American Revolution Podcast: ARP

Showing posts with label ARP. Show all posts

Sunday, September 27, 2020

ARP168 Forts Mercer and Mifflin

Last week, I went over the extensive Delaware River defenses that continued to keep the British Army in Philadelphia from being able to connect with the British Navy still further downriver. Without control of the river, and with the Continentals cutting off access to food and supplies from the countryside, the British faced the possible danger of being starved out. As such, opening the Delaware River became a top priority.

Fort Mifflin (Wikimedia)

All of this was happening at the end of September and early October while General Burgoyne was still struggling to save his army near Saratoga. General Howe, in Philadelphia, would not give any consideration to that issue until he had opened up the Delaware and forced Washington’s Continentals to withdraw from their threatening positions near Philadelphia.

After the British took Fort Billingsport without much of a fight, as I discussed last week, the only real barrier between the navy and Philadelphia was Fort Mercer on the New Jersey side of the river, and Fort Mifflin, on an island just off the Pennsylvania side. Between the two forts, the Americans had placed several rows of underwater chevaux de frise, which as I explained last week, were really large pointy sticks, with metal tips and attached to the bottom of the river by boxes of rocks. These prevented any ships from moving upriver without being punctured. The fort cannons on both sides of the river prevented the British from trying to remove these underwater blockages.

After the Continental attack at Germantown, General Howe spent the next couple of weeks shoring up his land defenses. He pulled his army out of Germantown and moved them behind entrenched lines closer to Philadelphia. Once that was complete, he could turn his focus back to opening the river.

Carl Von Donop

On October 21, 1777 General Howe deployed a division of Hessians under Colonel Carl von Donop to capture Fort Mercer. The colonel swore he would take the fort or die trying.

Carl von Donop (Wikimedia)

That was the sort of bravado that had brought him this far. Colonel Von Donop came from a noble family in Hesse, which is what gave him a path to a commission as an officer. However, he rose through the ranks with an ambition that led him to take conspicuous acts of bravery on the battlefield. He had served with distinction in the Seven Years War and had volunteered for service in America as soon as it became an option.

Von Donop had a very traditional, and almost exaggerated attitude to the military command structure. He was always highly deferential and polite to his superiors, and rather short with those beneath him. He had a reputation for having a short temper. He very liberally used floggings to enforce his orders with his soldiers. He even had a standing order in America to take no prisoners. Soldiers under his command who brought back live prisoners could expect to be flogged.

Von Donop had served with distinction during the New York campaign. However, his reputation took a hit at Trenton. Von Donop commanded the outpost near Trenton, which should have been able to support his fellow Hessians on Christmas 1776. Instead, the Americans had lured him farther away from Trenton, down to Mount Holly, in order to isolate the Trenton outpost. After the Continentals captured Trenton, Von Donop had to retreat back toward New York to save his command. On the Philadelphia Campaign Von Donop sought to restore his reputation. His jaeger corps was conspicuously out in front, being as active as possible.

General Howe noticed Von Donop’s efforts and tasked him with the capture of Fort Mercer. This was another opportunity to prove himself. Von Donop crossed into New Jersey with about 2000 Hessians, including three brigades of grenadiers, and four companies of highly-valued jaegers. He also brought several pieces of field artillery to use against the fort.

Christopher Greene

Opposing Von Donop was the fort’s commander, Continental Colonel Christopher Greene of Rhode Island. Colonel Greene was a very distant cousin of General Nathanael Greene. Colonel Greene had entered the war as a major, when he led Rhode Island volunteers to Cambridge in May 1775. He served on Benedict Arnold’s wilderness march to Quebec and led troops under Arnold at the attack on Quebec on December 31.

Col. Greene (Wikimedia)

Like most of the attackers, Greene was taken prisoner and held in Quebec, finally exchanged in August, 1776. In February 1777, he received promotion to colonel and took command of what became known as the First Rhode Island Regiment in the Continental Army.

Greene commanded about 400 Continental soldiers. This included his regiment and the Second Rhode Island under the command of Colonel Israel Angell, who served as his second in command. Another maybe 200 New Jersey militia were also at Fort Mercer in October. Washington had only deployed the Continentals to Fort Mercer less than two weeks before the battle. Two days after deploying the two regiments, Washington recalled Angell’s regiment for service back in Pennsylvania. Washington then ordered Greene to deploy any members of his garrison with experience aboard ships to join Commodore Hazelwood’s fleet on the Delaware. He also sent orders to send more of his men over to Fort Mifflin, where intelligence indicated the attack might occur.

It was only a few days before the battle that Washington sent back Angell’s regiment to supplement the severely depleted garrison at Fort Mercer. Washington also sent a French officer Thomas Antoine Chevalier de Mauduit du Plessis, who had arrived in America and received a commission as captain of artillery. Du Plessis had engineering experience. Washington hoped he could be of assistance in last minute improvements to fort defenses.

Even with the last minute reinforcements, the defenders of Fort Mercer would be horribly outnumbered by the Hessian attackers. When du Plessis arrived, he immediately recognized that the garrison was far too small to defend a fort that was nearly 350 yards long and 100 yards wide. He suggested that they place the garrison in a small section at the southern end of the fort, and then build a wall between the two sections. Since the fort was made of earthen walls simply dug up and piled high, it was easy enough to create the interior wall.

In the northern section that would be vacated, the garrison built abatis, which are basically pointed sticks placed in such a way to make it difficult to move quickly around the area. The garrison took the Whitall's fruit orchard to make the abatis. The defenders mounted all their cannons in the southern portion of the fort, but kept a few soldiers on the wall in the northern area so that the attackers would not realize that the northern portion had been abandoned.

Battle of Red Bank

On October 22, Hessian Colonel Von Donop organized his troops into two columns totaling about 1200 men. They broke camp before dawn around 3:00 a.m. to make the eight mile march to Fort Mercer. Because the locals had destroyed a bridge to get the fort, the columns had to make a detour and did not arrive until around 1:00 p.m. that afternoon. The Hessians made no attempt at surprise, but began to form lines just outside of rifle shot. They sent a messenger to demand surrender of the fort, which was refused.

