The American Military - A Narrative History

by Brad D. Lookingbill

  American Crisis

  Congress authorized the formation of America's first national institution, the Continental Army, on June 14, 1775. The delegates voted to raise 10 companies of riflemen from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia and ordered them to protect New England. The next day, Congress appointed Washington as the commander-in-chief of “all the continental forces raised, or to be raised, for the defence of American liberty.” After offering additional commissions to four major and eight brigadier generals, Congress adopted articles of war to govern their military conduct. The colonial assemblies still controlled their respective militia units, but henceforth Americans served under the coexistent authority of Congress.

  Refusing to accept pay from Congress, Washington took command of the armed forces on July 2, 1775. As he inspected the encampments in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he found not an army but a rabble of 14,000. Immediately, he imposed a training regimen to discipline and to regulate the rank and file. He favored the application of harsh punishment for insubordination and approved the use of flogging for major infractions. Finding few good sergeants or competent lieutenants in the camps, he took personal responsibility for providing food and quarters. He ordered the distribution of firearms to the troops, because some carried nothing but pitchforks, pikes, and spears. Concerned about honor and reputation, he often reminded the Continentals of their shared devotion to “the glorious cause” of America.

  While the Continentals formed a defensive line around Boston, Congress passed measures to expand the American military. On October 13, 1775, the delegates authorized the outfitting of vessels for the Continental Navy. Initially, they commissioned the Alfred, Andrew Doria, Cabot, and Columbus. David Bushnell, a student at Yale College, tested a submarine named the Turtle, which failed to torpedo any British ships. Less than half the 13 frigates ordered for the war sailed into action. Though mired in controversy, Commodore Esek Hopkins of Rhode Island briefly became the Navy's first and only commander-in-chief.

  On November 10, 1775, Congress established a corps of marines to support the Navy on land and at sea. Tasked with a variety of missions, they primarily formed a shipboard security force to protect the captain and the officers. Moreover, sharpshooters stationed themselves on ship masts and picked off enemy officers, gunners, and helmsmen. Corps legends highlighted the prominence of the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia as the first recruiting post, while Captain Samuel Nicholas, whose family owned another tavern in the city, became the first commandant. During the Navy's inaugural cruise in the Caribbean, marines landed twice at Nassau to seize military stores from the British Empire.

  Meanwhile, Washington endorsed a two-pronged invasion of Quebec. Colonel Benedict Arnold moved a Continental detachment through the Maine and Canadian wilderness. Until falling ill, General Philip Schuyler of New York commanded units in the Northern Department near Lake Champlain. General Richard Montgomery, formerly a Royal officer, assumed command of the operation and took St. Johns, Chambly, and Montreal. To face the British forces under Governor General Sir Guy Carleton, Arnold and Montgomery arrived at the outskirts of Quebec on November 13, 1775. The American assault that began the following month proved disastrous. Montgomery died from a bullet to his head, while Arnold received a wound in his leg. The next year, General David Wooster of Connecticut arrived with reinforcements for another failed assault. Unable to turn Quebec into a fourteenth colony, the Continentals retreated southward to Crown Point.

  Washington sent Colonel Henry Knox, a corpulent Boston bookseller, to secure military stores at Fort Ticonderoga. He planned to transport captured weapons to the Continentals in Cambridge. Despite icebound roads and winter weather, his oxcarts and sleds moved 44 guns, 14 mortars, and a howitzer over 300 miles. They also dragged along 7,000 rounds of cannon shot, 2,000 muskets, and 31 tons of musket shot. Americans emplaced the artillery behind makeshift works on Dorchester Heights, which overlooked Boston. Facing a trap, General William Howe, the British commander, decided to evacuate the city. On March 17, 1776, British forces boarded ships at the wharves and departed for Halifax, Nova Scotia.

  The reluctance of the Royal Army and Navy to crush the Continentals emboldened the radical voices in North America. Thomas Paine, a freelance writer in Philadelphia, authored a pamphlet in early 1776 titled Common Sense, which denounced the rule of King George III. “The blood of the slain,” Paine declared, and “the weeping voice of nature cries 'tis time to part.”

