In a shot across Washington’s bow, on October 17, 1777, Congress reestablished the Board of War to oversee his handling of the military. For their sneaky maneuvering, the anti-Washington faction became known as “the Conway cabal.”5 It was named after Gen. Thomas Conway, an Irishman who had served in the French army. He did not like Washington, and after the Battle of Saratoga, Conway wrote a congratulatory letter to Gates in which he took a dig at the commander in chief, saying, “Heaven had determined to save our country, or a weak general and bad counselors would have ruined it.”6
