Episode 069: The South Joins the War

By summer 1775, the war centered around Boston or New England, with some action out in New York around Ticonderoga.  Many in London thought the rebellion could be contained to New England.  However, just as they thought the New England problem was only the result of a few bad apples, the Ministry once again underestimated the geographic scope of the problem.  So today I will give an overview of the situation in the southern colonies.

Virginia Gov. Dunmore Flees

When we last left Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore in May 1775, he had tried to take possession of colonial powder.  This led to Patrick Henry, leading 1000 militia to confront him.  Although they resolved that incident without bloodshed, Dunmore realized he was no longer safe in Williamsburg.  In June, he relocated to his hunting lodge in York County.  After a few weeks, the militia again came looking for the Governor.  Following a brief firefight, Dunmore escaped with his family, but not before taking a shot in the leg.  Without any Regulars to protect him, Dunmore took refuge with the navy aboard the HMS Fowey.  He stayed on the Fowey for several weeks.  After confirming that Norfolk remained under Loyalist control, he set up a base of operations there.

Lord Dunmore
(from Wikimedia)

In early June, about the same time Dunmore sought protection aboard the Fowey, Patriots broke into the Williamsburg armory, taking 400 guns. In July, Dunmore reported to London that Patriots had taken over the Governor’s residence in Williamsburg and converted the capital into a barracks for patriot militia.  As Dunmore put it: “the People of Virginia manifest open Rebellion by every means in their power, and declare at the Same time that they are his Majesty's Most dutyfull subjects.”

Although the patriots controlled Williamsburg, the Third Virginia Convention, effectively now the patriot-run government in the colony, met again in Richmond.   It ordered the creation of two military regiments, appointed Patrick Henry the commander of Virginia’s new patriot army, and enforced the trade restrictions supported by the Continental Congress.

The Battle of Hampton

In late August and early September, mother nature impacted the war through what became known as the Independence Hurricane.  The storm devastated coastal communities in the southern colonies, killing hundreds.  It moved out to sea, leaving only rain for Philadelphia and Boston, but destroyed much of British-controlled Newfoundland.  The storm destroyed about 25 ships, mostly British navy and supply ships.   Among them was a British supply ship called the Liberty, which ran ashore near Hampton, Virginia.  Local patriots looted the ship of all supplies and then burned it to the water line.

British Cartoon showing Viginia loyalists
forced to join the Virginia Association
(from Wikimedia - Orig. British Museum)

Dunmore had set up his headquarters just across the river from Hampton, at Norfolk.  He took the raid on the Liberty as an affront, and demanded the rebels return their stolen supplies.  They said they would return the supplies when Dunmore returned their runaway slaves, which he refused to do.

While the British could not control much land in Virginia, they could control the seas.  They had enough ships to launch raids along the coast and up rivers capturing or destroying rebel property.  With this force, Dunmore raided Hampton.  It would be the largest town in Virginia that the Navy ever attempted to raid.

To prevent such an action, patriots had sunk several ships at the mouth of the Hampton River, blocking any larger ships from passing over the wreckage.  Patriots in Williamsburg also sent a regiment to defend Hampton.

On October 26, the British Navy exchanged fire with patriot militia at the mouth of the Hampton river.  After sunset, they attempted a night raid to break up the blockade on the river. The next morning two small British warships and some smaller support ships made their way to Hampton, unleashing the Royal Marines to destroy the town.  On earlier raids, the British relied on the locals fleeing in terror as a relatively small number of marines sacked the town.  At Hampton though, the Virginia militia from Williamsburg defended their ground.  The regiment included riflemen who could pick off marines on the ground, or any sailors aboard ship who might try to fire a cannon.  The two sides exchanged fire from protected defenses, with neither willing to risk a full on charge against the other line.  As a result, there were only a handful of casualties on either side.

The patriots also captured two small landing craft, taking 10 British prisoners and killing one.  Eventually, the British pulled back down the Hampton River and across the James River to Norfolk.  For Dunmore, the raid was a frustrating failure that only encouraged the patriot cause in the colony.

North Carolina Gov. Martin Flees

North Carolina Governor Josiah Martin also came under attack by patriots shortly after word of Lexington and Concord reached the colony.  Following that attack in late April, Martin sent his family to stay with relatives in New York, while he relocated to Fort Johnston, a small fort near the mouth of the Cape Fear River.  By May, patriots controlled the colony.

Mecklenburg Resolves

Having taken control, people wanted to proclaim their freedom from British rule. North Carolina often brags that it produced the first “Declaration of Independence” more than a year before Congress came around to releasing the famous declaration in 1776.  It refers to the Mecklenburg Resolves.  In late May 1775, after receiving word of the fighting in Lexington and concord, the Committee of Safety in Mecklenburg County North Carolina issues a set of resolves.  Now just about every revolutionary committee on the continent was issuing resolves around this time.  Everyone was stirred up by the fighting and wanted to define what they were fighting for.  Mecklenburg stands out though as one of the first calling rather clearly for independence.

NC Gov. Josiah Martin
(from NCpedia)

The Mecklenburg Resolves proclaimed that all British civil and military authority in the colonies was now null and void, with that power passing to the Continental Congress.  Until such time as Congress could produce a whole new legal code, the Resolves went on to set up a militia, which would also perform the duties of civil government.

This really was a radical step to take, long before even the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was willing to nullify all British rule.  For this reason, many claim that history should praise Mecklenburg for its leadership on independence.

The reality though is that the Mecklenburg Resolves were not that significant at the time, at least not outside of Mecklenburg.  They did not get much press or publicity.  Most members of the Continental Congress never even heard of them at the time.  Therefore, they had little impact on the overall movement toward independence.

What does make them interesting is that it shows that the southern colonies did have a significant radical patriot faction among them that was ready for independence by the summer of 1775.  It also shows that people even outside of radical New England were fast reaching the conclusion that compromise with the King and Parliament really was not an option.  Protection of liberties in America would require a clean break.

Tryon Resolves

Mecklenburg was not unique in its expression of outrage of British behavior in Massachusetts.  Nearby Tryon County issued its own set of Resolves a few months later.  Like Mecklenburg, Tryon also condemned the actions of the British in Massachusetts.  It also agreed to form a military organization to resist attacks on their liberty.  Tryon did not go so far as to explicitly void all government and laws, but it did make clear they were ready to go to war with the British authorities.

These resolves showed that the patriot movement in the south was alive and growing.  Soon, actual fighting in the south would reinforce those sentiments.

Capture of Fort Johnston

Governor Martin could find barely enough Tories to provide himself with a personal guard, let alone raise an army to take on the Patriot militia in the colony.  Gov. Martin set up a base of operations at Fort Johnston on the coast. From there, he sent out messengers to inform slaves that he was willing to arm them and allow them to fight for their freedom.

Fort Johnston (from carolana.com) 

The North Carolina Committee of Safety under the command of Cornelius Harnett and John Ashe kept tabs on Martin’s activities.  Given the large number of slaves in the colony, the possibility of a slave revolt was something that really kept the white colonists up at night.  Upon learning about his attempts to arm the slaves, they moved to capture the Governor and prevent any attempt to start a slave revolt.

