Best of The History Guy: Forgotten Heroes of the American Revolution

[Music] foreign the popularity of the musical Hamilton has brought some attention to some lesser known figures of the American Revolution the uniquely named Hercules Mulligan certainly conjures an image but actually relatively little is known about the actual person behind that image we know that Hercules Mulligan was an early supporter of the Patriot cause that he was a major influence on the thinking of Alexander Hamilton that he was a tailor and a spy whose work saved George Washington from capture by the British twice but relatively little remains of his own writings and what we know of him really comes from the works of others still the role he played in the American Revolution was important a role that deserves to be remembered Hercules was born in Northern Ireland to Hugh and Sarah Mulligan in 1740. the family immigrated to the United States in 1746 where they settled in New York City Hercules attended King's College in New York City and later opened a successful Haberdashery shop specializing in selling men's clothes catering specifically to British officers in 1773 he married Elizabeth Sanders the niece of Admiral Charles Sanders of the British Navy Mulligan seems to have been charismatic and well-liked and he quickly developed a rapport with wealthy clients in October of 1772 Hercules was introduced by his brother Hugh to a young boy from the Caribbean Alexander Hamilton Hercules helped put Hamilton in a grammar school before the boy planned to apply to Princeton when Hamilton ended up attending King's college instead Hercules offered him a room in New York City in 1765 the British had passed the Stamp Act which required the printed materials like legal documents magazines playing cards newspapers and more had to be printed on paper produced in London the Keratin embossed Revenue stamp the Sons of Liberty formed first in Boston to fight the ACT using the motto no taxation without representation Mulligan joined the Lucy organized Society in New York City and helped organize a newspaper that the British quickly banned the Stamp Act provoked a wave of condemnation throughout the colonies from a broad spectrum of society dramatically Fanning anti-crown sentiment it was repealed less than a year after it was passed in 1770 Hercules was involved with another early revolutionary event the Battle of Golden Hill after the Stamp Act was repealed the Sons of Liberty set up a liberty poll tall pole with a vein on top whose origin and symbolism actually goes back to Roman times in a park to celebrate the British chopped it down so the sun's put up another this continued until the Suns put up one that was strengthened with iron bands the British attempted to destroy it several times but failed the son said that cutting this post down can only be done to affront all the Sons of Liberty the perpetenders would do well to consider the consequences people will not timely submit to such a mean low-lived insult on their Liberty the poll stood until January 16th 1770. friction between the soldiers and the locals bubbled over this time because of the Quartering Act forcing the city to provide housing to the soldiers the British managed to split the pole with explosives on the night of the 15th and deposited the chopped mangled pieces at a Tavern the Suns frequented outrage the sons declared that the soldiers out at night shall be treated as enemies to the Peace of the city in response soldiers began posting a bill calling the sons the real enemies to society two of the soldiers were apprehended and brought to the mayor for punishment soldiers from the banks arrived shortly after to retrieve them but a crowd had gathered to prevent them Hercules had helped to Rouse the city the soldiers withdrew closely followed by the crowd unless they might offer violence to any passerby they followed the soldiers to a narrow passage called Golden Hill it was while they were there that another group of soldiers appeared behind them while the second group did not attack the first took heart turned on the unarmed colonists the commander gave the order soldiers draw your bayonets and cut your way through several people were injured in the fighting that lasted two days following The Clash which happened six weeks prior to the more famous Boston Massacre the Suns purchased a plot of land near where the last pole had stood and erected another this one sunk deep and covered with iron bands at most of its body and its top was a guilt vein that bore the inscription Liberty and property Mulligan was deeply involved with the Sons of Liberty at this time even though his specific role in many of these events is still unclear what is clear is that despite the clientele for his shop and his family connections to his wife he was still a committed Patriot while Hamilton lived with Hercules the house was a hotbed of revolutionary discussion and many of Hamilton's ideas about independence were shaped by that discussion Mulligan was a part of the New York Committee of Correspondence that formed in 1774 to respond to the closure of Boston's Port after the Boston Tea Party this committee helped to put together the first Continental Congress and afterward functioned as a quasi government meant to enforce the boycott of British trade by the eve of War these committees were often acting as Shadow governments for their respective colonies only a few months after the War Began Hercules joined Hamilton who was leading the volunteer militia formed at King's College to secure the artillery at the battery fortification which overlooked the Hudson River British soldiers in the HMS Asia lay in wait the night the militia came and opened fire as they were attempting to drag the weapons down the street during the fighting Hamilton gave Hercules his musket which Hercules then abandoned when Hamilton later asked for it back Hercules told him what happened and watched Hamilton Conley go back for it notwithstanding the firing on July 9 1776 after the first reading of the Declaration of Independence to Washington's men Hercules was with the crowd that went to Bowling Green Park and pulled down a statue of George III which they then melted into 42 088 musket balls Hercules helped Hamilton get a commission in the Army which led to his eventual position on Washington's staff the British fought Washington in and around New York during the summer of 1776 eventually forcing Washington to retreat and capturing New York City on September 15th Hercules attempted to leave the city with Washington's withdrawal with his family but was intercepted by William Cunningham the new Provost Marshal in charge of the British police Cunningham and Hercules likely knew each other may have had previous altercations Cunningham who would become notorious for his treatment of prisoners had Hercules arrested but he was eventually released in no small part due to his ability to maintain his good humor and all his connections to British higher-ups in two months he was back at his shop doing business Washington saw early the need for good intelligence against his better armed and prepared Foe and put Benjamin tolomat in charge of managing his spy Network when Washington mentioned to his staff he was looking for a spy in New York Hamilton knew just the man for the job in fact Hamilton had already met with Hercules at least once since the retreat from New York City Hercules became affiliated with the famous Culper ring although he acted primarily as a loan agent with help from his slave and faithful accomplice Tato Hercules worked closely with his friend Roger Townsend who lived nearby went by the code name Samuel Culper Jr while he was never referred to by name Hercules was described as a faithful friend and