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

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust.”
James Madison, Federalist No. 57

William Butler raids Onaquaga and Unadilla

On this day in history, October 8, 1778, William Butler raids Onaquaga and Unadilla, two Iroquois villages used as a base of operations against patriots on New York’s frontier during the American Revolution. Onaquaga and Unadilla were ancient Indian villages, but were some of the most advanced Iroquois cities, complete with “good houses, Square logs, Shingles & stone Chimneys, good Floors, glass windows &c.” The two towns had 700 residents between them and even had a grist mill and a saw mill. 

Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant, who was educated in the colonies and had family ties to the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, led allied Indian and Loyalist attacks on the frontier during the Revolution. One such attack on German Flatts (modern Herkimer), drew a request from New York’s Governor George Clinton asking George Washington for the use of Continental Army soldiers to retaliate. Washington agreed and Lt. Col. William Butler was given the task of retaliating.          

In early October, Butler left Fort Schoharie with a mixed force of 267 Continental soldiers and militia. On October 6, the force arrived at Unadilla. Butler’s scouts came back with a prisoner who informed Butler that most of the residents had fled the town, with most going to Onaquaga. Butler sent part of his troops immediately toward Onaquaga, which they reached on the evening of October 8. The soldiers marched into the city, but, like Unadilla, found it abandoned. The residents of both towns had obviously caught wind of the impending attack. 

Over the course of the next two days, Onaquaga was completely destroyed. More than 40 houses and the saw mill and grist mill were burned to the ground. Livestock was captured and tons of grain were destroyed. After leaving Onaquaga to return to Fort Schoharie, the troops stopped again at Unadilla on the 10th and destroyed it as well. Every building was razed… except for the home of the prisoner who had helped them. 

Throughout the summer and fall, both sides executed a series of attacks against the villages and settlements of the other. The attacks on Onaquaga and Unadilla, however, outraged the Iroquois more than usual. These two towns were some of their most advanced cities and they were rightly proud of them. The response to their destruction came as a bloody attack on Cherry Valley, New York, in November, where 30 settlers and 14 soldiers were killed, including many women and children who were butchered. 

The Cherry Valley Massacre, as it came to be called, brought down the full wrath of the Continental Congress, which authorized an expedition to wipe out the Iroquois presence in New York. The Sullivan Expedition was sent to complete this mission the following year. The expedition wiped out dozens of Iroquois villages and destroyed all their crops for the following winter, leading to mass starvation and a mass migration to Quebec where the Indians found solace with their British allies. Even to this day, Iroquois descendants live on reservations created for them when they migrated to Canada after their ancestral towns were destroyed during the Sullivan Expedition. 

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

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.”
Alexander Hamilton (1775)

The Battle of Forts Montgomery and Clinton

On this day in history, October 6, 1777, the Battle of Forts Montgomery and Clinton are lost by the Americans. 1777 brought about a plan by the British government to split off New England from the rest of the colonies. General John Burgoyne was to march south from Quebec with a large army that would meet another large army at Albany commanded by General William Howe coming up from the south.

Burgoyne’s mission was successful at first, but eventually ran into trouble when its long supply lines became unsustainable and his Indian allies abandoned him. Burgoyne became stalled at Saratoga about 30 miles north of Albany, facing an army of 9,000 Americans just to the south.         

When Burgoyne received word that General Howe had gone to capture Philadelphia instead of coming to Albany, he knew his army was in jeopardy. He wrote to General Henry Clinton, who had been left in charge of New York City in General Howe’s absence, and asked him to send immediate help. Clinton sent 3,000 soldiers up the Hudson on October 3, informing Burgoyne that he would begin an attack at Forts Montgomery and Clinton around the end of the month in hopes of drawing at least some of the Americans away from Burgoyne. By the time Burgoyne received the message, he knew the help would come too late. 

Fort Montgomery sat on the north ridge of a gorge where the Popolopen Creek empties into the Hudson, while Fort Clinton sat on the south ridge. Both forts guarded a great chain stretched across the river to prevent British ships from sailing upriver Fort Montgomery. 

On October 6, Clinton landed 2100 soldiers at Stony Point and marched them north toward Fort Clinton. After they engaged a scouting party, the forts were alerted to the British presence. Clinton sent 900 men under Lt. Col. Mungo Campbell to march around the gorge to Fort Montgomery, while the rest waited with General John Vaughn for a simultaneous attack on Fort Clinton. 

American General George Clinton, who was also the rebel governor of New York and a future vice-president, and his brother, General James Clinton, guarded the two forts with about 700 men, so they were outnumbered 3 to 1. George Clinton sent out men to guard Fort Montgomery from the west. They put up such a strong defense that Campbell’s men took all day to finally reach the fort. When they finally breached the fort, Campbell was killed and the British went on a vicious crusade, killing everyone they could. Governor Clinton and about half the defenders escaped. Meanwhile at Fort Clinton, the Americans put up an equally strong defense. Like Fort Montgomery, Fort Clinton eventually fell. James Clinton and many of his soldiers escaped down the cliff to the river. 

The Americans lost 75 killed or wounded and 263 captured, while the British had 41 killed and 142 wounded. After the Battles of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton, the British broke the chain extending across the river and sailed north for further attacks. Eventually, however, this force was called back to New York in order to send aid to General Howe in Philadelphia. Both forts were burned by the British upon their retreat. 

In spite of the tactical victory by the British, this mission was ultimately a massive failure because General Burgoyne received no help at Saratoga and was forced to surrender his entire army. This American victory encouraged France to join the war on the American side, ultimately sealing the fate of Great Britain’s hegemony in North America. 

