Cold and Stalemate at Whitemarsh

This week marked the anniversary of Whitemarsh: the last phase of the third year of the American struggle for independence. For several cold winter days, rebels and redcoats marched and countermarched as General George Washington hoped to lure the British General Howe into an end of year disaster.


Background

General William Howe

General William Howe's Philadelphia campaign of 1777 was one of move, lose, move lose for George Washington and the Continental Army. Despite that, Howe and the British high command remained frustrated because the rebel army and its general continued to remain a force they would need to reckon with if winter quarters were to be enjoyed in peace and comfort. Despite his failed surprise attack on Germantown on 4 October, Washington remained unbeaten. He maneuvered his forces from post to post, ultimately settling in at a place called Whitemarsh, about 13 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Both Howe and Washington knew that an unbeaten American force in the field remained a psychological as well as a real threat to British success. So in early December, Howe decided to make one last attempt to destroy Washington's army before the onset of winter and began preparations for the attack on the rebel forces rumored to be in the process of moving to a new camp. But Washington's intelligence network, led by Major John Clark, became aware of British plans to surprise the Americans, possibly through a Quaker housewife Lydia Darragh. Because of the timely accurate intelligence, regardless of the source, the Continental Army was ready.

Lydia Darragh was a Phila. nurse
and housewife said to have warned
Washington of British plans

Ready for Action


Undaunted by weeks of retreat, Washington and his men were ready for a fight. Washington was under pressure from Congress for defeats at Brandywine and Germantown and wanted to make up for them before the end of the campaign. He always envisioned a Breed's Hill style battle where his men would render British ranks asunder with massed fire from prepared positions. For their part, his men would like nothing better than a chance to take out their frustrations on the lobsters.
The Americans had time to well fortify their positions so despite being cold, tired, and hungry - they
were ready for action and even retribution. Washington had them defending high ground - seemingly another Breed's Hill scenario in the offing. And Howe intended to give the rebels the fight they wanted. The British were hoping for a decisive victory over the hapless rebels before winter closes in. For he too was under a cloud of sorts.

And Vindication


A British Army capitulated at Saratoga in October - an army many believed Howe was obliged to assist. Crushing Washington would be sweet vindication. Both Howe and Washington were in the shadow of the recent devastating British surrender at Saratoga. Howe for not doing more to assist Gen. John Burgoyne, the vanquished British commander, in the hapless invasion from Canada. Washington himself was under fire by some in Congress and the Army who questioned his leadership.

British surrender at Saratoga had
both Washington and Howe in its shadow

The Action


The British and Hessians left Philadelphia at midnight on a bitterly cold 4th of December, 14,000 strong.  Howe moved his men in two columns. One, under led by Lord Cornwallis, headed up Germantown Pike. A second column, led by Hessian General Knyphausen, marched toward the American left. Just before dawn on 5 December, they arrive at Chestnut Hill where they encountered some 15,000 Americans ready for action. Trying to stir up a fight, Washington sends the Pennsylvania militia towards Howe's left. The militia were repulsed after a short but intense fight. This begins days of maneuvering by Howe's forces, who sought an opening in Washington's defenses with various feints and marches. The Continentals and militia are equal to the challenge. Washington's men are not surprised and manage to contain any potential breakthrough. In frustration, the British forces burn homes and farms, fanning the flames of resistance in a populace that was all but cowed by the British juggernaut. Howe launched a final effort to turn the American left flank on 7 December. He pushed forces along Edge Hill, a ridge parallel to the American lines. But the Americans respond with militia and Virginia riflemen under Dan Morgan. The Americans are again repulsed after intense fighting, but the British withdraw. This begins a long day of sharp yet small and inconclusive skirmishes throughout the wooded ridge with no result. Frustrated at neither piercing the American defenses nor luring them into an open battle, Howe decides to withdraw. He leads his army back to Philadelphia. But Washington too is frustrated. His hope of luring Howe into a second Breed's Hill never materialized. The butcher's bill for Whitemarsh was 90 Americans killed or wounded, 60 British killed or wounded.

Howe at Whitemarsh

A Winter of Stalemate


Whitemarsh marked the end of the long and eventful campaigns of 1777. Howe and his army are secure in comfortable winter quarters in Philadelphia. A few days later, 11 December, Washington leads his army into the cold comfort of winter quarters at Valley Forge. The uneventful battle at Whitemarsh is unremarkable on its face. But in retrospect, the inconclusive series of skirmishes set the scene for the famous winter at Valley Forge that marked the birth of a professional American Army. As for Sir William Howe, his request for relief was approved and he would leave the Army the following spring.