Martin was prepared for this. He removed the fort’s cannons and positioned them along the shore, where they sat under the protection of the naval ship HMS Cruizer.   On July 18, several hundred patriot militia stormed the fort and burned it to the ground.  They were unable to capture Martin or the ship’s guns, as storming the guns looked like suicide.  Martin took up residence aboard the Cruizer and remained at sea.  The handful of British regulars at the fort also escaped and joined the main British force in Boston.  Martin remained off the coast.  He sent reports to his superiors that he still believed he could raise a large force of loyalists to retake the colony, but could not organize such a force without help from a large force of regulars that the militia could rally around.  For now he sat and waited.

SC Gov. Campbell Arrives

When word of Lexington and Concord reached South Carolina, patriots had already effectively taken control of the government and the colonial arsenals.  Lt. Gov. William Bull nominally led the colony as the Governor had resigned and returned to London in 1773.  Bull was loyal to the crown but did not seem to put up any resistance to anything the patriots did.

On June 14, 1775, the patriots effectively formed a new government for the colony in the new Council of Safety.  It first focused on military matters in the colony, but soon took on pretty much all executive authority.

Gov. William Campbell
(from Wikimedia)

A few days later, on June 18, a new Royal Governor, William Campbell arrived.  Campbell was a member of Parliament and also a career naval officer.  During the French and Indian War he had visited South Carolina and married a local woman.  This may have motivated him to seek the governorship there when it became available.

No one seemed to know how to respond to the new governor’s arrival.  The Patriots had not officially overthrown the colonial government.  They were essentially ignoring it.  Gov. Campbell met a reception of patriot militia at the dock.  He did not get any of the usual welcomes or celebrations attending a new royal governor, but they didn’t arrest him for force him to leave either.

Campbell assumed the governorship, but knew he had no real control over the colony.  A few days later, the patriots sent him an address that informed him that they were all still loyal subjects of the crown but that the had taken up arms to defend attacks on their life, liberty, and property.  Campbell was not sure how to take the idea that his supposedly loyal subjects were in armed active rebellion.  His response indicated he could not know of any legitimate government in the colony other than the one appointed by the King, but could not speak to the immediate disputes having just arrived.  Simply by receiving and responding to the address though, Campbell lent legitimacy to them.

In reality, Campbell would have to decide whether to leave, or likely face imprisonment, as he had no plans to join the rebellion, even though most of his wife’s family were patriot leaders.  For the moment, he stalled and said he must get instructions from London.  Meanwhile, he watched the patriots form military districts, raise and train armies, and run all aspects of colonial government.

Battle of Bloody Point

Even while patriots were taking control of the colonies, the Royal Navy maintained control of the Atlantic, as well as many bays, harbors, and rivers.  South Carolina though, made plans to take on the British at sea.  In July, the Council of Safety learned that the British were sending a shipment of gunpowder to Savannah to supply the Cherokee.  The British hoped to use several local tribes against the rebels.  The Council deployed two barges to intercept the transport ship.  On their way, they were pleased to meet up with a small schooner from Georgia named the Liberty, not to be confused with the British ship Liberty that wrecked in Virginia which I just discussed, nor Benedict Arnold’s Liberty on Lake Champlain, nor John Hancock’s ship Liberty that the British captured in Boston, or any other of the roughly 1.2 million other ships named Liberty during this time period.  Georgia patriots had launched the Liberty in search of merchant vessels violating Patriot trade bans.  The Captain agreed to work with the South Carolina barges to capture the British supply ship.

Mouth of Savannah River at Bloody Point
(from awiatsea.com)

The British supply ship, the Phillippa, carried the ammunition for British regulars in Florida, as well as for the Cherokee.  On July 7, the British convoy anchored near the mouth of the Savannah River to await a pilot to take them upriver.  The Americans discovered them there the next day.  The following evening, July 9 at around 2:00 AM, the British attempted to move upriver.  The Liberty moved to attack.  The stunned Phillippa did not put up any resistance and obeyed instructions to anchor at Cockspur Island.  The Captain Richard Maitland, also had the bad luck to be the captain of a load of tea in 1774, that the Patriots had seized shortly after the Boston Tea Party.

Now on this trip, Maitland surrendered the Phillippa at Cockspur Island, where a regiment of South Carolina provincials rode out and took possession of the ship, capturing 16,000 pounds of gunpowder, as well as lead and shot for making musket balls.  South Carolina divided up the valuable cargo, sending one fourth of the powder to Philadelphia.  From there it would travel overland to Cambridge where Washington’s Continental Army was in desperate need.  A prize crew sailed the Phillippa back to Savannah with Georgia’s share of the cargo.  Maitland eventually filed a protest with the Georgia Supreme Court to get his ship back, though no one expected that to happen.  The patriots ignored the crown appointed courts as much as they ignored the crown appointed governor.  I think Maitland mostly filed his claim so that he could get a return of his bond money, held by the Board of Trade.  The powder would take weeks to reach Washington in the fall, but was a much needed supply for the Continental Army.

Capture of Fort Charlotte

A week later, emboldened South Carolina patriots seized Fort Charlotte, a small fort on the Savannah River still commanded by less than a dozen British regulars.  On July 12, the Fort surrendered without resistance.  The Council of Safety again took much of the powder to be shipped to the new Continental Army in Massachusetts.  All Governor Campbell could do was watch.

Fort Charlotte (from Historical Marker Database)

The Council of Safety also began demanding that colonists take oaths of loyalty to the new assembly.  Those who did not were threatened with expulsion from the colony.

By September, Gov. Campbell had reached the conclusion that there was little he could do to restore royal authority without a large number of British regulars.  There was some chance that Germans living in the interior of the colony, whom I discussed way back in Episode 35, might rally to the King.  But any organization of loyalist troops would require the presence of military regulars for them to rally around.  Campbell decided he needed to leave.  He boarded the HMS Tamar and remained in Charleston Harbor.

Ninety-Six

Despite Gov. Campbell’s lack of leadership, some backcountry loyalists took their own initiative. The town of Ninety-Six, which began as a settlement at the 96th milepost on a trail leading to the Keowee Indian village, had built a fortified town there.  There was a small fort with a few pieces of artillery as well as powder and ammunition.  Moses Kirkland served as a captain in the local militia and as the town’s representative to the Provincial Congress.  He had been an outspoken supporter of colonial rights and opposed British treatment of the colonies.  But for Kirkland, outright rebellion and treason was a step too far.

