Category: Revolutionary War

With Lucy Knox on the Home Front

On By Daniel WelchIn 1776, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Personalities, Revolutionary War, WomenLeave a comment

Henry Knox received much of the glory and distinction in the Knox family during the war years. Yet, his wife, Lucy Knox, had much to say to her husband regrading the future if the war effort turned out successfully for the colonies. Lucy, a daughter of loyalists who ultimately sailed for England at the start of war, remained in Boston, Massachusetts while her husband rode off to war and Washington’s army. Much of her correspondence to Henry during the war focused on events in and around Boston, news from the various battlefield fronts that had reached the city, the family business, and many other assorted topics. But, she also made sure to remind Henry that upon his return home, he would no longer be in command, nor have a generalship around the house; rather he would need to be willing to share “equal command” within the household.

Read more: With Lucy Knox on the Home Front

The following letter, written on August 23, 1777, finds Lucy at home, slowly recuperating from a days-long illness. Wanting to hear more of her daily routine while he was gone, she obliged Henry’s request to write about the ebb and flow of her life at home each day. She notes her solitary lifestyle now that both her parents are gone as well as her husband but shares with him the comfort she finds when opportunity allows to spend time with friends. Lucy, like many other wives and families left behind on the homefront fears that she may be forgotten during his extended time with the army. Then, Lucy shifts to news from the war front and requests information regarding several in the army in which Henry might know. It is also evident, as the letter draws to an end, that inflation on goods, and subsequent supply thereof, has led her to need more money from her husband in which to purchase linen.

The following letter is courtesy of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Boston August 23rd 1777 –

My Dearest Friend –

I wrote you a line by the last post just to lett you know I was alive which indeed was all I could then say with propriety for I [struck: then] had serious thoughts that I never should see you again – so much was I reduced by only four days illness but by help of a good constitution I am surprisingly better today – I am now to answer your three last letters in one of which you ask for a history of my life. it is my love so barren of adventures and so replete with repetition that I fear it will afford you little amusement – however such as it is I give it you – In the first place, I rise about eight in the morning (a lazy hour you will say – but the day after that, is full long for a person in my situation) I presently after sitt down to my breakfast, where a page in my book, and a dish of tea, employ me alternately for about an hour – when after seeing that family matters go on right, I [struck: repeair] repair to my work, my book, or my pen, for the rest of the forenoon – at two oclock I usually take my solitary dinner where I reflect upon my past happiness when I used to sitt at the window watching for my Harry – and when I saw him coming my heart would leap for joy – when he was all my own and never happy from me when the bare thought of six months absence would have shocked him – to divert these ideas I place my little Lucy by me at table – but the more engaging her little actions are so much the more do I regret the absence of her father who would take such delight in them. – in the afternoon I commonly take my chaise, and ride into the country or go to drink tea with one of my few [struck: acquaintance] [inserted: friends]. They consist of Mrs Jarviss Mrs Sears Mrs Smith Mrs Pollard and my Aunt Waldo – I have many acquaintance beside these whom I visit but not without ceremony – when with any of [inserted: the] former I often spend the evening – but when I return home – how shall describe my feelings to find myself intirely alone – to reflect that the only friend I have in the world is at such an imense distance from me – to think that [inserted: he] may [inserted: be] sick and I cannot assist him ah poor me my heart is ready to burst, you who know what a trifle would make me unhappy, can conceive what I suffer now. –

when I seriously reflect that I have lost my father Mother Brother and Sisters – intirely lost them – I am half distracted true I chearfully resigned them for one far dearer to me than all of them – but I am totaly deprived of him – I have not seen him for almost six months – and he writes me without pointing out any method by which I may ever expect to see him again – tis hard my Harry indeed it is I love you with the tenderest the purest affection – I would undergo any hardships to be near you and you will not lett me – suppose this campaign should be like the last carried into the winter – do you intend not to see me in all that time – tell me dear what your plan is –

I wrote you that the Hero Sailed while I was at Newburg – She did but has [jnserted: been] cruiseing about from harbour to harbour since – to get met – she is now here, and will sail in a day or two for france –

I wish I had fifty guinies to spare to send by her for necessarys – but I have not – the very little gold we have must be reserved for my Love in case he should be taken – for friends in such a case are not too common. – I am more distressed from the hott weather than any other fears – God grant you may not go farther south’ard – if you should I possitively will come too – I believe Genl Howe is a paltry fellow – but happy for as that he is so – are you not much pleased with the news from the Northard we think it is a great affair and a confirmation of StClairs villainy baseness – I hope he will not go unpunished – we hear also that Genl Gates is to go back to his command. – if so Master Schuyler, cannot be guiltless – it is very strange, you never mentioned that affair in any of your letters –

