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 Battle of Long Island took place at Brooklyn Heights, where superior British strategy paired with highly effective tactics led to a devastating defeat and retreat for the Continental Army. As 20,000 Redcoats and Hessians closed in, 9,000 defenders and General George Washington himself escaped across the East River to Manhattan, shielded by the morning fog.
On August 30, 1776, thousands of troops poured into the city from the sea, battered and demoralized after a devastating loss. As soldiers roam the city, soaked and confused, with many of their supplies left behind, Washington writes to President Abraham Yates Jr. of the New York Committee of Safety.
He says, “It was the unanimous advice of a Council of General Officers to give up Long Island.” He adds the army would’ve been divided and captured otherwise. He calls on more levies to be raised in the city, fearing the British will continue to cross over the water, saying “it might not be improper to have a body in readiness to prevent or retard a landing of them on the east of Harlem River.”
That day, in his General Orders, he orders all men to parade in at 5:00 pm to have their ammunition and supplies inspected. He also reshuffles the officer pool, saying, “The loss of two General Officers by the late action having occasioned a necessary change in the brigades; the Brigade Majors are to attend ten o’clock tomorrow to receive a new arrangement.” He added further attacks “may be expected from the nearness of the enemy, and their expectation of taking advantage of the late rains, and last night’s fatigue.”
The next day, following the reorganization on Manhattan, Washington writes to John Hancock and the Continental Congress to inform them of the loss, saying, “Inclination as well as duty would have induced me to give Congress the earliest information of my removal and that of the troops from Long Island,” adding, “Our retreat was made without any loss of men or ammunition and in better order than I expected from troops in the situation ours were.”
He does not lay out a definitive plan going forward; instead, he says preparations are “hurried” with anticipated further assaults, and he signs off, stating he is too busy with such to provide more information.
Hundreds of miles to the south, another engagement of the Revolution is taking place. The American-Cherokee Wars are in full swing. Americans, no longer bound by British policies that stop settlements past the Appalachians, now look to move west. On September 1, roughly 6,000 Continental Army soldiers from Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina under Griffith Rutherford move through the Blue Ridge Mountains into Cherokee land, culminating in the destruction of dozens of towns, displacements, and killings.
In his General Orders the next day, Washington continues to prepare his men for upcoming battles, saying, “The General hopes the several officers, both superior and inferior, will now exert themselves and gloriously determine to conquer or die. From the justness of our cause, the situation of the harbor, and the bravery of her sons, America, through the blessing of God, can only expect success; now is the time for every man to exert himself and make our country glorious or become contemptible.” While they are still attempting to get ahold of remaining supplies, he also sets forth policies for bread rationing and alternative options.
September 3, Hancock writes asking “that no damage should be done to the City of New York” in case a retreat is ordered. He also notified Washington that reinforcements were on the way from Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island (with their stations in Rhode Island being filled with Massachusetts militiamen). While not an extraordinary day in 1776, it marks seven years until September 3, 1783, the end of the war.
This Week in Revolutionary War History
By Sam Bishop