one of the First characters of the city just becoming a spy was an incredibly Brave act spy Nathan Hale had been hanged by the British without trial just a week after the British took the city Hercules was in an ideal position to spy for the Americans with access to British officers who often had wine with the tailor during their appointments Hercules was also perceptive and good at gleaning important information from benign details he determined in 1777 that General Howe planned to move a significant Force South based on uniform orders a movement that culminated in house assault on Philadelphia in the winter of 1779 he may have saved Washington's life and by extension the whole War when a British officer came by late one night to buy a watch coat when Hercules asked him why he needed it so late the officer said before another day we'll have the rebel General in our hands Hercules immediately sent the information likely via Cato to Alexandra Hamilton Washington had been planning to meet with some of his officers and the British apparently had learned where that meeting was going to occur and because of Hercules Mulligan Washington changed his plans Hercules reported troop movements by keeping track of when certain officers needed to pick up their repaired uniforms the British were concerned when Cato would arrive at their lines looking to pass through with Parcels labeled H Mulligan he was allowed to pass back and forth as needed he made a point to work with heima Solomon a polish-born patriot who is working as a translator between the British and the German Hessians to draw Hessian officers into a shop as well Solomon also passed Hercules information he learned on the job through Cato Hercules also helped Solomon escape from the Provost prison after he was sentenced to death in 1778. the culpr ring was successful as well providing important information on British plans to attack the French army shortly after arrived in Rhode Island it's unknown what part Hercules might have played in gathering that information but in 1781 he certainly did provide another piece of Vital Information Hercules's brother Hugh worked with a shipping company which was asked to load Provisions for 300 Cavalry he was able to learn that the British had discovered that Washington was going to travel along the coast from his Camp to meet with French and general Rochambeau Washington was saved once again the work was not without its dangers the Provost was determined to put an end to the spying and kept a close eye on Hercules shop when he noticed that Cato was frequently gone he intercepted Cato on a return trip and beat him reportedly with much cruelty Mikado refused to give up anything but Hercules luck seemed to have run out when Benedict Arnold deserted the Americans for the British Arnold came to New York City and Mulligan was arrested on suspicion of spying shortly after his arrest greatly Disturbed fellow spy Robert Townsend who said several of our dear friends have been imprisoned in particular one with been ever serviceable to this correspondence during one of his stints in the Provost prisons Hercules saw another prisoner most inhumanely beat by the Provost Marshal despite the suspicion however Hercules was released again several months later unfortunately for Hercules when the war ended in Victory for the Americans he was not immediately recognized as a patriot and he feared that he might face reprisals from New Yorkers who thought he'd been too cozy with the British soldiers Washington LED his army down Broadway on November 25th 1783. he conspicuously ate breakfast with Hercules the next morning making sure to thank him for his work after the war Washington would patronize Hercules shop frequently in 1785 he and Hamilton were two of the founding members of the New York menu Mission Society which advocated for the abolition of slavery especially in New York but it is unknown what happened to Hercules slave Cato though he is now recognized as a black Patriot Hercules prospered in the new America as a tailor had eight children and retired comfortably in 1820. he died five years later it is I suppose fitting that a man who spent many years as a spy remains an enigma very little of the writings of Hercules Mulligan survived although he did pen a short biography of his friend Alexandra Hamilton but Hercules exact actions and the actions of his even more enigmatic friend and slave Cato or sometimes difficult to pin down during the war but it's clear that they played a central role in gathering intelligence in New York City and getting that intelligence out of the city and their contributions are perhaps best seen in the broader tapestry of Revolution and resistance of the time in an era of extreme danger Hercules Mulligan chose the more perilous path as did so many whose lives and contributions deserve to be remembered [Music] shortly before the Declaration of Independence John Lawrence just 22 years old the son of a South Carolina planter was studying law in London but he was keeping track of events back home in the colonies and had become an Ardent supporter of Independence writing to a friend who was a loyalist he said that he preferred democracy saying I hate the name of King young idealistic and brave possibly to a fault Lawrence would be dead just five years later one of the last deaths of the American Revolution a close associate of both Washington and Hamilton John Lawrence is nearly forgotten because he did what so many other more famous Patriots did not he died for the cause depriving the nation of one of its most talented voices it is history that deserves to be remembered John Laurens was born October 28 1754 in Charleston South Carolina to Henry Lawrence and Eleanor ball Henry and Eleanor came from wealthy families Henry had become one of the richest men in America by running a slave trading house he left the slave trade in 1769 but continued to own slaves himself Eleanor died in 1770 after giving birth and her death made John inconsolable her decline delayed Henry's plan to bring the boys to Europe for schooling putty in 1771 John his father and his brothers Harry and James sailed to England his two sisters remained in South Carolina John went to school in Switzerland and was interested in science and medicine but ultimately been to his father's wishes and studied law in London his education in Europe brought him into contact with some of the leading abolitionists in their work he was a friend of Thomas Day who wrote that if there is an object truly ridiculous in nature it is an American Patriot signing resolutions of independency with one hand and with the other banishing a whip over his uprightened slaves John's father privately had misgivings about slavery and hoped to free his own slaves and convince others to do so as well but ultimately never made a public attack on the institution while John was still in Europe he wrote to his father that we have sunk the Africans and their descendants below the standard of humanity and almost rendered them incapable of that blessing which equal Heaven bestowed upon us all John was studying law in London Henry returned to America in 1774. initially Henry was fairly lukewarm to the idea of Independence but came around like many others in the years before 1776. realizing that war was on the horizon Henry sent his daughters to Europe and forbade John from returning without finishing his studies Henry wrote that his estate in our present circumstances stands upon the very brink of annihilation after fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord he hoped his children will remain safe in England John had lost what little interest he had in the law in favor of both Fame and American independence he pressed his father to let him return to