It is that to which, in the
beautiful tribute of an eloquent female,* to the memory
of Andre, she most feelingly alludes, -- the manner of
his death.
beautiful tribute of an eloquent female,* to the memory
of Andre, she most feelingly alludes, -- the manner of
his death.
Hamilton - 1834 - Life on Hamilton - v1
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? HAMILTON. 267
to a place of greater security ; where, after a careful search,
there were found concealed in the feet of his stockings, se-
veral papers of importance delivered to him by Arnold.
Among these there were a plan of the fortifications of West
Point, a memorial from the engineer on the attack and de-
fence of the place, returns of the garrison, cannon, and
stores, copy of the minutes of a council of war held by Ge-
neral Washington a few weeks before. The prisoner at
first was inadvertently ordered to Arnold; but on recollec-
tion, while still on the way, he was countermanded and
sent to Old Salem.
The papers were enclosed in a letter to General Wash-
ington, which having taken a route different from that by
which he returned, made a circuit, that afforded leisure for
another letter, through an ill-judged delicacy, written to
Arnold, with information of Anderson's capture, to get to
him an hour before General Washington arrived at his
quarters, time enough to elude the fate that awaited him.
He went down the river in his barge to the Vulture, with
such precipitate confusion, that he did not take with him
a single paper useful to the enemy. On the first notice of
the affair he was pursued, but much too late to be over-
taken.
There was some colour for imagining it was a part of
the plan to betray the General into the hands of the ene-
my: Arnold was very anxious to ascertain from him the
precise day of his return, and the enemy's movement seem
to have corresponded to this point. But if it was really
the case, it was very injudicious. The success must have
depended on surprise, and as the officers at the advanced
posts were not in the secret, their measures might have
given the alarm, and General Washington, taking the com-
mand of the post, might have rendered the whole scheme
abortive. Arnold, it is true, had so dispersed the garrison
as to have made a defence difficult, but not impracticable;
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? 268 THE LIFE OF
and the acquisition of West Point was of such magnitude
to the enemy, that it would have been unwise to connect
it with any other object, however great, which might make
the obtaining of it precarious.
Arnold, a moment before his setting out, went into Mrs.
Arnold's apartment, and informed her that some transac-
tions had just come to light, which must forever banish
him from his country. She fell into a swoon at this decla-
ration, and he left her in it to consult his own safety, till
the servants, alarmed by her cries, came to her relief. She
remained frantic all day, accusing every one who ap-
proached her with an intention to murder her child, (an
infant in her arms,) and exhibiting every other mark of the
most genuine and agonizing distress. Exhausted by the
fatigue and tumult of her spirits, her phrenzy subsided to-
wards evening, and she sunk into all the sadness of afflic-
tion. It was impossible not to have been touched with her
situation; every thing affecting in female tears, or in the
misfortunes of beauty, every thing pathetic in the wounded
tenderness of a wife, or in the apprehensive fondness of a
mother, and, till I have reason to change the opinion, I
will add, every thing amiable in suffering innocence, con-
spired to make her an object of sympathy to all who were
present. She experienced the most delicate attentions,
and every friendly office, till her departure for Philadel-
phia.
Andre was, without loss of time, conducted to the head
quarters of the army, where he was immediately brought
before a board of general officers, to prevent all possibility
of misrepresentation or cavil on the part of the enemy.
The board reported that he ought to be considered as a
spy, and according to the laws and usages of nations, to
suffer death, which was executed two days after.
Never, perhaps, did any man suffer death with more
justice, or deserve it less. The first step he took after his
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? HAMILTON. 269
capture, was to write a letter to General Washington, con-
ceived in terms of dignity, without insolence, and apology
without meanness. The scope of it was to vindicate him-
self from the imputation of having assumed a mean cha-
racter, for treacherous or interested purposes; asserting that
he had been involuntarily an impostor; that contrary to his
intention, which was to meet a person for intelligence on
neutral ground, he had been betrayed within our posts,
and forced into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise;
soliciting only that to whatever rigour policy might devote
him, a decency of treatment might be observed due to a
person who, though unfortunate, had been guilty of nothing
dishonourable. His request was granted in its full extent;
for in the whole progress of the affair, he was treated with
the most scrupulous delicacy. When brought before the
board of officers, he met with every mark of indulgence,
and was required to answer no interrogatory which would
even embarrass his feelings. On his part, while he care-
fully concealed every thing that might implicate others, he
frankly confessed all the facts relating to himself, and upon
his confession, without the trouble of examining a witness,
the board made their report. The members were not
more impressed with the candour and firmness, mixed with
a becoming sensibility which he displayed, than he was
penetrated with their liberality and politeness. He ac-
knowledged the generosity of the behaviour towards him
in every respect, but particularly in this, in the strongest
terms of manly gratitude. In a conversation with a gen-
tleman who visited him after his trial, he said, he flattered
himself he had never been illiberal; but if there were any
remains of prejudice in his mind, his present experience
must obliterate them.
In one of the visits I made to him, (and I saw him se-
veral times during his confinement,) he begged me to be
the bearer of a request to the General, for permission to
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? 270 THE LIFE OF
send an open letter to Sir Henry Clinton. "I foresee my
fate," said he, " and though I pretend not to play the hero,
or to be indifferent about life, yet I am reconciled to what-
ever may happen, conscious that misfortune, not guilt, has
brought it upon me. There is only one thing that disturbs
my tranquillity. Sir Henry Clinton has been too good to
me; he has been lavish of his kindness; I am bound to
him by too many obligations, and love him too well to bear
the thought that he should reproach himself, or others
should reproach him, on the supposition of my having con-
ceived myself obliged, by his instructions, to run the risk I
did. I would not, for the world, leave a sting in his mind
that should embitter his future days. " He could scarce
finish the sentence; bursting into tears, in spite of his ef-
forts to suppress them, and with difficulty collected himself
enough afterwards to add, "I wish to be permitted to as-
sure him, I did not act under this impression, but submit-
ted to a necessity imposed upon me, as contrary to my own
inclination, as to his orders. " His request was readily com-
plied with, and he wrote the letter annexed, with which I
dare say you will be as much pleased as I am, both for the
sentiment and diction.
When his sentence was announced to him, he remarked,
that since it was his lot to die, there was still a choice in
the mode, which would make a material difference to his
feelings; and he would be happy, if possible, to be indulged
with a professional death. He made a second application
by letter, in concise but persuasive terms. It was thought
this indulgence, being incompatible with the customs of war,
could not be granted; and it was, therefore, determined, in
both cases, to evade an answer, to spare him the sensations,
which a certain knowledge of the intended mode would in-
flict.
In going to the place of execution, he bowed familiarly as
he went along, to all those with whom he had been acquaint-
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? HAMILTON. 271
ed in his confinement. A smile of complacency expressed
the serene fortitude of his mind. Arrived at the fatal spot,
he asked, with some emotion, "must I then die in this man-
ner V He was told it had been unavoidable. "I am re-
conciled to my fate, (said he,) but not to the mode. " Soon,
however, recollecting himself, he added, "it will be but a
momentary pang;" and springing upon the cart, performed
the last offices to himself, with a composure that excited the
admiration and melted the hearts of the beholders. Upon
being told the final moment was at hand, and asked if he
had any thing to say, he answered, "nothing, but to request
you will witness to the world, that I die like a brave man. "
Among the extraordinary circumstances that attended him,
in the midst of his enemies he died universally regretted,
and universally esteemed.
