Island in the Sun

 Special Mission

Large puffs of white clouds drift lazily with the trade winds beneath the bright blue November sky over Oranje Bay. Isaiah Robinson, captain of the 14-gun brig Andrea Doria, brought his spyglass to his eye. Ahead, twin peaks with lush green slopes rose sharply from the sandy shore, where the Dutch trading port city of Oranjestad stood. He shifted his gaze to the large stone fort sitting atop the bluffs overlooking the anchorage, which was his destination.

“How will they receive us, sir?” asked a young midshipman standing beside him. The United States declared independence from Britain earlier that summer but had not yet received diplomatic recognition.

“We shall know soon enough, Mister Sewall,” replied Robinson.

Entering the Harbor at Sint Eustatius

The First Salute

The Andrea Doria sailed quickly and then lazily toward the harbor, crowded with trading ships from across the New World and Europe. Sint Eustatius, part of the Dutch Antilles, was a duty-free port that, since its occupation by the Dutch West Indies Trading Company in the early 17th century, served as a hub for maritime trade—both legal and illegal. Tobacco, rice, cotton, and rum passed through her, forming part of a global supply chain that connected two hemispheres. However, the port was sadly a transit point for the worst kind of trade—human chattel.

Robinson snapped his glass shut and nodded to the Gunner's Mate. “Fire the salute!”

Thirteen of the fourteen barrels flashed and belched smoke—one for each state. Andrea Doria had officially announced her arrival. Robinson wondered, What will be their reply?

From his perch at the fort, the island's governor, Johannes de Graaf, watched the salvo fired by the brig below. He turned to the battery commander and doffed his plumed hat. A salvo of eleven guns erupted, belching a cloud of gun smoke above the harbor.

Captain Robinson smiled in satisfaction. “The signal of a returned salute is two guns less than the saluted.”

“What does it mean, sir?” asked Sewall.

Robinson did not respond to the young officer but turned to the entire crew. “The United Netherlands recognizes us as a sovereign nation!”

The crew erupted into a long cheer as the Andrea Doria headed to safe harbor.

The First Salute - Andrea Doria

Island in the Sun

I have slightly adjusted my plan to dedicate the upcoming editions of the Yankee Doodle Spies blog to characters from the series’ next novel, The Reluctant Spy. Instead, we will focus on a place that plays a significant role in this adventure story. This unique location is an island in the West Indies. An island that was crucial during the American Revolution and features prominently in the fifth book of the Yankee Doodle Spies series, The Cavalier Spy. As those who have read it know—this island is Sint (Saint) Eustatius, sometimes called Statia.

Governor Johannes de Graaf

Revolutionary Role

Sint Eustatius’s role in the American fight for independence didn’t end with that “first salute.” In fact, Governor de Graaf greeted the crew, and Robinson gave him a copy of the Declaration of Independence along with a letter written in Hebrew, meant for the Jewish merchants in the Netherlands. Many Jewish settlers on Sint Eustatius helped make the island a trading and banking hub that linked the Old World with the New.

The Declaration of Independence

Lively and Prosperous

When Robinson and his crew went ashore, they discovered a bustling port town with hundreds of storehouses, shops, inns, taverns, and bordellos. The storehouses were packed with goods from the region’s islands—coffee, cocoa, rice, tobacco, and wood from North America, along with finished products from Europe. The bay was filled with ships from all over the world, waiting to unload or load cargo. The small island, a “duty-free” port, was as busy as Amsterdam, handling 3,000 ships a year.

Port of Amsterdam

The Jewish Community

The large Jewish population was the driving force behind the island’s prosperity. In the early 18th century, Sephardic Jews migrated to Sint Eustatius from the Netherlands, bringing entrepreneurial skills and talent, and establishing financial ties with their communities in Europe and elsewhere. The population eventually made up about one-tenth of the island's residents. These traders became wealthy enough to build the largest synagogue in the New World, Honen Dalim. Stone bricks were imported from Europe to construct the massive structure.