Stalemate at Whitemarsh was the last action
before George Washington leads his army to
a place called Valley Forge

Stone Arabia

The Place


The lead-in title might have you thinking this about some Crusader-era battle cry or pot advocates targeting the middle east. But it is, in fact about a place. A place in central New York that comprised fertile fields and verdant forests encumbered by freshwater and a population of settlers from Germany. The name itself, variously spelled and pronounced, has long been a matter of curiosity, conjecture, and myth - and may always remain so. The name Stone Arabia, Steen Rabi, or Steen Raby in its Dutch spellings, is found in Dutch writings long before its use in America. Regardless of its origins, Stone Arabia, in the eastern Mohawk Valley, became the land of promise to various groups of settlers. But primarily to Germans from the Palatinate and Swiss who came to America in the 17th and 18th centuries. Curiously, the name was sometimes applied at various times to an area on the west side of the Hudson near Kingston, to the site of today's North Troy, and finally to the central Mohawk Valley. According to land records, for a few years just before the Revolution, Stone Arabia was given as a name to that section later to be called the Palatine District extending from the Nose to the Falls and northward to Canada, but on March 8, 1773, it lost this wider application and from that time the name was confined to the land patent in the Mohawk region.


The Valley

Sir William Johnson, His Majesty's agent to the Indians
of New York

The Mohawk Valley area was under the sway of Sir William Johnson, famed British Representative to the Indians in central New York. The period between the early 1700s and the beginning of the American Revolution was a one of white settlement and much strife with the native Iroquois. British policy was aimed at containing the white settlers and appeasing the Indians. Johnson was a generally successful executor of that policy. But tensions among the natives and the settlers always remained just below the boiling point and often boiled over. Sir William's influence with both whites and Indians kept the peace more or less. But Johnson had his hands full in keeping order, in restraining certain settlers, in pacifying the natives when their pride and sense of justice were violated. To the Indians, as well as to Johnson and his British masters, the white settlers seemed land mad. Johnson tried to stem the settling of the land and strike a balance with the natives. These tensions were a recipe for brutal conflict when the American War for Independence erupted, making Stone Arabia the western frontier of the struggle. By the opening of the Revolution, Stone Arabia was well settled with a thriving and growing economy. Churches, schools, stores, mills, blacksmith shops, lime kilns, taverns, and boatyards were plentiful along the Mohawk. Each farm had an orchard, which was generally the family burial-ground. Wheat, flax, potatoes, corn, fruit, hemp, hay, peas, and oats were grown, with wheat the leading crop. The wheat flour of the Valley was worth more in New York City than any other. The first houses were log; the next frame or stone. The area was an eclectic mix of German, Dutch, English, and Indian - the Mohawk Dutch.


The Revolution Comes to the Valley


Many Stone Arabia settlers became members of the Valley militia of New York. Prior to the war they met regularly for training and was subject to call to arms when emergencies arose. The Stone Arabia company was part of the 2nd battalion of Palatine militia. When the struggle for independence erupted, Stone Arabia's settlers were generally patriots. In fact, almost two years before the declaration of independence, the Stone Arabia farmers had drafted their own declaration of American Principles on 27 August 1774 in the  White Tavern, owned by Adam Loucks. These resolves read in part as follows:

III [in part]. That We think it is our undeniable Privilege to be taxed only with our own Consent given by ourselves (or by our Representative). That Taxes otherwise laid and exacted are unjust and unconstitutional....
IV. That the Act for blocking up the Port of Boston is oppressive and arbitrary, injurious in its principles and particularly oppressive to the Inhabitants of Boston, who we consider as Brethren suffering in the Common Cause.
V (in part). ...that we will join and unite with our Brethren of the Rest of this Colony in anything tending to support and defend our Rights and Liberties.

A Major Zielly and one Andrew Dillenback (later killed at Oriskany) were appointed to a committee to gather material for war. In the keeping of the spirit of pre-war revolutionary fervor, the people of Stone Arabia were alert and informed. And for good reason: they would soon find themselves at a pivotal place in the struggle's Northern Department. The fertile Mohawk Valley and the fields, particularly of Stone Arabia, were sources of supply for the Continental Army throughout the long struggle. In 1780 Washington depended on the wheat and oats of Stone Arabia to feed his army and was determined to keep it out of the hands of the British Loyalists in the region. This set the scene for a small but brutal conflict whose only objective was destruction.


The Fighting Frontier

Mohawk Valley settlers defeated at Battle of Oriskany in 1777

The region played a key role in the British campaign of 1777 and many of the Palatinate Dutch served at Fort Stanwyck and fought at Oriskany. Two forts, Keyser and Paris, were built on Stone Arabia soil. Fort Keyser was a stone house (1740's) built by Johannes Keyser, was palisaded and garrisoned by militia troops under Lt. John Zeiley. Fort Paris was a fortified farmhouse and trading post (1737) originally built by Isaac Paris. A barracks for 100 men and a blockhouse were also inside the palisade. Despite, or because of the forts, the Loyalists and Indian allies struck at Stone Arabia twice. The first attack was the Ephratah-Dillenburgh raid in 1778. The afternoon of April 20, 1778, while a small company of twenty militia was drilling, a band of Indians and Loyalists appeared and began destroying homes and barns. Most of the militia went to defend their homes, but a small number of militia pursued the attackers. In a skirmish, several militiamen were killed including a boy of four. The Loyalists withdrew but stragglers from the Loyalist band took a boy captive at Kringsbush and killed a young woman in sight of Fort Klock. These and the other raids north of the Mohawk River so frightened the inhabitants that most of those whom the Indians and Tories had missed moved down into the Mohawk Valley to gain protection in the forts. As far as the northern slope of the valley was concerned, the British effort to frighten the people away from their farms was a great success.