  Paine's pamphlet discredited the notion of reconciliation with London, especially in the minds of the delegates to Congress. Rumors circulated in Philadelphia that the European powers planned to partition the colonies unless Americans unified. Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, introduced a resolution for formal separation from Great Britain that June. Congress passed it after weeks of debate, adopting a statement of purpose known as the “Declaration of Independence.” Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, another Virginia delegate, it announced the self-evident truth that “all men are created equal.” While listing the despotic acts of King George III, it asserted the right of the people “to provide new guards for their future security.” Consequently, Washington ordered it read to every brigade in the Continental Army.

  The Continental Army prepared to defend New York from a British invasion that summer. Lord George Germain, the Secretary of State for the American colonies, directed General Howe and his brother, Admiral Richard Howe, to capture the harbor and to push up the Hudson River. British warships bombarded New York City in July, while 32,000 redcoats massed at Staten Island. On August 22, they went ashore at Gravesend Bay on Long Island.

  With no more than 10,000 troops on Long Island, Washington attempted to hold the Brooklyn Heights. To the south stretched the Heights of Guan, which contained four key passes – Gowanus, Flatbush, Bedford, and Jamaica. Unfortunately, only five Americans guarded the last pass on the eastern end of the line. Howe's divisions maneuvered unchallenged through Jamaica, where the envelopment by the British cleared the high ground. In the Battle of Long Island, the Americans suffered 312 fatalities as well as 1,100 wounded or captured.

  Howe delayed advancing into Brooklyn Village on August 29, when rain and fog gave Washington sufficient cover to escape. Overnight, Colonel John Glover's Marbleheaders of Massachusetts ferried the Continentals across the East River to Manhattan Island. Washington planned to conduct a “war of posts,” that is, holding fortifications while avoiding pitched battles with a more powerful enemy. Conversely, Howe intended to awe a weaker foe with a show of force on water and on land. In other words, neither side desired a bloody affair on Manhattan.

  In mid-September, Howe avoided the American dispositions on Manhattan with a landing on their flank at Kip's Bay. When the Connecticut militia in the area panicked, an enraged Washington began flogging the officers with his riding cane. An aide grabbed the bridle of his horse to lead him from the fray. The outnumbered Americans reformed their lines between the rocky cliffs of Fort Washington and the Harlem River. The next day, the Battle of Harlem Heights checked the British advance with a rare demonstration of American resolve. Sparked by arson, the “Great New York City Fire” consumed buildings and supplies between Broadway Street and the Hudson River. A few weeks later, Howe outflanked Washington again by putting 4,000 men ashore through Hell Gate at Throg's Neck. British bugle calls signaled a fox chase, as militiamen began scurrying past the Bronx River for safety. At almost every turn, the Continentals abandoned their defensive lines on Manhattan.

  The Continentals stiffened at White Plains, but Howe crossed the Bronx River to confront them on October 28. Despite losing the Battle of White Plains, Americans under General Alexander McDougall offered a furious defense of Chatterton's Hill. Washington ordered his men to retrench at North Castle. Howe repositioned his men on the east side of the Hudson around Fort Washington, which surrendered on November 16. On the west bank of the river, Fort Lee fell to the British four days later.

  With the Americans on the run, Washingt
on escaped from New York. He placed 5,500 troops under General Charles Lee at North Castle and dispatched 3,200 soldiers under General William Heath to Peekskill. Left with no more than 3,000 men, he staggered into New Brunswick, New Jersey. He hoped to salvage what remained of the Continental Army to fight another day, but he admitted to his brother that “the game is pretty near up.” Though dispirited from the series of defeats, he began to contemplate a Fabian strategy for harassment and attrition.

  Figure 2.2 The Northern Campaigns

  “These are the times that try men's souls,” wrote Paine, who joined the Continentals and became an aide to General Nathanael Greene. That winter, his pamphlet series titled The American Crisis denounced the “summer soldier” and the “sunshine patriot” for not remaining steadfast. He summoned his counterparts to stand firm against tyranny, warning them that the British planned to turn American homes “into barracks and bawdy-houses for Hessians.”

