July 10, 1777 : British General Richard Prescott Captured in Rhode Island

Colonel William Barton of the Rhode Island Patriot militia captures British General Richard Prescott, from his bed, during the early morning hours of this day in 1777.

Prescott was the only British general to suffer the ignominy of being captured twice by Patriot forces during the War for Independence. American forces first captured Prescott after Montreal fell to the Patriots in 1775. He was returned to the British in exchange for a Patriot officer, only to face the same plight two years later, when he awoke to find Barton’s men in his garrison in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Colonel Barton and his 40 men departed Warwick Neck under cover of darkness on the night of July 9 and proceeded silently across 10 miles of water in Narraganset Bay toward Portsmouth. Evading British warships by staying close to shore, the Patriots were able to completely surprise Prescott’s sentinel shortly after midnight on July 10. They took the general, who was the British commander for Rhode Island, and his aide-de-camp directly onboard a Patriot vessel, without even giving him the opportunity to dress.

The humiliated Prescott was held in Providence until the British commander in chief, General Sir William Howe, exchanged him for captured American Major General Charles Lee. The exchange was particularly appropriate, as General Lee had also been taken into custody in his dressing gown after being surprised in the morning hours at Basking Ridge, New Jersey, having spent the night at White’s Tavern enjoying some dubious recreation.

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Jack Manning

Historian General
National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.

Edmund Burke

The Declaration of Independence is read to troops in New York City

On this day in history, July 9, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is read to the troops in New York City. After voting for independence on July 2nd and voting on the language for their public declaration on July 4th, the Continental Congress ordered that copies of the document be printed and sent to provincial and military leaders around the colonies.

John Hancock, who was then the President of Congress, had one copy of the Declaration of Independence mailed to George Washington with instructions to have it read to his troops however he saw fit. Washington was then in New York City preparing for battle with the British. 10,000 British soldiers had already landed on Staten Island in preparation for invading New York and many more would soon arrive. Nearly 30,000 colonial soldiers had assembled in the area.

Washington and many others had been waiting for a declaration of independence for some time, while efforts at reconciliation were made by those reluctant to rebel against the Crown. While some waited for peace commissioners to arrive from England, Washington famously stated that the only people coming from Europe were Hessian soldiers.

Washington was elated upon receiving the Declaration of Independence. He immediately sent out orders that all the troops should be assembled on their parade grounds at 6pm on July 9th. The parade grounds were on New York’s Commons, which is very near today’s City Hall.

Washington’s order explaining the purpose for the gathering was read first… "The Continental Congress, impelled by the dictates of duty, policy and necessity, [have] been pleased… to declare the United Colonies of North America, free and independent States." Afterwards, the Declaration was read to each regiment by their generals or other officers.

Numerous citizens came out for the reading as well, which sparked a celebration through the streets. Led by Isaac Sears, one of New York’s leading patriots, the crowd, including many soldiers, rushed to the Bowling Green where a large equestrian statue of King George III stood. The 4,000 pound lead statue was torn down and the head cut off. The iron fence surrounding the Green had posts topped with little crowns, all of which were sawed off as well. The horse statue was cut in pieces and shipped to Connecticut to get it away from the British, who could melt it down for bullets.

The statue ended up at the home of General Oliver Wolcott, where it was melted down and cast into 42,088 bullets. Curiously though, this amount of metal should have produced twice as many bullets. For many years, the reason for so few bullets was not known, but over the decades, pieces of the statue began to appear, especially buried in the yards of homes owned by Tories during the war and near to General Wolcott’s home. It is believed that Tories were spiriting off bits of the statue as they could to prevent them from being cast into bullets to be used against the British.

The head of the statue was allegedly taken by Tories on the night of July 9th and made its way to England where Thomas Hutchinson confirmed that he saw it in the home of Lord Charles Townshend. George Washington, by the way, expressed displeasure at the destruction of property, writing in his diary the next day he hoped in the future people would leave this sort of thing "to the proper authorities."

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

Jack Manning

Historian General
National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

"The great and chief end therefore, of men united into commonwealths, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of their property."

John Locke

George Washington makes his headquarters at West Point

On this day in history, July 8, 1779, George Washington makes his headquarters at West Point, New York, a strategic location on the Hudson River about 50 miles north of New York City. West Point is situated on high ground on the west side of the river where a unique S curve bends the waterway, giving the location command over the entire river for the entire curve.

Throughout the American Revolution, it was the desire of the British to cut New England off from the middle states by controlling the entire Hudson River valley. Gaining command of West Point was crucial to this objective, but if the Americans could stop them at West Point, the British would never be able to get further upriver.

The Americans began a string of defenses in the area as early as 1775. George Washington ordered a fort to be built on Constitution Island across the river from West Point and several batteries were located in the area. Fort Constitution was begun on the island, but these defenses were destroyed in 1777 when a British army came through and occupied the area. They remained only a few weeks, however.

