USA > New York > A short history of New York State > Part 12
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British strategy in 1776 called for Sir Guy Carleton to advance up the Richelieu-Lake Champlain-Lake George waterway to join forces with Sir William Howe in the upper Hudson Valley. Since British equipment and manpower were superior to his own military resources, General Benedict Arnold wisely decided to employ the strategy of delay. With great effort and untold hardship, Arnold constructed a small flotilla on Lake Champlain. This action forced the British to consume precious summer weeks building vessels with which to oppose the Patriot squad- ron. On October 11, 1776, the British and American fleets locked in battle near Valcour Island. The superior fire power of the imperial forces re- sulted in the ultimate destruction of the American squadron, but not until the Patriots had inflicted severe damage on the enemy.
Carleton followed up his advantage by capturing Crown Point. By this time the season was so far advanced that he feared to attempt the siege of Fort Ticonderoga, which was defended by 9,000 Americans under General Gates. Consequently, Sir Guy withdrew to Canada, expecting to renew the assault the next summer.
Only the military skill and steel-hard determination of Washington and Arnold enabled their poorly trained and inadequately supplied forces to prevent the complete conquest of New York in 1776. Washing- ton's victories in New Jersey at Trenton (December 26) and Princeton (January 3) kept Revolutionary hopes alive during the winter of 1776- 1777, but as spring approached and the imperial forces prepared to take to the field the fate of New York once again hung in the balance. The British campaign plans for 1777 called for three movements. General John Burgoyne was to move up the Richelieu-Lake Champlain-Lake George waterway and overland to the upper Hudson Valley; Colonel Barry St. Leger was to move along the Mohawk to the Hudson; and Sir William Howe was to move up the Hudson to meet St. Leger and Bur- goyne.
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By June 15, Burgoyne had 8,000 British and German troops, 150 Cana- dian militiamen, and about 400 Indians at St. Johns ready for the advance to the south. On May 5 his artillery appeared on Mount Defiance over- looking Fort Ticonderoga. General Schuyler, who had inadequate forces to oppose Burgoyne in open combat, wisely abandoned the fortress and retreated, felling trees to block the road. This scheme was singularly successful, because Burgoyne was overburdened with artillery and equip- ment. While the British floundered through the backwoods, the local in-
Richelieu R.
St.John's +
Montreal
Quebec
St. Lawrence R.
Plattsburgh
Valcour Is.
St. Leger 1777
Lake
Champlain
Burgoyne 1777
Crown Pt. 4 Ft. Ticonderoga
Lake George
· Oswego
SE. Stanwix
Cr.
Saratoga (Schuylerville)
Oriskany
Ft. Herkimer!
Conajoharie
ver
Otisco L.
Cherry Valley
Skoneateles Z.
OtsegoL.
Owasco L
Cooperstown Cobleskill
Canandaigua
CayugaL.
Otselic Cr
Harpersfield
Cohocton R.
Keuka L
wUnadilla
Seneca L.
Owego R.
Chenango R
Schoharie Cr.
Canisteo R.
Newtown
Chemung RX
Kingston "
Tioga
Sullivan- Clinton
Susquehanna R.
James Clinton 1779
Sir Henry Clinton 1777
Sullivan 1779
Minnisink
West Point+ Ft.Montgomery+ Et. Clinton +
BRITISH CAMPAIGN OF 1777
xxxxxxx
BURGOYNE
x-x-x-X HENRY CLINTON
ST. LEGER
New York
Long Island
MAIN BODIES
Staten Island
RAIDING PARTIES
Map 5. The British campaign of 1777 and the Sullivan-Clinton campaign of 1779.
Ft. Edward
Oneida L.
W Canada
E. Canada
Cr
Oswego R
Herkimer Mohawk Johnstown Bemis Hts.
Baum 1777
Genesee R.)
. Onondaga L.
Andrustown
Springfield
Schenectady
Walloomsac Cr Battle of Bennington
Albany: Schoharie
UnadillaR
-
Susquehanna R.
Hudson R.
Stony Pt. White Plains
SULLIVAN-JAMES CLINTON CAMPAIGN OF 1779
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habitants drove off the stock and burned the fields so that they would not furnish food and fodder to the invader. The British forces did not reach Fort Edward at the head of the Hudson River until July 30.
