This week in Revolutionary War history, let’s check up on what was going on 250 years ago in the early United States. Last week, the British made landfall on Manhattan at Kips Bay, looking to split the island in two. Fierce fighting took place, and though Washington was very nearly shot off his horse, the army was able to retreat north to Harlem.
On September 20, 1776, General George Washington writes to John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. He informs Hancock of the current predicament: the remnants of New York’s defenders are being pushed north of Manhattan, with their backs to the Harlem River.
He states, not optimistically, “The enemy are forming a large and extensive encampment in the plains mentioned in my last and are busily employed in transporting their cannon and stores from Long Island. As they advance them this way, we may reasonably expect their operations will not long be deferred.” In attempting to write to her husband, Abigail Adams says, “I sit down this evening to write you, but I hardly know what to think about your going to N.Y. – The story has been told so many times, and with circumstances so particular that I with others have given some heed to it though my not hearing anything of it from you leaves me at a loss.”
Washington would request materials and additional troops from any place that can spare them. He warns Hancock that “the most fatal consequences may ensue” if he does not receive reinforcements.
Later that night, the British face a shock to their occupation. Still hotly debated today, the Great Fire of New York began in the freshly occupied city that night, somewhere near the east side of the city, possibly near Trinity Church. Whether it was an accidental tavern fire or multiple smaller fires started as sabotage is still unknown, however by the next day, nearly 25% of all buildings in New York City were destroyed. Admiral Howe suspected foul play, writing that it was “a most bad attempt was made by several wretches to burn the town.”
Washington would write to Hancock again the following day, on September 22, saying, “I have not been informed how the accident happened, nor received any certain account of the damage.” Washington would reiterate he had no knowledge of or hand in the designs of the fire.
That same day, the spy sent by Washington to spy on the British on Long Island, Nathan Hale, was publicly hanged following his capture the previous day.
On September 24, Washington again wrote to Hancock, highlighting various issues present in the crippled army. Losing his calm demeanor, he ends his letter, “This distresses me beyond measure.” The Continental Congress laid the framework for establishing an international alliance. The Model Treaty of 1776 was adopted on September 17, paving the way for help from abroad.
The next day, he writes again, warning of the lack of discipline and fragility of the army, which is potentially facing a mutiny or total collapse should the British make a push. He writes, “We are now as it were, upon the eve of another dissolution of our army.” He pushed for a standing army and to no longer focus on militia tied to year-by-year contracts.
On September 25, the Model Treaty of 1776 saw progress, as Silas Deane of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia were made commissioners, or diplomats, to France.
This Week in Revolutionary War History
By Sam Bishop