Sunday, October 13, 2024

ARP330 Evacuation of New York

Last week we covered the signing of the peace treaty ending the war.  The British still had an army occupying New York in the fall of 1783.   Both sides needed to figure out how to disentangle the two armies and implement the peace treaty.

Carleton’s Changing Mission

General Guy Carleton had become the commander of forces in North America in early 1782, after London received word of the British surrender at Yorktown and wanted to replace General Henry Clinton.  Carleton received his assignment just weeks before the fall of the North Government in London.  The new government under Lord Shelburne took power before he left and continued to support his taking command of North America.  Carleton and Admiral Robert Digby were named joint peace commissioners.  Their assignment was to end the war in America, but trying to find some way to “reconcile and reunite” Great Britain with its colonies.

Evacuation Day, Washington's Entry
Shortly after his arrival in New York, Carleton received word that the new government under Prime Minister Shelburne was prepared to recognize complete American independence and that Carleton’s job was simply to find a way to evacuate the army and loyalist civilians.  Carleton asked to resign his command, not simply wanting to oversee an evacuation, but they convinced him to stay and complete the task of evacuation.

The task of removing the army was not an easy one.  He had roughly 30,000 British and Hessian soldiers, including thousands of prisoners still held by the Americans.  Carleton also had nearly an equal number of loyalist civilians who wanted to leave with the army.  Carleton had to remove everyone, while avoiding the risk of an enemy attack before the withdrawal was complete.

Through much of 1783, Carleton managed the process of removing soldiers and loyalists from New York.  He made little progress since the numbers of loyalists seeking refuge in the city, and the return of British and Hessian prisoners, often more than made up for those he was able to ship out of the city.  Many of these people were forced to live in tents on Long Island, awaiting an opportunity to leave.  An important factor in how fast people could leave the city was the availability of ships.

Carleton set up an Office of Superintendent of Exports and Imports to manage the process.  He could not get a good answer as to how many refugees many locations could handle.  For example, Carleton had to send agents to Nova Scotia to assess things like timber reserves, arable land, and availability of water to get a better idea of how many refugees he could send there, that could be settled with the existing resources.

In another instance, the general appointed three loyalist colonels, Edward Winslow, Isaac Brown, and Stephen Delancey to serve as agents for more than five thousand loyalist soldiers who were to be settled in New Brunswick.  These refugees would create entire new communities out of almost nothing.

Refugees, of course, were free to go wherever they could get transport.  Many moved to places like Bermuda, Nassau, the Bahamas, as well as England itself.

As part of this process, Carleton also had to deal with a problem of corruption.  Administrators, both civilian and military, expected kickbacks for just about anything.  British guards still holding American prisoners regularly took meager food requisitions and sold them to others, allowing prisoners to starve.  The prices of nearly everything the army purchases were double market value, thanks to all the kickbacks that were expected.

Rather than investigate and prosecute all of this, Carleton simply fired or reassigned virtually everyone involved with procurements and expenditures, replacing them with new men.  This, of course, led to complications as new administrators had to figure out how to get things done.  Carleton also created a board to inspect the financial records, similar to a commission that Carleton had overseen in London a few years before.  

This Board of Public Accounts was headed by Colonel Duncan Drummond, who I discussed back in Episode 308.  At that time, Drummond had opened up an inquiry into corruption that General Clinton had quashed because it was right after Yorktown and Clinton did not want to send more bad news to London.  Drummond got his investigation moving forward under General Carleton.  Also on the board was Henry White, a civilian merchant who had provided supplies for the British Army under General Howe, much earlier in the war, as well as another merchant, Hugh Wallace.  Rather than sweep this problem under the table like his predecessor, Carleton personally chaired many of these weekly meetings, to get to the bottom of army corruption.  

Tappan Conference

In April of 1783, before Washington dismantled his army, he wrote to Carleton about the exchange of prisoners.  Washington was willing to return the 6000 soldiers captured at Yorktown if Carleton could provide the ships to transport them.  Carleton replied that all his ships were tied up moving men and equipment out of New York, and that the prisoners would have to march from Virginia to New York.

Washington also suggested that they meet to discuss cooperation in the orderly withdrawal of the British Army from New York.  Several of Carleton’s advisors thought that such a meeting would be problematic.  In earlier meetings, American negotiators had tried to get Britain to pay for the care of the British prisoners in American custody.  Carleton's advisors were afraid that this might become an issue at the meeting and that it would hold up the release of the British prisoners.

Carleton overruled his advisors and agreed to the meeting.  He took with him a civilian loyalist, Judge William Smith and two military aides.  They agreed to meet with Washington at Tappan, where the Americans had hanged Major John Andre less than three years prior.  The location was a convenient ride from Washington’s headquarters, and easily accessible up the Hudson River by a British ship.  Washington brought with him his secretary, Jonathan Trumbull, as well as New York Governor George Clinton, along with New York’s secretary of state and attorney general to discuss any civilian state issues that were relevant.

The meeting was cordial, but got right down to business.  Washington put three issues on the table.  He wanted to be assured that the British would return slaves that were under their control, as per the peace treaty.  Next, he wanted to come to an agreement on the exact date when British troops would leave New York City.  Finally, he requested that the British turn over control of Westchester County and Long Island within the next few days.

Carleton could not really agree to any of these terms.  The date of the final evacuation would still be some time away.  Clinton was dealing with the issues related to moving thousands of men and equipment.  Any schedule was largely dependent on available ships and weather. He assured the Americans that he wanted to leave as quickly as possible and was working to that end.  But he could not give them a date certain.

As far as giving up land, Carleton was willing to turn over control of Westchester County.  He still needed Long Island where he had thousands of refugees awaiting departure.  He could not cram all these people into the city.

The question of slaves was the most contentious.  Carleton refused to turn over those who had accepted British offers of freedom in exchange for supporting the crown.  Many of these men had served under arms.  Many others served in a civilian capacity.  He would not return them to slavery.  Instead, Carleton noted that he would keep track of those that he evacuated and that the owners could be compensated for their value.  This position seemed to be a direct violation of the peace treaty.  Carleton agreed to allow American inspectors at the docks to assure that the list of negro evacuees was as accurate as possible, but that was as far as he was willing to go.

