The Taking of Pelham 1 7 7 6

Readers of The Cavalier Spy might recall some of the maneuvers by the British commander-in-chief, Lord William Howe, as he tried to trap George Washington's forces near Kingsbridge (the Bronx). This led to a series of battles and skirmishes in the New York campaign, which could have crushed the spirit of '76. The small engagement at Pells Point, or Pelham, was one of these minor but strategically important fights.

An Excellent Plan:

In the summer of 1776, the British and their Hessian (German) allies defeated Washington’s forces in Brooklyn and Manhattan. However, Washington’s ability to organize timely retreats and General Howe’s reluctance to aggressively pursue the rebels prevented total destruction. In September, the Continental Army was holding defensive positions at Harlem Heights on the northern tip of Manhattan, with the British army in front and the Royal Navy (under Howe's brother Richard) controlling the North (Hudson) and East Rivers. But the Continental Army's Harlem defenses were strong, so in mid-October, Howe attempted a flanking move by water, taking advantage of the Royal Navy's dominance. His goal was to cut across Westchester County and trap the Americans.

A Clever Strategy:

Leaving behind a holding force in Manhattan, Howe moved about 4,000 troops, mostly Hessians, up the East River toward Long Island Sound for a landing at Throg’s Neck, which is now part of the Bronx. Howe’s objective was to cut off the American supply line to Connecticut, and the British commander also hoped to lure Washington into a major battle or to crush the Americans from the right flank while the holding force launched a frontal attack. Intelligence reports warned General Washington that the enemy was surrounding him with a naval landing at his rear. In desperation, the besieged American commander-in-chief positioned the few forces available along strategic points. The numerous stone fences and marshy ground made the British approach challenging and his position defensible. However, he realized that a determined British effort was likely to succeed. Additionally, they might have been planning other landings as well.

Prelude at the Neck:

General Clinton

On October 12, the British landing force under General Henry Clinton landed under the cover of fog at Throg’s Neck, a marshy peninsula that was not part of the mainland. There were only two ways to reach the mainland: a causeway and bridge at the lower end, and a ford at the other. The Americans guarded both. American Colonel Edward Hand and a detachment of 25 men from the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment were determined to slow the British until help could arrive. The brave Pennsylvanians tore the planks from the bridge and took position behind a stack of cordwood lining the causeway. Checking flints and powder, each man took a good firing stance and waited. At last, the British arrived. The Pennsylvanians' accurate musket fire startled the advancing British troops. Puffs of smoke, the crack of muskets, and the zing of lead balls had their effect. The British frontline retreated and tried to cross at the ford to bypass the rebels, but they faced another group of defenders. Soon, both American defense points were reinforced, bringing the total American forces to more than 1,800. Howe wisely decided it would be better to retreat and land elsewhere. While the Americans had the advantage of position and interior lines, they also had the advantage of mass and maneuver. The British camped on Throg’s Neck and stayed there for six days while supplies and reinforcements, including 7,000 Hessian soldiers under Gen. Wilhelm von Knyphausen, arrived from New York. When he was confident his force was ready, Howe ordered the move. To surprise the enemy tactically, they moved at night. Just after midnight on October 18, Howe launched his army again and landed at Pell's Point, near Pelham, a few miles north. Maneuvering by sea provided a huge advantage when you control the waters, as the British did.

Taking of Pelham:

The British landed at dawn, with General Clinton commanding the operation. His forward unit of 4,000 British light infantry and Hessian Jägers led the way. Near Eastchester, waiting for them, was a 750-strong brigade led by Massachusetts Colonel John Glover. (Note: Glover is a minor but important character in the first two books of the Yankee Doodle Spies series.) Glover himself spotted the British landing from atop a hill overlooking the coast. He requested orders from his immediate commander, General Charles Lee. Lee, Washington's second in command (and also a key figure in the second book of the Yankee Doodle Spies, The Cavalier Spy), however, gave no orders. Recognizing that the narrow causeways and inlets favored a defensive stand, Glover, the resolute Yankee he was, decided to act on his own. He ordered his brigade into action, consisting of the 14th, 13th, 3rd, and the 26th Massachusetts Continental Regiments. 

Continental Line Infantry

Glover held 150 Continentals in reserve. His force soon engaged enemy skirmishers. Glover deployed his Marblehead Regiment (former seamen) at the front. At Breed's Hill, Glover had seen the carnage caused when the British advanced in ranks against well-positioned infantry. He sent a company forward as an advance guard to keep the British in check. This allowed him time to prepare a defense before the expected assault. Glover arranged a series of ambushes by placing his forces in staggered positions. They cleverly used the stone walls lining each side of the lane that led from the beach inland. His orders were to hold as long as possible and then fall back to a rear position, with the next unit doing the same. Glover planned a classic fighting withdrawal to delay the enemy's progress. He positioned himself with his advance guard. The Marbleheaders opened fire on the advancing British. The sound of muskets and puffs of smoke to the front caused the British to pause. Once again, heavy lead balls zinged past the advance guard, which quickly deployed and returned fire. Volleys were exchanged, and for a time, the Americans held the enemy's advance.  

When the British called for reinforcements, Glover's men withdrew in good order. Seeing the Americans retreating, the British fixed bayonets and advanced. But 200 troops of the 13th Massachusetts Continentals waited anxiously behind the next stone wall. On command, the Americans rose and fired a devastating volley into the British at 30 yards - point-blank range. Surprised, the British column suffered heavy losses and retreated to the main body of the invading army.

Glover's Marblehead Regiment in action at Pelham

Not to be denied, the British reorganized and attacked again with all 4,000 men and seven cannons. They bombarded the Continentals behind the stone wall. Under cover of artillery fire, the infantry launched its attack. Most British shells fell short or flew high, and the few that hit the stone walls caused little damage. The bombardment had little effect. Prepared, the Americans unleashed another deadly volley on the advancing infantry at 50 yards. This time, the British responded with volley after volley. The firefight lasted a full 20 minutes. Finally, British artillery moved closer in support, and this time, their fire was effective. Under pressure from combined arms, the lead American regiment fell back. The next regiment provided strong covering fire to keep the British at bay until their allies could retreat. The British then turned to attack the position of the 3rd Continentals, stationed behind a stone wall on the other side of the road. Both sides kept firing steadily. The British advanced several times, but each time, American fire broke their lines.