There was something singularly interesting in the cha-
racter and fortunes of Andre. To an excellent understand-
ing, well improved by education and travel, he united a pe-
culiar elegance of mind and manners, and the advantage of
a pleasing person. It is said, he possessed a pretty taste for
the fine arts, and had himself attained some proficiency in
poetry, music, and painting. His knowledge appeared with-
out ostentation, and embellished by a diffidence that rarely
accompanies so many talents and accomplishments, which
left you to suppose more than appeared.
His sentiments were elevated, and inspired esteem; --
they had a softness that conciliated affection. His elocu-
tion was handsome; his address easy, polite, and insinua-
ting. By his merit, he had acquired the unlimited confi-
dence of his General, and was making a rapid progress in
military rank and reputation. But in the height of his ca-
reer, flushed with new hopes from the execution of a pro-
ject the most beneficial to his party that could be devised,
he was at once precipitated from the summit of prosperity,
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? 272 THE LIFE OF
and saw all the expectations of his ambition blasted, and
himself ruined.
The character I have given of him, is drawn partly from
what I saw of him myself, and partly from information. I
am aware, that a man of real merit is never seen in so fa-
vourable a light as through the medium of adversity. The
clouds that surround him are shades that set off his good
qualities. Misfortune cuts down the little vanities, that in
prosperous times serve as so many spots in his virtues, and
gives a tone of humility that makes his worth more amia-
ble. His spectators, who enjoy a happier lot, are less prone
to detract from it through envy; and are more disposed by
compassion to give him the credit he deserves, and perhaps
even to magnify it.
I speak not of Andre's conduct in this affair as a philoso-
pher, but as a man of the world. The authorized maxims
and practices of war are the satires of human nature. They
countenance almost every species of seduction, as well as
violence; and the General who can make most traitors in
the army of his adversary is frequently most applauded.
On this scale we acquit Andre, while we would not but
condemn him if we were to examine his conduct by the
sober rules of philosophy and moral rectitude. It is, how-
ever, a blemish on his fame, that he once intended to pros-
titute a flag, -- about this, a man of nice honour ought to
have had a scruple; but the temptation was great. Let
his misfortunes cast a veil over his error.
Several letters from Sir Henry Clinton, and others, were
received in the course of the affair, feebly attempting to
prove that Andre came out under the protection of a flag,
with a passport from a general officer in actual service; and
consequently, could not be justly detained. Clinton sent a
deputation, composed of Lieutenant General Robinson, Mr.
Elliot, and Mr. William Smith, to represent, as he said, the
true state of Major Andre's case. General Greene met
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? HAMILTON. 273
Robinson, and had a conversation with him, in which he re-
iterated the pretence of a flag, urged Andre's release as a
personal favour to Sir Henry Clinton, and offered any friend
of ours in their power in exchange. Nothing could have
been more frivolous than the plea which was used. The
fact was, that besides the time, manner, object of the inter-
view, change of dress, and other circumstances, there was
not a single formality customary with flags; and the pass-
port was not to Major Andre, but to Mr. Anderson. But
had there been, on the contrary, all the formalities, it would
be an abuse of language to say, that the sanction of a flag,
for corrupting an officer to betray his trust, ought to be re-
spected. So unjustifiable a purpose would not only destroy
its validity, but make it an aggravation.
Andre himself has answered the argument, by ridiculing
and exploding the idea, in his examination before the board
of officers. It was a weakness to urge it.
There was, in truth, no way of saving him. Arnold or
he must have been the victim; the former was out of our
power.
It was by some suspected, Arnold had taken his mea-
sures in such a manner, that if the interview had been dis-
covered in the act, it might have been in his power to sacri-
fice Andre to his own security. This surmise of double
treachery, made them imagine Clinton would be induced
to give up Arnold for Andre; and a gentleman took occa-
sion to suggest the expedient to the latter, as a thing that
might be proposed by him. He declined it. The moment
he had been capable of so much frailty, I should have ceased
to esteem him.
The infamy of Arnold's conduct, previous to his desertion,
is only equalled by his baseness since. Besides the folly of
writing to Sir Henry Clinton, that Andre had acted under
a passport from him, and according to his directions, while
commanding officer at a post, and that, therefore, he did not
vol. I. 35
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? 274 THE LIFE OF
doubt he would be immediately sent in, he had the effrontery
to write to General Washington in the same spirit, with the
addition of a menace of retaliation, if the sentence should be
carried into execution. He has since acted the farce of
sending in his resignation. This man is, in every sense,
despicable. In addition to the scene of knavery and prosti-
tution during his command in Philadelphia, which the late
seizure of his papers has unfolded, the history of his com-
mand at West Point, is a history of little as well as great
villanies. He practised every art of peculation; and even
stooped to connexion with the suttlers of the garrison to de-
fraud the public.
To his conduct, that of the captors of Andre formed a stri-
king contrast. He tempted them with the offer of his watch,
his horse, and any sum of money they should name. They
rejected his offers with indignation; and the gold that could
seduce a man high in the esteem and confidence of his coun-
try, who had the remembrance of past exploits, the motives
of present reputation and future glory, to prop his integrity,
had no charms for three simple peasants, leaning only on their
virtue and an honest sense of their duty. While Arnold is
handed down, with execration, to future times, posterity will
repeat with reverence the names of Van Wert, Paulding,
and Williams.
I congratulate my friend on our happy escape from the
mischiefs with which this treason was big. It is a new com-
ment on the value of an honest man, and, if it were possi-
ble, would endear you to me more than ever. Adieu.
A. Hamilton.
In a letter of the twenty-fifth of September, addressed to
Miss Schuyler, he thus adverts to this affecting story:
"Arnold, hearing of the plot being detected, immediately
fled to the enemy. I went in pursuit of him, but was much
too late; and could hardly regret the disappointment, when
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? HAMILTON. 275
on my return, I saw an amiable woman, frantic with dis-
tress for the loss of a husband she tenderly loved, -- a trai-
tor to his country and to his fame, -- a disgrace to his con-
nexions ; it was the most affecting scene I ever was witness
to. She, for a considerable time, entirely lost herself. The
General went up to see her, and she upbraided him with
being in a plot to murder her child. One moment she raved,
another she melted into tears. Sometimes she pressed her
infant to her bosom, and lamented its fate, occasioned by
the imprudence of its father, in a manner that would have
pierced insensibility itself. All the sweetness of beauty, all
the loveliness of innocence, all the tenderness of a wife, and
all the fondness of a mother, showed themselves in her ap-
pearance and conduct. We have every reason to believe,
that she was entirely unacquainted with the plan, and that
the first knowledge of it, was when Arnold went to tell her
he must banish himself from his country and from her for-
ever. She instantly fell into a convulsion, and he left her
in that situation.
"This morning she is more composed. I paid her a visit,
and endeavoured to soothe her by every method in my pow-
er; though you may imagine she is not easily to be consoled.
Added to her other distresses, she is very apprehensive the
resentments of her country will fall upon her, (who is only
unfortunate,) for the guilt of her husband.
"I have tried to persuade her that her fears are ill found-
ed; but she will not be convinced. She received us in bed,
with every circumstance that would interest our sympathy,
and her sufferings were so eloquent, that I wished myself
her brother, to have a right to become her defender; -- as
it is, I have entreated her to enable me to give her proofs
of my friendship. Could I forgive Arnold for sacrificing his
honour, reputation, and duty, I could not forgive him for
acting a part that must have forfeited the esteem of so fine
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? 276 THE LIFE OF
a woman. At present, she almost forgets his crime in his
misfortunes; and her horror at the guilt of the traitor, is lost
in her love of the man. But a virtuous mind cannot long
esteem a base one, and time will make her despise, if it can-
not make her hate. "
One circumstance in this melancholy scene dwelt deep-
ly on the mind of Hamilton.