After an afternoon of arguing the two sides sat down to dinner with one another, prepared by Samuel Fraunces of Fraunces Tavern.  Then the American joined the British aboard ship for drinks and more informal discussions.

Washington did send inspectors to monitor the black people being evacuated.  As he expected, many of the former slaves gave false names and lied about their owners or status before the war.  In the end, Carleton did not return any refugees to slavery and no owner ever received any compensation for their losses.

Release of Prisoners

The issue of exchanging prisoners turned out to be a complicated one.  The Huddy-Asgill Affair only ended in late 1782, when Captain Asgill was finally permitted his release.  Tensions only seemed to ease once both sides accepted that the peace treaty really was bringing the war to an end.

Even after that, at one point the Americans considered not returning their British prisoners in protest of Carleton not returning their slaves.  Cooler heads prevailed, however, and the Americans agreed to the return.

Even so, collecting the thousands of prisoners that had been spread out among inland towns proved difficult.  Many British officers who had received parole had to be called back.  Many Hessian prisoners had opted to remain in America.  Some of them had opted to join the Continental Army or repay a debt while working at a civilian job in order to obtain American citizenship.  These all had to be figured out.  Then there was the process of finding food and supplies to march the prisoner armies from Virginia to New York.  

The Americans had been prepared to turn over their prisoners by April of 1783, but because they had to march the prisoners to New York, the final exchange did not take place until late May. 

For the British, release of prisoners also came with some difficulty.  Carleton began releasing some of his sickliest prisoners in early 1782, and released all of his army prisoners by the end of the year.  After his corruption hearings turned up the fact that agents were selling the food that was meant for the American prisoners, Carleton also began investigating the conditions of the naval prisoners held on prison ships.  These fell under the jurisdiction of the Navy.  Despite this, Carleton received permission from Admiral Digby to inspect the ships.  When he found the deplorable conditions, he prevailed on the Admiral to allow the prisoners to be removed from ships during the hottest days of the summer and put on Blackwell Island in the East River, what we today call Roosevelt Island.  Over the winter, Carleton authorized the purchase of clothing to keep these prisoners warm. 

Britain also had hundreds of American sailors in British prisons.  Benjamin Franklin helped coordinate their release and repatriation to America.  By July, 1783, Washington wrote to Secretary of War Benjamin Lincoln that the last American held prisoners, a group of Hessians, were on their way back to New York.  All prisoners on both sides, who had survived the war were either home or on their way.

Loyalists

Loyalists continue to stream into New York seeking transportation to anywhere more friendly.  When the British evacuated Westchester County about a week after the Tappan Conference in May, violence against the loyalist civilians who remained behind spiked.  Washington had to send in Continental soldiers to restore order.

Many loyalists still held out hope for some sort of compromise that would allow them to remain in America.  Even as late as the summer of 1783, Judge Smith, who had attended the Tappan Conference with General Carleton, wondered if Washington might still be part of a secret plan to bring about a reunion between Britain and her colonies.  Rumors of Congress’ move from Philadelphia to Princeton gave some loyalists hope of a compromise since Congress was finally separated from the French Minister Luzerne, who remained in Philadelphia.  Many loyalists thought that the patriots were held in thrall by the French and that separating them might lead to a compromise. These notions seemed to be based more on some desperate hope than on any reality.

Loyalist refugees streaming into New York during 1783, should have been a much better indicator of what awaited New York loyalists who did not leave with the British Army.  Pamphlets also entered the city threatening horrors and vengeance on any loyalists who remained behind.

Not everyone, of course, thought this way.  Colonel Alexander Hamilton visited New York City in August, looking forward to setting up a law practice there.  While there, he met with General Carleton, expressing concern that almost all New York’s merchants were fleeing the city.  This would make rebuilding New York’s economy much more difficult.  Carleton, unwilling to provide Hamilton with much information, did not respond, but simply shrugged his shoulders.

In the fall of 1782, British intelligence captured Thomas Poole in New York.  He had in his possession incriminating documents and confessed to being a spy.  His mission had been to collect information on Americans who were collaborating with the British in order to take action against them after the British left.

This put Carleton in a difficult situation.  Hanging an American spy just as they were getting the Huddy-Asgill affair behind them could have caused all sorts of problems.  At the same time, Carleton did not want Poole being able to report back to New York officials on collaborators who might end up remaining behind.

Instead, Carleton shipped him off to Bermuda. He sent along a letter to the governor letting him know that Poole was a spy.  He claimed he was not executed for reasons of “humanity” but that he had knowledge that would endanger other loyalists.  Poole could not be held in prison since he had become “very decrepit” from his imprisonment in New York.  He asked that Poole be held on Bermuda or some other island, where he could not return to America.

Six months later, in May 1783, Poole arrived back in New York.  Bermuda’s governor said he had recovered his health and that Poole should be exchanged along with other prisoners.  Once again, Carleton returned Poole to Bermuda.  He sent another note saying essentially, look, we need to keep this guy out of America as he is a direct threat to many loyalists.  He’s not a prisoner of war and not subject to any exchanges.  We need to keep him there until things cool off. 

This set up a series of back and forth letters.  The governor of Bermuda essentially saying that if he’s a prisoner, he should be exchanged.  If he’s not a prisoner, we have no right to hold him.  In the end, Poole went to South Carolina. It’s not clear if he came back to New York later, but he apparently was not a problem for Carleton again after that.

Throughout the summer and fall of 1783, both Washington and the Continental Congress repeatedly pushed Carleton for a final evacuation date.  Carleton, however, would not leave until he had found refuge for all the loyalists, many of whom were still entering New York.  Although Carleton wanted to go home as much as anyone, he could not bear the idea of loyalists suffering the wrath of the patriots if they were left behind.

In the fall, Carleton sent a messenger to London with his thoughts about keeping an army of more than 10,000 regulars and Hessians in New York over the next winter.  Before that message could arrive in London, Carleton received a message saying that he needed to evacuate New York right away. He needed to evacuate right away.  He could not keep delaying the final evacuation.

Evacuation Day

On November 12, 1783, Carleton wrote to Washington saying that he expected to be able to make the final withdrawal before the end of the month.  He would abandon King’s Bridge on November 21, giving the patriots access to Northern Manhattan.  He would also relinquish Long Island that same day, holding only the main city, Brooklyn, Paulus Hook and Staten Island.  Carleton wrote again a week later, to make sure Washington was coordinating the changeover, and wanted to be assured that the Americans would not allow violence and lawlessness to follow the British withdrawal, as it had in Westchester.  Washington wrote back to assure Carleton that he and state officials were prepared to move into the city as soon as the British left.

