October 11th, 1779 Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski, Polish volunteer serving the United States of America in the Continental Army, died of wounds sustained at the Battle of Savannah in Georgia.
Pulaski, despite his wealth and status in his native country of Poland, was stirred by the American cause and volunteered to fight for the fledgling nation. Like several prominent European officers, Pulaski was recruited in France by Benjamin Franklin with the help of the Marquis de Lafayette. In a letter written to George Washington, Pulaski wrote, “I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it.”
Though without rank, Pulaski fought at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777, serving as an Aide to General Washington. When the tide of the battle turned against the Americans, Pulaski, an expert horseman, rallied the mounted troops in the area and led a charge that stopped the British advance and allowed the Continental Army to retreat intact, directly saving the life of George Washington. His actions on the field brought him immediate fame, and he was commissioned as a Brigadier General tasked with creating the first official American Cavalry units.
During the Winter of 1777/1778, as the Continentals camped and trained at Valley Forge, Pulaski removed to Trenton, New Jersey to recruit and train cavalry officers and enlisted men. Pulaski, a fiery leader who spoke no English, struggled to train men despite the help of American General Anthony Wayne. He returned to Valley Forge in the Spring of 1778, but soon went south to Virginia to recruit and train more cavalry.
Pulaski found more success in the south, and soon had a highly capable force of more than 300, their training and equipment financed by Pulaski’s own money. Pulaski’s forceful personality and tough training at first rubbed many the wrong way, but soon his unit was the pride of the Southern Command, earning Pulaski the title of “Father of the American Cavalry”.
Pulaski’s unit fought in several small actions around Virginia, but he was ordered to South Carolina in 1779 to serve under General Benjamin Lincoln and command the entire American Cavalry. Soon they marched into Georgia to retake the city of Savannah, which had been captured by the British the year before. Pulaski’s unit, at the vanguard of the army, took heavy casualties and was forced to retreat. The Americans, bolstered by a force of French soldiers, attempted to lay siege to the city. But days of bombardment had little effect, so a direct assault was ordered by French commander Charles Henri Hector d’Estaing. The attack was thrown back suffering heavy losses. With both American and French ground troops and cavalry in full retreat, Pulaski attempted to rally the men and was hit by cannon fire. He was taken from the battlefield, but his wounds were too great to overcome and he died two days later.
Pulaski’s bravery was legendary even while he lived, and he was highly respected among his piers. He is considered a national hero in both his native Poland, and in the United States of America, where many counties and towns are named in his honor. There are also hundreds of memorials and statues of the brave General, and many celebrations are still held in his honor, including Pulaski Day parades held in New York City and Chicago. Several US Navy ships have borne Pulaski’s name, along with many roads, bridges, and town squares. In Poland, Pulaski’s legacy is equally as great, and his bravery and sacrifice is rightfully remembered with pride by Polish-Americans to this very day, forever bonding the two nations by his courage and utmost devotion to the cause of Freedom.
September 22nd, 1776, American Patriot, Captain Nathan Hale, was hanged as a spy by the British in New York City.
Born in Connecticut in June of 1755, Nathan Hale was a bright young man and a voracious reader. At the age of 14 he was admitted to the prestigious Yale College. He excelled in his studies and graduated with honors in 1771 at the age of 16, beginning his career as a school teacher.
During the Spring of 1775 tensions in New England between the colonists and the British stationed in Massachusetts erupted into full scale war. Hale joined the Connecticut militia with a commission as a Lieutenant, but he was initially reticent to join the newly formed Continental Army as it lay siege to the city of Boston, instead choosing to continue his career as a school teacher. A letter from his friend and classmate at Yale, Benjamin Tallmadge, stirred Hale’s patriotism, and in July of 1775 he joined the Continental Army and was commissioned as an officer in Knowlton’s Rangers, the first American unit officially dedicated to gathering military intelligence.
After the British were driven from Boston in March of 1776, the Continental Army moved to Manhattan to defend the now vulnerable New York City from attack. Forts and posts were established, but the British managed to maneuver outside of Manhattan by both land and sea. Many small skirmishes occurred around the city, but the Americans were still unaware of the location where the main British force would strike. In August of 1776 the British invaded Long Island, reinforced by thousands of Hessian mercenaries, and handily defeated the Continental Army, sending them into a full retreat.
As the Continental Army was beaten back across Long Island and the Redcoats threatened to completely occupy Manhattan, Gen. George Washington was desperate for any information he could obtain regarding the size, strength, and movements of the British army and navy. Volunteers were needed to spy on the British from behind the lines, which was an act punishable by death if captured. Only Nathan Hale answered the call.
Hale entered Long Island by sea on September 12th, posing as a school teacher in need of work. By September 15th, portions of Manhattan had already fallen to the British. The British push was gaining ground so quickly that little useful information could be obtained and sent. Hale spent his time mainly in the open, trying to gather any information he could on the size and potential movements of the British forces. He was unaware that his actions were drawing the attention of loyalists in the area, who reported what they had seen to the British command.
