Part 9 (1/2)

Washi+ngton faced double jeopardy froet of his quarter away his personal fortune Likein Virginia that were being repaid in debased currency As he co a shi+lling in the pound in discharge of bonds which ought to have been paid inia, but for ton estimated that personal losses occasioned by his absence fro him was the selfish behavior of Jacky Custis, who stalled in settling debts to hiton, finally losing his teht as well attempt to pay me in old newspapers and alton estimated that personal losses occasioned by his absence fro him was the selfish behavior of Jacky Custis, who stalled in settling debts to hiton, finally losing his teht as well attempt to pay me in old newspapers and al”50 For political reasons, Washi+ngton accepted payment for land in Continental currency, so he wouldn't be seen as questioning Aer afford these massive losses and discontinued the practice For political reasons, Washi+ngton accepted payment for land in Continental currency, so he wouldn't be seen as questioning Aer afford these massive losses and discontinued the practice

The previous winter Washi+ngton had been sufficiently confident of his troops to risk a six-week stay in Philadelphia, but he now felt compelled to stick close to his restive men, ”to stem a torrent which seems ready to overwhelm us”51 Reports fro the ion ht spread to New Jersey If Sir Henry Clinton invaded Morristown, the Continental Arnorant of the sovernor Livingston ”He cannot be insensible of the evils he would bring upon us by dislodging us from our winter quarters” Reports fro the ion ht spread to New Jersey If Sir Henry Clinton invaded Morristown, the Continental Arnorant of the sovernor Livingston ”He cannot be insensible of the evils he would bring upon us by dislodging us froress that his ar its prospects ”infinitely worse than they have been at any period of the war andunless some expedient can be instantly adopted, a dissolution of the army for want of subsistence is unavoidable” In one for days without bread,its prospects ”infinitely worse than they have been at any period of the war andunless some expedient can be instantly adopted, a dissolution of the arton, it was one crisis tooalready taut nerves Worried that his arrate, he shed his stoic coossip about his sulky moods Nathanael Greene told Jereton was in a ”state [of] distress” and was blaton, it was one crisis tooalready taut nerves Worried that his arrate, he shed his stoic coossip about his sulky moods Nathanael Greene told Jereton was in a ”state [of] distress” and was blauilty”54 As in previous winters, Washi+ngton was appalled by the lack of patriotism displayed by private citizens He did not want to imitate British precedent and force nearby residents to house officers, but voluntary offers were not forthco He reprimanded men who plundered food or livestock froht scarcely passes without gangs of soldiers going out of ca every species of robbery, depredation, and the grossest personal insults This conduct is intolerable and a disgrace to the army” 55 On the other hand, he privately confessed that he felt powerless to stop this an to descend on Morristown, accompanied by fierce winds, and continued steadily for four days It was a blizzard of such historic proportions, said James Thacher, that ”no er of his life”56 Four feet of snow blanketed the winter ca off the ar thein their bunks Before the winter was through, the Morristown encaht snowfalls It would qualify as one of the id winters on record, so severe that New York Bay crusted over with ice thick enough for the British to wheel cannon across it Because the ice forton arrison at Staten Island The plan was for 2,500to cross over from New Jersey, destroy British supplies, and carry off sheep and cattle Washi+ngton, whoon Christrew so enamored of this plan that he worried the cold snap would end, thawing the ice The plan was shelved when the British picked up intelligence about it, eliton promptly confiscated the caps and mittens issued toup their own surprises In February a British raiding party of three hundred men on horseback crept up stealthily on Morristown in an apparent plot to kidnap Washi+ngton When they couldn't traverse the deep snow, they turned back and abandoned the plan Four feet of snow blanketed the winter ca off the ar thein their bunks Before the winter was through, the Morristown encaht snowfalls It would qualify as one of the id winters on record, so severe that New York Bay crusted over with ice thick enough for the British to wheel cannon across it Because the ice forton arrison at Staten Island The plan was for 2,500to cross over from New Jersey, destroy British supplies, and carry off sheep and cattle Washi+ngton, whoon Christrew so enamored of this plan that he worried the cold snap would end, thawing the ice The plan was shelved when the British picked up intelligence about it, eliton promptly confiscated the caps and mittens issued toup their own surprises In February a British raiding party of three hundred men on horseback crept up stealthily on Morristown in an apparent plot to kidnap Washi+ngton When they couldn't traverse the deep snow, they turned back and abandoned the plan

