Category Archives: American Revolution

American Revolution

General Nathanael Greene, Unlike Any Other

Anything But Greene...
This is the statue commemorating General Nathanael Green at the Guildford Courthouse National Battlefield.

Anything but Greene

Nathanael Green is one of those men that never made the top-tier in the history classes. Having died shortly after the war he never had the chance to take part in the founding or the early years of the republic. Still, he had such a huge impact in the execution of the war, and in his battles with Congress that we owe him a huge debt. He certainly was a Washington acolyte and Washington would always consider Greene one of his best. Even so far as to say that if anything ever happened to him, Greene would be his choice to replace him.

After the fall of Charleston in 1780 and the total defeat of General Gates at Camden later that year, the South looked lost and Washington knew of only one man who could save revolution in that region and he sent him with his prayers and little else.

The Natural

Greene was a natural at war. From the start he had a grasp of strategy that few in the fledgling Continental Army had and this served him well in the South. One example is his desire to know as much about the terrain as possible in the theater. Upon arriving in the region he immediately dispatched men to learn every river, every crossing, every trail and almost every tree and rock to the point where some locals even commented that he knew the area as if he had grown up there.

This knowledge would be invaluable to him during the “Race to the Dan” and would allow the army to stay in one piece.  Green dove into the aspects of the guerrilla war in the theater and used it to his advantage, understand when a small strike could gain the same effect as a major battle, but he also knew when the rules could be broken, such as dividing his army when needed.

The Artist

When it comes to operational artistry Greene again showed a natural ability. The main forces in the south fought more of a war of maneuver.  Whether it was Greene staying one step ahead of Cornwallis, or Cornwallis trying to catch Green. Both armies stayed constantly on the move.

It could almost be looked at like boxing; Green was against a stronger foe with more reach. He had to keep the army moving. Dancing as it were. Striking blows when he could and being careful to not get caught. Cornwallis knew that all he had to do was pin Greene down to a general engagement. Then the knockout would come. He was constantly outclassed and out maneuvered by Greene. In the classic underdog context, even when the battle was engaged at Guilford Courthouse, the British only won on points, held the field, but had to be helped out of the ring as Greene took the moral victory. In Greene’s own words, “”We fight, get beaten, rise, and fight again.”

The Bane of Cornwallis

So tenacious was Greene that General Cornwallis opted to move his army to Virginia, rather than face Green again. Eventually he would end up under siege in Yorktown and the war was won. Greene continued to fight in South Carolina. Constantly driving the British from the back country. Eventually only Charleston remained under their control. All of this without having won a single battle himself.

American Revolution

What Is a Gorget?

Gorget of General Washington

What Is a Gorget?

That above in the photo is a gorget. It is worn over the neck like a necklace. In the 18th century, it was a military symbol of rank worn by commissioned officers.

Gorgets (from the French gorge meaning throat) started off in the Middle Ages as a woman’s fashion piece, usually linen, that wrapped around their neck or was part of a hood. It eventually became a leather or steel collar worn by men to serve as protection for the throat, eventually growing into a full piece of armor itself that would cover the upper portion of the chest as well as the throat.

Gunpowder eventually entered the battlefield and made most armor obsolete. The gorget became more of a decoration for an officer. In this form, it was much smaller than its medieval counterpart. Usually, it hung on a chain or ribbon around the throat. Made with either gold or silver gilt, they served as a badge of rank. Also as an indication that the officer was “on duty”. In the 18th and 19th century most European armies made use of gorgets.

The decorations of the gorgets varied based on the armies. For the British, they were decorated with the royal coat of arms until 1796. The Swedes contained the king’s monogram. Junior officers usually just had them inscribed with their initials.

British and French

British officers wore then until 1830, the French until about 1830. Prussia/Germany kept them until 1914 and brought them back under the Third Reich. the Swedes kept them until 1792 and then replaced them with epaulets. However… they are making a comeback in their original armor form in the US Military as part of the new generation tactical vests.