On September 20th Hale entered a Tavern often frequented by British officers in an attempt to possibly pick up any loose information. Soon enough, he was recognized by a British officer who had seen him on several occasions taking notes around encampments and along the coast. The officer, wary of spies, posed as a Continental who was trapped behind the lines and had dinner with Hale, tricking him into revealing his mission. The following evening Hale returned to the Tavern for another meeting. When he entered the building it was surrounded by Redcoats, and Hale was arrested as a spy.
Hale was taken to the British headquarters and questioned by General William Howe, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America. Now with clear evidence that Hale was indeed spying for the Americans, he was sentenced to death without a trial. Hale asked for a bible and to speak to a clergyman but was denied both requests. He was then granted permission to write a letter to each his brother and to his commanding officer, but in an act meant to demoralize him, the letters were immediately torn up. He spent his last night at the British Headquarters.
The following morning, Hale was marched to the artillery park near the Dove Tavern in New York City. British Captain, John Montressor, requested that Hale be allowed to stay in his tent before the sentence was carried out, and the request was granted. Due to Montressor’s compassion, Hale was able to write letters to his mother and a fellow officer. Moments after, Hale was marched to the Gallows, and after a short speech he was hanged. He was 21 years old.
No official records were kept of the speech Hale made. Thankfully, John Montressor, who was profoundly affected by the bravery of Nathan Hale, met with an American officer under a flag of truce on the morning after the young Captain’s death and gave this account of his last moments on Earth:
“On the morning of his execution, my station was near the fatal spot, and I requested the Provost Marshal to permit the prisoner to sit in my marquee, while he was making the necessary preparations. Captain Hale entered: he was calm, and bore himself with gentle dignity, in the consciousness of rectitude and high intentions. He asked for writing materials, which I furnished him: he wrote two letters, one to his mother and one to a brother officer. He was shortly after summoned to the gallows. But few persons were around him, yet his characteristic dying words were remembered. He said, ‘I only regret, that I have but one life to lose for my country.’”
Hale’s death affected the officers of the Continental Army greatly, in particular George Washington, whose resolve was hardened by the loss of the brave young patriot. Washington understood that only highly trained professional spies would be able to outwit the British, and authorized the formation of the famed Culper Spy Ring, led by Hale’s friend and former Yale classmate, Benjamin Tallmadge.
Later in the war, Tallmadge would gain some measure of revenge when British spymaster Major John Andre was captured and hanged as a spy for his conspiring with the traitor Benedict Arnold to turn over West Point to the British. Benjamin Tallmadge transported Andre to his trial, a courtesy that Hale did not receive, and personally told him that if found guilty, he would meet the same fate as his friend.
Nathan Hale’s legacy lives on in dozens of songs, stories, poems, statues, and monuments created in his honor, as well as in the namesake of many schools, military buildings and naval vessels. The Nathan Hale Homestead, his birthplace, is located in Coventry, Connecticut and serves as a museum dedicated to his memory.
Nathan Hale’s final words are remembered to this day as a hallmark of patriotism and sacrifice, and stand as a testament to his steadfast courage, even in the face of death.
The first shots of the American Revolutionary War were fired in and around the towns of Lexington and Concord Massachusetts.
The seeds of insurrection and independence were sown in the colony of Massachusetts in the mid 1760’s. The end of the French and Indian War in 1763 had left the British Government deeply in debt, and in efforts to recoup their losses they decided to impose taxes on their colonies. The North American colonies had been virtually self-governing for nearly a century, with little to no interference from the “Mother Country” of Great Britain. Taxation did not sit well with the colonists, in particular when they had no representation in the British Parliament. They argued that only citizens of the British Empire could vote to have taxes be imposed upon them, and if they were not allowed representation in Parliament then they legally could not be taxed.
Regardless of the American’s displeasure, a series of unpopular taxes were imposed upon the colonies, among them the Sugar Act, which imposed taxes on all molasses imported into North America; the Stamp Act, which put a tax on nearly every document and piece of paper used in the colonies, from real estate deeds to playing cards; and the Townshend Acts, which among other things allowed the British Government to quarter British troops in any building, public or private, in North America.
Opposition to these measures always seemed to stem from the New England port city of Boston in Massachusetts. Many British troops were stationed in the city and British warships were always around the busy harbor. A resistance group known as the Sons of Liberty formed in Boston, with known members including Sam Adams, John Hancock, Dr. Joseph Warren, and Paul Revere. Meetings were held at the famed “Liberty Tree”, a large Elm tree located in Boston Common, to plan a strategy to thwart the growing British presence in New England.
