Monthly Archives: December 2017

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.

 

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

Treasurer General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"The eyes of the world being thus on our Country, it is put the more on its good behavior, and under the greater obligation also, to do justice to the Tree of Liberty by an exhibition of the fine fruits we gather from it."

James Madison (1824)

Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis is Read to the Continental Army

Thomas Paine's The American Crisis is read to the Continental Army

 

On this day in history, December 23, 1776, Thomas Paine's The American Crisis is read to the Continental Army as it prepares to attack the Hessians at Trenton. Thomas Paine had already had an enormous effect on the Revolution by publishing Common Sense in January of 1776, which encouraged Americans to consider the idea of independence from Britain when the idea was not widely held.

 

During the fall of 1776, the Continental Army was driven out of New York and across New Jersey. After crossing the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, George Washington's army was exhausted, waiting for reinforcements and hoping for another chance to attack the British who were encamped on the New Jersey side of the river, but unable to cross because Washington had commandeered every boat up and down the river for seventy miles.

 

The American cause was looking very uncertain at this point. Washington's army seemed to be shattered. The British were a stone's throw from capturing Philadelphia, forcing the Continental Congress to flee to Baltimore. 11,000 soldiers left the army and went home because their commissions had come to an end. The commissions of many more would come to an end on December 31st. Patriots everywhere were disillusioned and uncertain about the future.

 

In the midst of this situation, Thomas Paine, who was a soldier traveling with the Continental Army at this time, published The American Crisis. It immediately came to George Washington's attention. He found it so inspiring that he had it read to all his troops as they prepared to attack the Hessians at Trenton on Christmas Day.

 

The American Crisis begins, "THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."

 

Paine encourages Loyalists to realize that a conquering nation will never treat them fairly; that surrender to Britain will make them no more than slaves; that the colonists have more than enough power to overthrow Britain; and that America has a bright future if it rules itself. The publication painted the image of a happy and prosperous future where Americans governed themselves in peace and security, while also pointing a clear path to victory.

 

The American Crisis helped persuade many Loyalists and people who had previously been neutral to support independence. It also brought a wind of inspiration and resolve to Americans everywhere who were losing hope. Most especially, it uplifted the spirits of the Continental Army soldiers as they repeated its phrases while they marched to victory at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton on December 26 and January 2. The American Crisis was eventually combined with 15 other pamphlets by Paine and published all together in one booklet. It was read by Americans everywhere, encouraging them to stand up and fight for their independence.

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Treasurer General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"Let us animate and encourage each other. … A Freeman contending for Liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth." 

George Washington (1776)

Esek Hopkins appointed Commander-in-Chief of Continental Navy

Esek Hopkins appointed Commander-in-Chief of Continental Navy

 

On this day in history, December 22, 1775, Esek Hopkins is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy. The Continental Congress had begun the process of establishing a Navy in October of 1776 by passing resolutions to purchase and arm four ships. Soon more ships were purchased and construction began on thirteen more.

 

Esek Hopkins was a celebrated merchant captain from Rhode Island who had sailed to nearly every part of the globe prior to the war. He was the brother of Declaration of Independence signer and Rhode Island Governor, Stephen Hopkins, and was very well connected politically. With the outbreak of the war, Hopkins was appointed Brigadier General over Rhode Island’s militia. His political connections aided in his receiving the appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, giving him equal rank with George Washington. Hopkins though, would never receive the recognition or fame of his counterpart George Washington, mostly due to one bad decision early on in his career as Admiral.

 

In January, 1776, Hopkins assembled eight ships and sailed for the Chesapeake Bay at Congress’ orders, aided by Captain Dudley Saltonstall and First Lieutenant, John Paul Jones. Their mission was to "take or destroy all the naval force of our enemies that you may find there." After arriving, however, Hopkins determined that the British fleet was too powerful for his small flotilla, so he scrubbed the mission and made other plans. Congress had authorized him to go on to harass British ships in North and South Carolina or "to follow such courses as your best Judgment shall suggest to you… to distress the Enemy by all means in your power." Hopkins’ decision? To go all the way to the Bahamas!