So that gorget above, kind of pretty all gold and such. That one once belonged to George Washington and was from his days a Virginia Militia officer. The decoration on the piece is the symbol of his Virginia regiment. In fact, it is most likely the very one that he is wearing in this famous painting of the great man.

1772 portrait of Colonel George Washington by Charles Willson Peale.
American Revolution

The Trees of Guilford Courthouse

Guilford Courthouse

The Trees of Guilford Courthouse

On March 18th, 1781 British General Cornwallis led his army against the Americans led by General Greene into battle at Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina. This was the largest battle fought between the two sides in the Southern Campaign and proved to be one of the most important battles of the American Revolution.

Which is weird because it was not an American victory. The British “won” the day and held the field, but Cornwallis‘s army was so devastated that he decided to stop chasing Greene and pull back to the Wilmington on the North Carolina coast for reinforcements and supply. Once there he decided it would be best to take the fight into Virginia. That decision led him to a little place called Yorktown, and we know how that ended.

One of the striking things about this battle is the ground over which it was fought. Most of the time when you picture battles of the Revolution you probably still think of them as old-fashioned.  “Two sides line up in an open field and shot at each other from real close”. Of course at the time many of the battles were fought like that. Even Guilford Courthouse started that way, but a large portion of the battle occurred in a forest. This made it difficult to form lines and concentrate fire. Inside this battle within a battle a bloody melee became the order of the day.

The View of the Field

The picture above is from the site of the battle at Guilford Courthouse which still maintains a very close feel to how it was back in 1781. Placed among the trees are several silhouettes that show you  it may have looked like during the height of battle. You have to imagine the plumes of smoke that would have obscured your vision as much as the trees..

 

American Revolution, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Unruly City

The Unruly City Audiobook

The Unruly City: Paris, London and New York in the Age of Revolution by Mike Rapport

 

During roughly the same time period all three cities mentioned in the title of the book underwent revolution. New York had the American Revolution and in the wake of that a softer revolution based around how the country was to be run. London, while not an outright revolution, went through a period of political turmoil that was spawned by the American and French Revolutions. Paris, well in their revolution Paris pretty much burned.

So the question is, why did the French Revolution become such a violent event while the revolutions in New York and London, though just as world changing, stay relativity violence free? Part of the answer according to the author lies in the cities themselves. How they were built, where the public buildings were located, how the grew in response to the turmoil outside.  This is a book not about revolution but about the geography of revolution and how the construction of the cities themselves shaped the events.

Yes, it sounds a little out there, at least to me. The author however handles the topic well and treats the cities themselves as characters in the narrative. They comes off as living breathing entities that react and sometimes even guide the events purported by the people residing in them.

It can get a little heavy at times, not boring, but a lot  is going on as the narrative bounces between locations. The one thing that is totally and unquestionable accomplished with this book is perspective. A lot is happening at the same time and events in one city effect the others and this is handled very well.

It is my opinion that one can not truly respect what the American Revolution was until you understand what the French Revolution became. If that interests you, then this book needs to make your list. It is highly recommended and as always you can pick up a copy via Amazon by clicking on the cover above.

American Revolution

The End of Patrick Ferguson

The gravestone of Patrick Ferguson

The End of Patrick Ferguson

This is the monument to Patrick Ferguson that was built at Kings Mountain. This stone does not mark where he fell, but where they moved the body sometime after. The battle at Kings Mountain October 7, 1780 has a sort of weird place in the annals of the American Revolution. It is on one hand perhaps one of the most important battles and victories of the patriots, but it is also one that not many people know about. Patrick Ferguson is sort of like that for the British. He was one of the their most important and talented commanders, but his name is usually not recognized by the layman.

The entire story of Ferguson is one that could fill a book on its own. From his creation of a breech-loading rifle, to the time he came one shot away from killing Washington and ended the war, his stories and the stuff of legend. No, we will look here briefly not at the start of his story but at his end here at Kings Mountain.

