America and Canada: Revolutionary Pipedreams

     The Americans invaded Canada after the Canadians, on at least three occasions,  turned down or ignored overtures to join the Revolution.  Their rationale was the pretext of "protecting" people who never asked for, needed or wanted American help.  General Phillip Schuyler, in charge of the northern theater of operations, had intended to lead the expedition to Montreal, but due to illness, ceded that command to General Richard Montgomery.  Montgomery arrived with some 1200 troops, against a garrison of only 150 defenders, and the city surrendered on November 13, 1775.  On December 31, Montgomery was killed in the joint attack on Quebec City by him and Benedict Arnold.

     The heart of the city is Place d'Armes.  In 1775. where the statue of Paul de Chomeday (founder of Montreal) stands, was a statute of King George, that Montgomery's troops defaced.

     Following World War I, the United States actually developed another plan for invading Canada, formulated in 1935 and reported by Richard Preston in 1977 in The Defence of the Undefended Border: Planning for War in North America 1867-1939.  Interestingly, Toronto was considered irrelevant; the most important Canadian cities in 1935 as seen by the United States were Quebec City and Halifax.  The report concluded that "That the critical areas of Canada are: (1) The Halifax-Monkton-St.John Area (The Maritime Provinces); (2) The St.Lawrence Area (Quebec and Montreal); (3) The Great Lakes Area; (4) The Winnipeg Area; and (5) The Vancouver Area (Vancouver and Victoria).

The I-95 War

I made the reverse trip that Nathanael Greene made, going up from New Jersey to Rhode Island, to see what I could find of the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778.  In a small location crushed between highways is Patriot Park, where a plaque tells us this was the "location" of the battle.

American commander General John Sullivan was just to the north (left) of this monument as shown above.  The British moved northward on Aquidneck Island, both Hessians and Regulars, and were repulsed in this general area and to the east and north, but the Americans then withdraw to Tiverton and the mainland, in the vicinity of Fort Barton.  More to say on this battle is subsequent posts.

But what struck me on the drive back was the fact that the Revolution was really the I-95 War, from Charleston, South Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts.  While of course this world war spread across continents and oceans, the most significant battles on the American mainland were within exit-reach of I-95.  If you want to understand America and its roots. treat I-95 as a cruiseship, and stop off at the various "ports" to appreciate the differences in culture, politics and ethos of Eastern Seaboard Americans.

Baylor's Massacre and the Persistence of Brutality

On September 27, 1778, British General Charles "No Flint" Grey led a  night assault, with no flint and bayonets only, against Colonel George Baylor's 3rd Regiment of Continental Light Dragoons while they slept in various houses and along what is now Rivervale Road, in Rivervale, New Jersey.  Despite pleas for quarter, none was given, with the exception by one British captain.  The American regiment was virtually destroyed.  In 1967 the remains of some dragoons were found at what is now the burial site park, pictured here.  

The episode became the subject of intense American propaganda as to the brutal nature and atrocities committed.  Even British Lieutenant Colonel Charles Stuart of the 26th Foot wrote a few days afterward that "[a]s they were in their beds and fired not a shot in opposition, the credit that might have been due to the Corps that effected the surprise is entirely buried in the barbarity if their behaviour." On the other hand, General Henry Clinton wrote of the attack that he "had the satisfaction to find that the move had not proved altogether fruitless."

Today we live in a world of brutality that seems so commonplace, on a 24/7 basis, that we are jaded.  It is useful to read Stuart's sense of outrage and hope that after centuries of such brutality, we can stand in a place like this and think about what we are as human beings.

Saratoga and "Best Measures"

In the last post I commented on the relatively genteel manner in which the commanding officers at Saratoga dined and toasted each other, while many had died or been wounded on the battlefield at Saratoga.  The first  action occurred here, at Freeman's Farm, on September 19, 1777.  It was a scene of frenzied actions, of back and forth across the battlefield, exemplified by Benedict Arnold's wild courage.

But it was also marked by a quieter kind of courage and duty, shown by Hessian commander Baron von Riedesel.  Riedesel's memoirs, apparently describing the action in the third person, note that "About 1 o'clock, a brisk cannonade and fire of musketry was heard, and general Riedesel presumed that general Burgoyne's column was then engaged with the enemy.  The fire again commenced towards 3 o'clock, and became much hotter.  General Riedesel finding himself without any intelligence from general Burgoyne, despatched captain Willoe to him.  This officer returned in about three quarters of an hour, and brought orders to general Riedesel to take the best measures to preserve the artillery, baggage and batteaux, and to repair immediately afterwards to general Burgoyne's relief, with as many troops as he should be able to take along, and to attempt an attack on the right flank of the enemy."

I like this excerpt; written by Riedesel in the third person, it provides an aura of detachment and objectivity.  I particularly like the part about Riedesel not knowing what is going on, and spending forty-five minutes until orders return from Willoe, telling him to take "best measures." One imagines Willoe tearing back and forth along this battlefield, finding Burgoyne, expressing Riedesel's concerns, getting instructions, and racing back.  No cell phones, no radios, no "walkie talkies"--communication the old fashioned way.  And reliance on the human being in the field, in life and death circumstances, to take "best measures."