USA > Pennsylvania > Lives of the governors of Pennsylvania : with the incidental history of the state, from 1609 to 1873 > Part 22
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When the routine had in a measure been confirmed, and discipline began to sit easily and naturally upon the troops, Mrs. Washington came to headquarters, and greatly assisted in entertaining the numerous guests who were constantly flocking thither. The headquarters of the several general
* Irving's Washington, Vol. II. p. 13.
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officers were maintained with considerable state. Not the least pretentious was that of Mifflin. Graydon describes him at this period as " a man of education, ready apprehension, and brilliancy, very easy of access, with the manners of gen- teel life, though occasionally evolving those of the Quaker;" and John Adams, who visited him during a recess of Con- gress, says, "I dined at Colonel Mifflin's with the General (Washington) and lady, and a vast collection of other com- pany, among whom were six or seven sachems and warriors of the French Caughnawaga Indians, with their wives and children. A savage feast they made of it, yet were very polite in the Indian style. I was introduced to them by the General as one of the grand council at Philadelphia, which made them prick up their ears. They came and shook hands with me."*
On the 19th of May, 1776, Congress appointed and com- missioned Mifflin to be a Brigadier-General, and he was given command of Pennsylvania troops. An assignment to the field was much more to his taste than one at headquarters, though it were that of Quartermaster-General of the army. "He assumed," says Graydon, who visited him about this time, " a little of the veteran, from having been before Boston." In August he was stationed at King's Bridge in command of the regiments of Shee and Magaw. General Heath, who reviewed them there, says, " They are the best disciplined of any troops that I have yet seen in the army."
After the battle of Long Island, disastrous to the Ameri- cans, Washington found it necessary to withdraw altogether from the Island. To do so in the presence of the enemy, now in his immediate front, on the alert for an advantage and greatly outnumbering him, was a difficult matter. The means of transportation were but insignificant-a few row-boats and transports, the latter useless except with favoring winds. Fortunately, the night of the 29th of September was foggy, and under cover of this Washington determined to attempt the withdrawal. Nine thousand men, with all the munitions
* Letters of John Adams, Vo I. p. 85.
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of war, were to be transported. Mifflin, with his Pennsylva- nia troops, had been brought down from King's Bridge a day or two before. "Every eye brightened as they marched briskly along the line with alert step and cheery aspect." When it was determined to retire, these troops were selected to cover the movement, a most difficult and dangerous part.
Irving, in his Life of Washington, gives a vivid account of the incidents of this remarkably successful manœuvre. " It was late in the evening," he says, "when the troops be- gan to retire from the breastworks. As one regiment quietly withdrew from their station on guard, the troops on the right and left moved up and filled the vacancy. There was a sti- fled murmur in the camp, unavoidable in a movement of the kind; but it gradually died away in the direction of the river as the main body moved on in silence and order. . . . The embarkation went on with all possible dispatch under the vigilant eye of Washington, who stationed himself at the ferry, superintending every movement. In his anxiety for dispatch, he sent back Colonel Scammel, one of his aids-de- camp, to hasten forward all the troops that were on the march. Scammel blundered in executing his errand, and gave the order to Mifflin likewise. The General instantly called in his pickets and sentinels, and set off for the ferry.
"By this time the tide had turned; there was a strong wind from the north-east; the boats with oars were insufficient to convey the troops; those with sails could not make headway against wind and tide. There was some confusion at the ferry, and in the midst of it, General Mifflin came down with the whole covering party, adding to the embarrassment and uproar.
"' Good God ! General Mifflin !' cried Washington, 'I am afraid you have ruined us by so unseasonably withdrawing the troops from the line.'
