"1776 line of march" Topic
13 Posts
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NY Irish | 10 Feb 2015 7:45 p.m. PST |
The Battle of Pelham on Oct 18th, 1776 was by no means a large engagement, but Howe's marching orders from Pelham up to New Rochelle in preparation for his move against White Plains gives me some idea of what even a skirmish actually entails! I know if I had all these units in miniature my skirmish would fast become a full engagement with all men in the heat of battle to the last cartridge. HEAD QUARTERS, Pelham Manor, 21st. Oct., 1776. 6 in the Morning. The Tents to be struck at 7 o'Clock this Morning, and the Troops to be in Readiness to march by the Right, in the following Order : General Clinton to command the Advance. 2d. Battalion Light Infrantry. 4 Divisions of Light Dragoons, consisting of 10 Files each. British Grenadiers. 33d Regiment. 42d Regiment. Hessian Grenadiers. 2 Battalions of the Guards. 1st Brigade. Hessian Brigades. 71st Regiment. Four Divisions Light Horse, ten files each. The Baggage of the Army, followed by the 2d Brigade, with Two twelve Pounders and two Horowitzers in the Front of the Brigade of Guards. Two twelve Pounders at the Head of General de Heister's Brigade. The 1st. and 3d. Battalion Light Infantry, with four Divisions of Cavalry of ten file each, to march on the Left Flank of the Army. 3d. Battalion leads. 6th Brigade British and Losberg's Brigade will take the Position which will be directed. The Queen's Light Dragoons take the Front. |
Supercilius Maximus | 11 Feb 2015 5:44 a.m. PST |
Sorry to spoil things, but I'm afraid a lot of those troops simply weren't available on October 18th – although the actual skirmish does make a lovely scenario in its own right. I've been studying this battle in some detail recently, with the help of one of the staff at West Point. Starting with a local historian around 1900, who got a bit over-excited about finding a little known "major battle" in his back yard, successive writers have made not so much a meal as a veritable feast out of what was no more than a skirmish that many British and Hessian officers hardly mention. These authors have also mis-read the orders-of-battle of the Crown forces, in some cases with an obvious agenda to inflate the "defeat" apparently suffered, listing not only every unit that landed throughout that day and the next two, but even the parent regiments of all of the constituent companies of grenadier units (including the Hesse Cassel Garde who were back in Germany!). Pretty much every book and article – even the usually reliable Boatner – get many of the details wrong: numbers, duration, losses, sequence of events, and even the location. The skirmish on October 18th was a rearguard action – and a highly creditable one, it must be said – by Glover's brigade (four battalions – of which three were engaged – totalling about 800 men and three guns, which weren't involved) against the same number of British and Hessian units (about 1200 men, but no artillery which only arrive at the end of the day), to give time for Washington to get his army off Manhatten, then an island, at King's Ferry/Kingsbridge. The action followed the British landings at Pell's Point (wrongly identified as the location of the battle for many years) and hence few of those units listed in the order of march on October 21st were available on the 18th. Only the advance guard – the Light Infantry and some battalions of British and Hessian grenadiers – had landed when the action began, and most of these had split off towards New Rochelle, leaving only the 1st Light Infantry, the von Linsing Grenadiers, some jaeger, and a couple of British grenadier battalions (who saw no action, but were observed outflanking Glover's men, causing their eventual retreat). Sadly, historians have "over-egged the pudding" and gradually inflated the strength of the Crown forces to around 4,000 men, whereas in reality the British had slightly less than about twice as many men available as Glover, whilst the numbers actually engaged were about equal. Similarly, accounts by inexperienced Continental officers of "scores" of British troops falling down at each American volley, were uncritically embraced without considering the idea of light infantrymen "going to ground" when fired on unexpectedly (Glover hid his regiments behind a succession of stone walls that criss-crossed most of the battlefield). Actual British and Hessian casualties are unknown, but no unit reported more than a few men being hit. Other reasons why more of Howe's troops did not become involved were (a) the limited frontage of the action, which took place on what was essentially an island in the middle of salt marshes with only a single road; and (b) the relative brevity of the action, with Glover's battalions each exchanging a few volleys and then dropping back from one wall to the next. Being October, of course, the daylight hours were fewer and the overcast weather further limited visibility. Eager as you might be to bring all that cavalry and those lovely 12-pounders into play (and why not), sadly this isn't the moment. They simply weren't available and even if they had been, they could not have got forward in time, or found the room, to get involved. |
Jeigheff | 11 Feb 2015 6:11 a.m. PST |
