The Winter Spy

“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 intended to write. But as I finished book two in the Yankee Doodle Spies series my research and interest took me the obvious question: what did Washington do AFTER he crossed the Delaware? Quite a lot, as it turns out. So much I became intrigued and crafted a follow-on story to capture the feel and the action of this critical, but little-understood chapter in the American War for Independence.

                                       What did Washington do, after he crossed the Delaware?

Winter Quarters

In the 18^th century, armies traditionally did their fighting from late April/early May through Novemberish. In between campaign seasons, some soldiers and officers were sent home on furlough, but most just tried to survive the winter while the armies were replenished and outfitted for the next season of marching and fighting. The British had the luxury of quartering many of their forces in towns and cities, utilizing stores, shops, stables, public buildings, and private dwellings.

                                         Gen Steuben drilling American troops at Valley Forge

 

For the Americans, winter quarters were usually a painful ordeal of cold, disease, and starvation. For the British, a time of relative comfort in between numbing military chores. Of course, both sides would have to mount guards and sentries. Some patrols were sent out. And during the Valley Forge encampment in 1778, winter quarters became a training ground with the arrival of General Steuben as Inspector-General und Drillmeister.

Winter Action

My readings for my second novel, The Cavalier Spy opened my eyes to the actions General George Washington took following the Battle of Trenton: two pitched battles (2^nd Trenton, Princeton), plus lots of skirmishing, marching, and suffering before his ever-dwindling army reached its final destination at Morristown, New Jersey. And that choice was very strategic. His actions forced the British to withdraw most of their outposts in the Jerseys, leaving them clinging to the area around Brunswick, the Paulhus Hook (Jersey City) as well as their main strongholds in Staten Island, Long Island, and the Island of New York. With the British in winter quarters, most armies would have hunkered down, licked their wounds, and reoutfitted. The selection was strategic because Washington could observe enemy activities with his forces safely ensconced behind the Watchung Hills, prepared to move in whatever direction the British marched in the spring. That was the original plan.

                                        Princeton was one of two actions fought in as many days

But as the British launched foraging parties into the Jerseys to purchase or requisition foodstuffs, the Jersey militia took action. Small parties were ambushed, engendering larger foraging parties and larger ambushes. The numbers grew to the point where Washington allowed some of his Continental regiments under the likes of  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 about as many men killed or wounded during “winter quarters” as they did in the previous three pitched battles. Losses 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 in and out of 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 the time that tried 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

So many of our first patriots were accomplished men of letters—lawyers, judges, planters, and merchants—but relatively few were men of science and technology. David Bushnell falls into the latter category. Bushnell was born in Saybrook, Connecticut, on August 30, 1742, the son of a farmer. He was the first of five children and grew up working on the family farm near Westbrook. After the death of his father 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 fascinated by the possibility of underwater explosions. An inventive tinkerer by nature, Bushnell successfully combined a black powder charge with a clockwork timing device, thereby creating the first naval mine. He applied this knowledge not only to the construction of the underwater mine but also later in creating floating torpedoes that exploded on contact. He collaborated 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 set about conceiving a practical delivery system for this unique weapon, the onset of the American War for Independence created a new sense of urgency to his efforts.  By the fall of that year, he had designed and engineered the American Turtle (better known as Turtle), a primitive submarine. He named it Turtle because it looked like two turtle shells lashed together. Not a thing of beauty, but it worked.

Turtle Design Sketch

Test and Evaluation

Gen Israel Putnam

This primitive submarine was operated by a single operator, who powered it using 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 approximately 15 feet. To see, the pilot had a small conning tower with several windows. The tower contained a depth gauge and a compass lit by phosphorus. 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, leaving 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. On hand 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 in his place. On the night of September 6, a pair of whaleboats towed the Turtle offshore, where it began its assault. Pumping feverishly, Lee slowly guided the Turtle toward the British fleet. Despite challenging tides, Lee managed to approach 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 obstructed by an iron bar. With air running low, Lee abandoned the effort and released the mine, which floated free. The mine ultimately erupted in a tremendous explosion that shot a plume of water into the night air. The unexpected iron bar prevented what could have been a catastrophic blow to a major target, potentially altering British naval tactics for the remainder 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 was undaunted. Confident in his development, he continued improving the Turtle. He launched several small attacks against individual British ships, but inexperienced pilots and unfavorable tides thwarted each effort. The Turtle was lost the following October when a transport carrying it was sunk by British cannon fire on the North (Hudson) River. Undaunted by all the failure, Bushnell continued tinkering 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 snagged on a small schooner. It detonated, 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 meant 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 unnerved the British fleet that it spent the rest of the day shooting at the floating kegs as well as nearly anything else that floated. This event was satirized in the poem, “Battle of Kegs,” by Francis Hopkinson. Rebel propaganda depicted 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 commander of the first company of sappers and miners at West Point, NY. Captain Bushnell served competently for the remainder 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 were foundational for the later spread of underwater mines, torpedoes, and, of course, the submarine. His basic use of water for ballast continues even today, as does the utilization of the propeller. While his impact on the course of the American War for Independence was limited, he nonetheless influenced the long-term trajectory of naval warfare. No small achievement for a Connecticut Yankee farm boy.

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