Tag Archives: AmRev

American Revolution

Don’t Forget the French

French Contribution

Don’t Forget the French

From the years 1778 to 1783 the American Revolution was a world war.

In 1777 after capturing an entire British army at Saratoga, NY the Americans were finally able to convince the rest of the world that they had a chance of winning. Up until that point France had been willing to provide a trickle of support to the Americans, unofficially of course., but they sought to avoid a war with the British. After Saratoga, however, they felt that they were ready to join the fight.

At first, their main support was money and supplies. With the American economy failing and the Congress inept both of these contributions were desperately needed. What was need more, however, was the French navy for the Americans would never be able to match the British on the oceans themselves. After several false starts and aborted expeditions, France provided ships and men to the Revolution culminating in the Siege of Yorktown and an American victory in the war.

The detail of their support is a fascinating story itself, and one that deserves more than just a few hundred words here. The plaque in the photo is located in the siege works of Yorktown and serves as a reminder that whatever we have today, we owe to the Frenchmen that gave their lives for our cause. Over 2,000 French sailors and soldiers paid the ultimate price for our freedom while fighting in direct support of America. Counting all French casualties during the period of an alliance, that number soars to almost fifteen thousand. This fantastic website details those losses, French Sacrifice.

How did repay them?

We refused to pay back much of the money they loaned us. Instead, Congress claimed that it was a gift and not a loan. (Thank Arthur Lee for that.)

We refused to help support their own revolution. A revolution that was caused in part due to the financial impact of loaning us the money they did.

From 1798 to 1800 we actually fought our “allies” in an undeclared Quasi-War on the ocean.

Now of course none of those things as clear-cut as they sound, but those will be stories for another time.

 

American Revolution

The Tyrant Falls to Pieces

The Tyrant Falls Pieces of the Tyrant

The Tyrant Falls to Pieces

 

The Question

 

On May 10th, 1775 the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to figure out what was going on. Less than a month before British troops and Massachusetts militia met in a running battle at Lexington and Concord. The King’s troops now were penned up in Boston. Surrounded by thousands of militia from all the colonies. The simmering tensions between the two sides had now become a real war. Congress now was tasked with figuring out how to govern the colonies and fight a war. The bigger question that was debated became what was the end game for the colonies?

Some wanted a peaceful resolution and full integration into the British empire. Some wanted full-on independence. The debate ran through the august body until June 7th, 1776 when Richard Henry of Virginia presented his famous resolution.

Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

The question was now on the table and less than a month later the resolution was passed. The fear and uncertainty gave way to jubilation as the Declaration of Independence was read throughout the colonies. Nowhere was it greeted with more enthusiasm that New York City.

On July 9th, 1776 General Washington, currently in New York with the army, had the declaration read to the troops and people. The assembled crowd was so moved that they immediately headed to a park in Bowling Green. There they found what they were looking for.

The Statue

A few years earlier a large statue of King George III had been erected. Astride a horse, wearing Roman garb, made of lead gilded in gold, it hovered over the park. The assembled crowd proceeded to tear the statue down. The gold peeled away and the lead melted down for musket balls. They would take the tyrant down and use his body to defend their new nation.

In the photo above we have two pieces of the actual statue that have survived all these years. Symbols of the new-found spirit of independence that was sweeping the land. The gold still covers them. The perfect representation of what came into being that day. The glint of gold from the old world, peeled away for the earthy strength of the new world.

 

 

American Revolution, Pre-Revolution

Fort Dearborn or at Least a Model of it…

A Modle of Fort Dearborn

Fort Dearborn or at Least a Model of it…

 

The frontier was a rough place during the colonial era, and after the American Revolution is was even more so. As America started moving West a series of forts were built along strategic points. The forts were built to keep an eye on the natives and British. Over time they quickly became hubs for settlers and merchants that looked to bring civilization to the wild lands.

In 1803 on the shores of Lake Michigan where the Chicago river feeds into a Fort Dearborn was built, named after the Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn. Once the fort was built it did not take long for it to become a thriving center of frontier life. So of course it would become a target.

During the War of 1812, the outpost commander General William Hull looked around and decided that being on the frontier, surrounded by enemies and with help a long way away it would be best to abandon the fort temporarily. A such he ordered an evacuation. Unfortunately in the middle of the evacuation a group of approximately 500 Potawatomi Indians took issue with that and proceeded to attack the evacuees. Killing a good number of them and selling the rest to the British. For good measure they burned down the fort.

The fort was rebuilt in 1816.  It served on and off again to host garrisons during the various Indian uprisings of the era. In 1837 is was turned over to the city and basically decommissioned. Through the years construction, fire and the need for more land has destroyed most traces of the fort. The original placement is still marked in Chicago at the intersection of Wacker Drive and Michigan Ave. The model above shows the first iteration of the fort and is hosted at the Illinois State Military Museum.

