Horatio Gates

“ Two provincial companies of carpenters, or pioneers, thirty men each, with subalterns and captains. A company of guides, composed of a captain, two aids, and ten men. The troop of Virginia light horse, commanded by Captain Stewart; the detachment of thirty sailors with their officers, and the remnants of two independent companies from New York, one of which was commanded by Captain Horatio Gates, of whom, we shall have to speak much hereafter, in the course of this biography.
Another person in camp, of subsequent notoriety, and who became a warm friend of Washington, was Dr. ”

“ Gates endeavoured to make religion the foundation of law and order. He effected a new settlement, and built a town called Henrico in honour of Prince Henry. His administration appears to have been discreet and provident. A third patent for Virginia, signed March 1612, granted to the shareholders in England the Bermudas and all islands within three hundred leagues of the Virginia shore, but this acquisition was subsequently transferred to a separate company. Gates returned to England in 1614, and endeavoured to revive and strengthen the fallen hopes of the London company of shareholders. ”

“ To dare is often the impulse of selfish ambition or harebrained valor: to forbear is at times the proof of real greatness.
While censure and detraction had dogged Washington throughout his harassing campaign, Gates was the constant theme of popular eulogium, and was held up by the cabal as the only one capable of retrieving the desperate fortunes of the South. Letters from his friends in Congress urged him to hasten on, take his seat at the head of the Board of War, assume the management of military affairs, and save the country! Gates was not a strong-minded man. ”

“ Ambitious as Lucifer, and vain by nature, this mark of great distinction—bestowed in spite of the known opinion of Washington concerning its unwisdom—gave Gates unlimited confidence in his abilities. Miscalculating the fighting strength of his “grand army,” two thirds of which consisted of raw militia from the various provinces that had never been paraded together, he marched against the best disciplined troops in the world, led by Cornwallis, at Camden, and suffered a defeat which demoralized the entire South, deprived him of his command and terminated his military career. ”

“ Not finding any army in Canada, it having been compelled to retreat to New York, he claimed command of the whole Northern army, then under Schuyler,34 with his headquarters at Albany. Congress sustained the latter general, but this period marks the beginning of a series of intrigues which culminated in the “Conway cabal” to supplant Washington. Gates’ complicity in this conspiracy will forever tarnish his fame, as it no doubt saddened his life. ”

“ Of course, a judicious man would not preserve any such tangible evidence of his guilt for more than three years after the matter had been exposed. General Gates, in a letter to a friend, dated at York, April 4th, 1778, said, "For my part, I solemnly declare I never was engaged in any plan or plot for the removal of General Washington, nor do I believe any such plot ever existed." ”

“ As we stood, not understanding what he meant to do, I heard across the water a rattling of blocks and knew the Orchid, free of pursuit, was changing her course. Gates cocked his head and listened, then whispered to the mate who went back and changed the Whim's course.
"Now, Mr. Jack," he said, in a guarded tone, "we're behind her, and dark, too; so keep all hands as quiet as mice, sir! Take the wheel and steer as I signal from under my coat with this electric torch, like this: one long, means put your helm up a point, two long means two points ”

“ But it was in Marion that the chief spirit of resistance was incorporated. On the arrival of Gates from the North, in command of the Southern army, having partially recovered from his lameness, he presented himself before the hero of Saratoga, on his march toward the fatal field of Camden. American commanders were accustomed to odd sights of dress and equipment in the patriot soldiery who enlisted under their banners, and Gates must have been used to appearances with which the eye of Washington himself was but too familiar. ”

“ After this affair subsided, Washington said,—
“I made a point of treating Gen. Gates with all the attention and cordiality in my power, as well from a sincere desire of harmony, as from an unwillingness to give any cause of triumph among ourselves. I can appeal to the world, and to the whole army, whether I have not cautiously avoided offending Gen. Gates in any way. I am sorry his conduct to me has not been equally generous, and that he is continually giving me fresh proofs of malevolence and opposition. ”

“ Sir Thomas Gates, now appointed governor, conducted six ships to Virginia, with 300 emigrants, 100 head of cattle, and other liberal supplies. And as “to oblige quickly is to oblige twice,” this aid was doubly welcome, because it was promptly given. Dale wrote his letter in May, and on the last day of August Sir Thomas Gates and his ships were seen advancing towards Jamestown. The colonists, who least of all expected so ready a response to their wishes, seeing what appeared a large fleet advancing, dreaded that an enemy might be at hand. ”

“ Of course there could be no concert of action, when it was most needed, too, with such a state of feeling between the general officers. Arnold sought Gates, and told him plainly what he thought of his meanness in leaving him out of his despatches to Congress, and insisted that it not only did himself a wrong, but it was a greater wrong to the brave troops that had so successfully fought the battle. Gates had a high temper, as well as high self-esteem; they exchanged angry words, such as men never like to recall afterwards, and parted in the heat of their passion. ”

“ After expressing his surprise that a copy of Gates' letter should have been sent to Congress, and asserting that he was thereby laid under the necessity of returning his answer through the same body, he proceeds to state that Colonel Wilkinson, in the month of October last, fell in with Major McWilliams, aide-de-camp to Lord Stirling, and informed him, not in confidence, that General Conway had written to Gates as follows: "Heaven has been determined to save your country, or a weak general and bad counsellors would have ruined it." ”

“ The powerful intellect and unshaken fortitude of Washington replaced by [203] the petty vanity of Gates meant but one thing.
“Destruction,” muttered Ben. “Such a man as General Gates could not sustain a series of disasters. He would collapse under discouragement, and the army would melt away.” ”

