Armstrong, John:

$1,500 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

[AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM JOHN ARMSTRONG TO GEN. JOHN SMITH, OUTLINING THE POLITICAL MACHINATIONS FOR THE 1812 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION]. John Armstrong writes to Gen. John Smith, detailing a New York-based plan to disrupt President Madison's plans for the 1812 election and get DeWitt Clinton elected vice president. Armstrong was a Madison supporter, and his letter relates with some pleasure the details of this unsuccessful plot.John Armstrong, Jr. (1758-1843) served as aide-de-camp to Gen. Hugh Mercer and Gen. Horatio Gates during the American Revolution. Encouraged by other members of Gates' staff, he anonymously penned the controversial "Newburgh Addresses," calling for Congress to address the Army's grievances, particularly a lack of pay. This was widely interpreted as an affront to Gen. Washington's authority, and though Washington understood Armstrong's motives and forgave him, a stigma nonetheless haunted the rest of Armstrong's career, hampering his later efforts to run for office. He served as Minister to France from 1804 to 1810, again involving himself in controversial pamphleteering. Though he was snubbed by the Madison government upon his return to the U.S., he supported war with Britain and thus supported the government; as a reward for his support he was appointed Secretary of War in 1813. Although Armstrong succeeded in organizing and administrating, his tendency toward micromanagement put him into direct conflict with his commanders in the field. By 1814 r

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