Major John Andre Captured Near Tarrytown...

On this day (September 23rd, 1780), British Major John Andre was captured near Tarrytown, New York as he attempted to assist Benedict Arnold's attempted surrender of the fort at West Point, New York to the British...

In 1779 John André became adjutant-general of the British Army in America with the rank of Major. In April of that year he took charge of British secret intelligence. By the next year (1780) he had begun to plot with American General Benedict Arnold. Arnold's Loyalist wife, Peggy Shippen, was a close friend of André's. In fact, the two had courted in Philadelphia prior to Shippen's marriage to Arnold. She was one of the go-betweens in the correspondence. General Benedict Arnold, who commanded West Point, had agreed to surrender the post to the British for £20,000 (approximately $1.1 million in today's dollars). If successful, this traitorous move would have enabled the British to cut New England off from the rest of the rebellious colonies, possibly ensuring Britain's victory in the war; resulting in the squashing of the American Revolution.
André went up the Hudson River on the British sloop-of-war HMS Vulture on Wednesday, September 20th, 1780 to visit Arnold. The following night, Thursday the 21st, a small boat, furnished by Arnold, was steered to the Vulture by Joshua Hett Smith. At the oars were two brothers, tenants of Smith's, who reluctantly rowed the boat six miles on the river to the sloop. Despite Arnold's assurances the two oarsmen sensed something was wrong; and believed they'd be in danger. None of these men knew Arnold's purpose, or suspected his treason; as they had been told that the purpose was to do good for the patriot cause. Only Smith was told anything specific, and that was the lie that it was to secure vital intelligence for the American cause. The brothers finally agreed to row after threats by Arnold to arrest them. They picked up André, and placed him on shore. The others left and Arnold eventually came to André on horseback, leading an extra horse for André's use. The two men conferred in the woods below Stony Point until near dawn, after which Major André accompanied Arnold several miles to the Joshua Hett Smith House in West Haverstraw, New York. This house was owned by Thomas Smith and occupied by his brother Joshua. Soon thereafter, that morning, Friday the 22nd, American troops commanded by Col. James Livingston, guarding Verplanck's Point across the river, began firing on the Vulture, which received many hits and was forced to retire down river without André.
Next for Andre, he had to make it past the American lines, and back to his British supperiors with the correspondance from Arnold. To aid André's escape through the American lines, Arnold provided him with common clothes and a passport. He now traveled under the name John Anderson. Hidden in his stocking, he bore six papers written in Arnold's hand that showed the British how to take the fort. This was a foolish move since General Clinton already knew the fort's layout. Joshua Hett Smith, who was accompanying him as a travel companion and guide, left him just before he encountered the American patrol.
André rode on in safety until 9 a.m. on September 23rd, when he came near Tarrytown, New York,*where armed militiamen John Paulding, Isaac Van Wart and David Williams stopped him.
"Gentlemen," said André, who thought they were Tories because one was wearing a Hessian soldier's overcoat, "I hope you belong to our party." "What party?" asked one of the men. "The lower party," replied André, meaning the British. "We do," was the answer. André then informed them that he was indeed a British officer who must not be detained, when, to his surprise, the militiamen informed him that they were actually Americans, and that he was their prisoner. He then told them that he was an American officer, and showed them his passport. But the suspicions of his captors were now aroused. They searched him and found Arnold's papers in his stocking. Only Paulding could read them, and for some time, Arnold was not suspected. André offered them his horse and watch, if they would let him go, but they did not accept the bribe. André testified at his trial that the men searched his boots for the purpose of robbing him. Paulding however realized he was a spy and took him to Continental Army headquarters in Sands Hill.
Major Andre was at first detained at Sands Mill in Armonk, New York, before being taken to the headquarters of the American Army at Tappan, and was held at the tavern The Old '76 House. There he admitted who he really was. At first all went well for André since the post commandant Lt. Col. John Jameson decided to send him to General Arnold, never suspecting that a high-ranking hero of the Revolution such as Arnold could be a turncoat, but then Major Benjamin Tallmadge, head of Continental Army Intelligence, arrived and persuaded Jameson to bring the prisoner back. He had intelligence showing that a high-ranking officer was planning to defect to the British but was unaware of who it was. Curiously, though unwilling to believe Arnold could be guilty of treason, Jameson did have the six sheets of paper carried by Andre sent, not to Arnold, but to Gen. Washington. However, Jameson also insisted on sending a note to Arnold informing him of the entire situation. Jameson didn't want his army career to be wrecked later for having wrongly believed his general was a traitor. Arnold received Jameson's note while at breakfast with his officers, made an excuse to leave the room and was not seen again. The note gave Arnold time to escape to the British. An hour or so later, Washington arrived at West Point with his party and was disturbed to see the stronghold's fortifications in such bad apparent "neglect" (which of course was part of the plan to weaken West Point defenses); and was further irritated to find that Arnold had breached protocol by not being about to greet him. Some hours later, Washington received the explanatory information from Maj. Tallmadge and immediately sent men to arrest Arnold, but it was too late.
During his trial, André's defense was that he was suborning an enemy officer, "an advantage taken in war" (his words). However he never to his credit tried to pass the blame onto Arnold. André told the court that he had not desired to be behind enemy lines and had not planned it. He also noted that because he was a prisoner of war he had the right to escape in civilian clothes. On September 29th 1780 however, the board found André guilty of being behind American lines "under a feigned name and in a disguised habit" and ordered that "Major André, Adjutant-General to the British army, ought to be considered as a Spy from the enemy, and that agreeable to the law and usage of nations, it is their opinion, he ought to suffer death."
Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander in New York, did all he could to save André, his favourite aide, but refused to surrender Arnold in exchange for André even though he despised Arnold. André appealed to George Washington to be executed by firing squad, but by the rules of war he was hanged as a spy at Tappan on 2 October 1780.
Although Major John Andre (who was well liked by American Officers and soldiers alike) was tragically hanged for participating in Benedict Arnold's Traitorous scheme, his capture resulted in the foiling of Arnold's plans to give up West Point; most definatley saving the American cause from certain destruction...