“ The purpose was to put forward Gates to supersede Washington, as he had lately superseded the noble Schuyler. Gates, of course, lent himself heartily to the scheme; such intrigues were what he was made for. And there were some of our noblest men who were dissatisfied with Washington, because they were ignorant of the military art, and could not understand his wonderful skill, as Frederick the Great did. Among these were John and Samuel Adams, who disapproved of "Fabian strategy." Gates and Conway tried to work upon such feelings. ”

“ Although Stallman didn't know it at the time, seven years before sending out his message to the n et.unix-wizards newsgroup, Gates, a budding entrepreneur and general partner with the Albuquerque-based software firm Micro-Soft, later spelled as Microsoft, had sent out his own open letter to the software-developer community. Written in response to the PC users copying Micro-Soft's software programs, Gates' " Open Letter to Hobbyists" had excoriated the notion of communal software development.
"Who can afford to do professional work for nothing?" ”

“ The British army did not much exceed two thousand men, of whom about nineteen hundred were regulars; but, as the whole country was rising, Lord Cornwallis apprehended that every day would strengthen his enemy, and therefore determined to attack him in his camp; hoping, by a prompt execution of this resolution, to surprise him. By one of those caprices of fortune on which great events often depend, he marched from Camden to attack Gates in Clermont, at the very hour that Gates moved from that place towards Camden. ”

“ It is not my object to write a history of the war, but merely to sketch it so far as Washington was directly concerned. The South was left, in the main, to defend itself against the raids which the British generals made in its defenceless territories, and these were destructive and cruel. But Gates was sent to cope with Cornwallis and Tarleton. Washington himself could not leave his position near New York, as he had to watch Clinton, defend the Hudson, and make journeys to Philadelphia to urge Congress to more vigorous measures. ”

“ The friends of that officer were an active faction in Congress at that time, sub rosa, but the next year were far more undisguised in favoring the scheme for giving Gates the chief command in place of Washington. We are so accustomed to look upon all the men of the Revolution who took sides with the friends of America as pure and holy in all their thoughts and actions, that we reluctantly yield to the conviction that they were ever actuated by motives less worthy and exalted than those of the loftiest patriotism. ”

“ There is a natural, herd-like [Pg 173] predisposition to think ill of a newcomer. That makes the soil receptive.
Galt was serene until one day suddenly Jonas Gates died of old age and sin, and then I noticed symptoms of uneasiness. I wondered if he was worried about those papers I had witnessed in his private office on the day the Great Midwestern failed. The executors of course would find them.
On reaching New York Valentine’s first act was to call a meeting of the board of directors. ”

“ Conway, on his part, found Gates a convenient man to set up as a rival to Washington. He himself did not aspire to be commander-in-chief, though he would have had no doubt as to his capacity. Washington knew him well. "His merit as an officer," wrote the Commander-in-chief, "and his importance in this army exist more in his own imagination than in reality. For it is a maxim with him to leave no service of his own untold, nor to want anything which is to be obtained by importunity." Conway thought Gates was the rising man, and he meant to rise with him. ”

“ When his son, the one who's our General Manager now, retires, there won't be a Gates left in the Gates Lumber Company."
"They won't mind," said Martha.
"You bet your life they won't mind," said Neale. "Far from it! Most likely they've hardly heard the name of it. They're all living in Europe now, buying villas and things out of the money the Company makes. Our Mr. Gates never sees any of his family except when he takes a vacation and goes to Florence or England. All they want out of the lumber business is a fat wad of easy money." ”

“ Gates, they say,” and Sugden sniggered, “is the very man to bring victory to the American arms.”
“There is a thing,” said Hawkins, “which fits most excellently into my plan. Gates is a weak man, all but mad with vanity, and jealous in every fiber of his being of Washington. With much hard work I have centered upon him the favor of all in Congress who are opposed to the present commander.” ”

“ When the British marched triumphantly into Philadelphia there was gloom over America such as to make people lose all confidence in General Washington, the commander-in-chief, and as General Gates had but recently, on October 19, 1777, achieved such a brilliant victory over Burgoyne at Saratoga, the one event to bring joy to their hearts, it was but natural to suggest that Gates was the more competent. ”

“ To add to the trials of that winter, Washington learned of a conspiracy against him, the object of which was to supersede him by General Gates as commander-in-chief. His old friend Dr. Craik wrote to him:
"Notwithstanding your unwearied diligence and the unparalleled sacrifice of domestic happiness and care of mind which you have made for the good of your country, yet you are not wanting in secret enemies, who would rob you of the great and truly deserved esteem your country has for you. ”

“ It was the original purpose of General Washington to invest General Gates with the command of this expedition, and the appointment was tendered to that officer by letter, on the 6th of March. Gates declined it, in a manner not very agreeable to the Commander-in-chief. The latter, in writing subsequently to the President of Congress upon the subject, in the course of sundry explanations, not unmingled with strictures upon the conduct of Gates, wrote as follows:—"The plan of operations for the campaign being determined, a commanding officer was to be appointed for the Indian expedition. ”

“ The loss of Philadelphia is far from being so important as it is conceived to be in Europe. If the differences of circumstances, of countries, and of proportion between the two armies, were not duly considered, the success of General Gates would appear surprising when compared to the events that have occurred with us,—taking into account the superiority of General Washington over General Gates. Our General is a man formed, in truth, for this revolution, which could not have been accomplished without him. ”

“ A stronger man was putting him aside in a new time. He started to speak, but Potter spoke instead.
“I move to strike all this stuff off the record,” he said, “and let matters rest as they are.” He pushed back his chair. Everyone but Valentine arose. There was no vote. Officially nothing had been [Pg 177] transacted. The president was left sitting there alone, with his resolutions in front of him.
All that Galt said was true. It was probably not the whole truth. His transaction with Gates seemed on the face of it too strange to be so briefly and plausibly explained. ”