The Perfect Storm:
Weathers Impact on the Patriots during the
American Revolution
History 494: Senior Seminar in History
Kaitlin Walsh
10 May 2015
A man astride a white
horse leads his troops in battle, shouting encouragement…evoking inspiration. He
rides to and fro amidst the fray, among the bullets whistling past, a fearsome
sight to behold. Just when it appears that he may be too close to the enemy to
be saved, the fog rolls in, and he and his horse are enveloped in the white
mist, disappearing from view, and he lives on, to fight another day.[1] Weather can be unpredictable; it can be mild
and placid or it can rage with the ferocity of one thousand suns. Throughout
history it is has been an unwavering backdrop in our lives, taking a backseat to
our more current situations; but weather is much more than a backdrop. It
initiates change, adaptation, ingenuity, and perseverance. Weather has played
an integral part in our military history, acting as the victor and the spoiler.
In the American Revolution alone, a historian could spend a lifetime
researching the effects of weather on each and every battle and confrontation. During
the eighteen years between 1765 and 1783 the Patriots and the Redcoats were
able to experience all of the individual seasons that are present within the
United States from year to year. They endured harsh winters, violent squalls, sweltering
summers, and tropical storms.
Weather largely goes unnoticed in most
historical accounts of the past, being featured as background information or
descriptive ‘fluff’. Jonathan T. Engle mentions in his thesis The Force of Nature: The Impact of Weather
On Armies During the American War of Independence, 1775-1781 that most
histories of the American revolution offer only a limited insight into how
weather influenced battles, strategies, and war time tactics but not as, “a force
that shaped military conduct.”[2] This
practice is common in many of the primary resources of the time. For example, a
soldier present at Dorchester Heights could mention how fog played a part in
cloaking the men during preparations, while another soldier (present at the
same battle) would leave any mention of the weather completely out. This
phenomenon boils down to perspective and what each author deems necessary
information to include and many other factors present at the time of writing
the resource. The American Revolution primary resources that are available
today in compendiums like Rebels and
Redcoats, Redcoats and Rebels, and The Spirit of Seventy-Six, “provide a
window into the past…unfiltered access to the record of artistic, social,
scientific and political thought” for historians looking to understand the
intricacies of daily life during colonial war time and some of our only firsthand
resources for understand how weather shaped our past.[3]
Authors like Harold A.
Winters who wrote Battling the Elements:
Weather and Terrain in the Conduct of War, Laura Lee author of Blame it on the Rain, and Gary D.
Attkins who wrote a thesis entitled “Impact of Weather on Military Operations:
Past, Present, Future,” have all found the value in researching weathers
various impacts on military history but the research into the American
Revolution is far less substantial. There is very little research available on
the subject in any form, but finding a novel solely discussing weathers roles
in the American Revolution is almost impossible. Most authors who focus on the
Revolution, like Joseph J. Ellis who wrote Revolutionary
Summer: The Birth of American Independence, will mention the weather in
passing or write a small excerpt on how “weather played crucial roles,” in why
the British didn’t win the war but expand on the idea no further.[4]
One major contributor is Jonathan T. Engle whose thesis featured evidence that,
“weather affected the operations of both American and British armies in three
areas: strategy…tactics…and administration.”[5]
Engle focuses on the historical aspect of weathers contribution, rather than the
scientific details; he argued that all aspects of the war were touched by
weather in some way;
“Weather affected the
operations of both American and British armies in three areas: strategy,
influencing the planning of campaigns; tactics, affecting the course of
battles; and administration, adding to the daily work of maintaining armies in
the field and keeping them functional”[6]
Engle mentions all four battles specific to this essay in his thesis; he
discusses the stormy weather that allowed time for Washington to fortify his
position at Dorchester Heights, the cold weathers effect on men crossing the
Delaware, its choppy waters, and the
storm that Christmas Day in which the hessians assumed no army would fight
through, the fogs assistance to the Continental Army during the Long Island
escape, and in perhaps one of the most pivotal moments of the American
Revolution: the weathers influence on the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
William R. Baron and
David C. Smith worked together to create a study entitled “Growing Season Parameter
Reconstructions for New England Using Killing Frost Records, 1697-1947,” that
discussed the role in which weather played on agriculture in the early 1770’s.
Through climatic evidence they uncovered that ‘killing frost’ wreaked havoc on
corn crops during the years of 1761-1764 and again in the early 1770’s.[7]
They concluded that this ‘weather phenomenon’ coupled with the growing taxes,
“deserves a place on our list of causes for the coming of the American
Revolution in New England.”[8]
As historians analyze how weather has impacted the American Revolution, whether
they believe it fate, fiction, or scientific fact, it continues becoming a
growing subject of interest for students and historians alike, with much more
research left to be accomplished.
Weather can create obstacles, but more importantly it can create
opportunities. The Fortification of Dorchester Heights (March 1776), the Escape
of Long Island (August 1776), the Battle of Trenton (December 1776), and the
Battle of Yorktown (October 1781) were four battles in which the weather played
an integral part in the victory for the Patriots. Had the “perfect storm” of
meteorological events not occurred at the time they did in these particular
battles, America could very well look completely different today.