the colonies to fight writing let us act with Courage the most laudable part that can be taken in present circumstances we can die but once he said and win more gloriously than in defense of our liberties Henry told John to remain in England and not to be half a soldier and half a lawyer and good for nothing well in England John often visited the home of William Manning a friend of his father he began a relationship with Manning's youngest daughter Martha sometime in 1776 John and Martha unmarried conceived a child when the matter had proceeded too far to be longer concealed John told Mr Manning and they worked quickly married he told his father only after the fact he mentioned this to his father only after it occurred will you forgive me sir for adding a daughter-in-law to your family without first asking your consent and told him a grandchild was already on the way to his uncle he was less charitable pity has obliged me to marry he said and despite his new wife an unborn baby made plans to return to America fortunately for John his father had concluded the same and was finally calling for John to join him he left in December 1776. never again to see wife or child once back he was determined to join the Army seeing that it would be futile to stop him Henry was able to get John a position as a volunteer Aid to camp for General Washington here John met two of his closest friends Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis the Lafayette much as what had been said about John Lawrence regards his sexuality in a possible romantic relationship with Alexander Hamilton in one letter Hamilton wrote I wish my dear Lawrence if it were in my power my actions rather than words to convince you that I love you both spoke fondly of the other in surviving letters and there are parts of the letters that have been destroyed for unknown reasons historians take different sides but most say that while there is no certain evidence a relationship between the two men cannot be discounted although it also May simply have been a very close platonic relationship Lawrence first taste of combat was at the Battle of Brandywine the British routed Washington's Army which was trying to protect Philadelphia from capture Lawrence was injured in the ankle by a musket ball and already displayed what become a pattern of recklessness Lafayette said that it was not Lauren's fault that he was not killed or wounded he did everything necessary to cure one or the other he was wounded again a month later at the Battle of Germantown Washington was attempting to score a major victory before retiring to enter quarters and ordered a complex attack when General house put his army in the attack some of the Americans were held back by a Stone Mansion occupied by the British successes of attacks failed to take it so Lawrence rushed up to the door which he forced partly opened and fighting with his sword with one hand with the other he applied the woodwork of flaming brand and what is very remarkable retired from the tremendous fire of the house he was wounded only slightly in his shoulder made a slaying from the sash of his uniform the battle was an American defeat Lauren stayed with the continental army at Valley Forge where he continually asked his father for clothes and supplies Henry at one point suggested that John used flowered powderwear's hair as hair powder was scarce it was during this time he first formulated his idea of enlisting slaves to fight for the war effort offering them menu mission for service he asked his father then president of the Congress to use 40 slaves that John was meant to inherit to begin the Brigade John thought the idea pursued two of his goals at once abolition and Independence his father was less convinced and though he gave permission believe the idea wouldn't work and that the slaves would rather work the fields than fight in the war disappointed John decided to postpone the idea in June of the following year the Continental Army marched to New Jersey where I met the British at the Battle of Monmouth America now had an alliance with France which convinced the British that needed to fight more defensively they abandoned Philadelphia meant to march across New Jersey and get transported to join the Army in New York Washington shadowed them and waited for an opportunity he sent Charles Lee with a contingent to attack the British rear guard these attack fell apart thanks to poor coordination and Lee was forced to order a retreat but Washington sold the Fairly inclusive battle as a victory which cemented his position as general Lee faced heavy criticism after the battle but Washington left him in his position possibly the issue would have ended there but Lee was offended and wrote a letter to Washington that dirty earwigs were turning Washington against him and complained that Washington was being unjust Washington found the letter highly improper and Lee demanded a court-martial to sort it out Washington obliged during the court martial Lawrence was called to speak Lauren said he did not call Lee's attack in action and there was no action previous to the retreat Lee used the court-martial to criticize Washington and so he was found guilty as the signal of support for the general Lee had already been criticizing Washington in private and Lawrence took some of his comments as slander he challenged lead to a duel and they met on December 23 1778. Lee was wounded slightly on the first shot in the two seconds Lawrence was Alexander Hamilton were able to convince the Duelists not to exchange a second by 1779 the position of the southern colonies had become precarious the British captured Savannah Georgia in 1778 and the Patriots in the South were certain that an attack would soon be made on Charleston South Carolina calls for military aid brought Henry Lawrence no longer president to propose a plan to enlist slaves into the army as they couldn't spare much in the way of reinforcements on March 29 Congress authorized Georgia in South Carolina to raise a regiment of three thousand slaves Congress would pay owners up to a thousand dollars in slaves who served to the end of the war would be freed and give him fifty dollars for their service however the plan could only work if the state legislatures agreed John detached himself from Washington's Camp to convince the South Carolina legislature for John it was a moralistic question and like many of his contemporaries he generally believed that black and white people were not fundamentally different and argue that's we Americans at least in the southern colonies cannot contend with a good grace for Liberty until we have enfranchised our slaves he made it his mission to transform the timid slave into a firm defender of Liberty and render him worthy to enjoy it himself his meetings in South Carolina did not go well however the proposal was received with horror one legislator said we are much disgusted at the plan the governor even offered to surrender Charleston if the British would declare it a neutral City apparently a better option than arming slaves but American reinforcements arrived in time to drive the British off Lawrence proposed arming slaves again and again but was consistently rebuffed he fought at the minor Battle of kuzhachi ever having been sent to retrieve some troops guarding a river crossing against orders he crossed the river to contest the British Crossing and was wounded badly enough to be carried off the field he commanded some militia the franco-american siege of Savannah ultimately another defeat for the colonies in 1780 Lawrence was captured along with others when Charleston surrendered it's one of the worst Colonial defeats of the war John called it the greatest and most humiliating Misfortune Of My Life he was released later