 However, the British's superior numbers eventually began to overpower the Americans. Realizing this, Glover pulled the regiment back to another stone wall atop a hill. The next regiment in line, the 26th Continentals, soon engaged the advancing enemy. Once more, using the cover of a stone wall, the 26th fired one last volley before Glover ordered a retreat. Moving in good order, Glover's brigade crossed a bridge over the Hutchinson River. Glover left a rearguard of 150 men from the 14th Massachusetts Continentals to cover them. True to form, Howe chose not to exploit the situation. He camped his forces on a hill on the opposite side of the stream but made no attempt to cross. This allowed Glover to pull his brigade back to Yonkers.

Glover's smartly executed defensive withdrawal
was as classic as the British amphibious tactics

What was the (Pell's) Point?

With the British advance delayed, Washington left a small garrison at the fort on the heights that bears his name and safely evacuated the main American army north through Kingsbridge to Westchester. Howe's army slowly moved through New Rochelle and Scarsdale. This marked the beginning of the Battle of White Plains. The series of skirmishes resulted in relatively few casualties for both sides. However, the clever American actions at Throg's Neck and Pelham bought Washington time to prevent his army from almost certain entrapment. A war of posts would soon evolve into a war of movement.

Author's comment:  

People who live in or are familiar with the New York area might be amused to see famous place names where they have lived, worked, or commuted mentioned as part of a great military campaign and one for the life of the nation at that. Our First Patriots had no idea that the swampy lowlands and rugged uplands of the Bronx and Westchester, where they fought, would become part of arguably the greatest metropolis in the world. What neighborhoods and byways are today are also hallowed ground. We should never forget that.

The Surgeon Counterinsurgent

The cause of the American Revolution was a conflict of two motives: one for independence from Britain and its monarchy, and the other for ongoing allegiance to that same monarchy as part of the larger British "empire" that emerged in the 18th century. The Loyalists often receive a bad reputation. They were not evil, misguided, or any more treacherous than the patriots as a whole. They were simply traditional people who perceived greater advantages in remaining under the crown than in rejecting it. In the long lead-up to the War for Independence, many sought to steer the politics of their respective colonies toward addressing their grievances.

Political agitation caused some to  remain ambivalent

But by the outbreak of actual hostilities, Loyalists were forced to go underground (keep their sympathies secret) or assert royal prerogative through action. New Jersey was the most divided of all the states in this regard. Many influential Loyalists had participated in the various committees, associations, and even Congress to guide the disaffected toward a political solution. But once the gauntlet was thrown, they began to slip away quietly or abruptly to action.

Loyalists organized for the day the British would come

One such "First Loyalist" was a little-known doctor from Teaneck, New Jersey, in the divided Bergen County, by the name of Abraham Van Buskirk. Van Buskirk was a prominent name in the region. The Van Buskirk family was an old Dutch family that had lived in the area for many years. His father, Lawrence Van Buskirk, operated a successful stagecoach service. By the time of the war, the elder Van Buskirk had passed the enterprise, called The Flying Machine, to his son Andrew, who ran the stage to the Hoboken Ferry. He also operated a tavern in New Bridge. 

Doctor Abraham pitched in from time to time, typically making the run to Paulus Hook. Van Buskirk and his family were well entrenched in the area. His travels on the stage and knowledge of the region would later prove useful. Abraham Van Buskirk and many other prominent New Jersey Dutch failed in their political efforts to keep the colony aligned with the crown. Additionally, they secretly took other measures as the cloud of war descended on the troubled Royal Colony. 

Despite his Tory leanings, Van Buskirk became an officer in the county militia. However, many local patriots were skeptical and viewed him as a Loyalist. He had been associated with the patriot cause early on, having been elected as a moderate to the county committee and provincial congress. Van Buskirk was able to dodge and evade accusations so cleverly that he appeared more like a patriot. But he was a man of principle; he broke with the patriots over the question of outright independence for the thirteen colonies, refusing to swear the oath of abjuration, renouncing his loyalty to the Crown, and resigning from the provincial congress. Yet, in his practical Dutch way, Van Buskirk and his fellow secret Loyalists would only declare openly if the British appeared in loco. Fortunately for them, and unfortunately for the patriots, they did not have to wait long.

Cornwallis's Invasion of the Jerseys

During the late summer and into the fall of 1776, the people of Jersey waited anxiously as the British, under Lord William Howe, methodically drove Washington and his Continental Army from Staten Island, Long Island, and the Island of New York (Manhattan). After an inconclusive engagement at White Plains (in Westchester), Washington moved the bulk of his forces across the North (Hudson) River to the "safety" of the Jerseys. 

In November, British General Lord Cornwallis led a force of 5,000 men up the palisades overlooking the Hudson River and sent the Continental Army in headlong flight toward Pennsylvania. Now was Van Buskirk's time! On November 22, the British crossed the Hackensack River and took the city. Swarms of Hessians dazzled or terrified residents, depending on their allegiance. The Volunteer Loyalists assembled in town. He and his men could openly declare and organize their unit, the 4th Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers. Van Buskirk, the citizen, soon became an accomplished military leader, guiding his unit with a firm hand and grim efficiency.

Loyalist Infantry

The War for Independence was fought at the local level and often savagely, especially between Loyalists and rebels. Some of the fiercest fighting occurred in the Hackensack Valley. To support British efforts to pacify Jersey, Van Buskirk began sending his men on raids across Bergen County and later guarding the critical areas of Bergen Neck and Staten Island. Van Buskirk's patrols captured prisoners for interrogation or exchange. They foraged from the local populace's resources (as did the patriots). They engaged in countless skirmishes with the despised rebel militia and sometimes with Continental units. Van Buskirk quickly became a scourge to Hackensack Valley patriots and any Continental units that passed through the area. 

After Washington's surprise victory at Trenton, many British units returned to New York. The few that remained in Jersey concentrated near Paulhus Hook and Bergen. From there, Van Buskirk's companies launched further raids into the so-called "neutral ground" of the valley. They played a role in the "Winter War" (or Forage War), helping to protect farmers who were trying to supply goods to the British, who were concentrated in the New York area. Throughout 1777, Van Buskirk successfully waged unconventional warfare from his headquarters at Bergen Point, dispatching operatives as far as the New York border to capture patriots for interrogation and retribution.