In 1770, several thousand British troops were stationed in Boston, and the tension on the streets of the city was palpable. On March 5th of that year, a British sentry was harassed by a mob of several hundred protesters, who were hurling at him chunks of ice, planks, and heavy bats used to make rope in the Boston shipbuilding industry. A squadron of British Regulars, led by Capt. Thomas Preston, came to his aid. A large scuffle ensued and shots were fired into the crowd. When the smoke cleared, five colonists were dead or dying, and several others badly injured. Riots broke out across the city, and did not stop until the soldiers were arrested and put on trial for murder.
The British soldiers were defended by well-known attorney and Patriot, John Adams, who would later become a leading advocate of Revolution, and eventually the 2nd President of the United States. The Soldiers were acquitted of the most serious charges. John Adams’ famous closing argument: “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” became a hallmark of fairness, due process, and impartiality in the American Justice System.
Though the soldiers were acquitted, Parliament and King George reacted swiftly to the civil unrest, sending thousands more soldiers and additional warships to Boston. The city was put under martial law and more taxes were imposed, among them the infamous Tea Act, which forced Americans to purchase tea only from the British East India Company, a key contributor to the British economy which was facing bankruptcy due to large overstocks. The Tea Act gave the British company a monopoly on all tea sold in North America. Not only did this monopoly hurt other importers in the colonies, the Act was being enforced by British troops. The Sons of Liberty took matters into their own hands, and on the night of Dec 16th, 1773, they stormed several import ships docked at Boston Harbor, confiscated all of the tea in the cargo holds, and dumped it into Boston Harbor in an act of defiance now known as the Boston Tea Party.
Retribution was swift.
The British Parliament created the Coercive Acts, known in North America as the Intolerable Acts, which closed the port of Boston, shut down the colonial government in Massachusetts, and put British General Thomas Gage in command of the city of Boston. The other colonies, already keeping a watchful eye on the situation in Boston, realized that the events in Massachusetts could just as easily occur elsewhere. Committees of Correspondence were set-up, and the leaders of each colony communicated with each other through letters and occasional meetings to discuss plans detailing a course of action to deal with the growing British threat on their sovereign rights. A colony-wide meeting was planned for Sept 1774, known as the First Continental Congress. Held in Philadelphia, the largest city in the colonies, this meeting would include delegates from all Thirteen Colonies, with a goal to put measures in place which would end the Coercive Acts and restore Massachusetts to its place as a chartered colony under its own governance. Unfortunately the first meeting of Congress accomplished little, as many were unwilling to take the drastic steps that the Sons of Liberty had taken in Boston. However, a resolve to boycott all British goods was enacted, giving rise to the term “homespun”, and a petition to King George was sent pleading with him to end the coercive acts and restore the status quo.
Meanwhile in Massachusetts, General Gage began confiscating arms and ammunition from local armories. Each town in New England had a militia which required the service most men between the ages of 17-59. These militia were not only social groups, they were generally the only line of defense in case of attack. Nearly every town had two armories, one belonging to the militia, and the other being a “Royal Armory”, belonging to the King and British Government. At first, Gage’s troops only confiscated materials from the Royal Armories, which was legally the property of Great Britain. When a rumor got out that Gage’s troops were also confiscating munitions from colonial armories, the local militias sprung into action. Thousands of militia formed throughout Middlesex County, blocking roads and guarding stores. Though the rumors were false, and Gage had not, as of yet, planned to confiscate arms from the colonial militias, their rapid response shook him, and he ordered the city of Boston completely locked down and fortified. The Massachusetts colonials responded by moving their now illegal government to the town of Concord, and began training a new, elite force of militia known as the Minutemen, ready and expected to form at a moments notice to meet any British threat in the county.
The Sons of Liberty also formed a spy ring to keep tabs on the comings and goings of British troops out of Boston as well as forming a network of riders ready to speedily pass on information and to call to arms all of the Patriots in the small towns and villages spread throughout the New England countryside. Soon, each expedition Gen. Gage sent out to confiscate arms and ammunition was met by a company of militia, sometimes shadowing their movements, sometimes hindering them completely. Though these tense interactions had always ended peacefully, Gen. Gage understood that it was only a matter of time before shots would be fired, and when the local militias began confiscating not just muskets, but cannon and artillery, Gage knew that they were preparing for open war.
In early Spring of 1775 New England was ready to erupt. Gen. Gage had received direct orders from Parliament to not only confiscate all arms in the region, but to arrest any known leaders of the outlaw Massachusetts government and crush the rebellion once and for all. In April Gage planned a large expedition of 700 troops to raid the stores of Concord, Massachusetts where the colonials had set up their new government. Gage had received word that not only were there thousands of weapons held in Concord, but it was also the location of Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two of the most influential members of the Sons of Liberty.
