November 1, 1776

From October 8th to November 1st, I am blogging about the White Plains “campaign” of 1776. Click here for an overview of this project, a listing of the sources used, and other general information.

Synopsis for November 1st: The Americans pulled back from White Plains; the British abandoned the pursuit of Washington’s army.

Previous entry: October 31st.

In the early morning hours, the last of the Americans in the entrenchments pulled back. Chaplain Benjamin Trumbull (5th Connecticut State Battalion) noted in his journal:

“This morning our guards come off and leave the lines in the centre of the town called White Plains, and to distress the enemy [they] burn all the barns of hay and grain and houses, where the inhabitants had stores of wheat and corn and also stacks and barracks of hay and grain.”

The British officers looked with surprise on the burning buildings and empty defensive works. When they rode forward they could see American forces encamped on a line of hills to the north, but the American army had been so reduced by sickness and other causes, that they thought this force was no more than a rear guard. Major Stephen Kemble wrote of this force, “[we] suppose them to be about 7,000 strong”.

The British concluded that the rest of Washington’s men had fled even deeper into the hills, which meant that their attack plans had gone to naught. However, as the British were not particularly eager to attack the American lines in the first place, there was undoubtedly some sense of relief.

Lieutenant-General William Howe opted not to attack this “rearguard”. He later explained that the Americans’ actions “plainly” indicated a “desire to avoid coming to action,” and added “I did not think the driving their rearguard further back an object of the least consequence.”

Instead, the British advanced and occupied the Americans’ former entrenchments. Ensign Henry Stirke (light infantry company, 10th Foot) wrote: “At half after 9 o’clock we got under arms, and pushed into the village of the White Plains, which the enemy had just abandoned, and the army advanced at the same time”.

This advance brought the armies within range of each others’ cannons. Major-General William Heath, on the left of the American army, wrote:

“In the morning, the British advanced, with a number of field-pieces, to the north of the road near late headquarters… and commenced a furious cannonade on General Heath’s division, which was nobly returned by Captain-Lieutenant Bryant and Lieutenant Jackson, of the artillery.”

During this cannonade, according to Heath, George Washington rode up to him and expressed concern over one of Heath’s regiments that was separated by a hollow from the rest of the division. “Take care that you do not lose them”, he warned. But the British did not attack this force. Instead, Heath wrote, the British guns withdrew from his front, “made a circuitous movement, and came down toward the American right.” As these guns moved into position, they were fired upon by some American heavy guns. Heath noted that “upon the discharge” from the American guns, the British crews “made off with their field-pieces as fast as their horses could draw them. A shot from the American cannon, at this place, took off the head of a Hessian artilleryman. They also left one of the artillery horses dead on the field.”

Sergeant John Smith (Lippitt’s Regiment, Lee’s division) witnessed the British movement towards the American right. He wrote:

“we saw the enemy advance down the hill towards us in three parties[,] one party coming towards the road the other [two] through a swamp[.] We sent some 25-pound shot to them that stopped some before they could get over the bridge to us and the others passed through the swamp to a hill opposite to us… we sent over some shot… that knocked down a light horse”. [see footnote]

British Major Stephen Kemble summarized the day’s action by writing: “[they] cannonaded us… the greatest part of the day; we lost 9 men [killed] by this business. Six of them Hessians.”

Isolated fatalities were noted by several British officers.

Ensign Henry Stirke wrote:

“We received a few straggling shot, which did no execution. The 15th regiment had one man killed, and another wounded, by the rebel cannon”.

Captain Francis Rawdon observed:

“We had some cannonading with their rear guard, by which my brother John (who is an excellent soldier in every respect) was very near killed. Two men who stood close to him were killed by a twelve-pounder, and a splinter of one of their skulls stuck in his thigh, but did not hurt him much.”

American losses were even fewer. Apparently one man in Levi Paulding’s New York militia regiment was killed, and two other New Yorkers were wounded. Their brigade commander (George Clinton) commented, “I have heard of no other injury done [to] us.”

