USA > New York > The history of New York from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 15
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On the 15th of June, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington commander -in - chief of the American forces. Ward and Put- nam, already engaged in active service before Boston, with Schuyler of New York, and Charles Lee, lately a lieutenant-colonel in the British service, were commissioned as major-generals. Horatio Gates, also formerly a captain in the British service, was chosen adjutant-general, with the rank of brigadier. Sullivan of New Hamp- shire, and Montgomery, an Irish officer who had served under Wolfe before Louisburg and Que- bec, were, with Pomeroy, Heath, Wooster, Spen- cer, and Green, appointed brigadiers.
While many of the preceding nominations were still pending, and two days only subsequent to
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1775.] STATE OF PARTIES.
the appointment of Colonel Washington as com- mander-in-chief, occurred the battle of Bunker Hill.
Stimulated to more vigorous action by tidings of so momentous a character, Congress imme- diately determined upon a complete investment of Boston, the British garrison at that place having been lately increased, by reinforcements under Clinton, Howe, and Burgoyne, to the number of ten thousand men. Washington at once departed to assume the command, and within two weeks took up his head-quarters at Cambridge.
At this juncture, Governor Tryon, who had been absent on a visit to England, returned to New York ; and so nicely balanced were the two political parties by which the province was agi- tated, that public opinion would preponderate one day in favour of the Whigs, and the next would aid in the triumph of the Tories; for by these names the patriots and the loyalists were now beginning to be known. Even in the pro- vincial congress, the Whig majority was small and fluctuating, though it was not long before it acquired both strength and permanence. The popularity which Tryon had previously acquired with a certain class of citizens soon began to disappear before the progressive march of events. On the very day that the city authori- ties welcomed the return of the governor by a
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complimentary address, the military stores de- posited at Turtle Bay were seized and carried off by the provincials. More daring acts soon followed.
On the night of the 22d of August, Captain Sears, assisted by a body of resolute men, un- dertook, by desire of the provincial congress, the desperate enterprise of removing the guns from the Battery, in the face of the Asia man- of-war, then lying in the harbour. A boat which had been sent out from the latter to watch the motions of the patriots, having been inadver- tently fired upon by some of the party under Sears, the Asia commenced firing with grape- shot, by which three inen were killed and seve- ral, wounded. Notwithstanding this serious check, Sears determined to persevere. Drawing, by an ingenious stratagem, the fire of the Asia upon a point at a distance from his working party, he finally succeeded, without any further loss, in carrying off twenty-one pieces of artillery.
During this exciting period, Tryon was exert- ing himself to sustain the people of Long and Staten Islands in their refusal to sign the arti- cles of association. Other acts of a similar cha- racter rendering his further residence in the city dangerous to his personal safety, he prudent- ly concluded to abandon his government, and toward the close of September took refuge on board the Asia.
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CANADA INVADED.
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In the mean while, Washington was engaged in blockading Boston. The Continental Con- gress having determined to invade Canada, two thousand men were directed to be raised for the expedition, the command of which was given to Generals Schuyler and Montgomery. On the 4th of September the latter descended Lake Champlain, and having formed a junction with Schuyler at Isle la Motte, the flotilla, contain- ing above a thousand men, moved upon St. John's ; but finding that place strongly garrisoned and fortified, it was resolved to return to Isle au Noix, and wait for artillery and reinforcements. The latter arriving soon, and Schuyler having returned to Albany, Montgomery again press- ed forward to St. John's. While besieging it, Fort Chambly, lower down the Sorel River, was taken by Majors Brown and Livingston ; and on the 3d of November the garrison at St. John's, consisting of seven hundred men, surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Montreal capitu- lating soon after, Montgomery pushed his ad- vantage, and descended the St. Lawrence to Quebec. Forming a junction at Point au Trembles with Arnold, who had been despatched by Washington to co-operate with Montgomery, the united forces, thinned by discharges, deser- tions, and detachments to about one thousand men, descended the river, and on the 5th of De- cember appeared before Quebec. Desperate as
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the attempt to carry the place by assault ap- peared, it was resolved upon. The army was divided into four corps, two of which were to make feigned attacks upon the upper town, while Montgomery and Arnold, from opposite sides, assaulted the lower.
