The Winter War

“I shall constantly bear in Mind, that as the Sword was the last Resort for the preservation of our Liberties, so it ought to be the first thing laid aside, when those Liberties are firmly established.”

Letter from General George Washington to the Executive Committee of the Continental Congress, January 1, 1777

                                                Washington's pen was as mighty as his sword

January 1777

The Jerseys are aflame in a deep winter-war!

Backs against a frozen river and facing a column of crack redcoats intent on their destruction, George Washington’s army has a serious gut-check. They must outfight or outwit the British to preserve the faltering struggle for independence. With the help of the winter spy, General Washington intends to do both…

Back cover of The Winter Spy, Legatum Books, June 2020

The Winter Spy

The Genesis

This is a book I never planned to write. But as I finished book two in the Yankee Doodle Spies series, my research and curiosity led me to a clear question: what did Washington do AFTER crossing the Delaware? It turns out, quite a lot. I became so intrigued that I crafted a follow-up story to capture the feel and action of this crucial, yet little-understood chapter in the American War for Independence.

                                       What did Washington do after he crossed the Delaware?

Winter Quarters

In the 18th century, armies usually fought from late April or early May through November. During the off-season, some soldiers and officers were sent home on furlough, but most simply tried to survive the winter while the armies were restocked and equipped for the next season of marching and fighting. The British had the advantage of quartering many of their forces in towns and cities, using stores, shops, stables, public buildings, and private homes.

                                         Gen Steuben drilling American troops at Valley Forge

 

For Americans, winter quarters were often a harsh experience of cold, disease, and starvation. For the British, it was a time of relative comfort between grueling military duties. Naturally, both sides had to keep guards and sentries posted. Some patrols were dispatched. During the 1778 Valley Forge encampment, winter quarters turned into a training ground with the arrival of General Steuben as Inspector-General and Drillmaster.

Winter Action

My readings for my second novel, The Cavalier Spy, opened my eyes to the actions General George Washington took after the Battle of Trenton: two major battles (2nd Trenton, Princeton), along with many skirmishes, marches, and hardships before his increasingly small army reached its final destination at Morristown, New Jersey. 

That decision was very strategic. His actions forced the British to withdraw most of their outposts in the Jerseys, leaving them in control of the area around Brunswick, Paulhus Hook (Jersey City), and their main strongholds in Staten Island, Long Island, and Manhattan. With the British in winter quarters, most armies would have hunkered down, recovered, and rearmed. The choice was strategic because Washington could monitor enemy movements with his forces safely behind the Watchung Hills, ready to move in any direction the British advanced in the spring. That was the original plan.

                                        Princeton was one of two actions fought in as many days

But as the British sent out foraging parties into New Jersey to buy or requisition foodstuffs, the Jersey militia responded. Small groups were ambushed, leading to larger foraging parties and bigger ambushes. The numbers grew until Washington authorized some of his Continental regiments, including those led by Generals Philemon Dickinson, William Alexander (Lord Stirling – an American who claimed a Scots peerage), and Ulster-born William “Scotch Willie” Maxell. By the end of this winter of discontent, the British had lost roughly as many men killed or wounded during “winter quarters” as they did in the previous three pitched battles. Losses that British commander-in-chief, General William Howe, could not afford.

                                                     Gen William Alexander - Lord Stirling

The Plot

No spoiler alerts here – read the book! But needless to say, Lieutenant Jeremiah Creed and his White Knights are thrown into action once more, operating both within and outside the Continental Army. They again clash with the ruthless British dragoon, Major Sandy Drummond, who continues to leverage his intelligence network to break the rebellion. Along the way, a variety of soldiers and citizens clash, make friends, make enemies, fall in love, and struggle to stay sane during a time that tests men’s souls. Woven into the plot are two themes: the bonding of men in conflict and the war’s impact on families. And, there is always the weather. Winds that can cut a man in two, frigid temperatures, and ice-covered roads and rivers play a significant role in a story that, after all, was named for them.

The Book

All three books in the Yankee Doodle Spies series are published by Legatum Books.

The Winter Spy can be found at Amazon in Paperback or Kindle.

https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Spy-Yankee-Doodle-Spies/dp/B08JVNPPKG/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

 

Tinkerer, Sailor, Soldier, Surgeon

A Connecticut Yankee

Many of our early patriots were accomplished men of letters—lawyers, judges, planters, and merchants—but relatively few were involved in science and technology. David Bushnell belongs to the latter group. Born in Saybrook, Connecticut, on August 30, 1742, he was the son of a farmer. As the eldest of five children, he grew up working on the family farm near Westbrook. After his father died in 1769, he sold his half interest in the farm to his brother Ezra and entered Yale College in 1771.

David Bushnell

Bombs to Boats

While at Yale, he became intrigued by the idea of underwater explosions. An inventive tinkerer by nature, Bushnell successfully combined a black powder charge with a clockwork timing device, creating the first naval mine. He used this knowledge not only in building the underwater mine but also later in making floating torpedoes that exploded on contact. 

