George Washington Takes Command at Cambridge, featuring the American Revolution Podcast (episode 330)

Automatic Shownotes

Chapters

Transcript

Jake:
[0:03] Welcome to Hub History, where we go far beyond the freedom trail to share our favorite stories from the history of Boston, the Hub of the Universe.

Introduction to Washington’s Command

Jake:
[0:13] This is episode 330, George Washington Takes Command at Cambridge, featuring the American Revolution podcast. Hi, I’m Jake. This week, I’m talking about yet another important anniversary as we continue to commemorate America’s 250th birthday. On July 3rd, 1775, George Washington assumed command of the newly created Continental Army at their headquarters in Cambridge. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this week, with the help of Mike Troy from the American Revolution podcast. If you listened to the last episode of the show, you know that Mike Troy was my guest, and we discussed the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Jake:
[0:58] After the recorder was turned off, he asked if he could release that interview in his podcast feed as a guest episode. And of course I said yes, but I also said that he should let me release one of his episodes to make it a true episode swap. He agreed, which means that I could use the time that I would have spent researching this episode to go camping, go to the beach, and take one of my closest friends on a boozy Freedom Trail pub crawl for his first visit to Boston in 15 years. With that in mind, I’m going to play part of episode 64 of the American Revolution podcast, which was titled, The Second Continental Congress Begins, and then all of episode 67, Washington Takes Command. Both of these episodes originally aired on the American Revolution podcast in the fall of 2018. They’re going to allow Mike to tell us why the Continental Army was created, how George Washington was chosen as our first commander-in-chief, and the challenges that George Washington faced upon taking command in Cambridge 250 years ago this week.

Jake:
[2:04] Now, if you’ll recall, the First Continental Congress was convened in Philadelphia in September 1774. It was meant as a way for the unruly colonies to coordinate their response to the Intolerable Acts, which Parliament had passed to punish the colonies collectively for the Boston Tea Party the preceding December. This was the first time that all 13 of the colonies that would eventually declare independence from Great Britain met together in a single governing body. Although that first Congress didn’t have the power to pass laws or to compel the individual colonies to action.

Jake:
[2:39] The 56 representatives met for less than two months before agreeing to promote a boycott on British goods and creating a Continental Association to coordinate their efforts. Less than a year later, a second Continental Congress was seated in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. This time, they would very famously declare independence on July 4, 1776, and then continue in session until 1781, when the Continental Congress was replaced by the Confederation Congress at the tail end of the war to secure that independence. By the time this second Congress met in Philadelphia, Massachusetts and the New England colonies were at war, and we were desperate for more support from the rest of the mainland North American colonies.

Jake:
[3:28] Some radicals among this faction, most prominently local boy John Adams, were already quietly pushing for a complete separation from British rule. On balance, the southern colonies were hesitant to go to war with the mother country, and the conservative faction wanted to return the colonies to the status quo from before the Seven Years’ War, when the American colonists enjoyed the rights and protections of English citizens under Magna Carta and the English Constitution. A moderate faction that enjoyed broad support in the Middle Colonies and had significant representation in both New England and the South, wanted to find a third way, where colonial legislatures would share power with Parliament, but the colonies would still be under the Crown’s protection if the French, Spanish, or Wabanaki threatened their interests.

