Hudson River – Day-By-Day America

Phoenix and Rose Rejoin the British Fleet

With the Americans trying to block up the channel of the river, and having already been through two attacks by American galleys and fire ships, Captains Parker and Wallace, of His Majesty’s Ships Phoenix and Rose, decided it was time to call it quits; they would leave the Hudson River and head back to friendly territory. At 5:00 in the morning on August 18, 1776, they weighed anchor and set sail down the river, passing through the obstacles that the Americans had sunk in the river. American artillerymen fired at them, and they fired back, but hardly any damage was done. An American chaplain heard the noise and wondered what was going on:

Whew — ! What means this roaring above us? — Crack! Crack! Crack! What can this cracking mean! — It is the upper Battery contending with the Ships coming down the River.
Just a Quarter of an hour before seven in the morning the firing begun. At seven precisely they were abreast of the grand Battery at New-York. They kept over as near Powles Hook as they could, in Order to be as far as possible from the York Batteries. Before they were down so low as the grand Battery at New-York, & then quite down to the Fleet, as they passed by the Fire from Governors Island, & Red-Hook, we had them in perfect View. The Morning is rainy, the Wind at North East & Violent, so that they passed briskly, tho’ the Ebb was quite expended before they were past Red-Hook. For about four Minutes the firing was really tremendous! This was the Time while the Ships were passing between the grand Battery & Governors-Island; they were then sailing in the midst of a perpetual Blaze! — The lower Batteries at New-York; the Batteries over at Powles-Hook; the Gallies which lay between New-York & Governors Island; & all the Cannon on Governors Island, were all, like incessant Thunders, rattling on them! The Phoenix was ahead of the Rose a Mile & a half, or more; & the two Tenders were a Mile behind the Rose; Both the Ships fired briskly, on the Town & Batteries, but without much Effect, as their Pass was so transient. Our Lodging is on the Shore in Range with Governors-Island, at which the Ships fired bitterly, but we saw no Balls come quite ashore, tho’ great Numbers struck the Water between the Island & us. When they were past Red-Hook they clued [i.e., hauled] up their Sails & scudded away proudly to the Fleet under only a Main Top Sail each! Thus the British Navy triumphs: And that Daemon Wallace [captain of the Rose], is, no Doubt, elated with his present Security.
But let the Traitors dare to tread the Land! Let us stand on equal Ground, & we defy even British Prowess.

By 8:00, the ships had rejoined the rest of the British fleet and were safely anchored off Staten Island.

American Fire-Ship Attack in the Hudson

American fire ships attacked British warships on the Hudson River at night, and destroyed one of them. James Wallace, the captain of one of the British ships, made a sketch that later served as the basis for this picture.

When the British ships Phoenix and Rose got past the American defenses and went up the Hudson River, orders immediately went out among the American forces to prepare fire ships for attacking them.

A fire ship, or fire raft, was a vessel meant for setting enemy ships on fire. It might be made especially for the purpose, or it might just be an old vessel that they could afford to dispose of. It was filled with flammable materials, arranged in such a way that the fire would start quickly and burn well. The idea was to sail it right up against the enemy’s ship, throw out grappling hooks to hold it alongside, start the fire — and then get out of there as fast as possible.

Although it sounds simple, it took a few weeks for the Americans to get everything ready. In the meanwhile, they made a rather unsuccessful attack in galleys. Finally, at about 11:00 or 11:30 p.m. on August 16, 1776, while lying at anchor in the Hudson, the British crews aboard the Phoenix and Rose (and the three smaller vessels — two tenders and one schooner — that accompanied them) saw a few vessels “silently moving up with the tide.” Two of them were fire ships, and the others were galleys (low, flat-built vessels that used oars as well as sails).

British Warships and American Galleys Face Off in the Tappan Zee

British ships anchored in the Tappan Zee (part of the Hudson River) were attacked by American galleys. The large ships shown on this map indicate where the battle took place.

On the morning of August 3, 1776, the crews of the British warships Phoenix and Rose saw six American ships coming up the Hudson River toward them, along with a number of boats. It wasn’t likely that they were coming for a friendly chat, so the British prepared for action. These American ships were actually galleys — low, flat-built vessels that had both oars and sails — and were definitely less formidable than the British ships, but they were still a threat.

Two Ships, Six Men, and a Cow

The American defenders of New York had spent a lot of time fortifying and preparing against a British attack. There were trenches and artillery emplacements along the shoreline, and even obstacles in the river to keep ships from sailing up it. But on July 12, 1776, the Royal Navy showed that the Americans couldn’t even stop a couple of British warships. And although the only thing killed by British fire that day was a cow, six American artillerymen were killed from their own carelessness in handling their cannon.

The British warships *Phoenix* and *Rose* forced their way up the Hudson River despite the Americans’ best efforts to stop them. It’s a bit hard to see, but all the clouds of smoke in the background are from American cannon shooting at the ships. This picture was made by Captain Archibald Robertson, a British army engineer, from a viewpoint on Staten Island.

That afternoon, the Phoenix, which had 44 guns, and the Rose, which had 20, sailed up the Hudson River with a couple of tenders (small vessels that often accompanied the larger ships). The American artillery blazed away at them and inflicted some damage, but couldn’t stop them, and the obstacles in the river turned out to not be a problem for them. American lieutenant Isaac Bangs described it in his journal: