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Revolutionary War Historical Article
The American Revolution Month-by-Month September 1778
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
London had a new plan for the colonies; London's instructions were to hold what they had in the North while sending troops to the support of other operations now that it had become a worldwide war. The main effort in North America would be in the South where Britain had a greater following; particularly among the Scots in the Carolinas. Secondly, they would transfer troops from North America to the West Indies to fight against the French who might attack there as well as India. Of particular significance in this change of policy were the Sugar Islands of the West Indies. Sugar represented a cash asset as well as a much desired commodity in every household in the home islands. Sugar appeared at that time to be more valuable to the Empire than anything the American Colonies had ever offered. Therefore, the Sugar Islands and the product itself must be protected and transported to Britain. Transport to guarantee delivery of the sugar was a severe problem as there was a shortage of fighting ships and men to man them.
The entrance of France into the war allowed privateers to openly use French ports both on the continent and its possessions. This resulted in privateers increasingly joining in the activity around the British Isles. Shipping insurance became prohibitive, deterring commerce; England lived by it's commerce. Not only was there pressure from shippers but public sentiment was near hysteria; demanding more protection and relief from "Pirates." In response, the Royal Navy was required to assign more ships to defense of the British Isles to try and still the populace. The growing conflict had brought an expansion of privateers and ships of both the French and American navies who now roamed the previously inviolate waters around the British Isles.
While most people in the American states suffered financially from the war, privateers made large fortunes. They were supposed to sell the ships and cargoes captured with half the proceeds going to the captain and crew; the balance deposited to the account of Congress for the payment of debts. The reality was that privateers usually retained all of the prize money thereby building large fortunes. The U.S. Navy captains were required to turn over all proceeds to Congress, drawing on those funds only to pay operating expenses and a small bounty to themselves and crew. This dedicated group of navy captains and seamen were willing to accept the financial loss in the name of independence. Among them was Captain Gustavus Conyngham; less known and less celebrated than John Paul Jones, but one who has been named by historian S. E. Morrison as "the most successful commerce destroyer in the United States Navy and the most unfortunate." His exploits rivaled those of John Paul Jones, yet he has not been accorded a place in history.
Revolutionary officers on both land and sea were required to carry their commissions on their person (privateers also carried commissions from Congress) to prove that they were military officers legally engaged in acts of war, not piracy, for which they could be hanged. Conyngham and his crew were eventually captured while legally engaged in an act of war and by an act of chicanery he was imprisoned as a pirate. After surrendering, his commission was taken from his person by British authorities, who then accused him of piracy and imprisoned him as such. Perhaps his imprisonment on trumped up charges is the reason he received so little recognition by his contemporary public and historians. To have hanged him would have created a precedent that any regular navy officer relieved of his commission by his captors could have been hanged. Considering his depredations against Great Britain's commerce it may be that it was widely known that he held a commission in the U.S. Navy. If an American captain could be hanged after having his commission removed by his captors then it followed that it could become a "Rule of the Sea." The fact that his commissioned status was known both militarily and diplomatically may be all that saved him from the hangman's noose.
The Continental Army had one notable encounter in early September when it was noted that British General William Clinton appeared to be making preparations for a major operation. Washington thought that it could be intended against the Continentals in the Hudson Highlands or against the French fleet which was being refitted in Boston. The end result was that Clinton was sending out two large foraging parties: General Charles Earl Cornwallis with 5,000 men on the west bank of the Hudson and General Wilhelm von Knyphausen with 3,000 men on the east side. This was a considerable force for a foraging expedition, but perhaps experience in past years had taught the Redcoats that foraging in America was not to be taken lightly and would be resisted by both the militia and individuals as well as the Continental Army. Washington recognized the dual expedition for what it was and sent only token forces of mixed militia and Continentals to harass and check it's movements.
General Wind was in charge of a militia unit when he learned that British General Grey with Lt. Colonel Simcoe and his dreaded Queen's Rangers had been detached from the east bank force and planned a night attack against his command. He ordered a hasty retreat without notifying anyone else. Wind stood between Grey's attacking force and Colonel George Baylor's Continental 3rd Light Dragoons. Failure to warn Baylor of the impending attack or his own retreat had disastrous results. Grey, finding no resistance from the militia unit, moved silently against Baylor's encampment. The Queen's Rangers encountered the perimeter guard of a dozen men and bayoneted them without a sound being heard. Silently they surrounded three barns where Baylor's men were and fell upon the sleeping men with a silent fury, bayoneting 36 and taking 40 men of the 4th troop, 3rd Dragoons prisoner. Only by the intervention of one of Grey's captains was the 4th troop saved from the Ranger's bayonets.
Beyond that, there was little action beyond minor parrying and thrusting between the opposing forces in the New York area. Still there was great activity within the British lines. Washington was puzzled – what was Clinton up to? Washington could not know that with the entrance of France into the war that the priority had changed. The priority was no longer in North America but at sea and in Britain's far flung empire. As well, there was the shift in the revolutionary struggle to the Southern Colonies with a dependence on raising troops from Loyalist ranks to replace those withdrawn from New York.
During the summer of 1778 Washington's army reached it's all time peak with almost 17,000 troops present and fit for duty. If there was now a sufficient force capable of meeting Clinton in open battle, there also failed to be an enemy to engage. However, there was an old and persistent enemy; one that could not be defeated by force of arms. It was the usual lack of supplies. Worse yet, inflation was gathering steam to further decrease Washington's ability to even feed and clothe the army through the coming winter, which promised to be even more harsh than the previous winter at Valley Forge.
There was plenty of money, Congress and it's printing presses assured that. It was simply that there was a growing reluctance to trade goods and victuals for a paper money that was becoming less valuable by the day. True, there were also new money and supplies coming with the entrance of France into the war. However, as in any bureaucracy, either it was consumed before it reached the army, was lost or was just damnably slow in reaching the lower echelon.
References: Christopher Ward's "War of the Revolution"; James Thomas Flexner's "George Washington, The Indispensable Man";May 1998 Edition of "The Retired Officer" Magazine.
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