The Handy Boston Answer Book. Samuel Willard Crompton
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2, 1775, Virginia native George Washington arrived. Designated as commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army, he took command of the men in and around Cambridge on July 3.
How did the town of Boston fare during the summer of 1775?
Boston was at a very low ebb. The civilian population fell to around five thousand, and very few of those who remained had good, or even decent, morale. Their greatest fear was that the Americans would launch a full-scale attack, and that the town would burn, much as Charlestown already had.
What was the situation in the American camp(s)?
It was a curious combination. Many of the men showed good, lively spirit, and were eager to come to grips with the British, but there were others that displayed a sluggish spirit. Many New England men resented that a Virginian was their commander-in-chief, especially one that had such firm, even rigid, ideas about military discipline.
George Washington was not, at this stage of his career, the ideal commander-in-chief. Everyone recognized his physical presence and aura of command, but the second of these characteristics caused problems. Coming from Virginia, where his word was law to his slaves, Washington was not adept at managing the men of the Continental Army. One of the few areas of success for him in those first months had to do with Canada. In September 1775, Washington sent Colonel Benedict Arnold, who later famously turned traitor, north to Maine as part of a two-pronged offensive. The effort to conquer British Canada and turn it into the fourteenth colony came close to success, but Québec itself was not captured.
What did George Washington plan during the autumn of 1775?
Though he came across as dignified and very much in control, Washington was deeply concerned that most of his men would not re-enlist at the beginning of 1776. He therefore drew up a number of plans, all of them notable for audacity. In October 1775, he proposed—first to his major generals and then to three delegates from the Continental Congress—that the army attack Boston once ice had formed on the Charles River (of course he could not be certain how thick and deep the ice would be). The plan was so daring that the delegates refused to pass judgment, saying they needed to ask the entire Continental Congress. The major-generals of the army—Charles Lee, Artemas Ward, and Israel Putnam—were deeply ambivalent about the plan: they believed the American militia much better at defense than offense.
What Washington did not realize was the extent to which the British occupiers were also dismayed and demoralized. The morale of the average British soldier in Boston plummeted during the autumn of 1775, largely because they had no plan or visible goal. Life for the occupiers turned into a dismal search for food and firewood with the latter being the greater concern.
Would there have been a terrible bloodbath if Washington’s plan had been put into action?
Very likely, yes. Washington overestimated the quality and temper of his men where an offensive operation was concerned. Then too, he did not realize the terrible conditions under which many of the British occupiers lived. They would have fought to the death, and even if Washington had prevailed, the cost would have been too high.
A DIFFERENT SOLUTION
When did Henry Knox become recognized for his talents?
The owner of a Boston bookstore in Cornhill Square, twenty-five-year-old Henry Knox owed all his military knowledge to the books that passed through his hands. Knox was also one of the largest and heaviest men in Washington’s army: at a time when people were smaller than now, Knox weighed roughly three hundred pounds. His cherubic face made many people underestimate him, but Washington saw the energy and strength. In November 1775, he sent Knox to upstate New York with the intention of bringing back cannon, for use in the siege.
Fort Ticonderoga, near the southern end of Lake Champlain, had been important in the French and Indian War. American forces seized it in May 1775. No one put two and two together until Knox arrived late in November, bringing men more skilled at moving and transporting heavy equipment than in actual battle. In December, Knox departed Ticonderoga with over 100 pieces of heavy artillery, including mortars.
How thin did the American lines become during the winter of 1775–1776?
At its maximum extent, the American army numbered almost twenty thousand, but by Christmastime of 1775, it was about half that many. George Washington came close to despair; the one thing that gave him some hope was the knowledge that the British had very low morale. When the Americans probed the British lines, especially at Lechmere Point, the British made no attempt to engage.
Knowing that Henry Knox was on the way with heavy artillery, Washington planned a desperate action to take Boston in one fell swoop. Knowing there would be heavy casualties, and that the town might be destroyed, Washington consulted his major generals, who gave conflicting opinions. The Americans certainly were more conscious than the British that the icing over of Boston Harbor could alter the situation.
A circa 1784 portrait of Henry Knox by artist Charles Willson Peale.
How did Knox’s arrival change the situation?
In January 1776, Knox and his men brought a “noble train of artillery,” as he expressed it, to Cambridge. The Americans were still low on gunpowder, but they at least had the means to threaten the British defenders of Boston. Late in February 1776, Washington and his senior officers formed a plan to seize and fortify Dorchester Heights, on the southern side of the town.
In retrospect it is somewhat amazing that neither side had yet made a move on Dorchester. Washington planned the action for the evening of March 4; he did so intentionally, expecting that the big battle would be fought the next day, which was the sixth anniversary of the Boston Massacre.
How did the action proceed?
Three thousand American militiamen moved into action on the evening of March 4, 1776. Having already put together combined platforms—called fascines—they moved on to Dorchester Heights, and when morning came they gave the impression of having thrown up immense earthworks.
General Howe was astounded when he first surveyed Dorchester Heights from his spyglass. His first response, however, was to mobilize his front-line troops, and observers recalled that he had previously threatened to attack, regardless of the cost. The Americans atop Dorchester Heights saw the British gathering on Long Wharf, making preparations to move to Castle Island before making the grand assault. Washington hastened to the Heights, where he shouted that this was the fifth of March, an excellent day on which to fight the British!
How big and nasty would that battle have been?
It’s possible that the battle would have been three times as bloody as that of Bunker Hill, if only because so many more men were involved. The British moved too slowly to take advantage of the early afternoon tide, however, and when they settled in for the evening, the Americans breathed a big sigh of relief. The weather had the final say. A major storm, which some people called a hurricane, blew over Boston on the night of March 5–6. Many buildings were damaged, and when morning came it was apparent that it would be too difficult to mobilize the British attack force (two medium-sized ships had been wrecked in the storm).
Two days later, a British envoy approached the American lines to declare that General Howe would not set the town afire so long as Washington’s cannons did not open fire from Dorchester Heights. Tense days followed in which neither side made a military move, and the British worked furiously to pack their belongings.
How did the Bostonians view the situation?
Our best clue comes from the journal of Timothy Newell, one of the town selectmen. He commented that
… the inhabitants in the utmost distress, through fear of the town being destroyed by the soldiers, a party of New York carpenters with axes going through the town breaking open houses &. Soldiers and sailors plundering of houses, shops, and warehouses—Sugar and salt & thrown into the river, which was greatly covered