  Once Washington retreated across the Delaware River, Howe accomplished nearly all of the British military objectives for 1776. Aware that Continental enlistments expired at the end of the year, he issued a proclamation that offered pardons to rebels swearing allegiance to the Crown. He sent a detachment with a naval escort to occupy Newport, Rhode Island. His troops dispersed to Amboy, New Brunswick, Kingston, Maidenhead, Princeton, Trenton, and Bordentown in New Jersey. While Hessian regiments guarded the advance outposts, the British commander retired to New York for the winter.

  Eyeing 1,500 Hessians at Trenton, Washington gambled on Christmas night. Glover ferried 2,400 Continentals back across the icy Delaware to strike the outpost on the eastern side of the river. They completed the crossing after sunrise, when sentries spotted them marching through the heavy snowfall. Pressing onward, Washington rode in front of his advancing troops. Knox's cannons blasted the jagers pouring like a mob onto the streets, while a bullet cut down their commander, Colonel Johann Rall. After an hour of fighting, the Battle of Trenton left the Hessians with 22 dead and 98 wounded. By comparison, only six Americans suffered combat wounds – one of whom was Lieutenant James Monroe of Virginia. Although hundreds of Hessians slipped away, over 1,000 became prisoners of war.

  Upon receiving reports of the Hessian rout, Howe sent General Lord Charles Cornwallis to regain the initiative in New Jersey. On January 2, Cornwallis rallied British forces near Assunpink Creek. Knox, whom Congress promoted to general, directed cannonades to keep them off balance. Leaving campfires burning as a decoy, Washington avoided a trap by advancing to Princeton the next morning. He mixed sound judgment in the field with a sudden flash of daring. Thanks to quick marching in adverse conditions, Americans claimed another victory in the Battle of Princeton. With British losses numbering in the hundreds, American figures amounted to 25 killed and 40 wounded. Afterward, Washington's command moved to the Watchung Mountains and quartered in Morristown for the rest of the winter.

  Year of the Hangman

  For the Continental Army, surviving the onslaught of the British military represented a remarkable achievement. Although London bestowed a knighthood upon Howe, the most powerful empire in the world underestimated the opposition in North America. On the heels of the winter victories at Trenton and Princeton, Washington rallied troops to his command in the spring. They grew to 9,000 effectives along with countless irregulars. Taken aback by American tenacity in early 1777, British forces withdrew from New Jersey altogether.

  British authorities referred to 1777 as the “year of the hangman,” because the three sevens symbolized the gallows from which rebels would swing. Accordingly, flamboyant General Johnny Burgoyne laid out a plan of attack in upper New York. He proposed separating New England from the other colonies by driving southward along Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. With Lord Germain's approval, he organized an expeditionary force of 8,300 that included regulars, militia, loyalists, Germans, and Indians. Likewise, Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger prepared to maneuver down the Mohawk River and junction with him at Albany. Though not stipulated in the plan, he hoped that an advance northward from New York City by Howe would cut off the enemy retreat.

  Instead of moving directly to Albany for a junction with Burgoyne, Howe sought a rematch with Washington elsewhere. He preferred transporting his troops by water to strike Philadelphia. If Burgoyne reached Albany, then he would reposition them depending on “the state of things at the time.” Ignorant of North American geography and preoccupied with other affairs, Lord Germain approved Howe's request to head south before going north.

  With Howe operating on his own, Burgoyne drove southward from Quebec. “I have but to give stretch to the Indian forces under my direction – and they amount to thousands – to overtake the hardened enemies of Great Britain and America,” he threatened in a blustering proclamation. That summer, his troops quickly captured Fort Ticonderoga. They pressed onward through difficult terrain, while the Continentals of the Northern Department remained in disarray. On July 7, a British advance party clashed with an American rear guard. The Battle of Hubbardton resulted in 132 American casualties in a two-hour fight. A week later, the redcoats took Skenesboro. With their confidence soaring, the loyalists in New York cheered the accomplishments of “Gentleman Johnny.”

  As Burgoyne approached Fort Edward, Jane McCrea unexpectedly altered the course of the campaign. A party of Indian scouts found her hiding in a cellar on July 27. Because she was engaged to a loyalist in Burgoyne's army, they began quarrelling over the ostensible reward. One of them, a Wyandot named Panther, reportedly shot her and scalped her. Then he stripped her clothes and mutilated her body. Word of the assault outraged many of the locals, as the death of an innocent female produced an unexpected effect. Many indicted British commanders for offering scalp bounties, which soon aroused militiamen. The story spread like wildfire, including embellishments about her “clustering curls of soft blonde hair.” Blaming the incident on “savage passion,” Burgoyne demanded that the killer surrender for a trial. Instead of submitting to British law, scores of Indian scouts abandoned the campaign.