As time wore on, Burgoyne became increasingly concerned over a shortage of food. On August 13, he sent Colonel Baum with about 600 men to attempt a capture of American supplies at Bennington, Vermont. Three days later Baum was cut off by Continental irregulars and defeated at Walloomsac, New York. Lieutenant Colonel Breyman, who went to the rescue with 500 troops, was badly mauled. This success encouraged the Patriots, and volunteers hastened to join the growing army under General Gates, who had taken command of the American forces on August 2. A few days later the Continental forces were further encour- aged by good news from the Mohawk Valley.
About mid-July, St. Leger reached Oswego, where he was joined by Loyalists under Sir John Johnson and Colonel John Butler, as well as a force of Indians led by Joseph Brant, the celebrated Iroquois chief. On August 3 the British forces, 1,700 strong, appeared before Fort Stanwix (now Rome) which was defended by about 550 men under Colonel Peter Gansevoort. Three days later Continental reinforcements led by General Nicholas Herkimer were ambushed near Oriskany in the midst of a violent thunderstorm. This was the bloody Battle of Oriskany which pitted neighbor against neighbor, since most of Johnson's and Butler's Loyalists had come from the Mohawk region. Early in the struggle the doughty Herkimer's leg was shattered and his horse killed. The coura- geous general then sat at the base of a beech tree, where he smoked his pipe and directed the battle, undeterred by the fact that he had suffered a fatal wound. The ferocity of the American resistance discouraged the Indians, and many of them abandoned St. Leger. A few days later when General Benedict Arnold arrived with 1,200 men, the British forces fled, leaving much equipment in American hands. This victory freed Arnold's force and the Mohawk militia to join Gates in the struggle with Burgoyne.
On September 15, Burgoyne crossed the Hudson at old Saratoga (now Schuylerville) and began his advance down the river. Gates entrenched his forces at Bemis Heights about eight miles below the crossing and awaited the invader. Four days later the two forces met in battle and remained facing each other until October 7, when Burgoyne withdrew after a sharp skirmish. By this time the British were in desperate cir- cumstances. Supplies were low, and the number of effective troops had been greatly reduced by sickness and wounds, while the American forces continued to increase. Gates had over 17,000 men, whereas the invading army had well under 5,000 fit for combat. On October 17, Burgoyne sur- rendered, lamenting that Howe had not arrived with the expected rein- forcements. This struggle is known as the Battle of Saratoga. The Patriot
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victory never will be forgotten by Americans because it was the turning point of the Revolutionary War.
Military men and historians always will ponder why Howe failed to send his main body up the Hudson to join forces with the armies moving south from Canada. It is sufficient for us to note that Sir William elected to attack Philadelphia and left Sir Henry Clinton at New York City with eight or nine thousand men to defend that important post and to aid Burgoyne. Clinton made a gallant effort to comply with impossible orders. With a small force he moved northward. His own great skill and a fair share of luck enabled him to capture Forts Clinton and Mont- gomery on October 6. Just as it seemed that success might be within his grasp, he learned that Burgoyne had surrendered. Sir Henry now found himself in difficult circumstances. His forces were spread thinly along the Hudson from New York City to a little below Albany. With the surrender of Burgoyne, Gates was free to attack the British in the upper Hudson Val- ley. Outnumbered and poorly situated for defense, Clinton wisely decided to withdraw to New York City. In his diary Sir Henry Clinton confided that once again Howe's stupidity had cost the British victory. Certainly the charge is well founded, but Burgoyne, who allowed an excess of baggage and artillery to delay his advance through the backwoods while the Patriots rallied to Gates, also merits a share of the blame, and the Patriot defenders deserve credit for courage and for military skill.
It is surprising that New Yorkers found time and energy to frame a constitutional government during the tempestuous years of 1776 and 1777. As we have seen, the Fourth Provincial Congress declared New York independent on July 9, 1776. The Congress then changed its name to Convention of the Representatives of the State of New York and on August 1 established a committee composed of John Jay, John Sloss Hobart, William Smith, William Duer, Gouverneur Morris, Robert R. Livingston, John Broome, John Morin Scott, Abraham Yates, Henry Wis- ner, Samuel Townsend, Charles De Witt, and Robert Yates to recom- mend a form of government for the new state. A few weeks later James Duane was added to the committee.
