An ill-defined political and military intrigue that peaked and fizzled out in the 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, Brigadier General Thomas Conway. The movement drew support from two sources: within the Second Continental Congress, where detractors such as Samuel Adams were especially distrustful of a standing army and feared Washington might use his popularity with the people to become a military dictator; and within the army itself, where 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. After the crucial victory at Saratoga (October 17, 1777), credited to Gates, the conspirators believed they had a suitable replacement.

Washington was soon aware of the maneuvering against him. In the afterglow of 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 indiscreet 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 John Cadwalader, a general of the Pennsylvania militia, shot Conway through the mouth in a duel. Only the thought of impending death prompted Conway to apologize for his disparaging remarks, though he recovered from his wound and went to France; he died in Ireland in 1800.

Bibliography:

1) Robert Leckie, George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution (New York: Harper-Collins, 1993)

2) Page Smith, A New Age Now Begins: A People's History of the American Revolution, Vol. 2. (New York: Penguin Books, 1989)

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