This week in Revolutionary War history, let’s check up on what was going on 250 years ago in New England and the northern Thirteen Colonies. Last week, the American rebels face increased anxieties over rumors there are over ten-thousand Hessian mercenaries inbound to assist the British. While Washington calls on New York’s residents to help fortify the city, Rhode Island’s recent declaration of independence has sent shockwaves across the colonies, with Virginia convening to discuss independence as well as a town in Canada seeking to join the revolution. Delegates in Philadelphia are more and more taking an independent union of colonies seriously.
On May 17, 1776, George Washington writes John Hancock, President of the Continental congress in Philadelphia. Still, hopes for pulling Canada onto the revolutionaries’ side linger, though prospects remain grim on the field. The general says, “I this moment received by express from General Schuyler an account of the melancholy prospect and reverse of our affairs in Canada.” He notes he has recently sent a small number of supplies north, such as pork and lead. Though, due to conditions, Washington seeks those materials now be sent back to New York. Sending supplies, as well as more men, to Canada, Washington feels, is a waste and an overextension.
The next day, the Congress by way of Washington expresses an army doctrine that starkly contrasts the British model: merit. In his General Orders, Washington says that in “command from Congress, to signify to the Army, that no promotion upon vacancies, shall take place merely by succession, without their authority, inasmuch as they have reserved, and will exercise the power; of giving commissions to persons of merit, regardless of any claim by succession.” The hope, therefore, is that soldiers who show the best performance or ability will receive promotions, not based off title, wealth, or status. He continues, “it opens a large field for the rewarding of merit, which ought, and is hoped will be, a powerful excitement to the brave & active, to signalize themselves in the noble cause they are engaged in.”
That same day, far to the north, Benedict Arnold and the invading Continental Army still occupy Montreal. South of the city, along the Saint Lawrence River, a detachment of around 50 British troops and 200 Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) allies engaged with 400-or-so Continental allies, culminating in the Battle of the Cedars. Before Arnold’s reinforcements could arrive, the Cedars had surrendered. The sides negotiated over the coming days, with the POWs eventually being released on May 20.
On May 19, following false rumors of Royal Navy ships sighted off the coast, Washington establishes a set of alarms in his General Orders. A system of flags and cannon fire during the day and cannon fire and lanterns at night are set up in order to allow for the rapid readying of the city’s defenses. He also lays out ammunition requirements for each solider, and adds, “whatsoever soldier shall be found wasting, or embezzling, his ammunition, shall not only be made to pay for it, but be punished for so base and shameful a neglect, and disobedience of orders.”
On May 20, a protest of 4,000 people in Philadelphia drives out representatives of the Colonial Assembly. In its place, pro-independence representatives begin the establishment of a new government in Carpenters’ Hall.
On May 21, Washington puts Major General Israel Putnam in command of the defenses of New York as he sets out for Philadelphia. He informs Putnam, “The Congress having been pleased to signify a desire that I should repair to Philadelphia in order to advise & consult with them on the present posture of affairs, and as I am on the point of setting out accordingly.” He is to consult with the Continental Congress on general strategies of the war, but also, the feelings among the people have shifted since he last spoke in person to many government delegates. Independence from Britian, once radical and inciting rhetoric, had now become an open talking point across much of the colonies.
This Week in Revolutionary War History
By Sam Bishop