George Washington Versus the Continental Army: Showdown at the New Windsor Cantonment, 1782-1783.

George Washington Versus the Continental Army: Showdown at the New Windsor Cantonment, 1782-1783.

Author, Historian and Veteran Michael S. McGurty speaks about his book, “George Washington Versus the Continental Army: Showdown at the New Windsor Cantonment, 1782-1783.”, followed by a question-and-answer session, book sale, and book signing. Event will also be live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/@US_AWC/streams

It’s March 1783 and the Revolutionary War is nearing its end. In his Hudson Highlands stronghold, General George Washington keeps a wary eye on the both the British force in New York City, just 60 miles away, and his own Continental Army. His soldiers haven’t been paid in months and his officers are increasingly disgruntled because they are living under martial authority and still haven’t received their promised pensions. A nationalist faction in Congress seizes upon this discontent to instigate the so-called “Newburgh Conspiracy”, a plot by Continental Army officers to threaten civil officials who opposed the Impost of 1781, a 5% tax on imports to be collected by the central government, to satisfy the nation’s debts. The plotters seek to grant the central government the authority to raise a revenue to give the government the means to pay all the nation’s creditors. The army, a professional and formidable force of seasoned veterans, is provoked into threatening the very liberties it had fought to defend.