An ill-defined political and military intrigue that peaked and fizzled in the fall and winter of 1777-78, the Conway Cabal aimed at removing George Washington as commander in chief of the Continental army and replacing him with Horatio Gates. The so-called conspiracy is named for the group’s most tenacious and vocal member, Thomas Conway. The movement drew support from two sources: In the Second Continental Congress, detractors such as John Adams and Samuel Adams, who were especially distrustful of a standing army, feared Washington might use his popularity with the people to become a military dictator. Within the army itself, a few of Washington’s officers, among them Generals Conway and Gates, who had trained and served as professional soldiers in foreign armies, viewed their native-born commander as an incompetent amateur. And after the crucial victory at Saratoga (October 17, 1777) under the command of Gates, the conspirators felt they had a suitable replacement.
Washington was soon aware of the maneuvering against him. In the afterglow of his victory at Saratoga, Gates became increasingly insubordinate, bypassing Washington and making his reports directly to Congress. Conway, a boastful self-enthusiast who lacked Washington’s support for promotion, began badgering Congress for advancement and denigrating his commander’s military leadership. Congress responded by aligning both Conway and Gates against Washington. Conway was promoted to inspector general, a position independent of the commander-in-chief and answerable to Gates as chairman of the Board of War. Infuriated, Washington treated Conway coldly, but with the proper respect. Conway was nevertheless incensed, and his letters to Washington thereafter were insolent and duplicitous.
The crumbling of the cabal was already underway, however. Through indiscrete gossip and revelations from private correspondence, Washington had learned of a letter Conway had written to Gates disparaging the abilities of Washington and his aides. When he confronted Conway with the report, Conway tried to explain his meaning, but his condescending attitude only made matters worse. Gates, though merely the recipient of the damning communique, mired himself in the mess by foolishly accusing one of Washington’s trusted aides of secretly copying the letter. His reputation was then further damaged when reports began filtering in from participants at Saratoga that Benedict Arnold, and not Gates, had been largely responsible for the victory. As exposure of the intrigue grew, most of the plotters shrank from sight, but Conway continued his attacks until a supporter of Washington shot Conway through the mouth in a duel. Only the thought of impending death prompted Conway to apologize for his disparaging remarks.
Further reading: Robert Leckie, George Washington’s War: The Saga of the American Revolution (New York: HarperCollins, 1993); Page Smith, A New Age Now Begins: A People’s History of the American Revolution, vol. 2 (New York: Penguin Books, 1989).
—Rita M. Broyles
Copley, John Singleton (1738-1815) painter John Singleton Copley was one of North America’s most noted portrait artists, but he left the country of his birth in 1774, never to return. Copley was born in Boston and probably gained his artistic training from his stepfather Peter Pelham. By the 1760s he had become a well known portrait painter in Boston and supported himself with an ample income from his painting. He married Susannah Farnham Clarke, whose father was a merchant, in 1769 and built a house on Beacon Hill (site of the present state capital building). In 1771 and 1772 he traveled to New York and Philadelphia, painting the portraits of many leading citizens there. Although he was not politically active, his family was strongly Loyalist. Friends had long encouraged him to take a trip to Europe for artistic studies, and he left for England in 1774. The political climate in Boston helped to convince him to leave. To further his artist credentials he toured the continent in 1774 and 1775, visiting France and Italy. When he returned to England he found his wife and her family had left Boston as Loyalist refugees in 1775. He remained the rest of his life in England. Although he was a successful painter, working on portraits and historical scenes, as he grew older he struggled to maintain his household. Copley painted portraits of members of the British royal family as well as many noted Americans, including John Adams and John Quincy Adams, when they stayed in England.
See also art.
Further reading: Neil Harris, The Artist in American Society: The Formative Years, 1790-1860 (New York: George Braziller, 1966); Kenneth Silverman, A Cultural History of the American Revolution (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976).
World History