  British forces paused before reaching the Hudson, while Continental units tried to regroup in Albany. Congress replaced Schuyler in the Northern Department with Gates, an ex-officer of the Royal Army. With gray hair and thick spectacles, the 50-year-old acquired the nickname “Granny.” The wily commander composed a public letter to Burgoyne that scolded the British for “the miserable fate of Miss McCrea.”

  Suffering from shortages of supplies, the British dispatched foraging expeditions into the countryside. Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum of the Brunswick dragoons directed a detachment to seize cattle, horses, saddles, bridles, carriages, and hostages. A New Hampshire brigade under General John Stark intercepted them outside Bennington, a town near the Walloomsac River. His lead column carried a flag with 13 stripes and a large “76” in the center. “There are the redcoats, and they are ours,” bellowed the veteran of Rogers' Rangers, “or Molly Stark sleeps a widow tonight.” On August 16, he hit them with a pincer movement in the Battle of Bennington. What began with intricate maneuvering turned into desperate hand-to-hand combat. Stark, who lost 30 killed and 40 wounded, returned home in triumph after mauling Baum's detachment.

  At the same time, Continentals and militiamen at Fort Stanwix faced St. Leger's column in the Mohawk Valley. Commencing on August 6, the Battle of Oriskany cost the Americans approximately 450 casualties. However, weeks of ambushes and sorties left the loyalists and the Indians disheartened by their losses. After Congress promoted him to general, Arnold attempted to save his counterparts with a hoax. He sent a captured shaman to warn St. Leger's Indian allies that a mighty force of patriots was coming. Whether or not they believed his ravings, the scouts vanished in the woods. St. Leger withdrew to Oswego, where his units boarded boats for Quebec. By September, Arnold had secured Fort Stanwix and returned to the Hudson Valley.

  Disengaged from the military action in the Hudson Valley, Howe loaded some 18,000 men on board ships and
sailed for Chesapeake Bay. In late August, they went ashore at the Elk River in Maryland. As they marched toward Philadelphia, Washington established a defensive line on the eastern side of Brandywine Creek.

  On September 11, the Battle of Brandywine pitted 11,000 Americans against 12,500 British and Hessian troops. Howe demonstrated at Chadds Ford while outflanking Washington on the left with a wide turning maneuver. Fighting ensued around Meeting House Hill, but the Continentals and the militiamen withdrew by nightfall. The Marquis de Lafayette, a young French aristocrat serving under Washington, helped to conduct an orderly retreat. The Americans lost over 200 killed, 500 wounded, and 400 captured in defeat, although Washington still blocked Howe's path to Philadelphia.

  Around Philadelphia, the two sides marched and countermarched through creeks and rivers. At 1:00 a.m. on September 21, British General Charles Grey surprised a slumbering Continental detachment commanded by General Anthony Wayne near the Paoli Tavern. Carrying out a bayonet assault at night, Grey's men removed the flints from their muskets to maintain noise discipline. Many of Wayne's men never left their blankets. More than 200 Continentals died in the “Paoli Massacre,” while another 100 received wounds.

  Washington repositioned the Continentals along the Schuylkill River, but Howe crossed at Flatland Ford to reach Philadelphia. Congress fled to York, Pennsylvania, before the British marched to the Pennsylvania State House. South of Philadelphia, Fort Mifflin and Fort Mercer on the Delaware remained in American hands until November.

  Five miles northwest of Philadelphia, Washington planned a counterstroke against Howe at Germantown. “Will you resign your parents, wives, children, and friends to be the wretched vassals of a proud, insulting foe?” he asked his anxious troops. He pressed the question further: “And your neck to the halter?” He organized four columns for a dawn attack on October 4. General John Sullivan led the main thrust into the town, although a dense fog frustrated the synchronization of their movements. Dazed and confused, some fired on each other. Nevertheless, they drove the redcoats through the streets before eventually retreating. Several British companies made a valiant stand at the Chew House.