250 and Counting

Category: Army History

  • Helping New York Help Itself–February 21, 1776

    Cover art for February 21, 1776: "Bowling Green, Broadway," by artist James Dakin and engraved by the firm Barnard and Dick, 1831. The house on the left became Washington's headquarters when he came to New York.

    There’s a line in the play 1776 about how everyone in the New York Legislature is very loud and talks very fast and as a result nothing ever gets done. This was likely a side effect of the fact that New York was so politically mixed at the time. Everyone hollering at rather than talking to each other means that nobody is truly connecting with anyone else. Thank goodness we’ve moved past THAT! <eyeroll>

    But New York and the Hudson Valley in particular held great strategic value for the various parties involved in the conflict we call the American Revolution. Britain taking that area would separate New England from the other Colonies. What’s more, George Washington knew it. So he devoted a lot of energy into ensuring that that territory remained defended, even while the British were nowhere in sight, because he knew it was a matter of time.

    And he was right: the British did show up ready for battle. It didn’t happen when he expected it to happen, and we’ll talk about that when things start heating up.

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  • A More Organized War–February 13, 1776

    Cover art for February 13, 1776: a posthumous portrait of Patrick Henry by Thomas Sully, 1815. Sully was clearly cribbing much of this painting from a portrait of Captain Cook by his brother, made 20 years earlier.

    So nearly a year ago, in March 1775, Patrick Henry said “Give me Liberty or give me death.” Today the Continental Congress said “Bet,” and sent him to lead troops in Virginia.

    That was a coincidence, of course: practically anyone who showed any real leadership skills was given the opportunity to lead troops. Henry had the leadership and the oratory skills to get his troops into shape.

    We mentioned the various committees and their reports today. One of them was the committee that was directed to draft an address to the Colonies. John Dickinson wrote the first draft; James Wilson wrote the second. His version was much like the first, except he added the part about preparing for eventual separation from England. Dickinson was still mostly in denial about that but while Wilson wasn’t a strong personality, he was pragmatic in the end and figured he could see that ending coming.

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  • Enlisting Apprentices–January 30, 1776

    Cover art for January 30, 1776: "Colonial Blacksmith, 1776". Wood engraving, attributed to "Granger" though this may be the name of the collection.
    “Colonial Blacksmith, 1776”. Wood engraving, attributed to “Granger” though this may be the name of the collection.

    While we’re talking about enlisting apprentices today, it should be noted that there was precious little difference between an apprentice and an indentured servant, except maybe their age. Thus, the rules that applied to apprentices when it came to enlistment could also be applied to indentured servants, especially inasmuch as some of those rules seemed designed more for them than apprentices.

    Also: Mike mentioned James Mease and his ketchup recipe. To clarify, ketchup had been around for hundreds of years, originating in China (or Vietnam; it’s a little fuzzy). What Mease did was add a tomato base, giving us the ketchup that we’re used to putting on our cookout foods. The Chinese stuff, commonly called “kê-chiap” was a fish-based sauce.

    Mease’s recipe involved brandy and spices; no sugar or vinegar. Here’s the recipe he published:

    Slice the apples* thin, and over every layer sprinkle a little salt; cover them, and let them lie twenty-four hours; then beat them well, and simmer them half an hour in a bell-metal kettle; then add mace & allspice. When cold, add two cloves of raw shallots cut small, and half a gill of brandy to each bottle, which must be corked tight, and kept in a cool place.

    *Mease called them “apples” because he was using the French word for tomatoes, “pommes d’amour” or “love apples.”

    Anyway, try it out and get back to us.

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  • The Noble Train Pulls Into The Station–January 26, 1776

    Cover art for January 26, 1776: "Knox entering camp with artillery" by William H. van Ingen, c. 1831. via Library of Congress.
    “Knox entering camp with artillery” by William H. van Ingen, c. 1831. via Library of Congress. Depicts Henry Knox on horseback with soldiers transporting a disassembled canon on a sled through the snow, winter 1775-76, following his famous capture of artillery at Fort Ticonderoga. Wood engraving, hand-colored.

    The Noble Train of Artillery has finally arrived!

    Given that it was over 150 miles from Ticonderoga NY to Cambridge, MA, and that it was wintertime, and that Interstate 90 was still over 150 years in the future, it’s pretty amazing that Henry Knox was able to move so much artillery so efficiently.

    As Mike notes in the episode, the arrival date is largely a guess, since Knox’s diaries ended the last time we checked in with him, about two weeks ago when he was in western Massachusetts and, it appears, nobody else kept accurate notes on the event. There are, however, notes on the disposition of the materiel, so that makes this a pretty good guess. And it allowed the Continental Army to maintain the Siege of Boston until the British finally bailed out two months later.

