I was obliged . . . to rescue them from plunging themselves into a gulf of civil horror from which there might be no receding.”
His actions extricated the country from a situation that could have resulted in a military coup.
Washington achieved one of his greatest military accomplishments by defusing the erupting grievances with his words, rather than bullets or the bayonet.
The event is a testimony to how strong the bond of affection was between General Washington and those who served under him. Had this bond not existed, the Revolutionary War and the course of the nation could have ended quite differently.
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