,
Revolutionary War Historical Article
The American Revolution Month-by-Month May 1779
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
Spring finally came to Commander-in-Chief General George Washington's army after a cold winter attended by the usual shortages and reduction of force as in previous years. The big difference was that the usual strong influx of recruits and veterans was not occurring. Even so, the main army had many battle tested veterans capable of maintaining the watch over British Commander-in-Chief General Henry Clinton in New York. It was difficult and sometimes impossible to purchase needed supplies locally due to the downward spiral of the Continental dollar. The plight of Continental paper was so severe that it eventually became worthless. With such a shortage of both supplies and men Washington lacked the ability to attack Clinton. On the other hand Clinton was tied down by the constant demand of London to supply men and materiel for the growing war in the South and the expanding war around the globe.
The change in the war brought a change in the duties of both Clinton and Washington. Each had served in a dual capacity as tactical heads of an army as well as being Commander-in-Chief of all forces in North America. Washington being the more aggressive of the two generals probably felt acutely his inability to take an active role in both leading and directing the forces in combat. Clinton probably was happy with his role as a director of armies instead of the leader of an army. You may remember him as the General in New York who sortied up the Hudson but failed to move further to support Burgoyne.
With the two main armies tied down in the New York area, any major actions in North America would be in the Southern Theater of Operations.
For the British it meant reliance upon seasoned leaders and troops backed by the Royal Navy to convoy merchant ships supplying the Southern Army. For the Patriots it meant for the most part dependence on less well trained troops and untried commanders who had been appointed by Congress and not by the military hierarchy. Supplies were scarcer than ever but despite the lack of clothing and foodstuff there always seemed to be an ample supply of weapons, powder and ball - and resolute men to use that powder and ball.
The struggling Southern Patriot army was a boon for the British and disastrous for the Revolution until more capable leaders emerged. Such follow-on leadership did not yield apparent victories; however, their losses were minimal while British victories were pyrrhic, bleeding the British Southern Army.
Virginia had furnished men and supplies to the Continental Army in both the North and the South which had drained the state of its most qualified men. There had been no hostile action in the state since the Norfolk invasion and most Virginians thought they had done their duty to Congress. The result was a state of apathetic peacefulness.
Thomas Jefferson, writer of the Declaration of Independence, succeeded Patrick Henry as governor early in 1779. Washington had delivered several messages to Jefferson alerting him of a possible move by Clinton to make a second front in the South with Virginia as a likely target. Jefferson was a man of ideas, not a leader, therefore he was not a particularly successful political administrator or warrior. He had problems with the legislature and was not successful in raising militia recruits or organizing and deploying what he had. Therefore when the British came there was no organized resistance. Virginia was ripe for plucking.
Clinton and his staff were aware that the state of Virginia was a prime supplier of provisions to Washington and the origin of foreign trade which brought in cash and supplies to support the Continental Congress. They also knew that Virginia had escaped most ravages of the war and was weak militarily, in fact almost helpless. It was decided as a matter of strategy that it would be easier to defeat the Southern army logistically than in battle. Clinton and his second in command General Lord Charles Cornwallis had different opinions on what should be done to cut off this source of supplies and revenue.
Cornwallis felt it would be wise to occupy the state as the center of British power in America - abandoning New York to the Continental Army. Clinton disagreed; he would not abandon New York and forsaking the possibility of a strike up the Hudson that could cut the rebellious colonies in two. As an alternative he could afford a raiding expedition to loot and destroy any worthwhile target in Virginia with little, if any, resistance. Success of such an expedition might starve the rebels into submission as well as afford the King's advisors a political victory over their opponents in Parliament.
On May 5th, 1779, 22 transports convoyed by the Royal Navy sailed from Sandy Hook with 1800 soldiers. The expedition landed May 10th at Portsmouth (1) and took possession of the undefended town. Detachments then moved on to capture Suffolk, Gosport and other small towns without opposition - except at Gosport where a garrison of 100 held out for awhile in Fort Nelson. Every nearby town was invaded as well as neighboring plantations. All were pillaged and burned. Ward states that in all, "the expedition destroyed or carried off 130 vessels and 130 hogsheads of tobacco valued at 2,000,000 Pounds Sterling, then sailed away without the loss of a single man."
Some sources do not mention Norfolk located immediately across the Elizabeth River from Portsmouth. Norfolk, a bustling seaport was laid out in 1682 as a center of trade with ship building as one of it's major works. On New Year's day in 1776 the town was bombarded by the Royal Navy, followed by an invading force led by Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia Colony from 1771 to 1776. Following the bombardment, sailors set fire to warehouses along the waterfront resulting in fires that burned the town for three days. Every building except St. Paul's church was destroyed. Saint Paul's still stands. Built in 1739 it has a British cannon ball embedded in its walls from the bombardment. Historically, Norfolk was rebuilt after the Revolution. Therefore restoration may not have advanced sufficiently to warrant any major attention in the documentation of the 1779 Expedition.
Congress on February 25th, 1779, directed Washington to take action to "chastise the savages" on the western frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania. Major General John Sullivan was placed in command of an expedition to not only overrun but to destroy the country of the "Six Nations" which extended (beyond the mountains) from Pennsylvania north to Lake Ontario. The Nations were quite civilized, living in permanent houses of wood or stone. The men were warriors who participated only in forays against other Indians and European settlers. The women tended large orchards as well as growing many kinds of vegetables for the nation's year round sustenance.
Sullivan arrived at his departure point in Pennsylvania on May 7th and began to assemble a force of 1,400 men, supported by a detachment of artillery. Sullivan remained east of the mountains until late May, not reaching Indian country until early June.
FOOTNOTES
(1) " Portsmouth, a city of southeastern Virginia on the Elizabeth River (an estuary of Hampton Roads) opposite Norfolk was established in 1752 by act of the Virginia Assembly. The navy yard established by the British navy shortly before the Revolution was confiscated by Virginia during the war. Trinity church built in 1762 is the oldest building in the city."
(2) The present City of Norfolk has 50 miles of water front on Hampton Roads in Chesapeake Bay; the Elizabeth River is actually a tidal estuary, not a river. The Lafayette River is also an estuary. Immediately opposite is Portsmouth. While not mentioned in the raid of 1779 it is probable that Norfolk shared the same fate as Portsmouth.
References: Arthur Meier Schlesinger's"The Almanac of American History"; Encyclopedia Britannica "The Revolutionary Years"; Christopher Ward's "The War of the Revolution" .
,