On November 21, Washington led the Continental Army onto Manhattan for the first time since his retreat in 1776. Since most of the army had already gone home, his Continental Army consisted of about 800 men, accompanied by some New York militia.  He took up temporary lodging at a tavern in Harlem, awaiting the final British evacuation.

Four days later, on November 25th, the last British soldiers boarded ships at the pier and pulled away into the harbor.  A signal blast of 13 cannons signaled to Washington that his army should advance.  Washington marched his army into the city.  Riding with Washington was Governor Clinton, with the staff prepared to resume civilian control of the city.  Other top civilian leaders marched with the army as well.  General Henry Knox was given the honor of leading the march into the city.

The transition took place without any incidents.  The only problem for the Americans was that the British had nailed a British flag to the poll at the battery at the southern tip of the island.  They had removed the halyard and greased the flagpole in order to prevent the Americans from raising their flag.  It took several hours to get someone who could scale the pole and raise the American flag.  Soon American flags began to appear all over town.

The British fleet remained in the harbor for nearly a week, awaiting favorable winds.  On December 1, Carleton sent a final letter announcing the fleet’s departure the following day.  Washington wrote back saying that “[I] sincerely wish that your Excellency, with the Troops under your Orders may have a safe and pleasant passage.”

I wish that I could end on that polite and gentlemanly note.  But as the fleet sailed out over the next few days, boisterous New Yorkers on Staten Island fired their guns into the air and made some not so polite hand gestures at the departing fleet.  In response a British warship fired a cannonball at the shore, causing the spectators to disperse.  With that final parting shot, the British sailed from New York, ending their seven year occupation.  

The war was really over.

Next week, with its mission accomplished, the last of the Continental Army disbands once and for all.

- - -

Next Episode 332 End of the Continental Army (Available October 20, 2024)

Previous Episode 329 Signing the Peace Treaty

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Further Reading

Websites

A 1783 Thanksgiving: Evacuation Day https://americansystemnow.com/a-1783-thanksgiving-evacuation-day

Evacuation Day & Washington's Farewell https://www.frauncestavernmuseum.org/evacuation-day-washingtons-farewell

ERNST, ROBERT. “A Tory-Eye View of the Evacuation of New York.” New York History, vol. 64, no. 4, 1983, pp. 376–94. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23174025

Bowler, R. A. “THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND BRITISH ARMY ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM.” Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, vol. 58, no. 234, 1980, pp. 66–77. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44223295

“Account of a Conference between Washington and Sir Guy Carleton, 6 May 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-11217

“To George Washington from Guy Carleton, 12 November 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-12054

 “To George Washington from Guy Carleton, 19 November 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-12084

“From George Washington to Guy Carleton, 22 November 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-12091

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

Riker, James Evacuation Day, 1783, New York: 1883. 

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Fleming, Thomas The Perils of Peace: America's Struggle for Survival After Yorktown, Harper Collins, 2007.  

Fowler, Willam H. Jr. American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years after Yorktown, 1781-1783, Walker & Co. 2011. 

Glickstein, Don After Yorktown: The Final Struggle for American Independence, Westholme Publishing, 2015. 

Head, David A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution, Pegasus Books, 2019. 

Reynolds, Paul R. Guy Carleton: A Biography, William Morrow & Co. 1980.

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.



Sunday, September 29, 2024

ARP329 Signing the Peace Treaty


Back in Episode 320, we covered the preliminary peace agreement that the delegations from Britain and the US reached in the fall of 1782.  That preliminary agreement resulted in a cessation of hostilities and great celebration. But the war would not actually be over until that preliminary agreement became a final treaty.

One of the big impediments to the final treaty was the fact that the US could not sign off on a final peace until Britain and France also did so.  France could not sign off on a peace until Spain also agreed to a peace with Britain.

Gibraltar

Spain had entered the war back in 1779 with the primary goal of taking back Gibraltar.  Spain had ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713, as part of an agreement to get Britain to end its role in the War of Spanish Succession.  Ever since then, Spain had been trying to get back this small rocky outcropping at the southern tip of Spain.

Spain and France had been besieging Gibraltar since 1779.  While the attacks had greatly damaged the area, the highly defensible position and several successful resupply missions prevented the British garrison from being dislodged.  The final push by France and Spain to recapture the rock failed in October, 1782.

Unfinished painting showing US peace delegation
The following month, at the same time Britain was negotiating terms with the Americans, it was also in negotiations with France.  Gerard de Rayneval came to London to negotiate directly with Prime Minister Shelburne.  France was treaty obligated to help Spain regain control of Gibraltar, so this was critical to any final peace.  In these discussions, Shelburne suggested that Britain might consider giving up Gibraltar, if France and Spain could compensate it with other properties.  These might include Minorca in the Mediterranean, which France had recently taken from Britain.  Shelburne also wanted West Florida, which would give Britain access to the Mississippi River.  Britain was also considering several valuable sugar islands in the West Indies.

The two sides worked out a complicated series of land swaps that touched on the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, which would result in a return of Gibraltar to Spain.  The French negotiator, Gerard de Rayneval returned to Paris in late November with a preliminary deal in hand.  French foreign Minister Vergennes summoned the Spanish Ambassador, Conde de Aranda, to discuss the deal.  The men agreed to the terms.

When Gerard de Rayneval returned to Britain with the good news, he learned that Shelburne could not finalize the deal.  Shelburne’s own cabinet revolted at the idea of turning over Gibraltar to Spain.  The recent heroic defense of Gibraltar had captured the popular mood in London.  The only way this was going to work was if Spain and France offered more valuable sugar islands to compensate Britain.

The talks appeared on the verge of collapse, then Spain blinked.  The Conde de Aranda told Vergennes he had been authorized to negotiate on letting Britain keep Gibraltar if Spain could get a valuable price of other real estate.  If Spain could get both East and West Florida, as well as Minorca, it might be willing to forgo its demand of Gibraltar.

