Previous episodes of excessive brutality, such as the repeated bayoneting of Gen. Hugh Mercer at Princeton and the death and mutilation of another American officer in early February, had prompted letters to British commanders from Washington and other American generals protesting such treatment. But now, furious at this latest outrage, Washington fired off a letter to Cornwallis and sent it with Martin's body to New Brunswick:
It is with infinite regret, I am again compelled, to remonstrate against that spirit of wanton cruelty, that has in several instances influenced the conduct of your soldiery. A recent exercise of it towards an unhappy officer of ours—Lieutenant Martin—convinces me, that my former representations on that subject, have been unavailing. That Gentleman, by the fortune of war, on Saturday last, was thrown into the hands of a party of your horse, and unnecessarily murdered with the most aggravated circumstances of barbarity.
With a cold sarcasm fueled by previous British denials that such things could actually happen, Washington added, “I wish not to wound your lordship's feelings by commenting on this event, but I think it my duty to send his mangled body, to your lines, as an undeniable testimony of the fact, should it be doubted, and as the best appeal to your humanity for the justice of our complaint.”74
“The letter was taken from the flag and sent in,” Hamilton wrote; “the flag and the body not permitted to pass their out posts.”75
The officers escorting Martin's corpse were seething with rage. “2 officers of the enemy came with a flag of truce and a wagon, in which lay the body of the officer in a casket,” General von Heister remarked. “The officers themselves have so strongly expressed themselves orally against it that their hitherto reserved manner and conduct will in the future be unknown.” The Hessian general also noted, “This letter was taken from them, and they were sent back with their dead body.”76
After the wagon departed, Lord Cornwallis composed a reply to Washington. “I understand that Lieut. Martin when surrounded by a Party of Hessian Cavalry did not ask quarter, but on the contrary wounded one of the Hessians, when they were close to him, which so exasperated the others that they immediately cut him down with their Sabres.” Parrying Washington's cold anger with a patronizing explanation, Cornwallis wrote, “When a man is kill'd in that manner his body must of course be mangled: But the Hessians gave the strongest Proof that they were not actuated by a spirit of wanton cruelty, As they brought in a Serjeant and six men of the same party Prisoners, of whom only one was wounded.”77 Privately, among some British officers, Osborn's comment that he was no coroner “was a theme of considerable merriment, and the bon mot of Sir George not a little applauded.”78
The petite guerre would continue to take its toll, and certain units gained notoriety for brutality. The Scottish Highlanders already had a long-established reputation as fierce fighters, and Gen. James Grant, himself a Scottish laird with a fabulous castle at Ballindalloch in the heart of the Highlands, wrote on June 7 that the rebels “made two Attempts upon Piscataway, the Quarters of the 42nd—but were repulsed both times & pursued with great spirit, even a little too much Zeal, but the eagerness of the Men who could not be brought off luckily was attended with no bad consequence & has had on the contrary a very good Effect, for the Yankies say in talking of the Highlanders ‘I vow now it is a wicked Regiment, they would kill us all if they could.’”79 Anthony Wayne wrote the same day, “they notwithstanding affect to hold us cheap and threaten to beat up our Quarters—if we don't beat up theirs first which is in Contemplation.”80
The first week of June came and went, and still no campaign. “Monday, June 2, 1777. I have been here almost three weeks and I am as ignorant of the Motions or designs of our Army as if I had been in Virginia,” Nicholas Cresswell wrote from New York. “Only this, the Soldiers, seem very healthy and long to be in action. The Commander in Chief is either inactive, has no orders to act, or thinks that he has not force sufficient to oppose the Rebels.” Cresswell commented with not a little sarcasm about Howe's military inactivity and his activity on “other fronts,” namely with his mistress, Mrs. Elizabeth Loring: “Which of these or whether any of them is the true reason I will not pretend to say, but this I am very certain of, if General Howe does nothing, the Rebels will avail themselves of his inactivity by collecting a very numerous Army to oppose him, whenever he shall think it proper to leave Mrs. Lorain [Loring] and face them.”81 A New York Loyalist commented in the same vein: “All this time General Howe was at New-York in the lap of Ease; or rather, amusing himself in the lap of a Mrs. L——g, who is the very Cleopatra to this Anthony of ours.”82