In September 1777, the British commander in New York, General Clinton, launched a 2,000-man, three-pronged assault into New Jersey. Van Buskirk's men played their part with enthusiasm, landing at Elizabeth Town and moving swiftly north, where they acquitted themselves well in an engagement at Passaic. In August of that year, American General John Sullivan initiated an attack on British and Loyalist forces on Staten Island. Abraham Van Buskirk's battalion was part of Brigadier General Cortland Skinner's Loyalist Brigade.

Patrick Ferguson

In May 1779, Van Buskirk supported a British raid on Closter (with the objective of Paramus). Captain Patrick Ferguson, who would later become renowned for King's Mountain, played a significant role in the raid. Later that year, Van Buskirk thwarted local patriots in another way by escaping Light Horse Harry Lee's raid on Paulhus Hook, where he was among the intended targets. Van Buskirk's intelligence network was now firmly established in that part of Jersey, which made the difference.


The winter of 1779-80 proved brutally cold. Van Buskirk's 4th New Jersey was stationed on Staten Island. Things would soon warm up. On January 14, American General Lord Stirling attempted a raid against Van Buskirk that ultimately failed. Undeterred, Van Buskirk launched a counter-raid on January 25, capturing 50 prisoners despite the harsh cold impacting both sides. In April of that year, Van Buskirk took a lead role at the battle of Hooperstown.

In September 1781, Van Buskirk led his battalion during the turncoat Benedict Arnold's infamous burning of New London and siege at Fort Griswold, where the surrendering fort commander, Colonel Ledyard, was infamously stabbed and many of his men were bayoneted to death. The last action of the war in the North is somehow emblematic of the true nature of the desperate struggle for America.

Benedict Arnold: British general

The action in Connecticut in 1781 was one of the last significant engagements in the north. With the lengthy period of negotiation following Yorktown in October 1781, the war became once again one of "low intensity." One can imagine Van Buskirk played his part masterfully until the end. After the war, Van Buskirk's fate was no different from that of many other Loyalists whose dreams were shattered and whose homes were destroyed or taken by vengeful rebels. Someone as committed to the crown as Van Buskirk had few options. Therefore, the surgeon, businessman, politico, and warrior joined the many other Loyalists who emigrated to Nova Scotia. There he settled in Shelburne, where he died in 1791.

George Washington, Vampire Slayer!

Excuse the Halloween hyperbole but now that I have your attention I can discuss hauntings in the time of the Yankee Doodle Spies. Truth be told, had I begun the action and adventure series with a book titled, say, "The Marching Dead," I'd be on easy street today. People like to be scared and they prefer the macabre and horrifying over mundane things such as action and intrigue. Just imagine if you will, a tale of a rebel unit massacred while bivouacking at a cemetery. Only this unit of wraiths rises, Zombie-like, whenever the Cause needs them. Imagine still a team of cunning British officers desperately trying to find a way to stop this phantom army's onslaught not realizing that silver, not lead balls would do the trick... what's in your ammo box?

Greenwood cemetery in Brooklyn, New York

The American Revolution has more than its share of hauntings and spooky tales. Most of these are known only locally (most hauntings are locally celebrated). And most are tied to places... a Poltergeist-like phenomenon. But one legend is a national story of long-standing: Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. The original story of Ichabod Crane, the superstitious schoolmaster fearful of the legendary headless horseman of the Old Dutch Church spooked young and old alike for generations. I recall driving through the tale's setting, Tarrytown New York, with my father as a boy. I was around ten. As we drove south on NY 9, he pointed to the church and cemetery and said, "the Headless Horseman of sleepy Hollow is here, the Hessian's ghost haunts the cemetery,"  and a chill went down my spine. It was broad daylight in the summer. Imagine how I'd feel on a dark October night? I'm not sure I knew what a Hessian was back then. But he had me at Headless Horseman. The tale evolved as new media brought the story to larger audiences and stretched the original plot to its breaking point. It has been made into radio shows, TV dramas, cartoons, and recently a major film (with Johnny Depp) and then a TV series (that stretches the plot to the next galaxy).

The Headless Horseman is the iconic RevWar Spook

Ringwood Manor

The Mid-Atlantic is chock full of RevWar hauntings. In a past Yankee Doodle Spies Blog, I discussed the Morris-Jumel house in New York's Harlem and the speculation and tales of its haunting. The Van Cortland Mansion, Greenwood Cemetery (ground zero for the Battle of Long Island - a place the saw the most bloodshed of the war) are other New York venues. Just across the great North River, in Passaic, New Jersey stands Ringwood Manor. This was once the home of General Robert Erskine, who was the geographer for George Washington's army. Later he ran an ironworks on the grounds. He's buried near the manor house, and it's said that at dusk he sits on his grave, looking at the pond beyond. Some have reported his ghost walking the grounds, carrying a lantern. There are also French soldiers buried nearby, who fought for the American cause. They, too, come out at night and walk alongside the pond, speaking in French. The house itself is not the original but it has hauntings of its own stemming from the 19th century.

Erskine's ghost haunts Ringwood cemetery

New England, home of the Salem witch trials a century earlier, is no stranger to tales of the macabre. Boston Harbor’s scenic Long Island is home to one of the most tragic Boston ghost stories. At the close of the American Revolution's actions around Boston, the British still had several ships in the harbor, primarily to evacuate Loyal Americans who wished to depart before the rebels seized the city. Onboard one of these ships were William and Mary Burton. The young couple, ardent Loyalists were among those fleeing. While sailing from the harbor, a shot from the besiegers' battery on Long Island struck Mary in back of the head.

Mary Burton's ghost roams the Long Island Dunes

According to the legend, she lingered on for several days in excruciating pain before dying. In her death throes, Mary allegedly asked her husband not to bury her at sea. After she died, William returned to Long Island to fulfill his love's dying wish. He wrapped her bloodied corpse into a red blanket that Mary owned and buried her under the island's sand dunes. Her headstone was a piece of driftwood carved with her name.  Before leaving her grave, William swore that he would return someday with a real headstone. He never did. But according to the legend, Mary still waits for him. Over the years visitors to the island report seeing a woman with pallid skin covered in mud in a scarlet cloak walking among the dunes. Many report blood on her cloak and a gaping hole in the back of her head, where the cannon fire had struck her skull.