The debates went back and forth into December.  By this time, the terms of the peace deal with the Americans were known to all. Prime Minister Shelburne was facing a possible vote of no confidence in Parliament, which could throw all of this work back to square one.

There was also another deadline.  Recall a few episodes back that I mentioned that Spain and France were putting together an Armada at Cadiz, led by the Admiral d’Estaing and General Lafayette.  This armada planned to sail to recapture Jamaica, expel the British from New York and recapture Canada.  The ships were ready to leave port. Once they left, they could not be recalled.  Those attacks would pretty much guarantee that the war would continue for at least another year, and that the final treaty terms would be greatly impacted by the success or failure of that mission.

As a result, even if Spain was ultimately agreeable to the deal currently on the table, the lack of a quick answer might be as good as a no.  Fortunately, the Spanish Ambassador Aranda approved the deal without demanding to consult with leaders in Madrid.

The powers still quibbled over a few other details, but by January 20, 1783, Britain, France, and Spain all agreed on terms for a final peace.  Although the agreement was provisional and had to receive final approval from all governments, that seemed likely.  

In Cadiz, the Armada had been scheduled to depart on January 16, but after d’Estaing received word that a peace treaty was imminent, he delayed his departure.  After receiving word of the treaty on February 2, d’Estaing shut down the mission.

The Netherlands had largely been left out of the negotiations.  With all of its allies agreeing to peace terms, the Dutch had to give the British acceptable terms.  The Netherlands agreed to the general cease fire that became effective in January 1783.  They would eventually sign a treaty with Britain more than a year later.

Peace Terms

The US received just about everything the Commissioners wanted.  Britain acknowledged the US as free, sovereign, and independent states.  It recognized the US boundary reaching west to the Mississippi and agreeable boundaries with Canada and Florida.  There was also a secret provision, setting the border between Georgia and Florida, depending on where Spain or Britain ultimately claimed Florida.  The British army would leave US territory and turn over all land within US borders.  Any British property in the US would be forfeited to the US. The treaty also granted Americans fishing rights off the coast of Newfoundland.

Britain received a clause that British creditors would be allowed to pursue lawful debts.  The US would not confiscate property in the future from loyalists, but would only “recommend” to the states to provide restitution for property already taken from loyalists.  

The Treaty between France and Great Britain permitted France to keep several islands in the West Indies, including St. Lucia and Tobago.  France gave up Grenada, the Grenadines, St. Vincent, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Montserrat.  Britain ceded Minorca and east and west Florida to Spain, but took the islands of Providencia, and the Bahamas, as well as retaining Gibraltar.

Waiting for Approval

With the diplomats having completed their work, they next had to wait for the various governments to confirm the agreements that they had reached.  For the American diplomats in Paris, this meant that they had to remain in Europe to finalize the treaty.  Even so, the peace agreement seemed so established that Benjamin Franklin considered making a trip to England in the spring of 1783.  Six months earlier, such a visit probably would have resulted in his imprisonment in the Tower of London.  He ended up not making the trip, but it had nothing to do with any fear from British authorities. 

Another of the delegates, Henry Laurens, who actually did serve time as a prisoner in the Tower of London, returned to Britain after the preliminary peace agreement.  He wanted to relax and recuperate in Bath.

Franklin occupied himself by returning to printing.  He printed a bound copy of all the state constitutions, in French, to be distributed to diplomats and other government officials throughout Europe.  He also began working on a treaty of Amity and commerce between the US and Sweden, and started similar initiatives with Denmark and Portugal.

Franklin had been willing to abandon his obligations under the treaty with France, and agreed with the other American delegates to sign a preliminary peace treaty with France.  Despite Franklin's willingness to be flexible, John Adams still believed that Franklin was too captivated by French interests.  Adams did not let up on his criticisms of Franklin as the delegates waited in France.

Just as the delegation was finalizing its negotiations on the preliminary peace treaty, another rift began to divide Adams and Franklin.  Adams wanted to appoint a man named Edmund Jenings as the secretary to the diplomatic mission in France.   Adams introduced Jenings to Henry Laurens, who at first seemed to like the idea, but then quickly grew cool to the idea.  Jenings was an American who had been living in Europe during the war and had published a number of pamphlets.  Several of these seemed designed to divide the American peace commissioners.

Meanwhile, Franklin had someone else in mind to be secretary.  He wanted his grandson, William Temple Franklin.  Now 21 years old, Temple had been serving as his grandfather’s personal secretary for seven years.  He spoke French and had developed his own relationships in the French Court at Versailles.

Franklin wrote to Congress’ Secretary for Foreign Affairs, recommending Temple for the position, and suggesting that if Temple did not get the job, that Franklin was considering leaving his post to take his grandson on a grand tour of Europe.

Having completed the preliminary treaty, Franklin decided on his own to make Temple the secretary of the Peace Commission near the end of 1782.  Franklin got John Jay to agree to the appointment, but did not even bother to ask, or even notify John Adams.

When he found out, Adams was livid.  It wasn’t just that Franklin was handing out a lucrative position to a family member.  After all, John Quincy Adams was serving at the time as an aide to the American delegation in Russia, thanks to his father’s efforts.  Edmund Jenings, the man Adams wanted for secretary, was a cousin of his wife Abigail.

Adams disliked Temple for many of the same reasons that he disliked Temple’s grandfather.  The puritanical New Englander was disgusted by the lavish lifestyle, punctuated by drinking and womanizing, in which the Franklins engaged.  Adams’ mindset was probably not helped by the fact that he was trying to fight a battle via correspondence to Massachusetts, trying to convince his daughter Nabby not to marry an aggressive suiter.  

Adams was also open to the criticisms levied by Arthur and William Lee.  These men had opposed Franklin for years, and levied all sorts of accusations.  They turned their wrath on Temple. Arthur Lee called Temple a “young insignificant boy” implying that only his Grandfather’s status gave him any chance at a government position.  William Lee referred to Temple as a bastard, twice over, referring to his illegitimate birth, as well as his father’s.  Adams himself wrote in a letter regarding Franklin: “His whole Life has been one continued Insult to good Manners and to Decency.” 

The fact that Temple’s father was an infamous Tory, by this time living in London, and the fact that Temple had only lived in America for 18 months of his life, led to concerns about whether he had America’s true interests at heart.  

