Landing at Kip Bay

In 1775 and early 1776, the American Revolutionary War unfavored for the British. The arrival of heavy guns at the Continental Army camp under the besieged Boston prompted General William Howe to leave Boston in Halifax (Nova Scotia) in March 1776. There he regrouped, replenished supplies and received reinforcements, and in June, with over 20,000 troops on 120 ships and ships, he went to New York ^[2] . Foreseeing that the next goal of the British would be New York, General George Washington moved his army to him to help General Putnam prepare the defense. His task was complicated by a large number of places suitable for landing.

Howe’s troops unhindered began landing on Staten Island in early July, and on August 22 made another intermediate landing on Long Island , where the Continental Army of Washington organized a prepared defense ^[2] . On August 27, General Howe successfully embraced Washington’s order, putting him in a difficult position on the narrow band of Brooklyn Heights, between the British Army in front and the East River behind. But on the night of August 29–30, Washington successfully evacuated its entire army (over 9,000 people), except for heavy weapons, to York Island (the then name of Manhattan) ^[2] .

Despite the discipline and unity shown during the evacuation, the army soon fell into hopelessness. Many militias , including those whose term of summer conscription ended in August, went home ^[3] . The troops expressed no confidence in the command and openly spoke out for the return of the colorful and popular General Charles Lee ^[4] . Washington sent a message to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia , asking for directions - namely, whether to leave New York and burn it to the ground. Washington wrote:

They [the British] can greatly benefit from it in one case, but much property will be destroyed in another.

Original text

They would derive great conveniences from it, on the one hand, and much property would be destroyed on the other. ^[five]

York Island was built up mainly on the southern tip, which roughly corresponds to modern Lower Manhattan (the city of New York itself), on the western edge ( Greenwich Village ), plus the village of Harlem in the north. In the sparsely populated center of the island there were several low hills, of which the most prominent Indianburg and Crown Heights . Ferry services connected the island with the surrounding land. The main ferry to the mainland, in Westchester County (the modern Bronx ), crossed the Harlem River at Kingsbridge, near the northern tip of the island ^[6] . The island is surrounded by two rivers, in the west of the Hudson , and in the east of the East River , which separates it from Long Island . Kip Bay was located on the east coast, roughly between the modern 32nd and 38th streets, and west to Second Avenue. The bay no longer exists, it is filled up, but in 1776 it was an excellent place for landing: great depths near the coast and a wide meadow, convenient for collecting landed troops. The wide mouth of Newtown Creek on the Long Island shore against the bay, also surrounded by meadows, provided an equally convenient starting point ^[7] .

Washington, again chose the tactics of delays and evasion ^[2] . Not knowing what General Howe’s next step would be, he pulled his troops along the shores of York Island and Westchester County, and actively conducted reconnaissance, trying to get the key to the Howe plans. At the same time, fearing for Kingsbridge, he paid special attention to the British fleet, hence the Turtle attack on the HMS Eagle on September 7 ^[8] , and the efforts to expel the detachment from Phoenix , Rose and Tryal , which entered Hudson on July 12 ^[9] .

On September 5, General Nathaniel Green , who had recently returned to duty after an illness, sent Washington a letter calling for the immediate withdrawal of the army from New York. Not owning Long Island, Green claimed, New York is impossible to keep. Another decisive defeat, he wrote, would be disastrous. He also recommended that the city be burned, because when the British take possession of it, it will be impossible to return it without a fleet. To summarize, Green wrote that there was no reason to preserve New York, and recommended that Washington convene a military council ^[10] .

However, by September 7 , when the council was assembled, a letter arrived from John Hancock informing the Congress resolution: New York should not be destroyed, but Washington should not defend it ^[10] . In addition, Congress decided to send a three-person delegation to negotiate with Admiral Howe — these included John Adams , Benjamin Franklin , and Edward Rutledge. ^[10]

The British plan, however, envisaged reusing the advantages of the fleet, and conducting another land-to-shore landing, by crossing from Long Island to Manhattan. For reasons of terrain (see above ), Kip Bay was chosen. To distract, a fleet demonstration was planned at the same time on the Hudson River, on the other side of the island.