"'I did so by your order,' replied Mifflin, with some warmth. 'It cannot be !' exclaimed Washington. 'By G-, I did !' was the blunt rejoinder. 'Did Scammel act as aid- de-camp for the day, or did he not?' 'IIe did.' 'Then,'
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said Mifflin, ' I had orders through him.' 'It is a dreadful mistake,' rejoined Washington, 'and unless the troops can re- gain the lines before their absence is discovered by the enemy, the most disastrous consequences are to be apprehended.'
" Mifflin led back his men to the lines, which had been completely deserted for three quarters of an hour. Fortu- nately, the dense fog had prevented the enemy from discov- ering that they were unoccupied. The men resumed their former posts, and remained at them until called off to cross the ferry. 'Whoever has seen troops in a similar situation,' writes General Heath, 'or duly contemplates the human heart in such trials, will know how to appreciate the conduct of these brave men on this occasion.'" *
Upon taking the field, Mifflin was relieved of the duties of Quartermaster-General, and General Stephen Moylan was appointed to succeed him. Moylan was a gentleman of habits ill suited to the difficult task of providing for an army where the authority for calling in supplies was little respected, and the means of paying for them was rarely in hand; and not long after accepting the position, abandoned it. Mifflin was importuned to resume its duties, and Congress passed a for- mal resolve, requesting him to again undertake their dis- charge. It was a sacrifice to yield the chance of distinction to which he was now in a fair way, and give himself to the most trying labors with no hope of advancement. But, obe- dient to the call of his country, and a sense of duty, he with- drew from his command and devoted himself most industri- ously to his old task.
The reverses of the American army during the summer and fall of 1776 culminated in its withdrawal into New Jer- sey, hotly pursued by the British troops. Pennsylvania was threatened, and especially Philadelphia, where Congress was sitting. At this dark hour, General Mifflin was sent with despatches from Washington to Congress, calling on that body loudly for help. Mifflin, at the request of Congress, made a stirring address, setting forth the perilous situation,
* Irving's Life of Washington, Vol. II. pp. 313-315.
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and appealing, in that fervid strain of eloquence of which he was master, for the means to oppose the further advance of a defiant enemy. That body was greatly exercised, and imme- diately ordered that General Mifflin should remain near Con- gress for consultation and advice, notifying the Commander- in-chief of its action. As the American army continued to fall back, and the enemy to advance, the peril became every day more imminent. General Putnam was sent to take com- mand in Philadelphia, and General Mifflin was placed in charge of the war material and stores deposited in the city.
The victory at Trenton, near the close of December, pro- duced a gleam of hope; and taking advantage of the encour- agement which it inspired, Congress determined to send some one capable of arousing the masses throughout the State of Pennsylvania, in order that, by his personal appeals, they might be drawn to the support of Washington's decimated ranks. No man was better fitted than General Mifflin, and he was designated for that duty. The Assembly was requested to send a suitable committee to accompany him on his mis- sion, which was accordingly done. He visited the principal places throughout the Commonwealth, and from the stump, the court-house, and the church were heard with delight his spirit-stirring words. The work of recruiting was re- vived, and the ranks of the army were visibly strengthened. In acknowledgment of his services on this occasion, Con- gress bestowed on him, in the following month, the rank of Major-General.
His duties as Quartermaster-General were continued, though called to other and arduous cares, and in the fall of this year they were still further increased by his appointment as a member of the Board of War, established by Congress, which consisted of three members, General Mifflin, Timothy Pick- ering, and Robert H. Harrison. It was provided that the members of this Board should be composed of military men, not members of Congress, in order that professional advice ' and counsel might always be at the service of that body. Harrison declined to serve, and General Gates, Colonel
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Joseph Trumbull, and Richard Peters were added, making · the number five, of which Gates was chosen president.
