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033 - Chapter 29 - Part 2 · The American Revolution A Historical Overview Vol. 3

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  Speaker 1: Section thirty three of History the Rise, Progress and Termination
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  Speaker 1: of the American Revolution, Volume three by Mercy Otis Warren.
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  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. History of the Rise, Progress and
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  Speaker 1: Termination of the American Revolution, Volume three by Mercy Otis Warren,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty nine, Part two. The disbanding of an army
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  Speaker 1: and throwing a number of vital people at once on
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  Speaker 1: the community always requires the most guarded, cautious, and judicious steps.
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  Speaker 1: Congress sensible of this, and immediately on the news apiece,
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  Speaker 1: recommended to General Washington the measure of furloughing a number
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  Speaker 1: of commissions and non commissioned officers. They were of the
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  Speaker 1: opinion that if a considerable part of the soldiery who
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  Speaker 1: had enlisted for three years was sent from the army
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  Speaker 1: in this way, it would be the most prudent method
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  Speaker 1: of separating a body of men, usually dangerous to the
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  Speaker 1: liberties and morals of their own country, when no foreign
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  Speaker 1: foe obliges them to unite in the general defense. But
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  Speaker 1: it was a measure not pleasing to the army, and
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  Speaker 1: had fomented the uneasiness and increased the clamor among the
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  Speaker 1: officers previous to the audacious step of infesting the Congressional
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  Speaker 1: Assembly and obliging them, under the threats of an armed force,
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  Speaker 1: to disperse for their own personal safety. Yet this mutinous
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  Speaker 1: disposition did not appear to have infected the whole army.
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  Speaker 1: Many of the soldiers were the substantial yell member of
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  Speaker 1: the country. Many of the officers had stood in the
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  Speaker 1: same rate of life, and were far from wishing to
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  Speaker 1: involve the inhabitants of the native country, and scenes of
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  Speaker 1: no confusion and distress for the redress of their complaints
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  Speaker 1: or the payment of their rear riches. At the same time,
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  Speaker 1: the people at large generally thought that the compensations engaged
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  Speaker 1: by Congress were equal to the services and sufferings of
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  Speaker 1: the army, however meritorious. It was judged that if held
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  Speaker 1: up in a comparative view with the exertions as sufferings
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  Speaker 1: and the dangers of men and other departments, and gratitude
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  Speaker 1: was not exclusively due to the military line, but that
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  Speaker 1: others who had, with vigilance and energy opposed the common
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  Speaker 1: enemy were entitled to some consideration of the public guide.
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  Speaker 1: Every sovereign and judicious man considered patience and moderation requisites
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  Speaker 1: that are to adorn every public character, and censured in
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  Speaker 1: strong terms the indulgence of that restless, interbulent spirit that
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  Speaker 1: had recently appeared to prevail in the army of the
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  Speaker 1: United States. The public in general was soon confirmed in
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  Speaker 1: the opinion that the intrigues of some of the officers
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  Speaker 1: were deep, ambitious, designing, and pernicious. In the outset of
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  Speaker 1: the American Revolution, the institution of ranks, the creation of nobles,
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  Speaker 1: the reary a monarchy, or the aggrandizement of a monarch,
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  Speaker 1: and the factitious ideas of aristocratic birth had no existence
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  Speaker 1: in the minds of a rising republic or their army
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  Speaker 1: organized to oppose the encroachments of kings. These were ideas,
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  Speaker 1: afterwards suggested by aspiring individuals who had no prescriptive rights
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  Speaker 1: by any superiority of birth, wealth, or education, to assume
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  Speaker 1: dignified names or a nobled orders by degrees. These views
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  Speaker 1: were nurtured by certain designing characters, and matured by circumstances
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  Speaker 1: to which the inhabitants of the states had hitherto been strangers,
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  Speaker 1: but a connection with European powers formed from necessity, kept
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  Speaker 1: open by negotiation, and the intercourse strengthened speculators and men
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  Speaker 1: of pleasure tainted the purity and simplicity of American manners.
