Major Generals, Part 3

As you are probably wondering - which generals will I showcase today?  I have chosen two generals who were key to the revolution on both sides.  First, the Patriots had General Nathanael Greene.  The British had Sir Henry Clinton.  Let's take a look at the Patriots' general - Nathanael Greene.

Nathanael Greene

General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786) was born on July 27 in Rhode Island.  His family was one of the original settlers to the area. He was an apprentice to an anchorsmith and merchant.  He had no formal education but loved to read and write.  His father purchased a mill and he learned to manage it.  Greene helped establish the first public school in the area.  Over the years, he read many books on military strategy and was even called before the Quaker council because of this interest. In 1770, he was elected to the General Assembly.

As men were training in preparation for the British attack, he also trained.  He was part of a group called - the Kentish Guards. After Lexington and Concord, he rushed to offer help.  When Rhode Island called 1600 men into service, they named him major-general of the forces. He became the youngest general in the Continental Army at the age of 32.  He had no military experience but won the respect of his soldiers because of how he handled himself.  His forces were ready and in place outside of Boston in 1775.

Washington arrived in Boston and the two men became friends immediately.  He was given the rank of Brigadier General and was ordered to New York to drive off the British.  Unfortunately, the British proved quite formidable and Green was forced to retreat in 1776.  He was promoted back to Major General and helped Washington face the British in Princeton and Trenton.  He also assisted Washington at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777.

While Washington was encamped at Valley Forge, he placed Greene in charge of securing supplies and made him Quartermaster-General.   "The Honourable Continental Congress have been pleased to appoint Major-General Greene, Quartermaster-General in the army of the United States - reserving his rank of Major-General in the same."  Greene was not thrilled with the duty but did as he was ordered.

When the British evacuated Philadelphia, Washington and Greene along with their troops followed them to New Jersey.  Greene's service at the Battle of Monmouth was key to the success.  When Benedict Arnold turned traitor and escaped, Greene was given command of West Point.  He was in charge of Andre's trial and even though the British argued for his defense, Andre had confessed.  Greene had the man executed for his treason.

After Gates is defeated at Camden, South Carolina, Congress asks Washington who should replace the man.  Washington names Greene. He headed south and placed men in key positions to help secure supplies and more troops. He arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina in December 1780. Cornwallis started after Greene who was not prepared.  He kept to the rivers and streams until he could gather a force to confront Cornwallis.  He decided to lure Cornwallis to Guildford Court in North Carolina.  He sent word to all Patriot forces to meet him there. He had only 1500 troops, but he broke his forces into three lines.  Although the patriots did not necessarily win the battle, they crippled the British with their repeated attacks. Cornwallis began to retreat and Greene pursued him.  Even with his small army, he secured North Carolina for the Patriots.

Greene decided to move into South Carolina.  He was joined by Frances Marion's forces.  They managed to capture many British strongholds at this time.  He managed to chase Rawdon from his stronghold and gave him chase.  Through continual battles and attacks, he managed to force the British to retreat and lose control of South Carolina as well.  All that remained was Charleston.

When Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Greene and his men took control of Charleston on December 14, 1782.  Finally, sending his best generals and men, he helped free Georgia from British control.

In August of 1783, he surrendered his command, the battles over, the war won and peace finally had arrived for the new country.

Sir Henry Clinton

Sir Henry Clinton - (1730-1795) was the son of Commodore George Clinton, the governor of Newfoundland.  His father later became governor of New York. He was educated in the colonies and actually joined the local militia in 1746. In 1751, he traveled to England and joined the British Army. He purchased a commission as captain and was a gifted officer.  He continued to purchase additional ranks over the years.  In 1758, he became a lieutenant of the 1st Foot Guards.  He was an aide-de-camp to Duke Ferdinand during the Seven Years' War (the French and Indian War).  He was then promoted to colonel in 1762 and in 1772, he was promoted again to Major General.  Not long after, his family secured him a position in Parliament.

When war broke out in the colonies, he was sent to Boston with William Howe and John Burgoyne to help Gage.

In June of 1775, he helped with the British victory at Bunker Hill.  Howe was asked to replace Gage as Commander-in-Chief.  Clinton was made second in command and given the rank of lieutenant general.  He was then sent to the Carolinas.  His attack there was not successful as the troops could not navigate the swamps surrounding Charleston.  He decided to return north to assist how in New York.

He advised Howe and together they won at the Battle of Long Island.  Unfortunately he did not get along with Howe and when he was made a Knight of the Order of Bath, he asked to return to England.  He went into New York to hold it while Howe sailed south to capture Philadelphia.  When Burgoyne asked for assistance, he sent some troops, but kept most of them in New York to guard against an attack from Washington.  Unfortunately, his assistance did not help Burgoyne who surrendered Saratoga.