Jake:
[4:19] Through the early weeks of the Second Continental Congress, the delegates were kept busy trying to make sense of the early, confusing reports about the battles of Lexington and Concord, the escalating siege in Boston, and then in late May, news of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in Crown Point. Representatives from New York were understandably upset that the Massachusetts Committee of Safety had ordered soldiers from Connecticut and Vermont to invade a New York fort. While John Adams attempted to negotiate a compromise where New York would get the forts but turn over the cannons to Massachusetts in an attempt to break the siege of Boston, John Dickinson of Pennsylvania courted support for a compromise plan to negotiate a quick end to hostilities. Finally, at the beginning of June, Dickinson’s proposal failed, and Congress was ready to turn its attention to creating an army. Now, Mike Troy is going to get us up to speed in a short clip from his 64th episode. You’ll hear a bit more from me in about 10 or 12 minutes.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[5:25] It was clear that the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was in over its head. The Massachusetts delegation had been pushing all along to get the other colonies more involved in the fighting. When Benjamin Church arrived with news from Boston and Joseph Warren’s request that Congress take control of its army, Congress got down to business. After a few days of debate, Congress agreed to support a 10,000-man army in Massachusetts and a 5,000-man army in New York. The army in Massachusetts already far exceeded 10,000 men, so I guess not all of them would be able to go on the continental payroll. Many of those besieging Boston were happy to stay in their militia and not join this new Continental Army.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[6:10] The New York Army would need to incorporate New York militia, which had not flocked to Boston in significant numbers. But with the capture of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, New York would likely have to defend against a British invasion from Canada.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[6:26] Congress also made an effort to ensure some of the middle colonies at least got involved in the conflict. It called for six companies of riflemen to be raised in Pennsylvania, still one of the most reluctant colonies to commit to the cause. Maryland and Virginia would also raise two companies of riflemen each. To pay for all of this, Congress authorized raising two million Spanish dollars. Now, this act alone probably needs explanation on multiple levels. First, why are we using Spanish dollars instead of pounds? The Spanish silver dollar had become common currency throughout the Americas. Spanish colonial gold and silver mines had sent their product to mints also in Latin America, meaning lots of this hard money circulated all over the Western Hemisphere. A shortage of British hard currency in America caused colonists to turn to Spanish dollars. About four Spanish dollars was worth about one British pound. Spanish dollars were often broken up into eighths. I mean, they literally broke the coin into pieces. and this is where we get the term pieces of eight that you sometimes hear used in pirate movies. The pieces were also called bits, which is why today we still call a quarter of a dollar two bits.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[7:47] Calculating the authorization in Spanish dollars meant that no single colonial currency would be involved, and that the authorization would likely hold its value, unlike colonial currencies, which often sank with inflation. So where did Congress get the authority to do this? The Continental Congress really was just a meeting of colonial delegates to discuss foreign policy. It had no authority to raise taxes or spend large sums of money. But Congress decided to simply act on its own. It called on each of the colonies to pony up the unnecessary funds. Success in collecting that money was mixed at best and would prove an ongoing problem for the next decade or so. But for now, Congress would issue paper notes, essentially IOUs promising to pay the bearer in Spanish hard currency at some point when they could get their hands on it. For now, we cannot worry about money. We’ve got a war to fight. And, you know, Maybe we’ll all be dead before the bills come due anyway.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[8:51] So having approved the creation of an army, Congress next had to select someone to lead it. Doing this was no easy task. First, there were no experienced generals in America, unless you count militia generals, many of whom may never have even seen combat, or those guys in Massachusetts that the Provincial Congress made generals a few weeks earlier. This new leader would have to create a whole new army and put it into battle against British regulars almost immediately. But military ability was only one consideration. Another was loyalty to Congress. Next to defeat, the greatest fear of many delegates was that they would create a successful general who would become the next Oliver Cromwell, the Puritan general who overthrew King Charles I and then Parliament a century earlier. Armies had a way of turning into dictatorships. Any military leader could not have anything even hinting at such an inclination. Another consideration was diversity. Political leaders wanted to make sure the new commanders would represent many different colonies. If all the colonies were going to participate in the fighting, they simply could not be seen as joining a Massachusetts army. A Continental Army had to be truly continental, with leaders from the North, South, and Middle.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[10:16] Congress considered a number of people, and although this debate did not make it into the records, we know from letters and other recollections what delegates were debating among themselves, probably mostly in evening discussions at taverns over a few beers. One of the top military leaders allied with the Patriot cause was Charles Lee of Virginia. He had served as a lieutenant colonel in the British Army. He had seen combat in America and Europe during the Seven Years’ War. He had served in Polish and Portuguese armies to get more battlefield experience when Britain was at peace. But, unable to secure a full colonelcy, Lee retired from the army and moved to Virginia in 1773. Now, he was in Philadelphia offering his services to Congress.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[11:06] Despite his battlefield experience, Lee was a professional soldier and a bit of a mercenary, having served in several foreign armies. Congress was not quite ready to hand over command to someone who might not be completely dedicated to the political cause. Another consideration was Artemis Ward, the current commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts Provincial Army, since he was already essentially doing the job. But Ward was old and had already proven sickly on several occasions. Besides, Congress really wanted to look outside of Massachusetts. Not even the Massachusetts delegation was pushing for ward. John Hancock also got some consideration. He had been titular commander of the Massachusetts militia at one point, but he really had not commanded men in combat. Besides, he seems to have taken the political route becoming the president of Congress. He was also from Massachusetts at a time when everyone seemed to be looking for someone from another colony.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[12:09] Horatio Gates also got serious attention. Like Lee, he had served for many years in the British Army, rising to the rank of major, and eventually retired in Virginia. Gates was old enough to have fought in the War of Austrian Succession. He followed General Braddock to America at the beginning of the Seven Years’ War, marching alongside fellow officers Thomas Gage, Charles Lee, and a militia officer named George Washington at the Battle of the Monongahela in 1755. Gates served throughout the war and as a peacetime officer through the 1760s. Eventually, however, he realized he did not have the money or influence to further promotions and retired to a farm in Virginia. Again, Congress liked his experience, but was not sure about his dedication to the cause and Congress to make him overall commander.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[13:04] Finally, there was George Washington. The delegate from Virginia, in a classic case of dressing for the job you want, not the job you have, began attending congressional sessions in his Virginia militia uniform. Although Washington had experience in the French and Indian War, he had done little to distinguish himself during the war. He lost most of the battles in which he fought and never had a commanding role once the regulars arrived. He had tried to get a commission in the regular army, but failed in that result. He had been commander of the Virginia militia, but had primarily been a ceremonial leader for the past decade, pursuing instead the life of a gentleman farmer and part-time politician. He had not even taken up arms when Virginia had fought Lord Dunmore’s war against the Indians a year earlier. All that said, Washington seemed to meet many of the criteria. He had decent military experience. He was from Virginia, which would help bring the South into the war. He seemed dedicated to the idea of civilian rule and to congressional authority. According to some, the tall, silent Washington just looked like a military commander. Perhaps it’s not the best reason to choose a commander based on looks, but it seems like it was a factor. John Adams rose on June 15th to propose a new commander-in-chief.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[14:30] Evidently, he had not discussed his choice with the members of the Massachusetts delegation. As he began his speech, according to several witnesses, John Hancock thought he might be the nominee. After a few minutes, he realized Adams was talking about Washington, which his change of expression made known to everyone in the room.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[14:50] Washington immediately left the room so the delegates could debate without him present. After surprisingly little debate, Congress unanimously selected Washington. There’s no evidence that Washington wanted or sought this position directly. Some historians argue that he didn’t really lobby for the job because it would have been unseemly to campaign for the job, which is true, and that Washington was only subtly jockeying for it by wearing his uniform to Congress and on working on all the military committees in Congress. Washington did see himself as a military expert and probably expected to get some high-ranking commission, but he was not a theater commander and he probably understood his limitations. His reaction immediately following appointment indicates that even he questioned his own ability to serve as commander. In his acceptance speech, he said that he did not seek the job and questioned his own capacity and experience to fulfill its duties. Now, perhaps this was false modesty, but Washington repeated some of his own self-doubt in numerous letters, including to his wife, in the days following his appointment.

