Meantime the mutineers remained several days at Princeton, refusing to proceed to the Delaware and cross into Pennsylvania, while Sir Henry Clinton made every disposition to avail himself of the revolt, and lost not a moment in despatching emissaries to their camp, with tempting offers to induce them to join the armies of the King. But, mutineers as they were, they nevertheless spurned the proposition; and retaining the emissaries in custody, handed the communications, of which they were the bearers, over to General Wayne. Though in rebellion against their officers, the soldiers were nevertheless indignant at the idea of turning their arms, as Arnold had done, against their own country; and those about them who were well disposed, availed themselves of the occasion, with much address, to impress upon their minds the magnitude of the insult conveyed in propositions made to them in the character of traitors. [FN]
[FN] Five days after their arrival among the mutineers, viz. on the 11th of January, Sir Henry's emissaries were tried by a court-martial, and executed.
News of the revolt had no sooner reached Philadelphia, than a committee was appointed by Congress, consisting of General Sullivan, [FN-1] and two other gentlemen, in conjunction with President Reed on behalf of the Council of Pennsylvania, to meet the revolters, and attempt to bring them back to reason. The demands of the mutineers were exorbitant, but were in the end acceded to with some unimportant modifications. They then moved forward to Trenton, and in the end, although better things were anticipated from the stipulations agreed upon, the Pennsylvania line was almost entirely disbanded. A voluntary performance, by Congress, of much less than was yielded by the committee, would have averted the evil, and saved the division. [FN-2]
[FN-1] Very soon after he left the army, at the close of the Seneca campaign, General Sullivan was elected to Congress, of which body he was an efficient and patriotic member. Afterward, in the years 1786, 1787, and 1788, he was President of New Hampshire, in which situation, by his vigorous exertions, he quelled the spirit of the insurrection which exhibited itself at the time of the trouble with Shays in Massachusetts. In 1789 he was appointed a District Judge. He died in 1795, aged 54.