Hessians Attack Fort Mercer
(Rev War Journal)

The Hessians launched their assault. As the Americans expected, the attackers came over the walls at the northern end of the fort. The first Hessians into the fort were surprised that there were no defenders. They began making their way through the abatis toward the interior wall dividing it from the southern portion. Once the enemy had fully occupied the northern portion of the fort, the Americans opened up on them with both cannons and muskets, turning the fort into a slaughtering field.

The Hessians struggled to maneuver around the abatis, but could not move easily. Many fell. The few who reached the southern wall found they could not climb it without scaling ladders, which they did not have. Eventually, the survivors pulled back out of the fort.

Von Donop led his second column against the southern part of the fort. His approach also faced cannon and musket fire, as well as fire from American ships on the river. During this assault, Von Donop fell, hit in the leg. The remainder of his attackers withdrew. The entire attack had lasted only about forty minutes. The Hessians later reported a total of 371 casualties. However, American reports indicate the number was closer to 500. Among these, were more than 100 killed outright, and more than 80 captured. Among the captured were twenty Hessians found hiding under the southern wall. They did not want to risk retreating through the killing zone again, when the army withdrew and preferred to be taken prisoner.

Sinking the Augusta (from Carpenter's Hall)

Among the wounded was Colonel Von Donop, who reportedly refused to be carried from the field. He was taken prisoner and left to recuperate at the Whitall house next door. Despite receiving care, he died from his leg wound a few days later.

With most of their officers killed, the surviving Hessians fled into the woods and made their way back toward the ferry to Philadelphia. The New Jersey militia under General Silas Newcomb was in position to run down most of the fleeing Hessians and capture them. However, lacking direct orders from Washington to attack the enemy, Newcomb opted to remain in position and do nothing. Criticism of his lack of action would lead to his resignation just over a month later.

Despite the lack of follow up, Fort Mercer proved a great American victory. The garrison reported only 14 killed and 23 wounded. To complement the Hessian land attack, the British had moved a fleet of five ships up the river to fire on the fort. Commodore Hazelwood sent his naval fleet against the British, combined with cannon fire from Fort Mifflin. The British ships were forced to retreat. One British vessel, the Merlin, ran aground and had to be burned and abandoned. A larger ship of the line, the Augusta, also ran aground but was able to escape after taking severe damage. The following day, fires still burning aboard the Augusta caused the ship to explode, with loss of crew and the abandonment of the ship.

Howe Resigns

The failure to take Fort Mercer made General Howe’s occupation of Philadelphia more tenuous. The British were concerned that if they failed to open up the Delaware before winter set in and the river froze, they could be without sufficient provisions until spring. There was even some discussion of abandoning the city and marching back to New York. The loss also came around the same time as news arrived of General Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga.

Gen Howe (Wikimedia)

On the same day as the battle of Red Bank at Fort Mercer, October 22, General Howe wrote a letter to Lord Germain in London saying that he would need many thousands of reinforcements for the following year’s campaign and that they did not appear to be forthcoming. Howe sought permission to resign his command and return to London. Howe's decision to resign had nothing to do with his failure to open the river. Rather, it was the result of his longstanding frustration over London's failure to send enough soldiers to complete the mission.

Howe knew it would take months to receive a response to his request, and that he needed to take further action to secure Philadelphia for the winter. It was also about this time that Howe ordered General Henry Clinton in New York to send 2000 soldiers to Philadelphia as reinforcements. These orders are what forced Clinton to abandon his gains in the lower Hudson Valley and to return to his defensive posture around New York City.

Fort Mifflin

Since the attempt to capture Fort Mercer had been a bust, Howe focused his attentions on Fort Mifflin. As I said last week, Mifflin was a small fort on Mud Island, just off the coast of Pennsylvania on the Delaware River. It had a rather small garrison, which Washington had increased to about 400 just before the attack on Fort Mercer. Before Washington sent reinforcements in late September, the garrison consisted only of about 60 militia, many of whom were invalids, and none of whom were even trained to fire the artillery at the fort.

Forts Mercer, Mifflin & Philadelphia
(from Journal of Am. Rev.)

On September 23, Washington gave command of the Fort to Colonel Henry d’Arendt, an officer from the Prussian Army who had come to America as a volunteer and received a commission as colonel of the German Regiment in March, 1777. Colonel d’Arendt, who had been ill, did not arrive at the fort until October 21, the day before the attack on Fort Mercer.

While surveying the fort for the first time with Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith, and a French officer named du Fleury, The men entered a blockhouse that was mostly destroyed. When d’Arendt asked what had happened, Smith told him that the blockhouse was a regular target for the British Navy and that they had blown it up the day before. Upon hearing that d’Arendt fled out of the blockhouse, diving through two windows, which the others took as an act of unnecessary and extreme cowardice. After that, d’Arendt’s illness returned and Lieutenant Colonel Smith assumed practical command of the fort.

On November 9th, General Howe tasked Lieutenant Colonel George Osborn with taking Fort Mifflin for the British. The following day, Osborn’s men occupied Providence Island, just to the north of Mud Island, and installed several large cannons. They also brought a floating battery of cannons, bringing a total of several dozen 24 and 32 pound cannons designed to reduce the fort to rubble. The British unleashed a near continuous bombardment on the fort which lasted for five days. The Americans returned fire, but were vastly outgunned Most of the garrison spent days and nights hunkered down right behind the fort walls. They quickly discovered that moving in the interior of the fort made one a target for the many shells that the British lobbed into the fort’s center.

On the second day, a British shot hit a brick chimney, which collapsed onto Colonel Smith. His injuries required that he be evacuated to Fort Mercer, leaving Major Simeon Thayer in command. The Americans continued to resist the onslaught, taking casualties each day. On November 15, the British Navy brought up several more large ships, and managed to get one of the smaller ones into the shallows between Mud island and the Pennsylvania coast. From there, British cannons could fire almost at point blank into the fort. The Americans lost their large cannon, destroyed by enemy fire. They were also reduced to running through the courtyard to grab British cannonballs to fire back at the enemy.

