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Subject Area: War and Peace
Topic: The American Revolution and Constitution

TO JAMES McHENRY. - George Washington, The Writings of George Washington, vol. X (1782-1785) [1891]

Edition used:

The Writings of George Washington, collected and edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1890). Vol. X (1782-1785).

Part of: The Writings of George Washington, 14 vols.

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TO JAMES McHENRY.

Your two favors of the fourth Instant were delivered to me by General Lincoln.—It is an easy matter to perceive by the tenor of one of them you have imbibed an Opinion that the Officers of this Army are captious, and that by attempting to remove one complaint, a Door is opened to others.—I am not much surprized at this—You have probably adopted it from the Representation of Mr. Sands, of whom without doing him injustice, it may be said he is extremely plausible—extremely narrow minded—disingenuous and little abounding in a temper to conciliate the good will of the Army or to adopt any measure for the convenience and accommodation of the Officers.—These traits of Mr. Sands’s character are not drawn by a pen under the influence of prejudice, or of one improperly biassed in favor of the Army; they are facts of which I have and can produce proofs, and ’till the happening of which, I, upon the spot, was deceived.

Verplanck’s Point, 12 September, 1782.

My dear Sir,

Mr. Sands, Sir, if I have not formed a very erroneous opinion of him, is determined to make all the money he can by the Contracts—Herein I do not blame him,—provided he does it honestly, and with a reciprocal fulfillment of the agreement.—Of a want of the first, I do not accuse him; but his thirst of Gain leads him in my opinion into a mistaken principle of Action.—He is very tenacious of all those parts of the Contracts which point to the convenience and Emolument of the Contractors, and till very lately was determined to be his own Judge of them, but is regardless of other parts which enjoin certain [stipulations] upon them.—To these causes, and these only is to be ascribed I conceive, the present deplorable state of the Magazines, and the dangerous consequences which may flow from it, our frequent want of daily food, and the little prospect of better supplies, and the inconveniences which the Army experience in the mode of issuing. He cannot I presume charge these neglects to a failure on your part; and sure I am he cannot do it to the scarcity of Provisions, for the Country is surcharged with all kinds of it—But in expectation it is said of reducing the price of salt meat (which unfortunately it seems has risen upon him), he, notwithstanding the contract and repeated calls and the consequences of a failure, has neglected it to this moment. And to avoid the expence, it is moreover added, of Pasturage (for how else is it to be accounted for?) and perhaps a little diminution in the weight which all Armies, and all Contractors in the world are obliged to submit to, this Army became the sport of and suffered by every accident or delay, which happens to the droves of Beef cattle.

* * * Our prospects of peace are vanishing. The death of the Marquis of Rockingham has given a shock to the new administration, and disordered its whole system. Fox, Burke, Lord John Cavendish, Lord Keppel, and I believe others, have left it. Earl Shelburne takes the lead, as first lord of the treasury, to which office he was appointed by the King, on the instant the vacancy happened by the death of Lord Rockingham. This nobleman, Lord Shelburne, I mean, declares, that the sun of Great Britain will set the moment American independency is acknowledged, and that no man has ever heard him give an assent to the measure. On the other hand, the Duke of Richmond asserts, that the ministry, of which Lord Shelburne is one, came into office pledged to each other and upon the express condition, that America should be declared independent; that he will watch him, and, the moment he finds him departing therefrom, he will quit administration, and give it every opposition in his power.

I should not, my Dear Sir, have given you, who I know have business and perplexities enough without the trouble of reading these observations, (after being told that the Secretary at War would inquire into and redress grievances), but from a love of Justice, and a desire that every Man and description of Man, should be known and rewarded or punished according to their deserts, and because it would seem that your opinion has been founded on the representations of Mr. Sands, who yielding nothing himself, requiring every thing of others, and failing in the most essential parts of his Contract, adopts as is too commonly the case with little minds, the policy of endeavoring to place the adverse party in the wrong, that he may appear in a more favorable point of view himself.

That the King will push the war, as long as the nation will find men or money, admits not of a doubt in my mind. The whole tenor of his conduct, as well as his last proroguing speech, on the 11th of July, plainly indicate it, and shows in a clear point of view the impolicy of relaxation on our part. If we are wise, let us prepare for the worst. There is nothing, which will so soon produce a speedy and honorable peace, as a state of preparation for war; and we must either do this, or lay our account for a patched up inglorious peace, after all the toil, blood, and treasure we have spent. This has been my uniform opinion; a doctrine I have endeavored, amidst the torrent of expectation of an approaching peace, to inculcate, and the event, I am sure, will justify me in it. With much truth, I am, &c.1

The very thing which you and every body else points out as so easy to do, is not done, and is the principal hardship complained of by the Officers, who think it surprizing that they cannot enjoy a benefit which is essential to themselves and costs the public nothing, because it will give a little trouble to the Contractors.

[1 ]The first division of the French Army, under Count de Rochambeau, arrived at King’s Ferry, from the south, on the 15th of September. Count de Rochambeau describes the junction of the French and American armies as follows:

“General Washington wishing to testify his respect for France, and his recognition of the benefits she had rendered, caused us to pass between two lines of troops, clad, equipped, and armed with clothing and arms from France, and from the English magazines taken at Yorktown, which the French army had relinquished to the Americans. He ordered the drums to beat a French march during the whole review, and the two armies rejoined with the most lively demonstrations of reciprocal satisfaction.”—Mémoires de Rochambeau, tom. i., p. 309.

[1 ]The first division of the French Army, under Count de Rochambeau, arrived at King’s Ferry, from the south, on the 15th of September. Count de Rochambeau describes the junction of the French and American armies as follows:

“General Washington wishing to testify his respect for France, and his recognition of the benefits she had rendered, caused us to pass between two lines of troops, clad, equipped, and armed with clothing and arms from France, and from the English magazines taken at Yorktown, which the French army had relinquished to the Americans. He ordered the drums to beat a French march during the whole review, and the two armies rejoined with the most lively demonstrations of reciprocal satisfaction.”—Mémoires de Rochambeau, tom. i., p. 309.