It is that to which, in the
beautiful tribute of an eloquent female,* to the memory
of Andre, she most feelingly alludes, -- the manner of
his death. On the day of his execution, Hamilton thus
writes. f
"Poor Andre suffers to-day;--every thing that is amiable
in virtue, in fortitude, in delicate sentiment, and accom-
plished manners, pleads for him; but hard-hearted policy
calls for a sacrifice. He must die . I send you my
account of Arnold's affair, and to justify myself to your
sentiments, I must inform you, that I urged a compliance
with Andre's request to be shot, and I do not think it
would have had an ill effect, but some people are only
sensible to motives of policy, and sometimes, from a nar-
row disposition, mistake it.
"When Andre's tale comes to be told, and present resent-
ment is over, -- the refusing him the privilege of choosing
the manner of his death will be branded with too much
obstinacy.
"It was proposed to me to suggest to him the idea of
an exchange for Arnold; but I knew I should have for-
feited his esteem by doing it, and therefore declined it.
As a man of honour, he could not but reject it; and I
would not for the world have proposed to him a thing
which must have placed me in the unamiable light of sup-
posing him capable of a meanness, or of not feeling my-
self the impropriety of the measure. I confess to you, I
* Miss Seward. f Tappan, Oct. 2, 1780.
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? HAMILTON. 277
had the weakness to value the esteem of a dying man, be-
cause I reverenced his merit. "*
The eloquent an! feeling narrative contained in these
letters, which does so much honour to the sentiments of their
author, is a just tribute to the character of the captive, and
to the temper of the army.
Andre, educated amidst a circle of devoted relatives,
and habitually indulging every ardent impulse of his gene-
rous nature, had torn himself from their reluctant arms to
win honour in the field. Commended to the notice of Sir
Henry Clinton, he rose fast in his esteem, and was often
selected for those delicate duties which serve to mitigate
the miseries of war.
In the performance of these, his deportment often formed
a strong contrast with that of his less polished brethren;
and such was the impression on the minds of those Ameri-
cans who had been prisoners, that when the news of this
event arrived, great as was the rejoicing at the detection
of the plot and the capture of the spy, every bosom swelled
with regret to learn that that spy was Andre.
Shocked as Hamilton was with the danger of this con-
spiracy, and his indignation heightened by the belief that
it was intended to reach the person of Washington, his ge-
* The following note was addressed by Andre to General Washington, on
the day previous to his execution.
Tappan, October 1, 1780.
"Buoyed above the terror of death, by the consciousness of a life devoted
to honourable pursuits, and stained with no action that can give me remorse,
I trust that the request I make to your excellency, at this serious period, and
which is to soften my last moments, will not be rejected.
"Sympathy towards a soldier, will surely induce your excellency, and a
military tribunal, to adapt the mode of my death to the feelings of a man of
honour.
"Let me hope, sir, if aught in my character impresses you with esteem to-
wards me, if aught in my misfortunes marks me as the victim of policy, and
not of resentment, I shall experience the operation of these feelings in your
breast, by being informed that I am not to die on a gibbet. "
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? 278 THE LIFE OF
nerous feelings, nevertheless, seemed wholly to take posses-
sion of him, and during all the period of Andre's confine-
ment and trial, he exhausted every Aeans to alleviate his
sufferings, and to withdraw him from the bitterness of his
reflections.
As soon as he was brought in, addressing to a much loved
friend the unnecessary request, he said, "Major Jackson,
I have learned that Andre was very kind to you when you
were a prisoner, will you not visit him? " Thus awakening
the sympathies of the army, he turned their resentment
upon the traitor, to whose criminal arts the British officer
had unhappily lent himself. The conduct of Andre's cap-
tors was the theme of honest pride, and every soldier in the
camp participated in their triumph; but when the day of
his execution came, he was followed only by the brigade on
duty, and with the exception of those officers who sur-
rounded the scaffold to soothe its victim, not an officer or
soldier was to be seen as a spectator. All retired to their
tents, exhibiting that delicacy and sensibility which became
the soldiers of such a cause.
It is, indeed, impossible to trace the annals of the revo-
lution without remarking the kind temper of the Americans
towards their enemies, and the happy commingling of the
heroic with the milder virtues, both in the army and in the
people.
Habituated to all the comforts, indeed luxuries, which
render the condition of the American commonalty an ob-
ject of envy among those of less happy regions, and free as
the wilderness which surrounded them, the aggravated pri-
vations that followed the march of war, -- aggravated by
the insolent bearing of an enemy, who threatened to visit
on them the calamities which their own nation had expe-
rienced in a former age, and avowed the dispossession of
the inhabitants, and the disherison of their progeny, as the
reward promised to the subjugation of rebels, -- amid ra-
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? HAMILTON. 279
pine and devastation, when even congress felt it necessary
to advise the people to erect places of refuge in the forest,
far from their dwellings, for their aged parents, their chil-
dren, and their wives, yet whenever the instruments of
these evils fell into their hands, they are seen nursing their
wounds, fostering them amid their sufferings, and winning
them by their kindnesses to a detestation of the cause in
whieh they had embarked. In vain are sought instances of
cruelty to the enemy. It would have been too great a vio-
lation of public sentiment, and would have doomed its per-
petrators to infamy.
This virtue of a humane people, was followed by its re-
ward. The enemy lost more by desertion than by the
sword, especially among the mercenaries of the continent;
and thus the seeds of those kind feelings were planted in the
midst of war, which have drawn within the bosom of our
country, and linked to her institutions, the oppressed of
every other.
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? CHAPTER XII.
[1780. ]
During the series of events which have been related in
the preceding chapter, the mind of Hamilton, roused to the
great political questions which engaged so strongly the
public attention, though oppressed with the various labours
of his situation, to which the letters of his friends frequently
advert, turned with eager aptitude to an examination of
the defects of the existing government, and the remedies
which might be applied.
Mere military movements had become of secondary in-
terest; temporary expedients for the financial embarrass-
ments were sought in vain; and while the public press
was engaged in the discussion of transient questions, he
was looking with intense anxiety to the adoption of some
great and effectual mean by which the distresses of the
country might be reached at their sources.
From his first entrance into the public service, he felt
the necessity of a more energetic system; and it was ob-
jected to him then, as it has been since, that he looked
with too fearful an apprehension upon a government merely
federative and advisory.
An attempt, the most flagitious, was made on this ground,
to produce a breach between him and the commander-in-
chief, which was detected, exposed, and defied with a lofty
tone of conscious purity. *
The same sense of the public dangers, influenced in com-
mon the minds of Washington and Hamilton; and while
* The instrument was Doctor Gordon, author of the History of the Ame-
rican War.
vol. I. 36
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? 282 THE LIFE OF
the former in his addresses to congress was enforcing his
apprehensions with all the solemnity which the dignity of
his station authorized, the other, by letters to his friends,
and by personal solicitation, sought, within a more limited
sphere, to urge attention to this great object of his just and
honest solicitude. In a letter to Isaac Sears, with whom
his intimacy had been formed in the early struggles of New-
York, he thus expresses himself:
"I was much obliged to you, my dear sir, for the letter
which you did me the favour to write me since your return
to Boston. I am sorry to find that the same spirit of indif-
ference to public affairs prevails. It is necessary we should
rouse, and begin to do our business in earnest, or we shall
play a losing game. It is impossible the contest can be
much longer supported on the present footing. We must
have a government with more power. We must have a
tax in kind. We must have a foreign loan. We must
have a bank, on the true principles of a bank. We must
have an administration distinct from congress, and in the
hands of single men under their orders. We must, above
all things, have an army for the war, and an establishment
that will interest the officers in the service.