British Major John Andre



"I may sink, but I'll be damned if I strike"...

On today's date (September 23rd, 1779) John Paul Jones, American Captain of the 42 gun Bonhomme Richard defeated the British HMS Serapis in a particularly nasty sea battle....

In 1779, Captain John Paul Jones took command of the 42-gun Bonhomme Richard (or as he preferred to call it, Bon Homme Richard), a merchant ship rebuilt and given to America by a French shipping magnate. On August 14, as a vast French and Spanish invasion fleet approached England, he provided a diversion by heading for Ireland at the head of a five ship squadron including the 36-gun Alliance, 32-gun Pallas, 12-gun Vengeance, and also the 12-gun Le Cerf. Jones was also accompanied by two privateers, Monsieur and Granville.
When the squadron was only a few days out of Groix, Monsieur separated due to a disagreement between her captain and Jones. Several Royal Navy warships were sent towards Ireland in pursuit of Jones, but on this occasion, he continued right around the north of Scotland into the North Sea, creating near-panic all along Britain's east coast as far south as the Humber estuary.
On September 23, 1779, the squadron met with a large merchant convoy off the coast of Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire. It was Jones's intention on taking the merchant vessels as prizes. However, the 50-gun British frigate HMS Serapis and the 22-gun HMS Countess of Scarborough placed themselves between the convoy and Jones's squadron, allowing the merchants to escape.
Shortly after 7 p.m. the Battle of Flamborough Head began. The Serapis engaged the Bonhomme Richard, and soon afterwards, the Alliance fired, from a considerable distance, at the Countess. Quickly recognizing that he could not win a battle of big guns, and with the wind dying, Jones made every effort to lock Richard and Serapis together. His famous quotation (though it has been questioned if he indeed said the words), "I have not yet begun to fight!" was uttered in reply to a cheerful British taunt to surrender during an odd stalemate in this phase of the battle. The stalemate ended about and hour later however, when Jone's deck guns and his Marine marksmen in the rigging began clearing the British decks. The American Alliance sailed past and fired a broadside, doing at least as much damage to the Richard as to the British Serapis. Meanwhile, the Countess of Scarborough had enticed the Pallas downwind of the main battle, beginning a separate engagement. When Alliance approached this contest, about an hour after it had begun, the badly damaged Countess surrendered.
With the badly damaged Bonhomme Richard burning and sinking, it seemed that her ensign was shot away; a British commander asked, if they had indeed struck their colours. Jones later remembered saying something like "I am determined to make you strike", but the words allegedly heard by crew-members and reported in newspapers a few days later were more like: "I may sink, but I'll be damned if I strike."
An attempt by the British to board Bonhomme Richard was thwarted, and a grenade caused the explosion of a large quantity of gunpowder on Serapis's lower gun-deck. Alliance then returned to the main battle, firing two broadsides. Again, these did at least as much damage to friendly Richard as it did to the enemy Serapis. However, the tactic worked to the extent that, unable to move, and with Alliance keeping well out of the line of his own great guns, Captain Pearson of Serapis accepted that prolonging the battle could achieve nothing, and surrendered. Most of Bonhomme Richard's crew immediately transferred to other vessels, and after a day and a half of frantic repair efforts, it was decided that the ship could not be saved, so it was allowed to sink, and Jones took command of Serapis for the trip to neutral (but American-sympathizing) Holland. Huzzah to Captain John Paul Jones....The father of our American Navy.....



