Not Your Father's Founders by Arthur G. Sharp Page A

himself, which didn’t always sit well with some patriots—and led to questions in Congress about his integrity and judgment. Deane, a member of the Connecticut Colonial Assembly (1772–74) and the Continental Congress from 1774−76, persuaded a few European military officers to enlist in the Continental armed forces to fight against the British. Some of the European officers were more interested in personal glory than the American cause. For his efforts, Deane was recalled under a cloud of suspicion, exiled from his home country, and possibly murdered.

From Connecticut to France
    Silas Deane was solidifying his reputation in Connecticut as a man to be trusted in the days leading up to the American Revolution based on his integrity as a businessman and representative in the colony’s General Assembly. When the call went out for delegates to the First Continental Congress in 1774, Deane was among those chosen, and he was reappointed in 1775.
    Deane was optimistic that the Congress could find a way to get the colonies out from under British rule. He was even more convinced after he arrived in the thriving city of Philadelphia, the largest city in the colonies at the time, and met the other delegates of distinction. Congressional leaders were so impressed with his abilities that they sent him to France to seek French support for American independence.
    Deane joined Franklin and Lee in Paris to negotiate an alliance with France. The United States and France signed two separate treaties on February 6, 1778: the Treaty of Alliance, and a Treaty of Amity and Commerce that promoted trade and commercial ties between the two countries. According to the terms of the Treaty of Alliance, both countries agreed not to negotiate a separate peace with Great Britain. More importantly, American independence would be a condition of any future peace agreement.
    REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
    Silas Deane and his brother Simeon operated a successful privateering business during the war. They, like so many other merchant-patriots, were adept at converting patriotism into profits in the interest of “helping their country.”
“Jealous-Lee”
    The arms and supplies France sent to the Continental Army played a major role in its surprising victory over British troops at Saratoga, New York, in September and October 1777. Historians suggest that the victory was the turning point in the war. It elevated the Continental Army’s morale and removed the aura of invincibility many Americans thought surrounded their British foe.
    But Arthur Lee grew jealous of Silas Deane’s success in Paris and accused Deane that year of embezzling some of the funds intended to pay for such arms. Lee suspected Franklin had done the same thing, which Franklin denied.
    Congress recalled Deane to investigate his alleged questionable conduct. On November 27, 1777, it appointed John Adams to replace Deane in Paris.
    Deane delayed his return to the colonies until the treaties were signed. Then he returned in a triumphant manner aboard a French warship to defend himself. It was not surprising that Deane made a few business deals of his own in Paris. After all, he arrived there in July 1776 ostensibly as a businessman. The Committee of Secret Correspondence had told him, “On your arrival in France, you will for some time be engaged in the business of providing goods for the Indian trade. This will give good countenance to your appearing in the character of a merchant, which we wish you continually to retain among the French, in general, it being probable that the court of France may not like it should be known publicly that any agent from the Colonies is in that country.”
Nothing More Than Shoddy Bookkeeping
    Perhaps Deane created some of his troubles. Several of the European officers he recruited comported themselves badly during the war. Irish General Thomas Conway became involved in a cabal to overthrow General George Washington, and