 

American Revolution

Up and Over at Yorktown

Up and Over at Yorktown

Up and Over at Yorktown

This picture is from the Yorktown Battlefield park and was taken from the American and French lines on the right side of the battlefield, not far from Redoubts 9 and 10.

A couple of things to point out in this photo.

First thing. Notice the path and how it seemingly goes between two huge mounds of dirt off into the distance? That is the result of digging the siege lines. The dirt that was moved was used to create the large berms. So digging down not only made it safer, but provided the material needed to make the fortifications. The American forces during the Revolution were very good at digging these fortifications and many times amazing works like this would be created over night, leaving the British dumbfounded.

Second thing. The cannons closest to us are mortars. During a siege the enemy usually were behind some kind of fortifications. Sometimes stronger than any artillery you may have on hand. Mortars are designed to lob shells over the fortifications and into the enemy or the civilians behind the lines. They can be very effective but were not used in regular field battles.

The cannons in the background would be used for direct fire, aimed at a target and fired at it. During a siege, they would batter the fortifications hoping to break them down so the infantry could take a run at it. In normal field battles these would be used to great effect. We will see many more of these on the site and get into their uses. It was just neat to see bot types of artillery in one picture.

 

American Revolution

Don’t Mess with the Overmountain Men

Don't Mess with the Overmountain Men

 

A New Strategy

With the war in America blossoming into a world war, the British had to come up with a new strategy. Settling for a stalemate in the north they moved the active theater south. The idea being that they could pacify the rebels and let the strong loyalist population regain control of the regions, thus re-establishing the region to the crown. In May 1780 the plan kicked off with the capture of Charleston after a siege that saw a sizable patriot force surrender. In August of that year the British and American forces meet at Camden. The British succeeded in not only winning the battle, but caused the American army to all but disintegrate. With organized resistance removed in South Carolina, the British looked to implement their plan of turning the area over to the loyalists.

Enter Patrick Ferguson and his band of loyalists. Building on the support for the crown in the region, Ferguson began a campaign of rooting out rebels and restoring the countryside to British rule. Far from just a lone detachment, Ferguson’s corps was integral to the plans of General Cornwallis. It would act as the left flank of the army. It would also be the main defense for the string of British outposts in the west. Ferguson was effective enough in his actions to allow Cornwallis to move forward with his plans of invading North Carolina, Ferguson however made one major mistake.

The Overmountain Men

Looking to extend control over the mountains into the frontier, Ferguson issued an edict that anyone who did not cooperate with the Crown would be hung. Needless to say this caused a great deal of agitation to the men on the frontier. They were called the “Overmountain” men for where they lived. After Ferguson called them out their resistance to the British began to stiffen. The Americans raised a large force of militia and struck out to take Ferguson down. Hearing that he was being shadowed by this force, Ferguson decided to take a stand on Kings Mountain and force a confrontation.

On October 7, 1780, he set up his position on the heights and awaited the rebels. What transpired was one of the largest battles of the war that contained no “regulars”.   The rebels advanced from multiple directions using rocks and trees for cover.  They were able to us a withering fire to great effect against the loyalists.  In less than an hour the position was over run. Ferguson was dead. The British left flank becmae completely exposed.

The victory for the rebels at King’s Mountain effectively crippled the loyalist cause in the south. It also forced Cornwallis to rethink his strategy. This set the stage for patriot resurgence in the area. Suddenly the south was in play once again.

American Revolution, Frontier

The Siege of Louisbourg

The Siege of Louisbourg 1758

The Siege of Louisbourg

The map above is an original showing the siege action that took place at Louisbourg during the French & Indian War. Louisbourg is located on Ile Royal, the modern-day Cape Breton Island in Canada. The fortress was the key to St. Lawrence waterway and the interior of Canada. As long as the French held out, any British campaigns in Canada would be very difficult.  In 1758 it took the British six weeks to take the fort and opened up Quebec to attack the next spring.  That is not the story for today though.

The real story is that years earlier in 1745 the fort had already been taken from the French. Not by the British Army however, but by brave men from New England (with a little help from the Navy.) This was one of the first military wins against a foreign power in the annals of American military history.

The Siege of Louisbourg (The First One)

In 1744 the War of the Austrian Succession broke out in Europe with the main combatants being England and France. It did not take long for the conflict to spill into the North American colonies.  As was the case in the next war the French fortress at Louisbourg stood in the way of the British war effort. Talk of trying to take the fortress in the colonies made the rounds, but the British were not all that enthused about the idea. In the end it was decided that it would just be too darn expensive to launch an operation.

Massachusetts Governor William Shirley  would not take no for an answer. He thought that the fortress could be taken with just a few men and made a proposal to the General Assembly, which pretty much denied it deferring to their British overlords. Shirley would not be denied however.

