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Thomas Conway was Washington's traducer to Gates. He was an Irish-French
soldier of fortune who unfortunately had been made a brigadier-general in
the Continental army. Having made friends of the New England delegates in
Congress, it was then proposed by them to advance him to the rank of
major-general, which Washington opposed, on the grounds that "his merit
and importance exist more in his imagination than in reality." For the
moment this was sufficient to prevent Conway's promotion, and even if he
had not before been opposed to his commander, he now became his bitter
enemy. To more than Gates he said or wrote, "A great & good God has
decreed that America shall be free, or Washington and weak counsellors
would have ruined her long ago." Upon word of this reaching Washington, so
Laurens tells, "The genl immediately copied the contents of the paper,
introducing them with 'sir,' and concluding with, 'I am your humble
servt,' and sent this copy in the form of a letter to Genl Conway. This
drew an answer, in which he first attempts to deny the fact, and then in a
most shameless manner, to explain away the matter. The perplexity of his
style, and evident insincerity of his compliments, betray his weak
sentiments, and expose his guilt." Yet, though detected, Conway complained to the Continental Congress that
Washington was not treating him properly, and in reply to an inquiry from
a member the General acknowledged that,— "If General Conway means by cool receptions mentioned in the last
paragraph of his letter of the 31st ultimo, that I did not receive him in
the language of a warm and cordial friend, I readily confess the charge. I
did not, nor shall I ever, till I am capable of the arts of dissimulation.
These I despise, and my feelings will not permit me to make professions of
friendship to the man I deem my enemy, and whose system of conduct forbids
it. At the same time, truth authorizes me to say, that he was received and
treated with proper respect to his official character, and that he has had
no cause to justify the assertion, that he could not expect any support
for fulfilling the duties of his appointment."
In spite of Washington's opposition, Conway's friends were numerous enough
in the Congress finally to elect him major-general, at the same time
appointing him inspector-general. Elated with this evident partiality of
the majority of that body for him, he went even further, and Laurens
states that he was guilty of a "base insult" to Washington, which "affects
the General very sensibly," and he continues,— "It is such an affront as Conway would never have dared to offer, if the
General's situation had not assured him of the impossibility of its being
revenged in a private way. The Genl, therefore, has determined to return
him no answer at all, but to lay the whole matter before Congress; they
will determine whether Genl W. is to be sacrificed to Genl. C., for the
former can never consent to be concern'd in any transaction with the
latter, from whom he has received such unpardonable insults."
Fortunately, Conway did not limit his "insulting letters" to the
commander-in-chief alone, and presently he sent one to Congress
threatening to resign, which so angered that body that they took him at
his word. Moreover, his open abuse of Washington led an old-time friend of
the latter to challenge him, and to lodge a ball, with almost poetic
justice, in Conway's mouth. Thinking himself on the point of death, he
wrote a farewell line to Washington "expressing my sincere grief for
having done, written or said anything disagreeable to your
Excellency.... You are in my eyes a great and good man." And with this
recantation he disappeared from the army. A third officer in this "cabal"
was Thomas Mifflin. He was the first man appointed on Washington's staff at
the beginning of the war, but did not long remain in that position, being
promoted by Washington to be quartermaster-general. In this position the
rumor reached the General that Mifflin was "concerned in trade," and
Washington took "occasion to hint" the suspicion to him, only to get a
denial from the officer. Whether this inquiry was a cause for ill-feeling
or not, Mifflin was one of the most outspoken against the
commander-in-chief as his opponents gathered force, and Washington informed
Henry that he "bore the second part in the cabal." Mifflin resigned from
the army and took a position on the board of war, but when the influence of
that body broke down with the collapse of the Cabal, he applied for a
reappointment,—a course described by Washington in plain English as
follows: "I was not a little surprised to find a certain gentleman, who, some time
ago (when a cloud of darkness hung heavy over us, and our affairs looked
gloomy,) was desirous of resigning, now stepping forward in the line of
the army. But if he can reconcile such conduct to his own, feelings, as an
officer and a man of honor, and Congress hath no objections to his leaving
his seat in another department, I have nothing personally to oppose it.
Yet I must think, that gentleman's stepping in and out, as the sun happens
to beam forth or obscure, is not quite the thing, nor quite just, with
respect to those officers, who take ye bitter with the sweet."
Not long after Greene wrote that "I learn that General Mifflin has
publicly declared that he looked upon his Excellency as the best friend he
ever had in his life, so that is a plain sign that the Junto has given up
all ideas of supplanting our excellent general from a confidence of the
impracticability of such an attempt."
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