Commodore Hazelwood attempted to use his Pennsylvania fleet to support Fort Mifflin. However, the British Navy forced him to withdraw.

Osborn had planned to launch an assault that same day, November 15, to capture the fort. However, General Howe declined to approve the attack. On the night of the 15th, the American commander, Thayer, realized that the fort was lost. He moved the surviving garrison across the river in the dark to Fort Mercer. With about 40 men, Thayer then burned what was left of the fort, spiked the cannons, and moved his forces across to Fort Mercer.

On the morning of the 16th Osborn landed on Mud Island to find the fort abandoned. He found only one American deserter who had remained behind and gave him a report of the casualties and the retreat. That man said the garrison has suffered about 50 killed and 70-80 wounded, although other estimates put the total casualty rates closer to 250.

British marines lowered the American flag, which the garrison had left flying, and took possession of the fort ruins. The British reported only 13 dead and 24 wounded.

British Control the River

With the fall of Fort Mifflin, General Howe dispatched General Lord Cornwallis with 2000-3000 British regulars to capture Fort Mercer. Cornwallis landed his force south of the fort and marched north. Inside Mercer, Colonel Greene also received reports of 2000 British approaching from the north as well.

Hessian assault on Fort Mercer

Washington considered reinforcing Fort Mercer. However, his generals advised abandoning the fort and maintaining the army north of Philadelphia. With Fort Mifflin gone, the strategic value of Fort Mercer had also disappeared. At this time, Washington was consolidating his forces for another possible attack on Philadelphia.

On November 20, Colonel Greene opted to burn Fort Mercer, evacuate the garrison, and destroy whatever the army could not carry away. The garrison marched north, along the New Jersey side, to join up with other American forces. Cornwallis’ army marched on the fort to find it abandoned. The British occupied the fort, rebuilt the defenses and installed their own garrison.

With both forts taken, the British set about removing the chevaux de frise that still blocked the river from ship traffic. Hazelwood realized that his small fleet would be no match for the British fleet soon headed his way. He burned his remaining ships and marched his crews north to link up with Washington’s Continentals. With the river cleared, Admiral Howe sailed up to join his brother in Philadelphia.

Battle of Gloucester

The Howes had achieved their goal of taking control of the Delaware River and restoring access between the army and navy. But, that did not mean an end to the fighting.

Lafayette

When Howe had deployed Cornwallis to New Jersey, Washington deployed General Nathanael Green with a force to contest or harass the enemy. Even if they could take a Fort, Washington did not want to let them feel comfortable roaming about the New Jersey countryside.

Greene was joined by the Marquis de Lafayette, who had mostly recovered from his wounds at Brandywine two months earlier. On the night of November 25, Lafayette led an advance force of around 350 soldiers against a force of about 400 Hessians camped at Gloucester, just north of Cornwallis’ main army around Fort Mercer.

The Marquis launched a surprise night raid against the Hessians, driving them back to the main camp. The attack resulted in little more than a skirmish, with the Americans killing or wounding about 40 Hessians, and capturing another 20. The Americans lost one dead and five wounded. Lafayette’s gallantry in the fight, combined with his performance at Brandywine, led Washington to recommend he be put in command of an entire division. General Adam Stephen, who was accused of drunkenness at the battle of Germantown, lost his commend and left the army. Lafayette would replace him as a division commander.

Meanwhile, General Cornwallis resolved not to leave smaller units garrisoned around southern New Jersey. Other than the garrison at Fort Mercer, Cornwallis returned his force to Philadelphia.

Next week, as the war rages around Philadelphia, the Continental Congress finally gets around to finishing the Articles of Confederation.

- - -

Next Episode 169 Articles of Confederation

Previous Episode 167 Defending the Delaware

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Sunday, September 13, 2020

ARP166 Surrender at Saratoga

Last week, we covered the Battle of Bemis Heights, the final effort by General Burgoyne to push his British force down the Hudson Valley and cut off New England for the rest of the continent.

British Trapped

Instead, Burgoyne found his own army cut off from Canada and unable to reach Albany. Following his defeat on October 7, 1777, Burgoyne’s army moved into a defensive posture. The Americans had remained in the field that night, prepared to resume their attack in the morning. Burgoyne, however, removed his army about a mile north during the night. The British abandoned their field hospital and around 400 wounded to be captured by the enemy. They could not carry the wounded and did not have food for them. The British leadership believed that the wounded would be better off in the care of the Americans as prisoners of war.

Surrender at Saratoga (from Wikimedia)

The Americans woke up to find that the battlefield was theirs. A cold driving October rain drenched everyone as they recovered from the battle. Burgoyne spent that day and the next retreating further north to Saratoga Heights, where his army had built entrenchments as they had advanced weeks earlier. From his entrenchments, Burgoyne desperately awaited word from General Sir Henry Clinton, and clung to the hope of a relief column marching north from New York City.

Benedict Arnold’s leg wound was so bad that surgeons wanted to amputate. Arnold refused to allow it and endured months of suffering as he slowly recovered. At first he moved to Albany where he spent most of the winter. Later, he returned to Connecticut where he would continue his rehabilitation. Without Arnold to urge more offensive action, the victorious General Horatio Gates once again settled into his defense on Bemis Heights.

Benjamin Lincoln

General Benjamin Lincoln raised the concern that Burgoyne and his army might try to escape north and return to Fort Ticonderoga. Gates permitted General Lincoln to lead a group of militia north to hold the ford across the Hudson River near Fort Edward. While Lincoln was moving north on October 8, the day after the battle at Bemis Heights, he rode ahead of his militia, personally scouting the area ahead. While riding through a thick woods, he ran into a group of soldiers who he thought were local militia.

Benjamin Lincoln
(from Mass. Hist. Soc.)

Lincoln rode within a few yards of the group before he realized that they were actually British regulars and some of their German allies. As Lincoln wheeled his horse around to escape, the group fired on him, shattering his leg. The wounded general managed to ride away and return to his own forces.

Lincoln’s wound was rather serious. Like Arnold, the army evacuated him to Albany where surgeons recommended amputation. After three months in Albany, Lincoln was transported to Boston to continue his rehabilitation. There he underwent several more painful surgeries to remove bone fragments from his leg. The injury would keep Lincoln away from active duty for nearly a year, returning to service in August 1778.