As a captain in the militia, he had participated in the capture of Fort Charlotte a few days earlier.  While riding back to Ninety-Six, he learned that his commander, Maj. James Mayson intended to force all the men to take an oath of allegiance to the Association and to support the Continental Congress.  After they arrived the Fort, Kirkland spoke forcefully against the oath and convinced his entire militia company to refuse it.  They then met with Col. Thomas Fletchall, who commanded a loyalist militia for the area.  Kirkland and most of his men joined Fletchall and returned to take control of Ninety-Six, which now also contained munitions captured at Fort Charlotte.  The loyalist militia arrested Maj. Mason for theft of the King’s property, but released him a few hours later on bail.  Thanks to Kirkland, Ninety-Six remained in loyalist hands, for now.  The backcountry would remain in contention and Kirkland would go on to become a prominent loyalist officer.

Georgia

Georgia was the last colony to make serious movement toward rebellion.  After receiving word of Lexington and Concord on May 10, patriot groups seized a powder magazine in Savannah the next day.  But colony-wide, royal authority under Royal Governor James Wright remained in control.  Wright, although London born, had lived in the colonies for most of his life and remained on pretty good terms with the people.  He would not be mistaken as being sympathetic to the patriot cause though.  Wright, who had been Governor since 1760, staunchly enforced royal policies, including being the only governor to oversee the sale of stamps during the Stamp Act crisis.

Thomas Brown
(from Jrnl of Am Rev)

After establishing a shadow patriot government in July 1775, the Council of Safety asserted authority, leaving Gov. Wright in the same feckless position as his fellow southern royal governors.  The Council focused on enforcing the trade embargo that the Continental Congress had approved, tarring and feathering several violators.  Georgia also worked with South Carolina to get more gunpowder to the Continental Army in Boston.  Around this time, the George patriots launched the Liberty, which, as I described earlier, would capture the British ship Phillippa, in South Carolina.

On July 7, the Patriots tested Gov. Wright, by getting him to declare a day of prayer and fasting.  While not overtly patriotic, it was a nod to the power of the Patriots in the colony.

Despite the organization and activity of the Georgia patriots, the colony likely held a majority of loyalists.  In August, Thomas Brown, who lived on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River just upriver from Augusta, openly denounced the patriots and called on loyalists to form their own association.

Patriots from Augusta captured him and attempted to force him to swear adherence to the Patriot Association.  They ended up beating Brown nearly to death, scalping him and breaking his skull, also burning the bottom of his feet.  Brown survived and would go on to form the King’s Rangers, one of the most effective Loyalist Regiments of the Revolution.  In 1775 though, after threatening an attack on Augusta, Brown and his loyalists withdrew into the backcountry and awaited the arrival of British regulars.

Royal Gov. Wright stuck it out in Savannah, and avoided direct confrontation with the Council of Safety.  Clearly though, he was not in charge.  When a small British fleet arrived in January 1776, Wright finally fled the colony aboard the HMS Scarborough.

- - -

Next Episode 70: Ousted Governors and Bermuda Powder Raid

Previous Episode 68: Congress' Olive Branch Petition

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Further Reading

Websites:

The Independence Hurricane: http://blog.alssar.org/uncategorized/the-independence-hurricane-hits-the-american-colonies

Lord Dunmore's Navy in Hampton Roads, 1775-1776, Part I: The Battle of Hampton,
By Matthew Krogh (2016):
http://hamptonroadsnavalmuseum.blogspot.com/2016/10/lord-dunmores-navy-in-hampton-roads.html

Lord Dunmore's Navy in Hampton Roads, 1775-1776, Part II: The Road to Great Bridge, by Matthew Krogh (2017): http://hamptonroadsnavalmuseum.blogspot.com/2017/03/lord-dunmores-navy-in-hampton-roads.html

Battle of Hampton: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/american_military_history/2013/11/battle_of_hampton_and_lord_dunmore_s_proclamation_how_fear_of_a_slave_revolt.html

Mecklenburg Resolves, text: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-revolution/4263

Tryon Resolves, https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/08/the-tryon-county-patriots-of-1775-and-their-association

Bloody Point: http://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/revolution_bloody_point.html

Cohen Sheldon S. "The Philippa Affair" The Georgia Historical Quarterly Vol. 69, No. 3 (Fall, 1985), pp. 338-354: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40581393 (free to read with registration).

Capture of Fort Ninety-Six, July 17, 1775: http://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/revolution_ninety_six_kirkland.html

Lynch, Wayne "Moses Kirkland and the Southern Strategy" Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution, Vol. 10, No. 2.3, April 2015:
http://www.southerncampaign.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Lynch-Moses-Kirkland-SCAR10.2.3.pdf

NC Gov. Josiah Martin: http://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/royal-governor-josiah-martin-1737-1786

Cornelius Harnett: http://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/cornelius-harnett

John Ashe: http://www.carolana.com/NC/Revolution/patriot_leaders_nc_john_ashe_sr.html

Fort Johnston: http://www.carolana.com/NC/Revolution/revolution_fort_johnston_1.html

Fort Charlotte: http://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/revolution_fort_charlotte.html

NC Lt. Gov. William Bull: http://www.carolana.com/SC/Governors/wbulljr.html

Gov. William Campbell: http://www.carolana.com/SC/Governors/wcampbell.html

Battle of Bloody Point, Capture of the Phillippa: http://www.awiatsea.com/incidents/1775-07-10%20Capture%20of%20the%20Philippa.html

Dunkerly, Robert M. "Chaos in the Backcountry: Battle of Ninety Six" Journal of the American Revolution, 2013: https://allthingsliberty.com/2013/06/chaos-in-the-backcountry-the-battle-of-ninety-six

Cann, Marvin L. "Prelude to War: The First Battle of Ninety Six: November 19-21, 1775" The South Carolina Historical Magazine Vol. 76, No. 4 (Oct., 1975), pp. 197-214: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27567333 (payment required)

GA Gov. James Wright: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/james-wright-1716-1785

Revolutionary War in Georgia: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/revolutionary-war-georgia

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

Chesney, Alexander (Jones, E. Alfred and Siebert, Wilbur H. eds) The Journal of Alexander Chesney: a South Carolina loyalist in the revolution and after, Columbus Ohio State University, 1921.

Drayton, John Memoirs of the American Revolution: from its commencement to the year 1776, inclusive, as relating to the state of South-Carolina, and occasionally refering [sic] to the states of North-Carolina and Georgia, Vol. 1, Charleston: A.E. Miller, 1821 (see also, Vol. 2).

Eckenrode, H.J. The Revolution in Virginia, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1916.

McCrady, Edward The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775-1780, London: Macmillan & Co. 1901.

Millspaugh, Arthur C. Loyalism in North Carolina during the American Revolution, University of Illinois-Urbana (Masters Thesis) 1910.

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

Phillips, Kevin 1775: A Good Year for Revolution,  New York: Penguin Books, 2012.

Russell, David Lee The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies, Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishing, 2000 (book recommendation of the week).

Williams, Tony Hurricane of Independence, Naperville: Sourcebooks, 2008.

Episode 068: Congress' Olive Branch Petition

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We last left the Continental Congress a few weeks ago, having authorized the Continental Army and appointing its top commanders.  Having shipped Washington and company off to war, Congress continued with its work overseeing prosecution of the war.

