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 among the many who served their country in diverse and remarkable ways - yet today, they remain virtually unknown to most Americans. These same Americans can recite trivial details about sports or, worse, reality TV. So, wipe the mindless pop culture from your thoughts and take a few minutes to focus 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 July 17, 1745. His father was a successful farmer. Pickering attended Harvard College, where he studied law and became a licensed attorney. However, he chose not to practice law and instead became a local civil servant. In 1774, he was appointed register of deeds in Essex. Soon after, he was elected to represent Salem in the Massachusetts General Court and served as a justice on the Essex County Court of Common Pleas. On April 8, 1776, he married Rebecca White of Salem. He became a notable local Whig during the years leading up to the American Revolution. Like many other New England men, he joined the local militia. By 1775, Pickering had risen to the rank of colonel in the Essex County Militia, and in February of that year, he and his men successfully 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 key events leading to war with Britain. In April that year, open conflict broke out between the colonists and their king. Pickering served with the army assembled around Boston. Recognizing the need for improved standards among the various colonial forces, he published "An Easy Plan for Discipline for a Militia." This manual functioned as the American army's drill guide until the arrival of General Friedrich von Steuben's renowned 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 response to the British regulars. He played a notable role in the hectic campaigns in New York and New Jersey during 1776. In December 1776, he led a well-trained 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 role, he oversaw the construction of the Great Chain, which was forged at Stirling Iron Works. The chain prevented the Royal Navy from advancing up the Hudson River past West Point and protected the crucial fort from attack throughout the conflict. He was widely praised for his efforts in supplying the troops during the remainder of the war. Pickering took over from General Horatio Gates, a former British officer. He served effectively 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 performed dual roles, continuing to serve as Washington's Adjutant General while helping organize overall war management. Over time, Pickering distanced himself from Washington and focused more on the functions of the Board of War. Around this period, he also became involved with the infamous Conway Cabal, but the cabal dissolved, and Pickering continued his service. In fact, his abilities soon earned him the most difficult post in the entire war effort—except for Washington's. In the summer of 1780, he took over as Quartermaster General, replacing General Nathanael Greene, while still serving on the Board of War. Supplying the needs of the ragged, yet growing, Continental Army was undoubtedly the greatest challenge facing Washington, and the burden of this impossible task largely fell on the shoulders of the Quartermaster General. Nobody wanted this job. The stubbornness of the states frustrated Congress's efforts to raise funds for food, clothing, and equipment necessary to keep the army going. Dishonest contractors and vendors were common—selling substandard supplies for quick profits. But Pickering took it on. Due to shortages of gold and silver, he pioneered the use of "specie certificates" to buy food and supplies. One of his notable achievements was organizing 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 logistics. The campaign was crucial in forcing the British government to enter negotiations. Pickering remained Quartermaster General for the rest 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 in public service, holding successive appointments under George Washington. These included the Postmaster General, the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of State. Like Washington, Pickering helped establish the new republic and set precedents for 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 negotiated 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 put him at odds with Adams, who was trying to avoid war with the French Republic. Politically, Pickering shifted into the camp of fiery New York politician and former cabinet member Alexander Hamilton. He conspired with others against Adams and was eventually dismissed in May 1800. In 1802, the contentious Pickering and a group of Federalists, upset about 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 perhaps because of his efforts, he was appointed to the United States Senate as a senator from Massachusetts in 1803, representing the Federalist Party. Pickering proved to be a staunch Federalist, fiercely opposing Thomas Jefferson and later James Madison in their populist initiatives. He 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 strongly against the Embargo Act, calling for its nullification and even colluding with the British. His extreme agitation led him to read confidential documents on the Senate floor—an act that resulted in his censure. After his term as senator ended, Pickering was elected to Congress in 1812. Like 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. However, he was also 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 1779, Clinton assembled about 6,000 men at Kingsbridge (the Bronx) in preparation for 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 half a mile into the river and rising 150 feet above it. Directly across the river from Stony Point lay Verplanck's Point, with a garrison stationed at Fort Lafayette.

British General Sir Henry Clinton

British Strike North

On 30 May Clinton's forces sailed north on 70 ships commanded by Commodore George Collier. The 40-man American garrison at Stony Point, seeing the much larger force approaching, burned the blockhouse and abandoned the defenses without firing a shot. On the east bank of the Hudson, the other American garrison was less fortunate. Seventy North Carolina Continental troops were trapped and forced to surrender. Sir Henry ordered both forts' defenses to be heavily reinforced. At Stony Point, this was done by felling trees and constructing an earthen fort along with two barriers called abatis. Additionally, two British ships provided extra protection. The defenses at Verplanck’s Point, across the river, were fortified with troops ready to reinforce Stony Point if needed. British control of the water greatly favored them. Clinton garrisoned both forts with a total of 1,000 men, while the rest were sent on raids into Connecticut.