that year but requested a leave of absence from Washington's Camp to join the Army in the South Washington granted it his father had left to negotiate a treaty and obtained loans from the Netherlands but was captured before he had reached his post Henry Lawrence was imprisoned at the Tower of London where he met John's wife in December of 1780 Congress appointed John to be a special minister to France he tried to refuse the post recommended Hamilton instead but it eventually acquiesced with Thomas Paine he joined Benjamin Franklin where they were able to gain promises for Naval support from Louis XVI John did not take well to diplomatic work and was impatient to return to combat he was able to secure much needed money for the American cause including 6 million Libras is a gift and alone of another 10 million he did not see his wife for instant child John returned to America in time to rejoin Washington and Hamilton at the siege of Yorktown he joined Hamilton in storming readout number 10 on October 14th only a few days later Cornwallis surrendered and Lawrence was made the American representative for the negotiation of surrender Lawrence also spoke to Cornwallis directly to ask about a possible prisoner exchange for his father on December 31st Henry extremely ill and in need of Medical Care was finally released in exchange for Cornwallis himself though the war in the North was essentially over Lawrence took over General Nathaniel Greene's intelligence Department Hamilton told him to quit your sword my friend put on the toga come to Congress but Lauren's remained he also learned that his wife had died in France after Crossing in an attempt to see him before he had left he tried again to arm slaves this time only ones taken from loyalists but again was refused for southern leaders it wasn't about the material cost but about the threat to slavery that they feared one wrote I Am much deceived indeed if Northern people do not secretly wish for a general emancipation Lawrence was sick but in August 1782 left his post to intercept a foraging party sent by the British from besieged Charleston he convinced the local Commander to give him 50 men and spent the night of August 26th at a friend's Farm he didn't sleep but spent the evening in a delightful company of ladies at 3am he left the farm with his man to reach a defensive position to wait the British but apparently the British had anticipated an attack and a group ambushed the American troops later that morning after the first volley Lawrence refused to retreat and instead charged though reinforcements were close at hand he was shot from his horse and killed he was only 27. green lamented that he had died in a paltry skirmish Alexander Hamilton lamented the loss of his friend writing that John Laurens realized in his heart that patriotism of which others only talk Washington said of him he had not a fault that I ever could discover John Adams informed Henry of his death writing our country has lost its most promising character and Henry wrote of his son he loved his country and bled and died for it Henry Lawrence was part of the group that negotiated the end of the war the Treaty of Paris but then in ill health and his properties ravaged retreated from public life John's daughter now an orphan was raised by his aunt like many of his contemporaries John Lawrence was far from perfect he essentially abandoned his wife and daughter but it is still interesting to think what might have been different had we had his energy and his voice in that important time after the revolution when lofty ideals were translated into Political reality on his headstone as an Epitaph a quote from the Roman poet Horus they'll say at the Quorum EST Pro Patria Mori it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country [Music] it was April 19 1775 and a force of some 700 British light infantry and grenadiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith was in retreat sent to confiscate military supplies stored by the Massachusetts militia near Concord Massachusetts the force had run into an unexpected battle the first engagement to come in the town of Lexington and then another at Old North Bridge in Concord the colonial militia were gathering more quickly and in larger numbers than the British had expected and we're hearing the British forests attacking from Ambush and refusing to engage in a pitch battle hardly a brigade in the command of Brigadier General Hugh Percy was being sent to reinforce Smith both British columns were finding themselves harried by the ever-growing force of militia one such Ambush occurred as grenadiers of the 47th regiment part of Percy's column across a field near the town of monotony a militia man named Samuel Whitmore Rose from behind a stone wall and fired with a musket killing a soldier he then do two dueling pistols killing a second soldier in mortally wounding a third as soldiers converged on him he drew a sword a fancy French Officer sword and swung at them he was shot in the face clubbed over the head with a musket and bayonetted several times it was a brave last stand for Whitmore notable because at the age of 78 he was the oldest known Colonial combatant in the American Revolutionary War there are conflicting stories about Samuel Whitmore some claim that he was born in England and came to the us as a trooper in a unit of dragoons other records have him being born in Massachusetts since 1696. in 1744 he participated as a private and Colonel Jeremiah Moulton's third Massachusetts Regiment where he took part in the siege of the French Fortress of Lewisburg during King George's War one of Civil Wars between the British colonies and the French at 48 he was not a young man but he went to war nonetheless he returned with the sword of a French officer with one Legend being that he only ever said that the previous owner had died suddenly some sources claim that Whitmore volunteered again during the French and Indian War in 1754 and pontiac's War in 1763 with some claiming that he brought back his two French dueling pistols whose previous owner he claimed once again had died suddenly but there seems to be no record to support these claims of further service if he did serve in those conflicts it would have been extraordinary as he would have been 58 and 67 years of age respectively what is recorded is that he was commonly referred to as Captain Sam suggesting some Service as an officer after King George's War but in any case there is record that he became involved in The Patriot cause as early as 1766 when the 70 year old was elected to a committee to represent the county of cambridge's response to the repeal of the Stamp Act to the representative to the Massachusetts General Court the committee sadly denounced the act as it would in its operation have totally ruined the province and greatly hurt Great Britain and further instructed the representative to be always watchful for any further danger which may prove unfriendly to our Liberty thus Whitmore established himself as a supporter of the Patriot cause nearly a decade before the battles of Lexington and Concord and two years later Whitmore now 72 years old was elected by the people of Cambridge to represent them in what was called a committee of towns called to represent the people as the Royal Governor had dissolved the Massachusetts House of Representatives for denouncing the Townsend duties yet another British tax in the colonies accepting the appointment was no small deal as the committee was extra legal a membership could be counted as treason the committee was dominated by moderates and offered petitions to the governor and King that were largely ignored but the convention did however bring Whitmore into contact with more militant Patriots like Samuel Adams two