Adams had already expressed concerns that Benjamin Franklin had seemed too pro-French.  In several letters to America, Adams expressed the belief that France had actually delayed a peace with Britain by several years and that Franklin was a pawn that Vergennes was using to promote French interests.  Since Temple spoke fluent French and had served in Versailles, Adams believed that Temple also had become more French than American.

Adams also came to believe that Franklin was setting up Temple to replace his grandfather on the peace commission in France so that Franklin could take a position as Ambassador to Britain in the Court of St. James. In truth, Franklin had zero interest in serving in London. Adams, however, did want that position and worried that Franklin was a rival.

When Temple met with Adams in January 1783, to request that Adams sign a document approving his appointment as secretary retroactive to the previous October, Adams exploded.  Temple already had the commission signed by the other three commissioners.  Franklin had written the document.  Jay apparently signed some time in October, when the commission was finalizing the preliminary treaty and Franklin was sick in bed.  Temple was the active courier for Franklin during this time.  Henry Laurens did not arrive in France until late November, and returned to Britain in January.  He signed the commission just before crossing the channel, in hopes of spending some time relaxing at Bath.

After receiving Laurens’ signature, Temple went to see Adams.  Because Adams had originally been appointed the sole peace commissioner, he considered himself the head of the delegation and thought it an effrontery that Franklin had gotten all the other commissioners to agree to the appointment without even discussing the matter with Adams.  Temple used his best efforts with humility and respect to win over Adams, but nothing seemed to work.  Since Temple had the approval of three of the four commissioners, he continued to serve as secretary.  Adams eventually came around and signed the document nine months later, in September, 1783.

Debating Ratification

The Peace Commissioners had little to do but bicker with each other for months after sending the preliminary treaty to Congress in November, 1782.  In early 1783, Congress was still debating whether to give the commissioners more latitude in negotiating a treaty without France when the preliminary treaty arrived.

The pro-French delegates in Congress were outraged by the fact that the commissioner had negotiated a separate peace with Britain, cutting France out of the negotiations.  They saw this as a betrayal of the French alliance and something that would hurt the US in international relations.  There was particularly intense debate about a secret clause that set a border between the US and Florida if Britain held Florida, but a different border if Spain ultimately took control of Florida.

Of course, the delegates in favor of giving the delegates more latitude were very pleased with the favorable terms that the treaty gave to the US, based on those in France taking the initiative.  Congress continued to debate before receiving word in March, 1783 that France and Britain had also come to terms on a preliminary treaty.  At that point, the matter seemed settled.

Secretary Livingston finally wrote a response to the delegates in late March, congratulating them on the provisions in the preliminary treaty but also criticizing them for negotiating without France’s involvement.  In April, he confirmed to the Commissioners that Congress had ratified the preliminary treaty. By May, Livingston was complaining that he had not heard any further progress on the final treaty.

David Hartley

There was reason for concern.  At the end of March, the Shelburne Ministry in London fell after only eight months.  In April, a coalition under Charles James Fox and Lord North took control of Parliament.  The new Prime Minister was William Cavendish-Bentinck, the Duke of Portland, but everyone knew that Fox and North were the real powers in Parliament.  The two factions could not have been more different.  Fox’s liberal coalition has supported American independence for years.  North, of course, continued the war longer than almost anyone else wanted and held the very conservative positions that King George had espoused.  The two factions disagreed on just about any issue, and were together only because of their shared hatred of Shelburne as Prime Minister.

For the Americans, there was real cause for concern.  Without a final treaty, Britain could back out of the preliminary agreement and resume the war.  It did not help that North pushed for a vote condemning the peace treaty that the Shelburne government had already negotiated and approved.

The new government sent David Hartley to negotiate the final terms of a treaty.  Although Hartley was a liberal in Parliament, and had been outspoken for years about ending the war with the colonies, he was also a close ally of Lord North and had voted against the Shelburne Peace Plan in Parliament.

The Commissioners were relieved when Hartley revealed that Britain was still willing to sign a final treaty largely based on the terms spelled out in the preliminary treaty.  Franklin had know Hartley since the 1760’s and the two men got along quite well.  Hartley and the Commissioners debated a few more issues, mostly related to trade. The Commissioners agreed that US ports would be open to British trade following the final evacuation of the British Army from New York.  Much of their discussion at this time was the details on getting the British Army evacuated.

After a few weeks, Hartley sent the terms to London for final approval.  He and the delegates then waited most of the summer with no word from the government.  In fairness the coalition was a mess.  The King, who loathed Fox, refused to cooperate with the coalition in any way.  The two factions agreed on very little.  It was a matter of debate whether this divided government would even survive much longer.

After nearly two months of waiting for a decision from London, Hartley decided on his own to just finalize the official treaty.  Although the two sides had discussed a few changes, Hartley proposed they simply sign a final treaty based on the preliminary one without any substantive changes.  He could at least justify that without any further word from London.

The Signing

The parties agreed to meet on September 3 for the formal signing.  Franklin, Jay, and Temple rode to Paris where Adams joined them.  Laurens, still in Britain, did not participate.  The secretaries reviewed four copies of the treaty.  The only substantive changes were an added provision spelling out a ratification process, and the removal of the provision related to the Florida border since Spain by this time had set the border based on its own treaty with Britain.

Treaty of Paris Signatures
At 10:30, the three delegates signed and affixed their seals to the treaty, as did Hartley, acting on behalf of the King.  Hartley also assured the commissioners that they would continue to negotiate a treaty on trade once this peace treaty had been resolved.  

Traditionally, the two countries exchanged gifts following a treaty.  The King had suggested a cash gift.  Hartley discussed the matter, offering a £500 cash gift to each of the four delegates.  Since the delegates had nothing to give in return and were concerned about insulting the king by refusing his gift, there was some discussion about the matter.  In the end, no gifts were exchanged and the matter was just dropped.

The commissioners sent a copy of the treaty to Versailles, where Vergennes signed the peace treaty, along with the Spanish Ambassador that same day, ending the war with Britain.  The Dutch had reached a preliminary treaty with Britain the day before, but that final treaty would not be finalized for several more months.  That afternoon, Vergennes hosted a dinner for everyone involved in the treaties.  There were 31 people who attended.

