The Royalton Raid

On this day in history, October 16, 1780, the Royalton Raid is one of the last Indian attacks in New England during the American Revolution. The Royalton Raid was an attack of 270 Mohawk and Abenaki Indians led by British officers on several small villages in what is now central Vermont. This is the region that produced the Green Mountain Boys and patriot leaders such as Ethan Allen and Seth Warner.

In the fall of 1780, a campaign launched from British Quebec conducted simultaneous raids along Vermont's White River, the Mohawk River valley in New York and on the shores of Lake Champlain and Lake George. The White River attack was led by Lieutenant Richard Houghton and six other British soldiers. The campaign was intended to terrorize the inhabitants of New York, Vermont and New Hampshire to prevent them from organizing and launching any further raids against Canada.

On the morning of October 16, the large force of Indians attacked the small town of Royalton, which was then a village of about 25 homes on both sides of the river. The Indians went from house to house capturing as many residents as they could and killing anyone who resisted. Most of the town's residents were captured, while a few escaped or hid. As the Indians left town, they burned the buildings and destroyed any crops and livestock they found. The attack continued up and down the river for several miles, with the settlements of Sharon and Tunbridge suffering the same fate.

That night, a large party of 300 militia located the Indians, having gathered after survivors got away and warned nearby towns. The militia began attacking, but were warned that all the captives would be killed if the attack did not stop. The attackers reluctantly pulled back to spare the captives and let the raiders go.

One hero to rise out of the Royalton Raid was Hannah Hendee. Hendee escaped capture, but her young son and other children were taken captive by the raiding party. She was outraged that British officers would capture children and use them as pawns in war. She crossed the river and followed the raiding party until she found them. She accosted Lt. Houghton for taking children and demanded that they be returned. Houghton complied and returned Hendee's son, as well as several other children.

Four settlers were killed in the Royalton Raid and 26 were taken captive. They were marched to Canada and sold to the British where some spent as long as two years in dismal prisons. Just as the Revolution came to an end, one of the captives taken in the raid, Zadock Steele, helped stage a prison break from the notorious Prison Island in the St. Lawrence River. Steele traipsed across the wilderness for three weeks, nearly starved, before he came to an American settlement. Unbeknownst to him, the war had already ended and all the remaining prisoners had been released.

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Jack Manning

Treasurer General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org   

"The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment." 

George Washington (1783)

British troops sail up the East River

On this day in history, October 12, 1776, British troops sail up the East River east of Manhattan and land at Throgg's Neck. After successfully driving the Continental Army off Long Island in late August and occupying New York City in September of 1776, British General William Howe hoped to trap George Washington's army at Harlem Heights in the north of Manhattan.

On October 12, 90 flatboats sailed up the East River with more than 4,000 British soldiers. They landed at Throgg's Neck, a peninsula on Long Island Sound. The neighborhood in this part of the Bronx still bears the name Throg's Neck today. Howe's plan was to march across to Manhattan and trap the Continental Army between his troops and the other British troops at the southern end of Manhattan, with the Hudson River at Washington's back.

Washington's scouts observed the landing at Throgg's Neck and were ordered to destroy a bridge leading from the peninsula to the mainland. Once this was complete, Howe's troops were trapped on the island. It took them six days before they were able to reload on the flatboats and sail further up the coast.

After stalling the British on Throgg's Neck, Washington decided to evacuate his army to the north as quickly as possible. The army began marching north toward White Plains. On the 18th, the British troops landed at Pell's Point, 3 miles above Throgg's Neck. This time, the brigade of Colonel John Glover was waiting for them and delayed them by attacking from a stone wall. When the British advanced, Glover's troops retreated to another wall and fired on them again. This happened 3 times before the British finally stopped their advance and Glover's men got away.

The distraction at Pell's Point allowed the remaining part of the Continentals to get north and away from the possibility of being trapped against the Hudson. For ten days, the two armies maneuvered around each other and finally met on the battlefield at White Plains on the 28th, where 13,000 men on each side faced each other. The Battle of White Plains had roughly equal casualties on both sides, but Washington chose to retreat after losing the high ground at White Plains.

Pursued by Howe across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, Washington was finally able to stop Howe by confiscating all the boats up and down the Delaware River, denying Howe a way across. The Continental Army sat in Pennsylvania and the British sat on the opposite side of the Delaware in New Jersey. Washington finally turned the tables with two surprise night time attacks on Trenton and Princeton, attacks which finally made the British realize the Americans were not going to be conquered as easily as they had thought.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com

Jack Manning

Treasurer General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org   

"The truth is, that, even with the most secure tenure of office, during good behavior, the danger is not, that the judges will be too firm in resisting public opinion, and in defence of private rights or public liberties; but, that they will be ready to yield themselves to the passions, and politics, and prejudices of the day." 

Joseph Story (1833)

The Battle of Valcour Island begins

On this day in history, October 11, 1776, the Battle of Valcour Island begins. This was one of the first important naval engagements of the American Revolution, pitting American Brigadier General Benedict Arnold against British Captain Thomas Pringle.

The American campaign to capture Quebec in the fall of 1775 had gone disastrously. General Richard Montgomery was killed at the Battle of Quebec, while his second in command, Benedict Arnold, was seriously injured. Arnold continued a siege of Quebec City after the battle, but the Americans were eventually forced to withdraw. Arnold brought up the rear of the American forces, making a last stand at Fort St. Jean's, where he burned the fort and any ships he could not use, in order to deny the British from using them. Arnold then sailed down Lake Champlain to Fort Crown Point where the Americans were preparing for a British invasion.