George Washington believed West Point was the single most important strategic location in all of the colonies. In January of 1778, he sent Polish engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko to build another fort on the west side of the river. Kosciuszko began construction of a new fort called Fort Arnold and eventually a string of forts, redoubts and batteries crisscrossed the river through the S curve.

In addition, Kosciuszko constructed the Great Chain, a 150 ton chain of 2 inch thick iron links that stretched across the river from West Point to Constitution Island. The Great Chain was so formidable that the British never even attempted to cross it.

After the British evacuation of Philadelphia, Washington wanted to keep a close eye on British headquarters in New York City, in case they tried another highly probably strike to the north. After moving around New Jersey and New York for a year, Washington established his headquarters at West Point on July 8, 1779 for four months.

Benedict Arnold was placed in command of West Point in August of 1780. He intended to give the strategic fort to the British in exchange for a large sum of money and a commission in the British army. His plot was exposed the following month, however. Despite Arnold’s treachery, the British were never able to conquer the West Point complex or sail upriver. After Arnold’s treason, the name of the main fort at West Point was changed to Fort Clinton, in honor of General Henry Clinton.

After the Revolution, West Point became a training place for soldiers. It became the United States Military Academy in 1802 by order of President Thomas Jefferson. Generations of engineers and military officers graduated from West Point, including such famous names as Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Dwight Eisenhower, John Pershing, Douglas MacArthur, George S. Patton, Norman Schwarzkopf and David Petraeus. West Point is the oldest US military installation still in use. Remains of some of the original Revolutionary War era defenses can still be seen on tours there today.

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)

JULY 07, 1777 : BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON

On this day in 1777, British and Patriot forces in the Saratoga campaign engage in the only battle fought in Vermont territory during the War for Independence, at Hubbardton, near Ticonderoga. Hessians and British under the command of German General Friedrich Adolph Riedesel, Freiherr zu Eisenbach, and British Brigadier General Simon Fraser surprised the Americans, from Major General Arthur St. Clair’s command, in retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, in New York. St. Clair had left behind Colonel Seth Warner’s Green Mountain Boys, Colonel Ebenezer Francis’ 11th Massachusetts Regiment and Colonel Nathan Hale’s 2nd New Hampshire Regiment in Hubbardton to cover the rest of his army’s retreat to the southeast. On the morning of July 7, the British launched a surprise attack on the Patriot rear guard at Hubbardton led by Simon Fraser’s Advance Corps. The Patriots managed to hold their position at nearby Monument Hill for over an hour until Baron Riedesel led his hymn-singing Brunswick Grenadiers into the fray. The disciplined German force gained the field, and Colonel Francis lost his life to wounds inflicted during the conflict.

Nonetheless, the rear guard succeeded in its goal of covering St. Clair’s retreat to Castleton, Vermont, and successfully joined the retreat themselves, despite heavy losses: 41 killed, 96 wounded and 234 captured. Simon Fraser died exactly three months later at the Battle of Bemis Heights, where Riedesel’s wife nursed his wounds. After British General John Burgoyne’s formal surrender at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, the Patriots captured both Riedesels. Later, Luise Charlotte Riedesel’s memoirs of her experiences during the War for Independence were published in German and English.

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Jack Manning

Historian General
National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

"If men through fear, fraud or mistake, should in terms renounce and give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the great end of society, would absolutely vacate such renunciation; the right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of Man to alienate this gift, and voluntarily become a slave."

John Adams, Rights of the Colonists, 1772

July 06, 1775 : Congress issues a “Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms”

On this day in 1775, one day after restating their fidelity to King George III and wishing him “a long and prosperous reign” in the Olive Branch Petition, Congress sets “forth the causes and necessity of their taking up arms” against British authority in the American colonies. The declaration also proclaimed their preference “to die free men rather than live as slaves.”

As in the Olive Branch Petition, Congress never impugned the motives of the British king. Instead, they protested, “The large strides of late taken by the legislature of Great Britain toward establishing over these colonies their absolute rule…” Congress provided a history of colonial relations in which the king served as the sole governmental connection between the mother country and colonies, until, in their eyes, the victory against France in the Seven Years’ War caused Britain’s “new ministry finding all the foes of Britain subdued” to fall upon “the unfortunate idea of subduing her friends also.” According to the declaration, the king’s role remained constant, but “parliament then for the first time assumed a power of unbounded legislation over the colonies of America,” which resulted in the bloodletting at Lexington and Concord in April 1775.

At this point, Congress assumed that if the king could merely be made to understand what Parliament and his ministers had done, he would rectify the situation and return the colonists to their rightful place as fully equal members of the British empire. When the king sided with Parliament, however, Congress moved beyond a Declaration of Arms to a Declaration of Independence.

www.history.net

Jack Manning

Historian General
National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

"We shall never have Peace till the enemy are convinced that we are in a condition to carry on the War. It is no new maxim in politics that for a nation to obtain Peace, or insure it, It must be prepared for War."