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Overborne with the cares and responsibilities of his various offices, General Mifflin's health became so much impaired that he deemed it advisable to withdraw from active duty, and sent in his resignation ; but Congress refused to accept it, and he continued to discharge the duties imposed, though obliged to leave much to his subordinates. As a consequence, his affairs were involved in some confusion, and complaints were heard of pressing wants in the army which were not supplied. It was the darkest hour in the whole course of the war. The British army was quartered in the city of Philadelphia, rioting in profusion, while Washington, and his half starved, indiffer- ently clothed troops, were perishing in wretched cantonments at Valley Forge. It was next to impossible to obtain supplies, and the depreciated paper currency with which the farce of payment was made, furnished little inducement for those who had the needed articles to bring them forward. Mifflin con- tended that he ought not to be held responsible for the con- duct of those over whom he had no efficient control. Con- gress held that the head of a department was accountable for the entire management of all its operations, whether by prin- cipal or deputy. So far as his own accounts were concerned, they were known to be correct, the confusion complained of being the work of subordinates.
In March, 1778, a successor, in the person of General Greene, was appointed, and General Mifflin was directed to render " a statement of the preparations for the next cam- paign, and deliver the articles on hand to him."
As the time drew near when it was evident that the enemy would be obliged to evacuate Philadelphia, and an active campaign would open, General Mifflin sought and obtained leave to join the army in the field. "By one of those strange vacillations," says Dr. Rawle, " to which public bodies are always liable, Congress, after having at different times mani- fested almost unbounded confidence, suddenly requested Gen- eral Washington to make an inquiry into his conduct, and if
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the distresses of the army were owing to his misconduct, or that of his inferior officers, to order a court-martial. We may reasonably suppose that this procedure arose from clamors with which Congress was beset, and which they knew not how otherwise to appease." As for General Mifflin, he was ready and anxious for an examination. Being unable to obtain one, he again returned his commission to Congress; but that body knew too well the great services that he had rendered, and was capable of rendering, to accept it, and his resignation . was again refused.
Scarcely a month from this time, Congress placed in his hands a million of dollars with which to settle the claims outstanding during his administration. No better evidence than this is needed of the entire confidence of the Govern- ment in his absolute integrity and virtue. As a further proof of the faith which was placed in his capacity and judgment, he was, in January, 1780, appointed by Congress a member of a board to examine and devise means for retrenching the general expenses, and a vote of thanks was tendered for the " wise and salutary plans recommended."
The despondency and gloom which settled down upon the nation during the winter of 1777, in which the army was at Valley Forge and the enemy in Philadelphia, produced such results as would be expected. It was a season of fault-find- ing. Pennsylvanians were especially impatient at beholding the fairest portions of the State given over to the enemy, and its metropolis a prey to the spoiler. Blame fell upon the Commander-in-chief. He was believed to be too cautious, and the Fabian policy, by which he seemed to be governed, was stigmatized as leading to utter ruin. In this view a con- siderable party in Congress and many officers in the army sympathized, Lovell, of Massachusetts, Chairman of the Com- mittee on Foreign Relations, and Samuel Adams, being of the number. Indeed it would seem, from the fact that Congress created at this period a Board of War, in which authority was vested superior to that of the Commander-in-chief, that a majority of that body were of the same opinion. The
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officers in the army most active in giving currency to these views were Generals Gates and Conway. The party of which they were the leading spirits was known as the Conway Cabal, and its object, as was charged, was to elevate General Gates to the position of Commander-in-chief, in place of Washington. Gates' fortunate success at Saratoga, where he had compelled the whole British army under Burgoyne to lay down its arms, had brought him prominently before the country, and the fact that he was elected Chairman of the new Board of War, gave some color to the charge, as indi- cating the direction in which popular favor was setting. General Mifflin was classed with this party, and by reason of his being associated with Gates in the Board of War, it was natural that the two should be intimate and should sympathize with each other in opinion. It is undoubtedly true that Mifflin believed Washington over-cautious, and desired to see a more daring policy inaugurated; but that he ever contemplated the elevation of Gates to the supreme command, or even desired it, there is no evidence. On the contrary, we have his positive denial of having sought such a result.