Meanwhile, General Gates sent militia under the command of militia Brigadier General John Fellows to take 1300 men northward to contest any British attempt to cross the Hudson River.

Lady Harriet Acland

While the British army retreated, at least one Brit refused. Lady Harriet Acland had been with Burgoyne’s army since it had left Canada. Her husband, Major John Acland had been shot in both legs and taken prisoner. During the British retreat, Lady Acland decided that her place was with her husband. Acland was also pregnant with her second child at the time.

Lady Acland
(from Wikimedia)

In the middle of the night on October 8, in a driving rain, Lady Acland traveled down river to meet up with the Continental Army. Burgoyne provided her with a note and sent her aboard ship under a flag of truce.

Several miles downriver, she came upon sentinels under the command of Colonel Henry Dearborn. By this time, it was after 1:00 AM. Dearborn convinced the young woman to spend the rest of the night in a small house he had commandeered as his headquarters. Dearborn assured Lady Acland that it was too dangerous to travel at night and that he had met with Major Acland and that his injuries were not immediately life threatening.

The next day, Gates’ aide, accompanied Lady Acland, along with her maid and Major Acland’s valet, back to headquarters. There she met with General Gates. The American commander acceded to her request to be reunited with her husband. She would help nurse her husband back to health while he remained an American prisoner.

Gates Advances

Two days after the battle, on October 9, General Gates learned that the British under Henry Clinton had taken fort Montgomery. Gates now feared a possible relief force was on the way to rescue Burgoyne. He advanced north to confront Burgoyne’s army before any possible relief force could arrive. The Americans kept the British pinned down on Saratoga Heights for several days. Morgan’s riflemen picked off any British soldier who dared raise his head out of the entrenchments.

Gen. Horatio Gates
(from Wikimedia)

On October 11, Gates received word that Burgoyne’s army had crossed the Hudson and had retreated back to Fort Edward. Gates now believed he was only facing a small rear guard on Saratoga Heights. With this information, Gates deployed much of his army under General Nixon and General Glover, along with Morgan’s Riflemen to advance on Saratoga Heights through a dense fog.

The problem was, Gates’ intelligence was wrong. As the army advanced, they came across a British deserter. General Glover personally interrogated the regular, and asked about the forces that had marched to Fort Edward. The deserter informed Glover that a small detachment had attempted to move to Fort Edward, but found all the passes blocked by American defenders. As a result, they had turned back and that the entire army remained at Saratoga Heights.

The deserter could have been giving him misinformation. Glover told the man that if he lied, he would be hanged as a spy. The man stuck to his story. If true, it meant the Americans were marching right into the most heavily defended British lines and could be cut down. In fact the deserter’s story was true, except about being mistaken about why the detachment to fort Edward had returned. It probably could have made it, but General Burgoyne had recalled them. General Glover was able to call off the advance and pull back the continental soldiers before they marched into a death trap.

Instead, the Americans continued to blast away at the British defenses from a distance. The increasingly desperate British soldiers were out of food, lacked access to water, and were almost out of ammunition. Most concerning to some, the army had run out of rum.

Surrender Negotiations

On October 13, General Burgoyne held another council of war to decide on next steps. Even Burgoyne accepted that another attack was impossible. The army’s line of retreat was also now cut off as General Stark had brought his militia army to block any northern passage for the British. Burgoyne proposed dissolving the army and allowing each man to try to make his way through the woods back to Fort Ticonderoga. The other general officers balked at that idea. They then got down to answering some serious questions. Had other armies surrendered in similar situations? Would it be dishonorable to surrender in this situation? Everyone seemed to agree without debate that surrender at this point would be neither unprecedented nor dishonorable. The final question was whether surrender was absolutely necessary. After some debate, the council agreed that it was, if they could obtain reasonable terms from the enemy.

Saratoga Surrender, 1777 by Moran

Burgoyne sent a messenger under a flag of truce to request a discussion with Gates the following morning about ending the hostilities. General Gates already felt assured of final victory. The day before, he had written a letter to Congress informing them of his great victory. He did not bother to write to General Washington, his immediate superior. With this victory, combined with Washington’s loss of Philadelphia, Gates seemed once again focused on his dream of replacing General Washington as commander of the Continental Army.

On October 14, Major Robert Kingston carried General Burgoyne’s terms to the General Gates. Kingston informed Gates that Burgoyne was willing to fight another battle, but was also willing to agree to a cease fire to discuss terms. Gates was having none of it. He knew Burgoyne’s situation was desperate. He announced his terms to the major, which essentially amounted to unconditional surrender. The army would ground their weapons and surrender as prisoners.

When Kingston returned, Burgoyne convened another council at which the British leaders agreed that the terms were ridiculous and that they would rather fight to the death than accept them. After they calmed down, Burgoyne sent another counter-proposal. The British would march out of camp, ground their arms, and march to Boston. They would be permitted to retain their baggage and officers would retain their swords. From there, they would be allowed to embark for England, on the condition that no officer or soldier would again return to fight in North America for the remainder of the war.

Burgoyne may have liked this terms, but this was unquestionably a bad deal for the Americans. The British army had lots of soldiers all over the world. Burgoyne was simply suggesting that his army would be deployed somewhere else, thus freeing up other soldiers to return to America and continue the fight.

Amazingly though, Gates accepted the proposal, only requiring that it be completed by 2:00 PM that day. This acceptance then made Burgoyne suspicious. Why did Gates go from demanding unconditional surrender to agreeing to all of Burgoyne’s terms as long as it got done quickly? Burgoyne suspected that Gates had received word of a Clinton relief force and that he wanted to finalize the surrender before it arrived.

British Camp at Saratoga (from British Battles)

Burgoyne, in fact, was right. Gates had received word that a fleet was moving up the Hudson River. He feared that a relief force was on its way. These were the soldiers under General John Vaughan that Clinton had deployed upriver after the capture of Fort Montgomery. The intelligence Gates received was sketchy. He feared that the relief force was much larger than it was and that it might pose some real threat, which it did not. Clinton meant the offensive to be a distraction and it almost worked.

