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The Continental Army Vs. the Continental Congress

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The Continental Army Vs. the Continental Congress Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2012 "A Damned Set of Rascals" the Continental Army vs. the Continental Congress: tensions among revolutionaries Megan Wilson Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Wilson, Megan, ""A Damned Set of Rascals" the Continental Army vs. the Continental Congress: tensions among revolutionaries" (2012). LSU Master's Theses. 1200. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/1200 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “A DAMNED SET OF RASCALS” THE CONTINENTAL ARMY VS. THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS: TENSIONS AMONG REVOLUTIONARIES A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The Department of History by Megan Wilson B.A., Rice University, 2007 May 2012 For Mom and Dad, Thank you for everything ii Acknowledgments The process of writing a thesis has been more difficult and satisfying than I could have imagined. It would not have been possible without my friends and advisers who have provided immeasurable guidance and support along the way. I owe the largest debt of gratitude to my parents. From the beginning, they have encouraged my love of history and the American Revolution. They have watched “1776” more times then we should probably count and they took me to every museum and national park that we could find. I appreciate their love and support more than I can ever say or show. They have provided advice and support through the darkest days of my thesis writing and I know they are happy that it’s finally done! I happily dedicate “A Damned Set of Rascals” to them because they have always been there and have patiently listened to all the “cool” stories I accumulated in reading the Letters of the Delegates to Congress. My grandparents Richard and Darlene Wilson have also provided wonderful support in my academic endeavors. I could not have done this without the help of my family, thank you. I owe thanks to the members of the E Circle: Julie Bachur, Sabrina Bartlett, Marissa Chow, and Meredith Fallon. They have all listened to me from the first weeks of freshmen year babble about history and I thank them for their support. Though many miles have separated us since graduation, they were all only a phone call away while I was writing and their support helped inspire my understanding of the importance of friendship networks. They also showed me that friends can and will support you no matter how much you complain about writer’s block and piles of library books. I am grateful to have such strong women in my life and you all inspire me, more than you know. Thank you to Joseph Ramirez who dragged me out of the house when I needed to have fun and who always managed to ask that panic-inducing question “So when is this thing going to be finished?” You made Baton Rouge a better city to live in and iii I am glad you patiently listened to me talk about eighteenth-century revolutionaries for these past few years. There are five other people that I need to thank for keeping me sane during my years in graduate school, they provided much-needed laughter and allowed me to fully indulge in my nerdiness. The founding members of Baby Pigeon Press, INC.: Lauren Harper, Nanci Velez, and Vanessa Varin shared my love of brunch specials and historical crushes. Lauren Harper literally helped me survive the first two years of graduate school and I thank you for being there in so many ways. Nanci Velez always make me laugh and I envy her flair. I owe a tremendous amount to Vanessa, who read almost every page of this thesis. You pushed me to think more critically and while you were a wonderful editor, you were an even better friend. I must include National Park Ranger Nathan Hall in my acknowledgments. He has the coolest job and he is a pretty great friend, thank you. Thank you Jason Wolfe for always being there with advice or a good drink. You are a gentleman and a scholar. I have many intellectual debts to acknowledge, but there are a few key people who helped me reach the thesis-writing stage. Ira Gruber was my undergraduate adviser at Rice and first introduced me to sharp historical criticism. He sparked my interest in the American Revolution and encouraged me to apply to graduate school. Next, I must thank Kersten Jacobson Biehn, a wonderful scholar and a great person; you have offered some of the best advice about how to survive graduate school and academia. I can only hope to live up to your example. But my greatest intellectual debt is owed to Paul Paskoff who showed me what it was to have a true mentor and adviser in graduate school. I may have stretched the limits of his editorial abilities, but he was always willing to talk history with me and I’ve enjoyed our time together. Thank you for taking a chance on the culture of honor. I also want to thank the other members of my thesis committee Victor Stater and Gaines Foster for taking the time to read and revise my work. Dr. iv Stater almost convinced me to become an English historian with his scholarship and wonderful classes on Tudor-Stuart England, but I was too dedicated to my rascals. Dr. Foster has taught me how to think more critically about my assumptions and I thank him for reading about the code, even if it could be thought of more in the way of guidelines. See what had happened was…. v Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………........... iii ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………….vii INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………..……….………….1 CHAPTER 1: REVOLUTIONARY FERVOR IN PHILADELPHIA: CREATING NEW INSTITUTIONS…17 CHAPTER 2: THE RANK BUSINESS OF PROMOTION.…………………………………………………...50 CHAPTER 3: THESE WINTERS OF OUR DISCONTENT………………………………………………..….81 CHAPTER 4: ARE YOU SIR, A GENTLEMAN?............................................................................................112 CONCLUSION: THE NEWBURGH CONSPIRACY…..….……………………………………….…………...145 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………..………………………………………….………….151 VITA……………………………………..……………………………………………………..155 vi Abstract As delegates gathered in Philadelphia in May 1775 for the start of the Second Continental Congress, many of the men present understood that independence was one possible solution to the growing problems with Parliament and King George III. Congressmen in the summer of 1775 created new revolutionary institutions to address the political crisis, and during those turbulent times they turned to the eighteenth-century culture of honor to provide guidelines for their conduct and decision-making. The legislative structure of the Continental Congress and the hierarchy of the Continental Army were shaped by the honor code. The eighteenth-century culture of honor constituted a system of defining cultural assumptions and behavior that helped to create social identity, structure social interactions, and govern behavior in the political and military spheres. Although in the 1770s there was no consensus on the exact definition of honor and its role in American society, the idea of honor did provide the “social glue” that held the colonists together as they contemplated and fought for independence. I argue that personal constructions of honorable behavior caused many of the problems between Congress and the army because gentlemen in those two institutions operated under different interpretations of the honor code. When difficulties arose between Congress and the army over promotions, pensions, or congressional privilege, revolutionaries in both institutions turned to the guidelines of the honor code to resolve the disputes. The honor culture provided three options to address the tensions between the Continental Congress and the Continental army: meditation, resignation, or affairs of honor. Mediation was the most commonly used option and reveals the large friendship networks that developed between Congress and the army. A concern for honor helps to explain why disputes involving people’s intentions and reputations occupy a significant proportion of the vii official records of the Continental Congress. Moreover, honor and its application by soldiers and politicians had a profound influence on the course and ultimate success of the Revolution. viii Introduction: “I don’t see how any Man of Feeling or Sentiment can continue in a public Department where every measure is looked upon with a jaundiced Eye and of course all Mistakes are magnified into Sins political and moral.” Richard Peters, 17781 Standing on the muddy streets of York, Pennsylvania, in April 1778, Colonel Daniel Morgan accused Richard Peters, secretary of the congressional Board of War, of plotting against George Washington, the Continental Army’s commander-in-chief. Gossip exchanged in personal letters between civilian and military officials during the winter months of 1777/78 speculated about the existence of a possible cabal to replace Washington.2 Knowing that Washington would never challenge a public official over words circulated in private letters, Morgan confronted Peters, hoping to force him to confess to his participation in the cabal and acknowledge his dishonorable behavior. Peters’s apology for duplicitous behavior would preserve Washington’s and the Continental Army’s honor. Peters’s and Morgan’s altercation exemplifies the problems and heated disagreements that developed among revolutionaries during the war for American independence.3 This thesis analyzes the means by which revolutionaries dealt with the tensions that plagued the Continental Congress and the Continental Army. Although Americans felt the pressure of trying to defeat the British army to ensure a successful 1 Quoted in Don Higginbotham, The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763-1789 (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1971), 220.
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