Cresswell and the Loyalist were not the only ones puzzled by Howe's inaction. Germain's habit of allowing the senior generals to pursue their own campaign policies—while suggesting but not requiring cooperation or coordination between them—had allowed the British war effort to become hydra-headed. “I do not understand why Sir G. Carleton sends a part of his force to Crown Point so early as the beginning of May if Sir Wm. Howe's intelligence is right, that he does not propose being upon the Lakes himself till the beginning of June,” Germain wrote. “I incline to hope that his preparations are in greater forwardness; if they are not, Burgoyne's arrival may cause him to change his dispositions and create a delay.” In Parliament, the opposition, led by Charles James Fox, were mounting attack after attack on the Ministry, zeroing in on Germain. Not surprisingly, the minister wrote, “I shall be glad of an opportunity of applauding the General's conduct this campaign.”83
Meanwhile, great changes were in progress with the royal forces, especially among the Hessians. As a result of the Trenton debacle and his inability to get along with General Howe, seventy-year-old General von Heister was to be replaced as Hessian commander by sixty-one-year-old Lt. Gen. Wilhelm von Knyphausen. In July, von Heister departed for home on board HMS Niger. Before the year was out, the old veteran would be no more, for he died “of grief and mortification” shortly after returning to Hesse Cassel.84
Reinforcements from Europe arrived at New York in late May, among them some German riflemen from the principality of Anspach-Brandenburg.85 “A number of Hessian Chasseurs or Yaugers arrived in green uniforms and boots, all armed with rifles,” Cresswell observed on June 4. “I am told they are as expert with them as the Virginians, but they appear to me to be too clumsy for the Woods and too heavily clothed.” These Jägers had been recruited from the hilly forests of central Germany and were remarkable for their handsome appearance. They were supposed to be mounted, but because of a transport mix-up, their tack and saddlery had not arrived. “I can't conceive why they wear boots,” Cresswell wondered, “they must be inconvenient and troublesome in this hot and woody country.”86
A contingent of officers from His Majesty's Foot Guards also arrived, including Col. Charles O'Hara of the Coldstream Regiment.87 There was much clamor among the Guards officers in London to serve in the American war, for field service meant opportunities for glory and adventure as well as promotion, and some of the Guards officers were now being rotated back to England after a year of active field duty. Aristocrats in Great Britain viewed service in the Guards as an important part of status, and it was tradition in many families.
The Brigade of Guards in America, commanded by Brig. Gen. Edward Mathew, was a special composite force made up of 1,000 men chosen by lottery from the three regiments of Foot Guards.88 The unit was divided into two battalions of 500 men each and, unlike the other British regiments, retained its own flank companies (grenadier and light infantry) while on campaign. All of the Guards, officers and men alike, were dressed in uniforms modified for campaign service: Their coats were shortened into jackets, without lace or decoration; their hair was cropped; and their hats were cut down into “round hats” for the regular companies and light infantry-style caps for the flank companies.
The Guards had played an active and distinguished part in the 1776 New York Campaign, and Howe was not at all pleased to be losing some of his most dependable field o
fficers. “I have the satisfaction to report to your Lordships the safe arrival of the Transports and Store Ships on the 24th May, having on board the Officers of the Guards to be relieved,” he told Lord Barrington on June 1. “I sincerely wish that the [Guards officers] who had acquired a perfect knowledge of the Service best adapted to this Country, and whose Zeal and alacrity has been conspicuous during the last Campaign & Winter, when those Qualities were essentially necessary, had not been ordered Home; and I can assure your Lordship that Justice alone has a Right to demand this acknowledgement of their Service.”89
After spending a week in New York City, the replacements sailed by sloop to New Brunswick, where they arrived on June 6. The service of those who were leaving did not go unnoticed. “The Guards Officers & Men have great Merit—they had hard Duty & bad Quarters during the Winter but put up with both cheerfully,” Grant wrote on June 7. “Complaints & Grivances were out of the Question; every body was in good Health, good Humour and good Spirits.” Echoing Howe's sentiments, he added, “I am sorry so many Officers of that Corps accustom'd to hardships, & broke into the service are to leave us.”90
One of the new arrivals was a thirty-year-old captain-lieutenant, the Honorable Richard Fitzpatrick of the 1st Guards Regiment. Fitzpatrick was a member of Parliament, the brother of the Irish Earl of Upper Ossory, and lifelong best friend and confidant of Charles James Fox, head of the Whig faction in the House of Commons. Later, as secretary at war in 1783, Fitzpatrick was described by a contemporary as “more elegant than solid, more adapted to entertain and delight than fitted for the desk.” Socially, Fox and Fitzpatrick were at the center of the most fashionable and outrageous circle of “fops and macaronis” in London, sharing bachelor quarters in Piccadilly and leading lives of drinking, gambling, classical scholarship, and brilliant conversation at Brookes's (Almack's), the most prominent club in the capital. “They had been brought up together from early life, remained inseparable to the last, and were strongly attached to each other. Fitzpatrick, like his friend, was a constant votary at Brookes's club.”