The South is no stranger to fantastic stories and RevWar hauntings are no exception. Ground zero for this is the site of THE major event of the war itself, Yorktown, Virginia. Here, in October (hmm...) 1781, a desperate British General Charles Cornwallis led his army in the vain expectation that the Royal Navy would extract him from a land now crawling with rebel soldiers and their French allies. Weeks of siege under trying conditions would set the stage for tales of the macabre that linger to this day. The depredations and sufferings of the siege make Yorktown frightfully haunted. From “Cornwallis’ Cave on the banks of the York River to Crawford Road – the town is a magnet for urban legends and ghostly tales. Cornwallis’ Cave has no specific connection to Cornwallis. But legend has it British troops took shelter in the cave to escape the incessant bombardment by Continental and French artillery.

Cornwallis's Cave

Some legends hold that the civilian residents of Yorktown took refuge there. Evidence does show that after the war the cave was probably used by smugglers. It is located along the waterfront. Perhaps they spread haunting tales to keep prying eyes from their lair? There are still reports that voices can be heard at night coming from the dark recesses of the cave. Those who follow such things believe them to be the voices of Revolutionary War soldiers, the moaning of the injured and dying hiding in the cave.

Myths are to cultures what dreams are to people. In a similar way, horror stories are to cultures what nightmares are to people. The eight-year war for independence was a nightmare for all involved. The Americans who suffered in rebellion; the Loyalists who lost their homes and property; and the British who lost their empire. It is perhaps only fitting that such a war be the well-spring of myth... and of horror. Have a spooky Halloween.  Stay frightened my friends...

Fort William and Mary

The scenic town of New Castle, New Hampshire, is home to the ruins of Fort William and Mary. Similar to the college in Virginia, the fort was named in honor of the (sort of) iconic British rulers associated with the Glorious Revolution. It's ironic that each played a role in establishing the British monarchy in America under the guise of a revolution. Nevertheless, some assert that the first armed resistance to royal authority began here long before Lexington and Concord.

The Agitation

Royal Governor Wentworth

In May of 1774, the closure of Boston's port had most New Englanders inflamed. British authorities demanded that the "salt-water tea" be paid for and required Bostonians to concede. In New Hampshire, the Committee of Correspondence vowed to make Boston's fight their own. Royal Governor John Wentworth recognized a radical shift in public opinion and perceived a potential threat to Royal authority. He tried to install a garrison at his only military post, Fort William and Mary in New Castle. However, the Assembly, now antagonistic to the British, voted to grant him only 200 pounds for the enterprise. Wentworth appointed an officer and three men to administer the fort, thus demonstrating the King's authority. Not much of an army to stave off a revolution.



The Politics

The Assembly was not intimidated by Wentworth's measures. Later that month, they voted to establish a second Committee of Correspondence. Wentworth and the Rockingham County sheriff attempted to intimidate and shut down the Assembly, dismissing them from the chamber for holding an unlawful meeting. Undaunted, they retired to a local tavern, and in that congenial atmosphere, they made plans for a Provincial Congress to be held in Exeter in July. Over the next few months, the situation around Boston went from simmer to boil, and the impact spread across New England like a forest fire.





The Action

On December 13th, 1774, Paul Revere rode south to Portsmouth to report the British ban on importing military stores and that rumors about expected British troops were the worst kind: true rumors. John Sullivan, a Patriot leader and firebrand just returned from the First Continental Congress, decided to take action. Along with local Patriot merchant John Langdon, he vowed to seize the bastion of Royal authority

 Sullivan

sitting right under their noses at New Castle. On the 14th, Langdon made his way through Portsmouth with a drummer leading the charge. Once he had gathered a crowd, he addressed them. Approximately 400 people joined him, forming a mob that set out to take the powder from the fort. A single volley fired from the fort was answered by some shots from the crowd, but there were no injuries. They surged into the fort in a rush. Breaking into the magazine, they removed about 100 barrels of powder. Overwhelmed, the fort's commandant, Captain John Cochran, quickly surrendered his four-man garrison. This marks Fort William and Mary as the location for one of the first overt actions of the American struggle for independence. Some likened it to Lexington and Concord, but the absence of bloodshed makes it less compelling. Still, it was the first organized resistance to the King.

Fort William and Mary 1704

The Take

The following day, John Sullivan led more rebel forces now streaming in from across the colony. They first surrounded the governor's residence, but violence was avoided there, as Wentworth complied with their demands. That evening, December 15th, they returned to the fort and took all the arms and supplies, as well as some cannons. This action resulted in the Americans seizing some booty, a tangible benefit. This included about sixty muskets, sixteen cannons, and one hundred barrels of valuable powder. The gunpowder was swiftly transported inland and distributed among various armed groups in New Hampshire. Some of it may have reached the Patriots around Boston. In a land starved for ordnance, this was a small treasure desperately needed.

Gunpowder from the fort moved inland over ice

The Place

History is about a sense of time, people, and place. On a picturesque promontory overlooking the ocean, a colonial people inflamed by perceived injustice made their mark. New Castle is a scenic town of around 900 residents. It is also the smallest town in the state and the easternmost. Its narrow streets are lined with colonial-style houses. The fort itself was built at the beginning of the 18th century on the site of an earlier fort erected to deter pirates. Its major landmark is the Fort Point Lighthouse, constructed in 1877 on the site of an earlier lighthouse built in 1771. Until the latter was built, the only navigational aid for the rocky harbor was a lantern hung high on Fort William and Mary.

Site of Fort William and Mary today

Things: The Cavalier Spy

"1776: His army clinging to New York by a thread, a desperate General George Washington sends Lieutenant Jeremiah Creed behind British lines again. But even the audacity of Creed and his band of spies cannot stop the British juggernaut from driving the Americans from New York and chasing them across New Jersey in a blitzkrieg fashion. Realizing the imminent loss of one of the new nation's most important states to the enemy, Washington sends Creed into the war-torn Hackensack Valley. His mission: recruit and train a gang of rogues to work behind British lines."

As you can tell from the lead-in above, my second novel, The Cavalier Spy, is now out. I posted an entire page on The Cavalier Spy on this blog, but a post on it would be appropriate just a few weeks after its release. Those following me on Twitter (@SWOConnell) or on Facebook (S.W. O'Connell) have been bombarded with promos, nuggets, and tidbits. You may thank me later for all that. This work was much more challenging to produce than my first novel, The Patriot Spy. Going into it, it would be easier. But I was wrong.