Back at Fort St. Jean's, Canadian Governor and General Guy Carleton had no way of getting his troops further south since Arnold had destroyed all the ships. He was forced to build a fleet over the summer, many of which were made from pre-fabricated parts imported from Europe. Meanwhile, the Americans began enhancing their own fleet, bringing in hundreds of shipbuilders to Skenesboro since there weren't many shipbuilders in upper New York.

Benedict Arnold oversaw the construction of several ships that brought the entire fleet to 15. Arnold sailed north to reconnoiter British activities in September, coming close enough to St. Jean's to be fired upon. By the end of September, Arnold knew the British would be launching soon, so he headed south to Valcour Island, an ideal spot to engage the British.

The island had a narrow channel between itself and the mainland that would prevent the British from fully engaging the American fleet, which was significantly outnumbered and outgunned. On the morning of October 11th, the British passed Valcour Island, not realizing the fleet was hiding behind it. Two American ships came out, gave fight and lured the British ships back toward the rest of the fleet.

In fighting that lasted all day, most of the American ships were damaged and the gunboat Philadelphia sank. One American ship was beached on the island and boarded. During the night, Arnold managed to sail the fleet south in the dark and head for refuge. Captain Pringle was furious that his enemy had escaped and began a search. Over the next two days, the damaged fleet headed south, losing most of the remaining ships along the way. Some sunk, one was captured and several were scuttled to prevent the British from capturing them. Only 4 of the original 15 ships made it back to Crown Point.

Arnold's remaining soldiers made their way overland to Crown Point, where Arnold burned the fort down and retreated to Fort Ticonderoga. The British landed there on the 14th, but within a few weeks withdrew back to Canada because of the onset of winter.

Though the Battle of Valcour Island was lost, Arnold is usually credited with preventing a successful invasion from the north during 1776. The British troops knew that keeping supply lines open back to Quebec would be very difficult in the harsh New York winter, so they withdrew to try again the following year. When British General John Burgoyne brought the invasion the next year, it failed because the Americans had the entire winter and spring to gather masses of troops and supplies in preparation. When Burgoyne surrendered his army at Saratoga the next year, it was a major turning point in the war and the victory extended all the way back to the loss at the Battle of Valcour Island.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com

Jack Manning

Treasurer General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org   

"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

John Adams (1770)

General William Howe replaces Lt. General Thomas Gage

On this day in history, October 10, 1775, General William Howe replaces Lt. General Thomas Gage as Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America. Gage and Howe were the first two generals in charge of British forces during the American Revolution. A third, General Henry Clinton, would replace Howe in 1778.

Thomas Gage made a name for himself during the French and Indian War. He was part of General Edward Braddock's Expeditionary Force sent to drive the French out of the Ohio Valley in 1755. General Braddock was killed at the Battle of the Monongahela and Gage was injured. This battle also made George Washington famous for his organization of a successful retreat.

Gage went on to serve in several battles of the French and Indian War and eventually was made the military governor of the newly conquered Montreal, where Gage proved himself a smart administrator. He was soon appointed interim Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America. When the previous commander decided not to return, Gage was given the position permanently.

The American rebellion rose during his tenure and Gage's understanding of the Americans led to many of the British policies that only made things worse. Gage sent troops to Boston in 1768 to enforce the Townshend Acts, resulting in the Boston Massacre in 1770. After the Boston Tea Party, Gage recommended the suspension of democratic town meetings in Massachusetts and the closure of its legislature. Gage was made military governor of Massachusetts in 1774. He confiscated military supplies at Somerville that fall which nearly ignited the war. The following April, Gage sent troops to confiscate the rebel munitions at Concord. The war began as colonists came out to defend themselves.

After the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, more troops were sent to Boston, along with Generals William Howe, Henry Clinton and John Burgoyne. Boston was surrounded and the generals planned to break out of the city by attacking several points, including Bunker Hill on the nearby Charlestown Peninsula. When the rebels learned of the plan, they fortified the peninsula and fought the British for it on June 17. The British won the Battle of Bunker Hill, but lost 1,000 men in the process.

After receiving news of the horrible "victory," Lord Dartmouth, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, called for Gage's termination. General William Howe was named as Gage's replacement and the transfer of power took place on October 10, with Gage departing for England the next day.

General Howe did not fare much better than Gage against the Americans. After being driven from Boston when George Washington fortified Dorchester Heights with cannons from Fort Ticonderoga, Howe successfully invaded New York and defeated the Continental Army at the Battle of Long Island. Howe then drove Washington across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. Washington successfully struck back though at the Christmastime battles of Trenton and Princeton.

In the fall of 1777, Howe captured Philadelphia, defeating the Continentals in two decisive battles at Brandywine and Germantown. The victory, however, was bittersweet. Howe had chosen to go to Philadelphia instead of helping General Burgoyne in New York. Burgoyne was forced into surrendering an army of 7,000 men at the Battle of Saratoga. Many scholars believe Howe hoped to receive the glory of conquering Philadelphia and was afraid that Burgoyne would upstage him if he won a battle in New York.

Knowing he would be blamed for Burgoyne's surrender, Howe sent a letter of resignation to London in October. He received notice in April, 1778, that General Clinton would replace him. Howe's soldiers threw him a grand festival called the "Mischianza" before he left because he was so well liked. General Clinton took over on May 24, the same day Howe sailed for England. Clinton would serve as Commander-in-Chief through the rest of the war, right up to the British defeat at the end.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com

Jack Manning

Treasurer General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org   

"Our unalterable resolution would be to be free. They have attempted to subdue us by force, but God be praised! in vain. Their arts may be more dangerous than their arms. Let us then renounce all treaty with them upon any score but that of total separation, and under God trust our cause to our swords." 

Samuel Adams (1776)