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, 9,000 Continental troops flooded back into Manhattan following their defeat in Brooklyn, as General Washington and his officers scrambled to come up with a plan. Remaining supplies were checked as the Revolutionary forces awaited a British follow-up.
On September 6, 1776, in his General Orders for the day, George Washington continues to get a hold of what supplies the army has at their disposal to defend Manhattan, while also desperately trying to maintain discipline of the battered, hungry army. He writes, “The general is resolved to put a stop to plundering, and converting either public, or private property, to their own use when taken off, or found by any soldiers,” noting the officers’ responsibility to seize and return stolen property.
That same day, Washington writes to President of the Continental Congress John Hancock, highlighting the effectiveness of the general’s intelligence operations, saying, “As the enemy’s movements are very different from what we expected and from their large encampments a considerable distance up the sound, there is reason to believe they intend to make a landing above or below Kings Bridge and thereby to hem in our army and cut off the communication with the country.” Nearly accurate. He also informs Hancock he is gathering the officers to determine the plan ahead.
The next day, Washington convenes a Council of the General Officers “in order to take a full and comprehensive view of our situation.” He notes that before the attack on Long Island, the defenders were stretched thin, not knowing exactly where the landing would take place. Now, they can be sure the next attack will be on Manhattan and the city proper. He writes to Hancock on September 8, summarizing the meeting and saying, “It is now extremely obvious from all intelligence — from their movements, and every other circumstance that having landed their whole army on Long Island [except about 4,000 on Staten Island], they mean to enclose us on the Island of New York by taking post in our rear.”
He assures Hancock, “We are now in a strong post but not an impregnable one,” but informs the President the city will be abandoned nonetheless, following lengthy discussions among the officers. Five thousand will remain to defend the city, with the remaining 9,000 fit for duty moving to defend the east of Long Island or move north into the Bronx.
He notes the effects of abandoning the city for the British to winter in as well as the shockwaves it will send through the region, and adds, “But when the fate of America may be at stake on the issue, when the wisdom of cooler moments and experienced men have decided that we should protract the war, if possible, I cannot think it safe or wise to adopt a different system.”
Also on September 7, inventor David Bushnell from Saybrook, Connecticut, revolutionizes warfare. His submarine, the Turtle, is the first of such machines to see combat. He had devised the small, single-person craft while studying at Yale the previous year after proving gunpowder can ignite underwater. The sub was brought out to New York Harbor on a sloop and lowered into the water, where it was piloted by Sergeant Ezra Lee. Sneaking underneath the British ships undetected, it attacked the anchored HMS Eagle. The attack did not leave noticeable damage on the Eagle, and the Turtle and its sloop were sunk and destroyed in transport.
On September 8, Nathan Hale of Coventry, Connecticut, agreed to a crucial but dangerous intelligence-gathering mission. Disguising himself as a Dutch teacher, he is to slip behind enemy lines on Long Island and gather information about troop movements. The mission would have Hale regarded as one of the first notable American spies.
On September 9, the Continental Congress met that Monday, when delegates officially renamed the nation from the “United Colonies” to the “United States of America.”
On September 11, representatives from both sides of the Revolutionary War met for the Staten Island Peace Conference. The conference was held at Billopp House, still standing and today called “Conference House.” In attendance were British Admiral Richard Howe and Patriots John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Edward Rutledge.
Records of the journey from the New York Library paint an interesting story: “The committee appointed by Congress left Philadelphia on September 9, Franklin and Rutledge in carriages and Adams on horseback. They spent the night of the 10th in New Brunswick, where the taverns were full. Adams and Franklin had to share a bed in a room with one small window, which the younger man wanted [to] shut for fear of catching cold; Franklin, delighted at the chance to make a convert, lectured him on colds until he told them both to sleep. The next morning the three continued to Perth Amboy, where Lord Howe had a barge waiting for them, and one of his officers to be left ashore as a hostage. The precaution struck Adams as childish, and the others agreed; the officer returned with them to Staten Island.” Over the coming days, the two sides would attempt to make peace as America was pushed to the back foot.
On September 12, at another Council of War meeting, it was decided the army would move north to defend Harlem Heights, abandoning New York City.
This Week in Revolutionary War History
By Sam Bishop