It is to you, and you alone, your bleeding country looks and calls aloud for this sacrifice, your arm alone has strength sufficient to remove this bar; may heaven inspire you with this glorious resolution of exerting your strength at this crisis, and immortalizing yourself as friend and guardian to your country; your penetrating eye needs not more explicit language to discern my meaning; with that prudence and delicacy therefore, of which I know you possessed, represent to Congress the indispensible necessity of rescinding the hasty and ill-advised declaration of Independency—Recommend, and you have an undoubted right to recommend, an immediate cessation of hostilities. Let the controversy be taken up where that declaration left it, and where Lord Howe certainly expected to find it left. Let men of clear and impartial characters, in or out of Congress liberal in their sentiments, heretofore, independent in their fortunes; and some such may be found in America, be appointed to confer with his Majesty’s commissioners. Let them, if they please, prepare, some well-digested constitutional plan, to lay before them at the commencement of the negotiation; when they have gone this far, I am confident the usual happy consequences will ensue; unanimity will immediately take place through the different provinces; thousands who are now ardently wishing and praying for such a measure, will step forth, and declare themselves the zealous advocates, for constitutional liberty, and millions will bless the hero that left the field of war, to decide this most important contest with the weapons of wisdom and humanity. Oh! Sir, let no false ideas of worldly honour deter you from engaging in so glorious a task, whatever centuries may be thrown out, by mean illiberal minds, your character will rise in the estimation of the virtuous and noble; it will appear with lustre in the annals of history, and form a glorious contrast, to that of those, who have fought to obtain conquest, and gratify their own ambition by the destruction of their species, and the ruin of their country. Be assured, Sir, that I write not this under the eye of any British officer, or person connected with the British army, or ministry. The sentiments I express, are the real sentiments of my own heart, such as I have long held, and which I should have made known to you by letter before, had I not fully expected an opportunity of a private conference . . .
I love my country. I love you; but the love of truth, the love of peace, and the love of God, I hope I should be enabled, if called upon to the tryal, to sacrifice every other inferior love. If the arguments made use of in this letter should have so much influence as to engage you in the glorious work, which I have warmly recommended, I shall ever deem my success the highest temporal favour that Providence could grant me. Your interposition and advice, I am confident, would meet a favourable reception from the authority under which you act, if it should not, you have an infallible recourse still left, negociate for your country at the head of your army. After all it may appear presumption as an individual to address himself to you on a subject of such magnitude, or to say what measures would best secure the interest and welfare of a whole continent. The friendly and favourable opinion you have always expressed for me, emboldens me to undertake it, and which has greatly added to the weight of this motive; I have been strongly impressed with a sense of duty upon the occasion, which left my conscience uneasy, and my heart afflicted till I fully discharged it. I am no enthusiast; the cause is new and singular to me, but I could not enjoy one moment’s peace till this letter was written, with the most ardent prayers for your spiritual, as well as temporal welfare.
LETTER FROM COLONEL LEWIS NICOLA TO GEORGE WASHINGTON ON MAY 22, 1782
The injuries the troops have received in their pecuniary rights have been, & still continue to be too obvious to require a particular detail, or to have escaped your Excellencies notice, tho your exalted station must have deprived you of opportunity of information relative to the severe distresses occasioned thereby . . .
[Colonel Nicola writes at length of the injuries caused to soldiers by the failure of Congress and the states to meet their financial promises. He then moves on to discuss the possible consequences.]
From several conversations I have had with officers, & some I have overheard among soldiers, I believe it is generally intended not to seperate after the peace ’till all grievances are redressed, engagements & promises fulfilled, but how this is to be done I am at a loss, as neither officers nor soldiers can have any confidence in promises. We have no doubt of Congresses intention to act uprightly, but greatly fear that, by the interested voices of others, their abilities will not be equal to the task.
God forbid we should ever think of involving that country we have, under your conduct & auspices, rescued from oppression, into a new scene of blood & confusion; but it cannot be expected we should forego claims on which our future subsistence & that of our families depend.
Another difference there is between our fellow citizens and us is, that we must live under governments in the forming of which we had no hand, nor were consulted either personally nor representatively, being engaged in preventing the enemy from disturbing those bodies which were entrusted with that business, the members of which would have found little mercy had they been captured . . .
[Before offering his solution to this problem, Colonel Nicola writes that he first wishes to discuss why he does not support the republican form of government. He goes on to discuss the weaknesses of absolute monarchy while acknowledging the strengths of the British version of monarchy.]
Dangers foreseen may be removed, alleviated, or in some cases, turned to benefits, possibly what I appreciate may be susceptible, of even the latter, by means I beg leave to propose, but must request your Excellencies patience if I digress a little before I open my prospect.
I own I am not that violent admirer of a republican form of government as numbers in this country are; this is not owing to caprice, but reason & experience. Let us consider the fate of all the modern republicks of any note without running into antiquity, which I think would also serve to establish my system.
The republicks of later days, worth our notice, may be reduced to three, Venice, Genoa & Holland, tho the two former are rather aristocratical than republican governments, yet they resemble those more than monarchical.
These have, each in their turns, shone with great brightness, but their lustre has been of short duration, and as it were only a blaze. What figure has Holland, that, in his infancy, successfully opposed the most formidable powers of Europe, made for more than half of the present century, or actually makes at present? Mistress of nearly half the commerce of the earth, has she occasioned any considerable diversion of the naval power of Britain? Six or eight ships of the line have been able to oppose her, & unable to protect herself and her extensive commerce, has she not been obliged to apply for assistance to a neighbouring monarch? Does not the great similarity there is between her form of government & ours give us room to fear our fate will be like hers. Has it not evidently appeared that during the course of this war we have never been able to draw forth all the internal resources we are possessed of, and oppose or attack the enemy with our real vigour?
In contrast to this scene let us consider the principal monarchies of Europe, they have suffered great internal commotions, have worried each other, have had periods of vigour & weakness, yet they still subsist & shine with lustre. It must not be concluded from this that I am a partisan for absolute monarchy, very far from it, I am sensible of all its defects, the only conclusion I would draw from the comparison is, that the energy of the latter is more beneficial to the existence of a nation than the wisdom of the former. A monarch may often be governed by wise & moderate councels, but it is hardly possible for large bodies to plan or execute vigorous ones.