Many Jewish-owned Trading Houses 

Duty-Free Port

Though short on natural resources, the small island in the sun boasted a global network of traders and maritime interests. The Jewish settlers on St. Eustatius made up a significant part of those merchants who were also “illegal” sellers of war materials and supplies to the Americans. Add to that the banking interests in Amsterdam, and you had the ingredients for a system that some called the “Armory of the American Revolution.”

Prosperous Trading Hub

Robinson would meet with some of the local Jewish businessmen and purchase munitions. This marked the start of a covert (or not so covert) trade that exchanged American cash crops, such as tobacco, for war supplies. It was a vital pipeline during the early years of the fight for independence.

Smugglers Hub

But the troublesome island that defied the rules of maritime trade was in the crosshairs of the empire that enforced maritime regulations—at least wherever the navy patrolled. However, political and diplomatic politeness kept the British government from doing much to halt the secret trade that gave the American rebels their lifeline. As long as the Netherlands and France were not confirmed allies of America, the better approach was to send occasional squadrons to patrol the waters. But eliminating the source of smugglers and (to the British) illegal traders would have to wait.

Smugglers Avoided Tariffs - 

But Also Supplied the American Revolution

A Vital Threat

A few years into the war, London realized that the threat from the small island needed to be addressed. By 1780, the Admiralty believed it was time for action. France and Spain were at war, and after the revelations captured with American emissary Henry Laurens, the focus shifted to the West Indies, where the British believed their greater economic interests were. With the Southern strategy in motion, everything was set for a confrontation.

The Admiralty

Send Rodney

British Admiral George Rodney, a capable and well-respected naval veteran, was given the assignment. In late 1780, he sailed with a fleet of fifteen ships of the line, many support ships and transports, and about 3,000 men to finally deal with the “nest of vipers.” Arriving at the harbor entrance on February 3, 1781, the fleet looked impressive. With around 1,000 naval guns, Governor de Graaf could only watch in dismay, as he had just a dozen cannons and fifty men. He accepted Rodney’s offer of surrender.

Admiral George Rodney

Worse Than Thought

The British admiral was amazed by the abundance of supplies and munitions on the island and the number of vessels loaded with goods involved in American trade. Beaches were lined with warehouses overflowing with goods, mainly sugar and tobacco. Others were filled with naval stores—the timber, resin, tar, and hemp rope needed for ships. The scale of the island's contribution to the American war effort was further demonstrated by the number of munitions belonging to the Royal Navy that were seized—sold by British merchants on nearby St. Kitts!

Full Storehouses and Magazines

Months of Rapine

Rodney began confiscating anything of value. With substantial gambling debts, the more he could seize for Britain, the bigger his share of the loot. The admiral burned, dumped, or looted what he could find. The island was plundered like a medieval city. His contempt for the Jews was clear—he believed many successful merchants were mainly responsible for supporting the Americans. In an act similar to later Boer War tactics, Rodney had many of the island’s leading Jewish figures rounded up and sent to St. Kitts. While now destitute families watched in horror, he seized all of their possessions.

The British Take Sint Eustatius

Not Following Orders

Meanwhile, Rodney lost focus on his duties. He broke his orders to destroy the supplies intended for the American forces and to shadow a French fleet heading for North America under Rear Admiral Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse. As he lingered on Sint Eustatius to continue looting, the French arrived in American waters and set sail for the Chesapeake. Rodney sent part of his fleet to join Admiral Hood while, now sick, he sailed back to England. De Grasse and Hood clashed at the Battle of the Chesapeake, where the French forced the British to retreat. They then trapped British General Charles Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown, sealing Britain’s fate in North America.

Admiral de Grasse

After Rodney

The British occupation of Sint Eustatius was brief. Months later, a French fleet recaptured it, and it was returned to Dutch control in 1784. But the island, once vibrant, was a shell of its former self. Months of destruction and plundering by Hood bankrupted the locals, and the population of about 8,000 began to decline. With the war over and the former British colonies now free to trade freely, its importance decreased.

