George Washington’s Maxim For the Requirements of Leadership: “Good Laws – ample means – and sufficient powers”

Americans must endure until victory is finally won.

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“What madness then can be greater, or policy and economy worse, than to let the enemy again rise upon our folly, and want of exertion? Shall we not be justly chargeable for all the blood & treasure which shall be wasted in a lingering War…”

    – “The speech of the...

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George Washington’s Maxim For the Requirements of Leadership: “Good Laws – ample means – and sufficient powers”

Americans must endure until victory is finally won.

“What madness then can be greater, or policy and economy worse, than to let the enemy again rise upon our folly, and want of exertion? Shall we not be justly chargeable for all the blood & treasure which shall be wasted in a lingering War…”

    – “The speech of the British King, & the Addresses of the Lords & Commons are proofs, as clear as Holy writ to me, of…their wishes to prosecute the American War…”

    – He laments the privations his soldiers have faced and acknowledges that Americans are weary of the long war: “It is idle at this late period of the War – when enthusiasm is cooled, if not done away – when the minds of that class of Men who are fit subjects for Soldiers are poisoned…and the knowledge of the distresses, under which the Army has groaned, is so generally diffused through every State…”

    – He follows the progress of battles between the French and British navies as likely to influence America’s chances of peace and victory: “The anxious state of suspense in which we have been for some time, & still remain…”

On the night of October 14, 1781, after a five-day bombardment of British troops bottled up in Yorktown, Virginia, combined American and French forces attacked and overwhelmed British General Lord Cornwallis’s fortified position. The British commander was left with no choice but to surrender his 8,000-man force, which he did on October 19. General Cornwallis did not attend the surrender ceremony saying that he was not feeling well. His substitute, General O'Hara, first tried to surrender to the Comte de Rochambeau, who directed the British officer to General Washington who in turn directed him to Washington's subordinate General Lincoln. During the ceremony a British band played the song, "The World Turned Upside Down." Cornwallis’s army accounted for between 1/4 and 1/3 of all active British army forces in America, with many of the rest stuck in New York.

As news of the surrender of Cornwallis’s army spread throughout the United States, numerous victory celebrations were held. These were marked by speeches of notables, solemn sermons, and festivities of every kind. Despite the joyous celebrations however, most Americans at the time did not realize that the struggle for independence was won, and that the events of October 19 were decisive. Little indication can be found in the diary entries and letters written after Yorktown for example, even by the members of the Continental Congress, to suggest that many people were convinced the surrender meant the war was soon coming to an end. Nathanael Greene, one of Washington’s most respected generals, believed that the British would continue to prosecute the war, focusing on the southern states. And American forces there, he told Washington, were “incompetent…to any great operation…Indeed, our prospects are really deplorable.” And, of course, the enemy still held New York, Wilmington, Savannah, and Charleston.

However, it would be wrong to state that people did not see the surrender as a turning point, or that some were not cognizant of its impact. On October 20, 1781, the day after the surrender, the Marquis de Lafayette wrote home to France exulting, “The play is over…the fifth act has just ended.” American General Thomas Nelson wrote to Virginia’s delegates in the Continental Congress, saying “This blow, I think must be a decisive one, it being out of the Power of G. B. [Great Britain] to replace such a Number of good Troops.”

The news of the surrender of Cornwallis arrived in London on November 25, 1781, sending shock waves through the British government. It was an unexpected blow that shook the Prime Minister who had maintained the war policy, Lord North, who when informed exclaimed, "Oh God, it's all over!" Not two weeks passed before motions were introduced into the House of Commons against continuation of the American War. The votes on military budget estimates that North needed to get through Parliament showed diminished support for his government, and to regain momentum North spoke implying that further offensive measures in America were not under consideration. In this atmosphere, on December 20, North carried a motion to adjourn the House of Commons. Along with that adjournment, there was a Call of the House for Parliament to reassemble on January 21, 1782. When Parliament reassembled, North wrote the King "Peace with America seems necessary," and followed up by submitting his resignation. The King refused it and instead urged continuation of the American War. The opposition in Parliament, led by Charles James Fox, wasted no time in turning up the heat on the North government. From February until mid-March, the North ministry was contested on six major votes. On February 7, Fox led a censure motion, which was defeated. On the 22nd, Henry Conway led an address to the throne to end the American war and cede the colonies their independence. It was defeated by only one vote. On February 24, a reworded resolution to abandon further prosecution of the war against the American colonies passed with nineteen votes to spare. North then resigned, saying “Those persons who had for some time conducted the public affairs, were no longer his Majesty's ministers."