Dorchester Heights is
located just southeast of Boston in the state of Massachusetts [Refer to
picture one in Appendix- Colonial Map of Boston and DH from 1776 that shows the
elevation and troop encampments]. On March 2nd 1776 George
Washington devised a plan to place cannons northwest and southwest of Boston in
Cambridge and Roxbury. He chose those locations to create a diversion so that
on March 4th 1776 a division of 2,000 soldiers led by American
Brigadier General John Thomas could fortify Dorchester Heights without
interruption.[9] The
cannons used to provide cover for Thomas and his men were provided by Colonel
Henry Knox who transported them by Ox sled 300 miles in 56 days from Fort
Ticonderoga in which they were captured almost a year prior by Colonel Benedict
Arnold, Ethen Allen and the Green Mountain Boys.[10]
Weathers first service to the Patriots preparing for battle at Dorchester
Heights was the snow that Knox used to transport the cannons all the way to
Boston, “Thursday next trusting that between this & then we shall have a
[inserted: fine] fall of snow which will [inserted: enable us to proceed
further &] make the carriage easy.”[11]
Severe winter weather in the Northern New York area is due to the lake-effect
precipitation from Lake Ontario, where it is not uncommon to have 5 or more
feet of snow a year. The Fort Ticonderoga area, even today, averages 66.7
inches, which is the average over the past 76 years that weather has been
recorded by professional meteorologists.[12]
Had Knox been unable to supply the cannons to Washington and his men at
Dorchester Heights, they would have been ill equipped to adequately fortify
their position and the strategic location of Dorchester Heights could have
fallen into British Hands, securing their hold on Boston.
Weather continued to be
on the patriot’s side as heavy winds carried the sound of cannon fire away from
Boston. Reverend William Gordon of Roxbury Massachusetts wrote in a letter to
Samuel Wilson on April 6, 1776, “the wind lay so as to carry what noise could
not be avoided…into the harbor between the town and the castle, so as not to be
heard… especially as there was a continued cannonade on both sides.”[13]
Gordon recalls the fog that acted as an invisibility cloak to the Patriots, “it
was hazy below so that our people could not be seen.”[14]
As the fog lay thick on the city of Boston, the British were unaware of the
work being accomplished in the clear moonlight air up on the hill of Dorchester
Heights. Patriots continued to move unnoticed by padding their wagon-wheels
with straw.[15] By
the morning of the 5th the small group of 2,000 men had accomplished
a great amount of work. In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams wrote that
after the British had awoken to see the immense fortifications in which the
American army had erected overnight, General Howe said, “My God! These fellows
have done more work in one night than I could make my army do in three months.”
Overnight the Patriots had constructed two forts, several barracks, and
multiple long breastworks (vertical constructions that are usually built up
even to the breast as a means for protection during battle).[16]
Even though the Patriots had made substantial progress in the fortification of
Dorchester Heights, General Howe concluded that if the British army didn’t make
a move quickly, the Patriots would turn Dorchester Heights into an impregnable
position. As General Howe was making plans to take Dorchester Heights, George Washington
was devising a strategy to attack Boston, however, both armies were halted by
an immense snow storm. William Gordon recalls the storm, “how amazingly strong
the wind blew (for it was a storm as scarce any one remembered to have heard).”[17]
In a climatology thesis, written and constructed by Professor R. Ward, Ward
studied the weather patterns of colonial times along with data taken from
primary resources to construct four maps illustrating the snowstorm that took
place from March 4th-6th 1776 in the Eastern United
States [Refer to picture two in Appendix-Map of the storm]. As the poor weather
continued and the Continental army had more time to fortify their position, any
attacks on Dorchester Heights from General Howe and his soldiers became
impossible. General Howe quickly began making provisions to evacuate the city
and on March 18th, 1776 General Howe and his troops sailed away from
Boston. In a letter to the Earl of Dartmouth written on March 21, 1776 General
Howe wrote that, “a wind coming contrary and blowing very hard, the ships were
not able to get to their destination…the attempt become impracticable.”[18]
During the Fortification of Dorchester Heights four instances of weather in
favor of the Patriots can be seen and documented. The four meteorological events,
especially the storm that began on the 5th of March, were crucial in
the patriot’s victory at Dorchester Heights.
After the success at
Dorchester Heights, George Washington predicted that General Howe and the
British Army would try to make a move on New York City. George Washington positioned
nineteen thousand men in and around the Brooklyn area located just southeast of
New York City.[19] On August 22nd General Howe landed
south of New Utrecht on the coast of the Hudson River and prepared his nearly
forty thousand men for battle. The Patriots, who had been preparing themselves
since April were now scrambling to make last minute preparations.[20]
Colonel William Douglas, a soldier positioned in Long Island, wrote a letter to
his wife on August 23rd, 1776, only four days before the fighting
began and said,
“the wind and wether
[weather] has been remarkeable [remarkable] in our favor,” it “has kept back
the enemy…I hope that the same kind Providence that has wonderfully carried us
thus far will shew his power in bringing us off victorious.”[21]
The Patriots watched, waited, and prepared for what would be one of their
most challenging battles to date in their fight for freedom.