On the morning of the 31st of December, 1775, and in the midst of a driving snow-storm, the columns advanced. Montgomery, at the . head of the New York troops, marched by the bank of the river until within a short distance of the first battery on the south side of the town. As he approached, the enemy at first fled panic- stricken; but taking courage at witnessing the obstacles which the heavy masses of snow inter- posed to the progress of the assailants, a single artilleryman returned to his post, and fired a cannon charged with grape-shot when the Ame- ricans were within forty paces. Montgomery and his aids, Captains Cheeseman and Macpher- son, were instantly killed. Discouraged by their loss, the division precipitately fell back, and made no further attempt to enter the town on that side. On the north, however, Arnold pressed forward by way of St. Roques, his advance being closely supported by a body of. riflemen under Captain Daniel Morgan; but the obstructions occasioned by the great depth of the snow gave the enemy an advantage of which they were prompt to seize. Arnold fell, with his leg shat-
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CANADA EVACUATED.
1776.]
tered by a musket ball; but the battery by which the barrier was defended was impetuously carried by Morgan at the head of his riflemen. The dawn of day too plainly discovered that the force by which he was sustained was wholly inefficient to maintain his conquest. A gallant attempt upon a second barrier resulted in complete discom- fiture. Frozen with cold, many of their arms rendered useless by the snow, surrounded by the enemy in constantly increasing numbers, and all the avenues of retreat cut off, Morgan and his brave followers at length reluctantly con- sented to surrender.
Drawing around him the remainder of his troops, Arnold retired three miles up the river. Sheltering his men for the winter behind breast- works of frozen snow, he kept Quebec in a state of blockade. On the 1st of May, 1776, rein- forcements, under General Thomas, increased the invading army to nine hundred men; but one-half of these being rendered ineffective by the prevalence of the small-pox, and the British. garrison having, in the mean time, been strength- ened by the arrival of additional troops, it was found advisable to evacuate Canada, a movement which, after a series of disasters, was finally ac- complished on the 17th of June.
In the midst of these northern operations, the city of New York was thrown into a state of tu- mult in consequence of the obnoxious course of
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the editor of Rivington's Gazette, a paper sup- ported by the influence of the Tory population, and by the patronage of Tryon, who, from on board the Asia, still kept up a constant communi- cation with his adherents on shore. The publisher having been warned, without effect, to moderate * the heat of his partisan zeal, Captain Sears, at the instigation of the Sons of Liberty, fearing to trust the local militia, mustered in Connecticut a party of light-horse, and entering New York in open day on the 25th of November, broke into Rivington's office, demolished his press, and car- ried off the types.
The intrigues of Governor Tryon, and the ac- tivity of the loyalists, rendering the fidelity of New York to the patriot cause a matter of con- siderable doubt, Washington ordered Lee to take command of a body of Connecticut volunteers to assist in the defence of the city, and to aid in re- straining the factious spirit of those who still obstinately supported the pretensions of Great Britain.
These adherents were, however, too numerous, both within the city and throughout the province, to suffer more than a temporary check. Sir John Johnson, son to the conqueror of Dieskau, and Guy Johnson, the Indian agent, both living in the vicinity of the Mohawk, had contrived to keep the Highlanders, who were settled around them, for the most part favourable to the royal
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1776.] DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 261
cause, until Schuyler, in command on the fron- tier, sent a detachment to disarm them, and took hostages to insure their future submission. Guy Johnson fled into Canada, whither Sir John soon followed him. The latter, accepting a commis- sion as colonel in the British service, succeeded in raising from among his tenants and elsewhere two battalions of "Royal Greens." Joseph Brant, the half-breed, served under Guy John- son for a brief season as his secretary, but sub- sequently engaged in those more active and ter- rible operations which have rendered his name so painfully celebrated.
Though the British troops in garrison at Bos- ton still remained in a state of blockade, the Tory population of the provinces was far from inactive. Several skirmishes of a serious cha- racter had taken place; and as the British ministry evinced a disposition to crush all op- position by force of arms, the period for recon- ciliation was generally acknowledged to have passed away. On the 4th of July, 1776, the Continental Congress, assembled at Philadel- phia, resolved upon a Declaration of Independ- ence. On this occasion the delegates from New York declined to vote; but the provincial con- gress, which assembled at White Plains on the 9th of the same month, sanctioned the declara- tion, and ordered it to be engrossed and signed.