Following the event, Franklin commented to Jay that this treaty would probably be the most notable achievement for which they would be remembered.  He then referenced the Bible “blessed are the peacemakers.  Jay responded that he would be proud of his role.  Adams, ever the pessimist, worried that the treaty could have been better and hoped they would not see another war in their lifetimes.

As far as all the government leaders were concerned though, the war was over and it was time to start living in the new peace.

Next week: The British Army Evacuates New York.

- - -

Next Episode 330 British Evacuation New York 

Previous Episode 328 Cuddalore, The Last Battle

 Contact me via email at mtroy.history@gmail.com

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Further Reading

Websites

“The American Peace Commissioners: Commission for William Temple Franklin, [1 October 1782],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-38-02-0125

“From John Adams to Robert R. Livingston, 22 January 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0126

“From John Adams to Edmund Jenings, 28 January 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0135

“From John Adams to James Warren, 13 April 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0253

 “Robert R. Livingston to the American Peace Commissioners, 25 March 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0233

“Robert R. Livingston to the American Peace Commissioners, 21 April 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0269

“Robert R. Livingston to the American Peace Commissioners, 28 May 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0317

 “Definitive Treaty of Peace between the United States and Great Britain, 3 September 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-40-02-0356

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

The Treaty of Paris (1783) in a changing states system: papers from a conference, January 26-27, 1984 (borrow only). 

Bemis, Samuel F. The Diplomacy Of The American Revolution, Indiana Univ. Press, 1935. 

Pellew, George John Jay, Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Co. 1890. 

Perkins, James B. France in the American Revolution, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Co. 1911. 

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Dull, Jonathan A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution, Yale Univ. Press, 1985.

Hoffman, Ronald and Peter Albert (eds) Peace and the Peacemakers: The Treaty of 1783, Univ. Press of Va., 1986 (borrow on archive.org). 

Hutson, James H. John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution, Univ. Press of Kentucky, 1980 (borrow on archive.org).  

Morris, Richard B. The Peacemakers: The Great Powers and American Independence, Harper & Row, 1965 (borrow on Archive.org). 

Renehan, Edward The Treaty of Paris: The Precursor to a New Nation, Chelsea House, 2007 (borrow on archive.org). 

Schiff, Stacy, A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, Henry Holt and Co. 2005. 

Smith, Page John Adams, Vol. 1, Doubleday & Co. 1962. 

Stinchcombe, William C. The American Revolution and the French Alliance, Syracuse Univ. Press, 1969 (borrow on archive.org).

Stockley, Andrew Britain and France at the Birth of America: The European Powers and the Peace Negotiations of 1782-83, Liverpool Univ. Press, 2001. 

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.


Sunday, September 22, 2024

ARP328 Cuddalore, The Last Battle


Last week we saw the dissolution of the Continental Army back in America.  The war was coming to an end, much too slowly for most, but as politicians wrapped up the paperwork, the soldiers’ work was at an end.  All the parties had agreed to terms of peace.  But as we have seen, getting the word out about peace to distant corners of the world often took months.  Those who had not yet received word often continue the fight. 

That was the case in India.  We last looked in on India in Episode 306, when the Mysore leader Hyder Ali commanded an army in what is today southeastern India against the British army and the East India Company.  Ali and the Mysore were allied with the French, who provided naval support under Admiral Pierre André de Suffren.

Tipu Sultan

Hyder Ali continued to wage war against the British through 1782.  In December, the Mysore leader died from cancer.  On his death, his son Tipu Sultan took the reigns of leadership and the title of Emperor of Mysore.  Under his father, he had led armies numerous times against the British and had defeated them on several occasions.

Siege of Cuddalore
Tipu had spent most of his life fighting the British.  He began service during the First Mysore War in 1766 when he was only 15 years old.  A year later, he commanded a corps of cavalry in the invasion of Carnatic.  Tipu fought under his father during the First Anglo-Mysore War in the late 1760’s.  The treaty ending that war specified that Britain would assist Mysore if attacked by its neighbors. When Mysore was attacked a few years later, Britain did nothing.

The British bad faith led to the closer relationship between Mysore and France.  Hyder Ali went to war with the British in the Second Mysore War that began in 1780, after France and Britain were already at war with each other.

After his father’s death, Tipu continued the long standing Mysore relationship with France.  He also solidified alliances with the neighboring kingdoms of the Marathas and the Mughals.

Tipu Sultan
Britain hoped to use Hyder’s death as an opportunity to divide and conquer the Mysore Kingdom.  Many British leaders believed the Tipu would not be as capable a leader as his father.  British officers began testing him almost immediately.  One of the first regions put to the test was Malabar.

The southeastern coast of India had been under Mysore control since the 1760’s, when Hyder Ali captured the area.  The Muslim leader took a great deal of resistance from the local Hindu population, but through forced relocations and mass executions, took control of the area.

Since Mysore was allied with France, British forces took several coastal areas in the region shortly after Britain and France went to war in 1778.  This is part of what caused Mysore to declare war on Britain in 1779.  In the summer of 1782, Tipu Sultan was leading the fight against the British in this region.  His father sent another General Makhdoom Ali to assist.  Makhdoom was killed during a solid British victory at Tirurangadi.  Tipu managed to keep the British forces pinned near the coast, but ended up leaving upon receiving news from his dying father in December of 1782.

The British captured the town of Mangalore again in March, 1783.  Tipu returned to besiege and recapture Mangalore a short time later.  While Tipu was tied up on the east coast at Mangalore, the British prepared for an assault on Cuddalore on the west coast, hundreds of miles away.

James Stuart

In an earlier episode, you may recall that Sir Eyre Coote was the military commander in India. Lieutenant Colonel James Stuart had replaced Sir Coote as the military commander in the area. Stuart had served under Coote in India. Coote, however, was physically in bad shape and had to leave the field.  Coote would die of natural causes less than a year after giving up command.

James Stuart
Stuart had arrived in India in 1775. He almost immediately got caught up in a controversy between the Governor of Madras, George Pigot, and his court of directors from the East India Company.  The council and the Governor had been fighting over a number of things.  But the issue that drew the matter to a point was the political appointment of Tanjore.  The Council wanted Colonel Stuart to take the command and order it.  Pigot refused to sign the orders.  The Council argued that the governor had no authority to prevent this appointment. The governor argued that orders without his signature were not legally binding orders.  When several members of the council tried to issue the order under their own signatures, Pigot had them arrested.