years later Whitmore was again elected by the people of Cambridge this time to the Cambridge Committee of Correspondence a reaction to a similar Boston committee the tone of this committee responding to the T tax was more forceful than previous documents to which Whitmore had attached his name the letter the committee signed concluded the late Act of the British Parliament empowering the East India Company to export tea on their own account and the exposure the same to sale is a recent proof of the determination of the ministry to pursue their diabolical plan to enslave The Americans the response at the time almost certainly served to inspire the Boston Tea Party again Whitmore was risking his life and property to take a stand against what he perceived to be a threat to the people's Liberty it is not surprising that he chose to pick up a musket that April of 1775 in fact he had been risking himself in the same cause for nearly a decade Whitmore was not the only Minutemen on the field the fight with the militia in the town of monotony was particularly deadly for the British that day nearly half of their death in the battles of Lexington and Concord fell there many militiamen had witnessed his Brave Last Stand and it was those same people who elected him to those committees who with a heavy heart came to collect his broken body behind the wall they were stunned a fire that Not only was Samuel Whitmore not dead but that he was attempting to load his musket to take another shot at Those whom he feared we're trying to enslave The Americans his face was a mess a musket ball having torn through his cheek and he had been bayonetted at least six times in 2005 the state legislature proclaimed Sam Whitmore to be the official hero of the state of Massachusetts if you read his biographies they tend to focus on his Brave Last Stand and all those other Wars he purportedly fought in but they tend to give short shrift to his Civic leadership which came at the time that the Patriot cause was coalescing and explaining why the Aged Patriot was so willing to risk his life in 1775 for the cause in which he believed his friends placed him on a stretcher made out of a door carried him to the nearby Cooper Tavern where a doctor was treating the wounded the doctor took one look at him and confirmed what they all already knew these wounds were surely mortal although the doctor did bandage them anyway the insistence of his friends They Carried him to his Farmstead where he could die surrounded by his friends and family which he did 18 years later in 1793 at the age of 96. [Music] well I think most Americans are aware that France provided invaluable support during the American Revolution the role that was played by Spain is not nearly as well remembered it's easy to forget that Spain controlled most of the territory west of the Mississippi River and remained a powerful if-aging player in American Colonization Spain provided vital monetary and logistical support early in the revolution but also contributed to the Patriots cause directly through a military campaign against the British in Florida it is history that deserves to be remembered following their defeat in the seven years war known as the French and Indian War in the United States France and Spain gave out considerable land in the Americas to Great Britain Spain gave up La Florida in exchange for the return of Cuba which had been captured by Britain during the war France seated control of much of New France in the Treaty of Paris including most of its territory east of the Mississippi River with the exception of New Orleans nearly all of French Louisiana has actually been transferred from France to Spain in 1762 although the agreement was Secret at the time by 1776 the Spanish controlled most of the modern U.S west of the Mississippi while Britain controlled the land east of it the end of the Seven Years War left tensions among the European Rivals High when the United States declared independence France and Spain were both interested in supporting the rebellion of Britain's colonies both sent considerable supplies to the Patriots in the Years immediately after the Declaration Spain provided loans and supplies notably through the gabardoki family Trading Company which supplied 215 bronze Cannon thirty thousand muskets thirty thousand bayonets 51 314 musket balls three hundred thousand pounds of powder 12 868 grenades thirty thousand uniforms and four thousand field tents during the war despite concerns of her antagonizing the British by February of 1777 the Spanish ground was instructing Bernardo de Galvez the colonial governor of Louisiana that sells supplies to the Americans on February 6 1778 France officially allied with the United States with the signing of the Treaty of Alliance which massively altered the scope of the war Great Britain was no longer fighting to put down a few Wayward colonies by fighting a global war with a world power bent on regaining territory lost in the Seven Years War the expansion would help to relieve the pressure on the struggling United States Spain concluded a successful war with Portugal with the signing of a treaty in March of 1778 was not yet ready to officially declare support for the American cause the moment is not yet come for us the war with Portugal France being unprepared in our cargo ships from South America not having arrived makes it improper for us to declare immediately wrote a Spanish Diplomat to an American one in Madrid while the Spanish were not yet ready to declare war they were already planning on it and prepared for their entrance on May 8 1779 they officially entered the war on the side of the Americans in support of their Ally France in Europe Spain detect British positions at Gibraltar and Menorca though ultimately they would fail to recapture Gibraltar even after years of Siege Spain would fight throughout the war in the Americas as well in the midwest at the Battle of St Louis in 1780 when they repelled a British attack and in 1781 when a Detachment of troops captured Fort St Joseph in modern-day Michigan most importantly Galvez and soldiers from Spanish Louisiana embarked on a campaign against British positions in Florida along the Gulf Coast which had ultimately provide valuable strategic victories to the American cause the Gulf Coast campaign as it came to be known began in 1779 shortly after Spain's declaration of war two months after the declaration of war the Spanish Crown authorized Colonial subjects to engage the British Governor Galvez got word of the authorization on July 21st and immediately planned offensive operations in the region he'd already been preparing for the possibility for several months and it even intercepted British Communications that revealed a British plan for a surprise assault on New Orleans Galvez was not going to be caught unprepared he kept secret his authorization for offensive actions and prepared to launch a preemptive strike his offensive was delayed by a hurricane which sank most of his Fleet and destroyed Provisions but on August 27th Galvez marched on Baton Rouge with a force of about 520 men most of whom were recent recruits included were 10 American volunteers the number grew as they continued to march upriver on Fort Butte which sat at the Far Western border of British West Florida on Bayou manchac Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Dixon was charged with protecting this area for the British including Baton Rouge he had around 400 regulars a company of grenadiers from the German state of valdac and the number of loyalists militia Fort Butte was built in 1766 and by the time Galvez marched on it it was in disrepair Dixon decided it was indefensible and upon receiving word of the Spanish attack withdrew most of his forces leaving