“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