  • Busy Day In Congress–January 19, 1776

    Cover art for January 19, 1776: painting of the Continental Congress by John Trumbull, created around 1819. This painting depicts a date several months after today.
    Painting of the Continental Congress by John Trumbull, created around 1819. This painting depicts a date several months after today. Trumbull was especially insistent on painting subjects from life whenever he could.

    The Second Continental Congress Committees, several of them anyway, reported out on this day in 1776 and it was starting to become clear that the individual colonies had some needs when it came to defense.

    There were issues with prisoners possibly being mistreated, word had gotten back regarding what had happened in Quebec on New Year’s Day, South Carolina had some need for sailors to defend the Charleston Bay…there was a lot going on, and while we view the large number of committees, with names that are either too obvious or a little silly, to be a bit much, we’re also viewing it through a modern-day lens.

    Not that life was simpler—though it was, in a sense—but that the Congress was quite pragmatic and direct in the way they operated.

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  • Washington Has Concerns–January 14, 1776

    Cover art for January 14, 1776: correspondence from Charles Thompson, Secretary to the Second Continental Congress, to George Washington. via Library of Congress.
    Correspondence from Charles Thompson, Secretary to the Second Continental Congress, to George Washington. via Library of Congress.

    As George Washington’s aide-de-camp, Joseph Reed was privy to a lot of things on his Commander-in-Chief’s mind. And it shows in the level of prose that Washington uses when writing to Reed, because it’s much less formal.

    Compare that to the letter he sent to the Continental Congress the same day. In both cases he was expressing concerns regarding his troops, but in one case it’s a criticism of their readiness (Joseph Reed), and in the other it’s concern for their well-being (John Hancock).

    Washington’s troops would remain relatively undisciplined for several months, until the winter encampment at Valley Forge. But I’m getting waaaaay ahead of the story, so stick around. Meanwhile, put this in your ears.

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  • Washington Has A Change Of Heart–December 30, 1775

    Cover art for December 30, 1775: Soldiers at the siege of Yorktown, by Jean-Baptiste-Antoine DeVerger (cropped), watercolor, 1781.

    Back on October 8, the Continental Army determined that Blacks were no longer to be permitted to enlist, and that existing soldiers would not be allowed to re-enlist.

    But on this date, George Washington changed his mind. Was he suddenly an abolitionist? Not a chance. He owned slaves until the day he died. This was a more pragmatic decision. It was borne of the fact that he and his staff suddenly realized that a lot of soldiers were going to end their enlistment come January. That October decision was starting to look rather short-sighted.

    Add to that the fact that word had gotten about about Lord Dunmore’s offer to free slaves who fought on the British side. Now, he really couldn’t do anything for slaves who came from anywhere other than Virginia, but the offer was still hanging out there.

    Finally, it was quite apparent that there was a growing number of Blacks, whether slave or free, who had shown interest in fighting for the Patriot cause.

    It suddenly looked like a whole lot of bodies were getting turned down by the Continental Army for no good reason.

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  • Congress Organizes Military Support–December 28, 1775

    Cover art for December 28, 1775: plaque commemorating the table where the Secret Committee met with Julien Alexandre Achard de Bonvouloir.
    The plaque in Carpenters Hall, commemorating the table where the Secret Committee met with Julien Alexandre Achard de Bonvouloir.

    You’ll remember I mentioned Samuel Adams in this space a couple of days ago, as a member of the Continental Congress, and as a member of several committees, most of them related to defense. He was almost certainly at the heart of the events of today that took place in Congress which Mike describes in our episode, even though he isn’t named directly in conjunction with either of them.

    But organizing the military, and forging alliances with other nations are activities that are definitely in Samuel Adams’ wheelhouse, so it’s likely that he was in the middle of both of these.

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  • The Noble Train Of Artillery–December 17, 1775

    Cover art for December 17, 1775: One of many, MANY images mistakenly showing the Ticonderoga artillery being transported on ox-drawn sleds. Author unknown, National Archive Collection number 111-SC-100815.
    One of many, MANY images mistakenly showing the Ticonderoga artillery being transported on ox-drawn sleds. Author unknown, National Archive Collection number 111-SC-100815.

    Colonel Henry Knox was just about ready to begin moving the Noble Train of Artillery (a phrase he coined, incidentally). He’d have everything he needed to move by the 20th or 21st of December, and then just seventeen days later, he’d be marching into Cambridge.

    As we all know, he was wrong about how long it would take. But that sort of thing happened frequently.

    What we don’t know is why he said he had the animals he needed to transport the materiel when he didn’t. And even though there are numerous images of the Noble Train of Artillery involving oxen, there weren’t any at all: everything was moved using horses.

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    On a personal note: today would have been my grandmother’s 103rd birthday. A lot of things have changed since I was born, but a lot more things changed from the time she was born. The mind boggles.

  • 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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