This week in Revolutionary War history, let’s check up on what was going on 250 years ago in the Thirteen Colonies. Last week, Washington called on all troops in the surrounding regions to force-march to New York as British numbers increased on Staten Island. He does permit soldiers to largely have Sundays off for rest. There are continuing skirmishes on the Hudson River while at the same time in the South, Americans — unbound by British policies — begin to move west against tribal lands.
On August 9, 1776, in George Washington’s General Orders, he continues preparations for a British attack on New York that seems imminent. Washington makes the ammunition cart system a bit more efficient, while at the same time ordering water casks be refilled and also orders arms be rounded up from “the sick, and put them into use by those who are well.”
He also, in keeping with the worry that the British attack could come at any minute, says, “The general exhorts every man, both officer and soldier, to be prepared for action, to have his arms in the best order, not to wander from his encampment or quarters; to remember what their country expects of them.”
The next day, Washington writes to the Queens County Committee of Safety, noting his men have arrested various Loyalists he suspects have aided the enemy. He states he is “sending them into another colony for a short time,” and notes the property they left behind is at the discretion of the local authorities. He finishes, “I shall be happy in believing you will exert your whole power and influence to prevent the mischief which these gentlemen seem to apprehend.”
He also wrote of the event to Governor of Connecticut Jonathan Trumbull Sr. He asks the governor to allow the men to settle in the state, and adds, “I could wish they might have every accommodation and indulgence having a respect to their rank and education which may be deemed consistent with safety; and they are given to understand that your humanity and politeness will most effectually prevent their being liable to any unnecessary hardships.”
Also on August 10, news of the Declaration of Independence reaches London and is printed in The London Gazette. They publish two letters from General William Howe, which say, “I am informed that the Continental Congress have declared the United Colonies free and independent states.”
On August 11, news reaches St. Augustine, Florida, a loyalist colony recently taken from the Spanish in 1763. It was noted that effigies of Samual Adams and John Hancock were burned in the town square.
On August 12, Continental Captain Andrew Pickens of the South Carolina militia fought the British-aligned Cherokee in Oconee County, where they won a pyrrhic victory against a larger force at close range, with a circle of Americans surrounded by a circle of Cherokee, or a “circle fight.” The Americans would raze the Cherokee settlement of Tamassee.
Following the publication of news of the American Declaration of Independence, diplomats and ambassadors in London began sending news home.On August 13, Russian diplomat Vasilii Lizakevich sent word to the Empress in St. Petersburg, informing Catherine the Great that the American provinces had formally severed ties with Great Britain. Catherine believed the separation was the fault of the British Crown, noting the event may prove useful to Russia’s ambitions. The first permanent Russian settlements in North America would not be established until 1784 in Alaska, under the orders of Catherine.
On August 14, the Continental Congress passed a resolution by Thomas Jefferson which sought to grant enmity and land to Hessian mercenary deserters. It notes the Germans will “be protected in the free exercise of their respective religions, and be invested with the rights, privileges and immunities of natives, as established by the laws of these states.” It is not known the effectiveness of the resolution, though thousands of Hessians would desert as the war progressed.
Also on this day, a committee consisting of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson would propose their first attempt at an official American government seal. All proposals would be rejected until 1782.
The Battle of Roanoke Inlet took place on August 15, when Captain Dennis Dauge repelled a British foraging/surveying party in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The entire British party, consisting of 25 soldiers, was killed or captured.
This Week in Revolutionary War History
By Sam Bishop