half-pay pensions
Books
- The Officers at Newburgh George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Crisis That Forged the American Republic · Liszt Think
In March 1783, peace had been signed but the Continental Army remained unpaid and restless at Newburgh. Two anonymous addresses circulated through camp, urging officers to defy Congress and march on Philadelphia.
- The Pen of John Armstrong Jr.…my,” laid out the case with rhetorical precision. It began with the familiar grievances: the army had not been paid for years, the promised half-pay pensions remained unpaid, and Congress seemed paralyzed by the requirement of unanimous state consent for any revenue measure. Washington himself ha…
- Summons to the Temple of Virtue…, led by General Henry Knox and including other senior officers, had been working for months to secure the army’s back pay and the promised half-pay pensions. Washington’s reference to the committee was a reminder that legitimate channels existed for addressing their grievances. It was also a rem…
- The Meeting Called…he army’s situation was genuinely dire. The quartermaster’s ledgers told the story in columns of unpaid figures. Officers had been promised half-pay pensions for seven years, a commitment Congress had made in 1780 to keep them in service. Enlisted men had been promised bounties and back wages. Mo…