“This Week in 1776” is an ongoing almanac of events from that year in the American Revolution. Be sure to check out my novel HEARTLANDERS.
As per last week’s almanac, the American troops on the ground had a brief, swift carousel of leadership from Greene to Sullivan to Putnam left the men in a state of confusion and disarray, all while well-disciplined Brits finally put boots on shore. Not great.
On August 26th, the Brits began their advance against the Americans, outnumbering them roughly 2-1 with their Hessian mercs. The Hessians charged up the middle of the American position while the Brits flanked them on the sides, prompting a retreat to stronger positions, and resulting in the capture of several important Patriot leaders—including Nathaniel Woodhull, who later died from wounds sustained in battle.
Washington had given his men orders to stand their ground unless ordered to retreat with a tactical purpose. Shirkers and deserters were to be shot on sight. The Brits still marched on the Americans with near impunity, suffering maybe 1/5th as many losses to casualties and even fewer to capture, compared to what they racked up.
The Brits held the ground they took while the Americans retreated to Brooklyn, their strongest remaining position. On August 28th, rain came down hard and heavy, covering the American flight while making conditions hard for the Brits. At night, Americans started to ferry troops and cannons across the river under cover of darkness and fog; in daylight they would have been overtaken or sunk. By August 30th, Washington—who was last to leave—brought up the rear and secured the militia in Brooklyn.
It could have been worse, but it was still bad. We lost some artillery, a pair of generals, and valuable ground that we spent months securing and fortifying. (Seriously, they’d been at it since April and the Brits still waltzed in like it was nothing. The loss was disheartening, and in the wake of the Declaration of Independence, it left a lot of Americans with low hopes that they’d pull this thing off. The springtime victory at Boston was now far in the rearview.
Out in Philadelphia, the major focus was on a draft of the Articles of Confederation—the proto-Constitution under which the colonies would operate for a decade, before the Constitution kicked in. They didn’t get it finalized, but in between reports from New York, it took up a lot of their attention. The Continental Army were doing what they could to secure the nation, while Congress was trying to establish a framework for the country’s legal operations once it was all over.
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