Editing Silas Deane (section)

==Accusations in Congress==
On March 4, 1778, Deane received a letter from [[James Lovell (politician)|James Lovell]] containing the recall order from Congress. Lovell only mentioned giving a report to Congress about European affairs, and Deane fully expected to be sent back to Paris within a few months.{{sfn|Baker|2014|pp=67–68}} France sent Deane back home aboard a warship. [[Louis XVI]] also presented Deane with a portrait framed with diamonds, and both [[Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes|Vergennes]] and Franklin wrote letters of commendation.{{sfn|Flemming|2007|pp=58–59}}

Deane arrived in Philadelphia on July 14, 1778, and was shocked when Congress accused him of financial impropriety on the basis of reports by his fellow commissioner Arthur Lee.{{sfn|Covart|2014}} Because Deane had left his account books in Paris, he was neither able to properly defend himself nor seek reimbursement for money he had spent procuring supplies in France.{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|pp=210–211}}{{sfn|Baker|2014|pp=66–67}} (While he waited to address Congress, Deane stayed with [[Benedict Arnold]], who had just been appointed military governor of Philadelphia.){{sfn|Lefer|2013|p=202}}

In a long and bitter dispute over the charges, Deane was defended before Congress by [[John Jay]].{{sfn|Chorlton|2011|p=68}} He published a public defense in the December 5, 1778, issue of ''[[Pennsylvania Packet]]'' entitled ''The Address of Silas Deane to the Free and Virtuous Citizens of America'', in which he attacked Arthur Lee, other members of the [[Lee family]], and their associates.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/collectionsforye21newyuoft#page/66/mode/2up|title=The Deane Papers Volume III: 1778–1779|publisher=New York Historical Society|year=1889|location=New York|pages=66–78, 239–244, 280–281}}</ref> Arthur's brothers [[Richard Henry Lee]] and [[Francis Lightfoot Lee]] both denounced Deane's accusations as libelous and injurious to the American cause.{{efn|During this same time period, a ship built in France for the [[Continental Navy]] was christened the ''[[USS Deane (1778)|Deane]]'' in his honor.}}<ref name=":7" /> On January 14, 1779, Deane replied in the ''Pennsylvania Packet,'' listing eight ships that had sailed from France with supplies because of his efforts. Congress offered him $10,000 in depreciated [[Early American currency|Continental currency]] in compensation, but Deane refused, believing the amount too small.<ref name=":7" />{{sfn|Baker|2014|pp=67–68}} Deane was allowed to return to Paris in 1780 to settle his affairs and attempt to assemble the records in dispute. On arrival, he discovered that he was nearly ruined financially because the value of his investments had plummeted, and some ships carrying his merchandise had been captured by the British.{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|p=211}}

In March 1781, King [[George III]] approved a request from [[Frederick North, Lord North|Lord North]] to bribe Deane in an attempt to recruit him as a spy and to influence Congress.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = The Deane Papers Volume IV: 1779–1781|publisher = New York Historical Society|year = 1890|location = New York|pages = 502–518|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=o5Jhf0IPHDwC&q=1867+George+III+Silas+Deane&pg=PA502}}</ref> However, in mid-July they cancelled their plan after the king read intercepted letters in which Deane described the military situation of the [[Thirteen Colonies|Colonies]] as hopeless and suggested a rapprochement with Britain. Deane's correspondence was then forwarded to General [[Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)|Henry Clinton]], who provided copies to [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] [[James Rivington]] to publish in his newspaper ''Rivington's Royal Gazette'' in New York City. Deane was then accused of treason by his fellow colonists.<ref name=":0" /> Rivington may have been a spy as a member of the [[Culper Ring]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/03/james-rivington-kings-printer-patriot-spy/|title=James Rivington: King's Printer and Patriot Spy? |website=Journal of the American Revolution|last=Andrlik|first=Todd|date=March 3, 2014|language=en-US|access-date=July 30, 2016}}</ref> and unbeknownst to Deane, his former secretary in Paris, [[Edward Bancroft]], had been a British spy.{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|p=215}}