Mike Troy, ARP 64:
[16:02] Still, he accepted the job and spent the next few days getting his affairs in order and preparing to make the trip to Boston. Washington further endeared himself to Congress by refusing to take the proposed $500 a month salary and instead agreeing only to seek reimbursement for his expenses.

Jake:
[16:24] The Continental Army united the colonies. As we’ve heard in past episodes about the battles at Chelsea Creek and Bunker Hill, everything that had happened in the war up to that point was done with a hodgepodge of militia units that had a hard time coordinating with one another, or even fighting side by side. After June 14, 1775, the rebellious colonies all contributed soldiers and resources to a single, cohesive army led by a popular commander. It’s an event that was worthy of a solemn commemoration for its 250th anniversary, a celebration of unshakable American unity. Instead, the nation’s capital saw a military parade worthy of Saddam Hussein or Kim Jong-un in celebration of the birthday of one small man with a giant fragile ego. While on the other side of the country, on the very same day, that same military was being deployed to, quote, liberate an American state from its democratically elected government. If we can’t band together for such an obvious symbol of unity as the 250th anniversary of the Continental Army, I don’t know what’s going to happen in this country on July 4th, 2026.

Jake:
[17:40] George Washington may have been officially chosen as commander-in-chief of this new army on June 15th, but he did not effectively take command until July 3rd, 1775. He had to wait a few days until Congress drew up as official commission as general on June 19th, and then he spent some time getting his affairs in order in Philadelphia and writing to his wife Martha in Virginia, apologizing for leaving her alone and encouraging her to stay with family while he was away at war. Finally, George Washington left Philadelphia on June 23rd, with John Adams and the entire Massachusetts congressional delegation riding alongside him for the first few miles. It took Washington 10 days to make it to Boston, or rather, to the Army’s headquarters in Harvard Square in Cambridge, where he arrived in July 2nd. And that’s what we’re here to talk about.