On March 12, 1777, the committee presented a proposed state consti- tution to the Convention. Probably John Jay played the major role in writing the draft. It is likely, too, that Livingston, Morris, and Abraham Yates made significant contributions. Beyond this little is known concern- ing the work of the committee members. After much debate, in which Jay took an active part, and after important amendments were made, the Convention adopted the committee's draft on April 20, 1777, as the first Constitution of New York. It went into effect on the authority of the Convention without being submitted to popular referendum.
The Constitution of 1777 established a government which was closely modeled after that of the colony. The courts remained much the same
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except that a Court of Errors and Impeachment made up of the president of the Senate, the senators, the chancellor, and judges of the Supreme Court was created to exercise final appellate jurisdiction. The legislature was composed of two houses, the Senate and the Assembly. Members of the Senate were elected from four senatorial districts and held office four years. Each county was allotted a quota of assemblymen based on its population. Members of the Assembly served terms of one year.
New York followed the prevailing pattern of curtailing the authority of the governor. This distrust of executive authority reflected the bitter memcry of past struggles between royal governors and the Assembly. The chief executive, who was elected every three years, was made commander of the military forces and was given the power to call special sessions of the legislature, to prorogue the legislature for periods of sixty days in any year, and, except in cases of murder and treason, to grant pardons. In other important aspects his power was sharply restricted. Veto power rested in a Council of Revision made up of the governor, the chancellor, the judges of the Supreme Court, and four senators selected by the Assembly. A two-thirds majority in both houses could override a veto. Important nonelective posts were filled by the Council of Appointment composed of the governor and one senator from each district, elected by the Assembly. Both the Council of Appointment and the Council of Re- vision proved to be cumbersome agencies which permitted political huck- sters to thwart the public will.
The Constitution of 1777 contained the entire Declaration of Inde- pendence with all its democratic sentiments. It stated, "No authority shall, on any pretence whatever, be exercised over the people or members of this State, but such as shall be derived from and granted by them." It called for the separation of church and state. It guaranteed freedom of religion and trial by jury. Yet it was far from an egalitarian document because it severely limited the elective franchise. Only persons who owned property valued at one hundred pounds or more could vote for the governor and senators. Certain merchants and artisans of Albany and New York City who paid for the right of doing business in those municipalities and men owning property valued at not less than twenty pounds or leasing property on which the annual rental was at least forty shillings were privileged to vote for assemblymen.
In June 1777 George Clinton was elected governor of the new state, an office he was to hold for eighteen years without a break. After much delay the legislature was organized at Kingston in September. A short time later the government officials were forced to flee from the imperial forces under Sir Henry Clinton who was advancing up the Hudson in his fruitless attempt to join Burgoyne. The British captured Kingston and on October 16 put it to the torch.
Seldom has a government been established in the face of more forlorn
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circumstances. Although Sir Henry was forced to retreat and Burgoyne was captured, New York City, the most wealthy municipality and the only important seaport in the state, remained in enemy hands. Salt, spices, pepper, tea, coffee, and rum were cut off, as were the more important materials of war. This, in addition to the fact that farmers and manufac- turers were reluctant to accept the depreciated paper money issued by the state, made it very difficult to obtain the supplies required by the American military forces. Fortunately, the extralegal local committees continued to function, and they aided in the collection of military stores. As time went on, the government gradually became more effective, and local committees, many of which remained active until the end of the Revolution, played a lesser and lesser role.
One of the most difficult questions facing the Patriots was what to do with the large group of Loyalists. Generally speaking, Loyalists were leniently treated prior to July 4, 1776. After that date the treatment became more severe, and many were tarred, feathered, and ridden out of town on a rail. If their property was not destroyed or stolen, it was confiscated by the state. Patriots received similar treatment at the hands of the imperial authorities. Prior to the establishment of a constitutional government, the Provincial Congress established a Committee on Loyal- ists. Later the state legislature established an agency to detect conspira- cies, and its duties included the ferreting out of Loyalists.
It is impossible to estimate the number of New Yorkers who were Loyalists. Unquestionably a large share of the population retained a strong affection for the Crown. Many of these were alienated when imperial soldiers-British and German alike-were permitted to loot and molest civilians. An intelligent leadership might well have won many to the imperial cause. In any case, thousands fled to British-held territory. Many went to New York City.
