Why Are Battles of Long Island and Trenton So Significant - Case Study Example

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: BATTLES OF LONG ISLAND & TRENTON Introduction The American Declaration of Independence took place on July 4, 1776 coincidentally sparking off Britain’s most concentrated response to put an end to this insurrection (Siegel). What followed was a series of battles between the British and Americans. The American forces were led by George Washington, one of the few {Benjamin Franklin was another} eminent and conspicuous men involved in the foundation of the United States who were born early enough to build and expand their basic, firmly held beliefs about their country’s independent role in the world (Ellis 10). Among the many battles involved in the American Revolution, the Battle of Long Island and the Battle of Trenton were significant due to different reasons. The Battle of Long Island Overview The British army was confronted by American forces led by George Washington, whose role as commander in chief was inevitable because he had “so much martial dignity in his deportment that would distinguish him as a general and a solider from among ten thousand men” (Ellis 110). The first target chosen by the British was New York. A flotilla of 30 warships and 400 transport vessels (Ellis 160) under the command of Vice Admiral Viscount Richard Howe {nicknamed ‘Black Dick’ because of his dark complexion (Mitchell 50)} poured ground troops onto Staten Island. The troops, numbering 32,000 men {24,000 regular and 8,000 hired Hessian mercenaries} were commanded by the Vice Admiral’s younger brother, General William Howe (U-S-History.com). Washington knew that the British first targeted New York because it was the key to the Northern half of the nation (Ellis 165) besides symbolizing the nation as a whole. Not knowing which part of New York would be first attacked (Mitchell 44), Washington ordered his men to build fortifications at the city’s south {Manhattan} and east {Brooklyn Heights and Guam Heights on Long Island}. Washington stayed with the forces in Brooklyn Heights (U-S-History.com). Events The Battle of Long Island began on August 22, 1976 with British ships trading fire with American batteries on Manhattan. A force of 20,000 British soldiers moved from Staten Island to Flatbush in preparation of a strike at New York. Many minor skirmishes began taking place between bands of soldiers from both sides. The British got a lucky break in the form of secret intelligence from local Loyalists {politically, Long Island was a hotbed for Loyalists (Ellis, 160)}, informing about a passage to Guan Heights of Long Island that was neither guarded nor defended by the Americans. William Howe acted swiftly by sending a large force on August 26 night that slipped quietly into position between the two contingents of American forces stationed in Guan Heights and Brooklyn Heights (U-S-History.com). The British forces attacked the Americans in Guan Heights on August 27 morning, totally surprising them and throwing them into disarray. A group of American soldiers under the command of John Sullivan panicked and fled. The remaining American soldiers rallied under the command of William Alexander and began putting up a stiff resistance against the British. It was however soon apparent to Alexander that his troops were outnumbered and outclassed by the superior British soldiers and would be completely routed unless they retreated. Acting on a swiftly devised plan, Alexander and Mordecai Gist led a charge against the British forces with a group of 250 Marylanders, thereby allowing the remaining American forces to retreat to Brooklyn Heights. Washington could only watch the entire series of events helplessly from atop Brooklyn Heights (U-S-History.com). Aftermath The defeat in the Battle of Long Island cost the American forces 1,300 in casualties {killed, wounded or captured} (Mitchell 58) whereas the British counted only 400 dead. For the next 2 days the American forces in Brooklyn Heights nervously anticipated a follow-up attack by the British. When nothing happened, Washington took a crucial military decision to retreat with his forces to Manhattan. His plan was aided by a providentially thick fog that screened the retreating soldiers from the British ships. The American forces were successfully ferried to Manhattan aboard small vessels supplied by local supporters (U-S-History.com). Historical Analysis While historians blame the American officers on Guam Heights for failing to guard or defend the passage to Guam through which the British soldiers infiltrated the American position and routed them, Washington earns their praise for being responsible for the ‘only redeeming action’ of the Battle of Long Island that is ‘the rescue of surviving units from Brooklyn’ (Ellis 164). Historians are unanimous in blaming William Howe for allowing valuable time to the Americans in Brooklyn Heights to successfully retreat to Manhattan, contending he did what he did to avoid a repetition of the disastrous Bunker Hill experience where he led a superior force but still ended up with very heavy losses (U-S-History.com). They widely believe that ultimate American victory in the American Revolution became ‘inevitable’ after William Howe did not push forward to rout the American forces in Brooklyn (Ellis 190). Some historians question the commitment of Richard Howe, contending there was actually no fog present during the retreat, but Richard Howe allowed Washington and his forces safe passage because he was in fact a friend of America and wanted to end affairs with a peaceful agreement instead of a military win (U-S-History.com). The Battle of Trenton Overview Buoyed by their victory in the Battle of Long Island, the British attacked the American forces in Manhattan and captured Fort Washington. Leaving most of his army under the command of Major General Charles Lee in Westchester, Washington moved to New Jersey with a troop contingent. The British hotly pursued