 

Capturing the gunpowder and weapons store at the poorly defended port of Nassau was a goal of the Continental Congress and Hopkins apparently decided it would be better for public relations if the new Continental Navy captured a large supply of enemy weapons, instead of going into a battle with enemy ships that they may or may not win.

 

Upon reaching Nassau, three-fourths of the gunpowder was spirited away by the British in the night on a fast ship, but the remaining gunpowder, numerous cannons and various government officials were captured, including the Royal Governor, Montfort Browne. In April, on their return voyage, the fleet captured two British ships near Long Island, but was outmaneuvered by the HMS Glasgow, which damaged one ship badly, killed or wounded eleven sailors and escaped capture by Hopkins’ much larger fleet.

 

Hopkins was praised at first for capturing the goods at Nassau, but questions and accusations arose about his character, his failing to capture the Glasgow and especially about his decision to go to Nassau. Congress formally censured him in June, 1776, for not following his orders in Virginia and the Carolinas. Hopkins then took his fleet to Newport, Rhode Island, which was blockaded and occupied by the British in December, trapping his fleet in Narragansett Bay. Congress relieved him of his command in the Navy for the loss of Newport in March, 1777 and dismissed him permanently on January 2, 1778.

 

In spite of his disfavor in Congress, Esek Hopkins was still a celebrated figure in Rhode Island. He was elected to the Rhode Island Assembly repeatedly from 1777 to 1786 and served as a trustee of the College of Rhode Island (now Brown University) from 1782 to 1802.

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Treasurer General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

“Stain not the glory of your worthy ancestors, but like them resolve never to part with your birthright; be wise in your deliberations, and determined in your exertions for the preservation of your liberties. Follow not the dictates of passion, but enlist yourselves under the sacred banner of reason; use every method in your power to secure your rights.”

Joseph Warren

The Skirmish at Petticoat Bridge draws away support from Trenton

The Skirmish at Petticoat Bridge draws away support from Trenton

 

On this day in history, December 21, 1776, the Skirmish at Petticoat Bridge draws away support from Trenton, opening the way for George Washington to capture the Hessian brigade there on the 26th. Sir William Howe's army had been brought to a standstill after driving the Continental Army across New Jersey because Washington had commandeered every single boat along the Delaware River, preventing him from crossing and following them into Pennsylvania.

 

Howe's response was to establish outposts across New Jersey and order the British army to settle in for the winter. The southernmost posts were located in the towns of Trenton, Bordentown and Black Horse (now Columbus), with approximately 3000 soldiers stationed at Bordentown under the direction of Hessian Colonel Carl von Donop.

 

Virginia Colonel Samuel Griffin was in Philadelphia recovering from wounds he received at the Battle of Harlem Heights. Griffin was given instructions to take a contingent of men into New Jersey to harass the enemy's southern posts. Griffin took a hodgepodge of militia from Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and they made their way to Mount Holly, 7 miles south of Black Horse and 14 miles from Bordentown, where they built a fortification on a hill near an iron works.

 

On the 21st, Griffin's men, numbering about 600, swarmed over a contingent of Hessian soldiers at Petticoat Bridge, just south of Black Horse, forcing the Hessians to withdraw. The following day, George Washington's assistant, Joseph Reed, met with Colonel Griffin and told him of the planned attack on Trenton, asking Griffin to help create a diversion to draw Von Donop's men away from aiding their comrades in Trenton, which was only six miles from Bordentown.

 

Well, the diversion had already been created, Von Donop sent out his entire force of 3,000 men from Bordentown in retaliation for the attack at Petticoat Bridge. On the 23rd, the two forces met, forcing Griffin's men to withdraw to Mount Holly where they gathered on the hill near the iron works. This location has earned this entire engagement the name the Battle of Iron Works Hill.