Statius Contemporary Map

During the Napoleonic Wars, the French and British fought over it (the Netherlands was made a client state and then absorbed by France). The Congress of Vienna returned Sint Eustatius to the Netherlands in 1816. But the “Golden Island” would never be the same as it was during its heyday of the late 18th century.

The Congress of Vienna

Statius Speculation

The story of the island in the sun has two “what ifs.”

The first is obvious. What if Rodney had not succumbed to his greed and instead followed his orders, rather than spending months looting and expropriating, but had shifted focus to the French threat after capturing the island? Would America’s fate, and that of the world, have turned out differently?

The second is more vague. But what if the Jewish population had been left untouched and not gone into a diaspora? Would their trade and finance expertise have made Eustatius an even more important regional hub for commerce, leading the entire West Indies to prosperity?

Visitors to the island today can barely imagine its brief yet crucial role in shaping history. But the island in the sun did have its part—and it's one we should always remember.

 

Palmetto Patriot

This edition begins a series of profiles to introduce some of the historical characters readers will meet when the fifth historical novel in the Yankee Doodle Spies series is released in 2025. One of the first historical characters the reader will encounter is Henry Laurens, a little-known but essential South Carolina founder who became the Continental Congress's president.

Man of Means

Laurens was born the son of a wealthy Huguenot merchant, John Laurens, in 1724. After his early education in South Carolina, his father sent him to Britain, where he learned about managing money and accounts. His experience in England served him well when he returned to South Carolina a few years later, and combined with his strong work ethic, it set him on the path to becoming one of the colony's most successful merchants. In just a few years, Laurens expanded his interests by purchasing plantations and increasing his stake in the rice trade, but unfortunately, his biggest earnings came from the slave trade.

                                                     Laurens's Company Advertisement

Husband and Father

In 1750, Laurens married the daughter of a wealthy South Carolina rice planter. Eleanor Ball bore thirteen children before dying in 1770, just after giving birth to her last child. Most of his children died young, but at least four reached adulthood, and one, John Laurens, gained prominence during the American Revolution.

John Laurens

Militia Leader

Laurens joined the South Carolina militia and rose to lieutenant colonel during wars against the Cherokee and the French and Indian War. Like many of the wealthy planter class, he also served in the colonial assembly, where he was considered a conservative and leaned Tory.

Militia Fighting the Cherokees

Times of Trouble

As tensions between Britain and the colonies grew worse, Laurens was attracted to the Whigs but faced attacks from both sides. A mob of radicals stormed his house and tore it apart searching for stamped products. Meanwhile, British Customs officials confiscated three of Laurens's merchant ships under the Townshend Acts. This increased his sympathy for the Whigs, and he published a letter criticizing the British for imposing restrictions on American trade. However, he stayed apart from those pushing for direct action or independence.

Laurens's Ships Seized by the British

A trip to London in 1771 to check his sons' education changed everything. Incensed by the corruption in British society, Laurens grew closer to the Whigs. Three years later, when he returned to America, he became a supporter of independence.

Carolina Politics

By 1775, the rebellion was in full swing, and the cautious Laurens was fully committed to the cause. He immersed himself in active politics and was elected to South Carolina's Provincial Congress—an illegal body that soon replaced royal authority. Laurens led the South Carolina Committee of Safety, a crucial role as the colonies prepared for armed conflict with Britain. He clashed with some of the more radical politicians in the state when he championed property rights in the state's new constitution, even protecting Loyalists' property from confiscation. Laurens served as the vice president of South Carolina's new government from March 1776 to June 1777.

                                                   South Carolina Provincial Congress

National Figure

Although long a fixture in his home state, Henry Laurens stepped onto the national stage in June 1777 when he joined the Second Continental Congress as a delegate from South Carolina. The following November, he succeeded John Hancock as president of Congress—a role similar to that of a speaker of the house. He introduced many important bills and led the often contentious factions during his time. His most notable achievements include the Articles of Confederation and the American alliance with France. It is as president of Congress that we meet Laurens in my novel, The Reluctant Spy. 

Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress

President of Congress

The South Carolina native displayed the typical Southern aristocratic sense of honor. This, combined with a meticulous attention to detail and a steadfast stance against corruption, whether real or perceived, rubbed many of his peers the wrong way. President Laurens was highly respected but never loved. He would take on anyone, including Robert Morris. The influential Morris swayed many against Laurens when he pushed for an investigation into his actions as the financier of the American Revolution. Laurens's involvement in the corruption accusations against the American agent in Paris, Silas Deane, also upset many. By December 1778, Laurens had enough and resigned as president, being replaced by fellow Huguenot John Jay—the father of American counterintelligence.

Financier Robert Morris

Diplomat and Prisoner

A year later, Laurens shifted from being a controversial figure on the national stage to one on the international stage when he resigned from his Congressional seat to serve as the American commissioner to the Netherlands. However, the British intercepted his ship off the coast of Newfoundland. The clever Laurens quickly threw the trunk full of official dispatches into the ocean, but the Royal Navy recovered them. The Netherlands' role in helping America was revealed, giving London a reason for war.

Laurens was taken to London, charged with treason, and imprisoned in the Tower of London to suffer without adequate food or medical care until December 1781, when he was exchanged for British General Charles, Lord Cornwallis, who had been captured at Yorktown the previous October.

The Tower of London

Envoy

But there was no rest for the sick and weary ex-prisoner. Upon release, he sailed to Amsterdam to settle his affairs with the Dutch. Then Congress directed Laurens to Paris, where he joined Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and now former Congressional president John Jay in negotiating a peace treaty. He missed the final negotiations and the official signing because he was sent back to London to handle business matters, and when peace was achieved, the two nations would resume trading. He stayed in London as an ex officio representative until formal diplomatic relations were established. One wonders how envoy Laurens felt dealing with his former jailers and tormentors—or how they felt dealing with the traitor and former prisoner!

           Signing the Treaty of Paris

Up from the Ashes

By 1784, John Laurens was back in South Carolina. But he returned to a state devastated by years of brutal warfare and British occupation. His mansion in Charleston had been destroyed, and his businesses were also in ruins—he had lost the equivalent of many millions of dollars in service to his country. He spent his remaining years rebuilding the family fortune, refusing public offices of all kinds. He even declined to represent South Carolina at the Constitutional Convention.

Charleston

Laurens had his reasons. He was aging, and his health was declining. But the likely cause was the blow he suffered when he learned his son, Colonel John Laurens (a staunch opponent of slavery), had died of wounds sustained in a minor skirmish in 1782. So, the elder Laurens stayed in his native state, rebuilding his holdings until his death on December 8, 1792.

Although tarnished by his deep involvement in the slave trade, the former militia leader, businessman, slave trader, planter, politician, and statesman made many contributions to the nation's founding—as did his sacrifices. He should be remembered for both, but celebrated for his dedicated service to his country.

Bold Breton

The American Revolution had more than its share of bold warriors and badasses—tough men who, once committed to a Cause, remained undaunted and steadfast. This first patriot is unique among them as he fought for two causes, although he would only succeed with one. Armand Charles Tuffin, Marquis de La Rouërie, was a son of Brittany, that ocean-washed corner of France that shared its heritage with the Britons across the sea.

Young Blood

Born to a noble Breton family in 1750, the Marquis went to Versailles at an early age and became an Ensign in the elite Garde Francaise, the Horse Guards, and earned a reputation as impetuous and hot-tempered nobleman—this among a society of impetuous and hot-tempered noblemen. His exploits included wooing a notorious young actress (unsuccessfully) and dueling (successfully) with the comte de Bourbon-Besset, a cousin of King Louis XVI, in 1775. The latter was, of course, over a woman and got him cashiered in disgrace (the Code Duello was forbidden).

King Louis XVI

 

A New Cause

His opponent lived and the young Marquis fled to an abbey in Brittany where he sought solace among the Trappist monks. At one point he tried to poison himself. Talked out of it by friends, he did the next best thing. He abandoned France for the American cause, which he had admired from afar. His journey began in a tempest when his ship, Morris, was pursued by three British frigates. Armand and the other officers and men fought their way into Chesapeake Bay. Rather than provide a prize ship to the British, they ran Morris aground, torched the vessel, and fled inland. A fiery start for a firebrand. It was April 1777.