Washington and his group of soldiers, forcing them to move to Newark, then to New Brunswick, then to Princeton, onward to Trenton and finally to Pennsylvania on December 2, 1776. The small town of Trenton lay along the Delaware River with Pennsylvania on the other side. Before leaving Trenton, Washington took another brilliant decision by ordering the confiscating of all boats on the Trenton side of the river and taking them over with his troops to the Pennsylvania side (Valis). When Howe’s advance guard under General Lord Cornwallis reached the Delaware River at Trenton they were in time to see the last of the American troops alighting on the Pennsylvania side (Wood 58). When the bulk of the British forces under William Howe joined the advance guard, they were greeted with cannon fire from the Americans in Pennsylvania. The British could not retaliate effectively due to the total lack of boats. Instead of making alternative arrangements for crossing the river, Howe instead decided to stop for the winter. He spread his forces across Trenton, Burlington, Perth Amber and New Brunswick. The Trenton command was comprised totally of Hessian mercenaries under the control of Hessian Colonel Rall (Valis). Capitalizing once more on Howe’s reprieve, Washington moved swiftly to strengthen his forces. Sullivan, who replaced Lee after the latter was captured by the British, arrived with the remainder of the main force that Washington had left under Lee’s command in Westchester. They were followed by the troop contingents led by General Greene and General Gates. The number further swelled with the enlistment of 2,000 Pennsylvanian men (Valis). The date was December 22, 1776. The British in the meantime were experiencing unexpected setbacks. Stung by the horrific plundering by British and Hessian mercenary troops of farms, households and possessions irrespective of whether they belonged to Loyalists or rebels, local Americans became increasingly hostile towards the invaders. Small bands of irregular troops began raiding British supplies and seriously comprising British ability to gather information by disrupting their communications and ambushing British patrols (Valis). Once again Washington displayed his military ingenuity by taking a brilliant decision. Shrewdly guessing that the Hessian mercenaries in Trenton under Colonel Rall would be ‘drunk [and] sleeping off their Christmas cheer’ (Ellis 169), Washington ordered a large contingent of American troops to cross the Delaware River on December 25, 1776 and attack the Hessians at dawn the next day (Valis). In reality, the timing of the attack was delayed on account of unexpected problems caused by a winter storm (Mitchell 77). As a consequence, only 2,400 troops, their horses and 18 cannon were somehow ferried across the ice-choked Delaware River on Christmas night (Ellis 168) to Trenton where they briefly consolidated before commencing to march to the Hessians camp on the outskirts of the town (Valis). Events Washington’s forces advanced on the Hessian camp in two columns, one along Pennington Road on the northern side under General Greene, and the other on the road along the river under General Sullivan (Mitchell 76). The sudden and simultaneous attack by both columns took the Hessians completely by surprise (Valis). Colonel Rall tried to motivate his men, shouting out to them: “Alles was meine Grenadiere sind, vorwarts!” meaning ‘All who are my grenadiers, forward!’ but it was proved futile (Wood 73). Rall’s Hessian officers tried their best to regroup the groggy, disorganized men but their American counterparts thwarted every move, preventing the Hessians from properly organizing, capturing their cannons and blocking all routes of escape (Valis). Rall then tried to organize a retreat but failed and suffered a mortal wound in the process (Mitchell 79). The Hessians had no alternative but to surrender. The Battle of Trenton was won by the Americans after an incredible 90 minutes. A delighted Washington swiftly transported the captives and confiscated material across to Pennsylvania along with his victorious troops (Valis). Washington’s catch phrase for the Trenton operations {‘Victory or Death’} turned out to be literally true (Siegel). Aftermath Although William Howe put British losses at just 276 (Wood 89), Washington estimated their defeat in the Battle of Trenton cost the British 974 men {106 casualties and 868 captured} while the American forces suffered only 4 wounded and 3 frozen to death. The Americans confiscated 1,000 guns, many cannons, a large quantity of ammunition and a huge number of stores. While the Battle of Trenton resulted in a great morale boost for the Americans, it greatly disconcerted the British (Valis). William Howe was shocked to learn that his costly European professional mercenaries were not only defeated but many of them were captured by a ‘ragtag’ American army (Wood, 74). The Hessians who managed to escape from Trenton spread overblown versions of the American prowess, causing von Donop, the British commander at Burlington, to over-react to rumors of impending American attacks and order troop movements first to Allenton and later to Princeton to counter attacks which never came (Valis). Although the British insincerely claimed that the defeat did not affect them much, in reality they found themselves retreating after the Battle of Trenton. Historical Analysis Historians are again unanimous in blaming William Howe, this time for not mustering up or even building boats to swiftly attack the vastly outnumbered and ill-equipped American forces in Pennsylvania before winter, thereby losing a vital opportunity to ‘foreclose the mortgage’ {as one of Howe’s disappointed offices commented}. Historians also blame the Hessian Commander at Trenton {Colonel Rall} and his deputy {Major Dechow} for the British defeat by Washington’s forces. Rall is blamed on two counts, both stemming from his supreme arrogance. First of all, he underestimated the opposition by arrogantly decided not