Richard “Dickey” Fitzpatrick was the quintessential young man of late-eighteenth-century London society. “His person tall, manly, and extremely distinguished, set off by his manners, which, though lofty and assuming, were nevertheless elegant and prepossessing, these endowments added grace to the attractions of his conversation.” He was quite popular. “No man's society was more eagerly courted among the highest orders by persons of both sexes.” Like many of his social contemporaries, Fitzpatrick composed poetry, wrote in French and Italian, and was well versed in theater. “He possessed no mean poetic talents, peculiarly for compositions of wit, fancy, and satire, in all which he far exceeded Fox.”91 One of their newest friends, whom Fitzpatrick had just left in England, was a nineteen-year-old French nobleman who visited London in early 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette.
Assigned to the Grenadier Company of the Guards, Fitzpatrick was also a close friend of Sir George Osborn. Both Osborn and Fitzpatrick had attended Westminster School (though six years apart) before entering the army, both were career soldiers who later achieved the rank of general, and both were members of Parliament. Unlike Sir George, who was a staunch Tory, Fitzpatrick was a firm Whig and strongly opposed the Ministry, headed by Osborn's cousin Lord North. He was highly critical of the conduct of the war, and his first weeks in New Jersey confirmed his views, which were often at odds with the attitudes of many of the other officers. As the campaign progressed, his letters home grew more and more vehement about the outrageous conduct of the common soldiers and the overall prosecution of the war.
The same day that Fitzpatrick and the other Guards officers arrived in New Brunswick, a dramatic scene was unfolding a few miles away in British-held Perth Amboy. Abraham Patten, “a rebel captain who had lived in Brunswick for some time as a spy, and during that time passed himself off as a merchant, was hanged on a tree close to our camp,” wrote Quartermaster Carl Bauer of the Hessian Platte Grenadier Battalion. “A letter, which he wrote to General Washington, and in which he promised to set fire to all the magazines in Brunswick on the King's birthday, 4 June, had been given for delivery to an English grenadier who had offered to desert for a promised amount of guineas. The grenadier, however, delivered it to Lord Cornwallis. The plan was exposed that General Washington was ready that same day, as soon as the fires were set, to attack us.” Bauer was impressed by Patten's conduct at the end: “The enthusiasm of this spy was so great that as he came to the ladder and was about to climb it, he pulled the white hood over his eyes and said, ‘I die for liberty.’”92
“The spy supposedly died in the most noble manner and his death has been celebrated as a sacrifice for freedom,” another Hessian officer, Lt. Johann von Bardeleben of the Regiment von Donop, noted, also recording Patten's last words: “that is, at the gallows he said, ‘I die for liberty, and do it gladly, because my cause is just.’”93
“The Spy Patoun was hang'd to day,” Capt.-Lt. John Peebles of the 42nd Royal Highlanders stated. He also pointed out, “Deserters coming in as usual & some Rascals are deserting from us. The 2d. Battn. Gr[enadie]rs have lost 6 or 8 within this short time.”94
On the American side, concern about spies in the guise of British deserters appeared in the General Orders. “It is Suppos'd that a number of Deserters now coming out are employ'd by the enemy as Spies, the Genl. Strictly orders that no officer or Soldier except those that have them immedietly in Charge, Shall attempt to Speak to or hold any Conversation with them,” Capt. Robert Kirkwood of the Delaware Regiment wrote in his Orderly Book on June 10, while stationed at Princeton. “The parties having them in Charge Shall bring them immediately to Head Quarters,” and “All officers are Requested Immedietly to Confine every non Commissioned officer, or Soldier who shall be Seen gathering Round or holding any Conversation with any Deserter.”