It took about two months for news from London to reach the United States, so in mid-March 1782, the latest Americans knew was that Parliament was in session, the British ministry was under fire from the opposition, the King wanted the war to continue, and North had implied (but not committed) that there would be no further offensives in America. Momentous news indeed, but anything but definitive. News of North’s difficulties and subsequent resignation would not arrive in America until April.

Americans were war weary by March 1782, as the conflict had lasted for seven years (almost the length of the Civil War and World War II combined). Raising additional troops was difficult, as was wresting the wherewithal to supply them; and now with the hopeful news from London, George Washington had every reason to fear that complacency and inactivity would leave the United States and its cause more vulnerable to the British (should the King prevail and they resume the war) than before the Cornwallis surrender. He was not a man to take chances or squander gains, and felt that to end the war and to negotiate the most advantageous peace terms, the United States had to be robustly prepared for another campaign.

James McHenry was a Continental Army surgeon who caught the eye of the Commander-in-Chief and became his aide-de-camp. McHenry later served as aid to Lafayette, retiring from the army in the fall of 1781. After the war he entered the realm of politics, becoming a Maryland legislator, delegate to the Continental Congress and participant in the Constitutional Convention in 1787. From 1796-1800, he was Secretary of War, first for Washington and then John Adams. Indeed, his friendship with Washington lasted until the Washington’s death in 1799.

Autograph letter signed, 4 pages, Philadelphia, March 12, 1782, to McHenry. He begins the letter with a definition of what a public servant requires to perform his duties well. This both hints at his concerns over the weaknesses of the United States government under the Articles of Confederation, and gives insight into how he would make decisions and handle his duties as first president upon the formation of the government in 1789; he insists that America must take vigorous measures to carry on the war effort, and that failure to do so would be ruinous; he expresses suspicion of the British government and the idea that the ministry was committed to peace; he laments the lack of cooperation of the states in preparing for another campaign, admits that enthusiasm for the war has cooled and a draft would be needed; he speaks of the sufferings his army has endured; and concludes by worrying about the Royal Navy/French fleet action into the West Indies, which if the British were successful would tend to confirm his fear that the war was in fact continuing.

“My dear Sir, The fair hand to whom your letter of the 20th of January was committed presented it safe & as you very truly observed, the value of it was enhanced by it. Good Laws – ample means – and sufficient powers – may render the birth of your Intendant a public benefit – and from the spirit of your people I hope these are provided; without them the appointment must be nugatory.

“Never, since the commencement of the present revolution, has there been, in my judgment, a period when vigorous measures were more consonant to sound policy than the present. The speech of the British King, & the Addresses of the Lords & Commons are proofs, as clear as Holy writ to me, of two things – their wishes to prosecute the American War – and their fears of the consequences. My opinion therefore of the matter is, that the Minister will obtain supplies for the current year – prepare vigorously for another Campaign – and then prosecute the War or treaty of Peace as circumstances and fortuitous events may justify; and that nothing will contribute more to the first than a relaxation, or apparent supineness on the part of these States. The debates upon the Addresses evidently prove what I have here advanced to be true for, according to the explanation of them, they are made to answer any purposes the Minister may have in view.