Howe executed a three
pronged attack [Refer to figure three in Appendix-Map of Battle of Long Island,
troop encampments, and movement of General Howe’s sneak attack], two regiments
led by James Grant and a Hessian General named Leopold Philip von Heister
attacked Washington’s left line (defended by William Alexander) and front line
(defended by General John Sullivan).[22]
Another large group of soldiers led by Howe, Cornwallis, and Clinton stealthily
took a side road through Bedford known as the Jamaica Pass (just east of
Brooklyn) and attacked Washington’s troops positioned in Brooklyn who also
aided in attacking Washington’s front lines from behind.[23]
The situation looked very bleak for the American soldiers and those that could,
retreated to Brooklyn. As the Americans were trapped inland on all sides, their
only saving grace was that wind and tides present in the New York Bay would not
allow the British warships through so as to trap the Americans and their only means
of escape: the East River.[24]
On the night of the 29th
General Washington called for as many boats as he could muster to evacuate his
soldiers to Manhattan, a heavy fog, wind, and rain helped mask his narrow
escape.”[25] In
a letter to congress Washington explained that, “the weather of late has been
extremely wet, yesterday it rained severely the whole afternoon.”[26]
Captain Enoch Anderson recalls the weather conditions, “Our regiment was the
last that left our lines. We set off at daybreak,-a thick fog arose;-it was the
pillar of a cloud to our enemies and favorable to us.”[27]
Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge made the decision, after being called to retreat
from Brooklyn, to take the opportunity to go back for his horse. He recalls in
his person memoirs that,
“A very dense fog
began to rise, and it seemed to settle in a peculiar manner over both
encampments… When the sun rose we had just received orders to leave the lines…
The fog remained as dense as ever… Finally, the second order arrived for the
regiment to retire, and we very joyfully bid those trenches ... adieu…I
obtained my horse and got off some distance into the river before the enemy
appeared in Brooklyn. As soon as they reached the ferry we were saluted merrily
from their musketry, and finally by their field pieces; but we returned in
safety.”[28]
Historian Edward G. Lengel credits George Washington as being the last
man to leave Long Island.[29]
Wind, tides, rain and especially fog were four crucial factors in the Americans
escape from Long Island. Had General Howe been able to cut off the Americans
escape or had the visibility to disrupt their escape, the revolution could have
been crushed then and there, as General Washington, many of his elite officers,
and a large portion of his army would have been captured or killed.
As winter was briskly
approaching, Howe decided to take the bulk of the British Army back to New York
for the winter. He dispatched a small force in the charge of General Cornwallis
who were tasked with continuing the pursuit of the American army. They chased
Washington all the way to the Delaware River but were unable to cross because,
“everything that floated for miles up and down the river,” had been destroyed
by the Patriots in an attempt to foil the British army’s quest.[30]
General Cornwallis then decided to strategically place the soldiers in his
command all around New Jersey and set up camp for the winter in Brunswick.
Troops were set up all over; in Princeton, Perth, Amboy, Bordentown, and
Pennington…The Hessians were place at Trenton.[31]
Though the Hessian commander Colonel Rhal had strict orders and protocols to
enforce on his soldiers his, “fondness of drink and celebration” coupled with
his assurance the fighting would be on hold until January were his ultimate
demise.[32]
1500 Hessian soldiers
were placed at Trenton, located in the middle bend of New Jersey; southwest of
New York and Northeast of Philadelphia. Washington devised a strategic plan of
attack in which the Hessian forces would be completely surrounded but to reach
the enemy Washington and his army of nearly 2500 men would need to cross the
Delaware River [Refer to picture four in Appendix-Map of the Battle of Trenton
showing the troop encampments and Washington’s strategy to surround the Hessian
Army]. On a warm summers day this many not seem like such a feat but in the
dead of winter amidst snow, wind, rain, and ice, it could have proved fatal. In
Elisha Bostwick’s memoirs he talked about the dangerous expedition across the
river, fighting against snow, ice, and recalled how their torches, “sparkled
and blazed in the storm all night.”[33]
In a letter to his wife, Henry Knox described the obstacles the Patriots
endured in crossing of the Delaware, “the floating ice in the river mad the
labor almost impossible…the night was cold and stormy; it hailed with great
violence.”[34] George
Washington wrote to John Hancock on December 27th 1776 that he had
planned to make it to Trenton by five o’ cloak in the morning but, “the
quantity of ice, made that night, impeded the passage of boats so much, that it
was three o’clock before the artillery could all be got over, and near four
before the troops took up their march again.”[35]
While the weather seemed like it was a hindrance to the Patriots, it was really
their key to victory.
