American Revolution Archives - 250 and Counting

Oddly enough, having an episode about the Battle of Mamaroneck is one of those times when it pays to have grown up in New York. I saw that note in our common research document, then I clocked the date and said to myself, “No way is Mike going to know how to pronounce that.” So I gave him a little coaching. We’ve done this before, with each of us having to coach the other on pronunciation of locations when we have to report on events on the opposite coast (I get a lot of the Spanish West stuff, somehow). The fact is, a lot of locations on the East Coast get their names from Native American words (Mamaroneck), or the Dutch (Catskill), or are just idiosyncratic because they’ve been around so long that the pronunciation has changed (Bowie, MD). All of this has nothing to do with what I wanted to discuss here. This is what I wanted to discuss here: In 1959 artists Eli Bauer and Ralph Bakshi created the cartoon character Hector Heathcote for the Terrytoons cartoon production company. Hector (seen at right in an image I totally stole) was an 18-year-old Colonial-era person with a red ponytail and a tricorner hat. Hector, and sometimes his dog Winston, got himself into various situations related to American History, though occasionally he’d wander into a science lesson. Sometimes he was opposed by a big bully-type named Benedict (as in Arnold, geddit?). Anyway. I saw that the alternate name for the Battle of Mamaroneck is the Skirmish of Heathcote Hill (like the historical marker says) and I wondered if there was any connection between Hector and this part of the world. It turns out that there may be! Eli Bauer is from the Bronx, just south of Mamaroneck. Ralph Bakshi is from Brooklyn. And Terrytoons’ headquarters was in New Rochelle, which is about 10 miles from Mamaroneck as the crow flies. Do with that what you will. The post Battle of Mamaroneck–October 22, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

Before I get into the events of New Rochelle, I have to confess that I’m kind of hating today’s artwork, and it’s not even published yet. Well, if I have to look at it then so do you. They can’t all be gems. The Battle at Pell’s Point had the Continental Army putting up more resistance than any reasonable British general should expect, so General Howe knew that reinforcements and supplies would be needed, so he camped out in New Rochelle for a few days while the bodies gathered for action. Lord Stirling was able to do some reconnaisance and see just what the Americans were going to be facing, and Washington used the information to move a little more hastily toward White Plains. As a rseult, he had a base of operations before the British had moved significantly; what’s more, he was able to set up a defensive position on high ground near the Bronx River. It would be another few days but before long another significant battle would take place. The post A Pause in New Rochelle–October 19, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

The Battle of Pell’s Point, also known as the Battle of Pelham, was an important battle of the Revolution that doesn’t get the attention that so many others get, largely because of the When and Where of the battle, and the fact that it wasn’t a huge win or loss for either side. What it did do, however, was provide some cover and distraction from the fact that Washington was still moving forces out of New York—that is, off of Manhattan Island—and onto the mainland, toward White Plains. As noted yesterday, the British army’s original goal was to make this move inland yesterday, but the winds weren’t cooperating with their ships in Hell’s-Gate, so it was very slow going getting from Throgs Neck, which was little more than marshland and not even quite connected to the mainland, to Pell’s Point. There were 4000 British soldiers faced against about 750 Continental soldiers, but fortunately the Americans saw them coming and were ready for them despite being quite outnumbered. In the end, this was technically a victory for the British but a tactical one for the Americans, since the battle gave Washington the cover he needed to finish moving troops out of Manhattan and up toward White Plains. Yesterday I took my four-year-old grandson to the National Museum of Railroad History and Innovation (some people may remember it as the B&O Museum) in Baltimore, and that visit reminded me of the fact that when a train passes by, the things you most notice are the engine and the caboose. This may be why I’ve described so many battles as “important but overlooked”; they took place in the middle of things and don’t have some deep iconography attached to them (e.g. Washington crossing the Delaware before the Battle of Trenton). But they’re all part of the larger mosaic that makes up the story of the American Revolution. The post Battle of Pell’s Point–October 18, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

When Washington’s Council of War (with a single exception) determined that sticking around New York City was a bad idea, the next step was deciding which way to go, and how to go about it. To a certain extent, the decision was made for them, because the British had pretty well sewed up the Hudson River, which meant that getting across and into New Jersey stealthily would be problematic. The other option was to move north, into the Bronx and the downstate area west and north of Pelham. There would still be a river to cross (the Bronx River), but that was much smaller and, better still, it wasn’t fortified by British ships. They identified several crossing points and set up units to monitor those places, plus another couple of units to keep an eye on the British in general. In this manner they were able to move four regiments of men across to the mainland without alerting the British. But having this option made for them also helped ensure that they could continue to defend the lower Hudson Valley and stave off that severing of the connection between New England and the rest of the colonies that Britain so coveted. Over the next several days we’ll bring you up to the conflict that today is known as the Battle of White Plains. The post Leaving New York–October 17, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

By the time Charles Lee returned to duty, the Continental Army in New York was in a sad state of affairs. Many men had been injured or deserted. Supplies were low. Ammunition was low. Morale was low. And the British were up in the Bronx, gearing up for…something, who knows what. Lee had, of course, missed all the action in Brooklyn and Manhattan, so he brought a new perspective to the table. And it was fortunate that Lee felt free to say what he thought of the situation, namely that it was untenable. Fortunately, Washington was of a similar mind and apparently Lee’s comments were what he needed to take appropriate action. He immediately summoned a council of war. Down in Staten Island, Nathanael Greene and Hugh Mercer were in Staten Island, encountering far less resistance than they expected. They got word of the war council and Greene departed while Mercer continued on…at least until he learned the status of his intended target. The post In And Around New York–October 15, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.