only 20 ball Deckers to Garrison the fort Galvez had kept the purpose of the mission secret even from the men he commanded but on September 6th announced to his man that the Spanish had declared war on Great Britain that they were part of the opening Salvo of Spanish operations in North America the Skirmish on September 7th was brief one German was killed and most of the others were captured only a few escaped to bring word of the fort's Fall to Dixon Galvez arrested at the Fort for several days before continuing his march to attack Baton Rouge which lay only 15 miles from the fort Dixon had conserved most of his forces for the battle and newly constructed fortifications dubbed Fort New Richmond the fort was in earthenredau surrounded by an 18-foot wide nine-foot deep moat and fortified with Dixon's entire command and 13 cannons Galvez cut off Communications between Baton Rouge and the other British sites and then ordered a faint by militia into a wooded area to distract the British forces the British fired at the Spanish militia but killed only a few thanks to the thick Woods Galvez proceeded to use the time that he had gained to build his own Siege trenches and gun pits which were built within Reign to the fort he positioned his artillery and began bombarding the British fort on September 21st after three hours of bombardment Dixon's entire force surrendered the defeat was stunning only a handful of British were killed but hundreds were captured the British militia was disarmed and Dixon surrendered not just Baton Rouge but also fought panmure located at modern Natchez Mississippi which would have presented a difficult obstacle to capture otherwise the commander at panmure was Furious and a local Justice of the Peace wrote that in the mighty battle between Governor Galvez and Colonel Dixon the Spaniards only lost one man and some say not one the English lost 25 and the commanding officer wounded his head on his T table though the engagements were minor the capture of Baton Rouge and the surrender of the British forces there secured the Mississippi for the Spanish essentially depriving the British of any control of the vital River this was a tremendous development as it significantly reduced British freedom of action along the river and prevented them from doing reinforcements or amount of campaigns from the West on the American colonies and Galvez had managed it in less than a month with a hastily put together force essentially without casualty elsewhere American and Spanish forces continued to secure the Mississippi at Lake Pontchartrain an American Force Under Navy Captain William pickles had crewed the captured British ship Rebecca which they renamed the USS Morris in honor of Robert Morris a center of the Declaration of Independence but the Morris was unfortunately sunk in the hurricane that delayed galvez's Expedition so pickles and his crew found another ship a schooner armed with only five small cannons the crew was poorly supplied the ship not properly fortified but pickles sailed to Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans anyway to harass British shipping with 57 crew and flying a British incident they approached the Sloop HMS West Florida on September 10th and captured it in a very violent action another action saw 14 louisianans captured an English cutter with 54 voltech Germans aboard the Louisiana ship waited in silence until the larger British ship had arrived and then opened fire letting out such a shout that the crew of the British ship fled below deck Louisiana crew boarded and locked the hatches successfully capturing the ship Galvez next targeted mobile with Pensacola the last British strongholds in West Florida on January 11 1780 he assembled a force of about 750 at New Orleans delayed by storms he arrived at Mobile Bay in February reinforced by soldiers from Havana and pickles ship now renamed the galbus town the fort that protected the bay was Fort Charlotte recently built in 1716 and by 1779 in disrepair it was Garrison with around 300 men some regulars and other Loyalists and local volunteers the British Garrison hope to be reinforced by troops from Pensacola who did March in an attempt to relieve mobile on March 2nd Galvez began his attack bombarding the fort the fort's walls were breached by Canon on March 13th in the fourth in the town were surrendered it took Galvez some time to complete his campaign though only Pensacola remained as a British Outpost in West Florida he attempted to launch an attack in the fall of 1780 but his fleet was scattered by a hurricane and Pensacola was reinforced a British counter-attack at mobile was repulsed in January of 1781. the following month Galvez finally began his attack on Pensacola the governor had collected troops in Cuba and was supported by French and Spanish Fleet elements including around 750 French soldiers more reinforcements came from New Orleans and mobile and the first forces arrived on March 9th the Spanish fleet commander refused to enter the bay after the first ship grounded attempting to enter forcing Galvez to take control of the Galveston town and several other Louisiana ships and sail into the bay himself ultimately galvez's forces would number nearly 8 000 while the British Garrison numbers were only around 1300 regulars militia and volunteers along with around 500 Native American Allies mostly Choctaw the Spanish prepared for a prolonged Siege on the considerable defenses of the British West Florida capital building extensive Siege works and even a covered road to move supplies and troops the end of April Spanish batteries finally began their bombardment though the Spanish fleet was forced to withdraw thanks to a hurricane that struck the area weak into the siege fighting in flooded trenches Galvez issued a daily ration of Brandy to keep up morale on May 8th a lucky Howitzer shot hit the magazine a fort Crescent the fortification furthest from the city the explosion killed 57 British troops and the Spanish responded immediately with a charge of Infantry the fort was captured which provided the Spanish with a new position for the artillery which overpowered the other British forts realizing his position had been compromised the British commander surrendered two days later over a thousand British troops surrendered and the British were completely ousted from West Florida Galvez was welcomed as a hero when he returned to Havana and King Charles III made him a lieutenant general and governor of both Louisiana and West Florida for entering the bay alone he was authorized to put on his coat of arms the words yo solo meaning only me or I alone galvez's actions would lead to both East and West Florida being returned to the Spanish on conclusion of the peace of Paris and Florida would not become American until 1821. Galvez would also be appointed governor and Captain general of Cuba he was made a count he also became Viceroy of New Spain on the death of his father the previous Viceroy he died at age 40. at the end of a typhus epidemic on November 30th 1786. though partly remember the contribution by the Spanish and especially the campaign by Galvez were incredibly important to the eventual independence of the United States though Spain and France both had their own reasons for entering the war and clearly used the American Revolution to make their own gains separate of American independence their assistance proved pivotal in expanding the war and making it one that the British could not win Spanish supplies of money also helped support the siege of Yorktown the last major land Battle of the war galvez's initiative tied up British resources and captured important strategic ground that the British could have used to imperil the revolution today many locations Bear his name including of