Sold – Washington Establishes Flag of Truce For Negotiations With British

The American War was the subject of contention within Great Britain from the start. The respected former Prime Minister, William Pitt, was an outspoken opponent of the Stamp Act and every measure taken to pacify America. He was so vocal in criticizing the war when it broke out that King George III referred to him as a "trumpet of sedition." Whigs like Edmund Burke and Charles Fox supported the cause of the colonies in Parliament, the former going so far as to publish a tract advising “Conciliation with America.” Still, amidst early optimistic claims that the war would be brief and not costly, the Tories and the King prevailed and the war was fought.

In future, Flags of truce from the Enemy properly authenticated and conducted…

A string of British successes in 1776-1777 drove the Americans from New York and Philadelphia, and left their diminished army hungry at Valley Forge.These seemed to promise a favorable resolution, but then the Crown lost an entire army with General Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga and the British were unable to take advantage of Washington’s plight and ended up fleeing Philadelphia to avoid being trapped. There was an outcry in London to end the war and yet it continued, though the focus shifted to the southern colonies. There too the same pattern followed. After successes in Savannah, Charleston and elsewhere in the south in 1779-1780, and expectations and promises from government officials that the southern strategy was finally bringing the victory so long promised, London was shocked to hear in late November 1781 that their entire army under Lord Cornwallis had surrendered to the Americans at Yorktown, Virginia on October 19. So of the three major British armies to take the field, one in New York City/Pennsylvania/New Jersey, one in upstate New York and one in the south, two had now surrendered and one was holed-up in New York. The British public’s support for the conflict collapsed, and Parliament passed a declaration in February 1782 "to end offensive war” in the Colonies. A month later, on March 20, 1782, the wartime Prime Minister, Lord North, was forced to resign after he became the first person in that office to lose a vote of confidence in Parliament. He was replaced by a government determined to negotiate a way out.

Despite the Yorktown victory, Washington thought continuation of the war was likely and took his American army north to keep in check the British at New York. Rochambeau's expeditionary force remained in Virginia in readiness for a possible new British offensive in the Southern Department. However, with Lord North out of office, in April 1782 exploratory talks were opened between British and American representatives in Paris. In June, Benjamin Franklin met with Richard Oswald and a preliminary understanding was worked out that was predicated on American independence. Meanwhile, Sir Guy Carleton was appointed to succeed Sir Henry Clinton as British Commander-in-Chief and he arrived in New York City on May 6, 1782 with instructions to open military negotiations to end the war. He communicated these pacific intentions to Washington who initially remained cautious. However, in August, Carleton was informed by his government that the peace talks in Paris would result in the independence of the United States. Carleton provided this information to Washington, along with his sense that further hostilities were pointless and should be brought to a close.

Washington was now faced with an unusual problem. The war was not officially over and free intercourse between the opposing sides was impossible, yet its pending completion and the inevitable British evacuation from New York meant that there would be extensive matters that would need to be dealt with and many negotiations conducted by the parties that would require passage to and from the lines. There were over 10,000 American prisoners of war in New York City, and with newly obtained British cooperation, their needs could now be attended to by American representatives. Patriots who had evacuated in 1776 wanted to return to secure their property. Over 30,000 loyalists realized that they were being abandoned and were streaming into New York to be resettled in crown colonies like Nova Scotia, while other loyalists who had previously fled to British-held areas saw the handwriting on the wall, were willing to live in the new United States, and were seeking to return home via entry through the American lines. And the changeover of sovereignty in New York itself would require cooperation between the former belligerants.

To control access to and from the American lines, Washington established one crossing point, writing  that flags of truce are “confined to Dobbs Ferry” and saying “The intention of confining the Flags to Dobbs Ferry was to prevent the disadvantages arising from the continual and unrestricted intercourse that was kept up with the Enemy…” Meanwhile, Congress had passed a measure aimed at loyalists that forbade entry into the United States by anyone coming through the British lines without special permissions. Washington felt himself bound by that statute. Thus there was more need than ever for a secure exchange and negotiations point, yet confusion existed among the increased number of people seeking to use it about who could and could not pass. An example of this problem arose December 29 when loyalist Cleland Kinloch sought to reenter the United States, apparently to return to his rice plantation at Weehaw, South Carolina. He was turned back by American sentries.

This confusion Washington determined to bring to an end, even as he decided, with winter upon him, to replace Dobbs Ferry with a reliable, ice-free crossing place. He wrote to Col. Joseph Vose, commander of the new check point, naming a place on the Croton River about 30 miles south of his headquarters, and issuing instructions about access.

Letter Signed, Head Quarters, Newburgh, N.Y., January 1, 1783. “I approve of your conduct respecting the Flag. Messrs Lewis and Nicholson are to be permitted to proceed on their Journey, but Mr Kinloch will be under the necessity of returning back as I have informed him. Mr. Mott, who was detained some days ago may also return. In future, Flags of truce from the Enemy properly authenticated and conducted are to be received at the New Bridge on the Croton until further directions. Other Instructions will be given in a few days on this subject to the Officer commanding on the Lines…You will please to send a safe guard back with Mr Kinloch if he chooses it.” This letter, in the hand of aide David Humphreys and inadvertently dated 1782, is in “The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources,” Volume 26.

That same day, Washington notified Carlton about his new, preferred location:?“…I have the honour to inform your Excellency, that whenever it is found more convenient for your flags to proceed by land, they will be received by the Officer Commanding at the New Bridge on the Croton…” He also wrote Kinloch explaining his decision to turn him away. “I am to acknowledge the recet. of your Letter of the 29th Decr. and am extremely sorry that I cannot consistently comply with your request, Congress having by their Resolves of October last directed that ‘no Subjects of his Britannic Majesty coming directly or indirectly from any part of the British Dominions be admitted into any of the United States during the War.’ The only mode therefore by which you may obtain the permission you desire is by an application to the Executive power of the State of which you mean to become a Citizen or to the Delegates of that State in Congress; their permission will be sufficient for me to admit you within our lines.”

The identity of “Messrs. Lewis & Nicholson” cannot be known with certainty, but it is likely that they were American officials traveling to New York City to discuss prisoner matters with General Carleton. Lewis may be Francis Lewis, Jr., a New York politician who served in that state’s assembly and was the son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence of the same name. The editor of Washington’s papers identifies Nicholson as politico John Nicholson of Virginia, but we consider sitting New York Assemblyman John Nicholson a more likely candidate. The Mott family were New York loyalists, one of whom, John, was a printer and another of whom, Jonathan, served as an officer in the King’s 17th Regiment. After the war John left for Nova Scotia and Jonathan fled to New Brunswick, Canada. The Mr. Mott that Washington refers to was likely a member of this family, perhaps seeking to sell or secure some property behind the American lines before leaving. As for the exchange point, in the spring it was returned to Dobbs Ferry where, on May 6, 1783, Washington met personally with Carlton to advance arrangements for the British evacuation.

Of great significance is that Washington, heading the American military, saw himself as subservient to the dictates of the civil authority, Congress, So that has been a fundamental of American political philosophy from the very beginning.