On the night of April 18th, 1775, Gage’s expedition set out for the road to Concord. Though the British had made every effort to conceal their intent, the spy network of the Sons of Liberty had easily discovered their plans, and their network of riders was dispatched to warn the countryside, among them William Dawes and Paul Revere. Revere had been in Boston as the British were departing during the dead of night, and in a prearranged signal, two lanterns were lit n the tower of the Old North Church to warn of the British departure, who left Boston by boat in the hope that it would conceal their movements. He then quickly left the city, along with several other riders, and made his famous dash immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, ‘Paul Revere’s Ride’… “One if by land, two if by sea..’ Meanwhile, the British Regulars, the Redcoats, marched through the night, finding the countryside bustling with highly unusual activity before the sun even rose. The officers of the expedition understood that their “surprise” march was hardly a secret, and confirmed this by capturing several riders, including Paul Revere. But they continued on nonetheless, even as warning shots went off at every road juncture. At the town of Lexington, along the road to Concord, Militia Capt John Parker assembled his small company at the town square when he received word that the British were coming. Capt Parker was a veteran of the French and Indian War, but his company of militia had little training. He ordered his company to assemble at Lexington Common, but to not hinder the British columns, “Stand your ground; don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.” A company of British troops approached Parker’s men and the Redcoat officer called out, “lay down your arms, you damned rebels!”. The Patriot Militia held firm…..and then a shot rang out. Nobody knows who fired the shot or where it came from, but it had not been fired by any of Parker’s men or the British troops facing them. Regardless, the British let loose with a volley and charged with bayonets. In a matter of seconds eight militiamen were killed and ten wounded as their families watched from their nearby homes, the rest of the militia were ordered by Parker to flee. The British then continued on their march to Concord.
At Concord, several miles away, news came that the Redcoat column had passed through Lexington, and there were unconfirmed reports that shots had been fired. 250 militia were sent marching to Lexington, and a few miles down the road saw the large column of British troops approaching. Outnumbered, the militia column turned and marched back to Concord, staying within sight of the advancing British.
Around the town of Concord, which was surrounded by hills, more Patriot Militia had gathered. Their leader, Col. John Barrett, had ordered his men to keep their distance by remaining on the hilltops. The British troops crossed the North Bridge into Concord, set a guard, and proceeded to search the town for hidden weapons. They found several cannon and a sizable store of musket balls, but most of the weapons had already been moved outside of the town when the messengers had warned of the British march during the overnight hours. Over the course of a few hours British troops raided several barns and discovered many old wooden cannon mounts. They dragged them to the town common and proceeded to burn them. The militia, now including several companies of Minutemen, were ordered to march into the town as it appeared from their vantage point that the British were setting Concord ablaze. By this point a single company of Redcoats remained in the town itself, as the rest were guarding the nearby roads and woods. When this company saw the approaching Minutemen marching at them “in a military manner”, they retreated to the North Bridge. Col. Barrett gave nearly the same order that Capt. Parker had given in Lexington: Don’t fire unless fired upon.
As the colonials continued to march, the British at the bridge began to panic, and one British soldier fired his musket, then another, and then the entire British company fired a scattered volley. Several militia were instantly killed, but the disciplined Minutemen did not retreat as the militia had in Lexington, “For God’s sake fire!” came the order, and the Americans let loose a devastating volley…The Shot Heard Round the World…and the for the first time in history, American Soldiers, led by American officers, attacked and fired upon an enemy force. Four British officers fell, with another 12 privates dead or badly wounded. The Redcoats ran wildly down the road, but the militia did not pursue.
The Redcoats regrouped and decided to march back to Boston. As the morning progressed, thousands more militia from the neighboring towns had come, many drawn by the sound of the fighting. The British companies were now forced to remain together on the road, and would find themselves marching through an 8 mile long gauntlet of musket fire. And in the woods, or behind the numerous stone walls of New England, companies of militia would gather and fire into the British column. Scores of British troops fell, killed or wounded by the unrelenting fire. At Lexington, Capt Parker reformed his militiamen, who were eager for payback, and they soon had it, killing more than a dozen of the enemy.
The British situation was critical. They had been marching since before midnight the day before; they were exhausted, and critically low on ammunition. The musket fire would not let up, and more troops fell. Their famed discipline now gone, the Redcoats began running for their lives along the “Battle Road’. With more and more men falling, the British commander considered surrendering.
Thankfully for the remaining Redcoats, Gen. Gage had received news of his men’s plight, and dispatched more than 1000 troops along with artillery pieces to relieve them. The relief force met the retreating column and soon they were under fire as well with some of the bloodiest fighting yet to occur. British troops, frustrated and enraged by their losses, began burning houses along the road and killing the inhabitants if they had any suspicion that militia lived there. At the small village of Menotomy, individual homeowners, fearful for their lives and the lives of their families, began firing at the British from their doors and windows; door to door fighting ensued, and more than 10 British soldiers were shot dead as they tried to forcibly enter the homes of private citizens. The bulk of the militia, still shadowing the British force, renewed their attacks, and dozens more of the Redcoats fell along the roadside.