After their arrest, Pigot pushed through his agenda. When other members of the Council protested, Pigot had them arrested as well.  This resulted in Colonel Stuart turning the tables and arresting Pigot himself. Pigot remained in prison for months, as word of all this traveled back to England.  There, the proprietors of the East India Company ordered that Pigot be released and restored to power.  Pigot came from a wealthy and influential family.  His brother was an admiral.  His other brother was Major General Robert Pigot, who we discussed extensively in earlier episodes because of his years of service in America during the early part of the war.

Although they ordered Pigot released and returned to power, Company officials were critical of many of his actions, and declared Pigot’s arrest of two council members to be illegal as well.  All of these even ended up in front of Parliament for a few weeks in 1777. So, while Pigot was returned to his position as a matter of restoring his honor, the Company also said that after one week following his return to power, he must turn over his position to someone else and return to England.

George Pigot
By the time they made this decision, one of that actually mattered, because by the time all of this was decided, Pigot was dead.  He had gotten sick and died in prison while officials in London continued to debate his fate.  

This was all part of a larger fight that began in 1773 when the British government tried to assume more authority over the East India Company.  During this period, the chain of command was never quite clear, and the line between the British Army and the East India Company was blurry to say the least.  Leading to power fights like the one we find here.

The reason for getting into all that, was to explain the background of the controversy for Stuart arresting Governor Pigot.  As part of the confusion in all of this, Stuart was promoted to brigadier general during this time, but then also suspended from his position and denied any command at all. He demanded a trial, but did not receive one.  Years went by.   

During that time, the dead governor’s brother, Admiral Hugh Pigot, demanded prosecutions of various council members that had acted in a way that contributed to his brother’s death.  In 1779, several members were tried in England for the unlawful arrest and imprisonment of Governor Pigot.  They were found guilty and fined £1,000 each.  A year after that, about four years after the initial arrest, Stuart finally got his own court martial.  He was acquitted since he was simply obeying the orders of the council.  He was finally returned to duty with back pay.

Despite his reinstatement, for his first five years in India, Stuart was mostly suspended from service and fighting to be reinstated.  He remained in Madras while the war went on without him.

General Stuart fought under General Coote during 1781. His notable leadership in several battles resulted in his promotion to major general.  Fighting these battles also cost him a leg, carried away by a cannon ball at the battle of Pollilore.  Stuart took command of the forces and in December, 1783 received orders to attack the Mysore army as soon as the British learned that Hyder Ali had died.

Siege of Cuddalore

Stuart refused to act precipitously.  He needed to prepare his army for battle.  In June of 1783, nearly six months after receiving orders to attack immediately, Stuart led an army to Cuddalore on the western coast of India.  He had with him at least three regiments of British regulars, two companies of Hanovarians, and thousands of Sepoys from Bengal. 

French map of Siege of Cuddalore
To cut off the enemy from the sea, the British Navy under Admiral Edward Hughes deployed 18 ships of the line, along with many more smaller ships to complete the blockade. The British took a week to land their guns and set up siege lines.

Inside Cuddalore, the French had their own army, which supplemented the Mysore soldiers who made up the bulk of the defenders.  The Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau. The Marquis had spent decades in India, taking up service in the French East India company as a young teenager in 1736.  In 1782, King Louis had named him commander of all French forces beyond the Cape of Good Hope.

As the British began their siege lines nearly two miles from the fort, de Bussy brought his forces out in front of the fort, about a half mile in front of his fort walls, to confront the British.  The French and Mysore forces built redoubts and trenches to prevent a British advance.

On June 13, British forces assaulted the French redoubts.  The assault began before dawn at around 4:00 in the morning.  The French and Mysore kept up a stubborn defense which resulted in brutal fighting all day long.  After nearly 12 hours of combat, the British managed to overrun the French right flank and held their ground against a counter attack.  At around 5:00 in the evening, both sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities to tend to their wounded.  The defenders lost about 500 men killed or wounded as well as thirteen cannons.  

The British attackers took over 900 casualties, which was a substantial portion of the entire siege force.  However, General Stuart held the position he needed to begin firing on the city walls of Cuddalore.

Naval Battle

Several days before the capture of the redoubts, French Admiral  Pierre André de Suffren received orders to take the French fleet to break the siege.  The French fleet arrived in the waters off Cuddalore on June 13, the same day that Stuart attacked the redoubts.

French and British fleets at Cuddalore
Admiral Suffren realized that the British fleet that he was facing was larger than his own fleet of twelve ships, and that the winds were against him.   As a result, he pulled away from the city and anchored further out at sea.  While waiting for the winds to shift, Suffren sent messengers into Cuddalore, where they made contact with the Mysore commander Sayed Sahib.  Mysore agreed to put 1200 soldiers on the French fleet to increase the numbers available to man the French guns.

After five days, Suffren was ready to confront the enemy fleet.  The two fleets jockeyed for position for another two days.  On June 20, Suffren believed he had as good a position as he was going to get, and engaged with the British fleet.  The fighting, which lasted about three houses, was about a draw in terms of damage inflicted.  Both sides lost about 100 men killed and another 400 wounded.  But the larger British fleet was forced to withdraw, giving the French Navy control of the waters.

The British pulled back toward Madras, to the north.  The French fleet followed, anchoring between the British fleet and Cuddalore. Two days later, the two fleets spotted each other again, but the British did not engage.  Hughes later reported that too many of his ships were still damaged, hundreds of his men were sick, many with scurvy, and that his fleet was almost out of fresh water.   

French Counterattack

British forces landed at Madras, where they could receive reinforcements and repairs for their ships.  The French fleet returned to Cuddalore to return the 1200 Mysore soldiers aboard their ships. Suffren also landed another 2400 French marines to support the defense of the city.  The French naval presence also prevented the British from landing transports with more reinforcements for their side of the siege.

Admiral de Suffren
Frustrated, General Stuart sent several increasingly desperate and angry notes to Madras, complaining that he had been abandoned.  He continued his siege, calling for more reinforcements.

Since the French now had the advantage.  The Marquis planned a counter attack, moving Mysore forces in a flanking maneuver to get behind the British siege lines at attack.  An assault force under The French commander Chevalier de Dumas, struck British lines on June 25.  Again the fighting was sustained and brutal.  The summer heat in India also created problems of heat stroke.  