The great metropolis took on the aspects of a European capital. Here was the principal seat of British power. In the streets, soldiers and citi- zens conversed in a strange medley of English, Dutch, and German. The higher stratum of society-consisting of military officers, governmental officials, and wealthy civilians-enjoyed the theater, lavish parties, and even horse racing, fox hunting, and cricket. The lesser lights had the usual diversions offered by the local tavern and by public spectacles. The seaport carried on a brisk trade with the West Indies and the Continent. Revenues were increased by privateering, in which at least six thousand men were engaged. During the six and a half months prior to March 1, 1779, New York privateers took 150 prizes. Many Loyalists, who, for the most part, were men who had been established in the city prior to the outbreak of hostilities, made fortunes from trade or in privateering.
The refugee Loyalists who fled to New York City from all over North
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America were often in desperate straits, having lost all their property to Americans. These people were supported meagerly by the Crown. Hun- dreds of them enlisted as royal provincial troops and took an active part in the war against the Patriots. Militarily, probably the most vexatious group of Loyalists were the frontiersmen who fled to Canada to join the imperial forces. Some of these men fought at Oriskany; others took part in later raids along the wilderness frontier.
In 1778 the British unleashed a ferocious attack against the frontier settlements. On May 30, Cobleskill was burned; in June, Springfield was destroyed; during the month of July, Andrustown (near German Flats ) was burned and the Pennsylvania settlement at Wyoming was left in ruins. In September, German Flats was laid to waste for ten miles along the Mohawk, and, in October, Unadilla was given to the torch. On November 11 imperial forces sacked the fortified village of Cherry Valley.
These assaults were carried out chiefly by Loyalists, many of whom were frontiersmen, and by Iroquois Indians, the majority of whom actively supported the Crown. The raiders were usually led by able men, notably Colonel John Butler, his son, Captain Walter Butler, and the Indian chief, Captain Joseph Brant. While the attacking forces were small, they were composed of men who were wise in the ways of the wilderness. Bands of such men moved quickly, striking before the Patriots had time to mobilize for defense, and the small battles which resulted were swift and savage. All too often captured Continentals and their defenseless women and children were abused or slaughtered by the infuriated Indians, although Joseph Brant and the British officers made efforts to prevent mistreatment of their conquered foes.
Some writers have characterized these actions against frontier villages as orgies of revenge on the part of the Loyalists or as wanton savagery on the part of British officials. It is more accurate to say that they were carefully calculated military maneuvers designed to weaken the Revolu- tionary forces. The Continental armies drew food, fodder, and horses from the frontier settlements. The raiders succeeded in destroying large quantities of these much-needed supplies and often prevented the pro- duction of more. Furthermore, the Patriots were forced to send troops and supplies to protect the wilderness frontier, reducing thereby their military power in other critical areas.
To counteract British strategy, the American military leaders deter- mined to break the power of the Iroquois. In April 1779 General James Clinton, the brother of Governor George Clinton, sent troops to destroy Indian villages and supplies along the upper reaches of the Mohawk River and in the region of Onondaga Lake. Having successfully accom- plished this mission, Clinton moved his army of about 1,500 men overland from Canajoharie on the Mohawk to Lake Otsego. From here he moved
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down the Susquehanna River to join forces with General John Sullivan at Tioga, Pennsylvania. On August 24 the combined force of about 3,500 began to advance under Sullivan's command toward the Genesee country. Five days later a small and poorly equipped band of Indians and Loyal- ists under Colonel John Butler attempted to impede the Patriot advance near the modern city of Elmira, in a skirmish known as the Battle of Newtown. The casualties were light-twelve of Butler's men and three Americans were killed. No other concerted effort was made to halt Sulli- van, who advanced through the Finger Lake region to the Genesee Val- ley, destroying the villages of the Indians, slaughtering their livestock, and burning their fields.
The original plans had called for a force under Colonel Daniel Brod- head to join Sullivan by ascending the Allegheny River from Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh). Brodhead probably got north of the New York- Pennsylvania border, but he failed to make contact with Sullivan. The American campaign of 1779 was at least partially successful, since, as a result, the power of the Iroquois was reduced greatly. A further strain was placed on the imperial supply lines when the British were forced to feed and shelter their Indian allies.