In the city of New York the proclamation of
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independence was received by the patriots with the liveliest demonstrations of satisfaction. Not content with testifying their joy by shouts and acclamations, they destroyed a picture of the king which hung in the City Hall. Proceeding thence to the Bowling-green, they threw down his equestrian statue, and subsequently con- verted the lead of which it was composed into bullets for the use of the continental army.
CHAPTER XX.
Evacuation of Boston-Washington at New York-His em- barrassments -- Discovery of a plot to seize his person-Ap- proach of General Howe-The British encamp on Staten Island-Arrival of Admiral Lord Howe with reinforcements -American defences at Brooklyn-Landing of the British on Long Island-Battle of Long Island, and defeat of Put- nam-Washington encamps at Harlem-Howe takes pos- session of York Island-Disgraceful flight of the American militia-New York evacuated-Skirmish at Harlem-Seri- ous conflagration in the city-Military and naval operations of the British-The Americans encamp at White Plains- Defeat of MeDougal-Capture of Fort Washington-Aban- donment of Fort Lee-Retreat of Washington through the Jerseys-Crosses the Delaware at Trenton-Situation of the Northern army-Crown Point evacuated-Advance of Carleton-Battle on Lake Champlain.
ON the 27th of March, 1776, General Howe, with seven thousand British troops, evacuated Boston, and retired to Halifax. Confidently ex- pecting that the next movement of the British general would be directed upon New York, Wash-
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1776.] APPROACHI OF GENERAL HOWE.
ington hastened to the latter city with the main body of his army, leaving five regiments under General Ward to garrison Boston. The earliest attention of the commander-in-chief was directed toward putting the city of New York in as good a condition of defence as his limited means would admit ; but he soon found his operations greatly embarrassed by the activity of the loyalists, whom no prohibition could restrain from keep- ing up a correspondence with the enemy. Even the mayor of the city proved faithless to the cause of liberty. A plot was also discovered for seizing the person of Washington, and con- veying him a prisoner on board one of the Bri- tish ships. The principal conspirator was tried by court-martial, and ordered to be shot.
Having conceived the design of separating the northern from the southern states by the occu- pation of New York, General Howe, reinforced by the troops previously stationed at Halifax, set sail from that port, and on the 28th of June landed on Staten Island. In the early part of July he was joined by his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, with a fleet of one hundred and fifty sail, and twenty thousand additional troops. This overwhelming force was not without its effect, especially upon the people of Long Island, many of whom were already favourable to the royal cause. A considerable number of inhabitants immediately took the oaths of allegiance, while
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a portion of them organized themselves into a militia corps, the command of which was ac- cepted by Tryon.
In anticipation of this emergency, Congress had already called upon the middle and northern states for reinforcements to the number of twen- ty-four thousand men. But it was the middle of August before the entire force under Washing- ton's immediate command reached twenty thou- sand men, more than one-third of whom were raw levies, for the most part badly equipped and worse disciplined. To oppose these, the camp of General Howe on Staten Island contained twenty-four thousand British troops and German mercenaries, perfect in their drill and admirably appointed.
Having been commissioned to offer a free par- don to all persons who, within a specified time, would come forward and take the oath of alle- giance to Great Britain, General Howe, in con- nection with the admiral his brother, delayed the prosecution of further hostilities until the effect of the proclamation should be ascertained. Finding the patriots firmly resolved to maintain the principles they had espoused, active opera- tions were determined on.
To check the approach of Howe upon the city by way of Long Island, the Americans had thrown up intrenchments at Brooklyn, a point of land opposite New York, but separated from it
1776.] LANDING ON LONG ISLAND. 265
by what is known as the East River, an arm of the sea three-fourths of a mile wide. Behind these intrenchments nine thousand men were encamped. The command of this strong de- tachment had been intrusted to General Greene, under whose directions the works had been con structed, and to whom the approaches were fami- liar ; but the latter being taken seriously ill, his command was transferred to General Putnam, who, though an able and energetic officer, was but little acquainted with the topography of the surrounding country.