"Congress are deliberating on our military affairs; but I
apprehend their resolutions will be tinctured with the old
spirit. We seem to be proof against experience. They
will, however, recommend an army for the war, at least as
a primary object. All those who love their country, ought to
exert their influence in the states where they reside to de-
termine them to take up this object with energy. The states
must sink under the burden of temporary enlistments, and
the enemy will conquer us by degrees during the intervals
of our weakness.
"Clinlon is now said to be making a considerable detach-
ment to the southward. My fears are high, my hopes low.
We are told here, fbere is to be a congress of the neutral
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? HAMILTON. 283
powers at the Hague, for mediating of peace. God send
it may be true. We want it; but if the idea goes abroad,
ten to one if we do not fancy the thing done, and fall into a
profound sleep, till the cannon of the enemy awaken us
next campaign. -- This is our national character. -- I am,
with great regard, dear sir, your most obedient servant,
A. Hamilton. "
On these measures he seemed, at this time, perpetually to
descant. Many of his letters have been lost, others cannot
be obtained; but in all that are known, his mind appeared
intent on the accomplishment of what he early foresaw could
alone save the country, -- a re-organization of the govern-
ment.
A letter written at this period, to his friend Duane, con-
tains a comprehensive view of the subjects which engrossed
his thoughts, and will give a clear insight into the character
of his mind.
In this will be seen, how early and how deeply he looked
into the wants of the country; and with what enlarged ideas
he projected a form of government, by which congress
should have complete sovereignty in all that relates to war,
peace, trade, and finance, and to the management of foreign
affairs; reserving merely to the states, that part of internal
police which relates to the rights of property and life among
individuals, and to raising money by internal taxes, -- the
distribution of the powers of the government into separate
departments, -- recruiting the army on a permanent esta-
blishment,--and an extensive and comprehensive system for
drawing out the resources of the country, and rendering
them most effectually applicable to its necessities.
The admirable perspicuity of his style, the extraordinary
faculty which he showed in what he terms " a hastily writ-
ten production," and when, as he says, "he is merely skim-
ming the surface," of comprehending in a summary of his
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? 284 THE LIFE OF
thoughts every particular essential to the developement of
them; but what will be especially observed, the ripeness of
his views, and that keen insight into the nature and opera-
tion of political institutions, which have given to his opinions
such an authoritative influence, are here strongly manifested.
He not only suggests the adoption of many of the leading
measures which were soon after introduced, but points to a
convention of the states, for the creation of a federal
constitution; suggests the mode of enforcing its necessity
on the minds of the people, by "sensible and popular wri-
tings;" thus hinting at the idea which gave birth to the "Fe-
deralist," and unfolding some of those far-reaching views of
national polity, which are there more fully developed.
COLONEL HAMILTON TO THE HON. JAMES DUANE.
Liberty Pole, 1780.
DEAR SIR,
Agreeable to your request, and my promise, I sit down to
give you my ideas of the defects of our present system, and
the changes necessary to save us from ruin. They may,
perhaps, be the reveries of a projector, rather than the sober
views of a politician. You will judge of them, and make
what use you please of them.
The fundamental defect is a want of power in congress.
; It is hardly worth while to show in what this consists, as it
seems to be universally acknowledged; or to point out how
it has happened, as the only question is how to remedy i? )
It may{, however, be said, that it has originated from three
causes, -- an excess of the spirit of liberty, which has made
the particular states show a jealousy of all power not in
their own hands; and this jealousy has led them to exercise
aright of judging, in the last resort, of the measures recom-
mended by congress, and of acting according to their own
opinions of their propriety or necessity; -- a diffidence in
congress of their own powers, by which they have been
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? HAMILTON. 285
timid and indecisive in their resolutions ; constantly making
concessions to the states, till they have scarcely left them-
selves the shadow of power; -- a want of sufficient means
at their disposal to answer the public exigencies, and of
vigour to draw forth those means, which have occasioned
them to depend on the states, individually, to fulfil their en-
gagements with the army; the consequence of which has
been to ruin their influence and credit with the army, to
establish its dependence on each state, separately, rather
than on them; that is, than on the whole collectively.
It may be pleaded that congress had never any definitive
powers granted them, and of course could exercise none,--
could do nothing more than recommend. The manner in
which congress was appointed would warrant, and the pub-
lic good required, that they should have considered them-
selves as vested with full power to preserve the republic
from harm.
They have done many of the highest acts of sovereignty,
which were always cheerfully submitted to; the declara-
tion of independence, the declaration of war, the levying
an army, creating a navy, emitting money, making alliances
with foreign powers, appointing a dictator, &c. &c. ; all
these were implications of a complete sovereignty, were
never disputed, and ought to have been a standard for the
whole conduct of administration. Undefined powers are
discretionary powers, limited only by the object for which
they were given; in the present case, the independence
and freedom of America. The confederation made no
difference; for as it has not been generally adopted, it had
no operation.
But, from what I recollect of it, congress have even de-
scended from the authority which the spirit of that act gives
them; while the particular states have no farther attended
to it, than as it suited their pretensions and convenience.
It would take too much time to enter into particular in-
'. :
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? 286 THE LIFE OF
stances; each of which, separately, might appear inconsi-
derable, but united are of serious import. I only mean to
remark, not to censure.
Butyhe confederation itself is defective, and requires to
be altered; it is neither fit for war, nor peace. The idea
of an uncontrollable sovereignty in each state, over its in-
ternal police, will defeat the other powers given to con-
gress, and make our union feeble and precarious. There
are instances, without number, where acts necessary for
the general good, and which rise out of the powers given
to congress, must interfere with the internal police of the
states; and there are as many instances in which the par-
ticular states, by arrangements of internal police, can ef-
fectually, though indirectly, counteract the arrangements
of congress. You have already had examples of this, for
which I refer you to your own memoryJ
The confederation gives the states, individually, too much
influence in the affairs of the army; they should have no-
thing to do with it.
The entire formation and disposal of our military forces
ought to belong to congress. It is an essential cement of
the union; and it ought to be the policy of congress to de-
stroy all ideas of state attachments in the army, and make
it look up wholly to them. For this purpose, all appoint-
ments, promotions, and provisions whatsoever, ought to be
made by them. It may be apprehended, that this may be
dangerous to liberty. But nothing appears more evident to
me, than that we run much greater risk of having a weak
and disunited federal government, than one which will be
able to usurp upon the rights of the people.
Already some of the lines of the army would obey their
states in opposition to congress, notwithstanding the pains
we have taken to preserve the unity of the army. If any
thing would hinder this, it would be the personal influence
of the General -- a melancholy and mortifying consideration.
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? HAMILTON. 287
The forms of our state constitutions must always give them
great weight in our affairs, and will make it too difficult to
blind them to the pursuit of a common interest, too easy to
oppose whatever they do not like, and to form partial com-
binations, subversive of the general one. There is a wide
difference between our situation and that of an empire un-
der one simple form of government, distributed into coun-
ties, provinces, or districts, which have no legislatures, but
merely magistratical bodies to execute the laws of a com-
mon sovereign. Here the danger is, that the sovereign will
have too much power, and oppress the parts of which it is
composed. In our case, that of ^n empire composed of con-
federative states, each with a government completely or-
ganized within itself, having all the means to draw its sub-
jects to a close dependence on itselfyhe danger is directly
tlm-reverse. It is, that the common sovereignVill not have
power sufficient to unite the different members together, and
direct the common forces to the interest and happiness of
the whole.