He was made Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1778 after Howe resigned. He took command of Philadelphia with Cornwallis as his second-in-command.  He sent men to assist in the Caribbean against the French which left him weak.  He decided to abandon Philadelphia in order to hold New York.

While stationed in New York, he decided the British could make a stand in the south where many Loyalists still lived.  His men captured Savannah, Georgia and then Charleston, South Carolina.   When he learned the French were heading to New York, he left the southern campaign in Cornwallis' control so he could hold New York.  He tried to offer assistance to Cornwallis, but the man was very independent and made many decisions on his own. When he learned of Cornwallis' troubles at Yorktown, he tried to send men but was too late.

When Cornwallis surrendered, the British government decided Clinton needed to be replaced.  In March of 1782, he was replaced by Sir Guy Carleton.  Clinton was blamed for the defeat in the Americas.


He was responsible for taking and holding New York and Rhode Island (Greene's home state).  He also took hold of Charles Towne (which we call Charleston today) in 1780.  His superiors did not heed his advice and he did not come to Cornwallis' assistance at Yorktown.  He resigned in 1782 and returned to Great Britain.

Major Generals, Part 1

Who were the major players in the American Revolution?  

We usually devote a significant amount of time on the Founding Fathers – men of ideals who met and wrote down what would become the document our country would follow.  We do not usually spend much time on the men who fought the battles. Yes, we all know about George Washington, the Commander-in-Chief, but we know little about the other generals and men who led the ragtag group of colonists into battle against the best trained army in the world – the British.

Yorktown battlefield

Let’s outline the major players and then we will work on digging deeper into their backgrounds so we know more about these men.

THE PATRIOTS:

George Washington – Commander-in-Chief

Major Generals:

Benedict Arnold – until he turned traitor and joined the British

James Clinton

Horatio Gates

Nathanael Greene

Henry Knox (does this name sound familiar – Fort Knox)

Charles Lee

Friedrich von Steuben

Marquis de Lafayette

The list goes on, but these are the ones we have heard about the most, or who were the major players in the most significant battles.

THE BRITISH:

Commanders-in-Chiefs:

1763-1775 – Thomas Gage

1776-1777 – William Howe

1778-1782 – Sir Henry Clinton

Other generals:

John Burgoyne

Charles Cornwallis

 Their list of generals is also long, but we shall just focus on a few.

Let’s look at our Commander-in-Chief – George Washington and the first British Commander-in-Chief – Thomas Gage.

George Washington

George Washington – was born into a planter’s family and started his career as a surveyor.  When he joined the military, he was sent to fight against the French and Indians during that war.  It was here that he met Thomas Gage.  

The two men fought side-by-side and even developed a friendship that over the years cooled as they grew apart.  He became a member of the Continental Congress representing Virginia with men like Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson.  

Because of his skills as a soldier, he was asked to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.  While his troops suffered losses against the British in Boston, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, they always fought well. After a horrible winter at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, they fought back strongly and began to win more battles.  

Many believe the most significant battle came in December of 1776 when the British had beaten the patriots at For Washington.  It seemed the patriots were about finished.  The British commander sent his men to Trenton for their winter quarters.  Washington decided to take his men across the Delaware to attack the British on Christmas day.  The British were protected by the German Hessians, but the patriots were able to take almost 1000 prisoners and killed 100 Hessians.  Only 4 patriots were killed or wounded that day. From there, the men were invigorated and prepared to win even more battles.

Finally, his troops defeated Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781. 

Because we have covered George Washington before, if you wish to read more, just click here.

Thomas Gage

Thomas Gage –was born in 1720 into an aristocratic English family.  Unfortunately, as a second son, he could not inherit the title and he joined the British army in 1736 when he was only 16 years old. 

In 1741, he purchased a lieutenant’s commission (a popular action on the part of a wealthy family, to make sure their sons became officers)

In 1743, he became a captain and participated in the War of Austrian Succession.

In 1746, he fought at the Battle of Culloden.

In 1748, he purchased a major’s commission.

In 1751, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

In 1755, he was sent to the Americas to fight in the French and Indian War.  This is where he met George Washington, fighting beside him.

In 1759, he became a full general and helped create the light infantry – a force he felt was better for fighting in the American wilderness.

In 1761, he became a major general.

In 1763, he was named the Commander-in-Chief of North America by King George. 