In a letter to Colonel Delany, written on the 1st of Feb- ruary, 1788, he says: " As a man of sense and honor, you must judge what my feelings must be, when I am told that my old acquaintance, Colonel Delany, had charged me with a design of ruining General Washington, and of setting up · General Gates in opposition to him. As a friend to my country, I have spoken my sentiments on public matters with decency and firmness. I love and esteem General Washing- ton, and know him too well even to wish for an exchange. I love my country, and for her sake deprecate the idea of such a change. But I have seen, and among my friends have said, that General Washington's judgment in military points was frequently counteracted by what I believed a dangerous influence. I have quoted Long Island and Mount Washing- ton as instances of that influence, and have lamented that the General did not consider the great value of his own private judgment, a judgment universally admitted and admired."
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That General Washington had been unfortunate in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown was apparent to all. To criticise fairly his conduct in them was the right and the duty of freemen. Whether a more daring leader would have done better is a question which will ever remain open to discussion. That there were those at that period, among the purest patriots, who did question Washington's conduct, is evident. That Mifflin did so, should be no derogation to his honor, or to his integrity to the cause. On the contrary, it would seem to prove his impatience of delay, and the intensity of his devotion to the struggle in which he had staked fortune and life itself.
In 1783, General Mifflin was elected a member of Congress, and in the fall of that year had the satisfaction of being ele- vated to the position of presiding officer of that grave and dignified body. In that capacity he acted during the closing events of the Revolution, and received back the commission from Washington when he formally tendered his resignation. The event was a deeply affecting one. For eight long years Washington had, through many gloomy periods, stood at the head of the army. In a spirit of the loftiest patriotism, when, by his steadfastness and valor, he had won a final triumph, and saw the armies of the enemy, crestfallen, with- drawing from the contest, instead of being swayed by that vaulting ambition which has almost without exception pos- sessed the world's great conquerors, he counselled the quiet disbanding of the army, and taking leave of his companions- in-arms, repaired to the halls of Congress, delivered up his commission, which at the first he had received with fear and trembling, and retired to his peaceful home on the banks of the Potomac, with no more power than the humblest citizen, joyful at the prospect of finally knowing the peace and quiet of private life. The scene which was presented, when he stood in the presence of the assembled Congress, and with a voice faltering with emotion pronounced his last words as the head of the army, is one worthy the loftiest inspiration of the painter. His concluding words were most memorable. "I
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consider it," he says, " an indispensable duty to close this last act of my official life by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them to his holy keeping. Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of action, and, bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave of all the em- ployments of public life."
The reply of President Mifflin was worthy of the occasion: " The United States, in Congress assembled, receive, with emotions too affecting for utterance, the solemn resignation of the authorities under which you have led their troops with success through a perilous and a doubtful war. Called upon by your country to defend its invaded rights, you accepted the sacred charge, before it had formed alliances, and while it was without funds or a Government to support you. You have conducted the great military contest with wisdom and fortitude, invariably regarding the rights of the civil power through all disasters and changes. You have, by the love and confidence of your fellow-citizens, enabled them to dis- play their martial genius, and transmit their fame to poster- ity. You have persevered until these United States, aided by a magnanimous king and nation, have been enabled, under a just Providence, to close the war in freedom, safety, and independence; in which happy event we sincerely join you in congratulations. Having defended the standard of liberty in this new world, having taught a lesson useful to those who inflict and to those who feel oppression, you retire from the great theatre of action with the blessings of your fellow-citizens. But the glory of your virtues will not termi- nate with your military command; it will continue to ani mate remotest ages. We feel, with you, our obligations to the army in general, and will particularly charge ourselves with the interests of those confidential officers who have at- tended your person to this affecting moment. We join you in commending the interests of our dearest country to the
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protection of Almighty God, beseeching him to dispose the hearts and minds of its citizens to improve the opportunity afforded them of becoming a happy and respectable nation. And for you we address to Him our earnest prayers that a life so beloved may be fostered with all His care ; that your days may be as happy as they have been illustrious; and that He will finally give you that reward which this world cannot give."
