If The Freedom Of Speech Is

Delivered on March 15, 1783, in what became known as the Newburgh Address, spoken to discontented Continental Army officers at their encampment in Newburgh, New York. The army had not been paid and officers were on the verge of mutiny against Congress. Washington appeared unexpectedly, paused to don his spectacles, and remarked that he had grown grey in their service and now found himself going blind — many officers reportedly wept. His speech dispersed the Newburgh Conspiracy and preserved civilian control of the military at a critical moment for the new republic.