Revolutionary War Historical Article
The American Revolution Month-by-Month January 1776
By Compatriot Andrew "Andy" Stough
Editor's Note: This article was reprinted by Permission of the Gold Country Chapter No. 7 of the CSSAR and was slightly edited by the Sons of Liberty Chapter of the CSSAR
From past actions January should have been a dull month since European armies did not fight under winter conditions. This January the Continental army spent its time looking down on the British snug in the comfort of Boston. Benedict Arnold and what remained of his forward force suffered in the winter cold near Quebec. Virginia was the only scene of active warfare.
By the end of December, Virginia’s Governor Dunmore had loaded five warships and six smaller ships with his armed forces including many slaves and as many Loyalists as he could crowd aboard. Tight quarters and unsanitary conditions on the ships led to sickness and death. The condition was aggravated by the lack of foodstuff of every kind. Foraging parties sent ashore to remedy the shortage were either driven back or captured. Obviously the situation demanded action and relief for British land and sea forces in Dunmore’s fleet. Frustrated and angry, Dunmore had announced in December that he would burn Norfolk on New Years day, Norfolk a city of 6,000 souls, was one of the most prominent and prosperous cities in the colonies, would he wantonly destroy such a city?
New Year’s Eve came and went, without action from Dunmore, but this would change. At 4 a.m. the stillness of the night exploded with sound from cannon loaded with red hot cannon balls. Dunmore had made good his threat and began a bombardment of the town. Gunners aboard ship had been made aware of houses and buildings owned by Loyalists and told not to fire on them. It didn’t matter, locals whose property was being shelled rushed to set fire to any Loyalist property. (Ward) The bombardment lasted for 7 hours while fires raged for two days. In the end there was nothing left of the most prosperous town in Virginia but ashes and a name on a map.
Following this event, Dunmore’s fleet sailed north joining up with the larger fleet off New York City. At this time Dunmore’s fleet was split into three parts. One part was sent to Florida another to Jamaica. Dunmore, with a portion of the British fleet, returned to England where he was given a hero’s welcome. For his gallant defense of Crown property he was rewarded with Governorship of the Bahaman Islands. Ironically, slaves who had been promised freedom if they would serve in Dunmore’s Army were taken to Florida and Jamaica and sold back into slavery.
After the battle Sir Guy Carleton held to the environs of Quebec allowing Arnold to wither away outside the city. Militarily Carleton was stronger than ever and could expect that in the spring he would receive overwhelming support from London. Normally it would be expected that an army that had been so badly beaten in battle and whose only resource was his men, as few as they were, would fall back on Montreal where he could at least have the support of that garrison, as well as obtain better housing and supplies. In addition his troops were dwindling by the day as enlistments expired and others simply walked away (Higginbotham)
Still, Arnold held on outside the city. His call for reinforcements from Montreal was denied by Col. Wooster who could not reduce his garrison with out the danger of being overrun--leaving Arnold between two British forces with no place to retreat. Appeals to Schuyler at Albany were denied, as he needed all of his men to fight an uprising by Loyalists in the area. Still Arnold persisted and appealed to the Congress who on January 19 made him a Brigadier General and authorized funding and reinforcements from the New England area. (Ward )
With reinforcements arriving daily at Montreal, Colonel Wooster joined Arnold bringing with him 200 veterans, all seasoned by the march to, and capture of, Montreal. Meanwhile smallpox was raging in Arnold’s camp. Of 600 men only 200 were fit for duty. The reinforcements would also dwindle in effective numbers as small pox began overtaking them. (Ward )
The situation in the siege of Boston was turned around as Colonel Henry Knox, Washington’s Chief of Artillery, did what everyone said could not be done in mid-winter. Arriving the 24th of January, Knox using teams of oxen had hauled all of the cannons and mortars captured at Ticonderoga through the wilderness with its deep snows and without roads to follow. The shoe was now on the other foot. Previously Washington had been in jeopardy from guns aboard the British fleet anchored in Boston Harbor. With his new strength he could now place guns on Dorchester heights and out-gun the British fleet.
Thomas Paine was an English propagandist, a spokesman and writer who had been seen by Ben Franklin as a man who could contribute his talents to the American Cause. Paine had come to America and wrote and spoke for the American Cause without prosecution. The Revolution needed a statement that would inspire a belief in revolution that could inspire and convince the common man that revolt was the only way that he could seek sovereignty from England. Early in January Thomas Paine published the document "Common Sense" It was overwhelmingly received by the American public as their justification of revolt against King George III.
References: Arthur Meier Schlesinger’s “Almanac of American History;” Robert Leckie’s “George Washington’s War”; Jeffrey Shaara’s “Rise to Rebellion”; Edmund Morgan’s “The Birth Of The Republic;” Christopher Ward’s “War of the American Revolution;” Don Higginbotham’s “The War of American Independence"
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