Image courtesy of Colonial National Historical Park, Yorktown.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

ARRT-Richmond Tours the US Army Quartermaster Museum

Woven insignia in the entrance.
Our stalwart group with Laura Baghetti "front and center."

Twelve members of our round table toured the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum at Fort Lee, VA on October 16, 2013. Laura Baghetti led us on an informative and fun tour of their facility and described the museum as a "hidden gem"--is she ever right! Thank you, Laura!

In addition to learning about the mission of the quartermasters throughout history, we were able to view some artifacts not generally available to the public:

Some of the various uniform artifacts.

More artifacts, including Gen. Eisenhower's uniform jacket and a drum used at the funeral of J. F. Kennedy.

"Ice Creepers" drew the interest of all.

We highly recommend a visit . . . and take a friend!   http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/museum_history.html

Historic Marker in Indiana

Member Bernie Fisher alerted us to this historic marker in Indiana for the Oldest Surviving Veteran of the American Revolution.  http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=68780  Bernie is one of the associate editors of the highly recommended Historical Marker Data Base. Stop by on your next trip through the area. Thanks, Bernie!

Opening Ceremonies for the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington

Click this link to see some of the photos and videos from the opening ceremonies. The comments by David McCullough are of particular interest.

http://www.mountvernon.org/library/opening?utm_source=Mount+Vernon&utm_campaign=f93b8a3cd0-October_2013_eNews10_10_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0a9fb91d40-f93b8a3cd0-231202453

New Book by Todd Andrlik

Most of you reading this are familiar with Todd Andrlik, whose wonderful book Reporting the Revolutionary War was published last fall. http://www.amazon.com/Reporting-Revolutionary-War-Before-History/dp/1402269676/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381688229&sr=1-1&keywords=reporting+the+revolutionary+war 

Todd's articles also appeared in David Reuwer's "American Revolution Magazine." He's the editor of the online "Journal of the American Revolution." Many of you know about this and some of us have had articles posted. http://allthingsliberty.com/  Highly recommended.

Todd's latest project is another book, featuring some of his new research, entitled Journal of the American Revolutionhttp://www.amazon.com/Journal-American-Revolution-Todd-Andrlik/dp/0966075188/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381688681&sr=1-1&keywords=journal+of+the+american+revolution.  Publication date is scheduled for November 2013.

Spanning 250 full-color pages, each article is accompanied by high definition images, including some that are appearing in print for the first time ever. The book's content debunks many common myths. The origins of "no taxation without representation," the true start of the Revolution, the real first Declaration of Independence, and the truth about British soldiers are all covered. The famous 1776 recruiting poster that pops up at every Revolutionary War reenactment event and in numerous textbooks will be identified as not-so-1776 for the first time ever.

Plus, there are dozens of groundbreaking story lines that are traced and lingering questions that finally get addressed, such as:
  • Were the Founding Fathers young enough to be called Founding Teenagers or Twenty-somethings?
  • What role did dogs play in the war?
  • How did news about America's independence go viral in 1776?
  • How did Washington's army actually cross the Delaware River?
  • At what moment did Washington become a politician as well as a general?
  • What was it really like to walk the colonial streets of Boston, Philadelphia, or New York?
  • What was the treatment for a scalped head or an arrow wound?
  • Was the most hated Loyalist in America really a Patriot spy?
 
The book will delight casual readers, novice historians and expert scholars equally.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

American Revolution Round Table of the District of Columbia: November 6, 2013

Those who live in, or may be planning to visit, the National Capital Region are cordially invited to attend the next meeting of the American Revolution Round Table of the District of Columbia on Wednesday 6 November 20013. 

The 6 November 2013 program "British Soldiers, American War." will be presented by Don N. Hagist. Much has been written about those who took up arms and served in the cause of American independence during the Revolutionary War. Far less has been devoted to their adversaries. Mr. Hagist will speak on the experience of the common British soldier, taken from their own personal narratives. The information is based on research for his recent book, British Soldiers, American War: Voices of the American Revolution (Westholme, 2013). Don will be happy to sign copies of his book following the presentation.