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  Speaker 1: Long before the conclusion of the war, the friendships wound
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  Speaker 1: in the fields with the foreign army had their influence
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  Speaker 1: and the habits and opinions of military men who had
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  Speaker 1: long been the servants of monarchy or despotism, or adopted
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  Speaker 1: by a considerable part of the army of the United States.
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  Speaker 1: Nor were some men of other descriptions less fascinated with
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  Speaker 1: the splendor of courts and the baubles of ambitious spirits, scepters, diadems,
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  Speaker 1: and crowns. Doubtless some of these had lent their cooperating
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  Speaker 1: influence to undermine the beautiful babek of republicanism, which Americans
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  Speaker 1: had erupted with enthusiastic fondness, and for which they had
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  Speaker 1: risked ease, property, and life. It may be observed that
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  Speaker 1: pure republicanism is cherished by the philosopher in his closet,
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  Speaker 1: and adminded by the statesmen in my theories of government. It,
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  Speaker 1: when called into operation the combinations of interest ambition or
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  Speaker 1: party prejudice to generally destroy the principle, though the name
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  Speaker 1: in the form may be preserved. There is a change
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  Speaker 1: of manners, of sentiments, of principles, and of pursuits, which
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  Speaker 1: perhaps similar circumstances will in turn produce in all ages
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  Speaker 1: and countries. But from the equality of condition to which
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  Speaker 1: they have been used, from the first emigration of their ancestors,
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  Speaker 1: from their moments of life, and from the character and
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  Speaker 1: professions of its inhabitants. Such a change in America was
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  Speaker 1: not contemplated, nor could have been expected to approach at
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  Speaker 1: so early a period of her independence. But no ideas
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  Speaker 1: from a rivalry of power and athirstful wealth had prepared
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  Speaker 1: the way to corruption, and the awakened passions were hurried
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  Speaker 1: to new images of happiness. The simpler paths which they
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  Speaker 1: had trodden in pursuit of compacedents and felicity were left
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  Speaker 1: to follow the fantastic fopperies of foreign nations, and to
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  Speaker 1: sigh for the distinctions acquired by titles instead of that
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  Speaker 1: real honor which is ever the result of virtue. A
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  Speaker 1: writer of celebrity has observed that military commanders acquiring fame
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  Speaker 1: and accustomed to receive the obedience of armies, are in
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  Speaker 1: their hearts generally enemies to the popular equality of republics. Thus,
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  Speaker 1: the first step taken in the United States for the
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  Speaker 1: aggrandizement of particular families by distinguished orders and assumed nobility,
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  Speaker 1: appeared to originate in the army, some of whom has
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  Speaker 1: observed of the ancient barons of England soon forgot the
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  Speaker 1: cause and the patriotism of the ancestors, and insensibly became
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  Speaker 1: the servants of luxury and of government. By the articles
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  Speaker 1: of Confederation unanimously acceded to by each legislature on the continent.
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  Speaker 1: The Greater Maria been republican at in no titles of honor,
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  Speaker 1: no ennobled the privileged orders, but willing to make the
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  Speaker 1: experiment and reap the first fruits of exclusive dignity. A
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  Speaker 1: self created rank was contemplated by some officers of the army,
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  Speaker 1: and an order of military knighthood projected before the disturbances
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  Speaker 1: of Philadelphia, but not publicly avioled until after the insurrection
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  Speaker 1: was subdued. This institution embraced the whole body of officers
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  Speaker 1: belonging to the army and navy, both French and Americans,
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  Speaker 1: the right of ad many as honorary members persons of
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  Speaker 1: eminence of any nation was also assumed. This adoption of
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  Speaker 1: honorary members gave the right only of partaking present munificence
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  Speaker 1: and the enjoyment of the honour during their own lives.