Chesapeake Flight

A New Commission

Founder Robert Morris had penned a letter of recommendation to George Washington. The desperate nobleman trekked on foot to Philadelphia to deliver it and other correspondence from France to the Continental Congress.  The Marquis de La Rouërie was commissioned under the name Armand—the name he was known by to the Americans. He soon came to General George Washington’s notice and was authorized to raise a corps of eighty riflemen who would function as rangers. Most of the contingent were Germans, and Armand led them in their first combat at Short Hills, New Jersey, in June 1777. Armand’s rangers took horrific casualties, some thirty men, but boldly retrieved a captured cannon from the enemy. He was promoted to colonel for his exploits and proved his mettle a few months later at the Battle of Brandywine, where he took some sixty Hessian infantry prisoners.

Armand's Germans captured Hessian Infantry

Raising a Legion

His success granted him authority to raise a legion—independent units with a mix of infantry and cavalry called the “Free and Independent Chasseurs.”. Chasseur was the French word for hunter—something similar to riflemen or rangers in French military parlance. Armand was soon deploying his Chasseurs in guerilla warfare around New York City.

Armand's Legion

Night Raid in New York

One of Colonel Armand’s most significant exploits during this time was a daring night raid. His target, a notorious Loyalist officer Major Bearmore. A member of Delancey’s brigade, Bearmore was known for his harsh treatment of Whigs in Westchester. Working his way through Westchester and around the King’s Bridge, with 100 infantry and thirty horsemen, his “hunters” reached William’s Bridge undetected by a nearby regiment of Hessians. He left his infantry to provide security for their withdrawal and led twenty dragoons to Bearmore’s headquarters three miles south. At around nine o’clock, his men swept in, seizing Bearman and five others. Armand is said to have thrown Bearman’s six-foot frame across his saddle and galloped off with him. The legion returned with no losses.

New Theater, New Command

Upon the death of Continental cavalry commander General Count Casimir Pulaski at Savannah in October 1779, Armand’s Chasseurs were transferred to the Southern Department and merged with the remnants of Pulaski’s Legion aptly renamed Armand’s Legion. The year 1780 saw Armand’s Legion in action, notably at Camden, where he helped cover what he could of General Horatio Gates’s Army when it routed.

Casimir Pulaski

French Interlude

Armand sailed back to France in early 1781, where he received King Louis’s forgiveness and the Order of St. Louis. He used his time in France to support the Cause by raising funds and gathering supplies. Although brooding over the lack of promotion in the Continental Army, he returned to America in time to partake in the final major campaign against the British.

Order of St. Louis

The Road to Yorktown

 While he was in France Armand’s Legion had been sent north to Virginia where it was employed trying to check General (and traitor) Benedict Arnold’s raids across the Old Dominion. Although whittled down in number through battle losses and illness, Colonel Armand took command of the Legion as it entered the siege works around General Charles Cornwallis’s Army at Yorktown. Not wanting to be denied glory, he and a handful of his Legion joined Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton’s storming party at Redoubt Number 10. Armand was the first officer to breach the parapet and helped force the defenders to surrender. Commended for his bravery, Congress finally promoted Armand to brigadier general in 1782.

Storming Redoubt 10

Cavalry Commander

The war did not end for Armand with Yorktown’s fall in October 1781. Instead, he rode south at the head of the newly named 1st Partisan Corps to assist General Nathanael Greene’s campaign to sweep the British from South Carolina and Georgia. Forcing outposts into surrender and seizing towns and territory was crucial as the British strategy in Paris to bargain for possession of what they held. To that end, they failed, although it took scores of small engagements and lots of hard riding and marching to foil them.

Colonel Armand

Laurels at War’s End

Armand and his Legion were sent north and reached the New York area in December 1782. In March of the following year, Congress promoted the bold Breton to brigadier general. Brigadier General Armand was also named chief of all the Continental Army’s cavalry—a title that once belonged to Casimir Pulaski. The two would share the honorific, “Father of the Cavalry.”

