Conway Cabal

Did Washington wage a secret war while he was at Valley Forge? Yes and no. Against the British he had to maintain a vigorous war of outposts while they occupied Philadelphia. But the other war he had to fight was against his own generals. In Thomas Fleming's Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge (Smithsonian Books, 2005)
Washington was not only threatened from the British, but from increasing political enemies as well. Conway, Mifflin and Gates were all ambitious officers with little military talent, but great scheming abilities off the battlefield. Together this trio of military politicos formed what would be known as the Conway Cabal. With Congress discontented with Washington's recent combat record, the way seemed open to bring about his downfall.

Fleming is unabashed in his worship of Washington. He never ceases in admiration of his patience, long suffering and ability to sustain personal and political injury, in addition to military defeats. In a sense the author praises him with the same admiration that scared many of the general's contemporaries. Some in Congress felt that Washington was being hailed as a Demigod, and were fearful of the powers they had given him to run the army. As Fleming carefully points out, the General never misused these powers, but in a new state struggling to remove any kind of central authority, such influence was widely feared.  read more »