Revolutionary War Historical Article
The American Revolution Month-by-Month March 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.
For General George Washington and the Continental Army the siege of Boston has been an ongoing vigil by day and night during all types of weather. Quite the opposite is true of the British soldiery. The men have been quartered perhaps not handsomely but adequately. Officers lived much higher, spending their evenings being entertained by Boston’s wealthier citizens loyal to King George III.
Cards and gaming were popular as was the production of plays with young officers as the actors. It was not always that, “the act must go on.” Continentals were aware of this gaiety and frequently probed the British line with no other intent than to exercise the officers and spoil their entertainment. On one occasion the characters of young women was played by the youngest officers, who, called from the stage to lead, later appeared still dressed as ladies in their gowns but leading their soldiers.
Washington from the beginning had been chafed by the fact that he could not bodily move the British from their luxurious life in Boston and send them packing back to England. The arrival from Ticonderoga on January 24th of the former bookseller, Henry Knox, now Colonel Knox, Chief of Artillery, gave Washington the means to break the siege and send the British home.
On the nights of March 4th and 5th, General John Thomas led a force from the Continental Army and captured and fortified the Heights of Dorchester giving him a platform for the mounting of the big cannons from Ticonderoga and an advantage of fire power over both the army in Boston and the naval ships in the harbor. The capture and conversion of Dorchester Heights from an empty hill to a full fledged attack platform, complete with trenches and protective works, took the British by surprise. A young naval officer was the first to notice the difference in the situation. Every ship in the harbor and every inch of the City of Boston were vulnerable to superior American fire power.
On March 2nd Washington showed the British exactly how effective his artillerymen were. Knox raked the British lines with telling effect. One British officer commented that they had “returned the fire but not with the same effectiveness”.
Seldom do we see or hear of the British version of this story but London had already determined from reports sent by General Gage that Boston and its harbor were vulnerable if the rebels had the proper weapons. Now not only did the rebels have the cannons they needed but they were in place and capable of attacking the City and Harbor at any time. New York and Ticonderoga held the key to the British invasion route up and down the Hudson Valley. Boston had no such strategic value. It had only become important because of the rebellious actions of its citizens who had stirred the embers of revolution not only in Boston but the entire 13 colonies.
London had already decided that Gage was ineffective. Long favored by the King and generally known as a distinguished soldier, calling him home to brief the King was an excuse to remove a failed General without embarrassment to him or the Crown. Once home he would be given no duties and would be allowed to wither on the vine.
The replacements for General Gage were the Howe Brothers. Major General Sir William Howe would command on land while his elder and more distinguished brother, , commanded the British North American Fleet. I find no mention of Admiral Graves who ordered the burning of Falmouth, Maine on his own authority. Presumably he became second in command to Admiral Howe, or he and his fleet was reassigned to other duties.
The Howe brothers had been sent to relieve Gage with orders to abandon Boston and make a temporary move to Halifax, Nova Scotia, transporting with them as many Loyalists as desired to be transported or could be carried away from Boston.
There were now three British fleets in American waters. In addition to Admiral Howe and his fleet there was a second fleet in the Carolinas carrying troops under Sir Henry Clinton. A third fleet enroute under Admiral Sir Peter Parker, carrying military commanded by General Lord Cornwallis, was on its way to complement the expedition already present in the Carolinas.
On March 17th the last British soldier and a thousand Loyalists departed Boston for Nantaskett Harbor. Ten days after that the fleet of 170 ships departed for Halifax.
London may have made a prior determination to abandon Boston but events caught up with them. The British may have sailed voluntarily but certainly Knox and his artillery had emphasized that a hasty departure would be a healthy thing to do.
Now, Washington had the problem of where will the two Howes appear next? Clinton was already in the Carolinas so Washington surmised that New York would be their choice due to the excellent harbor, defensibility of the area, its large loyalist population and its strategic location along the Hudson River.
Congress was also concerned with the next move, would it be to Philadelphia and what about the Loyalists in their midst? Britain had already attempted to use Loyalists as a military force against the rebels at Moore’s Creek. In a nation where approximately one third of the nation was Loyalists they represented a serious threat, especially in a military role.
With this vulnerability in mind, on March 19th, the Congress recommended a policy of disarming all Loyalists. Congress was also concerned by the lack of legality for American ships taking action against British shipping so on the 19th of March authorized the attacking of British shipping by privateers.
Not only was Washington concerned about the disposition of Howe’s force but what and where was Clinton’s next move. A Southern Army was non-existent. The southern states primarily depended upon an uncoordinated militia for defense.
References: Arthur Meier Schlesinger’’s “Almanac of American History”; John Alden’s “A History of the American Revolution”; Don Higginbotham’s “The War of American Independence”; A. J. Langguth’s “Patriots: The men who started the American Revolution”; Bruce and William B.Catton’s “The Bold and Magnificent Dream”; Robert Leckie’s “George Washington’s War”; Christopher Ward’s “The War of the Revolution;”
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