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

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth — and listen to the song of that syren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those, who having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?”
Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Convention, 1775

Congress informed of Dr. Benjamin Church’s treason

 On this day in history, October 5, 1775, Congress is informed of Dr. Benjamin Church’s treason. Dr. Church was deeply involved in the patriot movement in Boston, having close relations with such people as Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren and John Hancock. The interception of a coded letter to a British soldier revealed that he had been sending intelligence to the British all along.

Benjamin Church was born into a prominent Boston family. He studied medicine in London and built a lucrative medical practice in Boston, where he became known as a skilled surgeon. Prior to the Revolution, Church was involved in the Sons of Liberty movement. He nursed several of the wounded after the Boston Massacre and his prominence as a member of the patriot movement grew when he delivered the annual oration on the anniversary of the massacre in 1773.     

Church was elected to the rebel Provincial Congress in 1774. He became a member of the Committee of Safety, which was charged with the military preparation of the colony. In these positions, Dr. Church was at the heart of the rebel movement, but his treasonous activities went undiscovered. After the Battle of Lexington, Church was seen meeting with British General Thomas Gage in Boston, which aroused suspicion, but Church said he had been detained and then released and the suspicions were put to rest. 

In July of 1775, Church attempted to send a letter through his mistress to a British Major Cane. The woman asked another of her suitors to take her to certain British officials to deliver the letter, but he refused. She then left the letter with him and asked him to deliver it. The man was suspicious and opened the letter, but it was written in code and he couldn’t read it so he set it aside. 

Some time later, he received an anxious letter from the woman asking what he had done with the letter. This aroused his suspicion again and he delivered the letter to patriot officials. The letter contained information about American troop strength and positions around Boston, but it had no indication of who wrote it. When the woman was questioned, she disclosed that Dr. Church was the author. 

On October 4, Washington oversaw a court-martial that found Church guilty of collaborating with the enemy and referred the matter to Congress for judgment. On October 5, Washington wrote to Congress and informed them of Dr. Church’s treason. Congress had Church confined in prison in Connecticut. After some time, he was released due to ill health and was finally allowed to leave the country in 1778. He sailed for the West Indies, but the ship was never heard from again and is presumed to have been lost at sea. 

The extent of Church’s treason was unknown for generations, but in the early 20th century, General Gage’s records of correspondence were finally opened to the public and numerous letters from Church were discovered. The letters revealed that Church had been delivering sensitive information to Gage for quite some time, earning him a place on the list of America’s most notorious traitors. 

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

Jack Manning

Historian General
National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“Without wishing to damp the ardor of curiosity or influence the freedom of inquiry, I will hazard a prediction that, after the most industrious and impartial researchers, the longest liver of you all will find no principles, institutions or systems of education more fit in general to be transmitted to your posterity than those you have received from your ancestors.”
John Adams, letter to the young men of the Philadelphia, 1798

The Battle of Germantown 

On this day in history, October 4, 1777, the Battle of Germantown is a loss by the Americans. Rather than a psychological loss to the patriots, the battle proves that the Americans can stand up against Great Britain and even encourages European leaders to believe that Great Britain can be defeated. 

The Battle of Germantown was part of the Philadelphia Campaign, which saw Philadelphia captured by the British on September 26. The Continental Army had suffered defeats trying to protect the city at the Battles of Brandywine and Paoli. After successfully entering the capital, British General William Howe divided his forces, leaving 3,400 in the city and placing the rest of his 9,000 troops north of the city. 

George Washington decided to take advantage of Howe’s splitting his troops by attacking him at the small town of Germantown, which today is part of Philadelphia, but then was some distance north of the city. Washington planned to attack in the early morning hours of October 4 with four columns of soldiers approaching from different routes. 

Generals John Sullivan and Nathanael Greene led the two center columns of Continental soldiers, while the two outer columns were made up of militia from various states. The battle began when Sullivan’s column ran into British sentries around 5 am on October 4. The fighting began in heavy fog and the British soldiers were finally overwhelmed and pushed back. 

Some of these retreating soldiers holed up in the mansion of Pennsylvania’s Chief Justice, Benjamin Chew, which was called Cliveden. Washington decided to attack the house, which turned out to be a disastrous move. An entire brigade was brought to deal with the 120 soldiers in the house, but the defenders managed to hold their ground, inflicting heavy casualties on their American attackers. The stone walls of the house were impervious to American cannon-fire. Valuable time and lives were wasted trying to take the house. 

Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong at this point. Heavy fog caused some Americans to take the wrong roads; two American brigades fired on each other in the fog; Sullivan’s men who pushed past the Chew mansion were unnerved from the cannon fire coming from behind them. In the fog and confusion, the British began making progress from various directions and the Americans began to retreat, with one entire American regiment surrounded and captured.

152 Americans were killed in the Battle of Germantown, including 57 in the attack on the Chew house. Another 1000 were wounded or captured. The British lost 71 dead, with 450 wounded or captured. In spite of the loss at Germantown, the battle had the effect of raising American prospects in the war.

European powers were encouraged by the battle. The Americans had suffered some devastating defeats recently, but they still had the courage to face the British. Frederick the Great of Prussia, who was regarded as the top military mind of the age, noted that if these untrained Americans could put up such a fight against the British, just imagine what they could do once they were trained. 

The Battle of Germantown, along with the American victory at Saratoga, encouraged France to join the war on the American side, turning the American Revolution into a worldwide war. This stretched the British forces out so thin, as they defended their interests globally, that they could not successfully defend the American colonies, eventually forcing them to capitulate to American demands. 

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

Jack Manning

Historian General
National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org  

“Without wishing to damp the ardor of curiosity or influence the freedom of inquiry, I will hazard a prediction that, after the most industrious and impartial researchers, the longest liver of you all will find no principles, institutions or systems of education more fit in general to be transmitted to your posterity than those you have received from your ancestors.”
-John Adams, letter to the young men of the Philadelphia, 1798