Monthly Archives: December 2015

The Brigantine General Arnold leaves Boston on its fateful mission

The Brigantine General Arnold leaves Boston on its fateful mission

 

On this day in history, December 24, 1778, the Brigantine General Arnold leaves Boston on its fateful mission to the West Indies, only to be caught in a massive snowstorm off Plymouth Rock and to be dashed to bits in the freezing surf. The General Arnold was a private ship that had received a Letter of Marque from the Government of Massachusetts, allowing it to be outfitted for war and to capture enemy ships, both merchant vessels and warships.

 

The General Arnold set off on the 24th, captained by James Magee and operated by 105 crew members, intending to go to the West Indies to capture British ships as prizes. Captured ships and their cargo were given as awards to crews who captured them and making privateering a very lucrative enterprise.

           

Unfortunately, the crew of the General Arnold ran into a severe nor’easter the very next day off of Plymouth Harbor. The storm was so severe that Captain Magee began to make for Plymouth Harbor, intending to take refuge from the storm. Arriving at Gurnet Point, the outermost point of Plymouth Bay, the Captain dropped his anchor because there was no pilot boat to guide him the rest of the way. Pilot boats were captained by local seamen who were familiar with the local shoals and sandbars who guided larger ships and captains who were unfamiliar with the local seascape into safer waters.

 

The snowstorm was so bad, however, that no pilot boat arrived. By the 26th, the wind was so severe that the General Arnold began to be pushed to the point of dragging its anchor, eventually running aground on a sandbar on White Flats. The men took refuge below deck, but the ship’s seams began to rupture and the hull filled with water, forcing them back to the deck.

Mug from General Arnold shipwreck

 

When the tide came in, waves washed over the deck of the ship. Ice and snow covered both ship and crew and the men began to succumb to the cold. Some of them allegedly filled their boots with rum to prevent their feet from freezing (alcohol does not freeze if the percentage of alcohol is high enough). Some of the dead washed overboard, while others froze to death holding each other to keep warm or holding onto the ship’s rigging to keep from washing overboard.

 

By the 27th, townspeople in Plymouth were aware of the ship, which was a mile off the shore. They were able to stand along the harbor and hear the cries of the men on the ship in the distance. The whole event cast a pall of gloom over the town’s Christmas celebrations. Several attempts were made by the residents of Plymouth to send rescue boats to the doomed ship, but they were forced to turn around because of the treacherous ice floes which had developed on the harbor.

 

Finally, on the 28th, they were able to construct a sort of bridge across the harbor across the tops of large chunks of ice. They sent sleds over the sea to rescue the survivors. By this time, seventy-two of the crew had perished. There were only 33 survivors, 9 of whom died after getting to shore.

 

The disaster of the General Arnold is just one in a long string of sacrifices that many of our forefathers made during the American Revolution. The disaster shows their heroism and the treacherous conditions the sea could bring. A mass grave was dug for many of the dead in Plymouth, most of whom remained unknown because the captain had not yet logged the names of the crewmembers. A monument was erected over the site in 1862.

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"I never consider a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend."
Thomas Jefferson, 1800

New Jersey militiamen skirmish with British Patrol at Howell’s Ferry

New Jersey militiamen skirmish with British Patrol at Howell’s Ferry

 

On this day in history, December 20, 1776, New Jersey militiamen skirmish with a British patrol at Howell’s Ferry, one of numerous such incidents that occurred as the British army occupied central New Jersey during the American Revolution. The Continental Army had been driven out of New York and across New Jersey by the British, but George Washington, after crossing the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, had cleverly commandeered every single boat for seventy miles up and down the river, preventing the British from crossing.

 

British Commander Sir William Howe decided it was time to winter his army, instead of pursuing Washington’s ragtag army, which he believed was all but defeated anyway. Howe sent many of his troops back to New York for winter quarters and left the remaining troops scattered across New Jersey in various outposts, at places such as Bordentown, Trenton, Princeton, New Brunswick and Burlington.

           

The citizens of New Jersey immediately began an uprising, harassing the occupiers in every way they could. The small towns were easy enough for the British garrisons to control, many of which were virtually ghost towns, having been evacuated by the citizens when the British arrived. Controlling the countryside, however, was an entirely different matter. British soldiers going out on foraging expeditions, reconnaissance missions or with dispatches to other outposts could be attacked by New Jersey militia anywhere along the highways and byways. British casualties quickly began to mount.