In the Assembly of the State which met in 1785, Mifflin was a member, and was elected its speaker. He was also a member of the Convention which sat in 1787 for the forma- tion of the Constitution of the United States, and to that instrument his name was affixed. In 1788, he was chosen a member of the Supreme Executive Council, and towards the close of the year, upon the retirement of Franklin, he was elected president. The dissatisfaction which was early man- ifested towards the State Constitution of 1776, and which had been a constant subject of contention and party wrangle since, was more than ever displayed after the adoption of the Con- stitution of the United States. A comparison of it with that instrument only served to magnify its defects, and it was ac- cordingly determined by the Council of Censors, who were charged with considering the question every seven years, to call a convention to revise it. That convention met in 1790, and over its deliberations Mifflin, who had been elected one of its members, was called to preside. On many questions which were discussed there was division of sentiment, and, consequently, spirited debate. The election of Governor, whether by electors or by popular vote, the qualifications for suffrage, and the rights of masters who brought slaves in visiting the State from other States, were among the themes which called forth the most animated discussions. In all these questions Mifflin sided with the liberal party, and gave his votes for its measures.
The Constitution was no sooner adopted and promulgated than the question began to be agitated who should be the first Governor. As there had been divisions among the dele-
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gates in the convention on the items of policy involved, so there were among the people upon the choice of a Governor. Two candidates were put forward, Thomas Mifflin and Arthur St. Clair. The latter had a bright military reputation, and was personally much esteemed, though his abilities and at- tainments were but moderate. Mifflin triumphed, being elected by a large majority, and was continued in office for that and the two succeeding terms. The routine of executive duty, as established by him under the new Constitution, with little variation has been preserved. There were two events during his administration which more than ordinarily moved the public mind. The first was the intemperate conduct of the French minister, Genet. In the heated discussions, which were the result, Governor Mifflin maintained a reserved and dignified position, and in the support of the State in its just relations with the national Government was most earnest. The second was the resistance, in some of the western coun- ties of the State, to the collection of the excise tax, and was commonly known as the " Whiskey Insurrection." It proved too formidable for the civil authorities, with the aid of the few soldiers which were called from Fort Pitt, to manage. Washington, who was then President, called out the militia of four States, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, to the number of twenty thousand men, for its sup- pression. Governor Mifflin marched promptly at the head of the Pennsylvania quota, and at Cumberland, Maryland, met the troops from the other States, where an organization of the forces was effected, Governor Lee, of Virginia, "Light- Horse Harry," being placed in chief command. In two di- visions, amounting to some fifteen thousand men, Lee pushed forward towards the disaffected districts. At the approach of so large a force, the insurgents became alarmed, and were glad to lay down their arms and sue for pardon. General Morgan, with a small force, was left in the district to insure security, and the main body returned rapidly and was dis- banded. A few of the leaders were apprehended and tried, but never convicted.
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The Constitution limited the eligibility of holding the office of Governor to three terms of three years each. At the end of this maximum period, Governor Mifflin meditated a return to private life; but before it had fully expired, the people, unwilling to dispense altogether with his services, elected him a member of the Legislature. His last official communication as Governor was made on the 7th of Decem- ber, 1799. It contained his farewell sentiments on taking leave of the office, and was replete with sage advice and counsel. It was received with every manifestation of respect by the Assembly, and an answer returned conceived in a kindly and affectionate spirit. He then took his seat in the Assembly, but did not long survive. He died during a ses- sion of the House, then sitting at Lancaster, on the 21st of January, 1800. His decease was noticed with becoming ceremonies, resolutions being passed expressive of the high sense entertained for him as a soldier and a statesman, au- thorizing his interment at the public expense, and providing for the erection of a monument to his memory.
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