Catharine Littlefield Greene – Courtesy Telfair Museums

What has become of Mrs Greene, do you all live together – or how do you manage – is Billy to remain with you payless or is he to have a com[inserted: m]ission – if the former I think he had much better remained where he was – if he understood business he might without a capital have made a fortune – people here – without advanceing a shilling frequently clear hundreds in a day – such chaps as Eben Oliver – are all men of fortune – while persons – who have ever lived in affluence – are in danger of want – oh that you had less of the military man about you – you might then after the war have lived at ease all the days of your life – but now I don’t know what you will do – your being long acustomed to command – will make you too haughty for mercantile matters – tho I hope you will not consider yourself as commander in chief of your own house – but be convinced tho not in the affair of Mr Coudre that there is such a thing as equal command – I send this by CaptRandal who says he expects to remain with you – pray how many of these lads have have you – I am sure they must be very expensive – I am in want of some square dollars – which I expect from you to by me a peace of linen an article I can do no longer without haveing had no recruit of that kind for almost five years – girls in general when they marry are well stocked with those things but poor I had no such advantage –

little Lucy who is without exception the sweetest child in the world – sends you a kiss but where [inserted: shall] I take it from say you – from the paper I hope – but dare I say I sometimes fear [struck: what] [inserted: that] a long absence the force of bad example may lead you to forget me at sometimes – to know that it ever gave you pleasure to be in company with the finest woman in the world, would be worse that death to me – but it is not so, my Harry is too just too delicate too sincere – and too fond of his Lucy to admit the most remote thought of that distracting kind –away with it – don’t be angry with me my Love – I am not jealous of you affection – I love you with a love as true and sacred as ever entered the human heart – but from a diffidence of my own merit I sometimes fear you will Love me less – after being so long from me – if you should may my life end before I know it – that I may die thinking you wholly mine –

Adieu my love
LK

“Rev War Revelry” Founding Martyr Dr. Joseph Warren

On By erwpostIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Civilian, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Personalities, Revolutionary War1 Comment

Dr. Joseph Warren is considered by many “the lost hero of the American Revolution.” Warren was the brainchild of the revolution movement in Boston. Warren was involved in almost every major insurrectionary act in the Boston area for a decade, from the Stamp Act protests to the Boston Massacre to the Boston Tea Party, and his incendiary writings included the famous Suffolk Resolves, which helped unite the colonies against Britain and inspired the Declaration of Independence.

Joining Emerging Revolutionary War will be historian and author Christian Di Spigna. He is the author of Founding Martyr: The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, the American Revolution’s lost hero. He is the Executive Director of the Dr. Joseph Warren Foundation and is the vice chairman for the Revolution 250 committee of Massachusetts Freemasons. He also serves on the board of the Bunker Hill Monument Association.

As we approach the 250th commemoration of the Boston Tea Party, we will focus on Warren’s life, his role in the Boston Tea Party and his lasting impact on the Revolution. Grab a drink and join us as we talk with author and historian Di Spigna about Warren, the patriot who once said…

“When Liberty is the prize, who would shun the warfare? Who would stoop to waste a coward thought on life?”

See you Sunday at 7 p.m. EDT on Emerging Revolutionary War’s Facebook page!

DON’T TREAD ON ME: The interesting history of an iconic American flag.

On By Mark MaloyIn 1776, Minute Men, Monuments, Revolutionary War, Uncategorized3 Comments

Every so often news stories arise about popular symbols of the American Revolutionary War that are used by various people to promote modern political agendas. One prominent symbol is the yellow flag with a coiled rattlesnake and the words “Don’t Tread on Me” below it. This flag, often referred to as the Gadsden flag, has a fascinating history dating back to the Revolutionary War.

The first real use of the snake representing the colonies begins before the Revolutionary War, during the French and Indian War, when Benjamin Franklin created a cartoon using a snake to represent the various colonies each separated from one another with the words “Join, or Die” under the image.  This was an effort to get the various colonies to unite for common defense during that time period.

By the time of the Revolutionary War in 1775, the symbol had become a solitary rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike often accompanied by the warning “Don’t Tread on Me.” Christopher Gadsden, a prominent South Carolina patriot, served in the Continental Congress and designed the yellow flag as a naval ensign. Beginning in 1776 the flag was hung up in the room where Congress met in Philadelphia and because it was designed by Gadsden, it became known as the Gadsden flag.