to dig trenches or construct fieldwork to defend Trenton, derisively boasting: “Let them come! We want no trenches! We’ll use the bayonet” (Valis). Secondly, although he received a last-minute written intelligence report stating that the entire American force had sailed across the river and were marching towards the Hessian positions, he did not bother to read it, and just slipped the report into his pocket and continued to play cards with his officers (Wood 66). Dechow decided it was too cold and miserable {there was a sleet storm raging outside (Ellis 169)} to send out the normal predawn patrol, thereby allowing the Americans to reach the Hessian stronghold undetected (Valis). Washington, on the other hand, is praised by historians for his brilliant plan that was in fact a desperate one, based on a single factor: the element of surprise. Had the Hessians been prepared in advance, they could have easily resisted the Americans long enough for their number to be strengthened by reinforcements, in which case the Americans would have been caught on the wrong side of the river (Mitchell 77). Effect of both battles on the American Revolution The Battles of Long Island and Trenton were significant to the American Revolution in their own ways. The former was not only the first battle in the history of the American Revolution, but it was the first battle ever fought by the American army (Valis). The latter marked the turning point in the course of the American Revolution as it made the Americans realize the British forces were not invincible and that America had a good, realistic chance of pulling off an ultimate win. The defeat in the Battle of Long Island and the subsequent retreat struck a particularly harsh blow to the cause of the American Revolution because it was the American army’s first loss, that too a heavy and shameful one. While Americans generally became gloomy and dismayed, many soldiers in the American army deserted and left for their homes; the army was estimated to have been deprived of more soldiers by desertion than by the Battle of Long Island (Mitchell 59). The victory in Trenton, albeit a small one, altered the psychological makeup of the American Revolution. It transformed American forces, instilling feelings of pride and hope. Whereas at the beginning {before Howe’s winter stop} even Washington was resigned to defeat {he wrote in a letter to Colonel Joseph Reed that ‘the game was up’}, the ultimate result arrested and reversed the downward spiraling support for the cause of liberty among Americans, causing an increasing number of them to enlist in the army (Valis). The victory, which ensured that the American army would never again ‘skate on such thin ice’ (Siegel), turned into a stepping stone for forceful American engagement in the other battles of the American Revolution on the path to eventual American victory in 1782. Effect of both battles on Washington and his career The defeat in the Battle of Long Island and the subsequent shameful retreat would have demoralized a lesser man, but the American army’s commander in chief was made of heroic material. Although he suffered great anguish as he watched the battle activities {finally giving vent to his feelings with the exclamation: “Good God! What brave fellows I must this day lose” (Mitchell 56)}, the Long Island experience made him determined to do better the next time around. He did not lose the support of Americans who in fact appreciated his role in saving a large number of American lives at Brooklyn. Washington pushed the Long Island defeat firmly from his mind and grimly stuck to his task of leading the American army in subsequent battles against the British. The psychological fallout of the Trenton victory was astutely judged by Washington. In his letter to General McDougal dated December 28, 1776 he wrote that “the success at Trenton and the consequence of it will change the face of matters not only there but everywhere else” (Valis). The Trenton victory brought about by the mute sacrifice of scantily clothed and ill-equipped men laboriously marching through the sleet and snow towards the Hessian stronghold (Ellis 216) caused Washington to believe in the insight: ‘they don’t fight for you, they fight for themselves.’ He realized that nationalism may prompt men to leave behind their homes and families and join the army, but it is the adhesiveness of brotherhood that binds together the soldiers who stay (Siegel). Fittingly therefore, when the American War of Independence was ultimately won, Washington said goodbye to the American soldiers in an emotional ceremony, calling them ‘one patriotic band of Brothers’ (Ellis 253). The overall effect of both battles was to underline the military brilliance of George Washington and highlight the fact that his appointment as commander in chief was unquestionably the best choice the Americans had made (Mitchell 28). His stature never came under scrutiny. His persistent preeminence among American leaders made him the unanimous choice as the first American President in 1789 – a post to which Washington was appointed without an election (Siegel), a honorable post as well as trend-setting one because everything Washington went on to do in his presidential tenure set a precedent (Ellis 329) – just as he did in his tenure as the commander in chief of the American army during the American Revolution that gave his country independence. References: “Battle of Long Island.” U-S-History.com. 2008. 28 Feb. 2008. Ellis, Joseph J. “His Excellency: George Washington.” New York: Random House. 2004. Mitchell, Joseph B. “Decisive Battles of the American Revolution.” Yardley (PA): Westholme Publishing. 2004. Siegel, Ralph. “Trenton in History: Bands of Brothers Fought at Trenton, not just Normandy.” Trenton Downtowner Magazine. 2002. 28 Feb. 2008. Valis, Glenn. “History Links: Battle of Trenton.” Americanrevolution.org. 2003. 28 Feb. 2008. Wood, W.J. “Battles of the Revolutionary War: 1775 – 1781.” Cambridge (MA): Da Capo Press. 2003. Read More