On the morning of the 22d of August, General Howe embarked fifteen thousand troops, in sepa- rate divisions, on board of galleys and flat-boats previously prepared for that service. Quitting his camp at Staten Island, he succeeded in land- ing, without opposition, on the beach near Utrecht, in King's county, Long Island, and about eight miles south of the city of New York. On the 25th his force was still further augmented by the addition of two brigades of Hessians under Gene- ral De Heister: Between the American works at Brooklyn and the British position at Flatbush extended a long range of thickly-wooded hills, pierced by several passes ; and upon the degree of vigilance with which these passes were guard- ed mainly depended the security of the American camp.
Having at length arranged his plan of opera-
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tions, the British general ordered De Heister, on the night of the 26th, to take the road which led from Flatbush across the hills in front of the lines at Brooklyn; while a similar column, under Grant, marched round the western base of the hills by the river road, and approached the Ame- ricans on their right. The object of these move- ments was to draw the attention of Putnam from the advance of the main body of the British under Clinton, which, at the same time, was skirting the foot of the hills by an easterly route, with a view of turning the American left. Falling into the snare thus artfully laid, Putnam threw forward a strong corps under Sterling to guard the river road, while Sullivan hastened to dispute the passage of De Heister over the hills. The approach of Clinton with the main body was thus effectually masked by the movements of the other columns; and it was not until Sullivan found himself exposed to a galling fire in front and rear, that the stratagem of the British com- mander was detected. After several ineffectual attempts to force their way through the masses of the enemy, the troops under Sullivan broke into detached parties, and took refuge among the hills; but the greater portion of them, toge- ther with Sullivan himself, were eventually taken prisoners.
The progress of Grant by the river road met with far more vigorous opposition from Sterling.
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GALLANTRY OF STERLING.
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Strengthened about daybreak by his advanced guard, which the British had driven in, Sterling posted his troops along the summit of the hills, and, as the enemy approached, commenced a severe cannonade, which was continued on both sides for several hours. Although repeatedly attacked by the brigades under Cornwallis and Grant, the Americans at this point gallantly held their ground until De Heister had routed Sullivan, and their rear was threatened by Clin- ton. His position becoming momentarily more dangerous, Sterling at length reluctantly ordered a retreat. Closely pressed by the enemy in front, and having in his rear a marsh intersected by a. deep creek, this movement was rendered ex- tremely perilous, from the bridge which spanned the latter having been burned in a panic by a brigade from New England. The choice of two courses alone remained. One was, to surrender to the enemy; the other, to risk an escape by attempting to cross the creek and marsh, which were eighty yards in width and of unknown depth. Sterling gallantly resolved upon the
latter. Selecting four hundred men from the Maryland battalion to cover the retreat of the rest, he placed himself at the head of this small force, and in full sight from the American lines charged, with fixed bayonets, the brigade com- manded by Cornwallis. Washington, who had hastened across the river from New York, was &
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK. [1776.
witness to this display of heroic bravery. Wring- ing his hands in anguish, he bitterly deplored the fate of men who were so nobly sacrificing themselves to the safety of their companions. Four times the desperate charge was repeated. On the fifth, the British began to show signs of disorder ; but at this juncture De Heister with his Hessians commenced an assault in the rear. Reduced in numbers and weakened by their ex- ertions, a portion of the detachment, following the example of Sterling, surrendered themselves prisoners of war. The remaining three compa- nies, having resolutely determined not to yield, cut their way through the ranks of the enemy, and endeavoured to cross the creek. A few of them were successful in making good their es- cape, but the greater part perished in the attempt.
The loss of the Americans in this disastrous battle has been variously estimated. Their killed and wounded could not have fallen short of four hundred. The British commander ac- knowledged, on his part, to a loss of three hun- dred; but upward of a thousand American pri- soners remained in his hands.
The victorious forces, cautiously advancing, encamped in front of the American lines, and made preparations for investing them in form. In the mean time, the troops within the intrench- ments had been reinforced from New York; but
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DEATH OF GEN. WOODHULL. 269
Washington, after holding a council of war with his officers, determined upon withdrawing them from a situation so precarious. A retreat across the river, conducted with great silence and se- crecy, was accordingly effected on the night of August the 29th, in the midst of a thick fog, and without the loss of a single man. The cap- ture of General Woodhull, late president of the provincial congress, which occurred the day after the battle, was another severe blow to the Ame- rican cause. He died soon afterward, from the gross neglect of his captors to dress the wounds they had inflicted upon him subsequent to his surrender.
