What is the Admiral Doing?
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, the British Admiral in America, Samuel Graves, wasn’t extremely popular. Here’s an example, stated very forcefully by British Major General John Burgoyne:
It may perhaps be asked in England — what [is] the Admiral doing? I wish I was able to answer that question satisfactorily. But I can only say what he is not doing.
That He is not supplying the troops with sheep & oxen the dinners of the best of us bear [me]ager testimony — the want of broth in the Hospitals bears a more melancholy one.
He is not defending his own flocks & herds, for the enemy has repeatedly and in the most insulting manner, plundered his own appropriated islands.
He is not defending the other islands in the harbour; for the enemy landed in force, burned the lighthouse at noon day, & killed & took a party of marines almost under the guns of two or three men of war.
He is not employing his ships to keep up communication & intelligence with the servants & friends of Government at different parts of the Continent, for I do not beleive Genl Gage has received a letter from any correspondent out of Boston these six weeks.
It’s only fair to point out that Graves wasn’t in a very easy situation. Britain and the colonies were only partly at war at that time, and he kind of had to stay on the middle ground. If they had been in all-out war, I think it would have been easier for him to decide and do what needed to be done.
Notes
In case you’re wondering, I didn’t misspell “believe” on accident; Burgoyne misspelled it, and I just wrote it the way he did.
Source
Naval Documents of the American Revolution, vol. 1, p. 1190.