Revolutionary War Historical Article
The American Revolution Month-by-Month December 1774
Some of the Players upon the Stage
By Compatriot Andrew "Andy" Stough
Gold Country Chapter No. 7 of the CSSAR
Editor's Note: This article was reprinted by Permission of the Gold Country Chapter No. 7 of the CSSAR
John and Samuel Adams
John and Samuel Adams were second cousins but as unlike as could be. Samuel better recalled as “Sam” Adams of Massachusetts was the older of the two. Beyond their family connection and Harvard education the similarity ends. Sam, unable to make a living in any of the usual professions he finds his niche in life as a political activist; however King George, his ministers and local British authorities saw him mostly as a rabble rouser. He is the principal architect in the founding of the “Sons of Liberty” who harass the local authorities and were the indirect hand behind the “Boston Massacre” which stirred the multitudes to desire active intervention against the British authorities. Sam went on to become a member of the Continental Congress where he and his younger cousin work together for the first time
John, the younger of the two, was born on a farm in Braintree, Massachusetts and grew up as a distinguished scholar particularly in science and mathematics. He attended Harvard and was pushed by his mother toward the ministry. John, more attuned to a discipline that deals in specifics, becomes a lawyer. He rises rapidly as an attorney who wins cases, attaining prominence when he defends and wins a smuggling case for John Hancock, the wealthiest man in the colony. He is not a part of the "Sons of Liberty" but writes of the current political problems bringing attention from the Massachusetts Assembly. From this time on he will be connected to the evolution of the "American Political Revolution" and ends up as a member of the Continental Congress. He is the only early President whose wife, today, in a smaller way, receives as much public respect for her opinions and observations as do her husband's. She was certainly an early milestone in the history of First Ladies.
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin must be mentioned, but he is so well known for his efforts in the Revolution, before and after the war, that I see no reason to do other than bring up his name as a reminder of his part in the Revolution.
George Washington
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Again I feel that Washington must be mentioned but his story is so well known that nothing significant can be added.
Nathanael Greene
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A Quaker blacksmith who was read out of the church for his un-pacifist views of protecting oneself and one’s country enlisted as a private in the Rhode Island Militia. His education seems, beyond the Grammar School, to have been acquired through his reading and study of military history and tactics. In this he was joined by of all people a well educated bookseller named Henry Knox who also was deep into things military especially the use of artillery. While both Greene and Knox became generals, it was Greene who became one of Washington’s most capable and trusted field commanders. He lacked Benedict Arnold’s natural ability as a field commander but made up for it through in-the-field training and experience. His dedication to the Revolution and his Loyalty to Washington as well as being the only successful leader of the Southern Army, certainly entitles him to the title after Washington to be the most outstanding general of the war.
Richard Montgomery
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As an officer in the British regular army he fought in the French and Indian War. At a later date he resigned his commission to settle in the colonies where he married into a well-to-do family. Made a Brigadier General in the Continental Army, he was second in command to General Schuyler in the Canadian Expedition. In this capacity he was constantly urging Schuyler to speed up the departure date from Ticonderoga for Montreal. Upon Schuyler’s departure he led the Northern Army into Canada, capturing Montreal, but lost his life in the battle for Quebec. Forty years old, he was a handsome and dashing officer afire with ambition to serve the Patriot Cause. Had he survived the Canadian campaign he might very well have become, along with Greene, one of Washington’s greatest generals.
Benedict Arnold
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The picture of a bold buccaneer captain striding across the quarter-deck of a pirate ship puts me in mind of Benedict Arnold. Prior to his debasement as a traitor, he was, at the time, the greatest tactician and leader of troops in the Continental Army. Had it not been for Arnold’s leadership and tactics at Saratoga there may well have been no victory and no support from France, Spain and eventually the Netherlands. Read any honest history of Arnold and you must come to the conclusion that he was, until his moment of perfidy the one of the best of Washington’s generals. He was also the most discriminated and slighted officer in the Continental Army. George Washington was most disturbed upon learning that Arnold, a trusted lieutenant had arranged to turnover West Point to the British. Especially so when he learned that the turnover of West Point had been hatched in Philadelphia and that he had asked for command of West Point specifically for the purpose of splitting the colonies by giving control of the Hudson to Britain. Unfortunately, Arnold appears to have been a man so involved with his own ambitions and reputation as to overlook what may have been the eventual reward of his endeavors as one of Washington’s generals.
King George III
Third Hanoverian King of England and the first to speak English. Raised in the royal environment he is dedicated to maintaining the Empire but he has no acquaintance with the British people other than the nobility which have surrounded him since birth. He vigorously defends the Crown’s interest in the North American colonies but has no idea of the issues and his ministers are of little help. Both King and ministers are unaware of the potential of the thirteen colonies either to become a financial and productive center beyond anything that the world has seen. The Sugar colonies of the Caribbean are of more interest and apparent potential as well as the foothold in India. A more knowledgeable and capable monarch might have saved the North American Colonies for the Empire. But the King, his ministers and military fail to understand either the military capability or the will for freedom that evolves as relations break down with the mother country.
Lord North & Lord Germaine
While these are not the only advisors to the king they appear to have been the most influential in the poor-to-downright-foolish decisions and actions taken to break the rebellion. The British generals and admirals concerned, with the possible exception of Lord Cornwallis, were derelict in their duty to prosecute the war. At best they bumbled their way through the war and with their decisions lost the colonies.
The list goes on and on, other individuals of note.
Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette
Baron Jean de Kalb
Tadeusz Kosciuszko
John Paul Jones
Henry(Light Horse Harry) Lee
Baron Von Steuben
Banastre Tarleton
Finally there is my own favorite warrior, Captain Allen McLane
Captain Allen McLane who first appears in Ward’s "The War Of The Revolution" at Germantown where his company of light horse charged the British forward pickets requiring them to be rescued with the support of two field pieces. With his light horse sometimes supported by Oneida Indians he performs small miracles as in the rescue of General Joseph Reed from British bayoneteers. He continues to be brash and successful but remains a Captain to the end. The final mention of McLane and his men is at Stony Point. His military career rises like a rocket, lights the night for a few minutes and then is seen no more.
References: Christopher Ward's "War of the Revolution"; Robert Leckie's "George Washington's War";Jeffrey Shaara's "Rise to Rebellion "
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