Washington’s Greatest Triumph
by Frances Tomlinson
American Mercury Spring 1971
IT WAS ANOTHER cold March day and a flurry of snow prompted General George Washington, Commander of the Continental Armies, to turn up his collar and pull it closely around his neck. He stood solemnly before the camp at Newburg, watching the young enlistees run about the camp, trying to ignore the cold and wetness that penetrated their thin soles and worn coats. Washington’s eyes were dark as he wondered when Congress would take action on the situation which his senior officers had formally introduced.
For eight long years the Continentals had fought for independence. During this time, they had been underpaid, if paid at all, undernourished and under-clothed. Their families had learned to survive without them and their businesses or professions no longer needed them. Many of them had accumulated debts and were in danger of being thrown into debtor’s prison upon re-turn. And most of them had become so used to army life and a military way of thinking that they felt unfit to return to civil life.
It was expected of Congress that retiring officers be issued half-pay to help them regain all that they had sacrificed since the war had begun. In 1780 Congress had promised this to all that remained in service. But now, two years later with victory assured, many Congressmen began to doubt the constitutionality of such a move.
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