Fort Klock, Home of Colonel Jakob Klock
of Palatine Regiment of the Tryon County Militia

Battle of Stone Arabia

Map of Johnson Raid on Stone Arabia 1780

Sir John Johnson

On October 19, 1780, Sir John Johnson (William's son and controversial Loyalist leader) led an army of 900 Loyalist and British Regulars on an invasion of the Mohawk Valley. After following a circuitous route across southern New York State they swept north up the Schoharie Valley entering the Mohawk Valley at Fort Hunter where the army turned west towards the Canajohary/Palatine Districts. The invaders camped the evening of October 18th near the Noses, a geological feature that forms the great divide in the Appalachian Mountain chain. The following day they crossed the Mohawk River at Keator’s Rift and burned Jellis Fonda’s mill before continuing on to attack the settlement of Stone Arabia located a mile and a half north of the Mohawk River in the Palatine District. Colonel John Brown of the Massachusetts’s Militia marched his 380 militiamen out of Fort Paris to meet the enemy on a field about a mile from the fort. Outnumbered nearly 3 to 1 he was shot from his horse and his men fled the field. Brown, who had served at Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 and in the Quebec invasion, died on the field. With its defenders routed, Stone Arabia was completely destroyed by the enemy including the twin Dutch Reformed and German Lutheran Churches. Both churches were rebuilt after the war ended and still stand today.

Left in ashes by the raid, The Dutch Reformed Church
was rebuilt in 1788

The Legacy


The raid of 1780, with its intensive destruction, was a telling blow to the cause. It should be noted that there was more unanimity among the Palatine farmers in opposition to the British policy than in some other districts in the Valley. There was scarcely a family, however, that was not divided between loyalty to the crown and loyalty to the cause. And yet showing we find New York Governor George Clinton (later 4th VP of the US) giving a fitting testament to the spirit of the Stone Arabia settlers, in 1781, "Most of Tryon and Schoharie have been destroyed. They are not however abandoned; the inhabitants having recovered themselves, continue to improve their farms and assist in the general defense."

NY Gov Clinton

Stone Arabia typified so many of the hundreds of localized conflicts that made up such a great but often overlooked part of the American war for Independence. The political struggles and bitter fighting among British, Loyalists, Indians, and Patriots in and around Stone Arabia played a telling and significant role in the early life in New York and in shaping an independent America.

Quarrelsome Patriot

This First Patriot is another of the many who served their nation in diverse and remarkable ways - and yet today are unknown to virtually all Americans. The same Americans who can rattle off mindless details of sports or worse, reality TV trivia. So drive the mindless pop culture from your mind and focus for a few minutes on one of the unsung founders of the American republic.



Early Life & Militia Service


One of nine children, Timothy Pickering was born in Salem, Massachusetts on 17 July 1745. His father was a prosperous farmer. Pickering attended Harvard College where he read the law and became a member of the bar. Pickering decided not to practice law but instead became a local civil servant. In 1774, he became register of deeds in Essex. Soon after, he was elected to represent Salem in the Massachusetts General Court and served as a justice in the Essex County Court of Common Pleas. On April 8, 1776, he married Rebecca White of Salem. He became a prominent local Whig during the run-up to the American Revolution. Like many other New England men, he joined the local militia. By 1775 Pickering was a colonel in the Essex County Militia where in February of that year he and his men held off a column of British regulars under Colonel Alexander Leslie (see the Yankee Doodle Spies post on Leslie). "Leslie's Retreat" became one of the iconic events leading to war with Britain. In April that year, open war erupted between the colonists and their king. Pickering served with the army assembled around Boston. Pickering saw the need for better standards across the various colonial forces and published An Easy Plan for Discipline for a Militia. This served essentially as the American army's drill manual until General Friederich von Steuben's famous Blue Book.

Despite his "retreat" Alexander Leslie became
one of the better British generals of the
War for Independence

A Continental Adjutant General


Pickering eventually accepted a commission in the Continental Army - George Washington's answer to the British regulars. He served notably in the frenetic campaigns in New York and New Jersey during the year of 1776. In December 1776, he led a well-drilled regiment of the Essex County militia to New York, where General George Washington took notice and offered Pickering the position of adjutant general of the Continental Army in 1777. In this capacity, he oversaw the building of the Great chain which was forged at the Stirling Iron Works. The chain blocked the Royal Navy from proceeding up the Hudson River past West Point and protected that important fort from attack for the duration of the conflict. He was widely praised for his work in supplying the troops during the remainder of the conflict. Pickering replaced  General Horatio Gates, a former British officer. He served well as Adjutant during the Battle of Germantown in October of that year.

