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, General George Washington continued to press the Continental Congress for more innovative recruitment techniques, as the number of men dwindled in this crucial hour, especially as the end of the year approached, and reenlistment for most may seem like a deathtrap. The British all but abandoned their posts in the south and shifted resources north, seemingly fully committing to the campaign in New York and the Hudson Valley.
By this point in the conflict, the Continental Army is wholly a volunteer-based militia, not a standing army as Washington desires. On October 11, 1776, Washington writes to Colonel Edward Hand in Pennsylvania with strict instructions for future enlistment. One stipulation is “to enlist men to serve during the continuance of the present war between Great Britain and the States of America.” Typically, men are enlisted by the year, though Washington continues to push to eliminate the flow of men in and out of the armed forces at the end of the year. Washington also suggests the same payment he recommended to Congress the prior week: $20 pay and 100 acres of land.
That same day, the Battle of Valcour Island takes place on the west side of Lake Champlain. Following their defeat in Quebec, the Continental Army retreats to Ticonderoga and surrounding forts. The British regroup and begin to move south in an effort to link up with the push north from New York and sever the American connection to New England across the Hudson. On October 11, a handful of smaller American ships under the command of General Benedict Arnold ambush the British Navy while concealed in Valcour Bay.
Around 9,000 British men are beginning to make their move from Fort Saint-Jean near Montreal, and Arnold seeks a way to halt the ensuing onslaught. Arnold has the ships Congress and Royal Savage draw the British into a trap, though the Continental Navy is heavily outnumbered and outgunned. Right after the battle begins, the Royal Savage runs aground,and many other American ships are damaged or sink. Eighty Americans are killed, and another 120 are captured, with 40 British killed. Arnold, aboard the Congress, flees in the night with what other smaller ships could make the trek. A few miles to the south, Arnold scuttles and burns his ship at Buttonmold Bay and moves over land toward Ticonderoga, stopping at Crown Point. Four other ships that have escaped the British dock to resupply and repair at Ticonderoga. Another defeat for Benedict Arnold, though most escape to fight again.
On October 12, British General William Howe embarks a large portion of his army and sails north up the East River. General Henry Clinton and around 4,000 men land at Throgs Neck. This now places a large portion of the British army behind the Americans, able to strike north and potentially cut off Washington’s army on Manhattan. This is, in fact, a minor miscalculation by the British, who find themselves not on the mainland as they had thought, but instead, bogged down in a marsh. The small number of dozens of American defenders are quickly reinforced, and Howe decides to pull back and establish a camp near the water’s edge.
On October 14, General Benedict Arnold and Colonel Thomas Hartley abandon Crown Point, coalescing all men and hopes of defending the north to Fort Ticonderoga, razing and evacuating Fort Crown Point. Today, the ruins of the fort at Crown Point can still be explored near the modern Lake Champlain Bridge between New York and Vermont. Highly recommend!
On October 16, Washington, who has received reports of the British landing at Throgs Neck and calls to pull the army back, summons his officers to the Council of War to discuss options. They agree their current post should be defended, but the majority of the army should retreat north.
On October 17, around 2,000 men stay to defend Fort Washington with the remainder moving to White Plains.
This Week in Revolutionary War History
By Sam Bishop