? HAMILTON. 267
to a place of greater security ; where, after a careful search,
there were found concealed in the feet of his stockings, se-
veral papers of importance delivered to him by Arnold.
Among these there were a plan of the fortifications of West
Point, a memorial from the engineer on the attack and de-
fence of the place, returns of the garrison, cannon, and
stores, copy of the minutes of a council of war held by Ge-
neral Washington a few weeks before. The prisoner at
first was inadvertently ordered to Arnold; but on recollec-
tion, while still on the way, he was countermanded and
sent to Old Salem.
The papers were enclosed in a letter to General Wash-
ington, which having taken a route different from that by
which he returned, made a circuit, that afforded leisure for
another letter, through an ill-judged delicacy, written to
Arnold, with information of Anderson's capture, to get to
him an hour before General Washington arrived at his
quarters, time enough to elude the fate that awaited him.
He went down the river in his barge to the Vulture, with
such precipitate confusion, that he did not take with him
a single paper useful to the enemy. On the first notice of
the affair he was pursued, but much too late to be over-
taken.
There was some colour for imagining it was a part of
the plan to betray the General into the hands of the ene-
my: Arnold was very anxious to ascertain from him the
precise day of his return, and the enemy's movement seem
to have corresponded to this point. But if it was really
the case, it was very injudicious. The success must have
depended on surprise, and as the officers at the advanced
posts were not in the secret, their measures might have
given the alarm, and General Washington, taking the com-
mand of the post, might have rendered the whole scheme
abortive. Arnold, it is true, had so dispersed the garrison
as to have made a defence difficult, but not impracticable;
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? 268 THE LIFE OF
and the acquisition of West Point was of such magnitude
to the enemy, that it would have been unwise to connect
it with any other object, however great, which might make
the obtaining of it precarious.
Arnold, a moment before his setting out, went into Mrs.
Arnold's apartment, and informed her that some transac-
tions had just come to light, which must forever banish
him from his country. She fell into a swoon at this decla-
ration, and he left her in it to consult his own safety, till
the servants, alarmed by her cries, came to her relief. She
remained frantic all day, accusing every one who ap-
proached her with an intention to murder her child, (an
infant in her arms,) and exhibiting every other mark of the
most genuine and agonizing distress. Exhausted by the
fatigue and tumult of her spirits, her phrenzy subsided to-
wards evening, and she sunk into all the sadness of afflic-
tion. It was impossible not to have been touched with her
situation; every thing affecting in female tears, or in the
misfortunes of beauty, every thing pathetic in the wounded
tenderness of a wife, or in the apprehensive fondness of a
mother, and, till I have reason to change the opinion, I
will add, every thing amiable in suffering innocence, con-
spired to make her an object of sympathy to all who were
present. She experienced the most delicate attentions,
and every friendly office, till her departure for Philadel-
phia.
Andre was, without loss of time, conducted to the head
quarters of the army, where he was immediately brought
before a board of general officers, to prevent all possibility
of misrepresentation or cavil on the part of the enemy.
The board reported that he ought to be considered as a
spy, and according to the laws and usages of nations, to
suffer death, which was executed two days after.
Never, perhaps, did any man suffer death with more
justice, or deserve it less. The first step he took after his
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? HAMILTON. 269
capture, was to write a letter to General Washington, con-
ceived in terms of dignity, without insolence, and apology
without meanness. The scope of it was to vindicate him-
self from the imputation of having assumed a mean cha-
racter, for treacherous or interested purposes; asserting that
he had been involuntarily an impostor; that contrary to his
intention, which was to meet a person for intelligence on
neutral ground, he had been betrayed within our posts,
and forced into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise;
soliciting only that to whatever rigour policy might devote
him, a decency of treatment might be observed due to a
person who, though unfortunate, had been guilty of nothing
dishonourable. His request was granted in its full extent;
for in the whole progress of the affair, he was treated with
the most scrupulous delicacy. When brought before the
board of officers, he met with every mark of indulgence,
and was required to answer no interrogatory which would
even embarrass his feelings. On his part, while he care-
fully concealed every thing that might implicate others, he
frankly confessed all the facts relating to himself, and upon
his confession, without the trouble of examining a witness,
the board made their report. The members were not
more impressed with the candour and firmness, mixed with
a becoming sensibility which he displayed, than he was
penetrated with their liberality and politeness. He ac-
knowledged the generosity of the behaviour towards him
in every respect, but particularly in this, in the strongest
terms of manly gratitude. In a conversation with a gen-
tleman who visited him after his trial, he said, he flattered
himself he had never been illiberal; but if there were any
remains of prejudice in his mind, his present experience
must obliterate them.
In one of the visits I made to him, (and I saw him se-
veral times during his confinement,) he begged me to be
the bearer of a request to the General, for permission to
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? 270 THE LIFE OF
send an open letter to Sir Henry Clinton. "I foresee my
fate," said he, " and though I pretend not to play the hero,
or to be indifferent about life, yet I am reconciled to what-
ever may happen, conscious that misfortune, not guilt, has
brought it upon me. There is only one thing that disturbs
my tranquillity. Sir Henry Clinton has been too good to
me; he has been lavish of his kindness; I am bound to
him by too many obligations, and love him too well to bear
the thought that he should reproach himself, or others
should reproach him, on the supposition of my having con-
ceived myself obliged, by his instructions, to run the risk I
did. I would not, for the world, leave a sting in his mind
that should embitter his future days. " He could scarce
finish the sentence; bursting into tears, in spite of his ef-
forts to suppress them, and with difficulty collected himself
enough afterwards to add, "I wish to be permitted to as-
sure him, I did not act under this impression, but submit-
ted to a necessity imposed upon me, as contrary to my own
inclination, as to his orders. " His request was readily com-
plied with, and he wrote the letter annexed, with which I
dare say you will be as much pleased as I am, both for the
sentiment and diction.
When his sentence was announced to him, he remarked,
that since it was his lot to die, there was still a choice in
the mode, which would make a material difference to his
feelings; and he would be happy, if possible, to be indulged
with a professional death. He made a second application
by letter, in concise but persuasive terms. It was thought
this indulgence, being incompatible with the customs of war,
could not be granted; and it was, therefore, determined, in
both cases, to evade an answer, to spare him the sensations,
which a certain knowledge of the intended mode would in-
flict.
In going to the place of execution, he bowed familiarly as
he went along, to all those with whom he had been acquaint-
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? HAMILTON. 271
ed in his confinement. A smile of complacency expressed
the serene fortitude of his mind. Arrived at the fatal spot,
he asked, with some emotion, "must I then die in this man-
ner V He was told it had been unavoidable. "I am re-
conciled to my fate, (said he,) but not to the mode. " Soon,
however, recollecting himself, he added, "it will be but a
momentary pang;" and springing upon the cart, performed
the last offices to himself, with a composure that excited the
admiration and melted the hearts of the beholders. Upon
being told the final moment was at hand, and asked if he
had any thing to say, he answered, "nothing, but to request
you will witness to the world, that I die like a brave man. "
Among the extraordinary circumstances that attended him,
in the midst of his enemies he died universally regretted,
and universally esteemed.
There was something singularly interesting in the cha-
racter and fortunes of Andre. To an excellent understand-
ing, well improved by education and travel, he united a pe-
culiar elegance of mind and manners, and the advantage of
a pleasing person. It is said, he possessed a pretty taste for
the fine arts, and had himself attained some proficiency in
poetry, music, and painting. His knowledge appeared with-
out ostentation, and embellished by a diffidence that rarely
accompanies so many talents and accomplishments, which
left you to suppose more than appeared.