By late afternoon, as the sun was beginning to set, an even larger force of militia had arrived, and the British force could very well have been surrounded and slaughtered. Caution prevailed, and the Redcoats were finally allowed to limp back into Boston. But the damage had been done: 80 British killed, with more than 50 missing and presumed dead, and nearly 200 wounded, many of whom had been left bleeding along the roadside. Almost half of Gage’s initial expedition were casualties. Boston, which was the British base of operations for dozens of raids conducted throughout the region, found itself under siege, as the hunters became the hunted. Blood had been shed, Massachusetts blood, American blood, and by the following morning more than 15,000 militiamen had the city surrounded. Soon, the Continental Congress would vote to adopt that militia as the newly formed Continental Army….the American Revolution had begun.
1. Every form of government, rightfully founded, originates from the Consent of the People.
2. The boundaries set by the People, in all Constitutions, are only the limits which any government official can lawfully exercise authority.
3. That whenever those boundaries are exceeded, the People have the Right to reassume the exercise of that authority which by Nature they had, before it was delegated to any individual.
These resolves were posted in New England by the Connecticut Sons of Liberty, Dec 10th, 1765…
Patriot Militiamen fortify Breed’s Hill and Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts overlooking Boston Harbor. News that the British Army was planning to occupy Bunker Hill, which would give them a commanding hold of the high ground above the city of Boston, sent the newly formed Continental Army to the region to construct hasty works of defense. A redoubt was constructed at the top of Breed’s Hill, and the Continentals also established a picket line along the beaches below the hill top to keep the powerful British Army from flanking their position. The Americans had few cannon and were short on ammunition and gunpowder before the fighting had even started, but they continued the fortification nonetheless. The British officers, referring to the Continentals as “rabble”, had little regard for their ability to withstand an assault.
At dawn, British warships in the harbor bombarded the hilltop with intense cannon and mortar fire. The redoubt withstood the barrage, and the Continentals continued their fortification during the bombardment. The British command then made the decision to burn nearby Charlestown to the ground to keep American snipers from harassing their positions. Both sides called for reinforcements.
Joseph Warren, a young physician, military scholar, one of the leaders at the battles of Lexington and Concord and a recently commissioned Major General of the Massachusetts Militia, went immediately to the redoubt despite his rank, knowing that fighting there would be heaviest. Colonel John Stark, a veteran of the French and Indian Wars and a fiery militia leader, took command of the troops along the picket line, famously ordering his troops to not fire “until you see the whites of their eyes”.
By mid-afternoon the British assault began in earnest. General Howe, the British commander, made the decision to attack Stark’s position first, knowing that they had far less cover and numbers than the hill top fortifications. British light infantry and Grenadiers, the shock troops of the royal army, led the way. Three times the red coats assaulted the picket line, and three times they were stopped, cold.
The assault on the redoubt fared no better, as the British were forced to retreat twice due to the withering and accurate fire of the Continentals. But the American situation at the redoubt was far from secure. The ammunition shortage, already a concern before the battle had commenced, had now become perilous. Most of the troops in the redoubt had run out of ammunition, and the few left with gunpowder had barely enough to fire one or two shots. Worse, because the bulk of the Continental Army were not professional soldiers but farmers and tradesmen, nearly all of them were not equipped with the swords and bayonets needed for close-quarters fighting. As the British third assault began the decision was made to retreat.
General Warren personally commanded the rear guard remaining in the redoubt. John Stark’s troops along the beach at the base of the hill continued to show their worth, pouring fire into the flanks of the assault on the redoubt and providing the wounded on the hill top with much needed time to fall back. Stark’s men then proceeded to conduct a fighting withdrawal, impressing the British commanders so much with their bravery and discipline that they dare not press the attack on his position for fear of being massacred. For the few remaining in the redoubt, the fighting had been reduced to hand to hand. Joseph Warren, while standing atop a parapet urging the defenders on, was spotted by a British officer who immediately shot him through the head, killing him instantly. As the redoubt was occupied, several of the British officers who had been defeated by Warren at Lexington and Concord, took turns mutilating his body with sword, bayonet, and musket. The General was then thrown into a shallow grave. The following morning the desecration of Warren’s corpse continued, as British officers removed his body from the grave and cut off his head to take turns spitting into his face.
Before the battle, Joseph Warren’s mother, knowing that her son’s steadfast courage and fierce resolve would put him at the forefront of the fighting, begged him not to go. He famously said to her, “Where danger is, dear mother, there must your son be. Now is no time for any of America’s children to shrink from any hazard, for I will set her free or die trying.”
On the morning of June 18th, 1775 the British Union Jack flew atop Bunker Hill. More than 100 American patriots were killed and more than 300 wounded, but they took with them more than 1000 British soldiers and officers, and by the following spring the British would be driven completely out of Boston, never to return.
‘The death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill’ by John Trumbull
American and British troops clash at Monmouth New Jersey in what would be one of the largest single battles of the American Revolution.