Organizing the Army

On June 27, 1775, Congress reversed its position on having Allen and Arnold retreat to the south of Lake Champlain. Instead it authorized them to go on the offensive invade Canada.  Three days later, Congress formally adopted Articles  of War for the new Continental Army.  The articles were pretty standard, banning bad behavior or desertion, and requiring officers and men to obey their superiors- stuff like that. Congress also authorized attempts to form alliances with Indian Nations, in order to prevent them from allying with the British.

Around this same time, Congress received and condemned Parliament’s Restraining Acts barring the colonies from engaging in any trade with anyone outside the Empire.  In short, Congress was getting everything onto a war setting with Britain.

Olive Branch Petition

Even so, many delegates still hoped to end the war peacefully through negotiation.  On July 5th, Congress adopted yet another petition to the King, known to history as the Olive Branch Petition.  This was primarily the work of Pennsylvania delegate John Dickinson, though Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, John Rutledge and Thomas Johnson also served on the drafting committee.  No one from New England served on the committee.  Several sources indicate that Thomas Jefferson drafted the original version of the petition.  I have found no basis for this assertion.  Jefferson did not sit on the draft committee, did not even arrive in Congress until several weeks after the draft committee had formed. When he did arrive, he immediately set to work drafting the Declaration on Taking up Arms, that I will discuss next.  It seems that some books are confusing the drafting of these two documents.

Olive Branch Petition Signature Page (from Wikimedia)

While Dickinson had earned patriot street cred for his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, years earlier, Dickinson still clung to the idea that the colonies could remain attached to the mother country if only Britain would allow the colonies to control their own internal taxes.  Dickinson’s views were still pretty radical back in 1767, when he penned the Letters.  Now, even though his views remained the same, he sounded almost like a Tory.

The petition itself avoided a long laundry list of the Parliament’s objectionable acts over the years.  It stayed short and to the point.  Things between Britain and the colonies had gotten crazy and now full scale war has started.  This was the result of all the terrible stuff ministers were doing in the King’s name.  It then humbly requested that the King use his authority to tell his ministers to respect the rights of the colonies and stop all this nonsense so everyone could get back to running an effective empire full of loyal thriving subjects.

The petition still clung to the fiction that the King really was on the side of the colonies, and that the pesky Parliament or corrupt members of the ministry had somehow tricked the King into letting them deprive the colonies of their sacred rights.  The petition implored the King to step in and settle everything by supporting the patriot view on taxes and individual rights.

John Dickinson
(from Wikimedia)

It’s not clear to me if anyone really believed that the King was being duped by his ministers.  In truth, clinging to that fiction helped maintain their own fiction that they were not engaged in treason.  It also gave British authorities a way to step in a create a negotiated settlement in such a way that would not cause the King to lose face.

The petition itself only highlighted the divide in Congress between those who accepted they were at war and those who still clinged a hope to negotiate a compromise.  The New England delegates considered the petition a waste of time.  John Adams and Dickinson got into such a dispute over the petition that they stopped speaking to each other.

Despite the disagreement, Adams and just about everyone else in Congress signed the petition.  It did not commit them to anything and simply demanded the King gave them their rights.  It evinced no view that the colonists would ever compromise on the issue of taxation or their right to create their own colonial legislation within their colonies.  Even if many delegates considered it a waste of time, there was no use in creating bad blood with the moderates over a refusal to sign it.

To the Inhabitants of Great Britain

Along with the petition, Congress included an Address to the Inhabitants of Great Britain, drafted by Richard Henry Lee, Robert Livingston, and Edmund Pendleton.  The King had refused even to receive the petition of the First Continental Congress.  Probably anticipating that the King might treat its new petition similarly, Congress hoped the address would help build popular support for their cause in Britain itself.  In the past, British commercial interests had effectively lobbied Parliament to abandon taxes and other colonial policies that had caused problems.  Some in Congress hoped perhaps they could get local dissenters in Britain to help further the cause of the American colonies.

Like the petition, the address made clear that the colonies were not seeking independence.  Rather they sought to return to the way things were between Britain and the colonies in the early 1760’s.  It noted that colonists were denied fundamental power to legislate for themselves or have basic due process protection.  The Coercive Acts and the military occupation of Boston were only making the relationship worse.  Parliament’s valid trade laws over the colonies profited Britain enough to justify the military and administrative costs that the British government incurred.  Imposing additional taxes would only destroy what was already a highly profitable system for both sides.  Congress clearly aimed this address at the commercial interests in England that it hoped would side with the colonies against Parliament.

Congress sent the petition and the address off to London in the care of Richard Penn of Pennsylvania.  It then moved on to other business.

Adams Letter

If the petition and address were not already a futile exercise, John Adams helped to make sure they were.  Although Adams signed the petition in an attempt at colonial solidarily, he saw it as a danger.  He feared the King might agree to the petition, bring an end to the hostilities, then let Parliament continue on taxing and restricting colonial rights.  Adams had decided the time was right for independence, though he was not proclaiming that very loudly yet.  He did not want to scare off the moderates.

John Adam
(from Journal of Am. Rev.)

Adams wrote a letter to Massachusetts President James Warren.  It discussed his frustration with debate over these documents when they really should be fighting a war.  He expressed his hope that the King would reject the petition.   He called the petition a “measure of imbecility” and called Dickinson a man with a “great Fortune and piddling Genius” who was wasting Congress’ time with silly distractions when they would be better focusing on writing a Constitution.  Someone stole Adams’ letter in transit and a Tory newspaper in Boston published it.

This revealed to all that at least some in Congress were not really serious about pursuing a negotiated peace.  It also helped to solidify the animosity between Adams and Dickinson, and confirmed the view of many in Congress that Adams was uncompromising, and kind of a jerk.

Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

The day after approving the Olive Branch Petition, Congress turned to approval of its Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms.  Congress drafted the declaration at the request of General Washington.  The original committee consisted of John Rutledge, William Livingston, John Jay, Thomas Johnson and Benjamin Franklin.  The committee had almost the same makeup as the one for the Olive Branch Petition, except for the addition of Livingston and the absence of Dickinson. Rutledge worked as primary author of the first draft, which Congress rejected.  We don’t have a surviving copy of that draft, so it is unclear what Congress disliked.  To fix the problem, Congress  added two more delegates to the draft committee: John Dickinson, and a newcomer Thomas Jefferson.  Again, no one from New England sat on this committee.

Thomas Jefferson
(from Wikimedia)

Thomas Jefferson had just arrived in Congress to replace Peyton Randolph who had returned to Virginia.  Jefferson already had a good reputation as a writer, based primarily on A Summary View of the Rights of British America, which Jefferson had written the year before while still serving in the House of Burgesses.  The First Continental Congress relied on that document as they were drafting their Declaration of Rights and Grievances.  Beyond that, Jefferson was a relative unknown.  He had served as a minor member of the Virginia House for a few years, but had not done much to make himself known.  Jefferson also was not from a particularly prominent family in Virginia.  He owned an inland estate, away from the wealthier tidewater region.  His mother came from the more prominent Randolph family.  And whatever his social standing, Jefferson had a reputation as a good writer and dedicated patriot.