Kings Mountain

After the fall of Charleston in 1780, General Clinton gave Ferguson overall command of Loyalist troops in the region. With these troops, mainly light infantry, he was to go into the far reaches of the south and do what he could to prevent the rebels from coming back into power. He relished his role and set about it with fervor. Perhaps a little too much fervor.

He and his men went after the rebels with gusto, burning farms and threatening destruction to anyone that fought against the King. He was effective, but he also made a terrible estimation. In the far west of the region were the Overmountain Men. Frontiersmen that though mostly rebels, were more concerned with the natives that they seemed constantly at war with. Ferguson sent them a message that if they came back across the mountains, he would burn their farms and kill their families. They did not take kindly to that and set out to find Ferguson and put an end to his threats.

At Kings Mountain they found him. Ferguson fought well that day, rallying his men several times from their position on top of the mountain. In his red and white checkered hunting shirt, using a whistle to relay orders he seemed to be everywhere. Until he wasn’t. The loss of for the British was terrible. The left-wing of their army evaporated. One of their best commanders gone for good. Worst of all, the loyalists in South lost the will to fight,

When you see the headstone you can remember the man buried there.  He earned that. That grave though does not just hold his body, but the British hopes of winning the war.

American Revolution

A Little Bit Of Common Sense Goes A Long Way

Common Sense

Common Sense

Above is an actual copy of the pamphlet Common Sense written by Thomas Paine in 1776 that is on display at Guilford Courthouse. Now, in history class you have all heard about Common Sense and that it helped the cause of the American Revolution. But how?

Tensions between the Colonies and Great Britain had grown more and more tense, starting with the end of the Seven Years War in 1763 and finally culminating in the first shots being fired in April of 1775 when the revolution went from political to all out war.

With initial rush of adrenaline that followed the opening shots and Lexington and Concord, the movement became a torrent of support. Volunteers came to fight, farmers gave up the crops to feed the troops and formed the Continental Army.  Soon the British became bottled up in Boston. The siege began and went on into winter.

Once the war started however the rebels in the American Colonies had a fundamental issue that they all had to face how were they going to stand up to the greatest empires on the planet? How were they going to rally the people of the colonies to the cause? To win they needed the support of the people and they had to be able to explain to them what they were risking and why they were fighting.

Thomas Paine

Then came Thomas Paine and Common Sense. Up until this point the arguments for revolution had come from lawyers and doctors, academics and aristocrats. Paine however spoke to the people in common language. He showed them the stakes and what they might gain from the struggle. He put the revolution in terms that everyone could understand.

When published the people read Common Sense in taverns and at public gatherings. Washington had it read to all his troops. People purchased the pamphlet at an unmatched rate, even today. The colonies had a population of almost 3 million and almost 100,000 copies sold. To this day no other publication in the history of the country has reached that ratio. With the new understanding, the revolution found its footing and the people settled in for the long fight.

Paine donated all his royalties from the publication to the Continental Army.  He then joined and became a chronicler of the cause. Later, after the horrible defeat in New York he would go on to write An American Crisis, once again saving the cause with his pen.

I encourage everyone to read it. You can get here from Project Gutenberg for free Click Here.

American Revolution

After the Fall

Arnold

Colonial Williamsburg is an interesting place. During the day you are treated to a series of events that take you back to the town during the era of the revolution. These events begin at the start of the day and continue to the end. As the day progresses the timeline progresses so that during the course of one visit you can actually see how events changed the people in the town and actually “live” the events as they happened.

To break the fourth wall for a minute I need to say this. I have studied Benedict Arnold and he was a complicated man. He is at the same time our greatest warrior and our basest traitor. I do not condone his actions and prefer to remember him for what he did prior than dwell on what he did after.