George Washington – Letter to Fielding Lewis, July 6, 1780

Congress makes its first land acquisition

On this day in history, July 5, 1776, Congress makes its first land acquisition when it purchases 96 acres of land south of Philadelphia to build a fort for the protection of the young nation’s capital city. After the July 4th Declaration of Independence, Congress immediately began to think about its own safety and that of its host city, knowing that it would be a likely British target.

The modern city of Paulsboro, New Jersey encompasses the land Congress purchased for the location of Fort Billingsport, which sat on the high ground at the narrowest point of the Delaware River south of Philadelphia. Construction of the fort was intended to block, or at least slow, a naval invasion up the river from the Delaware Bay.

Polish engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko had arrived in America in June and volunteered his services to the Continental Army. Kosciuszko’s first assignment, given to him by George Washington, was to build Fort Billingsport. The fort consisted of a redoubt along the river adjacent to the larger fort. The defenses consisted of cannons trained over the river and chevaux-de-frise, which were long poles tipped with iron points to puncture the bottom of ships, placed in the river itself.

The attack came in the fall of 1777. An invasion fleet came up the Delaware River, but was unable to proceed due to the defenses of Fort Billingsport. British General William Howe had to land his 15,000 troops on the Chesapeake Bay side of the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia peninsula and march them overland to Philadelphia instead. The city was taken on September 26th after defeating the Continental Army at the Battle of Brandywine. Fort Billingsport, along with Forts Mercer and Mifflin further upriver still lie in American hands, however, and this prevented the supply of the British troops in Philadelphia.

Shortly after capturing Philadelphia, Howe sent 1,500 men to deal with Fort Billingsport. The fort, whose defenses faced downriver, was not equipped to deal with an assault from behind.  On the morning of October 2nd, as the British force approached, Colonel William Bradford gave the order to abandon the fort. The crew of the USS Andrew Doria, afloat in the river, worked for hours transporting soldiers and weapons in guard boats to the ship. As the last boat sailed for the Andrew Doria, shots were fired as the British took the fort. The garrison was then transported to Fort Mercer upriver.

The British began clearing the chevaux-de-frise from the river, which was a major undertaking. Both Forts Mercer and Mifflin fell in November, clearing the way for the British to finally supply their troops in Philadelphia. The occupation of Philadelphia lasted until the following summer when the British were finally forced to abandon the city due to France joining the war on the American side.

The site of Fort Billingsport was the first acquisition of land by the Continental Congress and has been called the "Birthplace of Homeland Security." As the first federally owned installation of any kind, it has great historical significance. Efforts are currently underway to have the site reconstructed and turned into a tourist attraction.

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

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org  

"Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can."

Samuel Adams

The Declaration of Independence is adopted

On this day in history, July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is adopted. Congress had voted unanimously 2 days before to sever all ties with Great Britain. The discrepancy in dates causes some confusion. The actual date of the decision to break from Great Britain was July 2nd, but the language of Congress’ public announcement was adopted on July 4th.

Tensions with Great Britain had been increasing for years and many colonists were hoping to reconcile with their mother country. After the America Revolution raged for a year though, enough citizens began to see that reconciliation was impossible and this meant that a vote for independence in Congress could actually succeed.

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented the Lee Resolution to Congress, calling for a declaration of independence, the creation of foreign alliances and the confederation of the 13 colonies. Congress immediately appointed a committee to prepare a declaration of independence, but tabled the vote until July 2.

The Committee of Five, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston, was tasked with writing the declaration. Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the document with input from the others. The committee presented their document to Congress on June 28, but it was tabled for a few days.

On July 2, the full Congress assembled and 12 of the 13 colonies represented voted for independence with New York abstaining. After the vote, Congress debated and revised the committee’s Declaration and adopted it in its final version on July 4th.

On the evening of July 4th, about 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence were printed by printer John Dunlap. These copies were sent around the country and read in various places and published in newspapers. The first public readings occurred in Philadelphia, in Easton, Pennsylvania and in Trenton, New Jersey on July 8th. George Washington had the Declaration read to the Continental Army in New York City on the 9th.

The first Declaration did not have the signatures of the 56 signers. Instead, most of these were added to a parchment copy on August 2nd. Others who were not present signed at later dates. In January, 1777, Congress had more copies printed by Mary Katherine Goddard in Baltimore, this time with the signatures included. This was the first time the world learned of who had signed the document.

Many of the signers suffered great personal harm during the war as a result of their loyalties to the American cause. Some, such as Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin, went on to become political leaders of the new United States and eventually became heroic and iconic figures of American history.

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

Jack Manning

Historian General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org  

“There, I guess King George will be able to read that.”

John Hancock