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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02437.09400 |
| From Archive Folder | The Henry Knox Papers [0040] March 1782 |
| Title | George Washington to Henry Knox discussing a possible traitor to America |
| Date | 30 March 1782 |
| Author | Washington, George (1732-1799) |
| Recipient | Knox, Henry |
| Document Type | Correspondence; Government document |
| Content Description | General Washington discusses a "character" (possibly Loyalist Henry Van Schaack) present with Knox in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Instructs Knox to guard his colleague (possibly Gouverneur Morris) against freely discussing matters with this person, believing him to be a traitor to America, in pay of the British. Written from "York Hutts," which constituted the headquarters of a New York Regiment near Pompton (now Pompton Lakes, New Jersey). Docketed in Knox's hand. |
| Subjects | Treason President Revolutionary War Revolutionary War General Military History Loyalist Spying |
| People | Knox, Henry (1750-1806) Washington, George (1732-1799) Morris, Gouverneur (1752-1816) Van Schaack, Henry (1733-1823) |
| Place written | Pompton Lakes, New Jersey |
| Theme | The Presidency; Government & Politics |
| Sub-collection | The Henry Knox Papers |
| Additional Information | Knox and Gouverneur Morris were in Elizabethtown, N.J. to negotiate a general cartel for prisoner exchange in the aftermath of the American victory at Yorktown. Because there were so many complications, including American efforts to obtain compensation for the subsistence of Saratoga and Yorktown prisoners, as well as disputes over the status and exchangeability of General Cornwallis and American diplomat Henry Laurens, the negotiations failed. The British Commissioners at Elizabeth were Andrew Elliot and General William Dalrymple. The conference lasted from March 31 to April 19. Though the identity of the “traitor” mentioned by Washington is unknown, it was likely New York Loyalist Henry Van Schaack, who (with his brother Peter) was a close acquaintance of Gouverneur Morris before the war. It is known that Henry Van Schaack resided temporarily in Elizabeth in March 1782, and that Van Schaack and Sir James Jay (brother of John) schemed to have Jay captured by the British to provide intelligence to British general Sir Henry Clinton regarding certain aspects of Congress’s financial situation and to undermine the alliance between the United States and France (Historical Memoirs of William Smith, 1778-1783, 488). Signer of the U.S. Constitution. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |
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