Negotiating Independence and Thwarting the a Conspiracy

Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, Lieutenant General George Washington, wiped the sweat from his brow as he wrapped up his speech in front of several hundred fellow officers, many of whom had been by his side for the last eight years of war. As Washington gazed around the large hall, known as “The Temple of Virtue” or the “Temple” for short, that had been built at the Continental Army’s winter quarters at Newburgh, New York, 60 miles north of New York City, he could still smell the sawdust that coated the floors. Originally designed to be used as a chapel, the rectangular rough-hewn structure had a more secular purpose on this early spring morning. Rumors of mutiny had been circulating through America’s first army for several months and Washington had appeared before the gathering to try and snuff out any treasonous thoughts before they could be acted upon.