As a howling blizzard swirled around the Ford ress: ”Many of the [men] have been four or five days without meat entirely and short of bread and none but on very scanty supplies”57 Horror stories abounded of ill-clad s Washi+ngton said hisevery kind of horse food but hay As at Valley Forge, they were starving in thean extra di As Greene la an ar that is dear and valuable, to perish for want of food” Horror stories abounded of ill-clad s Washi+ngton said hisevery kind of horse food but hay As at Valley Forge, they were starving in thean extra di As Greene la an ar that is dear and valuable, to perish for want of food”58 Even forced requisitions didn't alleviate the aboton bewailed the perilous scarcity of food: ”We have not at this day one ounce of azine,” and he didn't know of any carts loaded withtoward Morristown Even forced requisitions didn't alleviate the aboton bewailed the perilous scarcity of food: ”We have not at this day one ounce of azine,” and he didn't know of any carts loaded withmatters was the fact that his army hadn't been paid inopinions, probably spoke for in to hate the country for its neglect of us” Further aggravating matters was the fact that his army hadn't been paid inopinions, probably spoke for in to hate the country for its neglect of us”60 The winter wasn't a complete loss for Hamilton, who met and fell in love with his future wife, Elizabeth Schuyler, the daughter of General Schuyler The young woton's kindness: ”She was quite short: a plump little woman with dark brown eyes, her hair a little frosty, and very plainly dressed for such a grand lady as I considered herShe was always my ideal of a true woman” The winter wasn't a complete loss for Hamilton, who met and fell in love with his future wife, Elizabeth Schuyler, the daughter of General Schuyler The young woton's kindness: ”She was quite short: a plump little woman with dark brown eyes, her hair a little frosty, and very plainly dressed for such a grand lady as I considered herShe was always my ideal of a true woton's political schoolroo winter forced him to think analytically about the nation's ills On both the civilian and the military side of the conflict, he condemned slipshod, amateurish methods America needed professional soldiers instead of ressain experience Most of all Americans had to conquer their excessive attachton told Joseph Jones, a delegate froress speaks in a more decisive tone, unless they are vested with powers by the several states coreat purposes of warour cause is lost”62 ”I see one head gradually changing into thirteen,” he confessed to Jones ”I see one arress as the supre power of the United States, [they] are considering themselves as dependent on their respective states” ”I see one head gradually changing into thirteen,” he confessed to Jones ”I see one arress as the supre power of the United States, [they] are considering themselves as dependent on their respective states”63 Washi+ngton viewed the restoration of American credit as the country's foremost political need, and he supported loans and heavy taxation to attain it While fighting Great Britain, he pondered the source of its ave the enemy inexhaustible resources ”In est purse land, with a well-funded debt, would triumph over Ah the [British] government is deeply in debt and of course poor, the nation is rich and their riches afford a fund which will not be easily exhausted Besides, their systereater exertions than that of any other nation”64 This letter prefigures the Haton's econoton, instead of si Great Britain, to study the secrets of its strength Throughout the war, he believed that an Aone conclusion if the country had enjoyed a strong Congress, a sound currency, stable finances, and an enduring arly, many other officers in the Continental Army becaoverned on for so estation period in which to work out the rudiovernment, financial mechanisms, diplomatic alliances, and other eleures the Haton's econoton, instead of si Great Britain, to study the secrets of its strength Throughout the war, he believed that an Aone conclusion if the country had enjoyed a strong Congress, a sound currency, stable finances, and an enduring arly, many other officers in the Continental Army becaoverned on for so estation period in which to work out the rudiovernment, financial mechanisms, diplomatic alliances, and other elements of a modern nation-state