Don N. Hagist is an avid historical researcher who has spent much of his life studying and researching the history of the American Revolution, with a particular focus on British soldiers. He is the author of three books and numerous feature articles on the subject. Don lives in Providence, Rhode Island. An engineer by profession, he works for a major electronics company

The ARRT of DC meets at the Fort Myer (Arlington, VA) Officers Club on the first Wednesday of September, November, March and May, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. For more information on attending the program, or the ARRT of DC in general, go to our web page at http://xenophongroup.com/patriot/arrt/arrtprgm.htm ; OR, send an e-mail off-list to gfwilliams607@verizon.net; or call: (703) 360-9712; or write: ARRT DC, PO Box 137, Mount Vernon, VA 22121.

Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington

The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington is a new center for cutting-edge and compelling scholarship about George Washington, Colonial America, and the Revolutionary Era. Click this link to learn more about its research resources, facilities, and upcoming events: http://www.mountvernon.org/library

Meeting Notes: September 18, 2013

“The Revolutionary War Leadership of Major General William Heath: A Reassessment,” Sean Heuvel

While most American Revolution historians have chosen to minimize the military contributions of General William Heath, or to ignore him altogether, historian Sean M. Heuvel told the American Revolution Roundtable of Richmond that Heath “deserves to be remembered more than he has.”

“He was on the edge of greatness but something seemed to hold him back,” said Heuvel. “He is known and stereotyped for one incident and that hides his real contribution.”

Indeed, William Heath was a man who was devoted to the American Revolution. When the War broke out at Lexington and Concord, Heath was the first American general to appear on the scene during the last stage of battle, commanding his Massachusetts militia forces. When the War ended, Heath was still serving as an American army general and in fact served as the army’s last general officer of the day.

Heath came from a family that had lived in Roxbury, Massachusetts (near Boston) since 1636. Prior to the War he was mainly a farmer but was also a man with ambition and according to Heuvel, “Heath was very good at marketing himself and schmoozing people.”

One of Heath’s early pastimes was reading books on military history from Henry Knox’s bookstore. He became a book-educated officer in the Massachusetts militia and rose up the ranks until he was named a brigadier general shortly before the start of the Revolution. “They didn’t have ROTC in those days,” joked Heuvel. “Officers had to learn on the run.”

Heath participated in the siege of Boston by helping to train troops now under the overall command of George Washington. He later fought in the New York campaign at Long Island, Harlem Heights and White Plains. However, for most of the War he tended to hold administrative positions in New England and New York, and can generally be called a “political general,” according to Heuvel.

“Even though he didn’t see many battlefields, it wasn’t by his choice,” said Heuvel. “However when he did fight, he was generally seen as being too cautious.”

Seen by some of his troops for being a bit pompous, they nicknamed Heath “The Duke of Roxbury”, in honor or his Roxbury, Massachusetts roots. “He was a spit and polish type of guy,” said Heuvel.

Heath is probably best known in America’s history books for the Fort Independence campaign. In January 1777 Washington ordered Heath to launch a feint against Fort Independence in conjunction with Washington’s campaign in New Jersey against Trenton and Princeton. Heath’s army, consisting mainly of militia, had approximately 6,000 troops and greatly outnumbered the 2,000-troop Hessian garrison which held Fort Independence.

When Heath’s army reached the outskirts of the fort, they easily captured a few Hessian outposts. Heath then proceeded to order the Fort Independence commander to surrender the fort immediately, to which the Hessian commander replied with a large burst of his garrison’s artillery. Heath wasn’t aware that the Hessians had any artillery so the surrender talks promptly ended and a campaign to capture the fort began.

Over the next few days Heath tried to maneuver his army so that it would encircle the fort, however the terrain was difficult and movement slowed by half-frozen creeks. During this time additional British forces arrived to assist the fort, and skirmished with Heath’s army. Finally, with the approach of a major snowstorm Heath ordered a retreat and left Fort Independence in Hessian hands.