His sentiments were elevated, and inspired esteem; --
they had a softness that conciliated affection. His elocu-
tion was handsome; his address easy, polite, and insinua-
ting. By his merit, he had acquired the unlimited confi-
dence of his General, and was making a rapid progress in
military rank and reputation. But in the height of his ca-
reer, flushed with new hopes from the execution of a pro-
ject the most beneficial to his party that could be devised,
he was at once precipitated from the summit of prosperity,
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? 272 THE LIFE OF
and saw all the expectations of his ambition blasted, and
himself ruined.
The character I have given of him, is drawn partly from
what I saw of him myself, and partly from information. I
am aware, that a man of real merit is never seen in so fa-
vourable a light as through the medium of adversity. The
clouds that surround him are shades that set off his good
qualities. Misfortune cuts down the little vanities, that in
prosperous times serve as so many spots in his virtues, and
gives a tone of humility that makes his worth more amia-
ble. His spectators, who enjoy a happier lot, are less prone
to detract from it through envy; and are more disposed by
compassion to give him the credit he deserves, and perhaps
even to magnify it.
I speak not of Andre's conduct in this affair as a philoso-
pher, but as a man of the world. The authorized maxims
and practices of war are the satires of human nature. They
countenance almost every species of seduction, as well as
violence; and the General who can make most traitors in
the army of his adversary is frequently most applauded.
On this scale we acquit Andre, while we would not but
condemn him if we were to examine his conduct by the
sober rules of philosophy and moral rectitude. It is, how-
ever, a blemish on his fame, that he once intended to pros-
titute a flag, -- about this, a man of nice honour ought to
have had a scruple; but the temptation was great. Let
his misfortunes cast a veil over his error.
Several letters from Sir Henry Clinton, and others, were
received in the course of the affair, feebly attempting to
prove that Andre came out under the protection of a flag,
with a passport from a general officer in actual service; and
consequently, could not be justly detained. Clinton sent a
deputation, composed of Lieutenant General Robinson, Mr.
Elliot, and Mr. William Smith, to represent, as he said, the
true state of Major Andre's case. General Greene met
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? HAMILTON. 273
Robinson, and had a conversation with him, in which he re-
iterated the pretence of a flag, urged Andre's release as a
personal favour to Sir Henry Clinton, and offered any friend
of ours in their power in exchange. Nothing could have
been more frivolous than the plea which was used. The
fact was, that besides the time, manner, object of the inter-
view, change of dress, and other circumstances, there was
not a single formality customary with flags; and the pass-
port was not to Major Andre, but to Mr. Anderson. But
had there been, on the contrary, all the formalities, it would
be an abuse of language to say, that the sanction of a flag,
for corrupting an officer to betray his trust, ought to be re-
spected. So unjustifiable a purpose would not only destroy
its validity, but make it an aggravation.
Andre himself has answered the argument, by ridiculing
and exploding the idea, in his examination before the board
of officers. It was a weakness to urge it.
There was, in truth, no way of saving him. Arnold or
he must have been the victim; the former was out of our
power.
It was by some suspected, Arnold had taken his mea-
sures in such a manner, that if the interview had been dis-
covered in the act, it might have been in his power to sacri-
fice Andre to his own security. This surmise of double
treachery, made them imagine Clinton would be induced
to give up Arnold for Andre; and a gentleman took occa-
sion to suggest the expedient to the latter, as a thing that
might be proposed by him. He declined it. The moment
he had been capable of so much frailty, I should have ceased
to esteem him.
The infamy of Arnold's conduct, previous to his desertion,
is only equalled by his baseness since. Besides the folly of
writing to Sir Henry Clinton, that Andre had acted under
a passport from him, and according to his directions, while
commanding officer at a post, and that, therefore, he did not
vol. I. 35
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? 274 THE LIFE OF
doubt he would be immediately sent in, he had the effrontery
to write to General Washington in the same spirit, with the
addition of a menace of retaliation, if the sentence should be
carried into execution. He has since acted the farce of
sending in his resignation. This man is, in every sense,
despicable. In addition to the scene of knavery and prosti-
tution during his command in Philadelphia, which the late
seizure of his papers has unfolded, the history of his com-
mand at West Point, is a history of little as well as great
villanies. He practised every art of peculation; and even
stooped to connexion with the suttlers of the garrison to de-
fraud the public.
To his conduct, that of the captors of Andre formed a stri-
king contrast. He tempted them with the offer of his watch,
his horse, and any sum of money they should name. They
rejected his offers with indignation; and the gold that could
seduce a man high in the esteem and confidence of his coun-
try, who had the remembrance of past exploits, the motives
of present reputation and future glory, to prop his integrity,
had no charms for three simple peasants, leaning only on their
virtue and an honest sense of their duty. While Arnold is
handed down, with execration, to future times, posterity will
repeat with reverence the names of Van Wert, Paulding,
and Williams.
I congratulate my friend on our happy escape from the
mischiefs with which this treason was big. It is a new com-
ment on the value of an honest man, and, if it were possi-
ble, would endear you to me more than ever. Adieu.
A. Hamilton.
In a letter of the twenty-fifth of September, addressed to
Miss Schuyler, he thus adverts to this affecting story:
"Arnold, hearing of the plot being detected, immediately
fled to the enemy. I went in pursuit of him, but was much
too late; and could hardly regret the disappointment, when
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? HAMILTON. 275
on my return, I saw an amiable woman, frantic with dis-
tress for the loss of a husband she tenderly loved, -- a trai-
tor to his country and to his fame, -- a disgrace to his con-
nexions ; it was the most affecting scene I ever was witness
to. She, for a considerable time, entirely lost herself. The
General went up to see her, and she upbraided him with
being in a plot to murder her child. One moment she raved,
another she melted into tears. Sometimes she pressed her
infant to her bosom, and lamented its fate, occasioned by
the imprudence of its father, in a manner that would have
pierced insensibility itself. All the sweetness of beauty, all
the loveliness of innocence, all the tenderness of a wife, and
all the fondness of a mother, showed themselves in her ap-
pearance and conduct. We have every reason to believe,
that she was entirely unacquainted with the plan, and that
the first knowledge of it, was when Arnold went to tell her
he must banish himself from his country and from her for-
ever. She instantly fell into a convulsion, and he left her
in that situation.
"This morning she is more composed. I paid her a visit,
and endeavoured to soothe her by every method in my pow-
er; though you may imagine she is not easily to be consoled.
Added to her other distresses, she is very apprehensive the
resentments of her country will fall upon her, (who is only
unfortunate,) for the guilt of her husband.
"I have tried to persuade her that her fears are ill found-
ed; but she will not be convinced. She received us in bed,
with every circumstance that would interest our sympathy,
and her sufferings were so eloquent, that I wished myself
her brother, to have a right to become her defender; -- as
it is, I have entreated her to enable me to give her proofs
of my friendship. Could I forgive Arnold for sacrificing his
honour, reputation, and duty, I could not forgive him for
acting a part that must have forfeited the esteem of so fine
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? 276 THE LIFE OF
a woman. At present, she almost forgets his crime in his
misfortunes; and her horror at the guilt of the traitor, is lost
in her love of the man. But a virtuous mind cannot long
esteem a base one, and time will make her despise, if it can-
not make her hate. "
One circumstance in this melancholy scene dwelt deep-
ly on the mind of Hamilton.