“What madness then can be greater, or policy and economy worse, that to let the enemy again rise upon our folly, and want of exertion? Shall we not be justly chargeable for all the blood & treasure which shall be wasted in a lingering War, procrastinated by the false expectation of Peace, as timid measures for prosecuting the War? Surely we shall, and much is it to be lamented that our endeavors do not at all times accord with our wishes. Each State is anxious to see the end of our Warfare, but shrinks when it is called upon for the means to accomplish it! – and wither withholds altogether, or grants them in such a manner as to defeat the end. Such, it is to be feared, will be the case in many instances respecting the requisitions of men & money. I have the pleasure however to inform you that the Assembly of this State – now sitting – have passed their supply Bill without a dissenting voice & that a laudable spirit seems to pervade all the members of that body; but I fear notwithstanding they will be deficient of their quota of Men.

“It is idle at this late period of the War – when enthusiasm is cooled, if not done away – when the minds of that class of Men who are fit subjects for Soldiers are poisoned by the high bounties which have been given – and the knowledge of the distresses, under which the Army has groaned, is so generally diffused through every State, to suppose that our Battalions can be completed by voluntary enlistment. The attempt is vain – and we are only deceiving ourselves, & injuring the cause by making the experiment. There is no other effectual method to get men suddenly than that of classing the people & compelling each class to furnish a Recruit. Here very Man is interested – every Man becomes a Recruiting Officer. If our necessities for Men did not press I should prefer the mode of voluntary enlistment to all others, but as it does I am sure it will not answer & that the season for Enterprise will be upon us long ‘ere we are prepared for the Field.

“The anxious state of suspense in which we have been for some time, & still remain, respecting the Naval engagement in the West Indies, & the attempt upon Brimstone hill in the Island of St. Kitts, is disagreeable beyond description. The Issue of these events must be very interesting & may give a very unfavorable turn to affairs in that Quarter & on this Continent in consequence of it. Mrs. Washington joins me in Compliments. to the good Ladies of your acquaintance – & to yourself.”  This is a very rare, lengthy war date ALS of Washington.

The “Intendant” cited by Washington at the start was Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, who had just been appointed to the new position of Intendant of the Revenue by the Maryland General Assembly. McHenry had informed Washington on January 20, 1782, that the legislature had taken this measure, adding that the Intendant would be “invested with powers to destroy that disorder in the affairs of the State, which had arisen chiefly from bad money and want of money." Jenifer would go on to become a signer of the U.S. Constitution. The “fair hand” that had delivered McHenry’s letter to Washington was that of Mrs. Richard Bennett Lloyd, a celebrated English-born beauty. The February capture of St. Kitts by a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse (the naval engagement referenced with concern by Washington in his conclusion, and the result of which was not known to him when he composed this letter), was a further British defeat that helped convince Britain to cut its losses and end the war.

Of course, when Washington wrote this letter, North was gone and Parliament had already authorized the British government to treat for peace. By the time McHenry responded on April 5th, agreeing that the British certainly intended to prosecute the war, Washington had learned quite the opposite. “By late advices from Europe and from the declarations of the British Ministers themselves, it appears that they have done with all thoughts of an excursive War.” (Washington to Greene, March 18, 1782, George Washington Papers). In mid-April, British envoy Richard Oswald arrived in Paris and opened formal negotiations with American commissioner Benjamin Franklin. That summer, British troops evacuated Savannah, and a skirmish in South Carolina, the Battle of Combahee River, marked the last fighting between British and American forces. In November, Britain agreed to recognize American independence and to withdraw its forces. The Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War, was formally ratified by Congress on April 11, 1783. By the end of that year, the last British troops had evacuated New York City.

It is noteworthy that in paragraph one, Washington coins the phrase “Good Laws – ample means – and sufficient powers” to indicate what he saw as indispensable for a public servant. Soon after his inauguration on April 30, 1789, Washington faced a strong difference of opinion between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton about the powers of the new U.S. government, Jefferson maintaining that the powers of the Federal government were limited, while Hamilton maintained that powers were implied that allowed the Federal government to legislate in many fields of endeavor. Knowing that Washington believed that “sufficient powers” were necessary, it comes as no surprise that he decided in favor of Hamilton’s approach.

This is a consequential letter in every way – not merely for Washington’s recognition of the legendary suffering of his soldiers, his assessment of the war and what would be needed for victory, and the prospects for peace, but in predicting his future actions as president.

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