Conway Cabal
The Conway Cabal is the name given to a series of activities in late 1777 and early 1778 that attempted to depose George Washington as commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War . It was named after Brigadier General Thomas Conway , whose letters criticizing Washington were leaked to the Second Continental Congress . The proposed dismissal failed when the intentions became known, Conway resigned and General Horatio Gates , a leading candidate to replace Washington, apologized to him.
background
Conspiracy is perhaps too strong a word to describe the varied actions of dissatisfied officers and some delegates to Congress in the fall of 1777. Most of those involved agreed that Washington was hardly a perfect Supreme Commander, and very few of their activities were coordinated. General Gates, who had recently won the Battle of Saratoga , was brought up as a front man to replace Washington. Although he had already campaigned himself to keep command, he was not responsible for the strong response within Congress. The resistance in Congress to Washington as commanding officer was linked to Thomas Mifflin , a former delegate from Pennsylvania and former quartermaster of the Continental Army. His view that Washington was a complete beginner was supported by Richard Henry Lee , Benjamin Rush, and probably others as well.
Proponents of the dismissals believed the time was right. Washington had failed to hold New York City in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 , had succeeded in the battles at Trenton and Princeton, and had failed in an attempt to prevent the British from taking Philadelphia. Gates, on the other hand, had good political connections in addition to the reputation he gained for his victory at Saratoga (which some historians believe is unjustified and ascribing these successes to the actions of Benedict Arnold ). In addition to his command of the Northern Department of the Continental Army , Gates was head of the Board of War , which exercised direct control of Congress over the army. General Conway had been appointed inspector general of the Army, and Gates' aide James Wilkinson had been made brevet brigadier general and secretary to the agency.
Conway's letters
Thomas Conway was an Irishman who was raised in France and served in the military. He joined the Continental Army as a brigadier general and received several awards under Washington during the Philadelphia campaign, although he and Washington did not get along. In October 1777, Conway began to influence Congress toward promotion to major general while criticizing Washington in its writing. Washington was against Conway's promotion because he believed there were many American-born officers who deserved the promotion better. Conway wrote e.g. B. a letter to Horatio Gates in which he said that “Heaven has been determined to save your Country; or a weak general and bad councellors would have ruind [sic] it. ”(German for example:“ Heaven has decided to save your country before a weak general and bad counselors can ruin it. ”)
General William Alexander (Lord Stirling) received a letter with an extract of this quote from James Wilkinson, which he forwarded to Washington, which received it on November 8, 1777. This led him to consider the possibility that there were behind the back machinations of his subordinates to replace him, and he was well aware that Gates was politically well connected and popular because of his success with Saratoga. Washington wrote to Conway that he had received the letter. Conway replied immediately, confirming that he had criticized the Army to Gates and Thomas Mifflin, but denied criticism of Washington. A week later, Conway submitted his resignation letter to Congress.
Board of War
Washington concluded from Conway's letter that he and Mifflin were friends. At the same time Washington received a letter from Stirling that Congress wanted to restore the Board of War, with Mifflin and Gates as members. Conway's letter of resignation was forwarded to this agency and rejected. Conway was promoted to major general and received a new post as inspector general of the army. There is no evidence that any participant formally attempted to oust Washington.