The Stirling Iron works chain blocked the Hudson

A Continental Quartermaster General


Not long after, Congress appointed him to the newly created Board of War. He did dual duty, continuing to serve as Washington's Adjutant General while helping organize the overall management of the war. Over time Pickering distanced himself from Washington and focused more on the Board of War functions. Around this time he also became associated with the infamous Conway Cabal but the cabal dissolved and Pickering continued in service. In fact, his abilities soon had him appointed to the most difficult post in the entire war effort (excepting Washington's). In the summer of 1780, he replaced General Nathanael Greene as Quartermaster General, although he continued double-duty as a member of the Board of War. Without a doubt, supplying the needs of the ragged yet growing Continental Army was the greatest problem plaguing Washington, and the burden of addressing the impossible task fell largely on the Quartermaster General. Nobody wanted this job. The intransigence of the states frustrated Congress' attempts to raise money for the purchase of food, clothing, and equipment necessary for maintaining the army. Also, dishonest contractors and vendors abounded - selling sub-standard wares to reap ill-gotten profits. But Pickering took it on. Due to the shortage of gold and silver, he pioneered the use of "specie certificates" to purchase food and supplies. One of his singular achievements was assembling the food and supplies for the Continental Army's epic 1781 march from New York to Yorktown, Virginia. In that sense, he was a pioneer in the field of logistics. The campaign proved decisive in bringing the British government to the negotiating table. Pickering remained Quartermaster through the remainder of the war.

Pickering's logistics enabled the long march to Yorktown

A Servant of the Republic

After a period of controversial land speculation in Pennsylvania, Pickering had a turbulent post-war career of public service holding successive appointments under George Washington. These included: Postmaster General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State. As with Washington, Pickering helped establish the new republic and set precedence in how the cabinet functioned. In 1791 Washington asked him to negotiate a key treaty with the New York Iroquois under the great chief Corn-Planter. Pickering successfully worked out negotiation of what became the Treaty of Canandaigua  in 1794.

Pickering allied with
Hamilton's Federalists

When John Adams succeeded Washington as president he asked Pickering to stay on. Pickering did, but he was strongly anti-France and pro-Britain. This got him cross-wise with Adams who was trying to avoid war with the contentious French Republic. Politically, Pickering drifted into the camp of fiery New York politician and former cabinet member Alexander Hamilton. He conspired with others against Adams and was eventually fired in May 1800. In 1802, the contentious Pickering and a band of Federalists, agitated at the lack of support for Federalists, attempted to gain support for the secession of New England from the Jeffersonian United States. It did not go well.

Pickering in the Cabinet

A Partisan in Congress


Despite, or likely because of his efforts, he was named to the United States Senate as a senator from Massachusetts in 1803 - as a member of the Federalist Party. Pickering proved an arch-Federalist staunchly opposing Thomas Jefferson and later James Madison in their populist maneuvers. Pickering opposed the American seizure and annexation of Spanish West Florida in 1810 -  anything to counter the expansionist policies of the Democrats was fair game to him. He fought vehemently against the Embargo Act, promising its nullification and even colluding with the British. His extreme agitation caused him to read confidential documents on the senate floor - an act that got him censured. After his term as senator expired Pickering was elected to Congress in 1812. As with most New England Federalists, Pickering opposed the War of 1812  with England and became a leader in the New England separatist movement.

The Embargo Act engendered much polemic and satire

Post-Public Life


Denied re-election in 1816, the passionate, controversial and often quarrelsome Pickering retired to private life on a farm near Salem, where he pioneered improvements in agriculture. He died in Salem in January 1829 leaving a legacy of pugnacious and relentless public service as an effective military and civilian administrator who helped create and build a new nation. But he was also as one of the original proponents of factionalism as well as partisan and regional struggles within the political arena.

Salem MA waterfront

The Battle Pass

I guess this could also be a "place" as well. But the place was the location of today's Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York. And to complicate things more - it was known as the Flatbush Pass at the time. And it was the linchpin in the American outer defense ring on Long Island, a battle that unfolded during this week back in August 1776. The good news is you can still visit the Battle Pass as it is in 526 acre oasis in the sprawl of Brooklyn. This week is the anniversary of the events leading up to the critical Battle of Long Island - America's first battle as a nation. I thought a blog post on one aspect of this Revolutionary War battle fitting.