The hardshi+p of the Morristointer persisted well into the spring On May 25 twoWashi+ngton's orders, burst fro weapons, and declared they would either return hoain subsistence at the point of the bayonet” 65 65 These ht The officers calmed them doithout further incident, but they were no less distraught than theirresentful toward his rebellious troops, Washi+ngton directed his anger at apathetic citizens who permitted this deplorable state ”The men have borne their distress with a firmness and patience never exceededbut there are certain bounds beyond which it is iress These ht The officers calmed them doithout further incident, but they were no less distraught than theirresentful toward his rebellious troops, Washi+ngton directed his anger at apathetic citizens who permitted this deplorable state ”The men have borne their distress with a firmness and patience never exceededbut there are certain bounds beyond which it is iress66 In coping with this high-pressure situation, Washi+ngton receded deeper into his aloud, lest it dereat man is confounded at his situation,” Greene reported to Joseph Reed, ”but appears to be reserved and silent”67 Martha Washi+ngton, who stayed in Morristown until June, told her brother-in-law that ”the poor General was so unhappy that it distressed ton, who stayed in Morristown until June, told her brother-in-law that ”the poor General was so unhappy that it distressed ton pretended to a deeper philosophic serenity than he could honestly clailoomy and the storm thickens,” he told Steuben, then went on to say, ”I have been so inured to difficulties in the course of this contest that I have learned to look on theton pretended to a deeper philosophic serenity than he could honestly clailoomy and the storm thickens,” he told Steuben, then went on to say, ”I have been so inured to difficulties in the course of this contest that I have learned to look on the letter to Robert Morris that May, Washi+ngton noted, with restrained jollity, that in the absence of wine, he had been forced to substitute grog land rum and drink it froested how his wartis When his ”public duty” ended, he told Morris, ”Iletter to Robert Morris that May, Washi+ngton noted, with restrained jollity, that in the absence of wine, he had been forced to substitute grog land rum and drink it froested how his wartis When his ”public duty” ended, he told Morris, ”I may be incapable ofsocial enjoyton from the worst depths of dejection was the extraordinary heroisht thousand hastly conditions of that winter, he found the army's survival almost beyond belief To brother Jack, he expressed a (by the expiration of short enlistether without bread, then as many without meat, and once or twice two or three without either; that the same army should have had nuh to cover their nakedness and a full fourth of it without even the shadow of a blanket, severe as the winter was, and that ether, is hardly within the bounds of credibility, but is nevertheless true”71

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

The Traitor IN THE SPRING OF 1780 Washi+ngton's most immediate concern was the uncertain fate of the threatened Aarrison in Charleston, South Carolina Sir Henry Clinton and Lord Cornwallis had set sail with a large flotilla froed Charleston as the main theater of war shi+fted irreversibly to the South The American force was commanded by Major General Benjamin Lincoln, a husky former farmer from Massachusetts Lincoln was popular and widely respected, and Washi+ngton credited hi ”an active, spirited, sensible man”1 The commander in chief remained a far-off observer of the Charleston deadlock, however, since Congress and the Board of War had deprived him of jurisdiction over the southern department, and he didn't care to quarrel with this blatantly political decision The commander in chief remained a far-off observer of the Charleston deadlock, however, since Congress and the Board of War had deprived him of jurisdiction over the southern department, and he didn't care to quarrel with this blatantly political decision

