The Year in Revolution: 1783 Newburgh, New York video takes place in Newburgh, New York. With no formal articles of peace in place by March 1783, Continental officers could not yet formally disband. They were encamped at Newburgh, on the Hudson River, to keep watch over the British army in New York City. Like their soldiers, the officers had gone without pay. In 1780, Congress had promised them half of their yearly pay every year for the rest of their lives if they would serve until the end of the war. By early 1783, Congress changed their mind and instead promised five years for full pay instead–much less than half-pay for life–but Congress still had no money, lacking the authority to tax under the Articles of Confederation. Some of Washington’s officers discussed using the army to take control of the government, hoping Washington would lead them, but Washington heard enough about their plans to be alarmed, calling a meeting on March 15 and appealing to the men he had led for so long not “to overturn the liberties of our Country” and “deluge our rising Empire in Blood.” He asked them to instead put their faith in the justice of Congress. While he was speaking, Washington pulled a pair of new reading glasses from his pocket. “Gentlemen,” he said “you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray, but almost blind, in the service of my country.” The men were surprised to see the general in glasses and deeply moved when realizing Washington had sacrificed as much as any of them. The meeting ended with the officers pledging their loyalty to Congress. Later that spring, as they prepared to go home, on May 13, they formed the Society of the Cincinnati, named after Cincinnatus–a hero of the ancient Roman Republic who served his country in wartime with honor and then returned to his farm. In its formal Institution, the Society pledged “To perpetuate therefore, as well the remembrance of this vast event,” the Revolution, and “the mutual friendships which have been formed under the pressure of common danger, and in many instances cemented by the blood of the parties.”
The Year in Revolution Series was produced with classroom use in mind. Beginning with 1775 and ending with 1783, students and lifelong learners alike will learn about each year of the Revolution through a comprehensive overview video and five “who, what, where, when, and how” videos. The animated series draws heavily from the American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati’s library and museum collections.
Funding for Year in Revolution: 1783 Newburgh, New York was made possible by a grant from the George S. Rich Family Foundation. The creative team for this series was assembled by the American Revolution Institute and the talented educational production leads at Makematic Limited/ClickView.