The Papers of George Washington Volume 36 : 10 March-23 May 1782

Gen. George Washington anticipated his return to the army as spring approached in 1782. He had been in Philadelphia since the fall to exchange thoughts with government officials about financial, military, and diplomatic policies. Arriving at his headquarters in Newburgh, N.Y., on 31 March, Washington soon learned that the laboriously negotiated provision contracts to supply the officers and troops had caused dissatisfaction. Combined with a continued lack of pay, the complaints threatened already fragile morale. Washington ordered investigations that demonstrated concern for his troops. A lack of money and recruits likewise troubled Washington. He feared that the army would not be prepared to take the field. The outlook appeared equally bleak in the southern department, where Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene's army also experienced poor morale, inadequate equipment, and frustration over the slow arrival of reinforcements. A complete change in the British ministry and a new parliamentary policy to end offensive operations against the Continental forces complicated planning. Unlike many, Washington hesitated to believe that peace was at hand, and he urged John Hanson, president of Congress, on 10 May 'that instead of relaxing we ought to improve the present Moment.' A failed prisoner-exchange negotiation diverted Washington's attention from his usual tasks, as did an extended ordeal that centered on British captain Charles Asgill and the military and moral implications of retaliation to avenge or check atrocities. He also quashed a suggestion that he declare himself king because of congressional ineffectiveness, noting in his reply to Col. Lewis Nicola that 'no occurrence in the course of the War, has given me more painful sensations' than to read such a notion from one of his officers. Despite his leadership responsibilities, Washington showed love for his family through engagement with the John Parke Custis estate settlement and efforts to launch the legal education of his nephew Bushrod Washington. Such actions manifested Washington's optimism that there would be a future after the war that fulfilled the promise of the revolutionary cause.