Washington Takes Command

Jake:
[18:33] This time, I’m going to play almost all of Mike’s Episode 67 of the American Revolution podcast, and then you’ll hear a bit more from me at the end.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[18:53] Hello, and thank you for joining the American Revolution. Today, Episode 67, Washington Takes Command. A few weeks ago, I discussed the Continental Congress’s decision to create a Continental Army and appoint George Washington as its Commander-in-Chief. Before Washington could take charge, the Provincial Army fought the Battle of Bunker Hill that I discussed for the last two weeks. With that battle over, I’m going to pick up the story of Washington taking command of the new Continental Army.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[19:27] Now, the Continental Congress had voted to create the Continental Army on June 14, 1775. It then appointed George Washington to be the new commander the following day, June 15. Now, that was two days before Bunker Hill. Word of the new commander did not reach General Artemis Ward in Boston until June 25, a week after the battle. And even after the word arrived, Washington took a couple of weeks to prepare, get his affairs in order, and make the trip to Boston, finally arriving on July 2nd. He was escorted by James Wilson, the new president of the Provincial Congress, and Dr. Benjamin Church, the head of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. Washington first stopped to meet with General Ward, now the Continental Army’s second-in-command and the most senior major general in the new army. I’m not sure if Ward was offended or relieved to have a new commander. He did turn over the command promptly and without public comment. If there was a chance that the two might develop a good working relationship, Washington put an end to that over the next few weeks.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[20:42] Washington publicly criticized the lax command structure and leadership that he inherited, which Ward took personally. With Washington were fellow Virginians, the new Major General Charles Lee, third in command of the new army, and newly appointed Brigadier General Horatio Gates. As I mentioned in an earlier episode, the Continental Congress held both men in contention for the top job, and both had been officers in the regular army before they settled in Virginia. Connecticut General Israel Putnam, who played a prominent role at Bunker Hill and most of the other events at the Siege of Boston, also received an appointment as Major General in the New Continental Army. The only Major General not present was Philip Schuyler, who was in Albany trying to resolve the military situation with Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold out around Fort Ticonderoga.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[21:41] Two more Massachusetts generals in the Provincial Army were among the first eight Brigadier Generals appointed by Congress to the Continental Army. Generals John Thomas and William Heath received their commissions. Also, Generals Joseph Spencer from Connecticut and Nathaniel Green from Rhode Island had both served in the Provincial Army and received commissions as brigadiers. And in case you’re wondering, the others in that first class of brigadier generals were Joseph Sullivan, a New Hampshire delegate to the Continental Congress, who would arrive a few days later, and Richard Montgomery, who was Schuyler’s second-in-command in New York, and David Wooster from Connecticut. You may recall this was the same man who had refused Captain Benedict Arnold’s access to the Powder House in New Haven right after the Battle of Lexington.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[22:35] So these men rounded out the first class of brigadiers. Now, I know I’m throwing out a lot of new names today, and I don’t want anyone to get confused. I will talk about these guys in more details as they become important later in the war, but I just wanted to give quick introductions to the top leadership so you understand what’s going on. Now, also with Washington were his new aide, Major Thomas Mifflin, and his secretary, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Reed, both from Pennsylvania and also two people who will play a prominent role in our story going forward. Now, at the risk of making too many introductions at once, I want to mention one more man accompanying General Washington. Billy Lee was Washington’s slave. He served as Washington’s personal assistant, valet, butler, and messenger.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[23:27] Washington had purchased Lee in 1768. The two men apparently grew very close. Lee was one of the few men anywhere who could keep up with Washington on a horse. Both men were excellent and daring riders. Lee would serve with Washington for all eight years of the war, remaining by his side through everything. It’s unclear if Washington ever confided in Lee, because if he did, Lee never betrayed that confidence. It was clear that Washington was close with Lee and appreciated his services. When Washington died, Lee was the only slave that Washington freed outright. He also granted Lee a pension for the remainder of his life. I’ve already given some background on the new generals, and I will probably need to provide some more background on more of them in future episodes. But today, I really want to focus on Washington himself. Hopefully everybody knows who George Washington is, and there are literally over a thousand published biographies about the man, almost all of which are going to be better than this brief summary. But in the interest of being thorough, here is a brief background.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[24:38] Washington was one of the earliest people I introduced in this podcast way back in Episode 5. There, as a young man, he blundered into the Ohio Valley and kicked off the Seven Years’ War between Britain and France, known in America as the French and Indian War. In 1759, as the French and Indian War was nearing its end, Washington married Martha Custis, a wealthy widow with two children of her own. George, then 26, left active military service and got elected to the House of Burgesses later that year. For the next 15 years, he spent his years as a gentleman farmer and minor legislator, while remaining a Virginia militia officer. Now, Washington had begun wearing his militia uniform to the Second Continental Congress, where he was a delegate. Now, some have argued that he was angling to be made the new commander of the Continental Army. As I mentioned, from public and private statements of Washington around this time, I think he hoped to be made a general, but did not anticipate being appointed commander-in-chief. When offered the command, though, he stepped up and accepted it.