George Washington

Chapter 2

EORGE WASHINGTON assumed his command in the immediate aftermath ofthe Battle ofBunker's Hill. Thefirst task to confront him, therefore, was to dislodge the British forces from Boston. That event set in motion a train ofevents which wouldfind the main army with Washington runningfrom battle to battle. However, the sequence of battles is only the silver frame in which is portrayed the ups and downs of efforts to recruit effective forces, to ready raw troops to confront the soldiers and mercenaries of the most powerful nation on earth, and to produce coherent political and military policies from the disarray incident to a political vacuum. The inspirationfor so much effort was liberty--{)r more precisely, the determination to resist a "most tyrannical and cruel system for the destruction ofour rights and liberties." But it took every bit ofWashington 's shrewdness to keep the resistance alive. Accordingly, this chapter shows the great breadth of the efforts required of Waskington . To[tx the context ofthese effortsfirmly in mind one might read it with a regard for the sequence of battles of at least the main army during roughly the same period, remembering too that this was the season in which the Declaration ofIndependence was proclaimed to the world. Siege ofBoston. After the Battle ofBunker's Hill, Washington positioned his troops so as to surround Boston. Colonel Henry Knox brought more than fifty pieces of artillery from Fort George in late February I n6. American and British troops exchangedfire forfour days. Afterwards, two American redoubts crowned Dorchester Heights, a position that could control Boston and its harbor filled with British ships. The British sought to dislodge the Americansfrom the Heights, but their boats were dispersed by a storm. General Howe evacuated Boston on March I7, and Washington entered on the 2oth. The British fleet then headed for New York. Battle ofLong Island. General Howe aimed to launch 2o,ooo troops against the 9,ooo Americans at Brooklyn Heights and secure a land footingfor operations against the city ofNew York. The British made theirfirst landing on August 22, I776, and by the 26th were ready to engage the American troops. On the 27th Howe attacked and took Brooklyn Heights. Washington retreated; his strategy was to postpone all issues which had a determining character and were beyond his army's mastery, thus wearing out the offensive by avoiding its strokes and gaining the advantage of turning upon a worn-out or over-confident and off-guard British army. Battle of Trenton. Of the three bodies of American troops that attempted to cross the Delaware River on the night of December 2 5, I7J6, only those commanded by Washington succeeded. The Hessians , bivouacked under Colonel Rahl in Trenton, NewJersey, were completely surprised at daybreak and forced to surrender after a brief engagement. Battle ofPrinceton. Onjanuary I, I77J, Washington received word that Lord Cornwallis was en route from Brunswick to attack him at Trenton. Washington conceived ofa plan ofretreat that would allow him to attack Cornwallis's communications. Creating the deception of maintaining an encamped army, Washington moved his troops around Cornwallis and toward Brunswick. As the American troops were passing Princeton, General Hugh Mercer encountered some British patrols. Their skirmishes were decided by Washington himself , after Mercer had been mortally wounded. Then Washington's army moved on to Morristown, where they erected log huts and established winter quarters. Battle of Brandywine. General Howe withdrew his fleet from the Delaware in August I777· On the .2.2nd, Washington received word that Howe had anchored in the Chesapeake Bay. Washington promptly marched to Philadelphia. By September 7, the entire army had advanced to Newport, Pennsylvania, and on the same day Howe placed his vanguard eight miles from the Americans. With light skirmishes occurring daily, the armies finally joined battle at Brandywine on September I I. The I I,ooo Americans suffered 780 casualties, while the I8,ooo British took 6oo casualties. Battle of Germantown. Howe chose Germantown, six miles from Philadelphia, for his headquarters. Washington's army was near Pennebecker's Mill, about twenty miles away. Washington designed a surprise attack upon Howe, October 4, I777· The advance was prompt, and the surprise promised success, but a densefog arose and so confused the operations that the armies wereforced to retire, Howe to Philadelphia and Washington to Valley Forge. TO JOSEPH REED Cambridge, December 15, 1775 Dear Sir: Since my last, I have had the pleasure of receiving...