Brigade-Major Benjamin Tallmadge characterized the American withdrawal from White Plains as something of a victory: He claimed that Howe was “baffled” by this maneuver, and as a result gave up the pursuit of Washington’s army. Thus, Washington’s army, brought perilously close in this campaign to capture or collapse, had survived to fight another day.

William Howe had a rather different perspective. Howe did not wish to place his own army at risk by chasing the Americans into the wild hills on the New York-New England border. He was sure, too, that if Washington did make a firm stand, it would only be on some set of steep and heavily fortified hills. Howe had had enough of this business. He felt he could now turn his back on Washington without losing face and proceed once again to wage war on his own terms. Howe’s preference was to capture Fort Washington and consolidate his hold on the New York City area. His developing plan also came to include sending expeditions into New Jersey, Rhode Island, and, if all went well, the American capitol at Philadelphia.

Heath noted that during the rest of this day, November 1st:

“The two armies lay looking at each other, and within long cannon-shot [range]. In the night time the British lighted up a vast number of fires, the weather growing pretty cold. These fires, some on the level ground, some at the foot of the hills, and at all distances to their brows… seemed to the eye to mix with the stars, and to be of different magnitudes. The American side, doubtless, exhibited to them a similar appearance.”

The bright orange flames licked the cold November sky, and another chapter of the Revolutionary War came to a close.

Footnote: Smith indicated that this event took place on Friday the 31st. Friday was November 1st. A comparison of Smith’s description of other events occurring at the time with the journals of other Americans suggests that he was right about it being Friday and wrong about it being the 31st.

Concluding Comment: The standoff at White Plains did not end on November 1st. For a few days the two armies glowered at each other, and during that time more men were killed in little brushes or perished from illness. The British left White Plains on November 5-6 and soon joined Knyphausen’s division near Manhattan. On November 16th, Howe captured Fort Washington and completed the conquest of Manhattan.

St. Kitts (10): The Campaign Concludes

This is the tenth and final entry in a series of posts on the St. Kitts campaign of 1782. The St. Kitts campaign took place in what is known as the West Indies theater of the Revolutionary War. [Click for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9].

Surrender

On the evening of February 12th, the officers of the St. Kitts militia petitioned Governor Shirley to be allowed to surrender. They stated that they were “fully determined, from our zeal to our Sovereign, and a proper regard to the interest of this island, to defend it while prudence justified us, or till we should be relieved by his Majesty’s fleet or army”. However, “the fleet and troops which we looked upon for relief, have been arrived near three weeks, without affording us any assistance, and in all human probability cannot, from the superiority of the enemy by sea and land.” They feared that if they did not open surrender negotiations now they “would lose their estates and properties, and possibly would be sent to a French island or Old France.” [1]

Governor Shirley and Brigadier-General Thomas Fraser conceded that surrender had become the best option, and sent envoys to the French.

A French officer, the Chevalier de Goussencourt, noted the event in his journal: “On the 12th, to the great joy of all, we saw a white flag raised on the breach of the redoubt. We could scarcely believe our eyes”. He added, “the toil and hardship that de Bouillé’s army had to undergo are incredible… There were officers and men who slept only one night under their tents during the whole siege.” [2]

The Marquis de Bouillé granted the garrison generous terms, including the provision that the troops could return to England so long as they did not serve again against France for the duration of the war.