Painting of John Paul Jones By Charles Wilson Peale



Then...A Patriot I'll Be Author Page...

The following is the path to my Author Page at Amazon.com for Then...A Patriot I'll Be...

http://www.amazon.com/Roy-J.-Moyle/e/B008E5Y7UW/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

United States Constitution Signed...

225 years ago today (September 17th 1787), the United States Constitution is signed and adopted by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Huzzah to all the men who signed this document.

"Then...A Patriot I'll Be" Now Available for Hard Copy...

I am very proud and excited to report that my novel, "Then...A Patriot I'll Be" has been approved for it's final hard copy proof. It is soon to be available for purchase. Stay tuned for availability details!!!

https://www.createspace.com/3917554?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026

Crossing the North Atlantic in the Harshness of Winter...

The following is an excerpt from the novel, "Then...A Patriot I'll Be". It recounts the hardships of an ocean crossing in the North Atlantic during the fierce winter months...

...Traveling by ship, though usually a faster alternative to land travel was no easy passage either. If the weather was foul than it could be sickening and most uncomfortable to say the least. Of course, it could prove deadly as well.

Passage aboard a ship was expensive. A traveler must pay for not only his room and board, but pay his family’s way as well. Of course, a duty would be placed on any cargo that he wished to carry with him on his journey. Once arriving to the dock (which sometimes could be a journey in itself), and being cleared for boarding, dock men would load the cargo into the belly of the ship. Usually buried under other cargo and supplies necessary for the long voyage, a passenger wouldn’t have access to their effects for the remainder of the trip. Each guest of the vessel would be assigned their lodging while on board. Like everything else in the world, a person’s accommodations depended on how much money they had. Should one be able to spare enough specie, perhaps a small cabin might be assigned to him and his family. This is the way a “gentleman” would travel. This cabin would consist of a small bed (more like a bunk), room for their own travelling chest, and maybe a small desk with a tiny stool. Not too opulent, but quite luxurious in contrast to the fellow without sufficient coin to secure a private room. This person’s “room” would either be a portion of a wooden bunk (on the larger ships), or a spot on the floor below deck, with sufficient space to sleep and eat. As this is how the majority of the passengers would travel, it was quite cramped quarters for those that did not have great amounts of money. You would be “boarded” side by side with strangers as you slept, and engaged with different walks of life as you ate. Due to such close quarters during travel, it is not surprising that many interesting and life-long friendships were started by acquaintances met at sea.

Money not only afforded one the luxury of a better room, or perhaps a bunk, but it also guaranteed better placement throughout the ship. The poorest of the passengers were relegated to the worst part of the vessel. At the bow, where all the up and down motion of the ship could be felt was also the area where the livestock were kept. The ship’s head was also located here, right outside below the bowsprit. Those with the least amount of money were assigned to these parts. They slept and ate amongst the filth of animals, and the vomiting of each other. Sickened by the rocking of the boat through rough seas, and the stench of the livestock, this was the berths of the poor, and a place nobody wanted to be.

The private cabins and upper class of the passengers were toward the stern of the ship, strategically placed as far from these vile wretches as possible. Under the captain and officers cabins, this is the part of the ship that did not move so violently during a sea voyage. As the bow absorbed the ups and downs of the ship, and the crashing of the waves, the stern was cushioned from these discomforts at the back of the ship.

The common passengers were squeezed in along the middle of the ship. “Amidships”, as the sailors and crew would call it. This section made up the greater portion of the passengers, and was considered a rather “common” way to travel by sea.