The victory on Long Island exposing New York to an attack from the enemy, Washington, leaving a strong force in the city, retired with the main body to the heights of Harlem, making; at the same time, the necessary arrangements for facilitating his further retreat.
The British military and naval commanders, entertaining a hope that the recent victory would produce an effect upon Congress favourable to their wishes, again sought to open negotiations for an amicable adjustment of the dispute be- tween the confederated states and the mother country ; but Congress firmly refused to listen to any proposals of peace which did not recog- nise the colonies as independent states.
An assault upon New York was immediately
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK. [1776.
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determined upon. Supported by the ships of the fleet, which had forced a passage up the Hudson and East rivers, Howe landed on York Island, about three miles above the city. The guard stationed there to oppose his debarkation fled without firing a gun; and two brigades of Connecticut militia sent to their support, being seized with a similar panic, disgracefully fol- lowed their example. Washington, with Putnam and Mifflin, vainly endeavoured to put a stop to this shameful flight.
" Are these the men with whom I am to defend America ?" exclaimed Washington. Indignantly dashing his hat upon the ground, he suffered his attendants to hurry him from the field. Orders were at once sent to the troops yet remaining in the city to evacuate it without delay. Under cover of Smallwood's Maryland regiment, almost the only one upon which any great reliance could be placed, the retreat, though rapid and disorderly, was at length effected; but not before three hundred men had been left in the hands of the enemy. Having thus easily obtained almost undisputed possession of the island, Howe directed a strong detachment to take possession of the city, and with the remainder of his forces encamped in the vicinity of the American lines.
The next day a skirmish took place, which revived to a considerable degree the drooping courage of the continental troops. A body of
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the enemy, three hundred strong, appearing in the plains between the two camps, Washington directed Colonel Knowlton, with a corps of New England rangers, and Major Leitch, with three companies of an untried Virginia regiment, to get into their rear, while he engaged the atten- tion of the enemy by making preparations to assault them in front. The stratagem was suc- cessful ; and although Colonel Knowlton was shot dead early in the action, and Major Leitch received a mortal wound, the companies main- tained their ground. The British receiving a reinforcement of seven hundred men; two regi- ments of the Maryland flying camp and three independent companies from the same State were ordered to the support of the American skir- mishers. Boldly attacking the enemy with the bayonet, they succeeded in putting them to flight, and were in hot pursuit, when Washing- ton, having made the impression he desired, or- dered them to be recalled. In this spirited affair the Americans lost, in killed and wounded, about fifty men ; the British loss exceeded double that number.
On the night of the 20th of September, five days after the enemy had taken possession of New York amid the acclamations of their nume- rous partisans, a fire broke out in the city, by which Trinity Church and nearly one thousand houses were laid in ruins. The origin of the
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK. [1776.
disaster was at first charged upon the "Sons of Liberty," some of whom, in the passionate frenzy of the moment, were seized and thrust into the flames. Subsequent reflection has, however, led to the belief that the fire was purely accidental.
The American lines on Harlem Heights being found too strong to be forced by assault, the two armies lay inactive for three weeks within sight of each other; but Admiral Howe having a se- cond time succeeded in forcing the obstructions to his progress in the Hudson and East rivers, the British troops broke up their encampment, and embarking on board of flat-boats, sloops, and schooners, landed on the 12th of October at Frogs' Point, about nine miles above Harlem. These military and naval movements having the effect of cutting off the American supplies by way of the river, Washington resolved to aban- don York Island, leaving behind him in garrison at Fort Washington two thousand men under Colonel Magaw. The main body of the Ameri- rican army fell back to Kingsbridge, where a part of the forces were left to throw up intrench- ments, in order to protect the baggage and stores, and to retard the advance of the enemy. With the advanced division Washington pro- ceeded to White Plains. Toward the end of October, the whole army was concentrated at this point, occupying a position well chosen for defence, and strongly fortified. Howe followed
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