When Washington and his
army finally reached Trenton and the battle began, Knox wrote that, “the storm
continued with great violence, but was in our backs, and consequently in the
faces of our enemy.”[36]
The Americans took Trenton with relative ease losing only a handful of men
while the incredibly inebriated regiment of Hessians were either killed or
captured, the majority being the later. The effectiveness of Washington’s
plans, and ultimately his victory, stemmed from the bad weather. The Hessians
(and British alike) both assumed that with winter fully under way and a
snowstorm above their heads no military operation would take place until the new
year. The snow and ice present in Trenton on December 26th, 1776 was
assumed to act as a deterrent for the American army but in actuality it acted
as a cloaking device that followed the Continental army to their first major
win in the Revolutionary war. This victory resonated within the army,
rejuvenated spirits, and inspired new enlistments. This incredible
transformation within the army is credited as a “turning point in the war,” and
hope for the future of the America.[37]
One of the issues that
plagued soldiers during the summer months, especially in the southern colonial
states, was the intense heat and humidity. At the battle of Monmouth alone the
British lost 59 men to “fatigue” and the Patriots lost 37 to “sunstroke.”[38]
While this heat affected both armies, Jonathan T. Engle describes Cornwallis’
blatant disregard for his soldier’s health in the heat of the summer months in
his expeditions across the Carolina’s and Virginia in his thesis. Engle goes on
to mention that Cornwallis was told multiple times by General Clinton (his
superior officer) to find a cooler place to wait out the summer instead of
tiring his men winning only, “trivial victories,” in the south.[39]
Clinton wrote that the summer was a time when all military operations should
cease as it was a period of, “deadly epidemics,” and a time, “when the rays of
the sun are more fatal than even a superior and victorious foe.”[40]
By the time his men had settled in Yorktown they were already exhausted and the
summer months were not yet gone.
The battle of Yorktown
took place on October 19th, 1781 and is credited as one of major
decisive victories of the Patriots which led to the end of the American
Revolution.[41] Washington
waited patiently for a chance to strike a tremendous blow to the British. His
first thought was to ally with the French and strike New York but fighting the
British at their strongest Fortification made both Washington and the French
commander Rochambeau nervous. When General Cornwallis decided to entrench his
men at Yorktown, it seemed like the perfect opportunity with a much higher rate
of success. Washington wrote in his general orders of September 30th,
1781 that, “the present moment offers in prospect the epoch which will decide
American Independence and the Glory and superiority of the Allies,” and his
choice to attack Yorktown at the time turned out to be one of the most
influential decisions of the American Revolution.[42] Cornwallis was expecting reinforcements,
which is one of the main reasons he chose not to evacuate his position earlier;
instead, Cornwallis and his soldiers created heavy fortifications to wait out
the oncoming storm.
In late-September George
Washington led 8,800 soldiers, along with 7,800 French allies commanded by
Comte de Rochambeau, in a multi-pronged attack to trap General Cornwallis and
his army of 8,000 soldiers in Yorktown by land and water [refer to picture five
in the appendix-Map of the Battle of Yorktown that shows troop encampments and
Washington’s troop movements].[43]
The French took their position on the left side of Yorktown just southwest of
the British encampments and were also present in the York River with Cornwallis’
two main vessels the H.M.S. Guadeloupe and the H.M.S. Charon. The Continental
army surrounded Cornwallis on the right side just southeast of Yorktown. Cornwallis
had also set up a small camp straight across the river from Yorktown at
Gloucester Point but Washington sent both French and American soldiers to
surround them as well. Historian Russell S. Perkins wrote that Cornwallis’s
position, “was made so indefensible,” by the clout of the Franco-American
forces, surrender was inevitable.[44]
Fighting dragged on from
mid-September to mid-October and in some of the last days of the battle, the
fighting became intense. In a journal written by Dr. James Thacher, a medic for
the Patriots, Thacher said at one point during combat Washington’s aid asked
him to back away from the front lines for fear of him being “too much exposed”
in which Washington replied, “Colonel Cobb, if you afraid, you have liberty to
step back.”[45] With
Washington’s French and American forces slowly closing in on Cornwallis’ men he
made a last ditch effort to escape, Cornwallis called for any and all available
ships to transport his men down the York River and into New York. General
Cornwallis wrote a letter to Henry Clinton on October 20th 1781 in
which he described his secret escape attempt that took place only four days
prior, but mentions that, “at the critical moment, the weather from being
moderate and calm, changed to a most violent storm of wind and rain, and drove
all the boats, some of which had troops on board, down the river.”[46]
Captain Johann von Ewald, who commanded a Hessian regiment alongside the
British recalled the weather on the night of the 16th,
“I will not forget
this past night in all my life.… It was dark as a sack, and one could neither
see nor hear anything because of the awful downpour and heavy gale. Moreover,
there was a most severe thunderstorm, but the violent flashes of lightning
benefited us, since we could at least see around us for an instant.”[47]
After a devastating blow dealt by the weather, Cornwallis was forced to
analyze all of his remaining options.