Burgoyne, however, did not take advantage of the moment and finalize the generous terms. Instead, he asked for a postponement, which Gates granted. As a delay tactic, Burgoyne proposed that each commander send two officers to negotiate the details of the surrender.

On October 15, Continental Colonel James Wilkinson and militia brigadier general William Whipple met with British Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Sutherland and Captain James Craig to work out a final written agreement, which both commanders would review. That evening, the British said they would agree to everything except one word. Rather than call it a “treaty of capitulation” they wanted to call it a “treaty of convention.” Not getting hung up on that one word, General Gates agreed.

That same night, a loyalist entered the British camp with a rumor that the British had captured Albany and that part of Gates’ army had moved south to engage. Once again, General Burgoyne gathered his top officers to decide whether they should break the agreement and fight on. The majority voted that even if true, they had already agreed to terms and that it would be dishonorable to go back on that agreement.

Burgoyne, however, was not convinced. He knew that he could not mount an attack or pull off a retreat, but his army could defend its entrenchments long enough for a relief force from Albany to arrive. The next day, Burgoyne sent a letter to Gates saying that he had received intelligence that much of the American army had been detached and that their agreement had been based on the numerical superiority of that army. Burgoyne insisted that Gates allow the British to see if the army was as large as Gates claimed.

By the time Gates received Burgoyne's latest communication, he was assured that there was no real threat from the south and had reason enough to back out of the agreement. Instead, he sent a note back to Burgoyne saying that there would be no more discussions. Burgoyne could agree or not within the next hour.

Burgoyne called another council of war at which all of his officers objected to pulling out of the agreement. Even if Clinton had taken Albany, and there was still no evidence that he had, there was no way for the army to hold out for as long as it would take Clinton to fight his way to Saratoga. Only Burgoyne himself seemed reluctant to end these negotiations.

Out of patience, General Gates sent word that his messenger should return with the signed convention, or he would launch his attack. The messenger returned with the convention, containing Burgoyne’s signature.

Raid on Kingston

That same day, October 16, British General John Vaughan was doing his very best with his limited resources to help Burgoyne. Vaughan had taken 1700 soldiers up the Hudson River, as far as Kingston, NY. This was more than 100 miles up the Hudson River from New York City, but still more than 50 miles south of Albany.

Livingston's Mansion, Clermont, burned
(from Friends of Clermont)

Vaughan had hoped to provide a distraction with his small force, which he did. The town of Kingston had served as the patriot capital of New York. Earlier that year, the first patriot state legislature had begun meeting there. Governor George Clinton had taken his oath in Kingston to become the first patriot governor of New York.

As Vaughan’s fleet approached, legislators fled. Governor Clinton attempted to march a militia force of 1000 men to Kingston to confront the British. But as the fleet approached there was only a handful of local militia, who fled after a brief firefight. Vaughan landed his force and marched up the hill to the town. There, he heard a rumor that Burgoyne’s army had already surrendered, but had no way to verify it. Moving forward, he ordered all the buildings put to the torch, burning the homes of over 4000 people. The attack took about three hours.

After that, the fleet continued north to the home of Robert Livingston, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and at that time chancellor of the patriot government of New York. The British burned his mansion and all other neighboring buildings around the estate.

Vaughn’s force remained in the area for about a week. He did not try to advance any further upriver to Albany. After receiving confirmation of Burgoyne’s surrender, he sailed his fleet down river to New York City again. His only stop was to burn Forts Clinton and Montgomery, which his army had captured earlier.

Burgoyne Surrenders

On October 17, the British and German forces at Saratoga Heights, marched out of their camp, grounded their weapons and prepared to be marched as prisoners to Boston. The Brunswickers gave their regimental flags to the Baroness Von Riedesel. She sewed them into a pillow and eventually smuggled them back to Brunswick.

General Burgoyne changed into his dress uniform, which he had planned to wear on his entrance into Albany. He and Major General Riedesel and Philips along with others, rode out to meet with General Gates. Burgoyne and Gates had known each other since they were both lieutenants in the same British regiment thirty years earlier. Gates greeted his old comrade saying “it’s good to see you.” Burgoyne responded that it was not so good to see him and offered his sword in surrender. Gates took the sword, but then returned it and invited the enemy officers to a banquet.

Although Gates had promised that the army would be marched to Boston and then sent back to England. That, however, was not in the cards. At first, General Glover marched the convention army, as it came to be called, to Cambridge, just outside Boston. It remained there for nearly a year. During that time about 1300 prisoners escaped and established new lives in America.

Encampment of Convention Army
(from Wikimedia)

The Continental Congress and General Washington did not like the terms of the Convention, and found excuses not to fulfill its terms. Congress instructed General Burgoyne to provide them with a list of all officers in order to ensure that none of them ever returned to North America. When Burgoyne did not provide the list, Congress used that as an excuse to hold the army. Later, Congress voted to hold the army until King George III directly ratified the convention, which was unlikely since it would recognize the independent authority of Congress.

After a year in Cambridge, the Continentals marched the prisoners to Charlottesville, Virginia, which gave another 600 prisoners the opportunity to escape and begin new lives in America. They remained there until 1780 when the war moved to Virginia and the prisoners were taken to a more secure location in Frederick, Maryland.

As was typical, officers were given parole and could live in whatever accommodations they like. Soldiers were kept in miserable poorly constructed barracks and held until the end of the war in 1783. Those who had not escaped or died finally returned to England.

Almost immediately after the surrender, Burgoyne began writing a series of letters back to London, blaming his loss on the strict instructions had been given and the lack of any support from the main army in New York City. He became the guest of General Phillip Schuyler, who had returned to the army for the surrender, even though he no longer held a command position.

Schuyler might have been able to offer Burgoyne accommodations in his luxurious upstate mansion, but for the fact that Burgoyne had ordered it burned to the ground a few weeks earlier. Instead, the Schuylers and their new guests took up accommodations in another country manner. As a prisoner, Burgoyne actually apologized for burning Schuyler’s home, but Schuyler dismissed it as “fortunes of war”. Burgoyne would then travel to Cambridge, and after a few months received parole to return to England and begin his political battles over the blame for the loss.