Queasily aware of what the loss of a ton prophesied that the fall of Charleston would probably ”involve the most calamitous consequences to the whole state of South Carolina, and even perhaps beyond it”2 At the very least it would expose the Carolinas tohis men in the coastal city, Lincoln had left the interior prettyton confided to Steuben ”I have the greatest reliance on General Lincoln's prudence, but I cannot forbear dreading the event” At the very least it would expose the Carolinas tohis men in the coastal city, Lincoln had left the interior prettyton confided to Steuben ”I have the greatest reliance on General Lincoln's prudence, but I cannot forbear dreading the event”3 Washi+ngton's dread was not misplaced On May 12, 1780, Charleston capitulated to the British, and 2,571 Continental soldiers, 343 artillery pieces, and almost 6,000 hteenth-century warfare, defeated forces were typically allowed to surrender with dignity andproudly To shame the Americans, the British forbade the them to lay down their arms in humiliated silence The defeated soldiers then faced the unpleasant choice of either beco ho, reverting to loyal British subjects Washi+ngton's dread was not misplaced On May 12, 1780, Charleston capitulated to the British, and 2,571 Continental soldiers, 343 artillery pieces, and almost 6,000 hteenth-century warfare, defeated forces were typically allowed to surrender with dignity andproudly To shame the Americans, the British forbade the them to lay down their arms in humiliated silence The defeated soldiers then faced the unpleasant choice of either beco ho, reverting to loyal British subjects

As he reflected on this devastating blow, Washi+ngton sounded alternately bitter and philosophical He believed the British had expertly tin to exploit his ar victory would ” give spirit to our enemies”4 He also suspected the British would use Charleston as a springboard to launch incursions into the Carolinas and Virginia True to his prediction, Clinton, while steering a large portion of his forces back to New York, left Cornwallis with a sizable force to terrorize the South At the saton wondered whether the British had now stretched the them to pay a steep price in blood and treasure to maintain this faraway outpost He also suspected the British would use Charleston as a springboard to launch incursions into the Carolinas and Virginia True to his prediction, Clinton, while steering a large portion of his forces back to New York, left Cornwallis with a sizable force to terrorize the South At the saton wondered whether the British had now stretched the them to pay a steep price in blood and treasure to maintain this faraway outpost

With the Aton could not conteesse That winter the French had decided to send an enormous expeditionary force to America, commanded by Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, the Count de Rochambeau It was the first time the French had supplemented a fleet with a massive army France had elevated the illustrious Rochaeneral but, in a diploreed that he would be placed, at least noton's orders The French fleet under the Chevalier de Ternay would also be subject to Washi+ngton's control, yet after his frustrations with the ton entertained no illusions about exercising any real influence

The person assigned to herald this i force was a natural choice for the job In early March Lafayette set sail for Aeneral and act as interton and Rochambeau As soon as he disembarked in Massachusetts in late April, Lafayette, never bashful about his starring role in the American draton that throbbed with boyish exciteeneral, and in the ain one of your loving soldiersI have affairs of the utmost importance which I should at first corew e author hierly clasped each other Recounting this sentiton's ”eyes filled with tears of joya certain proof of a truly paternal love” Washi+ngton grew e author hierly clasped each other Recounting this sentiton's ”eyes filled with tears of joya certain proof of a truly paternal love”6 Washi+ngton lost no ti Lafayette for a Franco-American invasion of New York, which would possess the collateral advantage of lessening British pressure on the southern states Washi+ngton lost no ti Lafayette for a Franco-American invasion of New York, which would possess the collateral advantage of lessening British pressure on the southern states