On the 13th, the British regulars and the St. Kitts militia (close to 1,000 men in total) marched out of the garrison with the honors of war and laid down their arms. The British regulars had lost about 250 men between the siege of Brimstone Hill and the January 28th battle on the Mooring Hills. The Marquis de Bouillé claimed to have lost a little more than 300 men between these affairs. [3]

The French were buoyant after the fall of the island. One of their officers was later heard to boast “that it was not necessary to keep their intentions any longer secret, that Barbadoes and Antigua were the next objects, then Jamaica, and lastly New York, and then they will consent to make peace…” [4]

Hood Escapes

Hood learned that the garrison surrendered on the evening of the 13th. He later wrote, “Under this situation of things I had no longer any business in Basseterre Road”. He also thought it was only a matter of time before the French army began to place guns and mortars on the high ground along the shore in order to bombard his ships. [5]

Fortunately for Hood, on February 14th, de Grasse’s ships were anchored near Nevis, taking on badly needed provisions that had arrived from Europe. [6]

Hood decided to sail that night, under cover of darkness. He added: “I judged it necessary… that every ship should be under sail as nearly as possible at the same moment, for the better preserving [of] a compact body”. The ships’ captains were instructed to cut their cables at the same time. Hood also had lights fixed to small boats or buoys that were placed alongside each of his ships. At the same time, the lights were extinguished on his vessels. When the British fleet set sail, the decoy lights remained behind, making it appear as if the British were still at anchor. [7]

The French did not discover Hood’s departure until morning. The Chevalier de Villebresme, recalled that “when M. de Grasse went on deck to see his enemies ...., they were fifteen leagues away. De Grasse, more and more surprised at the inventive genius of his opponent, returned to the anchorage that he had left [i.e., Basseterre Roadstead]”. [8]

French ships at sea.

Rodney Arrives

After St. Kitts fell to the French, Nevis capitulated as well. De Bouillé’s army then embarked on de Grasse’s navy and they set sail on February 20th for the French base at Martinique. De Bouillé placed Colonel Arthur Dillon (the Comte de Dillon) in command of the captured islands and left him a garrison of 850 men and part of the artillery. En route, Comte de Barras was dispatched to seize Montserrat with some ships and soldiers of regiment Auxerrois. The island had no regular army garrison. [9]

Meanwhile, Admiral George Brydges Rodney (at right) had at last reached the West Indies. He wrote:

On the 19th of February, after five weeks passage with the fleet under my command, I arrived in Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, and instantly proceeded to join the fleet under Sir Samuel Hood, in hopes of bringing the enemy’s fleet to battle, and saving the island of St. Christopher’s [i.e., St. Kitts], which I heard they were then besieging. [10]

Rodney immediately sailed for St. Kitts, via Antigua. Meanwhile, Hood left Antigua and sailed for Barbados in hopes of finding Rodney. The two fleets took different routes and initially missed each other. It wasn’t until February 25th that Hood and Rodney finally united, in the waters west of Antigua. At that point, according to Rodney, “Every endeavour was used to arrive off Martinique before the enemy”. De Grasse, however, narrowly reached Martinique first, and anchored in Port Royal Harbor on February 26th. [11]

So concluded the St. Kitts campaign of 1782, a campaign that marked the high point of French fortunes in the West Indies. In the spring of 1782, de Bouillé and de Grasse embarked on the conquest of Jamaica. De Grasse’s fleet, however, was attacked and defeated at The Saintes by the united fleet of Rodney and Hood. This bloody battle ended France’s island-hopping campaign, for while they remained strong on land, thereafter the British controlled the seas.

Notes:

1. The Remembrancer, Vol. 14.

2. John Gilmary Shea (1864). The operations of the French fleet under the Count de Grasse in 1781-2 as described in two contemporary journals.

3. The 1st Foot lost 30 killed, 97 wounded, and 2 missing. The grenadier and light infantry companies of the 15th Foot lost 7 killed, 17 wounded, and 6 missing. The Royal Artillery detachment lost 1 killed, 10 wounded, and 5 missing. Prescott’s loss on January 28th was around 71 men. De Bouille stated his total loss was 13 officers and about 290 men.

4. The statement was allegedly made by Colonel Arthur Dillon; Captain Robert Manners was relaying a statement he received second hand; see Letters and papers of the Duke of Rutland.