The Flatbush (Battle) Pass 1776

The Original Ground Zero 




The Flatbush Pass was the key terrain in the outer defenses on Long Island. Most of his troops were frantically digging a series of earth works and small redoubts from Wallabout Bay to the Gowanus Creek in an effort to shield the village of Brooklyn and the ferry point below the famed heights of that name. Recognizing British superiority in numbers and equipment, General George Washington counted on a Breed's Hill style defense that would bloody the British the way the rebel army did the previous year outside of Boston. Yet the advantages of holding the British at the "great Moraine" was too tantalizing. The moraine, known then as the Heights of Guan, was the southern extremity of the glacier from the last great ice age. When the glacier receded it left a slash of rugged terrain across the normally flat lands of Long Island that ran from southwest to northeast. Although it was only some 100 feet above sea level, the Heights of Guan formed a formidable barrier mitigated only by three passes. The central of these was the Flatbush Pass.

The Great Moraine dominated the terrain of Long Island

While the British executed a night envelopment via the Jamaica Pass to the east - the British commander in chief, General William Howe launched two holding attacks to pin the Americans
defending the other two passes. One  of some 7,000 men under British General Grant struck near today's  Greenwood Cemetery in an attempt to force the Martense Road.

General von Heister 's force struck the
Flatbush Pass

But the center attack at Flatbush Pass all but made the British encirclement unnecessary. It consisted mostly of Hessians under the command of the German General Von Heister. The Hessians struck the pass. Realizing the situation was dire (in fact, hopeless), most of the some 1,500 American defenders abandoned their posts and headed for the safety of the main defenses near Brooklyn. The undaunted American commander at the pass, General John Sullivan tried to hold, but as panic ensued he and his men were forced to fight their way out. The overwhelming numbers of a determined enemy trapped him and his what remained of his force at Baker's Tavern ( near today's Fulton and Flatbush Avenue). The brave but headstrong  veteran of Boston and Quebec was cut off from his men and  became one of two generals captured on Long Island that fateful day.

American General John Sullivan captured
near the Flatbush Pass

The Place Today

Defenders on Long Island fought desperately against all odds

The site of the Battle Pass is just north of the Prospect Park Zoo.

Battle Pass Marker

The Maryland Monument still stands at the south central part of the park just between the Prospect Park Lake and Lookout Hill. The monument commemorates the gallant fight by the First Maryland Continental Line who gallantly fought the British against all odds. I will save the telling of the tale of the Maryland 400 for another post (actually I have already posted on it).

The Maryland Monument

Site of the Dongan Oak - a huge tree felled to block the Flatbush Pass

There is a Quaker Cemetery near Lookout Hill that dates back to the 17th century. The Lefferts Homestead was situated at Empire Boulevard and Flatbush Avenue. The original Dutch colonial farmhouse was accidentally burnt by the American defenders. The owner, Peter Lefferts, rebuilt the house  during the latter part of the war using some of the original wood.  In 1918, the family gave the residence to the city and it was moved to Prospect Park from its original sire at 563 Flatbush Avenue.

Restored Lefferts House

On a beautiful summer day, Prospect Park is filled with thousands of visitors walking, riding, visiting the zoo or languishing by the lake. As Brooklyn is in the throes of a sot of renaissance - the park and its lush greenery provide an ideal place to enjoy a little bit of nature. But almost none of today's visitors have any idea of the drama and tragedy that unfolded in the heart of their oasis.

Few visitors to Prospect Park today realize they are on Hallowed Ground

The "Little Gibraltar"

Command of the Hudson


After a summer of inaction following the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778, the British commander in chief in North America, Sir Henry Clinton received orders the following winter “to bring Mr. Washington to a general and decisive action.” To that end, in May of 1779 Clinton assembled some 6,000 men at Kingsbridge (the Bronx) in preparation of a quick strike on West Point, considered the "key to the continent." The series of fortifications at West Point controlled the Hudson River and prevented the British from cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies. Twelve miles south was Stony Point, a fortified peninsula jutting one-half mile into and 150 feet above the Hudson River. Directly across the river from Stony Point was Verplanck's Point, with a garrison at Fort Lafayette.

British General Sir Henry Clinton

British Strike North


On 30 May Clinton's forces sailed north aboard 70 ships commanded by Commodore George Collier.  The 40-man American garrison at Stony Point, observing the superior force approaching, burned the blockhouse and abandoned the works without firing a shot. On the east bank of the Hudson, the other American garrison was not so fortunate. Seventy North Carolina Continental troops were trapped and forced to surrender. Sir Henry ordered the defenses of both forts to be significantly strengthened. At Stony Point, they did this by cutting down trees, and by erecting an earthen fort and two barriers called abatis. In addition, two British ships offered extra protection.  The defense works at Verplanck’s Point, across the river, were fortified with troops that could quickly reinforce Stony Point if needed. British domination of the water gave them an extreme advantage. Clinton garrisoned both forts with a combined force of 1,000 men, taking the remainder into raids on Connecticut.

