EVENT Conway

[moustic]

Conway Cabal From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Conway Cabal refers to a conspiracy in late 1777 and 1778 designed to remove George Washington as commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. It was named after Brigadier General Thomas Conway, whose letters criticizing Washington were forwarded to the Congress. The plot failed when it became public, as Conway resigned and General Horatio Gates apologized to Washington.
Conspiracy is perhaps too strong a term to use in describing varied actions by disaffected officers and some Congressional delegates. Most of those involved shared only the view that Washington should be replaced, and very few activities were coordinated. While Gates was used as a stalking horse to replace Washington, and certainly had been politically lobbying for command, he was not responsible for the strong response within the Congress.
Opposition to Washington's command in the Congress was anchored by Thomas Mifflin. His view of Washington as a rank amateur was supported by Richard Henry Lee and others.
The conspirators believed they had a timely chance to succeed. Washington was having limited success in New Jersey and had not been able to drive the British Army from Philadelphia. Gates was the hero of Saratoga. Besides his command of the Northern Department of the Continental Army, Gates was head of the Board of War, which directly exercised Congress' control of the Army. Conway had been appointed as Inspector General of the Army, and Gates' adjutant James Wilkinson had been made brevet Brigadier General and was serving as secretary to the board.

Thomas Conway (1734-1800) was a French soldier from Ireland who served as a General of the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Conway was born in Ireland on February 27, 1734, but educated in France. With twenty years experience in the French Army he rose to Colonel, before he volunteered to the Congress for service in the American cause in 1777. Based on an introduction from Silas Deane, the Congress appointed him a Brigadier General on May 13, and sent him on to George Washington.
Conway commanded the leading brigade on the American right flank at the Battle of Germantown, and was justly praised for his actions. However, Washington opposed his promotion to Major General, believing that many native American officers with longer and valuable service deserved the rank. This, and Conway's condescending attitude, led to continued friction between the men. Congress appointed Conway a Major General anyway in December of 1777, and made him inspector general of the army.
When his criticism of Washington was used politically, his name was used to describe the infighting known as the Conway Cabal. His role was minor, but he lost his command as a result. He tried a ploy that had worked before his promotion, and submitted his resignation to Congress in March 1778. This time it was accepted so he was forced to leave the army. John Cadwalader shot him in a duel on July 22, 1778. When he recovered, he wrote an apology to Washington and returned to France.
Conway later returned to the French Army and served as governor of French colonies in India. In 1793 he fought with royalist forces in opposition to French Revolution in southern France. Their loss forced him to become an exile from his adopted country, he returned to Ireland remained there until his death in 1800.

http://www.ushistory.org/march/other/cabal.htm

[Haplo_Patryn]

What do the historians say currently about George Washington in his role as a Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the Independece War?. Was he a good Commander in Chief, what do they say about it?. I know that George Washington was very criticized by some Generals after the defeats against Howe brothers in New York campaign of 1776. The battles of Trenton and Princeton were a pivotal moment for the Revolution and George Washington and he regained his popularity but I didn't know that George Washington was also criticized during 1777 and 1778...

I still have much to learn about Independence War.

[moustic]

http://famousamericans.net/thomasconway/

Thomas Count de CONWAY
soldier, born in Ireland, 27 February, 1733; died about 1800.
Hewas educated in France, entered the army, and in 1777 had attained the rank of colonel and the decoration of St. Louis. On the recommendation of Silas Deane he came to the United States and offered his services to congress. He was made a brigadier-general, 13 May, 1777, was present at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. It is chiefly as the leader of the [color="Red"]"Conway cabal,"[/color] a conspiracy to deprive Washington of the command of the army, that he is known to history. This plot was developed during the autumn of 1777, and received the open or secret support of a strong faction in congress, including some able and patriotic men, who were dissatisfied with what they thought the supineness of Washington and the southern army, in contrast with the victory that had just been won at Saratoga by the northern army under Gates. Even John Adams exclaimed: "I am weary with so much insipidity," while Dr. Benjamin Rush actively supported the dissidents. Through the influence of this faction Gates was made president of the board of war, and a Canadian campaign was proposed, which Lafayette was to lead, with Conway to assist him. Embittered by Washington's opposition to his promotion, Conway wrote anonymous letters to prominent men, alleging Washington's responsibility for recent military disasters. He was thought to have even forged Washington's name to papers designed to further the plans of the conspirators. But General James Wilkinson, under the influence of wine. disclosed some passages that had appeared in a letter from Conway to Gates, and Washington thus becoming apprised of the conspiracy against him, its power was soon gone. Lafayette, also, refused to lead the proposed expedition unless Baron de Kalb should be made his second. Conway's promotion to major general was confirmed, 14 December, 1777, in spite of Washington's disapproval. But in the following March, having lost favor with congress. his resignation, offered conditionally, in a fit of petulance, was accepted unconditionally, and he was obliged, against his will, to leave the army. In July, 1778, General John Cadwallader, a stanch adherent of Washington, challenged Conway to mortal combat because of his attacks upon the commander-in-chief. The meeting took place, 22 July, and Conway was. badly wounded in the mouth. He fell on his face, but raised himself and remarked to his adversary," "You fire with much deliberation, general, and certainly with a great deal of effect." As soon as he was able to sit up he wrote a humble apology to Washington. He shortly afterward returned to France, where he re-entered the military service, and was appointed governor of Pondicherry and the French settlements in Hindustan. He is charged with having ruined the French prospects in India by a quarrel with Tippoo Saib. In 1792 he was sent to take command of the royalist army in the south of France, but during the revolution was obliged to flee the country.

[Ardie]

Interesting info here, Moustic. Keep them coming!!

[moustic]

John Cadwalader http://famousamericans.net/johncadwalader/
(° 1742, Philadelphia, + 1786 Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania)

He took part in public affairs prior to the revolutionary war, and, when the movement for independence began, was a member of the Philadelphia committee of safety. He was captain of a military company half derisively and half admiringly nicknamed "The Silk-Stocking Company," nearly all of whose members afterward held commissions in the patriot army. On the formation of the City battalions, he was placed in command of one of them, and shortly afterward was promoted brigadier-general and placed in command of the Pennsylvania militia. He co-operated in the capture of the Hessians at Trenton, 26 December, 1776, and was present as a volunteer at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. In the autumn of 1777, at the request of Washington he assisted in organizing the militia of the eastern shore of Maryland. In the following winter, a combination against Washington was developed, which threatened to be formidable, and General Cadwalader challenged the most outspoken of the plotters, Thomas Conway. Cadwalader shot his antagonist in the mouth, and was himself unhurt. After the independence of the United States was secured, he removed to Maryland, and became a member of the state legislature. His daughter Fanny, in 1800, married David Montague, afterward Lord Erskineo Cadwalader published "A Reply to General Joseph Reed's ' Remarks'" (Philadelphia, 1783).