With that in mind, Congress added him to the drafting committee.  Jefferson based his first draft largely on his Summary View.  I am guessing he borrowed liberally since he reported his first draft of the 13 page document the next day.  There is no existing copy of this first draft, but many delegates found it much too combative.  Jefferson spelled out many of the atrocities and infringements on American liberty that led to the current state of war against Britain and the colonies.

Jefferson submitted his draft to the Committee.  Dickinson began picking it apart, finding the language far too strident and combative for his liking.  Eventually, the Committee got tired of arguing and told Dickinson to go work on Jefferson’s draft and bring it back to the Committee later.  Dickinson made substantial changes to the language, softening its down, and making explicitly clear that Congress was not seeking independence, only the protection of its long held rights.  Jefferson later noted that Dickinson only kept the last few paragraphs of his original draft.  In fact, Dickinson kept Jefferson’s general outline and some language throughout, but definitely made substantial changes to most of it.

The final document, in the end, received nearly universal approval in Congress.  Even John Adams spoke approvingly of it.  Congress printed copies to be distributed throughout the colonies, and to be read to the soldiers in the Continental Army.

Address to the Six Nations

In preparing to go to war, Congress concerned itself with one other major source of power, the Native American population.  The Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy had favored the British over the French in the wars of the prior 100 years.  Generally, though, they preferred to remain neutral.  Now, with Britain and the colonies going to war with one another, Congress hoped to encourage the Indians to stick to that neutrality.

Congress’ address to the Iroquois was simple.  They outlined the basics of the colonies’ dispute with England and suggested the Iroquois simply stay out of it.  Congress feared British agents would stir up the Indians to fight against the rebellion.  Congress simply wanted to make sure that did not happen.  The Address to the Six Nations sought to open a dialogue with the Iroquois to ensure they would stay out of any fighting.

Expanding Minutemen

With the petition, addresses, and declarations complete, Congress turned to some more practical measures, at least as Adams saw it, toward prosecuting the war.  Washington was by this time, hard at work trying to create an effective Continental Army.  Already Congress was struggling with how they were going to support that huge standing army that needed food, clothing, supplies, and ammunition.

Franklin, Adams,and
Jefferson (from Smithsonian)

Congress further realized that fighting would almost certainly spread well beyond Boston, and could envelope all of North America.  There was no way they could afford to expand the Continental Army to defend the entire continent.  Congress decided to follow the Massachusetts example.  On July 18th, Congress approved a call to form minuteman units in all of the colonies.  Essentially they were putting the militia on high alert everywhere so that they could respond to an British attack or invasion anywhere.  Minutemen would drill regularly and be ready to act as needed.

In some sense, Congress was playing catch up here.  Most colonies had already put their militia on high alert.  Even Pennsylvania, which did not have a tradition of citizen militia, had formed a militia army months earlier and had been drilling and preparing its forces for a potential fight.

Running an Army

Congress also quickly found itself overwhelmed and unsure how to control the new Continental Army.  They had reasonable confidence in George Washington their new Commander in Chief, and a former delegate.  But the fear of standing armies and their threat to civilian rule pervaded their thoughts.  Without an executive branch, Congress had to maintain its own civilian oversight of the army.

It retained all authority to commission officers. While Washington might make recommendations, Congress often appointed leaders that Washington did not want.  It frequently made choices, not on military ability, but to ensure fair representation of each colony, or to provide benefits to friends and relatives.  Many successful field officers like Benedict Arnold, quickly realized that battlefield victories did not lead to advancement.  Armchair officers in Philadelphia, who could get the ear of a powerful delegate, had a much better chance of promotion.  As a result, Arnold remained a colonel while men in Philadelphia received appointments as generals.

Even generals grumbled about some appointments. Maj. Gen. Lee still wanted to be Commander in Chief.  Gen. Heath became the superior of Gen. Thomas, even though Thomas had been Heath’s superior in the Massachusetts Provincial Army.  But for the most part, this grumbling remained limited to letters to friends.  Everyone wanted civilian control to work.  Officers could not be seen publicly seeking more power for themselves.

Benjamin Church
(from Wikimedia)

Aside from appointing officers, Congress actively involved itself in the day to day affairs of the army.  It expected regular reports from Washington.  Many other officers liberally corresponded with delegates in Congress on a wide range of military issues.  Congress set up committees to deal with a variety of ongoing military matters.

Congress also created a formal medical department for the army.  Clearly if there was fighting, the soldiers would need medical care.  As I mentioned last week, Dr. Benjamin Church became the first Surgeon General.

Congress made clear from the beginning that it would not simply create an army and set it loose.  Even placing congressional delegates among its top generals was not enough.  The history of Cromwell, who started as a member of Parliament and ended up taking control of Britain and tossing out Parliament, remained in the minds of many delegates.  They wanted to keep the army on a short leash, ensuring that it would always remain loyal to Congress and accept the continuing authority of civilian leadership over the army.

Post Office

Congress hoped to improve communications in the colonies.  The unofficial committees of correspondence had proven useful.  But there needed to be a better system for sending messages around the continent, especially now that there was no British oversight of a postal system.  Fortunately for America, the man in Britain who had worked on an American postal system for many years was none other than Benjamin Franklin.

He has lost that post a year earlier after the Ministry exposed his revelations of Gov. Hutchinson’s letters to the patriots in Boston.  But Franklin well understood the existing system and could continue to manage it.  Congress made Franklin the new Postmaster General for the continent.  Franklin would collect a $1000 salary and not do a whole lot more with the job.  He remained a delegate to the Continental Congress, which still took up most of his time.  He appointed several local postmasters and hired his son-in-law, Richard Bache, as his assistant.  The following year, Bache would take over for Franklin as Postmaster General.

Articles of Confederation Proposed

Late in July, Franklin also began circulating ideas for Articles of Confederation.  The Continental Congress really had no legal authority for its existence or anything it was doing.  It needed a set of rules, guiding principles, and restrictions on its power if it wanted to continue.  Franklin had been pushing for this sort of confederation for decades, going back to his support for the Albany Plan in 1754.  His proposed articles called for making the Continental Congress a permanent body to promote common issues of defense, safety, and welfare.  It also called on colonies to make payments to Congress based on their population.

Although Franklin circulated the idea, the moderates in Congress recoiled at the prospect.  Supporting such a measure could be seen as supporting a permanent independent government to replace Britain.  Members were not ready to go that far yet.  As a result, though delegates discussed the matter, they decided not to have any formal vote in this session.  Congress would continue to run on an ad-hoc basis.

Conciliatory Proposition Rejected

The final issue on Congress’ agenda that summer was Lord North’s Conciliatory Proposition.  You may recall back in February, Lord North sent a proposition to the various colonies to end all colonial taxes by Parliament.  Instead, Parliament would issue a demand for money to each colony and allow the local legislature to raise the money however they wanted.

