Travels through History
Earlier this month, I traveled to Kennebunkport, Maine, where I gave a presentation on intelligence activities during the American War for Independence to the Maine Chapter of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. On the return trip, I visited the Continental Army’s last cantonment site and General Washington’s Headquarters, located in the central Hudson Valley. These understated and picturesque locales were the focal point of some exciting developments as the eight-year struggle for freedom reached its final stages.
Army at Dusk
Although British General Charles Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781 marked the final significant engagement in the eight-year struggle, small-scale fighting persisted as both sides sought advantages in the peace negotiations. General George Washington dispatched part of his army south to bolster Major General Nathanael Greene’s campaign to reclaim the Carolinas from the British, who tenaciously held onto their coastal garrisons. Meanwhile, Loyalist bands continued their resistance wherever possible.
The remainder of Washington’s Army, approximately 7,500 men, marched back to New York, where Washington hoped to unite with the French under General comte de Rochambeau and launch his long-awaited assault on New York City. However, like the British, the French now perceived that their primary interest was in competing for the islands of the West Indies and soon sailed south. Washington positioned his Army in the mid-Hudson Valley region, close enough to threaten the British garrison, which controlled New York City, Long Island, and parts of Westchester.
Without the French Army or Navy to support him, his primary responsibility now was to maintain an army as a credible threat to the city — making it just another piece in the nuanced diplomatic struggle taking place in Paris. This was easier said than done. The only thing more challenging to command than an army at dawn is an army at dusk. However, if negotiations broke down, Washington recognized that a credible army would be vital to the nation’s survival.
Newburg Headquarters
The central Hudson Valley provided a beautiful setting for the Army at dusk. The mighty Hudson (then called The North) River was flanked by steeply rising slopes filled with lush forests, green farmland, and tidy orchards. Once the domain of native tribes and early Dutch settlers, the area had been Anglicized but retained much of its original Dutch flavor.
Washington’s headquarters was in the town of Newburgh, about four miles north of the main Army encampment. From April 1782 to August 1783, he established the Continental Army headquarters and his residence in a brown fieldstone mansion owned by the Hasbrouck family. He stayed at the Hasbrouck House longer than at any of his numerous homes throughout the eight-year war. Washington was joined by his staff, personal Life Guard, servants, and occasionally, Martha Washington.
He would oversee the final crises of his war in this spacious home overlooking the Hudson from its western bluffs.
New Windsor Cantonment
A few miles south, the remaining brigades of the Continental Army were gathered in log huts cut from the nearby Catskill Mountains. He had marched them there in October, and by December, the Army’s engineers and carpenters, aided by the infantrymen, built nearly 600 huts, creating a military community — a cantonment. This cantonment, home to 7,500 soldiers plus 500 women and children, was the most densely populated “town” in the colonies and the second largest “city” in New York State.
Although not as harsh as the winter at Valley Forge or the Morristown cantonment, the winter quarters remained challenging. Officers and soldiers spent much of their time trying to keep enough wood for the camp and stove fires, and, as was the case throughout the war, the quartermasters faced difficulties in obtaining sufficient food, blankets, clothing, and other essential supplies. Some senior officers squabbled over finding appropriate quarters.
In addition to New Windsor, Washington stationed forces, primarily his artillery and the Corps of Invalids, further down the Hudson at West Point. A “duty regiment” was also rotated into lower Westchester, where they monitored the British defenses at Kingsbridge (today’s Bronx). The shortage of forage for horses also compelled him to disperse most of his cavalry.
The Man Who Would Not Be King
By 1782, years of poor treatment of the Army by the Continental Congress and, more specifically, the states had led to widespread discontent. One of Washington’s commanders, Colonel Lewis Nicola, decided that action was necessary. Nicola, a Dublin-born French Huguenot, commanded the Corps of Invalids, wounded soldiers who were limited in capability but retained for guard, garrison, and sentry duties.
In a May 1782 letter to the commander-in-chief, Nicola proposed a monarchy like Britain’s, suggesting that Washington would be king. He cited the grievances of the Army and its officers, indicating that he represented a widely held belief in this solution. Washington's reaction was swift and harsh; he soundly rebuked Nicola in writing for the proposal and for the notion that he would forsake a republic to become a king.
Spring of Discontent
At New Windsor, General George Washington put an end to a conspiracy among his officers. The issue was, once again, pay. The officers were worried that the anticipated ½ pay pensions long promised by the Confederation Congress would not materialize. Many understood that once the treaty with Britain was signed, there would be no motivation for the government to fulfill its promises.
In fact, the Articles of Confederation Congress had no authority to appropriate funds for this—that was the role of the states. Alexander Hamilton, now in Congress, and his allies were trying to resolve the situation. Still, many officers had lost patience, and a movement was underway to plan an action against Congress itself—the so-called Newburgh Conspiracy.
Informed of this, Washington composed a stirring paean to duty and country over interest and arranged to attend a meeting of the officers scheduled at Temple Hill, a long wooden structure used as a meeting hall and community center for the cantonment.
Temple Hill Gathering
On March 15, 1783, the officers gathered, and Major General Horatio Gates, now the camp commandant, began the session. About three hundred officers had planned to attend, which was too many for the building, so they sent representatives who sat in an angry mood. However, Washington entered the room unexpectedly and expressed his desire to address the meeting. Gates was compelled to yield the chair to the commander-in-chief.
As he addressed them, Washington observed their body language. He was not getting through. Too many promises had been made and broken. He decided to read a letter he had received from a Congressman sympathetic to the officers, which explained what was being done. But as Washington fumbled to put on his reading glasses, he paused and apologized, "Gentleman, you must pardon me, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in service to my country."
A hush swept through the room, and grown men, seasoned warriors all, began to sob. The larger-than-life general was a war god to them, a man who galloped across battlefields on his steed and exemplified patriotism, sacrifice, and bravery. The air left the room, and the rebellion and potential military dictatorship were nipped in the bud.
New Governance
When not struggling to maintain his Army or corresponding with Congress and thirteen stubborn state governments, Washington had time to reflect on the nation’s future. He produced letters to the state governors outlining the principles of republican governance he would later implement.
New Award
He also found time to reflect on the sacrifice and courage his troops displayed throughout many years of trials and combat. He ordered the issuance of what was called the “Badge of Military Merit.” Awarded to three sergeants for their valor in storming the British redoubt at Yorktown, it was the forerunner of what became the Purple Heart.
Evening Parade
At the New Windsor Cantonment, the cease-fire orders were issued by Washington, ending the eight-year War of Independence.
Head Quarters Newburgh 18 April 1783
The Commander in Chief orders the cessation of Hostilities, between the United States of America, and the King of Great Britain, to be publickly proclaimed, to morrow at the Newbuilding and that the proclamation, which will be communicated therewith, be read tomorrow evening at the Head of every Regiment and Corps of the Army—After which the Chaplains with the several Brigades will render thanks to the Almighty God, for all his mercies, particularly, for his over-ruling the wra[th] of man, to his own glory, and causing the rage of War, to cease amongst the Nations.
With the official end of hostilities, the cantonment became the venue for the Continental Army’s “evening parade.” As regiment after regiment began to demobilize while maintaining enough force to ensure that the British commander-in-chief, General Guy Carleton, would evacuate New York City at the scheduled time, the dwindling forces eventually moved downriver to the vicinity of West Point and Verplank's Point. Communication with the British in New York City became crucial as the officers who once managed war now had to manage a return to peace.
