When Thomas Jefferson entered the United States Continental Army in the winter of 1776, he saw first hand the destruction that the British Army was capable of inflicting on the US Military. He was, to put it bluntly, shocked at the amount of men that were suffering for a war that could mean the life or death of many important figures in America, including that of Jefferson himself. Furthermore, he was not only appalled, but angered at the lack of adequate supplies and funding that the Continental Congress was giving to the Army. As an aide to Jefferson recalled, "He watched with fiery eyes and a face set in the figure of Death itself whenever he was near the infirmary ... It got worse after every battle. Many of us were often scared to go near him when he was in that state."
As such, it is often said that Jefferson fought vigorously when it came to procuring funding for the Continental Army, and at times even beat General Washington in how stubborn he was when dealing with detractors in the Continental Congress who argued for funds to go to other tasks that they felt more important. Among these detractors, John Adams quickly became the leader of the group, and Jefferson came to greatly resent having to work with the man, going so far as to say "Adams is an idiotic, self-absorbed man who would not know what end of the rifle the gunpowder left." Despite opposition in the Continental Congress, Jefferson often won many supporters to his cause, garnering respect among both his men and the delegates to the Congress for his refusal to resolve on any measure involving adequate funding being sent to the Army, earning him the nickname "Tough Tom". This fiery nature in his procuring for funding impressed Washington so much that by the time the War of Independence had ended, Jefferson had been promoted to colonel, and had become a trusted adviser and close friend of George Washington.
Jefferson served all across the United States, first getting his real taste of war after George Washington decided to cross the Delaware and engage the British at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. Only a captain at the time, Jefferson was only briefed about the plans at the last minute, and though he was irritated at not being informed sooner, he understood why he was not a part of the plan and instead focused on getting his men ready. At the Battle of Trenton Jefferson served with his men at the front line alongside Washington , leading the charge against the Hessian militia, and later doing the same at the Battle of Princeton against the British. Both of these actions gained respect from both the generals serving alongside Washington, Washington himself, and the men who served under Jefferson. After the battles, Jefferson was invited to help engage in the planning for the army's actions and movements, and remained a trusted adviser for the duration of war.
Despite attempts by members of the Congress to convince Jefferson to return to Philadelphia after the British abandoned the city in pursuit of Washington and the Continental Army, he refused, famously stating, "As long as this war continues, and the men fighting for our liberty continue to suffer for our cause while we refused to repay their kindness with the most basic of rations, I will remain here, recording the atrocities I witness, and fighting for their cause." And fight Jefferson did. When Philadelphia was lost again to the British in September of 1777 and Washington set up camp at Valley Forge to repel the effects of winter, Jefferson was appalled at the lack of adequate supplies sent to the Army, and thus ruthlessly attacked the members of Congress, calling them "Cowards and traitors who do not understand what it means to win a war." While such statements angered Adams and his followers, they were successful in directing attention to the upkeep of the army, and caused Congress to divert its attention to establishing a consistent supply line to Valley Forge and supplying some winter clothing to the soldiers stationed there. While casualties were still high, being estimated at around 1,500 men who perished as a result of the conditions at the encampment, Jefferson was hailed as a hero for fighting for the soldiers' cause.
The Continental Army continued to fight, with Jefferson gaining more and more praise for his actions, and by the time Washington had moved his army to Morristown, New Jersey, to lodge the men during the winter of 1779, Jefferson had been promoted to the position of Colonel in the Continental Army. Shortly after this, Washington and his advisers had discovered the shocking revelation that Benedict Arnold, who was a General in the Continental Army, had been supplying the British with information on the Army's movements, strength, and supplies. Arnold was upset with the Continental Congress' refusal to supply him and his army with supplies and funds, and became infuriated when he discovered that the Congress was supplying Washington's army with funds and supplies thanks to the efforts of Jefferson while at the same time refusing to supply his army with anything to aid them in battle. After this, and reports that Congress was in the process of negotiating the French to join the war on the side of the American Revolutionaries, Arnold decided to begin supplying the British with information about the Continental Army in return for both funds for his army and funds for his personal life.