 

Colonel Johann Rall was the senior officer stationed at Trenton. His men were being harassed so badly from the countryside that he had to send 100 men just to get a message safely through to Princeton which was only 13 miles away! On the 20th, Rall sent a patrol to Howell’s Ferry, four miles upriver from Trenton. They were met by 150 Hunterdon County militiamen who had come across the river from their headquarters at Yardley’s Ferry on the Pennsylvania side. The Americans lost a few men in the skirmish, but this event and numerous others show what the British were facing. Rall could barely control the territory around him.

 

Rall’s men at Trenton were harassed to the point that he commanded them to stay dressed and armed at all times, even while sleeping. They were constantly awakened by rumors, alarms or actual attacks to the point that they were tired, scared and worn out. Morale was extremely low. In this condition, Colonel Rall received news on the 25th from two deserters and from a spy in the American camp that Washington was planning an attack on Trenton early on the morning of the 26th. Rall could hardly believe it because he considered Washington’s army to be defeated and in retreat, but the recent harassment in the countryside made him wary.

 

Contrary to the commonly held viewpoint that the Hessian garrison at Trenton was drunk on Christmas Eve and therefore unprepared for Washington’s attack, Rall’s men were at the height of alarm all day on the 25th, prepared and waiting for an American attack. Indeed, Rall was confident that, if an attack were to come, it would easily be put down. If this is so, what caused them to put their guard down and be captured, nearly 1,000 of them, early the next morning in the First Battle of Trenton? The answer – A severe snowstorm started in the evening that was so bad the Hessians began to relax. There was no way an army could march through that snow! Their guard was put down to the point that even patrols for the next morning were cancelled and the Hessians went soundly to bed, only to be surrounded and arrested en masse early the next morning!

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"Speak seldom, but to important subjects, except such as particularly relate to your constituents, and, in the former case, make yourself perfectly master of the subject."
George Washington, 1787

Continental Army begins its encampment at Valley Forge

Continental Army begins its encampment at Valley Forge

 

On this day in history, December 19, 1777, the Continental Army begins its encampment at Valley Forge. British General Sir William Howe had captured Philadelphia in September of 1777. George Washington’s army attempted to defend the city, but was repelled at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11 and again at Germantown, on October 4, bringing gloom and despair to the American cause.

 

After several more skirmishes, Washington began to march toward Valley Forge, 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia, where he intended to winter his troops, arriving there on December 19th with 12,000 men who needed food, shelter and clothing for the next 6 months. Valley Forge was named for an iron forge on the nearby Schuylkill River. It is a naturally high spot overlooking the surrounding area, so it was easily defensible from British encroachments. In addition, the location was near enough to Philadelphia to monitor any British movements and prevent them from going further into the interior of the colony.

           

Most Americans have heard of the hardships suffered by the Continental Army during the winter of 1777 and 1778. There were food shortages and soldiers were often stuck with eating "firecake," a mixture of flour and water. Sometimes they had to search for food on their own in the woods. 16×14 foot huts were built according to a pattern given by George Washington with twelve men to a cabin and often with only a sheet for a door – in the middle of the winter! In the spring, as things began to warm up, disease spread rampantly through the camp, perhaps killing as many as 1200 men.

 

What Americans may not be as familiar with, however, is the progress that was made during the winter at Valley Forge. The primary victory came with the arrival of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a former member of the staff of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who was recruited by Ben Franklin in Paris. Baron von Steuben’s arrival was welcomed by George Washington who put him in charge of better training the troops who had little uniformity in their methods and procedures since they were all trained in different locales. Von Steuben, who barely spoke English, quickly developed a system of drills, marching and firing exercises that went on throughout the winter. By spring, the army was able to move and retreat in lockstep over any terrain, fire its weapons much faster and communicate more quickly.

 

The true test of the winter’s efforts came in May when the entrance of France into the war forced General Howe to leave Philadelphia because he feared the French fleet would trap his army in Philadelphia. Howe began to march his army back to New York, but was quickly followed by George Washington’s newly trained troops. They met at the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey, on June 28, 1778 in one of the largest battles of the war. The battle was technically a draw, but Washington’s army finally held its ground against the superior British troops, forcing Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis to retreat in the night for New York. The victory proved the Americans had what it took to stand against the largest army in the world. Three years from this time, the very same army would defeat Cornwallis again at Yorktown, Virginia and bring the Revolutionary War to a close.