 

Von Donop's men stayed in Mount Holly that night where they engaged in general carousing. Most of the town's residents had fled, except for a certain "exceedingly beautiful widow of a doctor," whom Colonel Von Donop stayed with that night. Von Donop was said to have been smitten with this woman and instantly decided to move his headquarters to Mount Holly. She is undoubtedly the reason that Von Donop's troops stayed inexplicably in Mount Holly for the next two days, until, to Von Donop's horror, he learned that Washington had overrun Trenton and captured a thousand Hessian soldiers. If he had only returned to Bordentown, or never left in the first place, he could easily have come to their aid.

 

Historians have speculated about the identity of the woman in Mount Holly. Was she just a weekend paramour? Or was she a patriot who purposely deceived Von Donop in order to keep him from coming to the aid of the soldiers at Trenton? Historians have not been able to definitively identify the woman at Mount Holly, but there is one candidate who consistently comes up as a reasonable possibility and she is none other than… Betsy Ross!

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Treasurer General
National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"We have heard of the impious doctrine in the old world, that the people were made for kings, not kings for the people. Is the same doctrine to be revived in the new, in another shape — that the solid happiness of the people is to be sacrificed to the views of political institutions of a different form?" 

James Madison (1788)

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.

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Treasurer 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

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

Treasurer General
National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

“Charity is no part of the Legislative Duty of the Government.”

James Madison

New Jersey is the third state to ratify the US Constitution

New Jersey is the third state to ratify the US Constitution

 

On this day in history, December 18, 1787, New Jersey is the third state to ratify the US Constitution. The area was first settled by European settlers from the Netherlands and Sweden, but was transferred to England when Fort Amsterdam, which would become New York City, was captured by an English fleet in 1664.

 

The area between the Hudson River and the Delaware River was given by King James II as a land grant to two of his supporters, Sir George Carteret and John, Lord Berkeley of Stratton. Carteret and Berkeley named New Jersey after the largest of Britain’s Channel Islands, Jersey, which was Carteret’s birthplace.

 

New Jersey was always a leader in the fight for freedom during the founding period of the United States, being largely populated, not by direct European immigration, but by migrants from other American colonies who fled to the colony seeking even more freedoms than in their previous locations. New Jersey not only became the third state to accept the US Constitution, with a unanimous vote, but New Jerseyans ratified their own state constitution on July 2, 1776, two days before the Declaration of Independence was even adopted. On November 20, 1787, New Jersey also became the first state to adopt the Bill of Rights.

 

The state has always played an important role in American history due to its location, situated between New York City on the northeast and Philadelphia on the southwest. This pivotal location earned it the name "Crossroads of the Revolution," during the American Revolution as both British and American armies crisscrossed the state numerous times.

 

Several important battles of the Revolution were fought in the state, including the Battle of Trenton, in which George Washington crossed the Delaware and surprised the Hessian Troops at Trenton on Christmas Eve, 1776, and the Second Battle of Trenton, in which Lieutenant General Cornwallis’ troops were stopped by Washington at Trenton late at night on January 2, 1777. Cornwallis stopped the assault, intending to resume the next morning, but instead, Washington’s army slipped away to Princeton and defeated British forces there. The victories at Trenton and Princeton were a huge rallying point for the Americans who had suffered a devastating string of losses earlier in 1776.

 

Morristown served as the Continental Army’s winter quarters twice and the massive Battle of Monmouth proved that the Continental Army could contend with the British army, drawing them to a standstill after a winter of training and military exercises at Valley Forge increased their skills in battle.

 

During the Constitutional Convention, New Jersey played an important role in the development of the bicameral congress. Small states rejected Virginia’s plan to have congressional representatives apportioned by state population. This would mean the smaller states would constantly be overrun by the larger states. Instead, New Jersey’s delegate William Paterson proposed a unicameral legislature with each state receiving equal apportionment. The two ideas were eventually put together, with the House being apportioned by population and the Senate containing equal apportionment, balancing the interests of the small states vs. the larger states.

 

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

 

Jack Manning

Treasurer General
National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

"Religion and virtue are the only foundations, not of republicanism and of all free government, but of social felicity under all government and in all the combinations of human society."

John Adams (1811)