It was on October 19th
1781 that Cornwallis officially surrendered at Yorktown, however he claimed he
was too ill to attend the ceremony, so Brigadier General Charles O’ Hara attended
the surrender in his place[48]
Later Cornwallis wrote in a letter,
“A diversion by the
French ships of war that lay at the mouth of York River… Our numbers…diminished
by the enemy's fire…sickness…exhausted by the fatigue of constant watching and
unremitting duty. Under all these circumstances, I thought it would have been…inhuman
to the last degree to sacrifice the lives of this small body of gallant
soldiers, who had ever behaved with so much fidelity and courage, by exposing
them to an assault, which from the numbers and precautions of the enemy could
not fail to succeed. I therefore proposed to capitulate.”[49]
Once again weather played a crucial role in the victory for Yorktown. Had
Cornwallis been able to escape, the Revolution could have dragged on for many
more years.
Weather worked in favor
of the Patriots at The Fortification of Dorchester Heights (March 1776), the
Escape of Long Island (August 1776), the Battle of Trenton (December 1776), and
the Battle of Yorktown (October 1781) and were instrumental in their victories.
In each of these battles weather conditions played their roles in supporting
the Patriots. The cannons at Dorchester Heights were brought from Knox all the
way from Ticonderoga using snow. Victor Brooks Author of The Boston Campaign: April 1775-March 1776 regarded Knox’s
transportation accomplishment as, “one of the most stupendous feats of
logistics" of the entire war.”[50]
The wind and fog made it possible for the patriots to fortify Dorchester in
secrecy and the large storm on the night of the 4th halted an
oncoming attack from the British and allowed the Patriots to continue their
fortification efforts at Dorchester Heights. George Washington described the
events in a letter to Joseph Reed on March 7, 1776 as an, “act of providence.”[51]
Wind and tides played a crucial part in stopping the British from trapping the
Americans at Long Island and rain and fog allowed the Patriots to escape. During
the winter of 1776 British assumed the harsh weather would deter any attempts
to fight, but Washington used the weather to his advantage, orchestrating a
successful attack on Trenton. Finally,
at the battle of Yorktown British soldiers unaccustomed to fighting in the
summer months had become exhausted by the time they reached Yorktown, Virginia
and when a violent storm interrupted Cornwallis’ escape attempt on the 16th
of October 1781 the Patriots were finally the ones standing with two feet on
the ground.
Each of these battles
played an important role in the American Revolution. The Battle of Dorchester
Heights showed the British Army early on that the Patriots were a capable and
competent force that was not to be underestimated. Thomas McGrath said that the
victory at Dorchester Heights was the, “birthplace of this country,” and that
if the British were able to push back the Patriots and occupy Dorchester
Heights themselves we would not have won Boston and in turn, we wouldn’t have
the Fourth of July; we wouldn’t be free.”[52]
The Escape from Long Island allowed the Patriots time to regroup and continue
fighting for their freedom from the British. At the Battle of Trenton the
Patriots won an enormous victory at the time when their morale was at its
lowest. That victory sparked revolution back into the hearts of the people in
America and gave them to strength to carry on fighting. Finally, at the Battle
of Yorktown, the Patriots all but ended the Revolutionary War fighting within
the Americas. In the memoirs of Sir Nathaniel Wraxall he recalls a meeting with
the Prime Minster at the time, Lord Fredrick North, who when received news of
the British defeat at Yorktown exclaimed, “O God! It is all over!”[53]
After their victory, George Washington and his army journeyed to New York where
they were stationed until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783.
One conclusion that can
be drawn from the patriot’s good fortune is the fact that they were more
acclimated to the weather than the British army who were accustomed to a much
milder climate than that of the colonial United States.[54]
At the Battle of Monmouth Lieutenant Nathan wrote that the heat was “scarcely
to be conceived in Europe.”[55]
This is especially true for the fighting that occurred in the south during the
summer months. The climate in the southern-to-middle-east coast states is
different than the climate in England in the summer time, and the sweltering
humidity took a serous toll on the troops, British and American alike. However, it was the British soldiers who argued
that style, nobility, and appearance were more important than comfort,
practicality, and adaptability, no matter what the weather was like. They especially suffered with their
sixty-pound packs, “heavy woolen greatcoats,” and several layers underneath
that were described as, “hot, heavy and immensely constricting.”[56]
In Kyle Madison’s thesis entitled The
Battle of Monmouth: How the Continental Army Used the Environmental Conditions
to Gain Victory On June 28, 1778 he discusses how the British uniform was
worn almost to their detriment in the colonies. They wore brimless hats that
provided no protection from the sun or other weather conditions and heavy
“buffalo-hide shoulder and waist belts.”[57]
During the Battle of Monmouth, Washington ordered his soldiers to carry only
the necessities in their packs and two days rations. The soldiers also
“stripped off excess clothing, with some soldiers stripped to just their pants,
in order to combat the intense heat”[58]
The British’s adamant ideals about appearance over their soldier’s efficiency
and effectiveness could have been a determining factor in some of their warmer
weather conduct.