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"[A] good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted at your age are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life."
George Washington, 1790

States give thanks

States give thanks

 

The new United States celebrates its first national day of thanksgiving on Thursday, December 18, 1777, commemorating the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga after the surrender of General John Burgoyne and 5,000 British troops in October 1777.

 

In proclaiming the first national day of thanksgiving, Congress wrote, “It is therefore recommended to the Legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES, to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for solemn THANKSGIVING and PRAISE; That at one Time and with one Voice the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor”

 

Neither when the Congress proclaimed the day of Thanksgiving on November 1, nor when the population celebrated in December, were they aware that on December 17, the French would finally formalize a military and trade alliance with the rebelling states. These were not disconnected events. The victory at Saratoga convinced the French king that the Americans might be worthy allies and the ensuing alliance made an American victory possible.

 

Merely having a national day of thanksgiving was a tremendous step forward in creating an American identity. Previously, the colonies had celebrated individually or as part of the British Empire. Now they had experienced an event that had affected them all and formalized a celebration that involved them all. With the French alliance, they had an ally who supported them all. Americans had just taken a major step on the tortured trail from colonies to states and from states to nation.

 

www.history.com

 

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"The consciousness of having discharged that duty which we owe to our country is superior to all other considerations."
George Washington, 1788

French government formally recognizes the United States

French government formally recognizes the United States

 

On this day in history, December 17, 1777, the French government formally recognizes the United States for the first time. France had been secretly helping the Americans since early 1776, with supplies of guns, ammunition, money and soldiers, but all this was done under the radar. With the acknowledgement of the new country by Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, the French Foreign Minister, the war became an international one and entered a whole new phase.

 

Benjamin Franklin first went to France to seek an alliance against the British a year earlier, in December, 1776. Franklin sought arms and money, but also recognition for the fledgling nation. The Americans believed that if France would acknowledge them as a sovereign country, it would aid in their ability to rally other nations to their side.

           

France had a strong interest in aiding the Americans. The Comte de Vergennes wanted to see England paid back for taking French territory in America during the French and Indian War, which caused France to lose millions of acres of fertile land. King Louis XVI wanted to acknowledge the Americans as well, in order to punish his chief adversary, Great Britain, but he felt the Americans needed to prove themselves on the battlefield first to show the world that they were actually capable of beating Britain, which had the largest army in the world.

 

The moment arrived on October 17, 1777 when British General John Burgoyne was forced to surrender an army of over 6,000 men at the Battle of Saratoga when he was severely outnumbered and outmaneuvered by American General Horatio Gates. This was the first major loss of the war for the British and it convinced France that the Americans were capable of defeating them if they had some help.

 

Word of the victory arrived in Paris on December 4 and Ben Franklin went immediately to Vergennes with the news. Less than two weeks later, Vergennes went public with an acknowledgement of the Americans for the first time. By February, a formal treaty of alliance would be signed. French entrance in the war caused Britain to rethink and realign its entire war strategy. French involvement created a much broader theater for the war, including the West Indies, Africa, southeast Asia and Europe, stretching Britain’s forces too thinly, even to the point of withdrawing troops from North America to be deployed elsewhere.

 

French help in the war was of enormous significance. The equivalent of 13 billion dollars was lent by the French government to the Continental Congress. Several fleets of ships assisted in various battles of the Revolution, including the Surrender at Yorktown. French officers and generals fought alongside American militia members and contributed greatly to the American victory. Many historians believe that if it were not for the French, the Americans may not have won the war.

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day." Thomas Jefferson, 1816

Boston Tea Party takes place

Boston Tea Party takes place

 

On this day in history, December 16, 1773, the Boston Tea Party takes place when a group of angry patriots dump the tea from three ships into Boston Harbor to protest Parliament’s tax on tea. In 1767, the Townshend Acts placed a tax on tea and other items for the first time, leading to boycotts of English goods in the colonies. The Townshend Acts were finally repealed in 1770, except for the tea tax, which Parliament left in place to assert that it did indeed have the right to tax the colonists.