The British believed their defenses were secure, referring to the new fort as “Little Gibraltar.” To defend "Little Gibraltar," they had a garrison of about six hundred men, including 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, all under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Johnson of the 17th Regiment. 

Stony Point was a natural fortress, and with these reliable troops continually strengthening their position, Clinton had no concerns for the post’s safety. 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 aimed not only to control the Hudson to divide the rebellious colonies but also to draw out George Washington's Continental Army, which was positioned between Philadelphia and New York around Middlebrook, New Jersey. A move on West Point was intended to accomplish this. Clinton's strategy favored the initiative, interior lines, and the advantage of quick reinforcement and water movement.

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 losing Stony Point posed a serious threat to the Hudson River and the routes to West Point. When intelligence reports indicated that the defenses were not yet finished, he quickly decided to attack. He had just the man for the job: Brigadier General Anthony Wayne. 

Wayne was a tough, bold leader of men—crafty and fearless. He once said he was "ready to take hell." Wayne conducted a "leader's" reconnaissance of the position and then a second with Washington accompanying him. Both agreed that a siege or a direct storming of the fort would be impractical; instead, he should seize the fort quickly with a surprise attack, a coup de main. 

Wayne commanded the Light Division, an elite group selected from regiments of Continental infantry. He organized his assault force into three columns totaling 1,350 men. They set out on July 15, 1779. For eight hours, they navigated narrow mountain trails, detaining civilians along the way to avoid detection. When the soldiers reached Sprintsteel’s farm, two miles from Stony Point, they were told about their mission for the first time. 

Three columns would lead the Continental forces: one of 300 men would march through the Hudson River from the north; a second, led by Wayne, would cross Haverstraw Bay from the south. Each of these two columns would consist of three parts: the first would be a group of twenty men known as "the forlorn hope," tasked with entering enemy lines first, overcoming sentries, and cutting through the abatis; the second, an advance party, would seize the fort's works; and the third, the main body, would move around the unfinished back of the fort and approach from the river.

Famed Night Attack

Light Division meets British regulars
with cold steel

The forlorn hope moved out around midnight on July 15-16. It was a moonless night, and they reached the British defenses without being detected. Wayne, learning 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 attract the defenders' attention. 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 roughly 600 British defenders fought back as professionals and resisted fiercely. The fighting was hand-to-hand and brutal. 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 dead and 83 wounded. Wayne sustained 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 winner of the award was an officer named François Louis Teissedre de Fleury, who had come to America from France and had served bravely in previous battles, rising to the rank of captain of engineers. The "Little Gibraltar" on the Hudson had fallen to Yankee stealth, daring, and courage - with some Gallic help.

Wounded early, Wayne continues leading the attack

The Value?

The symbolic significance of Stony Point led the Continental Congress to award three medals out 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 responded to the bold attack by reinforcing the fort at Verplanck's Point and sinking an American ship that was transporting some of the twelve captured guns from Stony Point to West Point. 

Once Verplanck's Point was secured, the strategic importance of Stony Point was diminished in Washington's view. He also recognized that Wayne's assault showed the position was not as easily defensible as previously thought. As a result, he ordered the fortifications to be reduced and Wayne's men to withdraw on the 18th. The British reoccupied the point on the 19th. Although the operation lacked significant strategic value, it greatly boosted morale by demonstrating the improving fighting skills of the American Army. 

In addition to the Congressional medals, the battle was noted beyond American shores. Edmund Burke's Annual Register (a British publication that summarizes politics, history, and literature annually) for 1779 stated that the action "would have done honor to most veteran soldiers." The French Ambassador in Philadelphia remarked, "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. During its 99 years of operation, only one vessel ran aground, with no reported fatalities – a testament to the vigilance of the lightkeepers. A new light tower was constructed in 1926 at the water’s edge (not accessible to the public) and continues to serve as an aid to navigation under the care of the United States Coast Guard. 

The 1826 Lighthouse is now a historic site, symbolizing the significance of the Hudson River maritime community to New York's development. Today, the grounds of Stony Point feature a mix of woods and well-maintained lawns, offering commanding panoramic views of the Hudson River, looking north to the Hudson Highlands and south to Haverstraw Bay. 

There is a site museum displaying 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 arranged around a diorama depicting Stony Point as it appeared on 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 reflect on this little-known science's relevance to the American War for Independence. Let's start with the definition of hydrography: the science that deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, lakes, rivers, seas, and their adjoining coastal areas, particularly regarding 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 had been 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.

