The Life of George Washington, Vol. 3 (of 5)
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[Illustration: Beverly Robinson Mansion at West Point
_Benedict Arnold made this house his headquarters while in command of
the fort and garrison there. It was here that Washington came to
breakfast with Arnold, one September morning in 1780 and made the
discovery that his host had turned traitor and was conspiring to
surrender West Point to the British._]
A decisive naval superiority, however, was considered as the basis of
any enterprise to be undertaken by the allied arms. This naval
superiority being assumed, the outlines of the plan were drawn, and
the 5th of August was named as the day on which the French troops
should re-embark, and the American army assemble at Morrissania.
This plan was committed to Major General the Marquis de la Fayette,
who was authorized to explain the situation of the American army, and
the views of the General, to the Count de Rochambeau. It was to be
considered as preliminary to any operation--that the fleet and army of
France should continue their aid until the enterprise should succeed,
or be abandoned by mutual consent.
The Chevalier de Tunay did not long maintain his superiority at sea.
Three days after he reached Newport, Admiral Greaves arrived with six
ships of the line, and transferred it to the British. On his
appearance off the Hook, Arbuthnot passed the bar with four ships of
the line; and hearing that De Tunay had reached Rhode Island,
proceeded thither, and cruised off the harbour. The Count de
Rochambeau had been put into possession of all the forts and batteries
about Newport, and the fleet had been moved in a line so as to
co-operate with the land forces. This position appearing too
formidable to be attempted by the fleet alone, Arbuthnot continued to
cruise off Block Island.
As the commanders of the allied forces still cherished the hope of
acquiring a superiority at sea, the design on New York was only
suspended. This hope was strengthened by intelligence that the Count
de Guichen had been joined in the West Indies by a powerful Spanish
armament. The Chevalier de Tunay had despatched a packet to inform him
that he was blocked up by a superior force, and to solicit such
reinforcements as the situation of the Count might enable him to
spare. Relying on the success of this application, and on the arrival
of the second division of the squadron from Brest, the American
general impatiently expected the moment when De Tunay would be enabled
to act offensively.
In this crisis of affairs, a derangement took place in a most
important department, which threatened to disconcert the whole plan of
operations, though every other circumstance should prove favourable.
The immense expenditure of the quartermaster's department--the
inadequacy of the funds with which it was supplied--the reciprocal
disgusts and complaints produced by these causes, had determined
congress to make still another radical change in the system. This
subject had been taken up early in the winter; but such were the
delays inseparable from the proceedings of the government, that the
report of the committee was not made until the month of March, nor
finally decided on until the middle of July.
This subject was too interesting to the army, and to the important
operations meditated for the campaign, not to engage the anxious
attention of the Commander-in-chief. At his request, the quartermaster
general, while the army lay in winter quarters, repaired to
Philadelphia for the purpose of giving congress all the information he
possessed. He proposed to withdraw the management of the department
almost entirely from the civil government, and to place it under the
control of the person who should be at its head, subject only to the
direction of the Commander-in-chief.
The views of congress were entirely different. While the subject
remained suspended before that body, it was taken up by the committee
of co-operation at head quarters, where the combined experience and
talents of Generals Washington, Schuyler, and Greene, were employed in
digesting a system adapted to the actual situation of the United
States, which was recommended to congress. To give the more weight to
his opinion by showing its disinterestedness, General Greene offered
to continue in the discharge of the duties assigned to him, without
any other extra emolument than his family expenses. This plan,
whatever might have been its details, was, in its general outlines,
unacceptable to congress. A system was, at length, completed by that
body, which General Greene believed to be incapable of execution.
Resolving not to take upon himself the responsibility of measures the
issue of which must be calamitous and disgraceful, he determined to
withdraw from a station in which he despaired of being useful.