Aside from the “comforts” afforded below deck, passengers would have limited access to the weather deck outside, providing they did not interfere with the work of the crew, or generally “get in the way” of the conducting of the ship’s business. When out on the deck, this allowed the travelers their only true enjoyment of a cool breeze and daylight, as well as escaping the ever present stench below decks. On these days many would be seen reading a book, or engaging in pleasant conversation, excited to be out from their humid, airless berth places below, and reaping the benefits of the sun warming their faces, and the wind blowing through their hair.

On days with particularly bad weather and rough seas, the passengers were expected to stay below decks. Enforcing this rule however, was never a problem, once the boarded guests experienced their first instance of a giant swell moving the ship on its side, or the whitewater of a wave washing across the deck as the bow moved into an oncoming crest. It was then a mad rush to get back down to the relative safety of their quarters, and back to reading and conversing by candlelight; That is, as my father used to joke, “If they were able to keep their heads from firmly inhabiting the inside of a bucket”.

When traveling by ship, one must realize that they are truly at the mercy of Mother Nature and all of her elements. Rough weather and high seas could put a vessel off of its intended course, causing a delay in arrival. After encountering a particularly bad storm, the ship may be forced to make for the nearest port in order to repair the damaged vessel. Repairs could take weeks to finish before putting out to sea once again; further increasing the time it took to get to its intended destination. Most importantly, a ship is at all times at the mercy of the wind. If encountering an agreeable breeze, the journey could be faster, and much more pleasurable. However, if the air is stagnant with no wind at all, it could make a sea going trip dreadful. It has not been strange to hear of entire fleets of ships floating aimlessly in the ocean for weeks while waiting for favorable winds. Not only would this increase the length of the voyage, it can quickly dwindle supplies, increase superstitions among the sailors, and expose all on the ship, passenger and crew alike, to the never ending boredom of days wasted bobbing through the sea with no direction to go.

As this type of passage created hardship and discomfort on a daily basis for those traveling during the summer months in the calmest of weather, it had the capability of being no short of a complete terror during the winter months that consisted of storms of rain, ice, snow, fierce unruly seas, and wind gusts that could rip a sail in half. Sailors told tales of waves high enough to knock a man off the topmast of the largest ship with ease. The infamous northeastern storms of the area were said to be so fierce that between wind and waves, a ship could be ripped clear in half in the blink of an eye. Indeed, the north Atlantic was no place to be in the winter months. Father would say, “There is no place better to be than in the north Atlantic enjoying the calm breezes and mild seas of summer, but there is no place worse to be than in the north Atlantic during the winter when the ocean unleashes its indiscriminate fury”.

The entrance to Boston harbor in particular is not friendly to mariners seeking respite from the north Atlantic during a horrible storm. There are many shoals, rock formations, and bars that line the entrance to the harbor, and many times, vessels believing the safety of the harbor would save them from the brutality of the ocean wound up crushed upon the rocks while attempting to navigate the thin channels of the outer harbor.

To a mariner, this was a harsh time to be at sea. These were brave men that had more experience amongst the waves than they did on the land. Salt from the sea coursed through their veins, and the weathered looks on their faces told that this was true. Now, if this time was challenging for an experienced sailor to be at sea, one can only imagine what it was like for the common gentleman of the land to endure such a passage.

Perhaps, leaving the Bahaman islands in August bound for Massachusetts, travelling north and enjoying the nice island air and calm beautiful seas, an unwary traveler may think of the passage as pleasurable, and not at all as disagreeable as he had been told it could be. “This is to be a most relaxing trip indeed”, I’m sure he would imagine. His vessel continues its enjoyable voyage, but now it is around September, and they are just about to begin the next leg of their journey, when they are brought to a halt. They are now devoid of a breeze, and have been waiting two weeks for favorable winds to arrive. Boredom briefly sets in, but still an agreeable journey so far. Finally moving on with the wind, toward the end of September, early October the ship has reached Maryland and Delaware. Our traveler can now feel the wind has some bite to it, and it is not so pleasurable to be out on deck in the late hours. However, during the daytime, it is still quite comfortable indeed. Cruising in the north Atlantic, just past New York, it is now close to the end of October and the winds are really picking up. The seas are getting higher, and are beginning to seem agitated. As rain is a constant, less and less time is spent for our traveler on deck. Preferring the security below in his berth is where he chooses to be. As the ship starts to rock and shift, he feels uneasy, and a bit seasick. This once jovial man previously enjoying his passage, has not held down a meal in days, and is in most want of comfort, though it doesn’t arrive.  It is now the beginning of November as the ship must set a course north/northeast in order to avoid the shoals off Cape Cod. Now, in the middle of the northern Atlantic, in the dead of winter, our passenger will experience the horror he was told of first hand, and will realize that what he had heard was no fairy tale. It starts with more intense rocking of the ship from side to side. The waves pick up. Growing and growing in size and strength, they toss the ship about like a child’s toy. The bow digs in and crashes into the trough of a wave, while a wall of water engulfs the deck. This is only the first dive into the base of the waves. There will be many more to come. The winds are fierce, cutting through the faces of the brave men on deck. Here comes the rain and the ice. The mixture of sea water cascading over the deck and the intense driving rain gets harder, water leaks through the hatch covers and starts to trickle down below deck. The passengers, witnessing this waterfall start into a panic. “We are taking on water, and we are sure to go to the bottom”! The ship itself begins to creek and moan, as if she was in pain herself. Crying and screaming echoes through the ships decks, and praying is heard in small groups of the terrified passengers as they prepare to meet their maker.