The Patriots were also
been better at predicting how the weather would change and adapting to it considering
the British had colonized the United States almost one hundred and fifty years
prior and they had already adapted to living through all of the seasons year
after year. Madison writes in his thesis that it was the Continental soldier’s
ability to “fight offensively in
the intense heat and incorporate the terrain into their battle strategy”
that led them to several small victories at the Battle of Monmouth.[59]
Meteorology and climatology really didn’t exist at the time beyond the means of
what a thermometer or barometer would tell you. Jonathan Engle wrote that,
“they had no satellites, no weather balloons, no radar to detect what was happening
higher in the atmosphere… almanacs may have purported to offer meteorological insights.”[60]
One of the main advocates of weather research at the time was Thomas Jefferson
who kept a detailed journal of the temperature and day to day weather
conditions from July 1776 to 1818 [Refer to picture six in appendix- Thomas
Jefferson Weather Journal Excerpt Nov 1776-Feb 1777 (Note the Snowfall on Dec.
25th)].
One other possibility is
that the Patriots made better use of the foggy weather because of their smaller
numbers. They were able to use the fog as a cloaking device that worked more
efficiently with smaller regiments. At the battle of Dorchester Heights the
Continental Army was half the size of the British Army; had they had as many men
as General Howe, half of the Continental Army could have been captured
including General Washington ending the revolution.[61]
This thesis focuses on four instances in which the weather helped the Patriots,
however it goes without saying that weather is not always on your side. There
were times that the weather helped the British, or hindered both sides at the
same time. Engle summed up his thesis by stating that, “Weather represents a
striking commonality between the opposing sides… American and British generals…feared
the same effects of heat and winter on their men, and had their gunpowder
equally ruined by inconvenient squalls.”[62]
There were countless instances in which both armies were fighting not only each
other, but the wind, rain, snow, heat, and all of the other relentless
elements.
Whether they believe it
fate, fiction, or scientific fact, weather, along with the incredible
ingenuity, bravery, and perseverance of the Patriot army ultimately led them to
victory at Dorchester Heights, escaping certain capture at Long Island, victory
at the Battle of Trenton, dominion over Yorktown, and ultimately the American
Revolution. George Washington wrote that at the battle of Trenton, even in the
face of abominable weather that, “their behavior upon this occasion, reflects
the highest honor upon them…the difficult of passing the river….the snow and
hail…did not in the least abate their ardour [ardor].”[63]
It is impossible to know which side weather favored the most throughout the
entire American Revolution but had the “perfect storm” of meteorological events
not occurred at the time they did in these particular battles, America could
very well look completely different today.
Appendix:
Dorchester Heights, Ma.
1. Hyde, Thomas. “Boston, Its Environs and Harbour, with
the Rebels Works Raised Against That Town in 1775.” Library of Congress.
Accessed April 27, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/item/gm71000623/.
Dorchester Heights Storm
2. Ward, R. “Weather Influences Preceding the Evacuation
of Boston Mass.” Monthly Weather Review: United States Department of
Agriculture 36, no. 1 (January 1908): 128-29.
The Battle of Long Island
3. British Battles. “The Battle of Long Island 1776.”
Accessed April 23, 2015. http://www.britishbattles.com/long-island.htm.
The Battle of Trenton
4. Library of Congress. “Sketch of the Engagement at
Trenton.” Accessed April 25, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/resource/g3814t.ar126700/.
The Battle of Yorktown
5. Perkins, Russell S. “Yorktown Campaign.” MOUNT
VERNON. Accessed April 26, 2015.
http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/yorktown-campaign/.
Thomas Jefferson Weather Journal Excerpt Nov 1776-Feb
1777
6. Jefferson, Thomas. “The Thomas Jefferson Papers Series 7.
Miscellaneous Bound Volumes.” The Library of Congress. Accessed April 30, 2015.
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Primary Resources:
Adams, Charles Francis. Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife Abigail Adams During the Revolution with a Memoir of Mrs. Adams. New York, Cambridge: Hurd and Houghton, The Riverside Press, 1876.
Anderson, Enoch. Personal Recollections of Captain Enoch Anderson an Officer of the Delaware Regiments in the Revolutionary War. with Notes by Henry Hobart Bellas. Williamston: The Historical Society of Delaware, 1896.
Bostwick, Elisha. Letter, “For God’s Sake, Keep By Your Officers!.” In The Spirit of 'seventy- Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 511, Edited by Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Clinton, Henry. The American Rebellion: Sir Henry Clinton’s Narrative of His Campaigns,
1775-1782, with an Appendix of Original Documents. Edited by William B. Willcox.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954.
Cornwallis, Charles. Letter, “I Have The Mortification To Inform Your Excellency” In The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 511, Edited by Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris. New York: Harper & Row, 1236-1238.