Now this proposal had gone to the various royal governments in each colony.  The Ministry did not acknowledge the Continental Congress, nor any of the provincial congresses that had taken control.  All of the colonies had pretty universally rejected the idea of giving Parliament a blank check to demand as much money as it wanted, whenever it wanted, for any purpose it wanted.  That just seemed like a bad idea to everyone.  Even moderates like Dickinson could not support this idea.

So, the Second Continental Congress took it upon itself to reject the Conciliatory Proposition and send the response back to Lord North on behalf of all the colonies.  Congress had decided any peace would be on its own terms, not that of anyone in London.

Two days later, on August 2, 1775, Congress adjourned for the remainder of the summer, planning to resume work on September 5th.

- - -

Next Episode 69: The South Joins the War

Previous Episode 67: Washington Takes Command

Click here to donate

American Revolution Podcast is distributed 100% free of charge. If you can chip in to help defray my costs, I'd appreciate whatever you can give.  Make a one time donation through my PayPal account.
Thanks,
Mike Troy

Click here to see my Patreon Page

You can support the American Revolution Podcast as a Patreon subscriber.  This is an option for people who want to make monthly pledges.  Patreon support will give you access to Podcast extras and help make the podcast a sustainable project.  Thanks again!



Visit http://www.amrevpodcast.com for a list of all episodes.

Visit https://pod.amrevpodcast.com for free downloads of all podcast episodes.

Further Reading

Websites

Continental Congress  Articles of War (full text): http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/amrev/contarmy/articles.html

The Olive Branch Petition: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/contcong_07-08-75.asp

Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms & Appeal to the Inhabitants of Great Britain (full text): http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/arms.asp

More discussion on the drafting of the Declaration on Taking up Arms:
http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-01-02-0113-0001

Jefferson and Dickinson Drafts of the Declaration on Taking up Arms:
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/contcong_07-06-75.asp

Address of Congress to the Six Nations
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/contcong_07-13-75.asp

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

Journals of Congress, Vol 1, (contains minutes of First Continental Congress and first year of the Second Continental Congress.

Journals of the Continental Congress, Vol. 2 May 10-Sept. 20, 1775 Washington: US Gov’t Printing Office 1905.

Chinard, Gilbert Thomas Jefferson: The Apostle of Americanism, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1944 (originally published 1929).

Dickinson, John The Political Writings of John Dickinson, Wilmington: Bonsol and Niles, 1801.

Morse, John T. John Adams, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1912 (original 1889).

Stillé, Charles The Life and Times of John Dickinson, Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1891.

Van Doren, Carl Benjamin Franklin, New York: Viking Press, 1938.

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

Beck, Derek, Igniting the American Revolution 1773-1775, Naperville, Ill: Sourcebooks, 2015.

Beeman, Richard R. Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor: The Forging of American Independence, 1774-1776, New York: Basic Books, 2013.

Isaacson, Walter Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, New York, Simon & Schuster, 2003.

McCullough, David John Adams, New York, Simon & Schuster, 2001 (book recommendation of the week).

Meacham, John Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, New York: Random House, 2012.

Morgan, Edmund Benjamin Franklin, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.

Peterson, Merrill (ed) The Portable Thomas Jefferson, New York: Penguin Books, 1975.

Phillips, Kevin 1775: A Good Year for Revolution,  New York: Penguin Books, 2012.

Episode 067: Washington Takes Command

A few weeks ago, I discussed the Continental Congress’ decision to create a Continental Army and appoint George Washington as its commander in chief.  Before Washington could take charge, the Provincial Army fought the battle of Bunker Hill that I discussed for the last two weeks.  With the battle over, I’m going to pick up the story of Washington taking command of the new Continental Army.

New Generals for a New Army

The Continental Congress had voted to create the Continental Army on June 14, 1775.  It appointed George Washington as the new commander on June 15, two days before Bunker Hill.  Word of the new commander did not reach Gen. Artemas Ward until June 25, a week after the battle.  Washington took a couple of weeks to prepare, get his affairs in order, and make the trip to Boston, arriving on July 2, escorted by James Warren, the new President of the Provincial Congress, and Dr. Benjamin Church head of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety.

Washington Takes Command a Cambridge
(From New England Historical Society)

Washington first stopped to meet with General Ward, now the Continental Army’s second in command and the most senior major general in the new army.  I’m not sure if Ward was offended or relieved to have a new commander.  He did turn over command promptly and without public comment.  If there was a chance the two might develop a good working relationship, Washington put an end to that over the next few weeks.  Washington publicly criticized the lax command structure and leadership that he inherited, which Ward took personally.

With Washington were fellow Virginians the new Major General Charles Lee, third in command of the new army and newly appointed Brigadier General Horatio Gates.  As I mentioned last week, both men were in contention for the top job and both had been officers in the regular army before settling in Virginia.

Connecticut General Israel Putnam, who had played a prominent role at Bunker Hill and most other events at the siege of Boston, also received an appointment as major general in the new Continental Army.  The only major general not present was Philip Schuyler who was in Albany trying to resolve the military situation with Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold out around Fort Ticonderoga (see Episodes 59 and 60).

Two more Massachusetts generals in the Provincial Army were among the first eight brigadier generals appointed by Congress. Generals John Thomas and William Heath received their commissions.  Generals Joseph Spencer from Connecticut, and Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island also both served in the Provincial Army and received commissions as brigadiers.

Artemas Ward loses command
(From Wikimedia)

In case you were wondering, the others in the first class of brigadier generals were Joseph Sullivan, a New Hampshire delegate to the Continental Congress, who would arrive a few days later, Richard Montgomery who was Schuyler’s second in command in New York, and David Wooster from Connecticut, the same man who had refused Captain Benedict Arnold access to the powerhouse in New Haven after the Battle of Lexington (see, Episode 59).  These men rounded out the first class of brigadiers.

Also with Washington were his new aide, Maj. Thomas Mifflin and his secretary Lt. Col. Joseph Reed, both from Pennsylvania, and both of whom will play prominent future roles in our story.  At the risk of making too many introductions at once, I want to mention one more man accompanying General Washington.  Billy Lee was Washington’s slave.  He served as his personal assistant, valet, butler, and messenger.  Washington had purchased Lee in 1768.  The two men apparently grew very close.  Lee was one of the few men anywhere who could keep up with Washington on a horse.  Both men were excellent and daring riders.  Lee would serve Washington for all eight years of the war, remaining by his side through everything.  It is unclear if Washington ever confided in Lee, because if he did, Lee never betrayed that confidence.  It was clear that Washington was close with Lee and appreciated his service.  When Washington died, Lee was the only slave he freed outright.  He also granted Lee a pension for the remainder of his life.

George Washington

I’ve already given some background on some of these new generals, and will probably need to provide more background on more of them in future episodes, but today, I just want to focus on Washington himself.  Hopefully, everybody knows who George Washington is, and there are literally over a thousand published biographies about the man, almost all of which are better than this brief summary.. But in the interest of being thorough, here is a brief background.