General Howe originally planned the landing on September 13, remembering the date of the key landing of James Wolfe in 1759 , before the battle on the plains of Abraham . But he disagreed with General Clinton about the direction of the attack. Clinton claimed that landing on Kingsbridge would cut off the Americans' withdrawal and destroy Washington once and for all. Howe originally wanted to make two landings, one in Kip Bay, and the other in Horns Hook, further north, but dropped the last option, after pilots warned about the dangers of the Hell Gate Strait , where the Harlem River and Long Island Sound merge with the East -River.

Meanwhile, British troops under the command of General Howe were advancing along the east coast of the East River to the north. On the night of September 3, the 20-gun HMS Rose took advantage of the tidal stream and, towing 30 flat-bottomed longboats , climbed the East River and anchored at the mouth of Newtown Creek. The next day, additional transports and longboats moved up the East River. The ship HMS Renown (50), frigates HMS Repulse and HMS Pearl (both 32), as well as the schooner HMS Tryal , entered the Hudson ^[11] .

On September 10, British troops advanced from Long Island and occupied the islet of Montresor, at the mouth of the Harlem River. A day later, on September 11 , a Congress delegation arrived at Staten Island, met with Admiral Howe, and negotiated for three hours. The meeting did not lead to anything, since the powers of both parties were severely limited. She allowed, however, to delay the upcoming British attack, giving Washington more time to decide whether to defend itself, and if so, where ^[12] .

At a military council on September 12, Washington and its generals decided to leave New York. 4,000 soldiers from the continental forces of General Israel Putnam remained to cover the city and Lower Manhattan, while the main army moved north to Harlem and Kingsbridge. In the afternoon of September 13, a major transfer of British forces began. The ships HMS Roebuck and HMS Phoenix (both 44), along with frigates HMS Orpheus (32) and HMS Carysfort (28), escorted six military transports along the East River and anchored at Bushwick Creek ^[12] . By September 14, Americans hurriedly transported ammunition and other property, along with the sick and wounded, to Orangetown, higher up the river ^[13] . The operation involved all cash horses and wagons. ^[12] Scouts reported movement in the British army camps, but Washington still could not determine where the British would strike. By the end of the day, most of the American army moved north to Kingsbridge and Harlem Heights, and at night Washington followed it ^{[12] [13]} .

After the delay due to adverse winds, the appointed landing in Kip Bay began on the morning of September 15th . Early in the morning, Admiral Howe sent Renown , Repulse , Pearl and Tryal to Hudson for a demonstration, but Washington and his men found it to be a distraction and kept their forces in the northern part of the island.

500 Connecticut militia men under the command of Colonel William Douglas erected a primitive parapet in Kip Bay, ^[1] but many of these former farmers and shopkeepers were untrained and lacked muskets . Instead, they armed themselves with homemade peaks from a scythe blade mounted on a shaft. They did not sleep all night, ate almost nothing for a day, and at dawn they saw five British ships anchored in the East River ^[1] . All morning the heat intensified, the militias waited in their ditches, British ships stood 200 yards from the coast. At about 10 a.m., General Henry Clinton, to whom Howe ordered the landing, ordered the crossing to begin. The first wave, more than 80 longboats, took 4,000 British and Hessian soldiers (they had to stand shoulder to shoulder), left Newtown Creek and entered the East River ^[1] .

At about 11 a.m., five ships: Phoenix , Rose , Roebuck , Orpheus and Carysfort began shelling, demolished a frail parapet and sowed panic among the militia. Ambrose Searle, Admiral Howe's personal secretary, recorded:

Such a terrible incessant roar of guns was previously heard by few, even in the army and navy

Original text

So terrible and so incessant a roar of guns few even in the army and navy had ever heard before ^[8]

The shelling continued for an hour. According to British records, Orpheus alone consumed 5,376 pounds of gunpowder in 45 minutes. ^[8] The Americans were half littered with land and sand, and could not respond with fire due to smoke and dust. When the cannonade ended, longboats appeared due to smoke and headed towards the shore. By that time, the Americans were retreating in a panic, and the British began to land ^[1] .