But deserters were by no means the only source of suspected spies. On June 11, a general court-martial found “Mary Quan, try'd…for acting as an Enemy to her Country, no Evidence appearing the Genl. orders her to be Releas'd.” Mary was fortunate; another woman was not so lucky. “Elizabeth Brewer try'd by the Same Court & found guilty of acting as A Spy in the Service of the enemy, do Sentence her to be Confin'd During the War, the Genl. Approves the Sentence & orders her to be sent to Morrow…to Philadelphia.”95
Finally, after months of uncertainty and second-guessing, and despite traditional superstition, on Friday, the thirteenth of June, “the Body of the Army March'd from Brunswick at Night in two Divisions—The Campaign Opens,” Peebles wrote in his diary.96 Howe was making his first major maneuver with the bulk of the army—nearly 17,000 men—since the capture of Fort Lee the previous November.
Boats that could be carried on wagons had been built at great expense in New York City, strongly suggesting a plan to march across New Jersey and cross the Delaware River. “All the Long-Bottomed Boats were put into Waggons, and everything got in readiness; the Troops lay upon their Arms that Night,” noted Sgt. Thomas Sullivan of the 49th Regiment.97 Now, finally, it seemed that the king's army was moving to finish what had been called off nearly six months to the day before, on December 14, 1776: the advance on Philadelphia.
“An Expedition was made from Brunswick to Middlebush, the 1st Battalion of Guards went,” wrote twenty-year-old Ens. William Lord Cantelupe, a recently arrived Coldstream Guards officer who remained behind with the 2nd Battalion to hold New Brunswick.98 The Guards were in the column commanded by General von Heister, here on his last campaign, accompanied by Sir William Howe. Some other new faces were also present: Maj. Gen. Charles Grey, who would build an infamous reputation for brutality in America, had landed the previous week and was on the march, accompanied by his newly appointed aide-de-camp, Capt. John André, lately exchanged after a year of captivity in Pennsylvania.
The Guards Light Infantry Company, led by Capt. Thomas Twistleton, was accompanied by a small corps of about 100 British riflemen commanded by Capt
. Patrick Ferguson, a Scottish officer on special assignment. This newly composed light unit was dressed in green jackets and equipped with the Ferguson rifle, an experimental breech-loading weapon developed by the captain, here on campaign for the first time.99
Capt. Archibald Robertson of the Corps of Engineers accompanied General Howe. “The 2nd Division under General Howe took up their Ground at Middle bush, about 5 miles from Brunswick and 3 from Hillsboro’,” the engineer wrote. “General Washington with his Army suppos'd to be about 7 or 8000 Men Occupied a Strong Camp about 4 miles North of Bond Brook on the Road to Baskin Ridge amongst the Mountains,” Robertson noted, and remarked, “He stood Firm.”100 Howe's Hessian aide, Capt. Friedrich von Münchhausen, speculated, “I believe that General Howe has planned a forced march at dawn in order to cut off and to throw back General Sullivan, who is at Princeton with 2000 men.”101
From his camp at Middle Brook, Washington watched these movements very carefully and prepared for the worst: a full-scale push on Philadelphia. He, too, had newly raised units of light troops, including a corps of Rangers led by Col. Daniel Morgan of Virginia. “We have a partizan Regt.—Col. Morgan Commands—Chosen Marksmen from the Whole Army Composes it,” Col. James Chambers of the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment wrote. “Capt. Parr, Lts. Lyon and Brady, & fifty men from my Regt. are amongst the number.”102 Morgan's Corps was made up of 500 frontiersmen, mostly from the mountains of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, armed with Pennsylvania long rifles. “The Corps of Rangers newly formed, and under your Command, are to be considered as a body of light Infantry and are to Act as such,” Washington told Morgan, “for which Reason they will be exempted from the common duties of the Line.” Morgan had standing orders directly from the commander in chief: “In case of any Movement of the Enemy you are Instantly to fall upon their Flanks and gall them as much as possible, taking especial care not to be surrounded.”
The Philadelphia Campaign Page 5