Schuyler also took in the Baroness Von Riedesel and her two daughters. General Riedesel approved of this knowing that a gentleman would take proper care of his family. Both would leave after a few days and travel to Cambridge to be with the army. The Baroness spent the rest of the war with her husband as a prisoner on parole with the Convention Army.

After Burgoyne returned home, General William Phillips became the ranking officer in the Convention Army. Remained with the army, and along with the Riedesels, became a popular guest in Virginia in elite social circles. He would be exchanged in 1780 and returned to duty. We will see him again in future episodes.

The victorious General Gates became the toast of America. Gates, as I said, seemed to want to replace Washington as commander, and resumed his efforts to snub Washington and criticize his leadership. This would also create problems that will be the subject of future episodes. But for now, he was the conquering hero who had defeated the British Army.

The victory at Saratoga was a major turning point of the war, for many reasons, not the least of which was its effect on France’s decision to join the war a few months later.

The war further south around Philadelphia, however, pressed on.

Next week: General Howe seeks to clear the Delaware River and open up Philadelphia for the Royal Navy.

- - -

Next Episode 167 Defending the Delaware

Previous Episode 165 Bemis Heights (2nd Saratoga)

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

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First Do No Harm,

by K. S. Avard (Releases Sept. 25, 2020).

In 17th Century Vienna, a local watchman discovers a dead body outside of Stephansdom Cathedral. He soon realizes that the black plague is sweeping across the city. He must determine: Is there a medical cure that will stop this illness from devastating the population? or is the plague the result of other-worldly beings bringing God’s wrath to a sinful people?

Author Kurt Avard takes readers on a journey through a society still emerging from medieval Europe to embrace enlightenment. The struggle between religion and science breaks into open warfare as a determined group searches for a way to end this terrible suffering. “First, Do no Harm” releases on September 25, 2020. Pre-order your book on Amazon today.

Sunday, September 6, 2020

ARP165 Bemis Heights (2nd Saratoga)

A few weeks ago, we left General Horatio Gates at the head of an army comprised of Continentals and militia poised to block the advance of General Johnny Burgoyne and his army of British and German Bruswickers. The two armies had fought at what became known as the battle of Freeman’s Farm, without any real change to the two army’s positions.

Since then, both armies remained in position, neither ready to advance on the other. Gates sat behind his entrenchments at Bemis Heights, waiting for the British to get desperate enough to attack his strong defensive position.

British Desperation

With each day that passed, the Continental Army grew stronger, while the British grew weaker. By early October, Gates had over 10,000 and Continentals and militia under his direct command. Burgoyne’s army had dwindled to about 5000. He was cut off from food and supplies from the north, and could not venture out to forage in the area, not that there was much left to forage even if they could go out.

The British army had been on reduced rations, meaning the men were not getting enough to eat. By day, Continental riflemen picked off British pickets from a distance. At night, the patriots snuck up on the pickets and killed them with knives or tomahawks. Among the ranks, suicides and desertions grew. Conditions were that miserable and prospects that bleak.

Benedict Arnold wounded on Bemis Heights
(from British Battles)

For many officers and men, more than their own lives were at stake. Many of them had their families with them. These dependents were on the same starvation-level rations as the army and faced an unknown fate if they fell into the hands of the enemy. German commander Friedrich von Riedesel had his wife and daughters with him. He had attempted to send his family back, but his wife refused to abandon him.

For reasons beyond the safety of his family, General Riedesel had been pushing Burgoyne to pull back the army to Fort Edward. From there, they would be able to reestablish supply lines to Ticonderoga and would have a better line of retreat. Burgoyne dismissed such recommendations. He was still focused on getting to Albany. He had sent messages to General Henry Clinton in New York, encouraging him to send an army up the Hudson to meet up with Burgoyne in Albany. Retreating was out of the question. Even so, Burgoyne knew his position was becoming more desperate each day.

In addition to Burgoyne facing an army twice his size, New York militia general Jacob Bailey now led 2000 soldiers north of Fort Edward, making that route of retreat much less of a possibility.

As I mentioned last week. Burgoyne wrote a series of letters to General Clinton. Most had a rather optimistic tone, explained later as not wanting to put in writing how really desperate his situation had become. Burgoyne had learned only recently that General Howe had abandoned him by taking his entire army south to capture Philadelphia and with no intention of moving north again that year. Burgoyne learned of that long enough before that he could have retreated back to Ticonderoga and ended the season there. That was what many of his generals recommended.

Burgoyne, though, had gone to London the year before and gotten this command by telling the political leadership that the generals in America were too timid and not aggressive enough in pushing forward. He had promised to open up a corridor from Canada to New York City that year. Anything less would be seen as a failure. Perhaps withdrawal would have been a sensible act of caution, but that is exactly how he had criticized his superiors in order to get this command ahead of more senior generals. Burgoyne was a gambler. He knew that he had to take some real risks, not only to win the war, but also to justify his rise in the ranks past other leaders.

General Burgoyne
(from Wikimedia)

Although he didn’t use the term, Burgoyne was showing the same “victory or death” attitude that had served the Americans well in many prior battles. Turning back was not a serious consideration.

Although General Howe had abandoned him, Burgoyne still hoped that Clinton could salvage the campaign. Although Clinton complained that he did not have enough men even to defend his command around New York City, Burgoyne hitched all of his hopes on Clinton sending a force up the Hudson River to Albany. If he could just reach that town, his army would be saved. Clinton had sent a message which Burgoyne received on September 21. Clinton had sent the message ten days earlier, saying that ten days later he would begin a diversionary attack up the Hudson River with 2000 men to attack Fort Montgomery and that he hoped it might divert some of the American forces away from Burgoyne.

Clinton never indicated he would go all the way to Albany. Even if he did, Clinton’s 2000 man force combined with Burgoyne’s army of 5000 or 6000 effectives would still be outnumbered, by the enemy, probably by two to one. Even if Clinton delivered more than he promised in his note by taking Albany, that would not necessarily spell victory for the British. Burgoyne still placed all of his hopes on joining up with Clinton at Albany and ultimately reaching New York City. Even though that looked increasingly unrealistic to just about everyone else.