The French forces were unable to break the British lines.  Dumas, the French commander was taken prisoner during one failed assault, as were many other French officers.

The End

On June 29, however, a single British ship approached Cuddalore under a white flag of truce.  The ship brought a message from Admiral Hughes, still in Madras.  He just received word that Britain and France had agreed to a preliminary peace agreement seven months earlier.

No one was exactly sure what this meant. Although France and Britain were no longer at war, Mysore and Britain were, and France remained a Mysore ally.  Both sides had lost more than 1000 killed and wounded each during the battle.  News of the preliminary peace was sufficient reason for the British to withdraw and for both sides to await word of the final peace terms.

Stuart Removed

Lord George MacCartney, who had replaced Pigot as Governor of Madras.  MacCartney believed that Stuart’s seven month delay in carrying out orders to attack Cuddalore, and his mismanagement of the expedition, was the reason Cuddalore remained in French hands as the war came to an end. Stuart faced formal accusations of disobedience and misconduct.  In fact, this was part of the larger conflict I alluded to earlier.  Governor MacCartney believed the British Army in India fell under his authority in the East India Company.  General Stuart maintained independence and that he drew his authority as a British officer, with accountability to his military superiors in London.

McCartney had wanted a larger offensive, using the army to go after multiple targets at once.  Stuart had wanted to concentrate forces on Cuddalore.  They never really came to any agreement on that. Stuart had left for Cuddalore with a much smaller army than he wanted, then marched very slowly while sending orders to detachments sent elsewhere to join him at Cuddalore.

There is also some unclear evidence that Stuart may have been planning to arrest Governor MacCartney.  Stuart seems to have made some threats, as well as some efforts to prevent Company officials in Madras from collecting money owed to them by organizations in other parts of the country.

In September, MacCartney dismissed Stuart from service in the East India Company, without even a hearing.  Stuart’s performance in the Cuddalore campaign was the professed reason, but all these other things seemed to play a role. 

The Governor also appointed one of Stuart’s subordinates, Colonel Ross Lang, as a lieutenant general in order to give command of the regulars in Madras over any other possible commander.  This almost led to a civil war between British regiments as Major General John Burgoyne challenged Colonel Lang’s authority to command.  (And no, it was not the General Burgoyne from Saratoga.  This was a general who was a cousin with the same name).  Regiments following the different officers dug entrenchments around their camp to prevent the other from attacking and drying to arrest their leader.

Stuart spent a month under continent at the fort in Madras.  In October, officials summarily put him aboard a ship bound for England.  They told him he had to work out his problems there.

This phase of the power struggle in India effectively ended in 1784 when Parliament passed the India Act, which gave the British government far more direct control over policies in India and better defined relations between the Company and the British Government.  A new regime arrived in India in 1785 to enforce this new structure.  Leading this new command was Lord Charles Cornwallis, yes that Cornwallis!

Mysore War Ends

Despite the fact that the French and Mysore had successfully defended Cuddalore, the French traded it to Britain in exchange for two other cities in India that Britain had captured from France earlier in the war.

The British war against Mysore would continue for another year, but no significant battles were fought during this time.  In 1784, the two nations agreed to a peace treaty called the Treaty of Mangalore.  Under the treaty’s terms, both sides simply returned land that they had conquered during the war, and the situation returned to exactly how things were before the war had started.

Next Week: officials in Paris finally formally sign the Peace Treaty ending the war.

- - -

Next Episode 329 Signing the Peace Treaty 

Previous Episode 327 Continental Instability

 Contact me via email at mtroy.history@gmail.com

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Further Reading

Websites

The Tiger’s Revenge: The chase, capture and punishment of General Mathews for the Anandapuram atrocity https://toshkhana.wordpress.com/2019/02/25/the-tigers-revenge-the-chase-capture-and-punishment-of-general-mathews-for-the-anandapuram-atrocit

Smith, John L. Jr. “India: The Last Battle of the American Revolutionary War” Journal of the American Revolution, July 8, 2015. https://allthingsliberty.com/2015/07/india-the-last-battle-of-the-american-revolutionary-war

James Stuart: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Stuart,_James_(d.1793)

Hiscocks, Richard Battle of Cuddalore – 20 June 1783, Feb 11, 2018: https://morethannelson.com/battle-trincomale-20-june-1783

Vijayalakshmy, E. “The Siege of Cuddalore (1783)” International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2015. https://www.ripublication.com/ijhss/ijhssv5n1_09.pdf

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

Henty, G.A. Tiger Of Mysore, London: Blackie and Son. Ltd., 1935. 

Malleson, G.B. Final French Struggles in India and on the Indian Seas, London: W.H. Allen, 1884. 

Mill, James The History of British India, Vol. 4, London: J. Madden, 1840. 

Mohammed, Gholam, The History Of Hyder Shah Aiias Hyder Ali Khan Bahadur And Of Son, Tippoo Sultaun, Delhi: Cosmo Publications, first published 1855. 

Stuart, Andrew Letters to the Directors of the East-India Company, and the Right Hon. Lord Amherst, undated. 

Memoir of General James StuartThe Asiatic journal and monthly miscellany, Sept. 1819 (This is about James Stuart who was a colonel at Cuddalore.  He served under the General James Stuart that I discussed in this episode). 

Stuart, James Copies of some official papers concerning the proceedings at Madras, in September and October 1783, printed 1784. 

Taylor, Meadows Tippoo Sultaun: A Tale of The Mysore War, Vol. 2, London: Rchard Bentley, 1840. 

Wylly, H.C. Sir Eyre Coote, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1922. 

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Balakrishna, Sandeep Tipu Sultan The Tyrant of Mysore, RARE Publications, 2014. 

Barry, Quintin Suffren versus Hughes: War in the Indian Ocean 1781-1783,  Helion and Co. 2024. 

Cavaliero Roderick Admiral Satan: The Life & Campaigns of Suffren, I.B. Tauris, 1994. 

Glickstein, Don After Yorktown: The Final Struggle for American Independence, Westholme Publishing, 2015. 

Haroon, Anwar Kingdom of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan: Sultanat E Khudadad, Xlibris, 2013. 

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.