course Galveston Texas and Galvez and Saint Bernard parishes in Louisiana there are statues of him in New Orleans mobile and Washington DC and in 2014 Congress posthumously granted him honorary citizenship in the United States an honor that has only been bestowed upon eight people in history including Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa describing him as a hero of the Revolutionary War who risked his life for the freedom of the United States people thank you [Music] foreign if there's just one thing you can count on an American knowing about U.S history in fact many non-americans as well it's that George Washington was the first president of the United States and if there's a second thing it might be that the nation was founded in 1776 but that leaves an odd 13-year gap between when the United States began and when George Washington was elevated to the highest office in the land now of course the nation ran during that time they just ran by different sets of rules largely under a set of rules called The Articles of the Confederation and I might surprise you to find out that as early as 1774 there was already a man in the United States who carried the title president years before George Washington would take the same title the Forgotten first presidents of the United States deserve to be remembered the First Continental Congress met for 51 days in 1774 in Philadelphia the Congress said representatives from 12 colonies Georgia did not participate and ultimately called only for a boycott of British goods and for the Intolerable Acts to be rescinded on the opening day the Congress elected Peyton Randolph a fairly conservative Virginian and speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses president of the Congress he felt ill at the end of the Congress was replaced for his last four days by Henry Middleton of South Carolina the president of the Congress was a very different position than the office of the presidency that we know today the Continental Congress was a legislative body with no executive or judicial power and the office was made deliberately weak so as to not give any man too much power the president of Congress actually had less power and responsibility than the speakers of most of the colonial assemblies the president acts as a neutral moderator of debates took care of congressional correspondence although he could only answer letters if instructed to and signed Congressional documents he had no power to direct the Congressional agenda make committee appointments or meet privately with foreign leaders by the time the Second Continental Congress assembled in May of 1775 it found itself in a very different position from the first the longer were they just arguing with parliament in the crown they were fighting it the battles of Lexington and Concord have been fought just weeks before the Congress was the only National Institution that could direct a war effort Peyton Randolph was again elected president but he left 14 days later to oversee the House of Burgesses and was replaced with John Hancock it was unclear if Randolph had actually resigned his position or only taken a leave of absence which became somewhat awkward when Randolph returned in September Hancock refused to step down but the issue was resolved when Randolph died while diving with Thomas Jefferson on October 22 1775. the Congress quickly established a continental army and put George Washington at its head remained president of the Congress for two years and 158 days the longest tenure of any Congressional president he led the Congress while drafted the Declaration of Independence and an early copy the Dunlap broadside bore only his signature and that of the congress's secretary Hancock requested a leave of absence in October of 1777 which was granted but the Congress quickly elected Henry Lawrence father of Washington Aid John Laurens his replacement Henry Lawrence sent the first copies of the Articles of Confederation as they were sent out for ratification on November 28th it took more than three years for the states to ratify the Articles and during this time the Congress struggled to lead the war effort across the colonies before the article's ratification there was no set term for the presidents of the Congress and they served essentially as long as they liked and Congress allowed them Hancock returned to Congress in 1778 but was disappointed that Lawrence had replaced him and he had hoped to return to the position two more presidents sir before the Articles were finally ratified John Jay an opponent of Lawrence and Samuel Huntington Jay went on to become an important founding figure helping to negotiate the Treaty of Paris serving as the governor of New York and being appointed the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Huntington signed both the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence and served as governor of Connecticut until he died in 1796. Huntington was president when the Articles were ratified and signed by the delegates of the last state Maryland on March 1 1781. the article specified that presidents of the United States in Congress assembled serve not more than one year in any term of three years but the transition from the Second Continental Congress to the Confederation Congress was unbroken so Huntington remained president though he had already served longer than the term he resigned a few months later due to poor health and Congress elected North Carolina Samuel Johnston but Johnston declined to serve and so Congress instead elected Thomas McKeon then a delegate from Delaware McKeon was a long patriot who had the odd distinction of being a delegate from Delaware while he was serving as Chief Justice in Pennsylvania his election was somewhat controversial despite the ceremonial character of the presidency some still thought he was too powerful as both a chief justice and a president he served only long enough to reach the new Congress which convened in November 1781 but was serving when Cornwallis surrendered Yorktown in October marylander John Hanson was elected as the first president to serve the official one-year term took office on November 5th Hanson disliked the job so much so that he considered resigning after only a week citing the irksome qualities of the position but was convinced to remain because only seven states were then represented which would have made selecting a replacement difficult this began a constant issue for the Congress which was so weak under the articles that it often struggled to seat enough members to reach Quorum of the 50 members that made up the body and average of about 35 were usually present and sometimes as few as 22. some Leading Men refused appointments to the Congress in favor of remaining impositions in their own States Hanson played an important role organizing recruiting soldiers for the Patriot cause as well as collecting Powder Supplies and generally helping to finance the army during his time as President Washington presented cornwall's sword to Congress and the Great Seal of the United States was first used when he was elected Washington sent him a letter that said I congratulate your Excellency on your appointment to Phil the most important seat in the United States he was followed by Elias boudinot a New Jersey lawyer who had served as commissary of prisoners under Washington supplying American pows and managing captured British but not signed the preliminary articles of Peace in November 1782 which became the basis for the Treaty of Paris which he saw in the following year who would later served as the third director of the U.S mint Thomas Mifflin his successor served for seven months he had worked as the Army's quartermaster general for several years although he was also involved