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[25:50] Washington, as a man, was extremely formal, quiet, and reserved. As a boy, he came from one of the lesser families in Virginia and always focused on deporting himself more like the wealthier leaders in the colony. He focused obsessively on his dress, speech, manners, and behavior and expected others to do the same. He rarely took anyone into his confidence or engaged in casual conversation. If anyone ever betrayed his confidence, even in a minor way, he would cut them off rather coldly and would not allow them to become close ever again.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[26:31] When Washington arrived in Cambridge, the Southern officer experienced a bit of a culture shock with his new army made up of New Englanders. Washington had expected to command an army of over 20,000. The force that met him, however, had less than 14,000 fit for duty. And fit for duty referred only to the state of their health, not whether they were really trained to fight in battle.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[26:57] While he did not comment publicly about his first thoughts on the new army, he did write a letter to his distant cousin at Mount Vernon. Quote, The people of this government have obtained a character which they by no means deserve. Their officers, generally speaking, are the most indifferent kind of people I ever saw. They are by no means such troops in any respect as you are led to believe of them. from the accounts which are published. But I need not make myself enemies among them by this declaration, although it is consistent with the truth. I dare say the men would fight very well if properly officered, although they are an exceeding dirty and nasty people. End quote. Washington was shocked at the level of disorganization that soldiers and officers did not respect the chain of command and that blacks and whites were fighting alongside one another. He immediately began to try to change all of these things. One of the things, though, that helped make Washington great was his ability to accept advice and to change his views when convinced of a better idea. Washington initially ordered the dismissal of all black troops in the army. As a Virginian, he was raised with the concern that armed blacks created the risk of a slave insurrection.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[28:25] New Englanders, though, had no such fears. Free whites outnumbered both slaves and free blacks combined by overwhelming numbers in New England. Convinced by his New England officers that dismissing the black troops was a bad idea, he soon reversed himself and permitted the racially integrated units to continue. Over time, he grew to admire and appreciate the capabilities of these men.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[28:52] His concerns about organization, deportment, and the chain of command, though, did require change. After personally inspecting the lines and getting numerous reports on the state of his new army, One of Washington’s first actions was to hold several courts-martial to remove officers who had exhibited cowardice during the Battle of Bunker Hill. He also took an inventory of his army, including men, arms, and supplies. He did away with the right of soldiers to elect their officers. All Continental officers would receive a commission from the Continental Congress. Washington knew that an effective army needed discipline. He issued rules against profanity, drunkenness, and gambling. Officers and men had to attend daily religious services.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[29:44] Violations could be punished with floggings. He ordered officers to improve the neatness and appearance of their men and the camps, keep their men from wandering away from camp without orders, and crack down on the destruction of private property. The new commander issued an order for sentries not to communicate with the enemy. Now, banning unauthorized fraternization with the enemy might seem an obvious thing, but you have to remember that the soldiers on the front lines at Boston Neck or Charleston Neck often stood within shouting distance of their counterparts as the other side. So, such conversations just seemed natural, even if it was just yelling at each other or even sometimes joking banter. Such conversations, however, were banned, as was any correspondence with the enemy. Supplies were also a primary concern for Washington. He tried to get Congress to buy more shirts for the army. He really wanted whole uniforms, but realized that this was impossible for now. Many men had been wearing the same unwashed shirts for months, reducing them to rags. Washing their clothes was impossible as there were not enough women around to do the work. Apparently, it was inconceivable that a soldier might actually wash his own clothes.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[31:06] So new shirts would go a long way toward improving morale. Congress, however, could not come up with the money even for that. And instead of uniforms, Washington ordered his generals and aides to wear ribbons over their shoulders, much like a Miss America sash. Washington wore a light blue sash, his generals wore pink, and his aides wore green sashes. Field officers would wear colored cockades, a smaller ribbon tied in a bow, in their hats. Washington organized his army into three divisions, one for each of the major generals present in Boston. He put General Ward in charge of the army’s right at Roxbury, defending Boston Neck. General Lee took charge of the left, which included the defense of Charlestown Neck against the British on Bunker Hill.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[31:58] General Putnam commanded the center at Cambridge under Washington’s direct supervision. Now, Washington may have expected that the men in his new army would need training and discipline. What really shocked him was the lack of ammunition and supplies. Originally, his aides told him that the army had just over 300 barrels of gunpowder, enough to give each soldier about one full cartridge box and not much more, and that was not even counting the needs of any artillery. That count, however, had been based on old paperwork. It had not taken into account all the powder that had been used over the past month, including the entire Battle of Bunker Hill. When his aides actually did a physical check on inventory, they found only 90 barrels for the entire army. When Washington heard the news, he was apparently struck speechless for some time. him. He realized that he did not have enough to fight even one battle with the British. If the British attacked at this time, his army could not fight back.