It is that to which, in the
beautiful tribute of an eloquent female,* to the memory
of Andre, she most feelingly alludes, -- the manner of
his death. On the day of his execution, Hamilton thus
writes. f
"Poor Andre suffers to-day;--every thing that is amiable
in virtue, in fortitude, in delicate sentiment, and accom-
plished manners, pleads for him; but hard-hearted policy
calls for a sacrifice. He must die . I send you my
account of Arnold's affair, and to justify myself to your
sentiments, I must inform you, that I urged a compliance
with Andre's request to be shot, and I do not think it
would have had an ill effect, but some people are only
sensible to motives of policy, and sometimes, from a nar-
row disposition, mistake it.
"When Andre's tale comes to be told, and present resent-
ment is over, -- the refusing him the privilege of choosing
the manner of his death will be branded with too much
obstinacy.
"It was proposed to me to suggest to him the idea of
an exchange for Arnold; but I knew I should have for-
feited his esteem by doing it, and therefore declined it.
As a man of honour, he could not but reject it; and I
would not for the world have proposed to him a thing
which must have placed me in the unamiable light of sup-
posing him capable of a meanness, or of not feeling my-
self the impropriety of the measure. I confess to you, I
* Miss Seward. f Tappan, Oct. 2, 1780.
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? HAMILTON. 277
had the weakness to value the esteem of a dying man, be-
cause I reverenced his merit. "*
The eloquent an! feeling narrative contained in these
letters, which does so much honour to the sentiments of their
author, is a just tribute to the character of the captive, and
to the temper of the army.
Andre, educated amidst a circle of devoted relatives,
and habitually indulging every ardent impulse of his gene-
rous nature, had torn himself from their reluctant arms to
win honour in the field. Commended to the notice of Sir
Henry Clinton, he rose fast in his esteem, and was often
selected for those delicate duties which serve to mitigate
the miseries of war.
In the performance of these, his deportment often formed
a strong contrast with that of his less polished brethren;
and such was the impression on the minds of those Ameri-
cans who had been prisoners, that when the news of this
event arrived, great as was the rejoicing at the detection
of the plot and the capture of the spy, every bosom swelled
with regret to learn that that spy was Andre.
Shocked as Hamilton was with the danger of this con-
spiracy, and his indignation heightened by the belief that
it was intended to reach the person of Washington, his ge-
* The following note was addressed by Andre to General Washington, on
the day previous to his execution.
Tappan, October 1, 1780.
"Buoyed above the terror of death, by the consciousness of a life devoted
to honourable pursuits, and stained with no action that can give me remorse,
I trust that the request I make to your excellency, at this serious period, and
which is to soften my last moments, will not be rejected.
"Sympathy towards a soldier, will surely induce your excellency, and a
military tribunal, to adapt the mode of my death to the feelings of a man of
honour.
"Let me hope, sir, if aught in my character impresses you with esteem to-
wards me, if aught in my misfortunes marks me as the victim of policy, and
not of resentment, I shall experience the operation of these feelings in your
breast, by being informed that I am not to die on a gibbet. "
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? 278 THE LIFE OF
nerous feelings, nevertheless, seemed wholly to take posses-
sion of him, and during all the period of Andre's confine-
ment and trial, he exhausted every Aeans to alleviate his
sufferings, and to withdraw him from the bitterness of his
reflections.
As soon as he was brought in, addressing to a much loved
friend the unnecessary request, he said, "Major Jackson,
I have learned that Andre was very kind to you when you
were a prisoner, will you not visit him? " Thus awakening
the sympathies of the army, he turned their resentment
upon the traitor, to whose criminal arts the British officer
had unhappily lent himself. The conduct of Andre's cap-
tors was the theme of honest pride, and every soldier in the
camp participated in their triumph; but when the day of
his execution came, he was followed only by the brigade on
duty, and with the exception of those officers who sur-
rounded the scaffold to soothe its victim, not an officer or
soldier was to be seen as a spectator. All retired to their
tents, exhibiting that delicacy and sensibility which became
the soldiers of such a cause.
It is, indeed, impossible to trace the annals of the revo-
lution without remarking the kind temper of the Americans
towards their enemies, and the happy commingling of the
heroic with the milder virtues, both in the army and in the
people.
Habituated to all the comforts, indeed luxuries, which
render the condition of the American commonalty an ob-
ject of envy among those of less happy regions, and free as
the wilderness which surrounded them, the aggravated pri-
vations that followed the march of war, -- aggravated by
the insolent bearing of an enemy, who threatened to visit
on them the calamities which their own nation had expe-
rienced in a former age, and avowed the dispossession of
the inhabitants, and the disherison of their progeny, as the
reward promised to the subjugation of rebels, -- amid ra-
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? HAMILTON. 279
pine and devastation, when even congress felt it necessary
to advise the people to erect places of refuge in the forest,
far from their dwellings, for their aged parents, their chil-
dren, and their wives, yet whenever the instruments of
these evils fell into their hands, they are seen nursing their
wounds, fostering them amid their sufferings, and winning
them by their kindnesses to a detestation of the cause in
whieh they had embarked. In vain are sought instances of
cruelty to the enemy. It would have been too great a vio-
lation of public sentiment, and would have doomed its per-
petrators to infamy.
This virtue of a humane people, was followed by its re-
ward. The enemy lost more by desertion than by the
sword, especially among the mercenaries of the continent;
and thus the seeds of those kind feelings were planted in the
midst of war, which have drawn within the bosom of our
country, and linked to her institutions, the oppressed of
every other.
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? CHAPTER XII.
[1780. ]
During the series of events which have been related in
the preceding chapter, the mind of Hamilton, roused to the
great political questions which engaged so strongly the
public attention, though oppressed with the various labours
of his situation, to which the letters of his friends frequently
advert, turned with eager aptitude to an examination of
the defects of the existing government, and the remedies
which might be applied.
Mere military movements had become of secondary in-
terest; temporary expedients for the financial embarrass-
ments were sought in vain; and while the public press
was engaged in the discussion of transient questions, he
was looking with intense anxiety to the adoption of some
great and effectual mean by which the distresses of the
country might be reached at their sources.
From his first entrance into the public service, he felt
the necessity of a more energetic system; and it was ob-
jected to him then, as it has been since, that he looked
with too fearful an apprehension upon a government merely
federative and advisory.
An attempt, the most flagitious, was made on this ground,
to produce a breach between him and the commander-in-
chief, which was detected, exposed, and defied with a lofty
tone of conscious purity. *
The same sense of the public dangers, influenced in com-
mon the minds of Washington and Hamilton; and while
* The instrument was Doctor Gordon, author of the History of the Ame-
rican War.
vol. I. 36
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? 282 THE LIFE OF
the former in his addresses to congress was enforcing his
apprehensions with all the solemnity which the dignity of
his station authorized, the other, by letters to his friends,
and by personal solicitation, sought, within a more limited
sphere, to urge attention to this great object of his just and
honest solicitude. In a letter to Isaac Sears, with whom
his intimacy had been formed in the early struggles of New-
York, he thus expresses himself:
"I was much obliged to you, my dear sir, for the letter
which you did me the favour to write me since your return
to Boston. I am sorry to find that the same spirit of indif-
ference to public affairs prevails. It is necessary we should
rouse, and begin to do our business in earnest, or we shall
play a losing game. It is impossible the contest can be
much longer supported on the present footing. We must
have a government with more power. We must have a
tax in kind. We must have a foreign loan. We must
have a bank, on the true principles of a bank. We must
have an administration distinct from congress, and in the
hands of single men under their orders. We must, above
all things, have an army for the war, and an establishment
that will interest the officers in the service.