5. David Hannay (1895). Letters written by Sir Samuel Hood (Viscount Hood) in 1781-2-3.

6. Shea, ibid.

7. Shea, ibid; Hannay, ibid; Souvenirs du Cheavlier de Villebresme.

8. Souvenirs du Cheavlier de Villebresme (Translation is my own).

9. Shea, ibid; R. de Kerallain (1928). Bougainville à l’Armée du Cte de Grasse. Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris, 20, 1-70; Attaque et prise de Saint-Christophe dit le «Gibraltar» des Antilles (janvier-février 1782), in Revue Historique des Armées, Vol. 1, 1974. This article includes extracts from «Mémoires Secrets» de Bouillé. René Chartrand and Francis Back (1991). The French Army in the American War of Independence.

10. George Basil Mundy (1830). The life and correspondence of the late Admiral Lord Rodney, Volume 2.

11. Shea, ibid; Mundy, ibid.

Uniforms of the St. Kitts Campaign

I'm about halfway through a series of posts on the St. Kitts campaign of 1782 (the most recent post was Part 5). Upcoming posts will focus on a naval engagement on January 26, a land battle on January 28, and the final days of the siege of Brimstone Hill.

As an aside to this series, I discuss in this post the uniforms worn by British and French army regulars during the campaign.

The description that follows touches on only some aspects of the clothing worn by these troops. For a much more complete account, see Philip R. N. Katcher (1973). Encyclopedia of British, Provincial, and German Army Units 1775-1783, and René Chartrand (1991). The French army in the American War of Independence.

British Army

British regulars wore red coats. Individual regiments were distinguished by the color of the coat "facings" (i.e., collar, cuffs, and lapes), by the lace pattern worn around the buttonholes (white with different combinations of colored stripes), and by the metallic color used for officers’ buttons, hat trim, etc. (A copy of the uniform regulations can be found here).

• 1st (or Royal) Regiment of Foot: Blue facings. Lace pattern was one blue "worm". Officers’ metal was silver.
• 13th Regiment of Foot: Yellow ochre facings. Lace was worn in pairs; pattern was one yellow stripe. Officers’ metal was silver.
• 15th Regiment of Foot: Yellow ochre facings. Lace pattern was one mixed yellow and black stripe and one red stripe. Officers’ metal was silver.
• 28th Regiment of Foot: Bright yellow facings. Lace pattern was one yellow and two black stripes. Officers’ metal was silver.
• 69th Regiment of Foot: Dull dark green facings. Lace pattern was one red stripe between two green stripes. Officers’ metal was gold.

Perhaps the feature of British army uniforms that is least well understood is the caps and hats worn by the light infantry companies, which were not standardized, and which changed over time. At right is a private of the "picket company" of the 13th Foot, wearing an early version of a light infantryman's cap. The uniform predates the Revolutionary War (by which time picket companies had been replaced by light infantry companies).

British Light Infantry Officer. This officer, thought to have been with the 15th Foot, is wearing a round hat cocked up on the left side and adorned with a feather. This style of hat would have been worn by the light infantry companies of the 15th and 28th regiments during the Philadelphia campaign of 1777, and possibly retained by these regiments after they were sent to the West Indies in 1778. The light infantry company of the 15th Regiment helped garrison Brimstone Hill fortress.

British Light Infantry on Maneuvers. This section of a painting by Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg shows what may be the light infantry company of the 69th Foot participating in war game exercises in England, circa 1778. The dark green facings and the style of leather cap match known uniform details for this unit.

French Army

Most regiments of the French regular army wore white coats. Individual regiments were distinguished by the combination of facing color on cuffs and lapels, the orientation of the side pocket flaps, and the color of the buttons.