in a plot to replace Washington with General Horatio Gates Mifflin found it difficult to convince the states to send enough members to ratify the treaty which was finally done on January 14 1784. Mifflin accepted the resignation of General George Washington from the military and also appointed Thomas Jefferson minister of France Mifflin resigned in June and a replacement wasn't elected until the next Congress in November Richard Henry Lee was President beginning in November of 1784 and spent much of his time trying to realize a plan to sell Land from the Northwest Territory modern Ohio Michigan Wisconsin Indiana Illinois and part of Minnesota to pay off the debt brought on by the war though he passed the land ordinance of 1785 Congress lacked the ability to enforce or collect money from land sales so the scheme struggled it did establish the basis for the public land survey system John Hancock was re-elected president of the Congress in 1785 though he is not actually in the Congress and was important of Health that he was unable to perform his duties instead the job was handled by David Ramsey and Nathaniel Gorham who used the titles of chairman Gorham took over as president in June of 86 and served a few months by 1786 the failures of the Articles was becoming glaring to everyone the individual states could not or would not protect National trade emergence were disheartened when the central government could not protect the frontier or the country's borders John Adams is ministered to England struggled to negotiate treaties because the states could not act in concert the Congress printed money was valueless and they could not Levy taxes to support the government Chase rebellion in Massachusetts further underline the absolute inadequacy of the articles in September delegations from five states met in Annapolis and recommended a broader Constitutional Convention for the following year it was in this atmosphere that Arthur Sinclair was elected president of the Congress in February 1787. the earliest the Congress could convene with a quorum still was during Saint Claire's term that the Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance which officially organized the Northwest Territory one of the most important acts of Congress under the Articles Sinclair had been a commander during the war and was later appointed governor of the Northwest Territory he would later lead an American Force to the country's greatest defeat by Native Americans the battle of the Wabash meanwhile the Philadelphia Convention outlined what would become the U.S Constitution by the time the Congress convened again the writing was on the wall it was clear that the Articles of Confederation would not survive in nor would the Congress the Constitutional Convention sent the new constitution to the Congress which chose to send it along to the states for ratification without comment the Congress couldn't muster a quorum to elect a successor to Sinclair until January 2nd 1788 when they elected Cyrus Griffith Cyrus served with the Congress until November when he resigned because only two members arrived for the new session by then the Constitution had been ratified although it didn't take Force until March 4th 1789. in some Modern assessments one or another these men might have been called the real first president of the U.S especially John Hanson who served the First full term under the Articles of Confederation one of the reasons John Hanson is so often cited as the first president is because later descendants pushed for that narrative in 1898 one descendant wrote a biography that argued he was the Forgotten first president and successfully pushed for Hansen's inclusion as one of the two subjects from Maryland in the National Statuary Hall collection though some later historians have said he wasn't a prominent revolutionary figure a journalist Seymour Smith wrote John Hanson our first president in 1932 which continued to push the narrative historian Ralph Levering says books like those who were not by professional historians and they weren't based on Research into primary sources another Richard Morris is that if any president of the Congress should be called America's first president a stronger case could be made for Peyton Randolph of Virginia first president of the first and second continental congress or for John Hancock the president of Congress when the body declared its independence there are other problems with declaring Hanson the first president he wasn't the first president under the article says Samuel Huntington served under them and both Samuel Johnston and Thomas McKeon were elected by the Congress before Hanson began his term the argument for handsome lies randomly with the fact that he was the first president who served the official one-year term the later presidents of the Congress often served irregular terms more importantly the two positions shared little other than title the president in Congress assembled was chosen by his colleagues and was little more than ceremonial Richard Morris argues that the presidents of Congress could with some discretion influence events and formulate the agenda of Congress though it depended largely upon their own prestige the position was not executive in nature it was mostly one of a presiding officer another historian wrote that the presidency under the Constitution is scarcely in any sense the successor of the presidents of the old Congress in all 14 men served as presidents to the Congress between 1774 and 1789 representing nine of the original 13 states and most of them did play important roles in the revolution or after their signatures are all over some of the most important foundational documents to the United States and their frustration with their position represented just how poorly the Articles of Confederation serve the needs of the fledgling Republic each of them was important in their own way in the founding of the United States and we can still see that today because their names are memorialized and the names of countless counties and towns and schools and bridges I happen to live in a county that was named after Arthur Saint Claire but it's not so much about any of them individual each of them could actually probably warrant their own episode of the history guy it's about that forgotten position in which they served that represented that odd period between the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Constitution or maybe more importantly between the Treaty of Paris and the ratification of the Constitution when Americans had to figure out what it was like like what they had to do to actually administer a nation rather than just fight for one It also says something about the nature of what it means to be first and how such things can be manipulated for later interests and while the presidents of the Congress might not have been presidents of the United States in the way that we understand the position today certainly their contribution deserves to be remembered I hope you enjoyed this episode of the history guy short Snippets of Forgotten history between 10 and 15 minutes long and if you did enjoy please go ahead and click that Thumbs Up Button if you have any questions or comments or suggestions for future episodes please write those in the comment section I will be happy to personally respond be sure to follow the history guy on Facebook Instagram Twitter and check out our merchandise on teespring.com and if you'd like more episodes on forgotten history all you need to do is subscribe [Music]

Channel: The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

Views: 110,665

Keywords: history, history guy, the history guy

Id: XT_noLsaEP8

Length: 57min 26sec (3446 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 03 2023