In all he arranged for 3,000 volunteers for land duty and another 1,000 for the naval duty. with backup coming from a British fleet in Jamaica. In a campaign that lasted a little more than a month the Colonists were victorious and Louisbourg was theirs!

The Fallout

When news of the victory reached the colonies there was elation. Spontaneous celebrations of the “Citizen Soldier” ran rampant. Fireworks and liquor were widespread. This was the birth of the idea that the common man, the militia, were just as powerful as the “regular” army. It was this victory that sat in the minds of the next generation of Americans when war began brewing against the British.

Speaking fo the British. The victory was not quite received as well. The common man on the street thought the victory was incredible. The Government though, were not as thrilled. Unknown to the colonists a peace treaty was in the works and the victory caused issues. In a move that would later come back to haunt them the British handed the fort back over to the French.

When news of the return of the fort reached America the colonists felt betrayed. They had fought hard and well and won a great victory over the mighty French. Only to see their victory wiped out. This was a slight that would stick in the colonists craw for many years and would even be brought up during the march to revolution.  So in many ways, the First Siege of Louisbourg had much more of an impact than the second.

 

 

American Revolution

The British Army In The Colonies

The British Army in the Colonies

The British Army In The Colonies

 

The plaque above is part of small monument outside the visitor’s center at the Cowpens National Battlefield. Look back through the site and you will see some articles about Cowpens itself and some of the actors, but this plaque is a reminder that there are always two sides that  fight in a war. For the British Army serving in America during the revolution, it was not all fun and games.

At the opening of the war the British Army numbered around 45,000 men  scattered across the globe. The army at the time was not supplied or staffed and in the decade since end of the French & Indian war was arguably in decline. It should also be noted that a number of the troops were stationed in Ireland that was pretty much always in an active state of rebellion. (Thanks guys!)

This was the force that would be needed to face off against approximately 3 million unruly colonists three thousand miles away from their home base. It was simply not enough.  While efforts to recruit more men were put into overdrive, they needed backup. This backup would come from the German states. German mercenaries, numbering about 30,000 would be used  both in the colonies. They would also be used  as garrison troops in other British possessions to free up regular troops. These two forces were joined by close to 20,000 American Loyalists.

By the end of the war approximately 4,000 British and 2,000 German soldiers were killed. By comparison the American battle casualties number about 7,000.

It is easy to pick sides during a war, especially when the war is from our past. It must never be forgotten that the other side was fighting for its own reasons. Seeing that plaque is just a reminder of that.

American Revolution, Pre-Revolution

Relics of the Frontier

Relics fo the Frontier

Relics of the Frontier

In 1691 on the banks of the St. Joseph river in what would someday be South Western Michigan, the French built a fort that would become a mission that would have an incredible history.  The fort was finally abandoned in 1795 and during the 100 years it traded hands between the French, The English, The Spanish, the English again, and eventually to the United States. That does not actually count any of the Indian incursions against the fort itself, but you get the idea.

Life on the frontier was not easy, and it took a certain breed of people to pull it off. Life in a frontier military post was not easy either. No one looked forward to being posted out in the boondocks. Long winters, lack of supplies, being at the end of the chain of fortifications meant you may not see reinforcements for a very long time. All said, not a happy place, but life goes on.

In 1998 the fort was “rediscovered” and since then it has become a fantastic archaeology site that has provided valuable insights into the life on the frontier, especially under four different flags. In the picture above are just a small sample of the relics that have been found. If only we knew the stories that came along with them.

Pictured above you have several firing mechanisms from a flint-lock rifles. Lead shot of various sizes, a very cool looking hammer/pry bar which could still be useful today. And a number of nails or fastening devices.

American Revolution

A Gabion in the Hand…

A Gabion in the Hand...

A Gabion in the Hand…

The picture above is of a gabion, basically sticks woven together to form a rough barrel. These structures were originally used during the Middle Ages as a sort of mobile fortification. They were light weight and easily transported. Often various sizes would be made to fit within each other so they would stack like plastic cups.

When they arrived where they were intended to be used they would be filled with dirt, rocks, or anything. Suddenly they would transform into a strong fortification. They would be used to protect artillery and infantry positions and could even be found along the edges of the trench works during a siege. If they needed to be moved that would simply be emptied and moved. True mobility.

Used in conjunction with fascines and even bales of wool or cotton, these were commonly used in the Americas during the American Revolution up through the Civil War. In fact, in some places around the world gabions are still used to protect military bases. When used with a little imagination they could also be used to build actual structures. Small houses and even latrines!

Today the gabion is used in various forms for landscaping and erosion control. Whether still made of sticks and dirt, or hi tech plastic and metal, the gabion is still a fixture in the modern world.

The gabions you see above are from the model Continental Army camp at Colonial Williamsburg. Scattered throughout the camp are various examples of fortifications and battlefield accouterments from the period. We’ll see more of those later.

 

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.