Newburgh Conspiracy - Background

Background

With the end of the war and dissolution of the Continental Army approaching, soldiers who had long been unpaid feared that Congress would not meet previous promises concerning back pay and pensions. Congress, at the mercy of the states for all revenue, had no money and could not pay more than a fraction of the money owed. The result was that, by March 1783, some officers were talking of forcing Congress to pay what had been promised to them, with an undertone of marching on the capital. There was no plan for a coup and the movement seems to have lacked any leaders or spokesmen.

The winter of 1783 marked the end of hostilities between the young nation and Britain, but a formal peace treaty had not yet been signed. Most of the Continental Army was camped near Newburgh, New York, where they maintained a watchful eye on the British, who still occupied New York City, some sixty miles to the south; any hint that there was turmoil in the Continental Army might have induced the British to attack and re-establish control over their former colonies.

Continental officers had been promised a pension of half their pay when they were discharged. At this point, the officers organized under the leadership of General Henry Knox and sent a delegation to lobby Congress; the delegation was headed by Alexander McDougall. The officers had three demands: the Army's pay, their own pensions, and the option of commutation of those pensions into a lump-sum payment.