Continue reading “DON’T TREAD ON ME: The interesting history of an iconic American flag.” →

Lost and Found: The Cycles of Loss and Recovery of Brooklyn’s Prison Ship Martys Monument and the Men It Commemorates

On By erwguestIn 1776, Battlefields & Historic Places, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Preservation, Revolutionary War1 Comment

Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes a guest post from historian Keith J. Muchowski. Keith is a librarian and professor at New York City College of Technology (CUNY) in Brooklyn. He blogs at thestrawfoot.com.

The plaque dedicated King Juan Carlos I in June 1976 today tucked in a corner of the visitor center. Courtesy Author

King Juan Carlos I arrived in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park on Saturday June 5, 1976 to great fanfare. The thirty-eight-year-old monarch had ascended to the Spanish throne just seven months previously, two days after the death of Francisco Franco. The new leader was determined to reform his nation after three and a half decades of strongman rule. Juan Carlos I’s ancestor, King Carlos III, had helped the colonists achieved their independence nearly two centuries previously with his supply of money, matériel, and men. Many of those Spaniards made the ultimate sacrifice; well over one hundred of them alone perished in British prison ships moored off Brooklyn Wallabout Bay during the war.[i] Now King Juan Carlos I was in the outer borough to recognize them, dedicate a tablet to his fallen countrymen, and help his American hosts celebrate the bicentennial of their independence. The entombed Spaniards were among the over 11,500 men commemorated by the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument. The king’s visit in the mid-1970s was the latest in a series of public commemorations of the prison ship dead dating back over a century and a half. Some of the institutions that did so much to recognize the martyrs, such as the Society of St. Tammany, are today long gone. Others however very much remain. The Society of Old Brooklynites, a civic organization founded in 1880 when Brooklyn was still an independent municipality, has been holding events since the late nineteenth century.

Continue reading “Lost and Found: The Cycles of Loss and Recovery of Brooklyn’s Prison Ship Martys Monument and the Men It Commemorates” →

Rev War Revelry: Washington’s Marines: A Discussion with Author and Historian Maj. Gen. Jason Bohm

On By Kevin PawlakIn Navy, Revolutionary WarLeave a comment

Join author Jason Bohm for a discussion of his new book published by Savas Beatie, Washington’s Marines: The Origins of the Corps and the American Revolution, 1775-1777, on Sunday night, August 20, 2023, at 7 pm. Bohm’s book examines the Marine Corps’ humble beginnings and what it achieved during the early years of the American Revolution. Jason Bohm’s eye-opening Washington’s Marines tells of the Corps’ origins and achievements in the early years of the Revolutionary War.

Grab a drink and join us to learn more about the early history of the United States Marine Corps!

All Rev War Revelries can be found LIVE on our Facebook page, or a week later on our YouTube and Spotify channels.

Major General Jason Q. Bohm is a Marine with more than 30 years of service. An infantryman by trade, he has commanded at every level from platoon commander to commanding general in peacetime and war. Bohm also served in several key staff positions, including as a strategic planner with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Director of the Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School, House Director, Marine Corps Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, and Chief of Staff of U.S. Naval Striking and Support Forces, NATO. Bohm has a bachelor’s degree in marketing, a master’s degree in military studies, and a master’s degree in national security studies. Jason has written several articles for the Marine Corps Gazette and won various writing awards from the Marine Corps Association. He is the author of From the Cold War to ISIL: One Marine’s Journey (Naval Institute Press, 2019).

August 15, 1780 – Horatio Gates, Thomas Sumter and the road to Camden

On By erwpostIn Armies, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Campaigns, Continental Leadership, Emerging Revolutionary War Series, Memory, Militia (Patriot) Leadership, Revolutionary War, Southern Theater1 Comment
Major General Horatio Gates, “Hero of Saratoga” was tasked with saving the American effort in the south. Credit NPS

On August 15, Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates began to finalize his plans to move against Camden, SC. Gates, appointed as the new commander of the Southern Department the previous month, believed the British garrison in Camden was weak. Gates was receiving intelligence gathered by partisan commander Thomas Sumter who was acting in and around Camden. He informed Gates that the American army outnumbered the British post and that a large portion of the men at Camden were taken ill and not fit for duty (on this account, Sumter was correct). Sumter did not provide the intelligence that Lord Cornwallis was now in Camden with reinforcements and was taking personal command of the British force in Camden.