Burgoyne's Advance (from Wikimedia)

Some have argued that Burgoyne’s letters to Clinton at this point indicated that Burgoyne knew that failure was the probable end of his campaign and that he wanted someone else to take the blame. On September 27 Burgoyne sent a messenger to tell Clinton he needed assurance that Clinton could take Albany before he could push through. Otherwise, if Clinton failed, Burgoyne would be forced to retreat. The next day, Burgoyne learned about John Brown’s raid that had captured Skenesborough and also received an inaccurate report that the Americans had taken Fort George. This caused Burgoyne to dash off another desperate note to Clinton saying that he would not have given up his communications with Ticonderoga if he had not expected to meet up with British forces at Albany. Clinton sent reply messages to make clear he was not going to Albany. The Americans intercepted those messages, so they never reached Burgoyne anyway.

On October 4 and 5, 1777 Burgoyne held a council of war with General Riedesel, Philips, and Fraser. They agreed that they needed to do something soon. The army would launch an attack against the American defenses. Their hope was to punch a hole in the lines, and march through to Albany.

Burgoyne originally proposed that he would deploy virtually his entire army against the American Left, leaving only a few hundred men to guard the baggage near the river. The other generals thought this was insanity, since the Americans could then easily capture their baggage with a quick raid, leaving the army in the field with nothing. Generals Riedesel and Fraser still recommended the army retreat back to Fort Edward. Burgoyne, however, refused to consider that option.

Instead, the generals agreed on a plan to attack the American left flank. If they could roll up the Americans there, they could take the heights and threaten to push the rest of the Continental Army back against the Hudson River. The British could then push more soldiers into the battle as needed over the course of the day, while still protecting their baggage. It was a desperate gamble, but really the best option aside from retreat or surrender.

Arnold-Gates Fight

The American leadership though, seemed to be doing everything it could to undermine its own very strong position. Specifically, the fight between General Gates and General Arnold grew into an all-out squall. Gates had left Arnold pretty much on his own on the left flank during the battle of Freeman’s Farm a few weeks earlier. By failing to send sufficient reinforcements that day, Gates seemed to be trying to set up Arnold for failure. When the Americans under Arnold held their own under the British assault, it appeared that Arnold would be credited with a great victory. Arnold had to return to headquarters to beg Gates personally to send in more reinforcements. After that, Gates refused to let Arnold return to the battlefield and lead the final victory. By all appearances, Gates seemed more willing to lose the battle than to give Arnold credit for the victory.

When Gates reported the victory to Congress and to the Governor of New York, he did not even mention Arnold. Gates merely stated that a division of the army had stopped the British advance. He named several field officers but failed to mention Arnold’s leadership at all.

Gen. Horatio Gates
(from Nat. Port. Gal.)

Several days after the battle at Freeman’s farm. Colonel James Wilkinson removed Morgan’s riflemen from Arnold’s command and moved them to his own command, without giving Arnold any notice. It was hard for anyone to see any military value to this change. In fact, removing the riflemen from the flanks, where they had been so critical at Freeman’s Farm seemed the height of military stupidity. The lack of any notice was also a deliberate act of disrespect designed to provoke Arnold. Arnold had issued daily orders to Morgan’s men, only to find them countermanded by Wilkinson's orders. It made Arnold look like a fool who did not know what was happening in the chain of command.

Arnold took the orders as a direct insult against him and one putting the whole army at risk in an attempt to win some petty political game. He charged into Gates’ headquarters for a direct confrontation. The two generals got into a screaming match. Gates said he was not even sure Arnold was still a general since he had submitted his resignation to Congress weeks earlier, shortly before traveling to Saratoga. He informed Arnold that he was relieved of command and that General Lincoln would take his place. He further suggested that if Arnold did not like it, he should go back to Philadelphia and take up the issue with Congress.

Arnold stalked out, but then sent a written note asking Gates to explain the reasons for his treatment. Instead, Gates simply sent a note to Arnold giving him leave to return to Philadelphia, and saying he would no longer speak with Arnold either in person or in writing.

According to legend, although the document has never been found, every officer of the line in the army, except General Lincoln, signed a written request to Arnold not to abandon the army at this time. Even officers who knew how prickly Arnold could be did not want to lose their best combat commander on the eve of battle.

American Charge at Saratoga
(from History on the Net)

As I mentioned in an earlier episode, Gates’ disfavor of Arnold seemed to stem from Arnold’s decision to take two young officers, Richard Varick and Henry Livingston onto his staff. The two officers had been on General Schuyler’s staff before he lost his command. Gates saw Arnold’s decision to give staff positions to these two young allies of his arch-rival as a direct attack against him.

After hearing from all the officers who wanted Arnold to remain, Gates sent out a feeler via an aide to see if Arnold would be willing to dismiss the two men, as an olive branch to repair relations between them. Arnold absolutely refused to dismiss two officers. They had done nothing wrong and he would not dismiss them in order to assuage the commander’s feelings. Although Varick and Livingston soon left on their own, the two generals seemed unwilling to repair their relationship for the good of the war effort.

Arnold remained in camp, but Gates refused to include him in any staff meetings of top officers. Arnold continued to write letters to Gates, recommending various actions, but Gates simply ignored them. On October 1, Gates formally stripped Arnold of command, personally took over the left wing, and gave General Lincoln command of the right wing.

Despite having stronger numbers and a good position, the Continental Army’s leadership seemed hopelessly divided. Gates seemed determined to destroy Arnold, even if it meant losing the battle.

The Battle

On the morning of October 7, General Burgoyne personally led a division of over 2000 soldiers, along with General Fraser, against the American left flank. His goal was to see if they could find weakness in the American lines. The light infantry, grenadiers, and select German troops, backed by ten field cannon left camp shortly after 10:00 AM, advancing to Barber’s Wheatfield. From there, they could observe the American positions.