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[33:06] Washington did not write any letters to Congress about this desperate shortage. He feared that if the enemy learned of this fact, they would march out of Boston and crush his army as they could not even return fire for very long. In fact, the British commander, General Gage, did hear about the powder shortage. After all, he still had his spy network, including Benjamin Church, head of the Committee of Safety. Gage, however, did not believe the intelligence, thinking it was an attempt to draw him out of Boston into battle. Washington made getting more powder a priority, but it would take months to get any significant increase in stock. He had to issue orders banning any firing practice or unauthorized discharges in order to conserve what little powder they had. Also, to counter the lack of bayonets for most of the men, the army ordered the production and deployment of spears to defend against an attack. And even these were slow in coming.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[34:10] Disease also became more of a problem over the summer. Dysentery and smallpox swept through the British and provincial camps, killing or disabling many. At one point, nearly 20% of the Continental Army was unfit for service. Hundreds of them would die that summer without ever seeing battle. In late July, Washington appointed Dr. Benjamin Church as head of the newly formed Hospital Department, a position that would later be referenced as Surgeon General. For the most part, the Army seemed to accept its new commander and complied with his policies. It could all quickly fall apart, though. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, General Ward, Washington’s second-in-command, took offense at Washington’s criticism of the condition of the Army before he took control. Ward knew that that reflected poorly on his own leadership. Lee, third in command, was still upset that Congress had not selected him as commander-in-chief. He seemed to be waiting for Washington to screw up so that he could move into the top slot. Both men, however, bided their time and for the moment enforced Washington’s policies.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[35:27] Washington knew that his command was not certain. If he did nothing for a long period of time, Congress might get bored and put somebody else in charge. As such, Washington was eager to do battle with the British. But the condition of his army and the lack of ammunition made this impossible. So both armies remained well-entrenched in defensive positions, neither side willing to attempt to dislodge the other. On the British side, Bunker Hill seems to have taken the fight out of the British commanders. In July, they received more reinforcements that more than covered their losses from the battle, but Gage in particular seemed unwilling to initiate any new fighting. General Henry Clinton, the second-ranking Major General behind General Howe, who had come over on the Cerberus, had pushed to follow through on the original British plan to take Dorchester Heights. His plan would bypass Boston Neck and launch assault troops for a water landing. Clinton actually got as far as putting the soldiers on landing craft, but General Gage got cold feet and sent a messenger ship to recall the invasion before they could land.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[36:40] Now, there were occasional skirmishes. In the days following Washington’s arrival, there were apparently several minor attacks and counterattacks near Boston Neck. The British troops attacked defenders at Roxbury, possibly in an attempt to capture some stray cattle between the lines. After that, General Ward issued an order calling for any cattle straying beyond American lines to be shot. The Americans attacked and destroyed Brown’s Tavern, a small building on Boston Neck, occupied by the British regulars. The British would launch another raid a few weeks later, attacking Americans who were trying to reinforce and extend their defensive lines. The Americans would use the distraction of this attack to launch a successful attack of their own on the lighthouse on Lighthouse Island. Taking out the lighthouse would make night movements for the British Navy a little more difficult. So that night, the British crew sent a construction crew with 30 marines as guards to go out and repair the lighthouse. They were still working on the construction the following morning when Patriots launched another attack on the island, this time capturing the construction crew and the marines and once again burning down the repaired lighthouse.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[37:57] The arrival of new Continental rifle units from Virginia and Pennsylvania created new excitement. Riflemen like to show off their skills by firing on sentries across the river in Boston. Somehow, the regulars captured one of these riflemen. It’s not clear whether they captured him alive and then hanged him, or simply hanged his dead body after they killed him. Either way, the hanging body appeared in Boston in view of the Continental Lines on August 2nd. Enraged riflemen received permission to fire on regulars in Boston, which they did with great zeal for the rest of the day, killing or wounding an unspecified number. British muskets were too far away to return fire, but artillery could, and one rifleman died from a well-placed cannonball. These are only a few examples of the ongoing small-time skirmishing that kept both armies on alert. A slightly larger skirmish occurred on August 26th when Washington ordered the occupation of Plowed Hill, a small hill across the river to the north of Bunker Hill. Overnight, 1,200 Continentals entrenched their position on the hill, giving them a good position across the river against the British on Bunker Hill.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[39:18] The next morning, British artillery opened fire on the Continental forces from Bunker Hill and from several gunboats, but could do little against the entrenched forces. They did manage to kill or injure a few soldiers who ran out of the bunkers to collect British cannonballs. It seems Continental officers gave soldiers a reward for any balls they collected, And a few soldiers tried to use their feet to stop slow-moving cannonballs that were rolling across the field, only to discover that even a relatively slow-moving 20-pound cannonball can still do serious damage to your foot.