After switching sides Arnold was given a general’s commission in the British army. In Late 1780 and into 1781 he was tasked with leading raids through Virginia which led to the capture of Richmond and Williamsburg among other towns.

The picture above, from Colonial Williamsburg is of the event that portrays General Arnold taking control of Williamsburg.  The gentleman playing Arnold knew his craft. He portrayed Arnold as an angry, haughty man, one that truly believed he had done the right thing. To the point that he, as Arnold, railed against the American Congress and suggested we should be glad if the British were to win, as they looked to save us from that corrupt body. In his mind he had reasons for what he did, and the actor was brilliant in his role.

It could not or at least should not have been easy. Arnold was a complicated man. Standing in the crowed, watching the event take place brought about the mixture of emotions that can only come from the study of such a complex man. Had he died of his wounds after the battles in Saratoga in October 1777, he would have been our greatest hero, second only to Washington. But his path lay down a darker road.

American Revolution

The Six Nations and the Revolution (In Brief)

In Albany New York in 1722 the English gave official recognition to the Iroquois Confederacy which was made up of the six main Iroquois tribes in the Hudson River Valley and to the west. The Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora made up the six nations.

At the dawn of the American Revolution in 1775 the Six nations were determined to remain neutral in the conflict. They had fairly good relations with the British, mainly due to the flow of trade and exorbitant gifts that the Great White Father (King George) heaped upon them.  The Americans were unable to outspend the British and had a nasty habit of armed conflict with the Iroquois. Ultimately these were the reasons why the Six nations came into the war on the side of the British, and it did not end well for them. (The Oneida and Tuscarora did come in on the side of the Americans.)

They took part in most all of the British campaigns in the Hudson River Valley acting as light infantry and scouts.  The penchant for the Natives to torture prisoners and scalping their victims was frowned upon by both sides. officially the British attempted to retrain such activities, but unofficially several British officers were known to pay the natives for scalps taken during battle. The Americans were appalled by the activities of the natives and held the British responsible. In fact a passage in the Declaration of Independence outright accuses the Crown of stoking the violence between the two groups.  at the same though, Patriot leaders were able to use the actions of the natives to fuel the propaganda furnace that burned bright and kept the fires of rebellion burning.

In 1779 looking to knock the Iroquois out of the war, General Washington sent General John Sullivan on an expedition against the Six Nations. Sullivan and his troops burned a number of Iroquois villages and devastated their food supply. In the 1784 Second treaty fo Ft. Stanwix the Six Nations pretty much broke into its separate components and reached agreements with the US Government. Several tribes stayed in the New York region on reservations, the Onondaga, Seneca, Tuscarora and Oneida. The Mohawk and Cayuga ended up in Canada.

Being on the losing side of the war did not go well for the Six Nations, but the odds were good that even had the British defeated the Americans, further conflict between the settlers and the natives would have been unavoidable as the pressure of the colonists moving inland, whether they be British or American, would have led to issues.

Ironically the Six Nations were one of the oldest democratic governments in existence at the time it was all but wiped out by the newest democratic government. Of course in this brief article we can only touch a little on the role that the natives played in the war. If you would like to find out more start here

https://www.nps.gov/revwar/About_the_revolution/american_indians.html

American Revolution, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire

The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire

by Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy

In the years that I have spent studying the American Revolution I thought I had found everything I needed to find. I could write a narrative that started with the French & Indian War and continue through to the election of President Washington without so much as batting an eye. Then I came across this book and found out that I had only just begun the story. It’s easy to read about the people you know. We are taught about the Revolution as kids but quickly, almost as if the school system has somewhere else it needs to be.  because of this quick overview, which leads into high school and even college level history the surface is barely scratched.

We know the name Cornwallis, maybe Gage and Howe. Clinton and possibly Burgoyne and Tarleton (or Tavington if you saw The Patriot). Basically we know names because they were the opponents of our chosen side and why should we spend time learning about the men that were on the losing side?