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  Speaker 1: However they might have distinguished a name or character and
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  Speaker 1: a relitary claim to the peerage of the Order of
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  Speaker 1: Cincinnati and the privileges n X. Thereto was confined solely
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  Speaker 1: to the military line. The Count de Rochambeau, the Duc Dernwalis,
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  Speaker 1: and many of the principal officers of the French army,
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  Speaker 1: and several other foreign officers whose term of service had
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  Speaker 1: been too short to have had a claim according to
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  Speaker 1: the rules of the Order, were however, adopted on its
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  Speaker 1: first institution. The French ambassador, many of the gentlemen bred
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  Speaker 1: in the schools of monarchy in various parts of Europe,
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  Speaker 1: and even some princes and crowned heads were invited to
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  Speaker 1: dignify the Order by becoming honorary members. This was a
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  Speaker 1: deep played plan which discovered sagacity to look forward, genius
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  Speaker 1: to take advantage, and art too appropriate to themselves. The
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  Speaker 1: opening prospects of dignity and rank, which had cired the
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  Speaker 1: minds of ambitious men. The ostensible design of this novel
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  Speaker 1: institution was striking to the compassionate mind and flattering to
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  Speaker 1: the lovers of freedom. Among the American officers, many of
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  Speaker 1: them knew not enough of the world and of the
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  Speaker 1: history and character of man, to suspect any latent mischief,
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  Speaker 1: or any concealed object that must not yet be devoted
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  Speaker 1: for fear of disgusting the public ear. Others had comprehensive
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  Speaker 1: ideas of the system, and with great complacency of mind,
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  Speaker 1: anticipated the honor for reduitary knighthood entailed on their posterity.
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  Speaker 1: The members were invited to embody as a society of friends,
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  Speaker 1: to perpetuate the memory of the revolution, and to engage
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  Speaker 1: to be vigilant in preserving inviolate the exalted rights and
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  Speaker 1: liberties of human nature for which they had fought in blood.
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  Speaker 1: On his initiation enter the society, each member was to
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  Speaker 1: advance a month's pay in order to begin a fund
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  Speaker 1: for the relief of any unfortunate family or distressed individual
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  Speaker 1: who did himself or whose father had belonged to the order.
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  Speaker 1: They mutually engaged that this union should not be dissolved
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  Speaker 1: but with their lives, and that their attachment and their
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  Speaker 1: honors should descend to the eldest of their male posterity,
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  Speaker 1: and in failure thereowed to the collateral branches. They were
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  Speaker 1: to be furnished with the diploma, and to appropriate to
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  Speaker 1: themselves as a badge of their order a golden battle
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  Speaker 1: with a bald eagle spread on the one side, and
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  Speaker 1: on the other a simple and a motto indicative of
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  Speaker 1: the dignity of their order. The metal was to be
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  Speaker 1: suspended on a broad blue ribbon edged with white, designed
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  Speaker 1: to intimate the union between America and France. This was
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  Speaker 1: to be hung to a buttonhole of their vest. As
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  Speaker 1: the officers of the American Army had styled themselves of
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  Speaker 1: the order and assumed the name of Cincinnatus, it might
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  Speaker 1: have been expected that they would have imitated the humble
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  Speaker 1: and disinterested virtues of the ancient Roman, that they would
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  Speaker 1: retired satisfied with their own efforts to save their country,
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  Speaker 1: and the confident rewards was ready to bestow instead of
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  Speaker 1: ostentatiously assuming hereditary distinctions and the insignia of nobility. But
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  Speaker 1: the eagle in the ribbon dangled at the buttonhole of
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  Speaker 1: every youth who had for three years born at office
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  Speaker 1: in the army, and taught them to look down with
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  Speaker 1: froude contempt on the patriot grown gray in the service
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  Speaker 1: of his country. Arjous, indeed, was the task of raising, regulating,
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  Speaker 1: and maintaining an army to secure the freedom, the mediocrity,
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  Speaker 1: and the independent spirit, as well as the name of Americans.
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  Speaker 1: Those who had been long engaged in this laborious work
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  Speaker 1: had never imagined that any class of the citizens of
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  Speaker 1: the United States would pant for peerages in the shade
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  Speaker 1: of retirement, instead of practicing, in their primeval state the
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  Speaker 1: humble virtues and imitating the laudable manners of their ancestors.
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  Speaker 1: End of Section thirty three.