Continental Dragoon

Home to Fame and Rebellion

Brigadier General Armand returned home a hero in 1784—not of the Lafayette caliber but highly celebrated. Settling back home in Brittany, he married a noblewoman (who got ill and died soon after) and threw himself into local politics—championing the liberties of his fellow Bretons. He joined several other Breton noblemen in a petition of Breton grievances to the King in 1787. He turned down a military command to protest the loss of Breton liberties. This snub of the monarch got him tossed from the Army and into the Bastille, the notorious prison whose storming was one of the sparks of the violence that would come during the French Revolution.

Storming the Bastille

French Revolution

He was released from prison and later attended the Estates General but soon became disenchanted as he saw even a revolutionary France as a threat to Breton rights. When France broke into revolution and chaos. Armand tried to stay above the fray. Most of it concerned Paris, not his home in Brittany. However, as the Jacobins seized power and began their excesses and repression, the Royalist and conservative Catholic western France rebelled against the rebellion. This area, known as the Vendee, stood up the revolutionaries of Paris and their anti-Catholic policies. Armand formed the Breton Association, which raised troops. When the Austrians and Prussians declared war on France in 1792, they were ready to join them with 10,000 men.

Vendee Resistance was Determined

Defiant Fugitive

But the French victory at Valmy sent the Austrians and Prussians reeling, and the French central government turned on the Vendee. Armand went on the run when revolutionary dragoons raided his estate. He wandered Brittany accompanied by a few faithful companions for the next year. One of his companions caught a fever, and it eventually spread to Armand, who died of pneumonia on 30 January 1793, right after reading of the execution of King Louis XVI by the revolutionary government.

Armand as Marquis de Rouërie in the Vendee

Sadly, our Colonel Armand has gone almost forgotten—a brave B Player in two revolutions separated by an ocean. But he was an A Player to the men he led and the foes he vanquished. And one must suppose he was an A Player in the hearts of those proud Bretons he led and inspired in the struggle for their liberties and their faith.

The 2nd Duke

Wealthy Scion

It has been a while since we last profiled a British Army officer, so I chose one whose modest yet significant contribution to the Crown is notable—a man with a very typical, straight-out-of-central-casting name: Hugh Percy. Born into a prominent family (his father was the First Earl of Northumberland), young Percy overcame a series of childhood illnesses to pursue a military career, which he himself essentially ended just as he was reaching the height of success.

Hugh Percy

A Call to Arms

Percy joined the 24th Regiment of Foot in 1759 as an ensign. Like many from prominent and well-connected families, young Hugh managed to secure a lieutenant colonelcy and position as aide de camp to Ferdinand of Brunswick. Additionally, like many of his peers, The Seven Years' War offered the chance to earn laurels in combat at the battles of Bergen and Linden.

Battle of Minden

Politician

By 1762, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Grenadier Guards, arguably the most elite unit in the Royal Army and a protector of the monarch. He surprised many by refusing to serve as aide de camp to King George III. Instead, he ran for Parliament, securing a seat in the House of Commons as a Whig. His political beliefs often put him at odds with the Crown, especially regarding colonial policy. Ironically, Percy still maintained a close connection to the King. He married the daughter of George III's tutor and mentor, Lord Bute.

Percy as Politico

A Gentler Colonel

In 1768, Percy was commissioned as a colonel in the Northumberland Fusiliers. He proved to be a very progressive and forward-thinking leader. He adopted a different approach to leadership, treating his men with kindness and rejecting the traditional harsh discipline of the Army. He banned flogging and other severe disciplinary measures. Percy also took care of their financial needs and those of their families, often providing funds to those in need. Instead of ruling through orders, he led by example. His actions quickly earned the affection and trust of his soldiers. His approach resulted in a highly effective unit of men fiercely loyal to their commanding officer.