The British felt certain the defenses were secure, calling the new fort “Little Gibraltar.” To hold "Little Gibraltar" they had a garrison of some six hundred men consisting, of the 17th Regiment of Foot, the Grenadier Company of the 71st Regiment, a company of the Royal Americans, and a small Detachment of the Royal Artillery, under the command of Lieut. Colonel Henry Johnson of the 17th Regiment. Stony Point was a natural fortress and with these trustworthy troops improving their position on a daily basis, Clinton had no fear for the post’s safety. He did not, as he later wrote, "entertain the smallest apprehension that any attack the enemy could make against that place…could possibly be attended with mischief before I should be able to afford them assistance." The British not only wanted to secure the Hudson to split the rebellious colonies but to also draw out George Washington's Continental Army, which lay between Philadelphia and New York in positions around Middlebrook, New Jersey. A move on West Point was meant to do just that. Clinton's move gave him the advantage of the initiative, interior lines, and of course, rapid reinforcement and movement by water.

General Anthony Wayne

Washington Reacts


Now, with the British move, Washington hurried north to meet the new threat. When Washington arrived in the area he was concerned that the loss of Stony Point posed a grave threat to the Hudson and the approaches to West Point. When intelligence reports indicated that the defenses were not yet completed, he immediately decided on an attack. And he had just the man to lead it: Brigadier General Anthony Wayne.  Wayne was a tough and bold leader of men, crafty and fearless, he ponce said he was "ready to take hell." Wayne performed a "leader's" reconnaissance of the position and then a second with Washington at his side. Both agreed on a siege or a storming of the fort would be impractical but he should take the fort quickly in a coup de main (surprise attack). Wayne was in command of the Light Division, elite companies selected from regiments of Continental infantry. He formed his assault force in three columns totaling 1,350 men. They departed on the 15th of July, 1779. For eight hours they struggled over narrow mountain trails, arresting civilians they encountered en route to avoid detection. When the soldiers arrived at Sprintsteel’s farm, two miles from Stony Point, they were told for the first time about their mission. Three columns would lead the Continental forces. One column of 300 men would wade through the marches of the Hudson River from the north. A second column, led by Wayne, would wade through the waters of Haverstraw Bay and approach from the south. Each of these two columns would consist of three parts: the first was a group of twenty men called “the forlorn hope” who would enter the enemy lines first, overcome sentries, and cut through the abatis. Then an advance party, which would enter the fort and seize its works. Finally, the main body, which would continue around the unfinished back of the fort and approach it from the river.



Famed Night Attack

Light Division meets British regulars
with cold steel

The forlorn hope moved out around midnight 15-16 July. It was a moonless night and they reached the British defenses undetected. Wayne, taking a lesson from his humiliating defeat at Paoli, had the men in his columns remove their flints and advance with fixed bayonets. One of the columns, a diversion under Major Hardee Murfee attacked the British center and drew away several companies of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Johnson's 17th Regiment. Murfee's men did have flints and powder as their mission was to get the attention of the defenders. With the diversion underway, Wayne's column and the second column under Colonel Richard Butler scaled the heights and overran the defenses. Despite their surprise, the 600 or so British defenders performed their duty as professionals and resisted bitterly. The fighting was hand to hand and vicious.  But after 30 minutes, the fort fell. The British lost 63 killed, 70 wounded and the remaining 543 captured, along with twelve guns. The American attackers lost 15 killed and 83 wounded. Wayne received a head wound early in the attack but continued to lead his forces.  Earlier, the fiery Wayne had offered a bounty to the first man to enter the enemy works. The recipient of the award was an officer named Francois LouisTeissedre de Fleury, who had come to America from France and had served gallantly in previous battles, rising to captain of engineers. The "Little Gibraltar" on the Hudson had succumbed to Yankee stealth, audacity, and courage - with some Gallic help.

Wounded early, Wayne continues leading the attack

The Value?



The symbolic importance of Stony Point caused the Continental Congress to strike three medals of the ten struck during the War for Independence - gold for Wayne and silver for de Fleury and Major John Stewart, who commanded the advance party of the left column. The British reacted to the bold stroke by reinforcing the fort at Verplanck's Point and sinking an American ship that was hauling some the twelve captured guns from Stony Point to West Point. With Verplamck's Point secure, the value of Stony Point was lessened in Washington's viewpoint. He also realized that Wayne's attack showed the position not so easily defensible. He ordered the fortifications reduced and Wayne's men to withdraw on the 18th. The British reoccupied the point on the 19th. Although the operation had little strategic value, it had tremendous morale value, as it demonstrated the ever-improving fighting qualities of the American Army. In addition to the Congressional medals, the engagement was noted beyond the American shores. Edmund Burke's Annual Register (a British publication that was an annual round-up of politics, history, and literature) for the year 1779 noted that the action"would have done honor to most veteran soldiers." The French Ambassador in Philadelphia wrote, "I am convinced this action will elevate the ideas of Europe about the military qualities of Americans..."

