Newburgh Address

On March 10, 1783, General George Washington learned that his officers planned to meet on the following day at the Temple of Virtue, a large hall at the New Windsor Cantonment near his headquarters in Newburgh, New York. At the meeting they were to discuss a fiery petition, most likely written by John Armstrong, Jr., an aide de camp of Horatio Gates. This petition initiated what is known as the Newburgh Conspiracy. Officers planned to mutiny if Confederation Congress did not provide them back pay and pensions as individual states failed to do so. As peace agreements had not been finalized, if the war continued, they threatened to abandon their posts and let the American people fend for themselves against the British. If the war was over, they would march on Congress and demand their pay. Washington described the conspiracy as “distressing beyond description,” and his leadership was paramount in resolving it.¹

General Washington admitted that the anonymous author of the petition made several excellent points. He agreed that the army had suffered much, but Washington reminded them of his first-hand understanding to their conditions. He remarked, “But as I was among the first who embarked in the cause of our common Country—As I have never left your side one moment, but when called from you, on public duty.”² He vowed to continue the fight to persuade the Confederation Congress to pay them in a timely manner. 

Washington asked the assembled group if they were actually willing to leave their wives, their children, and their property unprotected and defenseless in the face of the British army. Even more terribly, could they "sully the glory" they had won on the battlefield by marching on Congress as a mob to demand their back pay and pensions?³ Promising that he would continue his strenuous efforts on their behalf, he urged his audience to uphold the elected representatives of their young republic, giving them time to solve this problem, rather than opening the "floodgates of civil discontent."⁴

Historian James Kirby Martin discusses the Newburgh Address and the end of the Newburgh Conspiracy in this final episode of a four-part series from Mount Vernon on Vimeo.

After finishing his speech, Washington tried to read a letter from Congressman Joseph Jones of Virginia that clearly supported the officers' demands. Stumbling over the opening words, he put on a new pair of spectacles, saying, "Gentlemen, you must pardon me. I have grown gray in your service and now find myself growing blind."⁵ The incident was so moving that many of his reportedly officers wept, remembering how much Washington had endured alongside them. On the next day, they passed a unanimous resolution commending General Washington for his devotion to them. The mutiny of the officers was over, which was paramount in ensuring the readiness of the army and unity of the country. Washington kept his promise, writing one letter after another to Congress, and finally winning his officers five years of full pay for their service in the war.

Mary Stockwell, PhD, updated by Zoie Horecny, PhD, 26 March 2025

Notes:

1. “To Alexander Hamilton from George Washington, 12 March 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives.

2. “From George Washington to Officers of the Army, 15 March 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Douglas Southall Freeman, George Washington: A Biography, Vol. V, Victory with the Help of France (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952), 435.

Bibliography: 

Chernow, Ron. Washington: A Life. New York: Penguin, 2010.

Freeman, Douglas Southall. George Washington: A Biography, Vol. V, Victory with the Help of France. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952.

Kohn, Richard H. "The Inside History of the Newburgh Conspiracy: America and the Coup d’Etat." William and Mary Quarterly 27 (April 1970) 2:187-220.

Washington, George. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscripts, Vol. 26, ed. John Fitzpatrick. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1931-1944.