After Washington learned the details about the Fort Independence campaign he sent two letters to Heath, a public one which also went to Congress and a private one. In the public letter Washington was diplomatic and expressed his regret over Heath’s inability to capture Fort Independence. In the private letter Washington expressed anger over the way Heath managed the campaign and censured him, saying that Heath retreated too quickly. Heath attempted to defend himself by blaming the failure on poorly trained militia and the pending snowstorm, however Washington apparently wasn’t persuaded because he never gave Heath another field command.

While Heuvel agrees with Washington’s accusations concerning Heath’s timid nature as a field commander, Heuvel thinks most historians have ignored Heath’s major war contributions in four important areas away from the battlefields.

The first of these contributions was Heath’s ability to supply his army. Nearly all historians agree that Heath was a very good administrator, and quite successful in obtaining supplies and recruiting troops throughout the War. In fact at one point in the War when overall army supplies were unusually low and troop morale was sinking toward mutiny, Washington dispatched Heath to take a tour of state capitols in the Northeast and plead with the legislatures for the immediate need for more supplies. Heath undertook the mission and was quite successful with the legislatures.

A second area where Heath contributed to the American war effort was the manner in which he handled the surrendered troops of General John Burgoyne. Heath was in charge of the Convention Army and successfully managed to keep order among the surrendered troops. When the exchanged British officers were marched to Boston in order to board a ship to England, the officers were protected by Heath’s troops from any physical and verbal abuse coming from civilians. In fact Burgoyne was so shocked at how Boston’s civilians remained quiet as Heath’s troops and the British officers marched through the streets, he later told Heath that if the American/British prisoner roles had been reversed and in London, the people of London would have thrown tomatoes at captured American officers. Certainly Burgoyne left North America with a more favorable opinion of his war adversaries.

Heath also applied his diplomatic skills in a third area which contributed to winning the War. Shortly after the arrival of French troops in Newport, Rhode Island the Americans needed a general to serve as their senior liaison with the Comte de Rochambeau, commander of the French army. Even though Heath didn’t speak French, he was quite successful at forging a close friendship with Rochambeau and cementing the alliance between America and France. This contributed to the close working relationship which Rochambeau and Washington later enjoyed during the Yorktown campaign.

A fourth area where Heath served the American cause was via his constant loyalty to Washington. Even after being censured by Washington over the Fort Independence debacle, Heath cheerfully served Washington and followed orders. “Heath worshipped Washington,” said Heuvel. “He was no Charles Lee.” Apparently Washington appreciated Heath’s loyalty when he trusted Heath to take command of the West Point military district shortly after Benedict Arnold’s treason.

After the War Heath returned to his Roxbury farm and served in several public capacities during the first few years of the new American nation. He was a member of the Massachusetts Convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution, and later served in the state senate and as a judge. Although he was a Federalist, Heath tended to drift toward the Democrat-Republican viewpoints. A few years before his death Heath was elected lieutenant governor of Massachusetts but declined the job, citing health concerns.

Heath and Washington remained friends for the rest of their lives. After Heath published his memoirs from a diary he maintained throughout the War he sent a copy to Washington, who cordially replied with a thank you note. Washington kept the Heath book which was later discovered in his Mount Vernon library after his death.

In summarizing Heath’s relationship with Washington, Heuvel joked, “Heath was the kind of friend who can get on your nerves!”

Heuvel is a distant descendant of Heath’s and has relatives who still live in the Boston area. He is a faculty member at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, where he teaches in the Department of Leadership and American Studies. Heuvel is also the author or co-author of four books:
 
Christopher Newport University
Life After J.E.B. Stuart: The Memoirs of His Granddaughter, Marrow Stuart Smith
The College of William & Mary in the Civil War
Remembering Virginia’s Confederates

-Bill Seward