Northumberland Fusilier

Boston Bound

The political situation in North America kept worsening over the next few years. Despite, or maybe because of, his sympathies for the Americans, Colonel Hugh Percy received orders in 1774 to sail to America, where his regiment joined General Thomas Gage's garrison in Boston. Gage made him a brevet brigadier general and commandant of the British camp. Tensions kept rising in and around Boston, and the next year, Gage started a series of pre-emptive strikes—punitive actions to weaken the militia's power and threat.

Boston and Environs

The Shot Heard Round the World

Things reached a crisis point in April 1775 when Gage dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith with about 800 regulars to seize militia gunpowder and arms believed to be at Concord. On April 19, one of Smith's units, led by Major John Pitcairn, faced a militia force on Lexington Green. The brief clash, known as the "Shot Heard Round the World," was followed by a larger gunfight around Cambridge.

The Column Reaches Concord

Column in Chaos

Things went badly for the British, who began a retreat to Boston as thousands of locals grabbed their muskets and started to harass the column, shooting at officers with aimed fire. Near Lexington, Smith's troops were reinforced by a brigade of around 1,400 men led by Hugh Percy. Percy used cannons and volley fire to keep the militia (now, we can call them rebels) at bay and helped bring Smith's demoralized men back into some kind of order.

Percy guides the column home

Unlikely Savior

Throughout the long march back, under relentless and punishing fire from the rebel militia, Percy kept the British column together, maintaining discipline to prevent a disaster. When they reached Menotomy, Percy made a decision that likely saved the army. Instead of pushing toward Cambridge, he changed their route of return and marched to Charlestown. This route had fewer rebels. The column arrived back in Boston. In July, Gage promoted Percy to Major General for his calm actions under pressure. No small irony that an officer sympathetic to the rebels thwarted their best efforts to wipe out the column.

General Thomas Gage

Halifax Hiatus

Percy missed the Battle of Bunker Hill due to illness. To his frustration, his Northumberland Fusiliers were decimated under the heavy-handed command of General William Howe. True to his approach to leadership, Percy funded the return voyage for all the widows and arranged a small stipend for those in need. The British evacuated Boston in March 1776 and regrouped in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Gage had been recalled, and William Howe was now the commander in chief.

Battles for New York

In July, the reinforced British Army landed on Staten Island in New York Harbor. Weeks later, a swift campaign was launched on Long Island. On August 27, Percy distinguished himself by helping lead a night march that cut off a third of the Continental Army. In November, Percy led a British force that drew fire from the defenders at Fort Washington, allowing Hessian General von Knyphausen's men to overrun the garrison and force its surrender.

Percy led regulars in action on Long Island  

Newport Nexus

The following month, Percy and General Henry Clinton led a British expedition that captured Newport, Rhode Island. When Henry Clinton returned to Britain, Percy was appointed commander of the Newport garrison. However, things were not all smooth sailing. Percy was critical of Howe's strategy and how he handled the war. He also struggled with poor health. This combination led him to request relief from his command and a return to Britain. General Howe quickly approved, and Hugh Percy left America for good in May 1777.

Sir Henry Clinton

The 2nd Duke

In 1779, Percy divorced his wife on the grounds of adultery but soon remarried and had nine children with his second wife. After his father’s death in 1784, Percy became the 2nd Duke of Northumberland. He spent the next several decades serving in various military roles in Britain, re-engaging in politics, and managing his estates. He was a kind landlord who took care of the farm workers on his lands. He was a rare noble who earned the respect of his people. Hugh Percy died on his estate in July 1817. His years of poor health finally caught up with him.

2nd Duke of Northumberland

Liberal Legacy

One has to wonder how the course of the war in America would have played out for the British if Percy had remained, possibly even rising to the level of supreme command. His gentle manner might have rallied more Americans to the Crown, and his ability to motivate troops and stay calm under fire could have made a difference in the subsequent campaigns. An interesting fact—Percy had an illegitimate half-brother, James Smithson. The same James Smithson who bequeathed the funds used to establish what became known as The Smithsonian Institution—the world's largest museum and research complex.

The Smithsonian