250 and Counting

Author: Claude Call

  • It’s Finally Official–October 27, 1775

    Cover art for October 27, 1775: Detail of a broadside containing the text of King George III's speech to Parliament on this day.

    We’re 300 days into 1775 and therefore 300 days into this show, and we’ve finally gotten to the point where British troops will be shooting at Americans because the two parties are officially at war.

    Up until now, all the fighting was about control, because what better way to control people than by shooting at them?

    But King George III’s declaration of rebellion in August was informal in nature. It wasn’t until he declared the Colonies to be in rebellion before Parliament that genuine attention was paid to it. It was still theoretically possible that the Colonists could back off and let things go to the way they were, but the odds were vanishingly small.

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  • A New Facet of War–October 26, 1775

    Cover art for October 28, 1775: The Old Feather Store in Boston, 1775. Print by Louis Prang & Co., 1860. via the National Museum of American History digital archives.

    With both Boston and Canada in a state of stalemate, there wasn’t a lot of active fighting going on in the Colonies.

    Not until, as we said yesterday, General Woodford stumbled into a bunch of British soldiers preparing to attack Hampton, VA. This set off the first major battle of the Revolution in a southern state, and one of our first significant victories.

    But in the meantime, Congress discovered that a shooting war wasn’t the only tool they had at their disposal: they had economic power as well, and they began to leverage that.

    We mentioned in the past that the Colonies didn’t have a ton of economic clout, but the cost of war combined with whatever other money-related tactics they could try, added up to a bigger impact than originally postulated.

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  • An Unexpected Battle–October 25, 1775

    Cover art for October 25, 1775: portrait of William Woodford.

    William Woodford was both smart and able to see the bigger picture. He’d already begun training his troops in earnest in anticipation of a British attack. Then the word came in that his men were to protect Norfolk or Portsmouth.

    When they began the march, they had not idea that they were about to stumble into a British attempt to attack amphibiously. Woodford’s men repelled the attack and created the first important British casualties of the war effort.

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  • When Washington Couldn’t Help–October 24, 1775

    Cover art for October 24, 1775: portrait of George Washington during the French and Indian War, as painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1772.

    For what it’s worth, the picture I used for George Washington depicts what he looked like during the French and Indian War, which ended roughly twelve years prior to this date. But we wanted to show you that he didn’t always look like the guy on the dollar bill.

    After the firebombing and destruction of Falmouth, Massachusetts (and which we mention for the first time today, I think, is the same place as Portland, Maine), it was only natural that the locals there felt vulnerable. It’s because it had been demonstrated to them exactly how vulnerable they were.

    Their Committee of Safety contacted George Washington in Cambridge asking for help in the form of soldiers and/or weapons. Washington conceded that the attack was over the line and wished the victims well, but unfortunately he couldn’t help.

    Washington cited the need to maintain the siege at Boston, and the possibility that he didn’t have the authority to help, but Washington was a shrewd tactician, as we’ll see in future episodes. It’s entirely possible that he didn’t see the point in defending a city that had already been leveled.

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  • RIP Peyton Randolph–October 23, 1775

    Cover art for October 23, 1775: Peyton Randolph, by John Wollaston the Younger, 1775.

    Peyton Randolph is another one of those Founding Fathers who goes largely unknown to most people, probably because he died relatively young (age 54) and early in the whole Independence movement.

    But Randolph was a true Patriot and while he wasn’t around to sign the Declaration of Independence, it’s said that his spirit was at the heart of the document.

    It’s worth noting that, as the Royal Governors were kicked out one by one, the Continental Congress began to assume governmental duties for the Colonies. This is why some would argue that, as the first President of the Continental Congress, Peyton Randolph should also be considered our first US President, and never mind the fact that he died before the nation was established. It’s not a terrible idea, we guess…

    Fort Randolph in present-day West Virginia was named after him, as are the Randolph Counties in North Carolina and Indiana, not to mention the town of Randolph, Massachusetts.

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  • William Howe Makes An Odd Decision–October 22, 1775

    Cover art for October 22, 1775: a color mezzotint of British General Sir William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, 1777, by Richard Purcell aka Charles Corbutt.

    After the Pyrrhic victory at Bunker Hill, the fact that General Gage was about to be replaced probably came as a surprise to nobody.

    That he was replaced by William Howe…well, that also probably wasn’t a surprise. Howe had experienced success in the Seven Years’ War. And while he was known to have shown some sympathy with the Colonies (he’d voted against the Intolerable Acts, for instance), it was thought that he could break the Siege of Boston.

    So Howe came to America and on October 11 he took over the job from Gage. He stayed in Boston with the besieged soldiers. And he had lots of ideas about breaking the siege, and eventually the Continental Army. What’s more, Lord Dartmouth had some creative ideas as well.

    But Howe chose something entirely different.

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  • Saltpeter, John–October 21, 1775

    Cover art for October 21, 1775: Portrait of John Adams by Benjamin Blyth, 1766

    The Second Continental Congress was having a busy week, with the worries about the trade embargo going on, and whether ships from other nations could get in/out safely.

    And John Adams was worried, too–worried that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand for gunpowder for the soldiers. One of the components of gunpowder is saltpeter, and while it isn’t hard to make, it’s certainly easier to let someone else make it and then pay them for their efforts. Fortunately, help arrived in the form of a “recipe” for saltpeter published in a local newspaper.

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  • James Warren Likes Privateers–October 20, 1775

    Cover art for October 20, 1775: James Warren by John Singleton Copley - ABC Gallery, via Wikimedia Commons

    In the immediate aftermath of the destruction of Falmouth (then Massachusetts, now Maine), naturally there was a great deal of concern when it came to defending our shores from the British Navy.

    After all, the Brits had the most powerful navy in the the world, and the Americans…well, they’d barely gotten started putting theirs together. A couple of the colonies had started their own navies, but we had a long way to go.

    James Warren, in his capacity as a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, wrote a letter to John Adams outlining his concerns, and coming up with solutions until we could get our Navy into good fighting shape.

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  • Keeping The British At Bay–October 19, 1775

    Cover art for October 198, 1775: "1775 Map of Charleston Owned by Henry Laurens - American"

    There were two events marked today. One of them involves the continuation of a ban on exports of weapons to America. This was something that had to be formally declared every few months.

    Meanwhile down in South Carolina, a brief fight between two ships in the Charleston Harbor got local leaders thinking about the best way to keep the harbor protected. Their solution: set it up that the only way you can get in or out of Charleston harbor is by ensuring that you remain within range of Fort Johnson’s guns.

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  • Washington Gets Some Relief–October 18, 1775

    Cover art for October 18, 1775: the Battle at Lexington, Amos Doolittle (engraver) and Ralph Earl (artist). via the New York Public Library and the Library of Congress.

    George Washington was a pretty smart guy. He knew exactly what his army needed, in all aspects. He had a handle on discipline, on supplies, on tactics and any number of other things. Washington surrounded himself with people who were smart, too. This went a long way toward ensuring his success.

    So when his army started to fall apart because some basic needs weren’t getting met, Washington took action. He knew that sending another letter to Congress wasn’t going to help. So instead he met with them directly. And like a dog savaging a toy, Washington grabbed Congress in his (not wooden!) teeth and shook them in a figure-eight.

    Metaphorically, of course. And while he didn’t get everything he sought, he managed to get the important stuff done and the rest of it…well. The rest of it, at least he knew he’d been heard. And he’d live to fight another day.

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