George Washington by Peale
1776 (from Wikimedia)

Washington was one of the earliest people I introduced in this story, way back in Episode 5. There, as a young man he blundered into the Ohio Valley and kicked off the Seven Years War between Britain and France, known in America as French and Indian War.  In 1759, as the French and Indian War was nearing its end, Washington married Martha Custis, a wealthy widow with two children of her own.

George, then 26, left active military service and got elected to the House of Burgesses later that year.  For the next 15 years, he spent his time as a gentleman farmer and minor legislator, while remaining a Virginia militia officer.  Washington had begun wearing his militia uniform to the Second Continental Congress, where he was a delegate.  Some have argued he was angling to be made the new commander of the Continental Army.  As I mentioned in an earlier episode, from the public and private statements of Washington around this time, I think he hoped to be made a general, but did not anticipate being appointed Commander in Chief.   When offered the command though, he stepped up and accepted it.

Washington was also an extremely formal, quiet, and reserved man.  As a boy, he came from one of the lesser families in Virginia and was always focused on comporting himself more like the wealthier leaders in the colony.  He focused obsessively on his dress, speech, manners, and behavior, and expected others to do the same.  He rarely took anyone into his confidence or engaged in casual conversation.  If anyone ever betrayed his confidence, even in a minor way, he would cut them off rather coldly and would not allow them to become close ever again.

Reorganizing the Army

When Washington arrived in Cambridge, the southern officer experienced a bit of a culture shock with his new army made up of New Englanders.  Washington had expected to command an army of over 20,000.  The force that met him, however, had less than 14,000 ready for duty, which referred only to the state of their health, not whether they were really trained to fight in battle.

While he did not comment publicly about his first thoughts on his new army, he did write a letter to a distant cousin at Mount Vernon:

The People of this Government have obtained a Character which they by no means deserved—their Officers generally speaking are the most indifferent kind of People I ever saw. ….. [T]they are by no means such Troops, in any respect, as you are led to believe of them from the Accts which are published, but I need not make myself Enemies among them, by this declaration, although it is consistent with truth. I daresay the Men would fight very well (if properly Officered) although they are an exceeding dirty & nasty people.

Gen. Charles Lee
(From Wikimedia)

He was shocked at the level of disorganization, that soldiers and officers did not respect the chain of command, and that blacks and whites were fighting alongside one another.  He immediately began to try to change all these things.

One of the things though, that helped make Washington great, was his ability to accept advice and to change his views when convinced of a better idea.  Washington initially ordered the dismissal of black troops.  As a Virginian he was raised with the concern that armed blacks created a risk of slave insurrection.  New Englanders though, had no such fears.  Free whites outnumbered both slaves and free blacks combined by overwhelming numbers.  Convinced by his New England officers that dismissing the black troops was a bad idea, he soon reversed himself and permitted the racially integrated units to continue.  He soon grew to admire and appreciate the capabilities of these men.

His concerns about organization, deportment, and the chain of command though, required change.  After personally inspecting the lines, and getting numerous reports on the state of his new army, One of Washington’s first actions was to hold several courts martial, to remove officers who had exhibited cowardice during the battle of Bunker Hill.  He also took an inventory of his army, including men, arms, and supplies.  He did away with the right of soldiers to elect their officers.  All Continental officers would receive a commission from the Continental Congress.

Washington knew that an effective army needed discipline.  He issued rules against profanity, drunkenness, and gambling.  Officers and men had to attend daily religious services.  Violations could be punished with floggings.  He ordered officers to improve the neatness and appearance of their men and the camps, keep their men from wandering away from camp without orders, and crack down on the destruction of private property.

The new commander issued an order for sentries not to communicate with the enemy.  Soldiers on the front lines at Boston Neck or Charleston Neck often stood within shouting distance of their counterparts on the other side.  Such conversations were banned as was any correspondence with the enemy.

Billy Lee, Washington's servant
(from findagrave)

Supplies were also a primary concern.  Washington tried to get Congress to buy more shirts for his army.  He really wanted whole uniforms but realized this was impossible for now.  Many men had been wearing the same unwashed shirts for months, reducing them to rags.  Washing them was impossible as there were no women around to do the work.  Apparently, it was inconceivable that a soldier might wash his own clothes.  New shirts would go a long way toward improving morale.  Congress, however, could not come up with the money even for that.  Instead of uniforms, Washington ordered his generals and aides to wear ribbons over their shoulders much like a Miss America sash.  Washington wore light blue, his general wore pink sashes and his aides green ones.  Field officers would wear colored cockades, a smaller ribbon tied in a bow, in their hats.

Washington organized his army into three divisions, one for each of his major generals at Boston.  He put General Ward in charge of the the army’s right at Roxbury, defending Boston Neck.  General Lee took charge of the left, which included the defense of Charlestown Neck against the British on Bunker Hill.  Putnam commanded the center at Cambridge, under Washington’s direct supervision.

Washington may have expected that the men in his new army would need training and discipline.  What really shocked him was the lack of ammunition and supplies.  Originally his aides told him the army had just over 300 barrels of powder, about enough to give each soldier a one full cartridge box, and not much more, not even counting the needs of any artillery.  That count, however, was based on old paperwork.  It had not counted all the powder that had been used over the past month, including the Battle of Bunker Hill.  When his aides actually did a physical check on inventory, they found only 90 barrels for the entire army.  When Washington heard the news, he apparently was struck speechless for some time.  He realized he did not have enough to fight even one battle with the British.  If the British attacked, his army could not fight back.

Siege of Boston (from Journal of the American Revolution)

Washington did not write any letters to Congress about this desperate shortage.  He feared that if the enemy learned of this fact, they would march out of Boston and crush his army as they could not even return fire for very long.  In fact, the British commander, Gage, did hear about the powder shortage.  He still had his spy network including Benjamin Church, head of the Committee of Safety. Gage, however did not believe it, thinking it was an attempt to draw him out of Boston into battle.  Washington made getting more powder a priority, but it would take months to get any significant increase in stock.  He had to issue orders banning any firing practice or other unauthorized discharges in order to conserve what little powder they had.  Also, to counter the lack of bayonets for most of his men, the army ordered the production and deployment of spears to defend against an attack.  Even these were slow in coming.

Disease also became more of a problem over the summer.  Dysentery and smallpox swept through both the British and Provincial camps, killing or disabling many.  At one point nearly 20% of the Continental Army was unfit for service.  Hundreds of them would die that summer, without ever seeing battle.  In late July, Washington appointed Benjamin Church as the head of a newly formed “Hospital Department” a position that would be referenced as “Surgeon General”.

For the most part, the army seemed to accept its new commander and complied with his policies.  It could all fall apart quickly though.  Ward, his second in command soon took offense at Washington’s criticism of the condition of the army when he took control  Ward knew that reflected poorly on his leadership.  Lee, third in command, was still upset that Congress had not selected him as commander in chief.  He seemed to be waiting for Washington to screw up, so that he could move into the top slot.  Both men, however, bided their time and, for the moment, enforced Washington’s policies.