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[39:58] The Americans had one cannon with them, which they did successfully use to sink one small British gunboat. The British prepared to assault Plowed Hill by boat, but decided against it. Continental riflemen were already picking off too many of them. They certainly did not want another costly win like Bunker Hill for land that they probably couldn’t hold even if they took it. In the end, they simply left the Americans in control of the hill. So the summer of 1775 ended with a stalemate over Boston showing no sign of ending.

The Stalemate at Boston

Mike Troy, ARP 67:
[40:35] Next week, we’re going to head back to Philadelphia to see how the Continental Congress is both levying war and still petitioning the king for peace.

Jake:
[40:52] This week’s episode is special because it’s so easy to walk in George Washington’s footsteps and immerse yourself in revolutionary history in an unexpected place. You wouldn’t think of the humble 66 bus as a prime way to tour a Revolutionary War site, but if you board the 66 at the end of the line in Harvard Square, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing. Years ago, I used to live in Mission Hill, so I’d take the 66 to work in Alston to woo co-host Emerita Nikki, who lived in Watertown on the 70 bus, and I gotta tell you, we must have been destined for one another because a 70 bus, 66 bus romance just seems doomed to fail. And I’d take the 66 bus to some of my favorite bars in Harvard Square, most of which don’t exist anymore. When I’d stand at the bus stop on Dawes Island, waiting to go home from Harvard Square, I’d sometimes look down and idly wonder why there were about two dozen bronze horseshoes embedded in the sidewalk under my feet.