Writing The Patriot Spy was my first venture, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had no timeline and only a vague idea of where it would go when I started. The Cavalier Spy, as a sequel, was more challenging. For one thing, I had to remember everything I wrote in the first book to ensure I did not repeat anything unintentionally. Second, I intentionally had to repeat enough scenes from the first book. Why is that, you ask? Because I wanted The Cavalier Spy to be a "stand-alone" work. That way, readers who had not read The Patriot Spy would be up on things. And, of course, I had to do that without giving away any nuggets from the first book. Ice cream headache time!

The other challenge was how to follow the largest battle of the war and all the excitement and intrigue that went with it. How do you make it more enjoyable? As it turns out, that became easier as I went along and got into the plot's rhythm. Things started to happen. I read several new works related to the period following the loss of New York, and before long, I had several interesting things to build the action around. And a new piece of the Revolutionary War struggles to be revealed. And to juice things up, I have a multi-chapter flashback providing more insight into the main protagonist, Lieutenant Jeremiah Creed. As I paced through it, new ideas and characters developed. A fictional town. A British plot. Political intrigue on both sides.

About halfway through the story, I knew where I would end it, with an iconic scene from America's history. But you'll have to read the book to learn more about that.

Shameless plug:  The Cavalier Spy is available on Amazon at:

https://www.amazon.com/Cavalier-Spy-S-W-OConnell/dp/1737663651

The Life Guard

With this being Labor Day weekend I am ending the Yankee Doodle Spies summer vacation officially. But in the spirit of those sun-drenched protectors of the beaches, I decided to Blog about the Life Guards. This post is not about Baywatch so you can put away the sunscreen and towels.  And don't bother looking for a happy snap of Pamela Anderson and company.  Even before America had recreational beaches it had lifeguards, or in this case, The Life Guard. This is about George Washington's Life Guard, to be precise. Readers of The Patriot Spy, and its just-released sequel, The Cavalier Spy have probably noted that wherever George Washington was, a Life Guard could probably be found nearby.

Despite waging a war for independence and liberty, the founders' generation still believed in titles. And as today, with those titles often came perks. Lieutenant General George Washington was more than just commander in chief of the Continental Army. He was also the binding force of the eight-year struggle we call the American Revolution. This was not so much planned as a natural result of his leadership qualities, integrity and stature. He united classes and sections. He was a symbol. And as a symbol of his acknowledged position as the highest executive in the land, he received the appellation: "His Excellency." It is a tribute to the singular presence and importance of Washington that this honorific did not pass on when he resigned from military service, at least, officially.

The British were quite aware of Washington's importance to the cause they sought to crush. And the Americans were quite aware that the British were aware. Throughout the war, the fear that the enemy would assassinate or capture the "essential man" lingered. But it wasn't long into Washington's command at Cambridge Massachusetts that the need for military bodyguards was acted upon. On the 11th of March 1776 Washington issued the following orders:

"The General is desirous of selecting a particular number of men as a guard for himself and baggage.  The Colonel or Commanding Officer of each of the established regiments, the artillery and riflemen excepted, will furnish him with four, that the number of wanted may be chosen out of them.  His Excellency depends upon the Colonels for good men, such as they can recommend for their sobriety, honesty, and good behavior.  He wishes them to be from five feet eight inches to five feet ten inches, handsomely and well made, and as there is nothing in his eyes more desirable than cleanliness in a soldier, he desires that particular attention be made in the choice of such men as are clean and spruce.  They are to be at headquarters tomorrow precisely at 12 o'clock at noon when the number wanted will be fixed upon.  The General neither wants them with uniforms nor arms nor does he desire any man to be sent to him that is not perfectly willing or desirous of being in this Guard. - They should be drilled, men."

Ever conscious of the need to avoid sectional preference, Washington chose a New England man to head up the special unit: Captain Caleb Gibbs of the 14th Massachusetts Continental Regiment commanded the Guard but George Lewis, a nephew of Washington, was named the Lieutenant. The explicit mission of the new group was "to protect General Washington, the army's cash, and official
papers." Gibbs set about to reorganize the unit. He established the motto, "Conquer or Die." The unit had several names. The official designation of the new unit was "His Excellency's Guard," or the "General's Guard." Many of the enlisted men called the unit "The Life Guards," "The Washington Life Guards," or "Washington's Body Guard." Washington himself generally referred to them as "My Guards," In dispatches and unit correspondence Gibbs referred to himself as "Commandant C-in-C, Guards."

The new force was specially uniformed and outfitted. The Guards were also the best uniformed and equipped of all the Continentals. The uniform of the Guard consisted of a blue coat with white facings, white waistcoat and breeches, black half gaiters, a cocked hat with a blue and white feather. The strength of the Guard varied throughout the war (as did other units) but eventually settled at around 180 men, the strength of about three normal infantry companies. The size of the Guard temporarily increased to 250 during the winter of 1779–80, while the Continental Army was encamped at Morristown, New Jersey, in easy reach of the British Army.

Life Guard and Traitor

It did not take long for the elite new unit to prove its worth... as well as its danger. By May of 1776, the British had evacuated Boston, and anticipating an attack on New York, Washington began to move the Continental Army south.  On May 24th, 1776, an element of the C-in-C Guards set up camp near Richmond Hill on Manhattan Island.  Spies recognized the elite unit and what it meant. Anticipating Washington's arrival, a group of New York Tories had hatched a secret plot earlier that month.  The objective was the assassination of George Washington.  Fortunately for the American cause, the plot was uncovered.  The New York Provincial Congress ordered several Tories, including the City's Mayor, David Matthews, arrested.  Meanwhile, Washington dispatched Gibbs with a group of hand-picked men to arrest another forty conspirators.  But disturbingly, these included Continental Army soldiers: including some of Washington's own Life Guards: Sergeant Thomas Hickey; Drummer William Green; Fifer James Johnson; Privates John Barnes and Michael Lynch. The larcenous Hickey had been in jail for passing a counterfeit note. As often is the case, stupidity and ego did him in. He revealed the plot on Washington to another inmate who used the nugget to better his own situation (I think this is where Law and Order, NYPD, etc get their plot lines). Alone among the conspirators, Hickey faced a court-martial that found him guilty of mutiny and sedition. He was executed in New York on 28 June 1776 before a crowd of 20,000 spectators.






