This week in Revolutionary War History, let’s discuss what was going on 250 years ago in and around the colonial Province of Massachusetts Bay. Last week, the army prepared as winter creeps ever closer. The newly created Continental Navy embarked on its first mission, with the Hancock and the Franklin sailing north to the mouth of the Saint Lawrence to disrupt British supplies. Washington and his generals vote against an assault on the fortified Boston, all while the British raze and destroy the town of Falmouth to the north, modern-day Portland, Maine. Militarily, things are heating up, all while temperatures dip and already minuscule supplies run low.
On October 22, 1775, delegates from across the colonies convene at Washington’s headquarters in Cambridge. “The Deputies from the Honorable Continental Congress, having arrived in this camp; in order to confer with the General, the several Governors, of Rhode Island, & Connecticut, the Council of Massachusetts Bay, and the President and Convention of New Hampshire; on the continuing an army for the defense & support of America, and its liberties.” These men have arrived to go over plans for the campaign and, crucially, see what General Washington and the army needs to survive the winter. Current President of the Continental Congress, Virginian life-long political figure Peyton Randolph, dies following dinner in Philadelphia. The men in Cambridge are unaware of this at the time of their meeting, however.
Randolph is succeeded, again, by John Hancock. He is seldom spoken of, though he is incredibly important, being the first person elected to president of the free Continental Congress, and again for a second term. Somewhat relevant to us in southeastern Massachusetts, the Town of Randolph, situated just 45 minutes north, is named after him.
The news of Randolph’s death, as well as the razing of Falmouth (Portland) would reach the camp in Cambridge the following days. Surely a busy meeting with much to discuss at the HQ, Washington writes back to Hancock, again President of the Continental Congress, regarding the British attack at Falmouth. He is maddened by the “barbarity and cruelty” of the attack, which destroyed nearly half the settlement’s buildings just before winter. He informs Hancock, though asked by Falmouth’s Committee of Safety (governing body), that he will be unable to support the town as his gunpowder is running extremely low. He also fears the attack at Falmouth is one of many, saying he “expect(s) every hour to hear that Newport has shared the fate of unhappy Falmouth.” The British attack has successfully struck fear among the colonists, but also outrage.
On October 25, Washington is raising the price of peas and beans for soldiers in order to curb scarcity. The same day, he receives news from a recent trip to Bermuda commissioned by Nicholas Cooke of Rhode Island. He said upon the inhabitants realizing the ship was from the colonies, treated him (Captain Whipple) with “great cordiality and friendship.” The ship would return with 600 tons of provisions, but the British would punish the island upon hearing of the complicit nature of the heist. He says the British “treated the islanders as rebels” and “reduced them to a disagreeable situation.” Cooke has plans to send Whipple to the island to both support the locals and retrieve more supplies.
The following day, Washington’s General Orders highlighted a serious issue: service time. Many officers have their last day as December 31. He instructs all men, without delay, state whether they will stay in the army another year in order to gauge his troop amounts before any mass-exodus occurs before the new year. He insists pay will be on time, monthly, and supplies will be regular, though in private he lacks confidence in supplying either.
On October 26 and October 27, Washington receives separate letters from Major General Philip Schuyler and Colonel Benedict Arnold, still not linked up in Canada. Schuyler writes of good luck, having recently won a small skirmish and secured some supply of powder by General Montgomery. He informs Washington that “heavy rains have carried away almost all the bridges between Fort George and Albany and rendered the roads impassable.” Arnold has fared worse, being in the brunt of this.
He informs Washington the French locals “seem friendly” and there seems to be few British troops around Quebec. Following the good news, he states he has lost supplies fording near falls and rapids. Many men have fallen sick in the wet and cold, being sent back south. Currently, Arnold has about 70 men with him in various states. He still trudges north in order to surprise the British and resupply at Sartigan. He concludes, “Our march has been attended with an amazing deal of fatigue, which the officers and men have borne with cheerfulness. I have been much deceived in every account of our rout, which is longer, and has been attended with a thousand difficulties I never apprehended, but if crowned with success, and conducive to the public good, I shall think it but trifling.”
This Week in Revolutionary History…
By Sam Bishop