Modern day image of the area at Rugeley’s Mills, with modern day Flat Rock Road following the historic trace of the Great Wagon Road. Credit Rob Orrison

With this information, Gates felt confident in his ability to take on the British in Camden. He developed a plan that involved a three-part movement. He would leave his force south to Saunder’s Creek (about six miles north of Camden) and establish a strong defensive position. He also ordered Francis Marion and his men to the southeast. Gates wanted Marion to take command of the Williamsburg militia, watch the British movements, and destroy boats in the Santee River that a defeated Cornwallis might need to retreat from Camden to Charleston. The third prong he ordered a few days earlier on August 13. Gates, under the encouragement of Thomas Sumter, decided to send 100 Maryland Continentals and 300 Carolina militiamen (as well as two brass three pounders) to join Sumter and move down the western side of the Wateree. From this location Sumter could attack supplies and reinforcements going into Camden from Ninety Six to the west. Gates’s confidence was evident.

South Carolina militia Brig. Gen Thomas Sumter. Credit New York Public Library

As Gates made his final disposition to move south, Sumter’s militia along with his Continental detachment met some success west of Camden. The Wateree River flowed south just one mile west of Camden. Near the important Wateree Ferry that served the major route west from Camden, Loyalist Lt. Col. James Cary built a small fort on his farm near the ferry. Sumter was aware of the fort and decided to see if he could capture it. When Col. Thomas Taylor of Sumter’s command launched the attack, most of the defenders inside were asleep, and the others were deceived by Patriot militia dressed just like those occupying the fort. The Loyalists immediately surrendered. Sumter reported that his men killed 7 and captured 30 prisoners, including Cary. Also included in the loot were 38 wagons of supplies and nearly 300 head of cattle. After capturing Cary’s Fort, Sumter was also able to attack and capture a relief column from Ninety Six to Camden. Sumter’s spoils from this attack numbered nearly 70 prisoners and numerous wagons. Sumter also reaffirmed his earlier intelligence to Gates by writing that the British in Camden “do not exceed two thousand, and not as many as one thousand of the militia, who aregenerally sickly, and much dispirited.” Sumter’s intelligence, though not accurate, gave Gates encouragement on the upcoming movement toward Camden. At 10pm on August 15, Gates had his army on the road south towards Camden.

Gates was flush with optimism, at that same time Cornwallis had his army on the road north. Though the British forces were about half the size of Gates, they were more than Gates expected and consisted of some of the best men in the British army led by one of their most accomplished generals. Soon, due to a twist of fate, these two armies collided along the Great Wagon Road in the long life pine forest of South Carolina. The result was one of the worst days in the history of the United States Army.

Authors Rob Orrison and Mark Wilcox’s new book “All That Can Be Expected: The Battle of Camden and the British High Tide in the South, August 16, 1780” is due out August, 2023 and available at: https://www.savasbeatie.com/

Rev War Revelry: New Book on the Battle of Camden “All That Can be Expected: The Battle of Camden and the British High Tide in the South”

On By Rob OrrisonIn Armies, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Book Review, British Leadership, Campaigns, Militia (Loyalist) Leadership, Militia (Patriot) Leadership, Monuments, Personalities, Preservation, Revolutionary War, Southern TheaterLeave a comment

This Sunday, August 6th at 7pm join ERW series editor Dan Welch and authors Rob Orrison and Mark Wilcox as they discuss one of the worst defeats in American history, the Battle of Camden. How did the hero of Saratoga end up the scapegoat in the south? Learn how a coincidence led to a great British victory. And how did the Patriots recover from such a large defeat and find a path to victory a year later? Orrison and Wilcox will also discuss their upcoming book “All That Can be Expected, The Battle of Camden”. Grab a drink and join us to learn more about the Battle of Camden!

All Rev War Revelries can be found LIVE on our Facebook page, or a week later on our You Tube and Spotify channels.

Visiting Historic Kenmore: A Preserved Patriot’s Home in Fredericksburg Virginia

On By erwguestIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Civilian, Emerging Revolutionary War, ERW Weekender, Personalities, Revolutionary War, Social HistoryLeave a comment

Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes back guest historian Kate Bitely.

In the heart of Fredericksburg, Virginia, you will find a well-preserved, Georgian-style home that once belonged to Betty Washington Lewis, the sister of George Washington. Historic Kenmore, as the home is known today, was constructed in the 1770s and originally sat on 861 acres near downtown Fredericksburg. Today, the historic house museum is open for daily tours where guests can explore the gardens, the main living floor of the home, several historic structures on the priority, and a visitor center filled with riveting artifacts and information. 