After that fiasco, the Guard went on to exemplary service for the remainder of the war. The strength of the Guard at this time was about 50 men.  They accompanied Washington to White Plains and participated in the battle fought there on October 28th, taking up their position on Chatterton Hill.  The following day the entire Army retreated to New Jersey. With their terms of enlistment up, Washington gave twenty of the Guards their discharges on the condition they would reenlist in the troop of cavalry being raised by Lieutenant Lewis, who had been detached from the Guard for that purpose. A small group fought beside Washington at Trenton in the darkest hours of the revolution. Others were assigned to other regiments to bolster their strength and resolve.

The Life Guard (in helmets) also honored
distinguished visitors to HQ: here Lafayette

During the spring of 1777, as the army emerged from its first winter encampment at Morristown, NJ, Washington ordered Gibbs to procure new uniforms for the unit. Blue jackets and buff facings with leather helmets adorned with medium blue cloth binding and a white plume tipped in blue placed on the left side of the helmet. But Gibbs, possibly because of short supplies, outfitted them with red vests instead of buff. The Life Guards came into their own the following winter, however. At Valley Forge, Von Steuben used members of the Guard as his demonstration company for the new American Drill.  Von Steuben personally trained them. Then sent them other Continental Army regiments until the entire army was schooled in the new drill.  This turned the often hapless Continental units into a force ready to take on the British regulars. But it also marked the Commander-in-Chief's Life Guards as the  Continental Army's truly elite unit, not just a bunch of dandy's in the commander in chief's circle.

It is often overlooked that a critical mission of the Life Guard was the protection of the commander in chief's immediate supplies and equipment. tents, office equipment, and most important correspondence needed protection on the numerous marches made by Washington.
The Life Guards marched with Washington throughout the war. They were at his side during the campaigns in New York, New Jersey, and into Virginia. In 1779, Caleb Gibbs, now a major,  was replaced by another New Englander, Connecticut born William Colfax. Washington promoted the young officer to Captain. Colfax was present at the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, at Yorktown and permitted by Washington to occupy a prominent position, on horseback, near Washington. As the long struggle drew to a close, Washington's Life Guard, now down to around fifty effectives, was furloughed from duty in June 1783, at army headquarters in Newburgh, New York.  With the British about to evacuate New York City, the Life Guard was ordered disbanded on the 15th of November 1783.

The Life Guard Flag

One Huck of a Loyalist

Christian Huck is a name only a writer could conjure up. So, who is this guy with a name right out of Hollywood badboy casting? He was, in fact, a prominent Loyalist during the time of the Yankee Doodle Spies. But he was much more than that. And I am posting this on the anniversary of the day that made him famous... the day he died.

Huck the Immigrant

Christian Huck was born "somewhere in Germany" on or about the year 1747. Pretty ambiguous beginnings as "Germany" in the 18th Century was not a nation but a region in middle Europe. By the early 1770s, our man had emigrated to America and settled in Philadelphia, where he studied law. His law practice centered around real estate, a lucrative and dangerous business in those days. He focused on buying and selling real estate for ready money or short credit, on very low terms, and giving security. With banks of the period very few and money in short supply, some very interesting things could happen in that business. Our iconic George Washington himself speculated in land - but that is a complex tale for another blog.  Huck became wealthy. He joined the Anglican church and clearly assimilated well. Huck worked his way into Philadelphia’s upper society, many of whom were loyal to the crown and remained so throughout the war. These are some of the same Philadelphians that Benedict Arnold later got mixed up with. 

Philadelphia was anything but the City of Brotherly Love
during the time of the Yankee Doodle Spies

Huck goes to War

And so our German immigrant Christian Huck (sometimes spelled Houck, or even Hook) was a Loyalist and remained loyal. With the outbreak of war, he, along with other prominent Philadelphians, suffered for their loyalty.  Whig harassment, vandalism, public humiliation, and ostracism were common occurrences. Huck’s mentor, Isaac Hunt,  was paraded through town and forced to admit and acknowledge his Tory “misbehavior.”  Christian Huck remained in Philadelphia despite these hardships. He continued to work at selling and purchasing real estate.  He contributed whenever he could to the Tory cause, associating and helping members who were targeted for their loyalty. When the British Army occupied Philadelphia in September of 1777, Christian Huck offered his assistance and joined the army. Some would say the wrong army. Because In 1778 the war had grown more shrill in its thirst for retribution.  That year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court published a list of persons accused of knowingly and willingly aiding and supporting the enemies of the State (PA), and of the United States of America by joining the British army at Philadelphia. The list included  “Christian Hook, attorney at law.” Each person on the list forfeited all their property for having committed High Treason. Those on the list would be treated accordingly, including all “pains and penalties.” This was not a good list to be on!

Captain Christian Huck

Huck followed the British Army when it abandoned Philadelphia and went to New York.  By June 1778, he had raised a company of thirty men for provincial duty. He was granted a captain’s commission in a Provincial corps. This corps, under the command of Major Andreas Emmerick, comprised many men of German descent. Emmerick's corps had participated in several battles in 1777 and 1778 respectively, making a name for themselves by distinguished service in the Hudson Highland Campaign,  front line skirmishes around the Kingsbridge (Da Bronx), and the Battle of Monmouth. In 1778, the corps was supplemented by new recruits and had grown to include two troops of light dragoons, one infantry company, one rifle company, and three chasseur companies, one of which was Huck’s. Chasseurs (French for hunter) were trained to skirmish and fight in small bands. 

Banastre Tarleton

Huck Moves South

Soon, the corps was split, and one light dragoon troop was given to Huck to attach to the British Legion under the infamous Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. Note: Tarleton plays a cameo role in my upcoming novel, The Cavalier Spy. However, by the end of 1779, Huck’s troops were simply referred to as part of the British Legion. Huck participated in the infamous Battle of the Waxhaws in May 1780.  He played a role in the destruction of Hill's Ironworks, an important Patriot supplier as well as headquarters for Hill's Militia. The war in the South heated up in 1780.  Huck became known for fighting in the Carolina backcountry. He received the nickname “the swearing captain” due to his notoriety for profanity (ach du Scheisse). And he was savage with the Presbyterians of the region.  Perhaps because so many of his Whig tormentors in Philadelphia were Presbyterian.  Some said they reminded Huck of the rebels who had harassed him, accused him of treason, and took his property. He certainly had some cause to seek retribution for his lost property. And of course, he was an Anglican. Perhaps there was a religious component to his hate. Charged with recruiting supporters for the Loyalist cause by Cornwallis, Huck ravaged through the backcountry, threatening and plundering civilians, destroying properties, and making a reputation for cruelty for himself as well as his men. 