Bemis Heights troop positions (from Wikimedia)

Facing the British in the woods on the other side of the field were Morgan’s rifles along with Enoch Poor and Ebenezer Learned’s brigades, more than 2000 continentals, with perhaps another 1500 militia. For most of the morning, the two armies eyed each other and vied for position.

Around 2:00 PM, the British opened fire against Poor’s brigade. The distance was too far for the firing to be effective and the Americans held their ground. Finally, the British charged across the field with their bayonets, but were cut down by the Americans at close range. Major John Acland, who led the British charge was shot in both legs and taken prisoner. General Poor’s Continentals counter-charged and captured the British cannons on the other side of the field.

Morgan’s riflemen engaged with Fraser’s regulars, keeping the British pinned down with deadly accurate rifle fire. Burgoyne sent orders for the men to withdraw, but Morgan’s riflemen shot the messenger before he could get to Fraser. Not aware of the orders, Fraser remained on the field, taking heavy casualties.

Arnold Attacks

As the battle raged, General Gates was nowhere close to the battle. Although Gates had made himself the division commander there, he remained at his headquarters two miles away from his soldiers in the field. Arnold, confined to his tent, fumed as he heard the distant sound of gunfire. For several hours, the Americans, primarily General Enoch Poor’s brigade and Morgan’s riflemen, held the enemy at bay. Gates dispatched written orders based on reports received from the battlefield.

Finally, after he could take it no longer, Arnold mounted his horse and rode toward the sound of gunfire. He found Colonel Morgan, but simply rode past him toward the enemy. On the front lines, Arnold rallied the retreating men and reorganized them for another charge. Morgan’s riflemen soon caught up with Arnold and provided him with support as the British line reeled from the unexpected American charge.

Benedict Arnold at Saratoga

On the other side of the lines, General Simon Fraser attempted to rally the British lines, riding up and down, encouraging the men. Arnold saw Fraser’s effective leadership. He did not know it was Fraser, but turned to Morgan and told him that the officer needed to be taken out. Morgan assigned the job to one of his best sharpshooters. Minutes later, Fraser fell off his horse, fatally wounded with a shot to the stomach.

Men who saw Arnold in the field that day described him as a madman, perhaps even drunk. Although the charge of drunkenness seems to have been made by his detractors trying to disparage his role that day. Arnold rode back and forth, shouting to them and encouraging them, regularly exposing himself to enemy fire, as if he preferred to die in battle than return to his tent as ordered.

He rode his horse across the entire British line of battle, drawing numerous shots but never being hit. Finally Arnold rallied a regiment to charge the British redoubt, leading the charge himself. The defenders fired at him, finally taking down his horse,who collapsed. Arnold jumped free from the falling animal and stood up, only to have a wounded enemy soldier shoot him at near point blank range, hitting Arnold in the leg. When the soldiers with Arnold moved to bayonet his attacker, Arnold said “Don’t hurt him! He’s a fine fellow. He only did his duty.”

It was the last great charge of the day and allowed the Americans to hold the field. The Germans made one more futile attempt to retake the redoubt but were easily driven back. The British pulled back to a defensive position near the Hudson River, badly bloodied that day. As Arnold was carried from the field, Gate’s aide finally caught up with him, with the orders that he should return to camp immediately.

Aftermath

Between the two battles, Freeman’s farm and Bemis Heights, fought within a few weeks of each other and generally over the same area of land, the British had taken over 1000 casualties, over 400 killed and nearly 700 wounded. Several hundred more were taken prisoner. With his dwindling force running out of food and supplies, General Burgoyne’s pulled back to a defensive area along the Hudson River. Another attack was out of the question, and even the prospect of retreat seemed unlikely following the battle.

Burial of Simon Fraser
(from National Army Museum)

The death of General Simon Fraser was an especially difficult blow to the British leadership. Fraser died of his wounds early in the morning the day after the battle, while in the care of the Baroness von Riedesel. He was buried along with Burgoyne’s aide de camp, Francis Clerke, who also fell victim to Morgan’s rifles, while delivering a message to field commanders. The two officers’ graves went unmarked to prevent the enemy from finding them.

The Americans had lost far fewer casualties, less than 350 killed and wounded between both battles. More militia reinforcements were arriving each day, swelling the American ranks.

General Arnold was the most conspicuous injury. One of Gates’ aides approached Arnold as stretcher bearers carried him back from the battlefield. He asked “where are you hit?” Arnold responded “in the same leg” meaning the same one that had been shot at the Battle of Quebec a couple of years earlier. Arnold then added “I wish it had been my heart.” Arnold’s work that day in defiance of Gates’ orders had been critical to the victory.

Now, the British had no more real options to fight. Burgoyne’s last hope was that a relief force under General Clinton might reach them from New York City. His army hung on, refusing to surrender, with the hope of a relief column to save the army.

We’ll see how that goes next week when we cover the surrender at Saratoga.

- - -

Next Episode 166 Surrender at Saratoga

Previous Episode 164 Forts Clinton and Montgomery

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

Follow the podcast on Twitter @AmRevPodcast

Join the Facebook group, American Revolution Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/132651894048271

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American Revolution Podcast

Sunday, September 27, 2020

ARP168 Forts Mercer and Mifflin

Carl Von Donop

Christopher Greene

Battle of Red Bank

Howe Resigns

Fort Mifflin

British Control the River

Battle of Gloucester

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

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

Sunday, September 13, 2020

ARP166 Surrender at Saratoga

First Do No Harm,

by K. S. Avard (Releases Sept. 25, 2020).

Sunday, September 6, 2020

ARP165 Bemis Heights (2nd Saratoga)

Sunday, September 27, 2020

ARP168 Forts Mercer and Mifflin

Carl Von Donop

Christopher Greene

Battle of Red Bank

Howe Resigns

Fort Mifflin

British Control the River

Battle of Gloucester

Further Reading

Websites

Free eBooks(from archive.org unless noted)

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

Sunday, September 13, 2020

ARP166 Surrender at Saratoga

First Do No Harm,

by K. S. Avard (Releases Sept. 25, 2020).

Sunday, September 6, 2020

ARP165 Bemis Heights (2nd Saratoga)

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

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