Summer 1776

choi

Andrew Cayton, Escape From New York; Why the middle months of 1776 were crucial to the American Revolution. New York Times Book Review, June 30, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/3 ... joseph-j-ellis.html
(book review on Joseph J Ellis, Revolutionary Summer; The birth of American Independence. Knopf, 2013)

(a) Excerpt in the window of print: Ellis undermines the popular myth that local militias won the Revolution. Government mattered in 1776.

(b) Quote:

"Toward the end of June 1776, as the Continental Congress nears a vote on American independence, the first of 427 royal ships carrying 1,200 cannons, 32,000 soldiers and 10,000 sailors appears off Long Island.

"In Congress, the Pennsylvanian John Dickinson * * * calls for delay, arguing that independence is a dangerous step in the absence of a national government and European allies.

"Many Americans fought and died for their king; tens of thousands emigrated rather than live in the new republic.


(c) Note:
(i) The English and Welsh: surname Ellis is "from the medieval personal name Elis, a vernacular form of Elijah."
(ii) 1776 (musical)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1776_(musical)
(Production  1969 Broadway, 1972 Film, version, 1997 Broadway revival)

(iii) "Gen William Howe and his brother, Adm Richard Howe * * * fail to exploit their overwhelming advantage, allowing humiliated patriot forces to escape into New Jersey.
(A) See the present tense "fail."
(B) Battle of Long Island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Long_Island
(Aug 27, 1776; was the first major battle in the American Revolutionary War following the United States Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the entire conflict; Result  British victory; Strength: US 10,000 , UK 32,000; section 2.6 Disengagement; section 3.3 Casualties)

(iv) John Dickinson (politician)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dickinson_(politician)
(1732-1808; namesake of Dickinson College and Penn State University's Dickinson School of Law)
(v) Joseph Plumb Martin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Plumb_Martin
(1760-1850; "He joined the Connecticut State Troops in June 1776 and was assigned duty in the New York City area, arriving just before the opening of the British Long Island Campaign;" section 2 Martin's narrative)
(vi) Thomas Paine
hvittp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine
(1737-1809; published Common Sense in 1776 in Pennsylvania)

(vii) "William Howe, who had served in North America during the French and Indian War, understood that the Iroquois in upstate New York were formidable players who would most likely ally with the British. So did Washington, which is why he would dispatch Gen John Sullivan and several thousand men to destroy Iroquois villages in 1779."

Sullivan Expedition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sullivan_Expedition
(June 18-Oct 3, 1779; only had one major battle, at Newtown along the Chemung River in western New York, in which about 1,000 Iroquois and Loyalists were decisively defeated by an army of 3,200 Continental soldiers)

(viii) "On July 9, 1776, George Washington ordered the Declaration of Independence read aloud to units of the Continental Army assembled on the Commons in New York City."
(A) Park Row (Manhattan)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Row_(Manhattan)
(a street; the Commons became City Hall Park)
(B) New York City Hall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Hall
(located at the center of City Hall Park; The [New York City] Council chose a site at the old Common at the northern limits of the City, now City Hall Park; Built 1811)