“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.
New York
It’s a relatively quiet week after the Patriots successfully retreat from Manhattan to Harlem Heights. They can hold the high ground there but Washington doesn’t think they can handle general action against the British from that position; there’s also the question of their numbers, resources, and more critically, their discipline. Desertion and theft continue among the ranks no matter how often the officers come down on it. Washington trades letters with Hancock to report on conditions with the army as everyone tries to figure out how to shoestring a victory against the Crown.
Philly
In Philadelphia the order of the day is mostly financial and diplomatic bills. The French delegation is on its way to secure aide from transatlantic allies, and in the meantime the colonies are borrowing a few million pounds to finance the building of frigates and cutters to bolster their naval presence. This is a long haul and there will be no easy solutions. They are literally in “win or die” territory so they go all-in.
The South
The Cherokee War is in the rearview, with the Patriots (really the militia) claiming the W. They notched a few kills, a few more prisoners, and a lot of burned farms and crops. The Cherokee sue for peace and the Southerners are glad this part is over. If the Loyalists hadn’t tried to use the Cherokee against the Patriots, none of this would have happened. Many such cases.
A Familiar Face
Since there wasn’t much to report on this week, I decided to check in on Benedict Arnold, to see what he’d been up to since getting run out of Canada earlier this summer. He’s now in charge of a bootstrapped Navy (the condition of which contributed to Congress financing better ships) on Lake Champlain, getting bullied around by the British and their local Indian allies.
During this week he’s got his small fleet (fifteen vessels or so) hiding in the channel between Valcour Island and New York. The forest hides them from view while his officers try to get his sailors up to speed on naval terms and how to manage a ship. There’s a whole vocabulary they need to learn as well as which ropes they pull to make which sails go up and down…it’s complicated and they have to speed-run a very important stack of skills in order to have a prayer against trained British sailors.
They’re gonna see some action in the coming weeks.
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