When tensions started to escalate in the colonies, he moved many of his troops to the major cities of New York and Boston.  This caused a problem for where the troops would live.  The Quartering Act solved that problem for him, forcing the colonists to house the troops in their homes, inns, taverns, and other buildings against their will.  He felt that occupying Boston was a mistake.  He felt the true causes of the rebellion were a few discontented wealthy men, not the rest of the community.  

Unfortunately, he moved the 29^th Regiment of Foot into Boston.  This regiment had a reputation for bad behavior.  By the time he realized it was not a few malcontents, but a major discontent among all the colonists, it was too late.

He was appointed military Royal Governor of Massachusetts.  Unfortunately, the people despised him.  Instead of relieving the problems of the previous governor, he enforced the Coercive Acts, called Intolerable by the colonists.  He even made the mistake of trying to buy off a few of the major political leaders of Boston.  This backfired on him.  When he tried to seize the weapons in Boston, his actions resulted in the Battles of Lexington and Concord.  

He sent word to the king about the defeat at Bunker Hill.  Within three days of receiving the message, King George relieved him of his commission and ordered him to return to England.  He was replaced by General Howe.

Just as the American Revolution was truly heating up, he was replaced.  In 1776, General Howe reached the shores of North America to find a powder keg of a situation.

Stay tuned to learn about General Howe in my next post.  Until then, Happy Memorial Day!  Huzzah!  Huzzah!  Huzzah! To all our troops who have served and continue to serve this great nation!  Thank you for your sacrifice.

Lexington and Concord

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood,

And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;

Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;

And Time the ruined bridge has swept

Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,

We set to-day a votive stone;

That memory may their deed redeem,

When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those spirits dare,

To die, and leave their children free,

Bid Time and Nature gently spare

The shaft we raise to them and thee.

words written by Ralph Waldo Emerson - to commemorate that fateful day in history when the British came to Lexington and Concord.

On April 18, 1775 the Patriots came face to face with the British at Lexington, Massachusetts.  The British under the direction of General Gage sent 800 soldiers to capture the magazine and any munitions. They hoped to halt any fighting from the patriots.  Once they secured the weapons, they were to find Samuel Adams and John Hancock and hold them captive.  

The minutemen were ready because of Paul Revere and his ride over the countryside.  Without the warning from Dr. Joseph Warren who sent Revere on his way, the colonists would not have been able to face the British that day. 

Paul Revere's account "We set off for Concord, and were overtaken by a young gentleman named Prescot, who belonged to Concord, and was going home.  When we had got about half way from Lexington and Concord, the other two stopped at a house to awake the men, I kept along . . . In an instant I saw four of them, who rode up to me with their pistols in their bands, said, "...if you go an inch further, you are a dead man."  Immediately Prescot came up.  We attempted to get through them, but they kept before us, and swore if we did not turn in to that pasture, they would blow our brains out, (they had placed themselves opposite to a pair of bars, and had taken the bars down). They forced us in. When we had got in, Mr. Prescot said "Put on!" He took to the left, I to the right . . .Just as I reached it, out started six officers, seized my bridle, put their pistols to my breast, ordered me to dismount, which I did." (This is from Paul Revere's own account - "Account of Midnight Ride to Lexington" - 1775).

The Patriots retreated to the North Bridge.  Hundreds of colonists marched on the bridge.  Three British soldiers died. Even though the minutemen were outnumbered, they faced the British determined to push them back. The British killed 8 men and injured 10, but more men arrived to battle the British.

The British managed to destroy only some supplies.  They began their trek back to Boston but were met up with more minutemen along the route. Seventy three British soldiers were dead and another 174 were wounded.  The British would have perished for sure under the assault of the minutemen except another 900 men and 2 cannons arrived under orders from Lord Percy.  More homes were looted and burned along the way to the harbor.  As the fighting continued, more than 250 British were killed or wounded and 90 Americans.

As a result of the attack, the Massachusetts Congress called for more than 30,000 men to join forces.  These men joined the minutemen and began to drill and train for the battles ahead.  Anyone suspected of being a Tory was asked to surrender their arms.  The Patriots were able to blockade General Gage in Boston.  He waited for reinforcements to arrive. 

Great Britain was not pleased by the turn of events. Martial law was proclaimed in Massachusetts.  Everyone was offered a pardon for their actions against the king except for John Hancock and Samuel Adams who all knew helped the Patriot cause.  No quarter would be given to anyone who went against the king or his men. 

Lord Percy writes back to England - "Whoever looks upon them [the rebels] as an irregular mob will be much mistaken."  And yet it did not stop the British from attempting to bend the patriots to their will.

The British would shortly learn how wrong they were to engage the Americans on their own soil.