Skirmishes

Washington was eager to do battle with the British, but the condition of his army and the lack of ammunition made this impossible. Both armies remained well entrenched in defensive position, neither side willing to attempt to dislodge the other.

On the British side, Bunker Hill seems to have taken the fight out of the British commanders.  In July, they received reinforcements that more than covered their losses from the battle.  But General Thomas Gage in particular seemed unwilling to initiate any new fighting. Gen. Henry Clinton had pushed to follow through on their original plan to take Dorchester Heights.  His plan would bypass Boston Neck and launch assault troops for a water landing.  Clinton got the plan as far as putting soldiers on landing craft.  Gage, however, got cold feet and sent a messenger ship to recall the invasion before they could land.

The Boston Lighthouse (from New England Historical Society)

There were occasional skirmishes.  In the days following Washington’s arrival, there were apparently several minor attacks and counter attacks near Boston Neck.  British troops attacked defenders at Roxbury, possibly in an attempt to capture some stray cattle between the lines.  After that, Gen. Ward issued an order calling for any cattle straying beyond American lines to be shot.  The Americans attacked and destroyed Brown’s Tavern, a small building on Boston Neck occupied by British regulars.  The British would launch another raid a few weeks later, attacking Americans who were trying to reinforce and extend their defensive lines.  The Americans would use the the distraction of this attack to launch a successful attack on the Lighthouse on Lighthouse Island, making night movements for the British Navy a little more difficult.  That night, the British sent a construction crew with 30 marines as guards to repair the lighthouse,  They were still working the following morning when the Patriots launched another attack on the island, capturing the construction crew and the marines, and once again burning down the repaired lighthouse.

The arrival of the new Continental rifle units from Virginia and Pennsylvania created new excitement.  Riflemen liked to show off their skills by firing on sentries across the river in Boston.  Somehow the regulars captured one of them.  It’s not clear whether they captured him alive and then hanged him, or simply hanged his dead body after they killed him.  Either way the hanging body appeared in Boston in view of the Continental lines on August 2.  Enraged riflemen received permission to fire on regulars in Boston, which they did for the rest of the day, killing or wounding an unspecified number.  British muskets could not return fire, but artillery could.  One rifleman died from a well placed cannon ball.

These are only a few examples of the ongoing small-time skirmishing that kept both armies on alert.

Plowed Hill

A slightly larger skirmish occurred when on August 26, Washington ordered the occupation of Plowed Hill (aka Ploughed Hill), a small hill across the river to the north of Bunker Hill.  Overnight, 1200 Continentals entrenched their position on the hill, giving them a good position across the river against the British on Bunker Hill.

Ploughed Hill, Cambridge 1775 (from bouseblog)

The next morning, the British opened fire on the Continental forces from Bunker Hill and several gunboats, but could do little against entrenched forces.  They killed or injured a few soldiers who ran out of the bunkers to collect British cannon balls.  Continental officers gave soldiers a reward for any balls they collected.  A few soldiers tried to use their feet to stop balls slowly rolling across the field, only to discover that a relatively slow moving 20 pound ball can still do serious damage to your foot. The Americans had one cannon with them, which they used successfully to sink one small British gunboat.

The British prepared to assault Plowed Hill by boat, but decided against it.  Continental riflemen were already picking off too many of them.  They did not want another costly win like Bunker HIll for land that they could not really hold if they took it.  In the end, they simply left the Americans in control of the hill.  So, the summer of 1775 ended with the stalemate over Boston showing no sign of ending.

- - -

Next Episode 68: Congress' Olive Branch Petition

Previous  Episode 66: British Take Bunker Hill

Click here to donate

American Revolution Podcast is distributed 100% free of charge. If you can chip in to help defray my costs, I'd appreciate whatever you can give.  Make a one time donation through my PayPal account.
Thanks,
Mike Troy

Click here to see my Patreon Page

You can support the American Revolution Podcast as a Patreon subscriber.  This is an option for people who want to make monthly pledges.  Patreon support will give you access to Podcast extras and help make the podcast a sustainable project.  Thanks again!



Visit http://www.amrevpodcast.com for a list of all episodes.

Visit https://pod.amrevpodcast.com for free downloads of all podcast episodes.

Further Reading:

Websites

LOC: Washington’s Commission as Commander in Chief: http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/commission.html

William “Billy” Lee: http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/william-billy-lee

From George Washington to Lund Washington, August 20, 1775: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0234

Benjamin Church becomes “Surgeon General”: http://drbenjaminchurchjr.blogspot.com/2015/10/dr-benjamin-church-jr-appointed-surgeon.html

Burgoyne, Lee, and Enoch Brown’s Tavern, July 7, 2007 Journal of the American Revolution: http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2007/07/burgoyne-lee-and-enoch-browns-tavern.html

VIDEO: J.L. Bell describes George Washington’s Headquarters in Cambridge C-SPAN, 2017: https://www.c-span.org/video/?436822-4

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

French, Allen The Siege of Boston, New York: Macmillan, 1911.

Frothingham, Richard History of the Siege of Boston, Boston: CC Little & J. Brown, 1851.

Heitman, Francis Historical register of officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April, 1775, to December, 1783, Washington: Rare Book Publishing Co. 1893.

Leiter, Mary Biographical Sketches of the Generals of the Continental Army of the Revolution, Cambridge: University Press, 1889.

Linn, John, et. al (ed) Pennsylvania in the war of the revolution, battalions and line. 1775-1783, Harrisburg: Lane Hart,1880 (pp. 6-7 discuss Battle of Plowed Hill).

Lodge, Henry Cabot George Washington, Vol. 1, Boston: Houghton Mifflin & Co. 1898.

Martyn, Charles The life of Artemas Ward, the first commander-in-chief of the American Revolution, New York: Artemas Ward, 1921.

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

Beck, Derek The War Before Independence: 1775-1776, Naperville, Ill: Sourcebooks, 2016.

Beeman, Richard R. Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor: The Forging of American Independence, 1774-1776, New York: Basic Books, 2013.

Borneman, Walter American Spring: Lexington, Concord, and the Road to Revolution, New York: Little, Brown & Co. 2014.

Chernow, Ron Washington: A Life, New York: Penguin Press, 2010 (book recommendation of the week).

Fleming, Thomas Now We are Enemies: The Story of Bunker Hill, St. Martin’s Press, 1960.

Forman, Samuel Dr. Joseph Warren: The Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, and the Birth of American Liberty, Pelican Publishing, 2011.

Lockhart, Paul The Whites of Their Eyes, New York: Harper Collins, 2011.

Nelson, James L. With Fire and Sword: The Battle of Bunker Hill and the Beginning of the American Revolution, New York: St. Martin's Press, 2011.

Philbrick, Nathaniel Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution, New York: Penguin Books, 2013.

Phillips, Kevin 1775: A Good Year for Revolution,  New York: Penguin Books, 2012.