With news of the Franco/American alliance reaching North America in May of 1778, the British high command concluded that they did not have the strength to hold both New York and Philadelphia while at the same time protecting their interests in the Caribbean. On paper the British still outnumbered the Americans by a wide margin, but with a French Fleet sailing towards Boston to bolster the American forces in New England, and with a newly trained and well equipped Continental Army marching out of Valley Forge, it was understood by the Crown that Philadelphia, which was the young nation’s Capital, would have to be abandoned.
General Washington, who was shadowing the British army, decided that the ideal place to strike the British would be Monmouth New Jersey. Though the Continentals had only marched out of Valley Forge 9 days before, Washington wanted to test the Army, which for the first time since its formation had received a comprehensive training regimen in the style of professional European forces. This battle would determine the American’s ability to fight the British on even footing on that day and for the duration of the conflict.
To lead the assault, Washington chose Charles Henry Lee. Lee, a veteran officer who had served with the British and various European nations, was likely the most experienced officer in the American Army. He was also a controversial figure. He had expected to be named Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, but was passed over in favor of Washington. Some of his colleagues loved him, and some despised him. He felt Washington inferior to him as a soldier, and did not hesitate to make this known to his political connections in Congress as well as some of his fellow officers. And he often showed open disdain to Washington among the rank and file troops. In fact, Lee initially declined the command, but when it was then offered to the Marquis de Lafayette he immediately changed his mind rather than allowing a Frenchman to receive the glory.
Washington gave Lee command of more than 4000 troops. Those troops were among the most experienced in the Continental Army, and were the first to receive Von Steuben’s training. With the large British baggage train strung out on nearly 12 miles of road, this attack on the rear guard would stall the British advance as well as give the bulk of the American forces scattered throughout the region time to form up.
Lee’s battle plan was sketchy from the start. He failed to provide details for the mass assault his men had been trained for, rather, he devised a series of small scale attacks that would not take advantage of his troop’s new training. With his men spread apart too far to provide effective fire, scattered volleys were fired and Lee ordered a general retreat.
In the meanwhile, Lafayette reported the situation to Washington, who personally brought the remainder of his forces into the fray. Washington came upon Lee’s retreating troops and reformed them immediately under the command of Lafayette. He then came upon Lee himself, publicly dressed him down, and relieved him of his command. On the British side, Lord Cornwallis, who was commanding the rear guard, concluded that he could rout the retreating American forces with a counter attack. What he did not expect to find was Washington himself personally leading more than 5000 reinforcements. With temperatures reaching more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the heat of the day began to take its toll. Hundreds on both sides suffered heat stroke, and Washington’s horse died from exhaustion. But, for the first time since Bunker Hill, the Americans stood toe to toe with the British, not giving an inch. For once American artillery had been placed in optimal firing positions, and the large scale British attacks they were famous for were repeatedly turned away by precise fire from the American lines. Just as at Bunker Hill, the British were turned back 3 times, with a 4th attack finally breaking through, but this time, instead of a wild retreat, the now disciplined Americans fell back in a orderly fashion, were quickly reinforced, and held their ground, forcing the British to stop their assault.
During the heat of the battle, the legend of Molly Pitcher was born. “Molly Pitcher” was the nickname given to women who would bring pitchers of water to the field artillerymen not just to keep the thirsty men from dehydration, but also to keep the cannons clean and operational. One such woman, Mary Hays, was attending to her husband’s cannon when he was badly wounded. She tended to his wounds, found that he could no longer fight, and immediately took his place among the cannon crew as if she had been doing it her entire life. She was nearly killed several times with musket balls, and reportedly a cannon ball passed through her clothing without scratching her. After the battle General Washington, having heard of her bravery under fire, made Hays a non-commissioned officer, and forever after she was known as Sergeant Molly.29th June, 1778 General Washington and his staff awake prepared to continue the fight. Throughout the night there had been sporadic fire, but little fighting. Washington’s scouts report back that most of the British army had retreated to New York during the night. The American Army had taken the field.
Monmouth would be the last large-scale battle of the Northern Campaign. The newly trained American forces were now too disciplined to fight in a head to head encounter, and the British could ill afford another disaster such as Bunker Hill again. The British high command would make the fateful decision to take the fight south.
Charles Henry Lee would tried under court-martial and found guilty of insubordination and cowardice in the face of the enemy. Lee would never hold command again, and nearly 100 years later his legacy would be further tarnished when several letters were discovered which detailed his plans to turn over his command to the British. General Nathanael Greene, one of the standouts at Monmouth, would be given command of the Southern Forces of the Continental Army. It would be his duty to keep the British at bay in the South until the French arrived. History would prove that he was more than up to the task…
September 11th, 1777..The Continental Army clashed with the British at Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania in what we be the largest single day battle in the American Revolution.