Douglas, William. Letter, “Let Them Come On As Soon As They Dare.” In The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 431, Edited by Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Ewald, Johann. Diary of the American War, A Hessian Journal. Translated and edited by Joseph P. Tustin. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1979.
Gordon, William. Letter, “Washington Seizes the Heights of Dorchester.” In The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 177-179, Edited by Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Howe, William. Letter, “General How Justifies His Decision to Evacuate Boston.” In The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 179-181, Edited by Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Hyde, Thomas. “Boston, Its Environs and Harbour, with the Rebels Works Raised Against That Town in 1775.” Library of Congress. Accessed April 27, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/item/gm71000623/.
Jefferson, Thomas. “The Thomas Jefferson Papers Series 7. Miscellaneous Bound Volumes.” The Library of Congress. Accessed April 30, 2015. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi- bin/ampage?collId=mtj7&fileName=mtj7page059.db&recNum=56.
Knox, Henry. Letter, “Providence Seemed to Have Smiled Upon This Enterprise!.” In The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 515, Edited by Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Knox, Henry. “Letter from Henry Knox to George Washington On: Dragging Cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, 1775.” THE GILDER LEHRMAN INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Accessed April 22, 2015. http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/war-for-independence/resources/dragging- cannon-from-fort-ticonderoga-boston-1775.
Library of Congress. “Sketch of the Engagement at Trenton.” Accessed April 25, 2015.http://www.loc.gov/resource/g3814t.ar126700/.
Siskin, Ed, and Jean Siskin. “A Wonderful Revolutionary War Letter.” The Journal of the NEW JERSEY POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY 40, no. 1 (Feburary, 2012): 5-6.
Tallmadge, Benjamin. Memoir of Col. Benjamin Tallmadge. New York: Thomas Holman Book and Jon Printer, Corner of Center And White Streets, 1858.
Thacher, Dr. James. Letter, “An Army Surgeon Describes The Great Cannonade” In The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 1232- 1234, Edited by Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Washington, George. “General Orders, 30 September 1781.” National Archives. Accessed April 29, 2015. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-07054.
Washington, George. Letter, ““To JOSEPH REED Cambridge, March 7, 1776”. In The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799, Ed. John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 4.” George Washington Resources, University of Virginia. Accessed March 30, 2015. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/washington/fitzpatrick/.
Washington, George. Letter, “To THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS Long Island, August 29, half past four, A.M., 1776.” In “The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799, Ed. John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol 4.” George Washington Resources, University of Virginia. Accessed March 30, 2015. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/washington/fitzpatrick/.
Washington, George. Writings. New York: Library of America, 1997.
Wraxall, Sir Nathaniel. Letter, “Oh God! It Is All Over” In The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 1244-1245, Edited by Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Secondary Resources:
Baron, William R., and David C. Smith. “Growing Season Parameter Reconstructions for New England Using Killing Frost Records, 1697-1947.” The University of Maine- DigitalCommons@UMaine. November, 1996. Accessed April 20, 2015. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=aes _bulletin.
British Battles. “The Battle of Long Island 1776.” Accessed April 23, 2015. http://www.britishbattles.com/long-island.htm.
Brooks, Victor. The Boston Campaign: April 1775-March 1776. Conshohocken, PA: Da Capo Press, 1999.
Commager, Henry Steele, and Richard B. Morris. The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Dameron, Theodore P. Savas & J. David. A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution. New York, NY: Savas Beatie, 2010.
Ellis, Joseph J. Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.
Engle, Jonathan T. “The Force of Nature: The Impact of Weather On Armies During the American War of Independence, 1775-1781.” Master's thesis, Florida State University, 2011.
Gaitan, Catalina “Evacuation Day Remembered at Dorchester Heights Ceremony.” The Boston Globe. March 17, 2014. Accessed May 9, 2015. http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/03/17/evacuation-day-remembered-dorchester- heights-ceremony/PzoAaQiyf3dwFY1IZ38RVN/story.html.
Heathcote, Charles William. “General Henry Knox.” USHistory.org. Accessed April 22, 2015. http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/knox.html.
History Channel. “American Forces Occupy Dorchester Heights.” Accessed April 22, 2015. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-forces-occupy-dorchester-heights.
Lee, Laura. Blame It On the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2006.
Lengel, Edward G. General George Washington: a Military Life. New York: Random House, 2005.
Library of Congress. “Why Use Primary Sources?” Accessed May 9, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/whyuse.html.
Madison, Kyle. “The Battle of Monmouth: How the Continental Army Used the Environmental Conditions to Gain Victory On June 28, 1778.” Master's thesis, Rutgers University, 2011.
Martin, David G. The Philadelphia Campaign: June 1777-July 1778. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2003.
NWS Grand Junction. “Science Briefing: Weather Impacts During American Revolution” (video). May 14, 2013. Accessed April 22, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5HDPUsfGks.
Perkins, Russell S. “Yorktown Campaign.” MOUNT VERNON. Accessed April 26, 2015. http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/yorktown- campaign/.