• Régiment d'Armagnac (6e): Light blue lapels, vertical pocket flaps, white buttons.
• Régiment de Champagne (7e): Light blue cuffs, vertical pocket flaps, white buttons.
• Régiment d'Auxerrois (12e): Black lapels, vertical pocket flaps, white buttons.
• Régiment d'Agénois (16e): Violet cuffs, horizontal pocket flaps, yellow buttons.
• Régiment de Touraine (34e): Pink cuffs, vertical pocket flaps, white buttons.
• Régiment d'Hainault (51e): Crimson cuffs, vertical pocket flaps, white buttons.
• Régiment Royal Comtois (76e): Blue cuffs, vertical pocket flaps, white buttons.
• Régiment de Dillon (90e): Red coats, yellow cuffs and lapels, horizontal pocket flaps, yellow buttons set in herringbone fashion. At right is a 1779 illustration of a chasseur of this regiment.

Several units of French colonial troops also participated in the St. Kitts campaign. Régiment de la Martinique wore blue coats without lapels and with buff cuffs and collars. Régiment de la Guadeloupe were dressed similarly, but had crimson cuffs and collars. The Volontaires de Bouillé wore a distinctive "blue short coat" with "red cuffs," and a "helmet" (per Chartrand, 1992). Hussars of the 1st Legion of the Volontaires étrangers de la Marine were also present. These wore a uniform similar to that of the well-known Lauzun's Legion.

Regulation uniforms for grenadiers of regiments Hainault (left) and Touraine (right). Note the facing color is used to line the collar and lapels. The red epaulets and hat tuft identify these men as grenadiers.

Both British and French army units may have modified their clothing in various ways. One well-known example of this in the French case is that some (and possibly many) grenadier companies wore bearskin caps rather than the proscribed cocked hats.

Grenadiers of Régiment de Soissonnois in 1781.

A series of images by Nicolas Ponce suggests that chasseur companies also deviated from the regulated headgear. In these images, the chasseurs are shown wearing a round hat that is cocked in the back and adorned with a feather. This style seems practical; unfortunately, I have not come across any evidence to date that corroborates the accuracy of this depiction.

Chasseurs of Régiment de Dillon at the capture of St. Eustatius in 1781.

St. Kitts Campaign Overview

Overview

This is the first in a series of posts, which will appear from time-to-time, on the St. Kitts campaign of 1782. The St. Kitts campaign took place in what is known as the West Indies theater of the Revolutionary War.

The Other Thirteen Colonies

In 1775, half of Britain's colonies in the New World embarked on the Revolutionary War, which ended with their establishment as the United States of America. The remainder stayed loyal. One might suppose that outside the Thirteen Colonies, the inhabitants must have been strongly loyalist in their sentiments. This was not always so. Loyalists and rebels were to be found in every colony. In places like Barbados and St. Kitts in the West Indies, the rebellious spirit was quite strong. However, these colonies were small in size and easily occupied by land forces or dominated by the royal navy. Armed rebellion had no hope of success. [1]

The West Indies

Britain’s West Indies possessions shared a plantation-based economy dominated by sugar cane cultivation. Sugar cane gave these islands an economic power greatly out of proportion to their diminutive size. Because these islands were much valued, they were also much fought over, and changes in ownership were not uncommon. At the time of the Revolutionary War, the islands were colonized by Spain, France, Britain, Holland, or Denmark.

St. Kitts and Nevis

Among Britain’s possessions in the West Indies were the sister islands of St. Christopher’s (commonly called St. Kitts) and Nevis. During the Revolutionary War, the islanders greatly aggravated the British authorities. As one historian put it:

“During the American War, the people of St. Kitts were, to put it mildly, by no means so loyal as they now are. It is, indeed, an admitted fact that they sympathized more or less openly with the revolted colonists, and enriched themselves by carrying on a contraband trade in munitions of war…” [2]

St. Kitts and Nevis in 1782.

In 1782, the islands became a scene of conflict. At the time, St. Kitts was garrisoned by the 1st battalion of the 1st Regiment of Foot, the flank companies (i.e., grenadiers and light infantry) of the 15th Regiment of Foot, and a detachment of Royal Artillery. Nevis was not garrisoned, but both islands had an armed militia that could be called out for emergencies.