The British, headquartered in New York and unable to break the American lines in northern, New Jersey, sent an Armada south to the Chesapeake Bay in the hopes of taking the American capital city of Philadelphia and outflanking the Continental Army. Dozens of warships and nearly 17,000 British troops landed in Maryland and began the march into Pennsylvania. Gen. Washington, whose scouts on the coastlines of New Jersey spotted the British armada sailing south, immediately marched his troops south into Pennsylvania to stop the invasion.
The two armies met at Brandywine Creek. Lord Cornwallis led the main British force, while General Howe, the overall British commander, took command of the second column. At approximately 4pm the main forces of the armies clashed. For several hours the armies battled with little advance. But Washington made a fatal error, he left his right flank open.
General Washington and his staff were unfamiliar with southern Pennsylvania, and poor scouting and intelligence magnified the problem. Washington thought the Brandywine Creek to be unpassable at a key spot on the battlefield, and left the area undefended, instead using those troops to strengthen his front lines. Gen. Howe, whose column had broken off from the main force before the battle commenced, marched his troops for more than 8 hours during the heat of the day in a wide flanking maneuver around Washington’s army. Guided by the many British loyalists in the area, Gen. Howe’s army was able to cross the Brandywine creek at several key points along the undefended Continental right flank.
The lightly defended American flank began to crumble, leaving the bulk of the American forces in imminent danger of being surrounded. Gen. Washington, seeing that his army would soon collapse, ordered a retreat, and sent Gen. Nathanael Greene along with Polish volunteer Casimir Pulaski to lead a counter attack which would allow the retreating Continentals to safely escape. Greene and Pulaski’s troops rushed to the center, stopping the British advance and inflicting heavy casualties. But many of their men were also wounded, including a young Marquis De Lafayette, who had been with the army for only a month. Lafayette in particular exhibited great bravery, rallying the rearguard and keeping the British at bay long enough for the American army to retreat to safety.
With Washington’s army in full retreat, the British were able to take the Capital city of Philadelphia without a fight. The Continental Congress retreated to York, Pennsylvania, and Washington’s army retreated Germantown, a suburb of Philadelphia. And though the Continentals lost Philadelphia, they once again defied logic and managed to regroup in good spirits with their army almost completely intact. And while the British had achieved their goal of capturing the young nation’s new capital, the victory turned into anything but, and the redcoats would discover that they did not hold Philadelphia, Philadelphia held them. Just a few weeks later Washington and his men would press the attack again, and by November news from a little town called Saratoga in upstate New York would turn the tide of the American Revolution and forever change world history…
On this date in 1780 the Battle of King’s Mountain is fought in South Carolina between Patriot Militia and British Loyalists and regulars.
In order to bolster his forces, Lord Cornwallis began organizing southerners still loyal to the King into combat units. The British hoped that these “tories” would supplement British regulars in the region and give them an overwhelming numerical advantage. Recruiting began and soon a sizable force of nearly 2000 loyalists were equipped and organized into several regiments which they hoped could harass the vulnerable flanks of the American Army. When Britain demanded that all patriot militia in the region surrender, threatening to destroy their homesteads “With Fire and Sword!”, a patriot militia force known as the Overmountain Men rallied to take them on. The Overmountain Men, known as such because they had settled in the wilderness beyond the Appalachian Mountains, were a ragtag group of rugged farmers, frontiersmen, and homesteaders battle-hardened after years of conflict with natives, the British, and each other. Reports that Tarleton’s legion had massacred hundreds of militia even after they had surrendered at the Battle of Waxhaws galvanized the force. Crying “no quarter!”, they marched to King’s Mountain, the sight of the British encampment, with payback on their minds.
The loyalist force, nearly 1200 strong and led by veteran British Captain Patrick Ferguson, fortified the mountaintop counting on the traditional notion that the army holding the high ground held the advantage. The Overmountain Men, however, were not traditional. Their guerilla style tactics and superb marksmanship were perfectly suited to the wilderness terrain. Marching through the night in a steady downpour, a 900 strong group of Overmountain Men came upon the British base camp at dawn, achieving complete surprise.
The Patriots, attacking in seemingly unorganized groups, charged up the mountainside in several waves, screaming and hollering as they came. The British Army relied on tight, disciplined formations and the bayonet charge rather than the inaccurate musket to win battles, but the steep hills and thick woods of the region would not allow such formations. Using cover and concealment, and relying on their excellent marksmanship, the Overmountain Men turned back three counterattacks. and heavy British casualties began to mount. With hundreds already fallen, and their captain mortally wounded, the loyalist force attempted to surrender several times, but no quarter was given. More fell, and a massacre almost ensued. But, cooler heads prevailed, and American officers ordered their men to stop firing and to accept the surrender of the enemy.
In just over an hour, half the loyalist force was dead or dying, with the remainder taken prisoner.
The Overmountain men marched the prisoners to the nearest Continental Army unit and promptly returned to their frontier homesteads.
