ciation. Having laid Clinton in the dust, his eye rested upon John
Armstrong, who had recently won the appointment of secretary of war.
Armstrong had been recalled from Paris at the request of Napoleon,
just in time to get in the way of both Clinton and Tompkins. At first
he was a malcontent, grumbling at Madison, and condemning the conduct
of public affairs generally; but, after the declaration of war, he
supported the Administration, and, on July 6, 1812, to the surprise
and indignation of Clinton, he accepted a brigadiership, with command
of New York City and its defences. Then came the period of danger and
urgency following the surrender of Detroit, and Armstrong, on the 6th
of February, 1813, to the great embarrassment of Tompkins, obtained
quick promotion to the head of the war department.

There seems to have been no reason why Tompkins should have harboured
the feeling of rivalry toward Armstrong that he cherished for Clinton.
The former was simply a pretentious occupier of high places, without
real ability for great accomplishment. His little knowledge of the
theory and practice of war was learned on the staff of General Gates,
who, Bancroft says, "had no fitness for command and wanted personal
courage." It was while Armstrong was dwelling in the tent of this
political, intriguing adventurer, that he wrote the celebrated
"Newburgh Letters," stigmatised by Washington. These events, coupled
with his want of scruples and known capacity for intrigue and
indolence, made him an object of such distrust that the Senate, in
spite of his social and political connections, barely confirmed him.

Could Tompkins, looking two years into the future, have foreseen
Armstrong passing into disgraceful retirement after the capture of the
city of Washington, he might easily have dismissed all rivalry from
his mind; but just now the two men who seemed to stand most in his way
were Armstrong and Spencer. He thought Spencer in too close and
friendly alliance with Armstrong, and that Armstrong, whose strength
in the State greatly depended upon Spencer's influence, was the only
obstacle in his path to the White House. Thus there arose in his mind
a sentiment of rivalry for Armstrong, and a strong feeling of distrust
and dislike for Spencer. The latter, who now possessed little more
real liking for Tompkins than Clinton did, soon understood the
Governor's feeling toward him; and he also learned that Van Buren,
with an intellect for organ