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 warships, merchant vessels, smugglers, and privateers. This was especially true for the rebels, whose use of small craft and longboats was often their only defense against the wide array of British ships. Local ferrymen, fishermen, and pilots were crucial, and both sides competed for their services and loyalty. A failure to understand the features above and below the water, as well as the local tides, often led to disasters, both large and small. In ancient (and perhaps not so ancient) times, mariners called on Neptune, the god of the sea, for assistance when their knowledge of the tides 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 lead-up to the American Revolution is a prime example of the impact of hydrography. The so-called Gaspee Affair took place on June 9, 1772. The HMS Gaspee, a British customs ship, ran aground in Rhode Island, where a group of Sons of Liberty attacked and set fire to the vessel. The British government threatened to send the American perpetrators for trial in England, but no arrests were made. Nevertheless, their threat to send Americans for trial in England sparked alarmed protests in the colonies, which 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 ultimately to 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 serves as 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 the 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 ran aground. Linzee sent sailors to seize the prize. However, the townspeople called out their militia, who captured the British seamen sent to take the grounded vessel. The militia also recovered the ship. Local knowledge of the waters around Boston provided an invaluable advantage to the New Englanders who faced off against the powerful land and naval forces throughout that pivotal year.

Massachusetts coastline

Aside from this incident, Gloucester is renowned for being the home of the legendary regiment of Marblehead sailors, whose expertise and skill in navigating coastlines and riverways played a crucial role in rescuing the Continental Army from destruction and enabling Washington's Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River, which led to a stunning blow for freedom at Trenton.

Marblehead Sailors' helped save the revolution

HMS Somerset vs Neptune

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

Knowledge of waterways was critical for large ships of war

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

HMS Somerset

The battle for Fort Mifflin involved ships and boats navigating the treacherous waters of the lower Chesapeake River. It was a desperate, drawn-out siege, featuring land and naval forces that leveraged the elements and geography to their advantage. The Somerset participated in the later phase, bombarding the fort from far offshore. Meanwhile, other small vessels navigated dangerous waters in the ebb and flow of fierce combat that lasted for weeks. To prevent the British from using two nearby islands, the Americans breached the riverside dikes. 

This action forced the British to construct their batteries on top of the dikes and to work in knee-deep water. As an illustration of the challenges faced, 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 ran aground. A high tide occurred that evening, but contrary winds hindered the depth required for the ships to be freed. On October 23, 1777, the American forts focused their fire on the two stranded ships. HMS Isis maneuvered alongside the grounded sixty-four in a rescue attempt. British accounts claimed that American gunnery caused only minor damage, though flaming wads from the ships' guns ignited Augusta. At midday, the Augusta exploded in a tremendous blast that shattered windows in Philadelphia. An eyewitness reported that 60 sailors, a lieutenant, and the ship's chaplain perished while struggling in the water. The loud explosion was heard nearly 30 miles away in Trappe, Pennsylvania. After the Augusta's destruction, the crew of the Merlin set their ship on fire and abandoned it.

British bombard Fort Mifflin

But Neptune's favor for Somerset ended when she ran aground off 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 more than 125 miles! The wreck of the Somerset revealed itself in those waters after a storm in 1886, and again in January 2008.

Knowledge of the tides and shoals was critical around New York

New York, New York

When the British drove the Continental Army out of New York City in 1776, their knowledge of the waterways and islands became crucial. Although they had no shortage of sympathizers familiar with the waters, so did the Americans. The farther the British ventured from the "safe zone" of New York Island (Manhattan) and Long Island, the more precarious the situation became. In 1776, thwarting an attempt at naval envelopment, the rough shoreline and waters of the Bronx forced General Howe to try landing further north near Pelham. This delay allowed the Americans to shift forces to protect the Continental Army and maintain their line of communication.

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

The coves along the north shore of Long Island allowed rebels to slip boats in and out without (usually) risking detection. This facilitated one of George Washington's more famous spy rings in passing intelligence across the Long Island Sound to American-controlled Connecticut (where knowledge of the cost proved equally important). During the time of the War of Independence, the great Sandy Hook was more than just the peninsula we see extending from the Jersey shore today. The "hook" stretched across the mouth of the harbor as a massive sandbar, preventing ships of the line and frigates from passing in or out of Lower New York Bay except at high tide. This limited British options when they needed to put ships to sea quickly. Later in the war, a French fleet abandoned the notion of an attack on New York for the same reason.

Vessels in New York Harbor had to wait for the tide to rise

The Carolinas  


In the Cape Fear area near Wilmington, North Carolina, superior knowledge of the coastal and inland waterways allowed the rebels to prevent reinforcements by sea, keeping the critical state in American hands from February 1777 until a second invasion force of British troops arrived in 1780. This marked the beginning of a prolonged guerrilla-style war along the treacherous Cape Fear River. British warships patrolled while blockade runners tried to smuggle invaluable supplies. Both sides relied on local knowledge of the waterways to achieve success.

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

William Moultrie 

In neighboring South Carolina, local knowledge of the waterways and swamps in the Lowcountry played a significant role in the struggle. The partisans along the coastal rivers proved to be a constant thorn in the side of the British, who needed two attempts to capture the port of Charleston. In the first attempt in 1776, famed South Carolinian William Moultrie's clever defense, along with 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 fired a cannon, the ball would get stuck in the fort and wouldn’t explode. If it did explode, the fort's sand walls would collapse and smother the fire. Confused by the fact that the fort wasn’t 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 later become famous 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