Back in the 1950s, EC Comics had two war comics, "Frontline Combat" and "Two-Fisted Tales." (I'm familiar with these through reprints.) These comics tackled the American Revolution on a couple occasions, and even did a story on the battle of Pell's Point. The man who wrote these comics and directed the artists who drew them was Harvey Kurtzman. He actually did his best to research these comics with the resources available at the time in New York City. Even though some details aren't perfect by today's standards, and even though he had to deal with publishing deadlines, his efforts show. Unfortunately, the story on Pell's Point, drawn by Wally Wood, shows an American militia firing line mowing down almost all the Hessian fusilers in front of it with a single volley. I've always wondered whether Kurtzman was letting his imagination run away with him in this particular story. But Supercilous' comment makes me wonder if Kurtzman actually DID do his research, faulty as it was. For what it's worth, EC did another story entitled "Washington", which was moving, but which showed a side of Washington which kids probably didn't get to see in school. As his soldiers retreat from British who have landed on Long Island, Washington, on horseback, tries to stem their rout and heartily curses them with cartoon cursing: #!!??@ and so on. Having failed to stop them, Washington is momentarily dazed and disheartened. The last panel of the story shows American riflemen shooting at the advancing British, while an aide leads Washington and his horse back to the safety of the American lines. It's an interesting, and not necessarily unpatriotic, look at Washington that might have raised some eyebrows back when it was first published. Sorry for raving about old comics a little bit; I wish I knew of some online links which I could share with you. |
79thPA | 11 Feb 2015 7:09 a.m. PST |
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Supercilius Maximus | 11 Feb 2015 9:50 a.m. PST |
Unfortunately, the story on Pell's Point, drawn by Wally Wood, shows an American militia firing line mowing down almost all the Hessian fusilers in front of it with a single volley. I've always wondered whether Kurtzman was letting his imagination run away with him in this particular story. But Supercilous' comment makes me wonder if Kurtzman actually DID do his research, faulty as it was. Yes, I suspect he did. The Continental colonel Baldwin was the least experienced of the triumvirate under Glover (the other two were Reed and Shephard, who were veterans) and he is the one who is quoted on the subject of Crown forces casualties by William Abbatt (who, in turn, is cited by Boatner as his authority). Abbatt also made the mistakes in the Crown orbat which included so many Hessian regiments, rather than the Linsing and Minnigerode grenadier battalions (the latter being composed of all the fusilier regiments' grenadier companies). link I've seen an original copy and it is valuable on one point – it has 1890s photos of the battlefield which, whilst there were some alterations, were not too far from how the area would have looked in the 1770s. Unfortunately, he is the main source for the Wikipedia article on the battle. The other book that contains details of the battle is Westchester County during the American Revolution : 1775-1783 by Otto Hufeland. link Again, dated and inaccurate now (written in the 1920s), it corrected some errors in Abbatt's book, but continued some others. For what it's worth, EC did another story entitled "Washington", which was moving, but which showed a side of Washington which kids probably didn't get to see in school. As his soldiers retreat from British who have landed on Long Island, Washington, on horseback, tries to stem their rout and heartily curses them with cartoon cursing: #!!??@ and so on. That is actually correct – as he watched the militia flee from the British landings at Kip's Bay without firing a shot (albeit under bombardment from a Royal Navy frigate!) he cursed them quite roundly. As you rightly say, a picture of him not taught in schools back then. |
Camcleod | 11 Feb 2015 10:26 a.m. PST |
Internet Archive has a copy of the first book: link |
Eclaireur | 11 Feb 2015 1:31 p.m. PST |
'Horowitzers'? Maybe revolutionary guns funded by Jewish patriots? |
NY Irish | 11 Feb 2015 7:04 p.m. PST |
The source that is most wrong is Pelham Manor: Forgotten Battle of the Revolution by Alfred Franko. That is the source that gives the most wild numbers of British and Hessian dead. He uses the math of war to decide this: Glover's 750 men firing 25 volleys or 4,000 balls at 50 yards into a roadway about 4 or 5 yards wide. He argues that the minimum casualties "probably" equaled Brooklyn, White Plains, Princeton and Germantown (not combined). Glover reported 6 dead 13 wounded. Franko argues that the Hessian losses were purposely not reported for political and financial reasons. No evidence for this, of course. If this were true where were the mass graves? The local church has the graves of 5 Hessians, but research by National Park Service historian David Osborn at the church showed those 5 died of disease. They did find a skeleton in the roadway in the 1920s but no proof he was from the battle. The artillery did come into play- the Blaskowitz map shows the artillery facing Glover across the Hutchinson River. The two sides traded shots in the last stage of the fight. Here in Pelham we like to say that Glover saved Washington but Howe was in no rush to go anywhere. He sat in Throggs Neck long enough before crossing to Pelham, then tarried in town before pushing into New Rochelle. Not a very aggressive attempt to cut off Washington's retreat (typical Howe). Anyway, Super Max you will see the marching column was for the 21st -after the battle. Forget your West Pointer -I'll give you a staff ride of the battlefield; I can see it from my classroom window! |