"Congress are deliberating on our military affairs; but I
apprehend their resolutions will be tinctured with the old
spirit. We seem to be proof against experience. They
will, however, recommend an army for the war, at least as
a primary object. All those who love their country, ought to
exert their influence in the states where they reside to de-
termine them to take up this object with energy. The states
must sink under the burden of temporary enlistments, and
the enemy will conquer us by degrees during the intervals
of our weakness.
"Clinlon is now said to be making a considerable detach-
ment to the southward. My fears are high, my hopes low.
We are told here, fbere is to be a congress of the neutral
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? HAMILTON. 283
powers at the Hague, for mediating of peace. God send
it may be true. We want it; but if the idea goes abroad,
ten to one if we do not fancy the thing done, and fall into a
profound sleep, till the cannon of the enemy awaken us
next campaign. -- This is our national character. -- I am,
with great regard, dear sir, your most obedient servant,
A. Hamilton. "
On these measures he seemed, at this time, perpetually to
descant. Many of his letters have been lost, others cannot
be obtained; but in all that are known, his mind appeared
intent on the accomplishment of what he early foresaw could
alone save the country, -- a re-organization of the govern-
ment.
A letter written at this period, to his friend Duane, con-
tains a comprehensive view of the subjects which engrossed
his thoughts, and will give a clear insight into the character
of his mind.
In this will be seen, how early and how deeply he looked
into the wants of the country; and with what enlarged ideas
he projected a form of government, by which congress
should have complete sovereignty in all that relates to war,
peace, trade, and finance, and to the management of foreign
affairs; reserving merely to the states, that part of internal
police which relates to the rights of property and life among
individuals, and to raising money by internal taxes, -- the
distribution of the powers of the government into separate
departments, -- recruiting the army on a permanent esta-
blishment,--and an extensive and comprehensive system for
drawing out the resources of the country, and rendering
them most effectually applicable to its necessities.
The admirable perspicuity of his style, the extraordinary
faculty which he showed in what he terms " a hastily writ-
ten production," and when, as he says, "he is merely skim-
ming the surface," of comprehending in a summary of his
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? 284 THE LIFE OF
thoughts every particular essential to the developement of
them; but what will be especially observed, the ripeness of
his views, and that keen insight into the nature and opera-
tion of political institutions, which have given to his opinions
such an authoritative influence, are here strongly manifested.
He not only suggests the adoption of many of the leading
measures which were soon after introduced, but points to a
convention of the states, for the creation of a federal
constitution; suggests the mode of enforcing its necessity
on the minds of the people, by "sensible and popular wri-
tings;" thus hinting at the idea which gave birth to the "Fe-
deralist," and unfolding some of those far-reaching views of
national polity, which are there more fully developed.
COLONEL HAMILTON TO THE HON. JAMES DUANE.
Liberty Pole, 1780.
DEAR SIR,
Agreeable to your request, and my promise, I sit down to
give you my ideas of the defects of our present system, and
the changes necessary to save us from ruin. They may,
perhaps, be the reveries of a projector, rather than the sober
views of a politician. You will judge of them, and make
what use you please of them.
The fundamental defect is a want of power in congress.
; It is hardly worth while to show in what this consists, as it
seems to be universally acknowledged; or to point out how
it has happened, as the only question is how to remedy i? )
It may{, however, be said, that it has originated from three
causes, -- an excess of the spirit of liberty, which has made
the particular states show a jealousy of all power not in
their own hands; and this jealousy has led them to exercise
aright of judging, in the last resort, of the measures recom-
mended by congress, and of acting according to their own
opinions of their propriety or necessity; -- a diffidence in
congress of their own powers, by which they have been
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? HAMILTON. 285
timid and indecisive in their resolutions ; constantly making
concessions to the states, till they have scarcely left them-
selves the shadow of power; -- a want of sufficient means
at their disposal to answer the public exigencies, and of
vigour to draw forth those means, which have occasioned
them to depend on the states, individually, to fulfil their en-
gagements with the army; the consequence of which has
been to ruin their influence and credit with the army, to
establish its dependence on each state, separately, rather
than on them; that is, than on the whole collectively.
It may be pleaded that congress had never any definitive
powers granted them, and of course could exercise none,--
could do nothing more than recommend. The manner in
which congress was appointed would warrant, and the pub-
lic good required, that they should have considered them-
selves as vested with full power to preserve the republic
from harm.
They have done many of the highest acts of sovereignty,
which were always cheerfully submitted to; the declara-
tion of independence, the declaration of war, the levying
an army, creating a navy, emitting money, making alliances
with foreign powers, appointing a dictator, &c. &c. ; all
these were implications of a complete sovereignty, were
never disputed, and ought to have been a standard for the
whole conduct of administration. Undefined powers are
discretionary powers, limited only by the object for which
they were given; in the present case, the independence
and freedom of America. The confederation made no
difference; for as it has not been generally adopted, it had
no operation.
But, from what I recollect of it, congress have even de-
scended from the authority which the spirit of that act gives
them; while the particular states have no farther attended
to it, than as it suited their pretensions and convenience.
It would take too much time to enter into particular in-
'. :
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? 286 THE LIFE OF
stances; each of which, separately, might appear inconsi-
derable, but united are of serious import. I only mean to
remark, not to censure.
Butyhe confederation itself is defective, and requires to
be altered; it is neither fit for war, nor peace. The idea
of an uncontrollable sovereignty in each state, over its in-
ternal police, will defeat the other powers given to con-
gress, and make our union feeble and precarious. There
are instances, without number, where acts necessary for
the general good, and which rise out of the powers given
to congress, must interfere with the internal police of the
states; and there are as many instances in which the par-
ticular states, by arrangements of internal police, can ef-
fectually, though indirectly, counteract the arrangements
of congress. You have already had examples of this, for
which I refer you to your own memoryJ
The confederation gives the states, individually, too much
influence in the affairs of the army; they should have no-
thing to do with it.
The entire formation and disposal of our military forces
ought to belong to congress. It is an essential cement of
the union; and it ought to be the policy of congress to de-
stroy all ideas of state attachments in the army, and make
it look up wholly to them. For this purpose, all appoint-
ments, promotions, and provisions whatsoever, ought to be
made by them. It may be apprehended, that this may be
dangerous to liberty. But nothing appears more evident to
me, than that we run much greater risk of having a weak
and disunited federal government, than one which will be
able to usurp upon the rights of the people.
Already some of the lines of the army would obey their
states in opposition to congress, notwithstanding the pains
we have taken to preserve the unity of the army. If any
thing would hinder this, it would be the personal influence
of the General -- a melancholy and mortifying consideration.
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? HAMILTON. 287
The forms of our state constitutions must always give them
great weight in our affairs, and will make it too difficult to
blind them to the pursuit of a common interest, too easy to
oppose whatever they do not like, and to form partial com-
binations, subversive of the general one. There is a wide
difference between our situation and that of an empire un-
der one simple form of government, distributed into coun-
ties, provinces, or districts, which have no legislatures, but
merely magistratical bodies to execute the laws of a com-
mon sovereign. Here the danger is, that the sovereign will
have too much power, and oppress the parts of which it is
composed. In our case, that of ^n empire composed of con-
federative states, each with a government completely or-
ganized within itself, having all the means to draw its sub-
jects to a close dependence on itselfyhe danger is directly
tlm-reverse. It is, that the common sovereignVill not have
power sufficient to unite the different members together, and
direct the common forces to the interest and happiness of
the whole.