Apprehending the worst consequences from his resignation in so
critical a moment, General Washington pressed him to suspend this
decisive step, until the effect of an application from himself and
from the committee of co-operation should be known. Their
representations produced no effect. The resolution to make this bold
experiment was unalterable. General Greene's resignation was accepted;
and the letter conveying it excited so much irritation, that a design
was intimated of suspending his command in the line of the army. But
these impressions soon wore off, and the resentment of the moment
subsided. Colonel Pickering, who succeeded General Greene, possessed,
in an eminent degree, those qualities which fitted him to combat and
subdue the difficulties of his department. To great energy of mind and
body, he added a long experience in the affairs of the continent, with
an ardent zeal for its interests; and General Greene himself, with
several of the former officers, at the request of the
Commander-in-chief, continued for some time after their resignation,
to render all the services in their power; but there was a defect of
means, for which neither talents nor exertion could compensate.
In the commissary department the same distress was experienced.
General Washington was driven to the necessity of emptying the
magazines at West Point, and of foraging on a people whose means of
subsisting themselves were already nearly exhausted by the armies on
both sides. The inadequate supplies drawn from these sources afforded
but a short relief; and, once more, at a time when the public
imagination was contemplating brilliant plans, the execution of which
required steady courage with persevering labour, and consequently
ample magazines, the army was frequently reduced to the last extremity
by the want of food.
So great were the embarrassments produced by the difficulty of
procuring subsistence that, although the second division of the fleet
from Brest was daily expected, General Washington found it necessary
to countermand the orders under which the militia were marching to
camp.
Such was the state of preparation for the campaign, when intelligence
was brought by the Alliance frigate that the port of Brest was
blockaded. In the hope, however, that the combined fleets of France
and Spain would be able to raise the blockade, General Washington
adhered steadily to his purpose respecting New York, and continued his
exertions to provide the means for its execution. The details of the
plan of co-operation continued to be the subject of a correspondence
with the Count de Rochambeau, and the Chevalier de Tunay; and, at
length, a personal interview was agreed upon, to take place on the
21st of September, at Hartford, in Connecticut.
[Sidenote: Enterprise against New York relinquished.]
In this interview, ulterior eventual measures, as well as an explicit
and detailed arrangement for acting against New York, were the
subjects of consideration. No one of the plans, however, then
concerted for the present campaign, was carried into execution. All,
except an invasion of Canada, depended on a superiority at sea, which
was soon rendered almost hopeless by certain information that the
Count de Guichen had sailed for Europe.
[Sidenote: Naval superiority of the British.]
Not long after receiving this information, Admiral Rodney arrived at
New York with eleven ships of the line and four frigates. This
reinforcement not only disconcerted all the plans of the allies, but
put it in the power of the British to prosecute in security their
designs in the south.
[Sidenote: Plans for the campaign abandoned.]
It may well be supposed that the Commander-in-chief did not
relinquish, without infinite chagrin, the sanguine expectations he had
formed of rendering this summer 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 favourable 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 favourable disposition of Spain, the promised
succour 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) can not furnish the means to carry on the war. Is
it not time to retract from error, and benefit by experience? Or do we
want farther proof of the ruinous system we have pertinaciously
adhered to."
CHAPTER VIII.
Treason and escape of Arnold.... Trial and execution of
Major Andre.... Precautions for the security of West
Point.... Letter of General Washington on American
affairs.... Proceedings of congress respecting the army....
Major Talmadge destroys the British stores at Coram.... The
army retires into winter quarters.... Irruption of Major
Carlton into New York.... European transactions.
[Sidenote: 1780.]
While the public mind was anticipating great events from the
combined arms of France and America, treason lay concealed in the
American camp, and was plotting the ruin of the American cause.
The great services 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 to discharge. Unmindful of his military character, he
engaged in speculations which were unfortunate; and with the hope of
immense profit, 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 funds of the continent. 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
offence to congress. Having become peculiarly odious to the government
of Pennsylvania, the Executive of that state 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.
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.[42]
[Footnote 42: The author is informed by General Lafayette that Arnold,
while commanding at West Point, endeavoured to obtain from General
Washington the names of his secret emissaries in New York, and his
means of communicating with them. He pressed Lafayette, who had also
his private intelligencers, for the same information. His applications
were of course unsuccessful. It cannot be doubted that his object was
to commit the additional crime of betraying them to Sir Henry
Clinton.]