He worked with the wealthy New Haven inventor and manufacturer Isaac Doolittle to develop the first mechanically triggered time bomb as well as the first screw propeller. As he worked on developing a practical delivery system for this unique weapon, the start of the American War for Independence gave a new sense of urgency to his efforts. 

By fall that year, he had designed and built the American Turtle (better known simply as Turtle), a primitive submarine. He named it Turtle because it looked like two turtle shells lashed together. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

Turtle Design Sketch

Test and Evaluation

Gen Israel Putnam

This primitive submarine was operated by a single operator, who powered it with two hand-cranked screw propellers. A system of water pumps took in and expelled water to control the craft's climb or descent, which could reach a depth of about 15 feet. The pilot had a small conning tower with several windows. The tower contained a depth gauge and a phosphorus-lit compass. 

The Turtle’s punch was Bushnell’s original clock/mine combination connected to a metal drill engineered to bore through the copper sheathing coating the hulls of British warships. Once the mine was attached and released, the timing mechanism engaged, giving the Turtle one hour to escape before a 150-pound charge exploded, detonated by a flintlock trigger device. 

Bushnell arranged a successful demonstration, essentially a “demval” in today’s acquisition parlance. Present for the event on the Thames River was Connecticut General Israel Putnam, who urged the American government to continue funding for its “full operational capability.”

Turtle Replica

Run Silent, Run Deep - Sorta

History was made in the summer of 1776 when the Turtle attacked the British fleet anchored in New York Harbor under the command of Admiral Richard Howe. Unfortunately, Bushnell fell ill, and a sergeant named Ezra Lee volunteered to take his place. On the night of September 6, a pair of whaleboats towed the Turtle offshore, where it began its attack. Pumping feverishly, Lee slowly guided the Turtle toward the British fleet. 

Despite challenging tides, Lee managed to reach the primary target, Lord Howe’s flagship, the 64-gun ship of the line, HMS Eagle. The Turtle’s drill failed to penetrate the hull because it was blocked by an iron bar. With air running low, Lee abandoned the effort and released the mine, which floated free. The mine ultimately exploded in a massive blast that sent a plume of water into the night sky. 

The unexpected iron bar prevented what could have been a disastrous hit to a major target, potentially changing British naval tactics for the rest of the war. See my Yankee Doodle Spies post on "The Boat" for a more detailed discussion of this attack.

Bushnell's Turtle takes on HMS Eagle
and initiates submarine warfare

Torpedoes are Running

Bushnell remained undaunted. Confident in his progress, he kept improving the Turtle. He launched several small attacks on individual British ships, but inexperienced pilots and unfavorable tides prevented each attempt. The Turtle was lost the following October when a transport carrying it was sunk by British cannon fire on the North (Hudson) River. Undeterred by setbacks, Bushnell continued experimenting with naval mines and explosives. On August 13, 1777, he released another mine that floated toward the HMS Cerebus, anchored in Black Point Bay. This time, the tides were favorable, but the device got caught on a small schooner. It exploded, killing three British sailors.

 Turtle needed to be towed  into attack position by rowboats

Battle of the Kegs

A Bushnell mine exploding
unnerved the British

He tried again in January 1778, this time releasing 20 large kegs filled with explosives off Bordentown, New Jersey. The kegs were intended to float down the Delaware River and destroy the British fleet at Philadelphia. One mine exploded near a British rowboat, killing several sailors. 

The attack so rattled the British fleet that it spent the rest of the day shooting at the floating kegs and nearly anything else that floated. This event was satirized in the poem, “Battle of Kegs,” by Francis Hopkinson. Rebel propaganda portrayed this as an embarrassment for the hapless Royal Navy. However, Bushnell's career as an undersea weapons developer was over.

Captain David Bushnell's sappers and miners
fought during the siege at Yorktown

The Sapper

Bushnell returned to Saybrook in the spring of 1778. Local Loyalists had once detained him, but he managed to secure his release. Later that year, Bushnell left the world of maritime warfare and joined the Continental Army after General George Washington appointed him as commander of the first company of sappers and miners at West Point, NY. Captain Bushnell served competently for the rest of the conflict and led the sappers during the siege of Yorktown, the battle that effectively ended the war. After his discharge from the Continental Army, he briefly returned to Connecticut and later spent some time in France before coming back to the United States to settle in Warrenton, Georgia, where he practiced medicine. He died there in 1824.

David Bushnell Memorial in Georgia

Seminal Submariner

In the long run, David Bushnell’s efforts laid the groundwork for the later development of underwater mines, torpedoes, and, of course, the submarine. His fundamental use of water for ballast still applies today, as does the use of the propeller. Although his impact on the course of the American War for Independence was limited, he nonetheless shaped the future direction of naval warfare. No small feat for a Connecticut farm boy.

Today's submarines are descendants of Bushnell's
Turtle and still share its basic design, albeit on steroids