The main defensive work was Brimstone Hill on St. Kitts. Steeply-sided Brimstone Hill bordered the sea on one side, and a flat swath of sugar cane fields on the others. The summit was crowned by stone fortifications. A British officer visiting the site remarked,“I have had an opportunity of visiting Brimstone Hill, a position which Nature has rendered almost inaccessible… Casemates for the troops, storehouses, and cisterns were almost all that were necessary. The situation is cool and healthy, the troops suffer as little as they would do in Europe.” He believed an enemy might establish batteries upon a distant hill, but at that distance guns could not breach the walls. “To approach much nearer is almost impossible, and even a breach in works placed on ground so commanding would be of no avail. The garrison may be annoyed by distant firing, and starved out by blockade, but not assaulted.” [3]

The islands were also defended by several low-laying coastal batteries. These protected the principal harbors (and most likely landing points).

Brimstone Hill, as seen from the northwest.

The French Invasion

France entered the Revolutionary War in 1778. At the time, much of the British army, and, to a lesser extent, navy, was tied down in North America. France (and later Spain and Holland) hoped to exploit this weakness and pick off some of Britain’s far-flung possessions. The largest French effort was made in the West Indies. By 1782, France captured the British isles of Dominica, St. Vincent, Grenada, the Grenadines, and Tobago (Britain, in turn, took St. Lucia).

The French fleet in the West Indies was commanded by François-Joseph-Paul de Grasse. In the late summer and fall of 1781, this fleet was in North American waters where it played a decisive role in the siege of Yorktown. When it returned to the West Indies in November, the French fleet had a numerical advantage over the British royal navy. The French hoped to exploit this advantage by capturing another British island. The two initially set their sights on Barbados: Britain’s main naval base in the West Indies. However, the invasion was repeatedly stymied by severe weather. In January they chose to attack St. Kitts and Nevis instead.

The French expedition set sail from Martinique on January 5, 1782, with 6,000 infantrymen, and a train of heavy artillery.

A Part of the West Indies (click to enlarge). St. Kitts and Nevis are at upper left, Martinique near center, and Barbados at lower right.

The Commanders

• François-Joseph-Paul de Grasse: Known as the hero of Yorktown, but otherwise generally seen as a competent, if not brilliant, officer.
• François-Claude-Amour de Bouillé. Daring and energetic, de Bouillé was one of the most skilled and successful general officers of the Revolutionary War.
• Samuel Hood. Commanded the British West Indies’ naval station. He is seen by some historians as the greatest British admiral of the Revolutionary War. It was his responsibility to aid any British isle that came under French attack.
• Thomas Shirley. Governor-General of Britain’s Leeward Islands, he resided on St. Kitts and led the British militia.
• Thomas Fraser. He commanded of the British regulars on St. Kitts. It was the joint responsibility of Shirley and Fraser to defend the islands (especially Brimstone Hill) long enough for outside aid to reach them.

----------------------------------------------------

Notes:

1. As best I’ve been able to determine, Britain had, in addition to the Thirteen Colonies, an additional thirteen colonies or provinces in the Americas in 1775 that a) were administered by a governor and b) were not a dependency of some other colonial possession. They were 1) Quebec, 2) Newfoundland, 3) Nova Scotia, 4) St. John’s Island, 5) East Florida, 6) West Florida, 7) Bermuda, 8) Bahamas, 9) Jamaica, 10) The Leeward Islands (Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts), 11) Dominica, 12) Barbados, 13) The South Caribbee Islands (Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago)

2. See Algernon Aspinall (1915). West Indian Tales of Old.

The inhabitants of Nevis were probably of similar sympathies, but their actions tended to be overshadowed by those of their larger and wealthier neighbor. Of note is that Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis in the 1750s.

3. The diary of Sir John Moore, Vol. 1.