This book is one of several that I have come across that presents the struggle for America from the other side of the coin. It gets into British politics and how the fighting in America effected events back in England. It deals with the men who wore the red coats and what it was like to them to be fighting a war thousands of miles away from home that seemed to drag on forever. We also see how very few people in the British side knew who to deal with the Americans and the disdain that would eventually turn into a begrudging respect.

The author tells their story well and lays out the period in a way that makes you realize that there are in indeed two sides to every story. There are also lessons here that would have served the United States in its later conflicts has they chosen to pay attention to their own history (cough, cough Vietnam, cough cough).

Well written, meticulously researched and honest about the men that had the task of taming a rebellious people, and who failed. This book is highly recommended and could add depth to your knowledge of the American Revolution. as always clicking on the cover above will take you to the page where you can get yourself a copy!

American Revolution

The Final Treachery of Charles Lee

Charles Lee Esq'r. - Americanischer general-major.jpg
Illus. in: Geschichte der kriege in und ausser Europa / Christoph Heinrich Korn. Nürnberg : G.N. Raspe, 1776-84, p. 92 (Copy 2)

The picture above is of Charles Lee, a British subject who served in the British Army, served in the Polish Army and The Portuguese Army, he also served as George Washington’s Second-In Command in the Continental Army. He resume was incredible, yet he lacked tact and decorum and took many actions during his career that can best be described as “looking out for himself”.

In regards to the American Revolution he is rarely given the coverage that he deserves. He left Britain after having burned several bridges and basically destroying his chance for further promotion and found himself in America just as the conflict with Britain was starting to come to blows. He was a rabid patriot, and is well documented among the first to call for independence. He supported the cause full on and when the arguing turned to open warfare he expected to be called on to lead the American armies against the British invaders. As far as resumes go he was the most experienced patriot officer, he had fought and led men in several wars and all things considered he may have been a good choice, but the Congress went George Washington, and Lee never forgave any of them.

As talented as Lee was on the battlefield he was very thin-skinned and this led him into many difficulties in the early part of the war. He was instrumental in several early battles and as his star rose on the horizon he truly felt that he should be in charge and thus began a campaign to criticizes and undermine General Washington at every turn. Even to the point of purposefully delaying carrying out his orders and at time straight up ignoring them. There is much to go into with Lee and this subject but there is one instance in particular that needs looked at.

On December 13, 1776 Lee was captured by the British and taken to New York as a prisoner. Being an aristocrat as well as a highly valued political prisoner he did not suffer as enlisted men or common soldiers would have, During his captivity he enjoyed the company of many high-ranking British officers, many that he had even served with just years before. Late night dinners and audiences with the British Commander General Howe became par for the course, often when the topic of the ongoing war would come up Lee would share his thoughts on what he would be doing different. While he enjoyed the company he was still a prisoner and complications in the prisoner exchange system frustrated him to end. He blamed everyone from Congress to Washing for his imprisonment. It would not be until May of 1777 that he was freed and rejoined the Continental Army.

What happened next is well documented. In June Lee was tasked with leading an advanced corps against the British rearguard at Monmouth New Jersey. One thing led to another, Lee’s men retreated, Washington was upset, Lee was fired and ended up never serving in the Continental Army again. (yes, a vast over simplification for sure.)

In 1858 a document titled “Mr. Lee’s Plan, 29th March 1777” was found and verified as authentic. This document, written by Lee and addressed to General Howe, laid out a series of military strategies that lee suggested could be used to defeat the Americans and bring them back into the fold. Some believe this was an attempt by Lee to
plant false information for Howe, but most see it for what it was Lee, frustrated that he was not in command, frustrated by the slowness of his exchange, upset at not getting the praise he felt he deserved, turned coat and became one of the most notorious traitors of the American Revolution. The British did not follow his plan, had they perhaps many things would be different. But in a world where Benedict Arnold is synonymous with traitor, Charles Lee should be sharing the same moniker.