Upon this revelation, the members of Washington's aides and advisers unanimously decided to attempt to apprehend Arnold. However, he had managed to escape, and Washington could only manage to capture his co-conspirator, Major John Andre. While Washington wanted him to be court-martialed and hanged, Jefferson instead advocated to attempt to use him as a means to an end, that is, as a way to get to Arnold. Jefferson proposed offering Major Andre an opportunity to avoid being executed for espionage, and instead suggested offering only life imprisonment for his crimes in return for disclosing the location of Arnold. While Washington was reluctant to the idea of letting a traitor escape with an easy punishment, he realized the intelligence behind this maneuver, and so after some convincing by Jefferson and his supporters, Washington agreed to the plan. Major Andre, however, was reluctant to betray his close friend, Benedict Arnold, and so initially refused to disclose any information. However, after being reminded of the alternatives that were available to him in place of revealing Arnold's hiding place, Andre, fearful of the punishment he might endure, agreed to disclose this information, and as a result, Benedict Arnold was captured on September 22nd, 1780, and was swiftly found guilty of treason and executed by hanging on December 1st, 1780, his last words being, "I die a traitor, my greatest regret." Andre, in turn, spent the rest of his life in prison, before dying of dysentery on October 2nd, 1800, his last words being, "May God forgive me, for Benedict will not." For their actions in apprehending Arnold, both Washington and Jefferson gained praise across the country, and were each awarded a hastily-created medal by the Continental Congress for their actions.
After Arnold's execution, Jefferson accompanied Washington to Yorktown to engage in the last major British army stationed in the city, led by Charles Cornwallis. Jefferson was ecstatic to finally see and end to this British force, for not only will it mean a final end to the war, but it will also mean that his men will no longer have to suffer through the supply shortages and diseases that clung in almost every encampment of the Continental Army. The battle started on September 28th, 1781, with George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau leading the Continental Army and the French Expeditionary Force, respectively, while a French fleet blockaded the British from escaping the town by sea. After preparations were made, the two armies began to bombard the trench positions established by the British just outside of the city. While both Washington and de Rochambeau wanted to bombard the city itself, Jefferson argued profusely against this, declaring that there will be no citizens put at risk while the city was prevented from gathering supplies in the first place. His passionate and fiery arguments and rhetoric was later reflected on by de Rochambeau, who reminisced, "Jefferson was perhaps the single most honorable and passionate man serving in the entirety of the Continental Army. This alone earned him my respect in the first days of the siege." Although both generals knew that doing so will prolong the siege, they were eventually won over by Jefferson, and agreed to not allow a single cannon shot to purposefully hit the city.
Thus, on October 10th, the bombardment on the British positions began, and continued well into the early hours of the morning the next day. The siege lasted for the entirety of the month, as Cornwallis attempted to hold out and escape via sea, only to be stopped by the French fleet blockading the town. Although the British trenches were weakened tremendously by the bombardments, the city remained largely unscathed, and as such, Cornwallis believed that he could hold out until a British fleet arrived that was able to beat out the French fleet. However, no fleet came, and as the end of October drew near, Cornwallis became informed that the city was beginning to run out of supplies while at the same time the British trenches were taking the worst bombardments yet felt in the siege. After converging with his military advisers, Cornwallis realized that the battle was lost, and on October 29th, he sent out an envoy to discuss the prospect of surrender with George Washington. Washington accepted the surrender, and October 31st, 1781, the bombardment stopped, and Cornwallis left the city to surrender his army to Washington, deciding to personally do so as a symbolic gesture of recognizing the refusal of the Continental Army to bombard the city itself.
After the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown, the British Parliament decided that the war against the United States was lost, and as such, entered negotiations. Jefferson resigned as a colonel in the Continental Army in order to aid the Continental Congress in negotiations with the British. It was not until September 3rd, 1783, that the Treaty of Paris was formally signed, bringing an end to the American War of Independence, that the Continental Army under George Washington disbanded, and General George resigned his position as General of the Continental Army.
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And so, this update on the story has come to an end. I'd like to apologize for not posting an update yesterday, as I'm in the process of moving and packing up took longer than what I expected. Because of this, I have decided to post weekly updates of the story every Saturday instead, so that if I can not post anything, I'll have Sunday to fall back on. Also, feel free to discuss how you thought the story would have gone, as I'm curious to hear different possible deviations than what I went for. For now, I'll see you all next Saturday!
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