Washington, George (1732-1799) to Henry Knox
High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.
Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00390 Author/Creator: Washington, George (1732-1799) Place Written: Newburgh, [NY] Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 12 March 1783 Pagination: 1 p. : address ; 23 x 19 cm. Order a Copy
This letter uses oblique language (apparently chosen to avoid its detection by Newburgh conspirators) to call for a meeting of Generals Henry Knox and Jedediah Huntington: "I should be glad to see you & General Huntington at Dinner but be here earlier. The General Orders of yesterday will shew you upon what footing the meeting stands; & when I see you I will assign the reasons for it." That meeting was to discuss an anonymous address to the officers, calling upon them to attend a meeting and to threaten Congress. Washington's "General Orders of yesterday" asked his officers not to hold an unauthorized meeting but to wait for a later one. Presumably at the private meeting with Knox and Huntington, Washington discussed how to respond to the threat. At the public meeting with the officers, held on March 15, Washington gave his famed Newburgh Address and appealed to the honor and sacrifices of the officers in the cause of liberty. After Washington left the meeting, Major General Henry Knox proposed a resolution expressing the confidence of the officers in the justice of Congress, and repudiating the anonymous circular. (Presumably, also at the private meeting with Washington, Knox and Huntington, the principles in the resolution were drafted.) The resolutions were carried without dissent and America was saved from a military coup.
Notes: Apparently unpublished. In this oblique letter, Washington calls for a confidential meeting with Generals Henry Knox and Jedediah Huntington to formulate a response to the Newburgh conspiracy, a plot by a group of officers to force the army's will upon Congress. The "General orders of yesterday" refers to Washington's orders telling his officers not to attend an unauthorized meeting but to wait for another. An anonymous circular dated March 10, written by Colonel Walter Stuart, in which it was proposed that the officers refuse to disband when the war ended if the Congress did not meet their demands. At the authorized meeting on March 15, Washington made a dramatic appeal to his officers and warned them how close the plot came to creating a military dictatorship. He appealed to their honor and their sacrifices. (See GLC 2624 for a contemporary transcript of the documents in the episode.) After he left the room, the officers voted upon resolutions, proposed by Major Generals Henry Knox and Israel Putnam, to express their confidence in the justice of Congress and to repudiate the "infamous propositions… in the late anonymous address." Carried without dissent, they pledged themselves to follow civil authority. The Newburgh conspiracy was America's closest brief encounter with military rule.
Signer of the U.S. Constitution.
Newburgh Mar 12th 1783
Dear Sir,
The appearance of the Ice yesterday left me no hope of seeing you & the prospect this morning, is nearly as unpromissing [sic], but if the River will admit a passage tomorrow, I should be glad to see you & General Huntington at Dinner but be here earlier.
The General Orders of yesterday will shew you upon what footing the meeting stands; & when I see you I will assign the reasons for it.
With great truth and affection
I am Dr Sir
Yr Obedt Servt
Go: Washington
[address leaf:]
Private
Majr. Genl Knox
Citation Guidelines for Online Resources
The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.