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 General Washington, suggesting doubts respecting the
military character of Howe, to whom its defence was then entrusted,
and recommending Arnold for that service. This request was not
forgotten. Some short time afterwards, General Schuyler mentioned to
the Commander-in-chief 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. General
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, repaired to camp, where
he renewed the solicitations which had before been made indirectly.
At this juncture, Sir Henry Clinton embarked on an expedition he
meditated against Rhode Island, and General Washington was advancing
on New York. He offered Arnold the left wing of the army, which that
officer declined under the pretexts mentioned in his letter to General
Schuyler.
Incapable of suspecting a man who had given such distinguished proofs
of courage and patriotism, the Commander-in-chief was neither alarmed
at his refusal to embrace so splendid an opportunity of recovering the
favour of his countrymen, nor at the embarrassment accompanying that
refusal. Pressing the subject no farther, he assented to the request
which had been made, and invested Arnold with the command of West
Point. Previous to his soliciting this station, he had, in a letter to
Colonel Robinson, signified his change of principles, and his wish to
restore himself to the favour of his Prince by some signal proof of
his repentance. This letter opened the way to a correspondence with
Sir Henry 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 Andre, an aid-de-camp of Sir Henry 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.
[Sidenote: Treason and escape of Arnold.]
The time when General Washington met the Count de Rochambeau at
Hartford was selected for the final adjustment of the plan; and, as a
personal interview was deemed necessary, Major Andre 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--Andre being brought
under a pass for John Anderson, in a boat despatched from the shore.
While the conference was yet unfinished, day light approached; and, to
avoid discovery, Arnold proposed that Andre should remain concealed
until the succeeding night. He is understood to have refused
peremptorily to be carried within the American posts; but the promise
to respect this objection was not observed. They continued together
the succeeding 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 endeavouring 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 General Arnold, authorizing him, under the name of John Anderson,
to proceed on the public service to the 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 militia men 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, Major Andre, instead of producing the pass[43] from
General Arnold, asked the man hastily where he belonged? He replied
"to below;" a term implying that he was from New York. "And so," said
Andre, 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 militia men 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 boots, in Arnold's hand writing, 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 still maintained his assumed
character, and requested Jameson to inform his commanding officer that
Anderson was taken. Jameson despatched 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.
[Footnote 43: Mr. Johnson says he did produce it; but that, on being
surprised, he had thrust a paper containing a plan of the route in his
boot, which, having been perceived, was demanded, and led to his
discovery.]
[Illustration: Where Washington Stayed During Andre's Trial
_In this brick house at Tappan, Rockland County, New York, the
American Commander-in-Chief, during September, 1780, awaited the
result of the trial of Major John Andre, who conspired with Benedict
Arnold for the betrayal of West Point to the British. Fourteen
American officers sat in judgment on Andre and ordered his execution
on October 2, 1780. In Tappan also is still standing the old Tavern
where Andre was imprisoned._]
When sufficient time for the escape of Arnold was supposed to have
elapsed, Andre, no longer affecting 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 despatched a packet to the Commander-in-chief containing
the papers which had been discovered, with a letter from Andre,
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,[44] they
missed each other, and a delay attended the delivery of the papers,
which insured the escape of Arnold.
[Footnote 44: General Lafayette adds some circumstances which are not
found among the manuscript papers of General Washington. The
Commander-in-chief with Generals Lafayette and Knox had turned from
the direct route in order to visit a redoubt. Colonels Hamilton and
M'Henry, the aids-de-camp of Generals Washington and Lafayette, went
forward to request Mrs. Arnold not to wait breakfast. Arnold received
Andre'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 aid-de-camp, which was ready saddled, and directing him
to inform General 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.
The Commander-in-chief, 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 despatch, which disclosed the whole mystery.]
[Sidenote: Precautions for the security of West Point.]
Every precaution was immediately taken for the security of West Point;
after which, the attention of the Commander-in-chief was turned to
Andre. A board of general officers, of which Major General Greene was
president, and the two foreign generals, 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.