genew49 | 12 Feb 2015 6:11 a.m. PST |
Not really adding to the discussion but: Alfred Franko was the Principal of Nichols Junior High School in Mt. Vernon NY when I attended in the early 1960's. The school was later renamed Franko Middle School. The building now houses Columbus Elementary School. Mt. Vernon borders Pelham. Apparently Franko made revisions/corrections to his work in 1966 and 1975. I don't whether the later versions are more accurate. link In doing a quick google search for Franko I came across the obituary of the teacher whose classroom I was sitting in when we got the word that JFK had died as well a book written by a high school classmate who was also a colleague of mine when we worked as teachers and administrators at Mt. Vernon HS in the 1970's and 1980's. Sorry for the personal way off topic. |
Supercilius Maximus | 12 Feb 2015 9:08 a.m. PST |
The source that is most wrong is Pelham Manor: Forgotten Battle of the Revolution by Alfred Franko. That is the source that gives the most wild numbers of British and Hessian dead. I was hoping to spare all the impressionable minds on here from the awfulness of Mr Franko's work, which is almost the literary equivalent of a war-crime. One can only hope he wasn't a history teacher. The local church has the graves of 5 Hessians, but research by National Park Service historian David Osborn at the church showed those 5 died of disease. I'm guessing that is St Paul's? If so, lovely old church – visited it back in 2004 when it had a little display about the battle, including a diorama that refers to the capture of Capt Glanville Evelyn's silver-laced hat and water bottle. The artillery did come into play- the Blaskowitz map shows the artillery facing Glover across the Hutchinson River. The two sides traded shots in the last stage of the fight. Sure – I was emphasising that the British guns were not involved in the main action; there was a half-hearted artillery duel across the valley where the causeway was. Here in Pelham we like to say that Glover saved Washington but Howe was in no rush to go anywhere. He sat in Throggs Neck long enough before crossing to Pelham, then tarried in town before pushing into New Rochelle. Not a very aggressive attempt to cut off Washington's retreat (typical Howe). True, but Glover would have been unaware of that and it would be unfair to let a retrospective analysis of Howe detract from the Marbleheader's efforts on the day. Anyway, Super Max you will see the marching column was for the 21st – after the battle. Sorry if my reply seemed patronising – the way your OP was phrased I got the impression you had read Abbatt and Hufeland and perhaps had the "traditional" view of how many British troops were there. Forget your West Pointer -I'll give you a staff ride of the battlefield; I can see it from my classroom window! Cool! I will certainly take you up on that if I ever get another chance to visit NY again. I think I may have unwittingly walked at least part of the battlefield in 2004 when I was escorted round NYC by Todd Post, then Press Officer for the BAR (poor chap got attacked by hordes of mossies; me, not a single bite – must be all that Guinness in me blood!). We looked out both Split Rock and Glover's Rock, which are often confused by some of the early authors. In fairness, the WP guy is ex-Army and a local lad as well. |
NY Irish | 12 Feb 2015 8:17 p.m. PST |
You are not patronizing at all- always informative to me and the many. Glover did a great job; Howe, not so much. I've got both the 1966 and the 1976 versions of Franko; Hufeland I love, but lent it to a student and it was gone. i didn't know Franko was a teacher, his pamphlet lists him as city historian for Mount Vernon. Wildly inflated number based on speculation, yes, but hey, it gets our little battle on the map! |
Supercilius Maximus | 13 Feb 2015 12:06 a.m. PST |
It's certainly a nice little action for gaming, with one side completely invisible to start with – not your typical 18th Century battle, eh? In fairness to Howe, I don't think he was "on the ground" on the day – not quite sure who was in charge, probably Clinton as Leslie had been "dropped" as OC of the Light Infantry brigade after Haarlem Heights. (I was probably a little harsh on poor Mr Franko – it was the '60s after all.) |
genew49 | 14 Feb 2015 7:37 a.m. PST |
Dr. Franko was my science teacher in 7th grade. He went on to be a principal and I believe a superintendent. He was a good teacher and well respected in the community. However I don't think that the "it was the '60s after all" works as he was at least in his forties when I had him in 1961. Now for his students "it was the '60s after all" is very apt and has covered a multitude of sins for many of us over all these years. |
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