General Anthony Wayne during the Assault

Stony Point apres War


In 1826, Stony Point became the site of a lighthouse built to guide ships through the narrow passage of Haverstraw Bay at the southern end of the Hudson Highlands. In its 99 years, only one vessel ran aground, with no reported fatalities – a testament to the vigilance of the lightkeepers. A new light tower was built in 1926 at the water’s edge (not accessible to the public,) and serves to this day as an aid to navigation under the care of the United States Coast Guard. The 1826 Lighthouse is now a historic light, a reminder of the importance of the Hudson River maritime community to the development of New York. The grounds of Stony Point today are a mix of woods and tended lawns, with commanding panoramic views of the Hudson River looking north to the Hudson Highlands and south to Haverstraw Bay. There is a site museum, which has some of the captured guns and other artifacts from the site’s past military engagements and soldiers' camp life. The artifacts, including an authentically reconstructed mortar bed for a captured 8” mortar and a stand of period bayonets, are laid out around a diorama of Stony Point as it appeared the night of the attack.

Stony Point Light House

Hydrography

What the heck is Hydrography?


This past week we celebrated "world hydrography day" so I thought I would muse on this little known science's relevance to the American War for Independence. We will start with the hydrography definition: The science which deals with the measurement, and description of the physical features of the oceans, lakes, rivers, seas, and their adjoining coastal areas, with particular relevance to their use for navigational purposes. Although the formal science of hydrography was not established until the latter part of the 18th century (by the French), assessments of waterways were essential to the safety of navigation for many centuries prior, particularly beginning with the age of exploration. Throughout the American Revolution, those watermen who had intimate knowledge of the coastlines, rivers, and estuaries were critical to both sides, but especially the British, who depended on the Royal Navy for its strategic advantage.

A 1571 pre-Mercator nautical chart from Portuguese cartographer
Fernao Vaz Dourado

Knowledge of the waterways and shorelines around Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Charleston played a critical role for ships of war, merchantmen, smugglers, and privateers. This held true especially for the rebels, whose use of small craft and longboats was often their only counter to the wide array of British ships. Local ferrymen, fishermen, and pilots played a pivotal role and both sides vied for their services and loyalty. Failure to understand the features above and below the water, as well as the local tides, often led to disasters, large and small. In ancient (and perhaps not so ancient) times, mariners called on Neptune, the god of the sea for assistance where knowledge of the tide and shoals failed them. Here are some tales of Neptune's influence on the struggle for independence...


The First Affair


The grounding of a ship in the run-up to the American Revolution is a prime example of hydrography's impact. The so-called Gaspee Affair occurred on June 9, 1772. The HMS Gaspee, a British customs ship, ran aground in Rhode Island and a Sons of Liberty group attacked and set fire to the ship. The British Government threatened to send the American perpetrators for trial in England, but no arrests were made. However their threat to send Americans to trial in England sparked alarmed protests in the colonies who were informed of the affair by the Committees of Correspondence. The establishment of the permanent Committees of Correspondence led to the founding of the First Continental Congress and eventually the Declaration of Independence.

Grounding and burning of the Gaspee - prelude to war

Gloucester


Neptune works both ways - he rarely takes sides. The Battle of Gloucester provides an example. It was a skirmish fought early in the American Revolutionary War (August 8 or 9, 1775) at Gloucester, Massachusetts. Royal Navy Captain John Linzee, commanding sloop-of-war HMS Falcon, spotted two schooners returning from the West Indies. After capturing one schooner, Linzee chased the second  (American)  into Gloucester Harbor, where it grounded. Linzee sent sailors out to seize the prize. However, the townspeople called out their militia, who captured the British seamen sent to seize the grounded vessel. The militia recovered the ship as well. Local knowledge of the waters around Boston provided an invaluable edge to the New Englanders who faced off against the powerful land and naval forces throughout that seminal year.

Massachusetts coastline

Separate from this incident, Gloucester is famous for providing the name of the legendary regiment of Marblehead sailors, whose knowledge and skill in navigating coasts and riverways played a pivotal role in rescuing the Continental Army from destruction and enabling Washington's Christmas night Delaware crossing that led to a stunning blow for freedom at Trenton.

Marblehead sailors skill enabled Washington on several occasions
and helped save the revolution

HMS Somerset vs Neptune

The HMS Somerset, began its service in the American Revolution by shelling Charlestown in 1775. Somerset had great success working in estuary, bays, and rivers. It was the flagship headquarters at Bunker (Breed's) Hill.

Knowledge of waterways was critical even for large ships of war

Somerset was involved in another brief but important incident during the war, the Battle of Chelsea Creek. On the night of 27 May 1775, the armed schooner, HMS Diana ran aground in Chelsea Creek while attempting to keep Americans from driving British livestock from Noddle's Island in Boston Harbor. The American rebels set fire to the ship. HMS Somerset's tender, Britannia was able to rescue Diana's crew. Later, it took part in the ferocious river fighting at Fort Mifflin near Philadelphia.

