The Glorious Cause - Jeff Shaara [354]
JOHN SULLIVAN
Having served with Washington from the siege of Boston, Sullivan never rises to the level of achievement of Washington’s other subordinates, notably Greene and Lafayette. His lackluster performance during most of the early years of the war is redeemed in 1779, when he is chosen by Washington to lead a large-scale assault into the Wyoming and Cherry Valleys of northern Pennsylvania. Sullivan leads a force of nearly four thousand men against a combined force of Indian nations, who, inspired by their alliance with the British in Canada, have pursued a campaign of brutal terror against the civilian population. Sullivan’s campaign is a complete success, is effective in removing hostile Indians from the region, and shocks the British in Canada.
He returns feeling the ill effects of the extraordinary physical ordeal, and resigns from the army in November 1779. He becomes active in New Hampshire politics, serves as attorney general, governor, and finally, as a judge. He dies in 1795, at age fifty-five.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON
Washington’s aide yearns for service in the field, and after some acrimony develops between the two men, Hamilton is allowed to leave his headquarters post. Serving under Lafayette at Yorktown, Hamilton commands one of the two assaults against the final remaining British redoubts, and leads his men in a successful conquest of Redoubt #10.
He resigns from the army in December 1783, and moves to New York, where he opens a law practice. He founds a newspaper, the New York Evening Post, which becomes a mouthpiece for his strong views about the necessity of a strong central government. Appointed in 1787 to the Constitutional Convention, he becomes the leading advocate and most vocal supporter for what is now called the Federalist movement. He is appointed by Washington as first Secretary of the Treasury in 1789, and does much to salvage the young nation from the disastrous financial crisis in which it finds itself. He serves until 1795.
In his philosophy of Federalism, he becomes the polar opposite of Thomas Jefferson, and the two men become the leading spokesmen for their opposing causes. This serves to divide the government into distinct political parties, which survive in various forms throughout American history.
In 1795, he returns to his law practice, which becomes enormously successful. He returns to the army in 1798, to respond to a potential conflict with France, and is awarded the rank of major general.
Always vocal about his politics, Hamilton campaigns vigorously against John Adams for president. He then wages a hostile campaign against Aaron Burr for the privilege of running against Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton is widely quoted as calling Burr a “dangerous man,” and Burr responds by challenging him to a duel. In July 1804, they meet and Burr prevails. Hamilton dies the next day, and is buried at Trinity Church in New York City. He is forty-seven.
AND ACROSS THE ATLANTIC . . .
CHARLES, EARL CORNWALLIS
On November 4, 1781, he leaves Yorktown and sails for New York, where he endures a final meeting with Henry Clinton. He returns to England the following spring, but receives surprisingly little condemnation for his part in the disasters of strategy that have plagued the English high command. In 1786, he is appointed to a much-sought-after position as governor-general of India, where he erases any stains from his American experience by his complete efficiency, both militarily and as the civil administrator of that part of the Empire. For his services, King George awards him the title of First Marquess Cornwallis, in 1793.