Although Washington and his adjutants arrived from Harlem Heights soon, they were unable to rally the retreating fighters. Washington appeared among the people on horseback, about a mile from the shore of the bay, trying to turn them and put them in some order, while cursing mercilessly. Some write that he lost control of himself, brandished a pistol , threatened to pierce someone with a sword . Seeing that no one was listening, he threw a cocked hat on the ground with the words:

And with these people should I defend America?

Original text

Are these the men with which I am to defend America? ^[14]

The Hessians shot or bayoneted some of the Americans who were trying to surrender. 2000 continental troops under the command of Generals Parsons and Fellows arrived from the north, but at the sight of a random retreat, the militias also turned and fled. Washington was dangerously close — a hundred yards — away from the enemy before the adjutants managed to get him off the field. Meanwhile, new British troops came ashore, including light infantry , grenadiers and Hessian rangers . They advanced in several directions. By the evening of the following day, 9,000 British troops landed in Kip Bay, and Howe sent a Percy brigade toward New York to formally take control of the city.

Although most Americans managed to escape north, not everyone left. One British eyewitness officer wrote about the atrocities of the Hessians ^[14] . The small number of American casualties, however, indicates an almost bloodless battle. The offensive to the south stopped half a mile from Watt's farm (in the area of ​​the modern 23rd street) having met with strong resistance. The northern column stopped at Inklenberg (elevation west of the bay, modern Murray Hill), in accordance with the order of General Howe to wait for the remaining forces of the invasion. Three thousand Americans south of the landing site were lucky. If Clinton moved further west to the Hudson, he would cut off from the main army the troops of General Putnam in lower Manhattan - almost a third of Washington’s forces ^[14] .

When the landing began, Putnam with the troops went north. After a brief meeting with Washington about the danger to the troops remaining in the city, he galloped south to lead their retreat. Throwing supplies and a convoy interfering with them, the convoy , with Aaron Barr in front, moved north along the Hudson. Putnam's march was so fast, and the British advance was slow, so that only the last companies in his convoy touched the advancing British. Putnam and his men entered the main camp already in the dark, when they were not hoped to see them. Henry Knox later arrived, having barely slipped into the boat along the Hudson River, and was also greeted with enthusiastic cries. Washington even hugged him. ^[14]

The British were welcomed by the remaining population of New York. The flag of the Continental Army was lowered and the Union Jack was hoisted. Howe, who wanted to capture New York quickly and with minimal bloodshed, considered the invasion a complete success. In the British camp, many believed the same ^[8] . Only later did they feel the consequences of releasing the Continental Army from the trap. Unwilling to continue fighting that day, Howe stopped his troops short of Harlem ^[14] . Over time, he received the Order of the Bath for New York.

Washington was furious with the behavior of its troops, calling it "shameful" and "scandalous" ^[15] . Connecticut militias, who already had a poor reputation, were branded cowards and charged with fleeing. But others spoke more cautiously, for example, Major General William Heath: “the wounds sustained on Long Island were still bleeding; and if not soldiers, then the officers knew for sure that the city was ordered not to defend ” ^[15] . If the Connecticut remained to hold the island of York, under cannon fire, with the overwhelming superiority of the enemy, they would be destroyed ^[15] .

The next day, September 16 , the two armies met at Harlem Heights ^[16] .

On September 19 , as if following Green's advice, New York was seized by a great fire . Reasons to establish it failed. Both armies accused him of each other, there were also theories of arson, but after the trial, the British authorities did not present formal charges to anyone.

• Fischer, David Hackett. Washington's Crossing . Oxford University Press, New York, 2004. ISBN 0-19-517034-2
• McCullough, David. 1776 . Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN 0-7432-2671-2
• Navies and the American Revolution, 1775-1783 / Robert Gardiner, ed. - Chatham Publishing, 1997. - ISBN 1-55750-623-X .