New York – Page 2 – Day-By-Day America

A Miraculous Retreat from Long Island

Sketch of General John Glover. Glover’s regiment, composed largely of sailors and fishermen from Marblehead, Massachusetts, helped ferry the American army across the East River to safety in a single night.

The Battle of Long Island left the American army in extreme danger. They were crowded into their fortifications at Brooklyn; in front of them was the British and Hessian army, and behind them was the East River. The British and Hessians outnumbered them, and they were steadily digging trenches toward the American lines: once they got close enough, they would attack, and they would almost certainly win. To make things worse, many of the men were exhausted, and it was raining steadily.

German-American Officer Found Guilty of Attempted Espionage

Herman Zedwitz, a native German who served in the American army, wrote a secret letter, offering to provide intelligence to the British in exchange for money.

Herman Zedwitz was a native German who had served in the Seven Years’ War (known as the French and Indian War in America) in the army of the King of Prussia. For a few months during that time, his unit, with him as the commander, was assigned to serve with the British cavalry, and he became acquainted with the famous British Lieutenant General John Manners, Marquess of Granby, who apparently thought well of him.

In 1770, a few years after the war, Granby wrote to Zedwitz in Germany. Britain and Spain were disputing over the Falkland Islands, and it looked like war might break out. Granby offered to pay Zedwitz to recruit some German riflemen to serve with the British forces. Zedwitz recruited 20 men for starters and took them to England as agreed; but then Granby died, Britain and Spain settled the dispute diplomatically, and Zedwitz couldn’t get anybody to pay him, so he had to send the men back home at his own expense.

Invasion of Long Island

15,000 British and Hessian troops landed at Gravesend Bay on Long Island on the morning of August 22, 1776.

One step closer to battle: the British and Hessian troops moved from Staten Island to Long Island, in preparation for a major attack on the rebels stationed there. As at Staten Island earlier in the month, the Americans didn’t try to stop them from landing — and even if they had, the landing operations were covered by several British warships, including the Carcass and Thunder, which were bomb ketches (vessels made specifically for bombarding targets on shore). As they pulled back from the shore to their main positions a few miles away, however, the Americans did burn some grain, so as to keep it from falling into enemy hands.

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.

Get Out of Town!

The tension in New York was building. With a huge British fleet in the harbor, it was only a matter of time before the Americans would be attacked, so the American commander-in-chief issued a proclamation on August 17, encouraging “Women, Children, and infirm Persons” to evacuate — not only for their own safety, but so that the army wouldn’t have to worry about them in the event of an attack:

Whereas a Bombardment and Attack upon the City of New-York, by our cruel, and inveterate Enemy, may be hourly expected: And as there are great Numbers of Women, Children, and infirm Persons, yet remaining in the City, whose Continuance will rather be prejudicial than advantageous to the Army, and their Persons exposed to great Danger and Hazard: I Do therefore recommend it to all such Persons, as they value their own Safety and Preservation, to remove with all Expedition, out of the said Town, at this critical Period,—trusting, that with the Blessing of Heaven, upon the American Arms, they may soon return to it in perfect Security. And I do enjoin and require, all the Officers and Soldiers in the Army, under my Command, to forward and assist such Persons in their Compliance with this Recommendation. Given, under my Hand, at Head-Quarters, New-York, August 17, 1776.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Some of them did leave, but some stayed — perhaps because they had no place to go, or because they were confident that the American forces would succeed in defending the city, or because they were still loyal to the king and hoped that the British would take over the city.

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:

New York: The New Battleground

The British had abandoned Boston. New York was the new battleground. Americans fortified the town and the surrounding shores, and prepared for the British to come — which they did. And when they came, they came in force. Warships, troop transport ships, and supply ships arrived by dozens in New York harbor, carrying not only British soldiers but also German mercenaries (generally known as Hessians). With each new ship, the odds against the Americans increased. But it seems that many of the American soldiers were quite confident that they would win.

Why? I don’t know. The British and Hessians outnumbered them; they had better equipment, better training, and more experience. They had a powerful navy, while the Americans had a tiny one. And they still had plenty of supporters in America.

But the American soldiers were still confident — some of them too confident, it seems to me. One of them wrote, “We fear not Tory George, & his War-worn Army! — We fear them not”, and added that he had never been “so full of Certainty that we shall prevail” — even though at the time he could see the impressive British fleet from the door of his rented room.

Maybe it was because of their victory at Boston that they were so confident. Maybe it was because they were convinced of the righteousness of their cause, and that justice and Providence were on their side, so there was no way the enemy could win. Maybe it was because they were now fighting for their independence.

Whatever the reason, they were in for a rude awakening during that summer of 1776 at New York…

“The God of This World Has Blinded the Mind”

Though some American soldiers were devout and dedicated in attending church and so on, it’s not surprising that some were quite the opposite. Philip Vickers Fithian, a Connecticut chaplain who was serving in New York, wrote in his journal on August 11, 1776:

The Lords Day is come once more. But the Sabbath is scarcely known in the Army. Profaned is all religious Exercise. Dreadful is the thought that Man who expect an Engagement every Day with a obstinate, wise, & powerful Enemy, should dare be so ungodly. But the God of this World has blinded the Mind.

It’s worth noting that one reason Fithian considered religious observance important corresponded with what Washington had said to the troops about a month earlier — namely, that they needed the “blessing and protection of Heaven”, and in order to get it, they needed to “live, and act, as becomes a Christian soldier”.

Sources

The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence, p. 171.
“General Orders, 9 July 1776,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-05-02-0176. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 5, 16 June 1776 – 12 August 1776, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993, pp. 245–247.]

Sunday Adventures of Isaac Bangs

Among the notable features of the city of New York, this 1776 map lists 16 churches and a synagogue.

23-year-old American lieutenant Isaac Bangs kept an interesting and informative journal of his service in New York during the spring and summer of 1776, as he and the rest of the army waited and prepared for a British attack. Among other things, he described and critiqued the various church services he attended. Being from New England (specifically, Massachusetts), he was used to the Congregational church, but he wasn’t opposed to attending the meetings of other denominations. (One Saturday, out of curiosity, he even went to the synagogue in New York “to observe the Method of the Jewish Worship”, and wrote about the building and the worship service in detail.) Here are a few of his experiences.

The first time he attended church in New York, he got quite a surprise:

The Leaden George

A mob pulled down a lead statue of King George III in New York on July 9, 1776.

What do you think about pulling down statues? That and similar things happened during the American Revolution. Sometimes it was done by mobs, sometimes by the civil authorities. In New York City, for example, a mob pulled down a statue of King George III. Symbols of royal authority in government buildings were taken down and destroyed. A tavern in Worcester, Massachusetts, called the King’s Arms, used the royal coat of arms for its sign; the sign was taken down (and I’m guessing that the owner changed the name of the tavern thereafter). Many of these things happened just after the Declaration of Independence, which makes sense.