Travels through History
Earlier this month, I traveled to Kennebunkport, Maine, where I delivered a presentation on intelligence activities during the American War of Independence to the Maine Chapter of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. On the way back, I visited the Continental Army’s last cantonment site and General Washington’s Headquarters, located in the central Hudson Valley. These modest and scenic locations were the focus of some exciting developments as the eight-year fight for independence entered its final stages.
Army at Dusk
Although British General Charles Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781 marked the final major battle of the eight-year war, small fights continued as both sides looked for advantages in the peace talks. General George Washington sent part of his army south to support Major General Nathanael Greene’s effort to take back the Carolinas from the British, who stubbornly held onto their coastal forts. Meanwhile, Loyalist groups kept fighting wherever they could.
The rest of Washington’s Army, about 7,500 men, retreated to New York, where Washington hoped to join forces with the French under General comte de Rochambeau and execute his long-planned attack on New York City. However, like the British, the French now saw their main priority as competing for the islands of the West Indies and soon headed south. Washington set up his Army in the mid-Hudson Valley area, close enough to threaten the British garrison, which controlled New York City, Long Island, and parts of Westchester.
Without support from the French Army or Navy, his main job was to keep an army as a believable threat to the city — making it just another part of the complex diplomatic struggle happening in Paris. This was easier said than done. The only thing harder to manage than an army at dawn is an army at dusk. Still, if negotiations failed, Washington understood that a credible army would be essential to the country’s survival.
Newburg Headquarters
The central Hudson Valley offered a stunning setting for the Army at dusk. The mighty Hudson (then called The North) River was bordered by steep slopes covered with lush forests, green farmland, and neat orchards. Once the land of native tribes and early Dutch settlers, the area had become Anglicized but still retained much of its original Dutch character.
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 other of his many homes during the eight-year war. Washington was joined by his staff, personal Life Guard, servants, and occasionally, Martha Washington.
He would oversee the final stages of his war from this spacious home overlooking the Hudson from its western bluffs.
New Windsor Cantonment
A few miles south, the remaining brigades of the Continental Army 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, helped by the infantrymen, built nearly 600 huts, forming a military community — a cantonment. This cantonment, housing 7,500 soldiers along with 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 still proved difficult. Officers and soldiers spent much of their time gathering enough wood for camp and stove fires, and, as was common during the war, quartermasters struggled to get enough food, blankets, clothing, and other vital supplies. Some senior officers argued over finding suitable quarters.
In addition to forces stationed at New Windsor, Washington, mainly 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 forced 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 kept for guard, garrison, and sentry duties.
In a May 1782 letter to the commander-in-chief, Nicola proposed establishing a monarchy similar to Britain’s, suggesting that Washington could be king. He pointed to the grievances of the Army and its officers, indicating that this idea reflected a widely held belief. Washington's response was immediate and stern; he sharply rebuked Nicola in writing for the proposal and for the suggestion that he would abandon a republic to become a king.
Spring of Discontent
At New Windsor, General George Washington put a stop to a conspiracy among his officers. The issue was, once again, pay. The officers were concerned that the half-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 incentive for the government to keep its promises.
In fact, the Articles of Confederation Congress had no authority to allocate funds for this—it was the responsibility of the states. Alexander Hamilton, now serving in Congress, and his allies were working to resolve the issue. However, many officers had lost patience, and a movement was forming to take action against Congress itself—the so-called Newburgh Conspiracy.
Informed of this, Washington composed a stirring paean to duty and country over interest and planned 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, who was 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 speak to the meeting. Gates was forced 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 spread through the room as grown men, all seasoned warriors, started to cry. The towering general was like a war god to them—someone who rode across battlefields on his steed and embodied patriotism, sacrifice, and bravery. The atmosphere cleared, and the rebellion and any chance of military dictatorship were stopped before they could grow.
New Governance
When he wasn't busy managing his Army or corresponding with Congress and thirteen stubborn state governments, Washington had time to think about the nation’s future. He wrote letters to the state governors explaining the principles of republican government he would later put into action.
New Award
He also took time to reflect on the sacrifice and courage his troops showed during many years of trials and combat. He ordered the creation of what was called the “Badge of Military Merit.” Awarded to three sergeants for their bravery in storming the British redoubt at Yorktown, it was the precursor to what later became the Purple Heart.
Evening Parade
At the New Windsor Cantonment, Washington issued the cease-fire orders, 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 site for the Continental Army’s “evening parade.” As regiment after regiment began to demobilize while keeping enough force to ensure that the British commander-in-chief, General Guy Carleton, would evacuate New York City at the scheduled time, the shrinking forces eventually moved downriver to near West Point and Verplank's Point. Communication with the British in New York City became vital as the officers who once managed war now had to oversee a return to peace.