Above deck, the weather continues to batter the ship. The captain bellows his orders to his subordinates, even though they find it hard to hear him, “batten down the hatches my brave lads, pull in the sails. We will do what we can to ride her out!” He yells. “If we make it to mornings light, we will be in fine spirits”. The ship takes another dip into the base of a wave, and comes out riding on the crest some twenty feet above the sea. She drops with a huge plunge, and a monster of a wave sweeps over the deck. The force of this wall of water snaps the mizzen (rear) mast in half, and the remains of the mast smash to the deck creating a pressure wave through the ship, intensifying the fear felt by the passengers below. The crew scrambles to cut away the mast before it drags the ship to the bottom. Just as the mast and rigging are free of the ship, the thunder begins to crack across the sea, and lightning lights up the night. The ship is holding her own. She is battered, but is staying seaworthy. During the remainder of the night, the vessel battles for her life. The seas continue to toss her around like a cork in a swinging bucket of water, and the winds abuse her as well.

At day break, the saga is over. The storm has passed, blue skies have returned, and the ship has survived. Not a soul on board slept that night, both passenger and crew alike. The bashed hulk of a vessel slowly navigates toward Boston harbor as best she could in her beaten state. Carefully rounding the cape, and skillfully avoiding the barriers and shoals upon the entrance, she limps into the inner harbor, and makes her way toward the wharves. She ties up to the dock, and the townsfolk come out to see this shell of a once proud ship, and gather to hear the stories of how she narrowly survived the storm in the north Atlantic. Our friend, the traveler that at once thought his journey to be most peaceful, exits off the gangway, and onto the dock. This man has survived the passage, but barely. It turned out to be the most harrowing experience of his life. This “pleasure cruise” had almost aged him farther than his years told. He was lucky. He survived the adventure, and would never take such a cruise lightly again. In the north Atlantic, especially in winter, many a mariner, and passenger had not been so fortunate. Though this traveler can now rest easy in his new surroundings with all of his possessions intact, there are those that rest on the bottom of the sea, devoid of life, and their now meaningless possessions...

Battle of Brandywine...

The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army, commanded by General George Washington and the British-Hessian army commanded by General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and forced them to withdraw toward the rebel capital of Philadelphia. The engagement occurred near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania during Howe's campaign to take Philadelphia.

Howe's army sailed from New York City and landed near Elkton, Maryland in northern Chesapeake Bay. Marching north, the British-Hessian army brushed aside American light forces in a few skirmishes. Washington offered battle with his army posted behind Brandywine Creek. While part of his army demonstrated in front of Chadds Ford, Howe took the bulk of his troops on a long march that crossed the Brandywine beyond Washington's right flank. Due to poor scouting, the Americans did not detect Howe's column until it reached a position in rear of their right flank. Belatedly, three divisions were shifted to block the British-Hessian flanking force near a Quaker meeting house.

After a stiff fight, Howe's wing broke through the newly-formed American right wing which was deployed on several hills. At this point Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen attacked Chadds Ford and crumpled the American left wing. As Washington's army streamed away in retreat, he brought up elements of General Nathanael Greene's division which held off Howe's column long enough for his army to escape to the northeast. The defeat and subsequent maneuvers left Philadelphia vulnerable. The British captured the city on September 26, beginning an occupation that would last until June 1778.

America Is Finally Recognized as Independent...

On this date in 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed. By the signing of this treaty, Great Britain finally recognized America as a free independent nation; effectively ending the Revolutionary War...Huzzah!!!!!