Nearly 290 years ago, Betty Washington was born at Pope’s Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. As a young child, she lived in a few properties owned by the Washington family before relocating to Ferry Farm, located in Stafford County, Virginia, where Betty, George and their siblings grew up. On February 22, 1750, Betty married Fielding Lewis, a widowed distant cousin, and a father of two young children. In 1752, the family purchased 1300 acres in the Fredericksburg area and allocated a portion of the land as the future site for their home Millbrook, which was eventually renamed to Kenmore in the 1800’s. In total, Betty and Fielding welcomed eleven children, but only six survived to adulthood.

Fielding Lewis was a well-known member of his community. He built his wealth initially as a merchant, but was later elected as a member of the House of Burgesses and served as a colonel in the Revolutionary War. During the war, however, Lewis used his finances to personally pay for munitions and supplies for Patriot troops which ultimately drained much of the family’s resources.

The Lewis family were staunch Patriots. In 1775, when the Lewis’s were moving into their home, the spirit of independence was strong throughout the colonies. Given the Washington’s status, heritage and devotion to service, Betty and her family would become one of the biggest supporters for the Patriot cause, willing to risk their home, finances, reputation, and their safety in favor of breaking away from England. The impressive residence served as a visual representation of their wealth, which became significantly more important during the Revolutionary War.

Continue reading “Visiting Historic Kenmore: A Preserved Patriot’s Home in Fredericksburg Virginia” →

Review: “East Florida in the Revolutionary Era, 1763–1785” by George Kotlik

On By Phill GreenwaltIn Book Review, British Leadership, Common Soldier, Continental Leadership, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Militia (Loyalist) Leadership, Militia (Patriot) Leadership, Native American, Personalities, Revolutionary War, Social History, Southern TheaterLeave a comment

Thirteen of the Great Britain’s North American colonies moved toward independence in 1775, declaring the fact officially the following year with the issuance of the Declaration of Independence. Perched below these thirteen rebellious provinces was the colony of East Florida. Earned after the Seven Year’s War by Great Britain from Spain, the most populous city an oldest permanently established European metropolis was St. Augustine, which was also the capital of the colony. This colony, through the eight years of the American Revolutionary War, had a tenuous connection with their neighbors to the north. Largely forgotten in the pantheon of history describing this period, from the time of Britain gaining possession in 1763 through the end of the Revolutionary era in this historian’s estimation, in 1785.

Entitled, East Florida in the Revolutionary Era, 1763-1785 and penned by George Kotlik, a historian specializing in 18th century North American history, the publication offers “an accessible and detailed narrative of the East Florida during the American Revolution.” (pg. 8).

What ensues in the following pages is a brief yet complete overview of the military, political, social, and economic history within those years of East Florida. Some of the names in the pages are well known to enthusiasts of the American Revolutionary War era whereas others will be new names to add to the repertoire for further study. From Governor Patrick Tonyn, British general and last governor for England of East Florida to bringing attention to the William Augustus Bowles, a Maryland born Loyalist, sympathetic to the Muscogee Native Americans of East Florida who tried in vain from the last decade of the 18th century, to establish an independent state for the tribe, with British support. These are just two of the historical personas that Kotlik discusses in his narrative, the rest await you within the pages of the book!

Although no major military actions happened within the confines of the colony that does not mean the role of East Florida in relation to the American Revolution should not be marginalized. “Militias were raised, a general assembly was postponed, St. Augustine experienced a heightened British troop presence, planters between the St. Johns and St. Marys Rivers suffered at the hands of George raiding parties, and a constant threat of a Spanish or American invasion” all affected the psyches and lives of East Floridians. (pg. 104-105).

The hope from Kotlik is to provide the launching point for further discussion into the role of East Florida specifically and Florida in general during the revolutionary period. “Such a lack of coverage is a reminder for scholars to to emphasize East Florida’s presence in the war that made America.” (pg. 111). With this history in hand, Kotlik has provided the necessary overview for further exploration.

Publisher: NewSouth Books, University of Georgia Press, 2023
156 pages plus images

“Rev War Revelry” Battlefields!

On By erwpostIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Preservation, Revolutionary War, Uncategorized3 Comments

Lexington and/or Concord or both? Same question, Trenton or Princeton or both? Guilford Court House? Yorktown Battlefield? Ask any historian or history enthusiast of the American Revolutionary War period what their favorite battlefield is and you may get one of the places above. Or some other hallowed ground.

This Sunday, at 7 p.m. EDT, join Emerging Revolutionary War on our Facebook page for a panel discussion on our favorite battlefields of the American Revolution. Discussion will also include the successes, pitfalls, or failure of preservation and what one can see or not see at these sites. We look forward to a lively conversation and your comments on what is the battlefield of choice.