On March 11, 1783, soldiers were supposed to meet after an anonymous letter circulated through the Continental Army’s encampment at Newburgh encouraging them to take action against Congress and their unfulfilled promises of a pension for the men.
Watch the second video in our three-part series on the Newburgh Conspiracy as Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses how George Washington calmed tensions and averted a mutiny, and why it still matters today.
Images courtesy of Library of Congress, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, Maryland State Archives, Mount Vernon, National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Wikipedia.
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The Newburgh Conspiracy represents a time when our nation came closest to deviating from our core revolutionary principles of representative government with civilian control of the military. Because of a weak Confederation Congress and unhappiness within the officer ranks of the Continental Army, the stage was set for our new nation to drift into a military dictatorship or monarchy.