Back Country Mayhem

In June of 1780, Huck was sent from Rocky Mount towards Fishing Creek to disperse rebels known to be gathering there. Along the way, he recruited 300 Loyalists and burned all the homes and plantations of known Patriots in the Catawba Valley of upper South Carolina. When he reached Fishing Creek, Huck led his men to the Presbyterian Church in order to seize the pastor, a known Patriot named John Simpson. When they realized Simpson had fled, they torched his parsonage. Huck continued his rampage to the New Acquisition District along the North Carolina border, now York County.  There, he destroyed two strategic assets of the rebels: Whites Mills on Fishing Creek and William Hill's Ironworks. The latter was a critical source of rebel cannon and ordnance. With Huck wreaking such havoc in the backcountry, a force of about 500 loosely organized Patriot militias responded. A dragnet of sorts was launched as they scoured the woods and fields for the marauders.

Christian Huck continued his rampage and, in early July, arrived at the Bratton Plantation. Desperate to find the proprietor, Colonel William Bratton, a notable Whig leader, Huck ordered Martha Bratton to betray her husband’s location.  At the time, Bratton was leading his militia unit in the pursuit of Huck and other Tory bands. When Martha refused, she was threatened with a reaping hook (an interesting play on his name). Only the intervention of another Loyalist officer saved her. Note: incivility, not to mention violence, against women of a certain status was considered particularly vile during the time of the Yankee Doodle Spies. If nothing else, this made him what the Germans call a Schlechter Knabe (Bad Boy).

Martha Bratton standing up to Huck's interrogation

The Mayhem Continues, or A Woman Scorned

Undaunted, Huck moved on to the Williamson Plantation. After capturing five Whig supporters at the plantation hiding in the corn crib, Huck and his other officers took up quarters in the main house.  His force of around 120 men made camp in the surrounding areas. Since they quickly took the plantation, they assumed there was no threat. So, he posted just a few guards and failed to place pickets or patrols outside the perimeter. Unbeknownst to Huck, Martha Bratton had sent a family slave named Watt to find her husband, whose unit was on Fishing Creek.  Watt told him where Huck was headed.  In a double calamity for Huck, a crippled spy named Joseph Kerr found Colonel Bratton as well. Based on Kerr and Watt’s intelligence, an attack on Huck’s men was planned by Bratton.

Bratton's Plantation Today

Icing the Huck

At dawn on July 12, 1780, the rebels advanced on Huck’s unsuspecting encampment. There, 250 Patriots under Bratton surrounded the plantation under cover of darkness. The few guards never saw them. As the Loyalist forces were roused by the attack, Bratton's men shot them down. War in the Carolinas was nasty! Surprised by the morning onslaught, many of Huck’s men ran away into the woods.  Huck himself was shot from his horse while trying to rally his men. The Patriots tracked down and killed those of Huck’s forces that had bolted into the woods. Some reports estimated that 85 percent of the Loyalists were killed, wounded, or captured. Pretty impressive since the battle lasted only a few minutes.  The Patriots only had one man killed and another wounded in the skirmish. As for Huck, he died of his wounds and was buried on the spot. In a final insult to the immigrant Loyalist, his body was later used as a medical skeleton. 

Huck defeated in a battle that lasted minutes

Huck's Defeat a Significant Skirmish?

Yes. The Loyalists' morale in the Carolinas suffered from so many recent losses.  Too many Carolinians, British rule began to seem inevitable. After Huck's defeat, the fact that a Patriot militia group so decidedly defeated an element of the British Legion rallied the people to the cause with renewed energy. The Legion was a powerful and feared force in the Carolinas: well-led, well-equipped, and very well-motivated to show no mercy. They were the "Huns" of their day and had their way in most engagements. So, the defeat of an element of the Legion stiffened their resistance to the British attacks and skirmishes. This would ultimately change the outcome of the war. Over time, the British became frustrated in their attempts to pacify the Carolinas. That frustration took the British under Cornwallis on a long march to a place called Yorktown. But that's another tale (or three). The legacy that Christian Huck left behind was one of Loyalist savagery and Patriot retribution. But it also points out the hatefulness of both sides of the American struggle after five years of struggle.

The Liberty Pole

Liberty Pole as Symbol

To many colonists, the patriot cause in the battle for independence from Great Britain represented liberty. Patriots felt that representation in the government, economic freedom, and personal freedoms were the very definition of liberty. Yet, this view was by no means held by everyone. This first fight for American liberty included an ideological battle between neighbors and brothers and in some regions just as many people were loyal to the King as there were patriots. To many, there existed legitimate doubt over which side was right and which side was wrong. These folks were undecided, at least at first. And sadly, just as today, a number of the populace was indifferent, and many changed their loyalties from patriot to Loyalist depending on which army controlled the area. Not everyone thought that the best way to seek individual freedom was to create a new government. Many colonists felt that, as Englishmen, the King would protect their rights. Anything else was treason. So to some, the Liberty Pole became a symbol of freedom. To others, it was a symbol of treason. Stark differences.

Liberty Tree: Boston

But the Liberty Pole actually began as a Liberty Tree. The original Liberty Tree was a large elm tree in the South End of Boston. Angry citizens of Boston first used it around 1765 as a rallying point during the Stamp Act crisis, when the British Parliament was threatening a tax on paper goods such as legal documents, newspapers, etc. The Sons of Liberty was an organization started in Boston by Samuel Adams to protest British taxes, and their membership grew rapidly in the colonies. As the movement spread from Boston, Sons of Liberty kept the practice of meeting under a large tree, which was present in most village greens, and these came to be known as the Liberty Trees. Their goal was to organize public opinion and coordinate patriotic actions against Great Britain. In towns without a tree big enough, the patriots sometimes would erect a tall pole to symbolize a Liberty Tree. These became known as Liberty Poles. The patriots erected most Liberty Poles in the town squares, as these were the center of civic life. They consisted of a tall straight pole often as much as 100 feet high. Now the square served not only as a central meeting place for townsfolk but also as a symbol of resistance to the British.