HMS Somerset

The battle for Fort Mifflin itself involved ships and boats negotiating the treacherous waters of the lower Chesapeake River. A desperate and long fought siege involving land and naval forces utilizing the elements and geography to advantage. The Somerset took part in the latter phase, bombarding the fort from far offshore. But other small ships and craft negotiated dangerous waters in the ebb and flow of savage combat that lasted weeks. To deny the British the use of two nearby islands, the Americans broke the riverside dikes. This act forced the British to build their batteries on top of the dikes and to labor in knee-deep water. As an example of the difficulties involved, the British lost an 8-inch howitzer and a soldier drowned when the craft carrying the gun sank in the Schuylkill. While bombarding Fort Mifflin, the Augusta and Merlin went aground. High tide came that evening, but contrary winds prevented sufficient depth for the ships to be freed. On October 23, 1777, the American forts concentrated their fire on the two stricken ships. HMS Isis worked its way alongside the stranded sixty-four in a rescue attempt. British accounts claimed that American gunnery did only slight damage but that flaming wads from the ships' guns caused Augusta to catch fire. At mid-day, the Augusta blew up in a tremendous blast that broke windows in Philadelphia. According to one eyewitness, 60 sailors, a lieutenant, and the ship's chaplain died while struggling in the water. The loud explosion was heard nearly 30 miles away in Trappe, Pennsylvania. After the destruction of the Augusta the crew of the Merlin set their ship on fire and abandoned ship.

British bombard Fort Mifflin

But Neptune's favor for Somerset ended when she ran aground off of Provincetown in 1778. Over 100 of her men were taken prisoner by angry locals who forced them to walk back to Boston, a distance of over 125 miles! The wreck of the Somerset revealed itself in those waters on themselves after a storm in 1886, and again in January of 2008.

Knowledge of the tides and shoals was critical in navigation around New York

New York, New York

When the British drove the Continental Army from New York City in 1776, the knowledge and understanding of the waterways and islands became essential to the British. Although they found no lack of sympathizers with knowledge of the waters, the Americans had their share. And the farther the British fared from the "safe zone" of New York Island (Manhattan) and Long Island, the more tenuous the situation. Thwarting an attempt at naval envelopment in 1776, the rough shoreline and waters of the Bronx forced General Howe to try landing further north near Pelham. This gave the Americans time to shift forces to protect the Continental Army and his line of communication.

The British landed at Pelham after the rocky shoals near
Throg's Neck proved unmanageable

The coves along the north shore of Long Island provided rebels the ability to slip boats in and out without (usually) risking detection. This enabled one of George Washington's more famous spy rings to pass intelligence across the Long Island Sound to American controlled Connecticut (where knowledge of the cost proved equally important). During the time of the war for independence, the great Sandy Hook was more than the peninsula we see extending from the Jersey shore today. The "hook" continued on across the mouth of the harbor as a massive sandbar that prevented ships of the line and frigates from passing in or out of the lower New York Bay except at high tide. This limited British options when needing to put ships to sea in a hurry. Later in the war, a French fleet gave up the notion of an attack on New York for the same reason.

British Navy in New York Harbor had to wait for the tide to rise
 before heading out to sea

The Carolinas  


In the Cape Fear area near Wilmington, North Carolina, superior knowledge of the coastal and inland waterways enabled the rebels to prevent reinforcements by sea and kept the critical state in American hands from February 1777 until a second invasion force of British troops arrived in 1780. Then began a prolonged guerrilla type war along the treacherous Cape Fear River.  British warships patrolled, while blockade runners attempted to smuggle invaluable supplies. Both sides depended on local knowledge of the waterways to achieve success.

In the savage guerrilla war along North Carolina's coast,
both sides depended on knowledge of the waterways

William Moultrie at
Sullivan's Island

In neighboring South Carolina, local knowledge of the waterways and swamps in the low country also played a huge role in the struggle. The partisans along the coastal rivers proved a constant thorn in the side of the British who needed two attempts to take the port of Charleston. In the first attempt in 1776, famed South Carolinian William Moultrie's canny defense, and the geography of the islands and waters, held off a large British force of warships and soldiers. A key to his success was the use of Palmetto logs for the fort. The palmetto is very porous (spongy) and each time the British would fire a cannon, the ball would get stuck in the fort and not explode. If it did explode fort's the sand walls would fall and smother the fire. Confused by the fact that the fort was not burning, the British moved in closer. Bad idea. Three of his majesty's ships ran aground on a sandbar which is now the location of Fort Sumter. There they became sitting ducks for patriots. Francis Marion, who would become famous later as the “Swamp Fox," ordered the fort's guns to be turned on those ships. The British managed to save two of the ships but a third was lost.

British naval map of Sullivan Island defenses