 

By 1773, the British East India Company, the main importer of tea to England and the colonies, was suffering a severe financial crisis. The Indemnity Act of 1767, which removed certain taxes on the Company, had expired, causing the price of tea to go up. Tons of tea that could not be sold at the higher price sat in warehouses in London. In order to rescue the Company, Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773, which removed taxes on the Company, allowed it to export directly to the colonies, thereby bypassing middlemen who raised the price and raised the tax on end-consumers.

           

The Tea Act actually lowered the price of tea in America, but the colonists stood on the principle that it was unjust for Parliament to tax them at all because they were not represented in Parliament. 7 tea ships left England for America that year. Patriots at Philadelphia and New York successfully prevented the ships from unloading, while the ship at Charleston, South Carolina was confiscated by patriots and the goods resold to aid the patriot cause.

 

In Boston, the Dartmouth, arrived on November 27 and was prevented from unloading by local patriots. The Eleanor and the Beaver arrived over the next few weeks, but they could not unload either, while a fourth ship was lost in a storm. By law, ships arriving in the Americas had 20 days to pay the required customs duties, meaning the taxes due on the Dartmouth’s cargo had to be paid by December 17. The owners and captains of the ships volunteered to return the goods to England, but Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson would not allow them to leave until the taxes were paid. Local citizens posted sentries around the ships to prevent them from unloading.

 

On the 16th, a mass meeting of 7,000 people met at the Old South Meeting House in Boston. After the meeting, which was led by Samuel Adams, several dozen men, some dressed as Mohawk Indians, marched to Griffin’s Wharf and boarded the ships. 42 tons of tea from all three ships was dumped into the harbor, so much that the water of Boston Harbor was reportedly brown for a week! The dumping of the tea on this date was important because it meant the tea could not be resold to pay the taxes.

 

The term Boston Tea Party was not used for nearly another century. In fact, many Americans looked down upon the event for the first several decades after the Revolutionary War because it involved the destruction of private property. Eventually, though, the event came to represent a moment of pride in American history as a revolt against tyranny.

 

Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing the Coercive Acts, which ended self-government in Massachusetts by disbanding the colonial assembly and shut down the port of Boston until the price of the tea was repaid. Theses "Intolerable Acts," as the colonists called them, were the direct cause of the calling of the First Continental Congress, which met to coordinate the joint response of the united colonies.

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve."
Benjamin Franklin, 1771

United States ratifies the Bill of Rights

United States ratifies the Bill of Rights

 

On this day in history, December 15, 1791, the United States ratifies the Bill of Rights. On December 15, 1791, Virginia became the 10th of 14 states to vote to ratify the first ten amendments to the Constitution. 14 states? Yes, Vermont had already come in as the 14th state on March 4 of the same year.

 

When the new US Constitution was being debated, many people refused to ratify it because they thought it did not give enough protection to individual rights. Proponents of the Constitution agreed to add a bill of rights in the first Congress if the opponents would agree to support it. This argument persuaded enough opponents to see the new Constitution ratified.

           

In the first Congress, James Madison proposed twenty amendments to the Constitution, the most popular from a long list of amendments proposed by the states. According to the Constitution’s directions for the amendment process, Congress debated them and recommended twelve of them to the states. Each state then had its own internal debate and ten of them were eventually ratified, becoming the Bill of Rights.

 

The Bill of Rights contains a list of restrictions on the federal government and guarantees various rights to the people and the states. The Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, the right to keep and bear arms and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures of private property.

 

The Bill of Rights also guarantees that the government cannot house soldiers on private property except in case of war, the right to have a grand jury review infamous criminal charges, the right to trial by jury, the right not to incriminate oneself in court and the right to be tried in the district where criminal charges are alleged.

 

The Bill of Rights also guarantees that a criminal defendant must be informed of the charges against him, be able to obtain witnesses in his favor and be able to confront the witnesses against him. It also guarantees the right to have an attorney represent you in court, bans excessive bail, fines and cruel and unusual punishments. Finally, the Bill of Rights states the federal government only has the powers specifically given to it in the Constitution and reserves every other power and right to the states and individuals in them.

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"[I]n the mouths of some [Liberty] means anything, which enervate a necessary government; excite a jealousy of the rulers who are our own choice, and keep society in confusion for want of a power sufficiently concentered to promote good."
Oliver Ellsworth, 1787