Jake:
[41:56] Turns out that the horseshoes are there to mark the point where William Dawes passed by on his way to warn Lexington and Concord that the regulars were coming out on the night of April 18th, 1775, while Paul Revere was busy getting arrested by the British and then subsequently taking all the credit. You can listen to episode 324 for more of that story, but at the time, I didn’t really connect the name Dawes Island with the hoofprints in the sidewalk. Luckily, today there are several interpretive panels about revolutionary history in Cambridge right next to the bus shelter. After you’ve read those, carefully cross the turn lanes where cars turn from Mass Ave onto Garden Street, walk into Cambridge Common, and follow the paved path on your left until you see some old cannons on a circular plaza. Legend has it that on July 4th, 1775, the day after he formally assumed command of the New Continental Army in Cambridge, George Washington assembled the troops and had them parade across Cambridge Common while he watched from the shade of an elm tree that stood on this spot until it fell in 1923.

Jake:
[43:06] To learn more about George Washington taking command at Cambridge, check out this week’s show notes at hubhistory.com slash 330.

Jake:
[43:15] An enormous thank you to Mike Troy of the American Revolution podcast this week. Not only did he allow me to release his episode about Washington taking command of the Continental Army, he also trusted me enough to allow me to edit his episode about the beginning of the Second Continental Congress and use that as my intro. I’ll have links to Spotify and Apple Podcasts for both of his episodes, as well as links to the original companion blog posts that Mike created for the American Revolution podcast Episodes 64 and 67, which contain complete transcripts of the original episodes, historic paintings and other images to illustrate the story, and primary sources that you can use to dig deeper into the story of how a Virginian was chosen to command an army that was still mostly made up of New Englanders. In our own show notes, I’ll have information about where you can see a descendant of the famous Washington Elm on Cambridge Common, as well as more descendants, on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle and on the grounds of the Washington State Capitol in Olympia and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park near the state capitol in Carson City, Nevada, and on the campus of Garrett Memorial Hospital in Oakland, Maryland, a small rural health center where randomly both my wife and my father had surgeries at different times.

Jake:
[44:38] I’ll also link to the minutes of the Second Continental Congress from June 15, 1775, when Washington was selected as Commander-in-Chief, to Washington’s address to Congress the next day, the commission that made him a general on June 19, 1775, and a letter of introduction from Samuel Adams that George Washington brought with him to Cambridge so that the massholes here would know that he was a stand-up guy. I’ll also link to a copy of the first orders that General George Washington issued after arriving here, as well as to newspaper articles covering his arrival here on July 2nd, 1775.

Upcoming Topics and Transitions

Jake:
[45:17] Next week, we’re going to take a break from the Revolutionary Era and our Boston-area 250th anniversaries to talk about a 19th-century event that helped to inspire a Disney musical. But we’ll return to the revolution in episode 332 to talk about the two continental raids on Boston Light, raids that Mike mentioned in his summary of Boston-area skirmishes in the summer of 1775. After that, there are about a dozen more episodes based around the War for Independence between now and Evacuation Day next March. If you’d like to get in touch with us, you can email podcast at hubhistory.com.

Jake:
[45:57] I still maintain profiles for Hub History on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. But lately, when I want to do social media, I mostly post or interact with listeners over on Blue Sky. You can find me there by searching for hubhistory.com. Despite my best efforts, I still haven’t been very active on Mastodon, but you can find my profile as at hubhistory at better.boston. If you’ve unhitched your mule from the social media wagon, just go to hubhistory.com and click on the Contact Us link. While you’re on the site, hit the subscribe link and be sure that you never miss an episode. If you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, please consider writing us a brief review. If you do, drop me a line and I’ll send you a Hub History sticker as a token of appreciation. That’s all for now. Stay safe out there, listeners.