The Glorious Cause - Jeff Shaara [357]
In a fitting irony, Tarleton’s name virtually disappears into English military history. He is remembered primarily in America, not for his skills as a capable cavalryman, but as a petty, coldhearted and vindictive brute, his name a symbol of the worst kind of ruthlessness.
CHARLES O’HARA
Cornwallis’ most capable field commander returns to England early in 1782. On the strength of Cornwallis’ energetic recommendation, he is promoted to major general. In 1792, he is appointed lieutenant governor of Gibraltar. In 1793, he is captured by the French and imprisoned in Luxembourg. Released in 1795, he returns to Gibraltar as governor, and dies there in 1802, at age sixty-two.
AND,
GEORGE WASHINGTON
I am become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, and under the shadow of my own vine and my own fig tree. Free from the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life . . . I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk and tread the paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction. I will move gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers.
—GEORGE WASHINGTON TO LAFAYETTE, 1784
In 1787, the gentleman farmer accepts a call from Virginia to participate as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and upon his arrival in Philadelphia, he succumbs to considerable pressure to become president of that body.
As the Constitution is ratified by the states, it is apparent to Washington that no other person is considered a suitable candidate for the office of the first president of the United States. Though he has spent precious few years at his beloved Mount Vernon, he accepts the inevitable, and in 1788, moves Martha into the presidential mansion in what is now the nation’s capital, New York.
He governs from the strength of his neutrality, preventing unwise American involvement in the various violent conflicts in Europe, realizes more than many in his own cabinet that the United States must meet its own challenges before pursuing alliances that could lead to further war that America cannot afford. NaÏve in the ways of politics, he steadfastly holds the government together despite the enormous strain of the two factions led by the bitterly opposed Hamilton and Jefferson. As his term nears expiration, there is little enthusiasm for any other candidate to succeed him, including his vice president John Adams. From every part of the nation he receives entreaties to remain in office for a second term, and despite personal exhaustion, and the furious disappointment of Martha, he accepts election to a second term.
In 1797, he adamantly refuses to consider a third term, despite a wave of pressure to do so, and finally retires to Mount Vernon. He lives out the brief remainder of his life in the soft comforts of his wife, who has endured long years of sacrifice both by the absence of her husband and the death of all four of her children. In December 1799, while tending to the chores of his farm, he is stricken by a severe throat infection, and two days later, on December 14, 1799, with Martha beside him, he dies. He is sixty-seven.
For three days, he lies in state in the dining room at Mount Vernon, then Martha orders his body placed briefly on the porch of the mansion, for his last magnificent view of the Potomac River.
To measure his impact on history, one must consider the world as it might have been without him. Of those who had serious designs on his position as commander in chief, from John Hancock to Artemas Ward to Charles Lee to Horatio Gates, it is impossible to envision anyone maintaining such a dedicated grasp on the tormenting necessities of the army, the congress, and the people.
Not even his dearest friends and most ardent supporters claim perfection in the man. He possessed none of the oratorical skills of Patrick