Though a relatively small battle in terms of numbers, the importance of King’s Mountain can not be overstated. Lord Cornwallis had hoped to organize an entire division of loyalist troops, which would split the South in two and allow him to keep his regular troops close to their costal supply lines and to focus his efforts on the Continental Army. Instead, half of his loyalist force was destroyed in one morning and the rest scattered and/or killed in smaller engagements over the next few days. The flank of the Continental Army was secured, and the British were forced into an inland pursuit which would soon prove to be their undoing…
‘The Battle of King’s Mountain 1780’ by Chris Collingwood
On this date in 1777 the British formally surrendered their army at Saratoga, New York.
The Saratoga campaign was a series of battles fought in and around Saratoga county in northeast New York State in September and October of 1777. The first large scale action took place on September 19th, when 7200 British troops under General John “Gentleman Johhny” Burgoyne clashed with 9000 Continentals under the command of General Horatio Gates and General Benedict Arnold at Freeman’s Farm.
Before the first battle commenced, American Colonel Dan Morgan, a skilled marksman, led his picked company of 500 marksmen close to the wooded regions in proximity to the British lines. General Gates, a stubborn traditionalist, was against such an expedition, but was talked into by Morgan. The men in Morgan’s company, all skilled woodsman as well, crept close to the British advance, and opened fire on the British vanguard, specifically targeting the officers and artillery crewmen. The British officer and artillery corps were decimated by the sharpshooters, who having fired their weapons quickly retreated into the countryside. The battle then began in earnest, with both sides nearly breaking the other’s line. The British, as per their usual tactics, marched a company of 500 far around the line and came into the American right flank, forcing them to retreat, leaving the British to take the field.
Like at Bunker Hill, the British claimed the victory, but at a terrible cost. More than 600 dead or dying, including the bulk of their officers and skilled artillery crews. The Americans suffered less than half the casualties and actually came away from the battle with more troops than at the onset as militia reinforcements poured into the ranks after learning of the fighting.
The two sides clashed again on an almost daily basis for the next few weeks as scouting parties from each camp continually engaged in brief but fierce firefights. On October 7th the second large scale battle took place. Though the British staff was in favor of retreating, Burgoyne felt that the American lines were still vulnerable, and led a concentrated attack on their left flank. Colonel Morgan’s men were once again waiting in ambush, and his marksmen turned away several British assaults. The British then attempted to turn the tide with their bread and butter, the bayonet charge. But, with the terrain uneven and Morgan’s marksmen waiting, the bayonet charge was broken up and routed. In less than an hour the British lost 400 of their best troops.
The rest of the British attacked fared no better, and their lines were broken and they were forced to retreat. Benedict Arnold, who had been removed from command likely for being drunk, suddenly appeared on the battlefield and led the American counterattack by horseback. The Continentals pushed the redcoats back to their lines, taking their defensive fortifications. Only nightfall kept the British army from being destroyed. Arnold, who was still intoxicated, was recklessly travelling between positions when both he and his horse were shot. The musket ball went through Arnold’s leg, and the falling horse shattered it, leaving Arnold severely wounded.The second battle cost the British more than 500 irreplaceable troops. Once again the Americans suffered less than half the casualties, and once again more reinforcements in the region swelled the American ranks. With his army now outnumbered more than 3 to 1, and with his lines virtually surrounded, Burgoyne entered in to negotiations with General Gates to surrender his embattled troops. On October 17th the British formally surrender. General Gates afforded the British the honor of marching away from their lines with their bands playing and flags flying. News of the stunning defeat reached France in November. In less than a month the Americans not only counterattacked the large British army at Germantown, they defeated and captured more than 6000 at Saratoga. King Louis immediately authorized a treaty with the Americans, pledging to send not only men and material, but also the all important French Fleet to help keep the powerful British fleet at bay. Strange fates would befall the American Commanders.
Horatio Gates would be implicated in a plot to remove General Washington from command. He somehow escaped court martial, and in 1780 was given command of the American Southern Army. At the battle of Camden nearly his entire army was killed or captured in one of the worst defeats in American military history. Gates retreated in shame, never to hold command again.
Benedict Arnold’s wounds at Saratoga nearly killed him. When the British abandoned Philadelphia in June of 1778 he was sent there to serve as the city’s military governor as well as to convalesce. He met and fell in love with a beautiful young socialite named Peggy Shippen. Shippen was the youngest child in a family of loyalists, she was also well acquainted with British Major John Andre, a dashing young officer, poet, playwright, and the commanding officer of the British spy network in North America. After corresponding with Andre on several occasions, Benedict Arnold, bitter and in debt, agreed to turn over the American Fort of West Point, New York, to the British. The plot was revealed when American sentries arrested Andre as he infiltrated their lines, carrying with him documents which would implicate both himself and Arnold in the treacherous plot. Andre would be hanged as a spy, partly in revenge for Nathan Hale, and Benedict Arnold would barely escape with his life, spending the rest of the war serving in the British Army, his name forever associated with the word ‘Traitor’.
‘The Surrender of General Burgoyne’ by John Trumbull
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