Liberty Poles spread across the colonies: Erecting a Liberty Pole Goshen, NY

In New York City, where later some of the first battles of the Revolutionary War were fought, there was an ongoing struggle over the Liberty Pole. In May 1766, when news arrived of the repeal of the Stamp Act, the Sons of Liberty celebrated by the erection of a Liberty Pole. It became a rallying point for mass meetings and an emblem of the American cause. In June, two regiments of British regulars arrived in New York City and were quartered in the upper barracks. These troops cut down the liberty pole on August 10th. A second and third pole was erected and also cut down. A fourth pole was
erected and encased in iron to prevent similar action.

First Liberty Pole in New York City

Liberty Pole as Place

And that place would be New Jersey, in a time long ago: before the Sopranos, Bridgegate, or even the Turnpike. In present-day Englewood New Jersey, there stands a pole erected in 1964. It is believed to be at or near the site of an earlier pole erected almost 200 years earlier to celebrate the repeal of the Stamp Act. This event was more than symbolic as it proved a catalyst for further action in the defense of liberty in the Hackensack Valley, the venue for lots of political agitation, and warfare. The "English Neighborhood" (which included today's City of Englewood ) in New Jersey was part of the great Patriot and Loyalist tangle in the state. Even the name, "English Neighborhood" reveals the separation of peoples in the valley. The name was given by the Dutch settlers to highlight it as the settlement closest to the foreign English in Manhattan, then called the Island of New York. Even before the fighting started, neighbors disagreed with one another on issues of religion and government. The place in the "English Neighborhood", known to all the colonists (even George Washington) as Liberty Pole, would become a key symbol to all of the meaning of liberty, but on November 20th, 1776, the Liberty Pole was a scene of great despair. The valley was a strategic crossroads between New York City, and Long Island and the west as well as the Hudson Highlands and the south. Besides the waters of the Hackensack, the Kings Highway ran north-south and then turned west. At the junction stood a tavern that became, as so often, the focus of much social, economic, and political activity. In 1776, the proprietor of the inn, a zealous patriot, followed the example of the Liberty Boys in New York and erected a Liberty Pole with a gold Liberty Cap to celebrate the repeal of the Stamp Act. The inn, known as the Liberty Pole Tavern, was the center of economic, political, and social activity, and the surrounding area was also called Liberty Pole.

Watching the Hudson from Fort Lee

Although no major battles were fought here, events vital to the American cause did occur in Englewood. On the night of November 20, 1776, the British General Lord Cornwallis crossed the Hudson with nine thousand men to what is now Alpine, planning to capture the rebel forces at Fort Lee, under Nathaniel Greene. General Washington, alerted to the plan, led his army from Fort Lee, down the King's Highway to the Liberty Pole Tavern, and cut over on what is now Teaneck Road to New Bridge, where he was able to cross the Hackensack. By the summer of 1776, the war for independence, with real armies, crept closer to the English Neighborhood. The British drove George Washington's army from Long island and lower New York across the North (Hudson) River. For a while, Washington made his headquarters in Hackensack. From there he tried to organize a defense against a British attack up the Hudson River. He ordered the arming of forts on either side of the Hudson River, Fort Washington and Fort Lee. On November 16, 1776, the British captured Fort Washington in upper Manhattan, leaving Fort Lee unsupported and giving the Royal navy unopposed movement up and down the river. Fort Lee as a defensive post was compromised by the fall of its sister Fort. Washington realized he would be exposed to a British attack and now was faced with moving his dwindling force of 2,000 men across the Hackensack - by ferry or via the one bridge (located in River Edge at New Bridge ). General Washington was criticized during this crisis, and the morale of his army was low. Realizing Washington's predicament General Howe, who commanded the British troops, agreed to let Lord Charles Cornwallis launch an amphibious attack on New Jersey, a few miles north of Fort Lee. They moved on the night of November 19, 1776. The next day General Washington received word of the British invasion, and he quickly sped to Liberty Pole on his horse. At Liberty Pole, Washington planned to meet the commander of Fort Lee, General Greene, and his men, who now were evacuating from Fort Lee. The British were located about 2 miles away in Tenafly. Most of the soldiers marched together (down modern-day Grand Avenue in Leonia) until they reached Liberty Pole and General Washington. In the chaos of the retreat, some soldiers were ordered to secure the "little ferry" route across the Hackensack and went through modern-day Ridgefield. Most soldiers continued the six-mile trek between Fort Lee, Liberty Pole, and New Bridge with Washington.

Cornwallis moves across the North River (Hudson)  to the Jerseys

As the weary American army receded from the Jerseys, the area around Liberty Pole entered into a different kind of war, the kind that symbolized the war for independence even more than the pitched battles noted in most accounts. A war of political intrigue, espionage, sabotage, and small engagements took place. Raids were conducted. Loyalties questioned (many of the Dutch were at best ambivalent to the struggle). Spies operated. Spies were caught. General mayhem by any definition scourged the area around Liberty Pole. The struggle would smolder throughout the area, and occasionally, as the armies returned, would flare up into short but violent bursts of action. Liberty Pole was the site of a celebrated skirmish later in the war. In 1779, a weary but a game band of troops under famed General "Light-Horse Harry" Lee bravely fended off attacks by Tories as a Patriot force returned from a successful raid on the Paulhus Hook, today's Jersey City. The attack on the Hook was only partially successful but Lee's audacity and successful "retrograde" to safety across the Hackensack River was praised by General Washington and noted by a grateful Congress.

Light Horse Harry Lee's rear guard fought
bravely at Liberty Pole

In 1780, Washington’s Army was in the Hudson highlands and the forward lines around
Tappan drew lots of attention from spies of both sides, Tory bands, militias, Continentals foraging, and sundry banditi. A British pardon drew American deserters from the highlands, providing British intelligence a trove of information. In one instance of recorded reprisal, a raiding party of American militia bore down the valley to Liberty Pole and seized several deserters. These are just examples of the kind of war waged around the pole and throughout the valley in the long struggle for America's independence.