The Sullivan expedition did not bring an end to the frontier raids. Even while the Patriot forces were making the first movements of the campaign against the Iroquois, Joseph Brant destroyed Minisink on July 20, 1779, and two days later he inflicted severe casualties on a group of militiamen sent to the relief of the settlement. The next year attacks were made against several towns, and Riemensnyder's Bush, Harpersfield, Johnstown, Canajoharie, and German Flats were devastated. Raiding con- tinued during 1781 but on a reduced scale.
The Sullivan expedition was not the only Patriot triumph in 1779. On July 16, when Generals Clinton and Sullivan were still assembling their armies, General Anthony Wayne captured the British fortress at Stony Point. This was a daring attack in which a picked body of Patriots stormed a works believed by the British to be impenetrable. The fort stood on a promontory which thrusts out more than a half mile into the Hudson River and rises 150 feet above the water. On the landward side the point is protected by a marsh. Wayne's force, divided into three de- tachments, attacked at night. One group was to feint at the center, keep- ing up a rapid fire; the other two forces were to enter the British lines on the right and left. At the head of each flanking force were 150 deter- mined men carrying axes to cut through the abatis. Accompanying each group of axmen was a forlorn hope or, in modern terminology, a suicide squad.
Washington planned well. The defensive forces were drawn to the cen-
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ter by the firing in that sector. Meanwhile, the axmen cut through two lines of abatis and the Patriot right and left led by the forlorn hope and using only bayonets and knives poured into the fortress shouting their battle cry, "The fort's our own!" In the darkness the attackers identified one another by pieces of white paper worn in their hats. The confused defenders were soon overwhelmed. The British suffered heavily: 63 killed, over 70 wounded and 543 captured, together with the loss of fifteen artil- lery pieces and a large quantity of military stores. The Patriots had 80 wounded, including General Wayne, and 15 killed. This daring attack raised the morale of Patriots throughout the nation.
Probably the last battle of the Revolution fought on New York soil was an engagement between a band of British raiders and Patriot defenders which took place near Johnstown. On October 25, 1781, about 600 Indians, Loyalists, and British regulars commanded by Major John Ross were attacked by some 400 Americans under Colonel Marinus Willett. Ross was forced to retreat. Five days later Willett again attacked as the British withdrew across Canada Creek. In this final struggle Captain Walter But- ler, the well-known Loyalist leader, was shot through the head. An Oneida Indian took his scalp, which was sent to Albany.
While the frontier was kept in flames by incessant attack, other major maneuvers were being conducted. In the summer of 1779 General Bene- dict Arnold began treasonable correspondence in code with Sir Henry Clinton, who commanded the British Army in New York City. In 1780 the British moved from Canada to occupy Fort Ticonderoga, which had been abandoned by both sides since 1777. At the same time there was considerable activity by British raiders in the Mohawk region. In Septem- ber of this same year Arnold, who commanded the American garrison at West Point, agreed to surrender that fortress to the British.
It seems likely that the Mohawk raids and the occupation of Ticon- deroga were timed to coincide with Arnold's proposed treachery. If West Point had been surrendered, Sir Henry Clinton would have been in a position to move swiftly up the Hudson to join forces with the imperial troops who had seized Ticonderoga. The Patriots defending the Mohawk frontier probably would have been unable to oppose Sir Henry's advance. Fortunately for the Revolutionary cause, Major John André, a British officer who was carrying messages from Arnold to Clinton, was captured by American soldiers and the plot became known. As a result West Point was saved from possible capture, André was hanged, and Arnold fled to the British lines.
This was the last major threat to New York State. On October 19, 1781, Cornwallis, who had been trapped at Yorktown by the Americans and their French allies, surrendered. Thereafter, the fighting was on a re-
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duced scale. Peace negotiations began the following spring, and on Sep- tember 3, 1783, a treaty was signed in which the British government recognized the independence of the United States.
On November 25, 1783, the British evacuated New York City. When the American troops were drawn up at the Battery on the southern tip of Manhattan Island, it was found that the halyards were missing and that the pole had been greased. After considerable effort a sailor managed to climb the staff and tear down the British colors. As the American flag was run up, the cannon below boomed out a thirteen-gun salute.
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