Page:History of the United States of America, Spencer, v1.djvu/554

522. Already more than two hundred officers of real merit had given up their commissions; and it was again exemplified on this occasion, that a benefit long delayed, and reluctantly conferred, loses a large part of its value in the eyes of those whom it is intended to serve.

It would seem that Washington had a sufficiently heavy burden upon his shoulders, in the harassing cares and anxieties of his position, and that he might have been spared from trials of another sort, to which he was exposed at this time; but Washington experienced what every great and good man must expect to meet with in an envious and malicious world. Thus far, apparently, little else than ill success had attended the military exploits of the commander-in-chief. He had been compelled to retreat continually before a powerful enemy. New York and Philadelphia had been lost; and there was almost nothing of a brilliant or striking character in what had transpired during the war, under Washington's immediate direction. On the other hand, the victory at Saratoga, had thrown a lustre around Gates's name, which far outshone, for the time, the solid and enduring light of Washington's noble and patriotic devotion to his country. It was the, first great victory of the war, and it was a victory which necessarily had a most important effect upon the future prospects of the United States. No wonder, then, that restless and envious men should make invidious comparisons between the hero of Saratoga and the commander-in-chief. No wonder, that Washington should suffer from detraction, and the intrigues of dissatisfied and scheming men, to whom his unsullied virtue, purity and integrity, were invincible obstacles to every design of theirs to promote selfish or ambitious ends.

A direct and systematic attempt was made to ruin the reputation of Washington, and from the name of the person principally concerned, this attempt is known by the title of Conway's Cabal. General Gates, and General Mifflin, of the army, and Samuel Adams, and others in Congress, had more or less to do with this matter. Gates and Mifflin had taken offence at something, and were at no time well disposed towards Washington; Conway, a restless, boastful, and intriguing character, was disappointed in not receiving the appointment of inspector-general. Adams, and some of the New England members, do not seem ever to have cordially liked Washington's appointment as commander-in-chief; and now, when the capture of Burgoyne had been effected by the northern army, without the intervention of Washington, the malcontents ventured to assume a bolder attitude. Anonymous letters were freely circulated, attributing the ill success of the American arms to the incapacity, or vacillating policy of Washington, and filled with insinuations, and exaggerated complaints against the commander-in-chief.

Washington was not unaware of what his enemies were attempting; but it was not till after the victory of Saratoga, that the matter assumed a definite shape. Wilkinson, on his way to carry the news to Congress, divulged