Uplifted by the splendid news froress for an expanded army of at least twenty thousand Continental troops to cooperate with their ally As a ton didn't want the stylish French soldiers to patronize his ress to rectify theat any ti to our feelings But the ill bewhen they come to act with those of our allies”7 In early July, with the arrival of the French fleet irined by the states' failure to muster new troops or even keep hiaboo of a per ar failure to buttress his army In early July, with the arrival of the French fleet irined by the states' failure to muster new troops or even keep hiaboo of a per ar failure to buttress his ar troops into the field,” Washi+ngton complained to his brother Sa them froetting troops into the field,” Washi+ngton complained to his brother Sa them from their limited service”9 When the French fleet arrived in Newport on July 10, it proved almost anticlimactic Only five thousand soldiers, it turned out, had nificant fraction were unfit for service No sooner did Washi+ngton learn of the French dropping anchor than he received dreadful tidings from New York: Rear Admiral Thomas Graves had arrived in the harbor with a British fleet of coton dispatched Lafayette to confer with Rocha him to the French officers as ”a friend froI entreat you to receive whatever he shall tell you as coo-between, Washi+ngton coaffe that betrayed his provinciality However blue-blooded Lafayette was in social terms, he had been only a captain in the French reserve and was much too low in the eneral with decades of service Still worse, Lafayette had tried to wangle the very assignment Rochambeau now held Undeterred, Lafayette poured out flattery so liberally that Rochambeau pleaded with him to stop: ”I embrace you, my dear Marquis,of you” In assigning Lafayette as his go-between, Washi+ngton coaffe that betrayed his provinciality However blue-blooded Lafayette was in social terms, he had been only a captain in the French reserve and was much too low in the eneral with decades of service Still worse, Lafayette had tried to wangle the very assignment Rochambeau now held Undeterred, Lafayette poured out flattery so liberally that Rochambeau pleaded with him to stop: ”I embrace you, my dear Marquis,of you”11 Although Washi+ngton had resurrected his plan to besiege New York, Lafayette could not budge Rochambeau and Ternay fro theiron their American allies Rochaton's army and the bankruptcy of American credit ”Send us troops, shi+ps, and money,” he wrote home, ”but do not depend on these people nor upon their means; they have neither money nor credit; their means of resistance are only momentary and called forth when they are attacked in their own hoton's plan to attack New York as absurd, given the beggarly state of A Washi+ngton's unrealistic fantasies The French general would be two-faced in his relationshi+p with Washi+ngton, pretending to credit his ideas, then doing exactly as he pleased For political reasons, both sides subscribed to the polite fiction that Washi+ngton was in charge, but another year elapsed before the alliance with France bore fruit in a major joint ton's plan to attack New York as absurd, given the beggarly state of A Washi+ngton's unrealistic fantasies The French general would be two-faced in his relationshi+p with Washi+ngton, pretending to credit his ideas, then doing exactly as he pleased For political reasons, both sides subscribed to the polite fiction that Washi+ngton was in charge, but another year elapsed before the alliance with France bore fruit in a major joint military operation

IN THE WAKE of the aborted ”Conway Cabal,” George Washi+ngton had reh he thought the latter still intrigued against him But his courtesy failed to1779 Gates protested to John Jay that Washi+ngton deliberately kept hiton, in turn, to pen an acerbic note to Jay, relating how he had sent Gates no fewer than forty letters in the last seven ed,” observed Washi+ngton tartly, ”that the correspondence was frequent enough during that period”13 Far froton noted, ”IGen[era]l Gates with all the attention and cordiality in my power, as well froive any cause of triuton noted, ”IGen[era]l Gates with all the attention and cordiality in my power, as well froive any cause of triumph to our enemies”14 After the British captured Charleston, Gates was appointed to coton refrained fro froton quietly rooted for Gates's co forust 16, 1780 Gates deployed a force of nearly four thousand er than the force marshaled by Cornwallis, but many were callow h the A in terror Only the detachment under General Johann de Kalb tried to withstand the frenzied onslaught The British cavalry under Colonel Banastre Tarleton-nicknamed ”bloody Tarleton” and ”The Butcher” for his take-no-prisoners approach-slashed at Kalb's helpless eoned to death with bayonets and rifle butts Educated at Oxford, fro Tarleton was a beefy, redheaded man as brash and cocky about his exploits on and off the battlefield ”Tarleton boasts of having butchered more men and lain with more women than anybody else in the arers in battle, he delighted in waving his truncated hand and shouting, ”These gave I for King and country!” Having lost two fingers in battle, he delighted in waving his truncated hand and shouting, ”These gave I for King and country!”16 At Camden, Tarleton's men did their deadly work so efficiently that nine hundred Americans were slain and a thousand taken prisoner At Camden, Tarleton's men did their deadly work so efficiently that nine hundred Americans were slain and a thousand taken prisoner