Rimkunas, Barbara. “Moving Day in Winter.” SeaCoastOnline. January 8, 2010. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20100108/NEWS/1080339?template=printart.
Scheer, [edited by] George F., and Hugh F. Rankin. Rebels and Redcoats: the American Revolution through the Eyes of Those Who Fought and Lived It. New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1987.
Schenawolf, Harry. “Uniform of the British Army Soldier During the American Revolution.” Shade of Liberty. May 23, 2013. Accessed May 9, 2015. http://www.harryschenawolf.com/uniform-of-the-british-army-soldier-during-the- american-revolution/.
Stockwell, Mary. “Battle of Long Island.” Mount Vernon. Accessed April 25, 2015. http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/battle-of- long-island/.
Ward, R. “Weather Influences Preceding the Evacuation of Boston Mass.” Monthly Weather Review: United States Department of Agriculture 36, no. 1 (January 1908): 128-29.
Washington, George. “The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799, Ed. John C. Fitzpatrick, 39 Vols.” George Washington Resources, University of Virginia. Accessed March 30, 2015. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/washington/fitzpatrick/.
Weather Base. “United States of America Ticonderoga, New York.” Accessed April 28, 2015.http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=305803&cityname=Ticonderoga%2C+New+York%2C+United+States +of+America&units=.
[1] [edited by] George F.
Scheer and Hugh F. Rankin, Rebels and Redcoats: the American Revolution through
the Eyes of Those Who Fought and Lived It (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1987),
1.
[2] Jonathan
T. Engle, “The Force of Nature: The Impact of Weather On Armies During the
American War of Independence, 1775-1781” (master's thesis, Florida State
University, 2011), 3.
[3] “Why Use Primary
Sources?,” Library of Congress, accessed May 9, 2015, http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/whyuse.html.
[4] Joseph J. Ellis,
Revolutionary Summer: the Birth of American Independence, Reprint ed. (New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013), xi.
[5] Jonathan T. Engle, “The
Force of Nature: The Impact of Weather On Armies During the American War of
Independence, 1775-1781” (master's thesis, Florida State University, 2011), vi.
[6] Jonathan
T. Engle, “The Force of Nature: The Impact of Weather On Armies During the
American War of Independence, 1775-1781” (master's thesis, Florida State
University, 2011), Vi.
[7] William R. Baron and David
C. Smith, “Growing Season Parameter Reconstructions for New England Using
Killing Frost Records, 1697-1947,” The University of
Maine-DigitalCommons@UMaine, November, 1996, accessed April 20, 2015,
[8] Ibid.
[9] “American Forces Occupy
Dorchester Heights,” History Channel, accessed April 22, 2015, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-forces-occupy-dorchester-heights.
[10] Barbara Rimkunas “Moving
Day in Winter,” SeaCoastOnline, January 8, 2010, accessed May 5, 2015, http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20100108/NEWS/1080339?template=printart.
[11] Henry Knox, “Letter from
Henry Knox to George Washington On: Dragging Cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to
Boston, 1775,” THE GILDER LEHRMAN INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN HISTORY, accessed April
22, 2015, http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/war-for-independence/resources/dragging-cannon-from-fort-ticonderoga-boston-1775.
[12] “United States of America
Ticonderoga, New York,” Weather Base, accessed April 28, 2015, http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=305803&cityname=Ticonderoga%2C+New+York%2C+United+States+of+America&units=.
[13] NWS Grand Junction,
“Science Briefing: Weather Impacts During American Revolution” (video), May 14,
2013, 12:07, accessed April 22, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5HDPUsfGks;
William Gordon, “Washington Seizes the Heights of Dorchester,” in The Spirit of
'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants.
Edited by Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris (New York: Harper &
Row, 1967), 178.
[14] William Gordon, “Washington
Seizes the Heights of Dorchester,” 178.
[15] “American Forces Occupy
Dorchester Heights,” History Channel, accessed April 22, 2015, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-forces-occupy-dorchester-heights.
[16] Charles Francis Adams,
Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife Abigail Adams During the Revolution
with a Memoir of Mrs. Adams (New York, Cambridge: Hurd and Houghton, The
Riverside Press, 1876), 142.
[17] William Gordon,
“Washington Seizes the Heights of Dorchester,” 179.
[18] William Howe, “General
How Justifies His Decision to Evacuate Boston,” in The Spirit of 'seventy-Six:
the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 180-181.
[19] Theodore P. Savas &
J. David Dameron, A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution (New York,
NY: Savas Beatie, 2010), 54.
[20] Mary Stockwell, “Battle
of Long Island,” Mount Vernon, accessed April 25, 2015, http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/battle-of-long-island/.
[21] William Douglas, “Let
Them Come On As Soon As They Dare,” in
The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by
Participants, 431.
[22] Theodore P. Savas &
J. David Dameron, A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution (New York,
NY: Savas Beatie, 2010), 54-57.
[23] Theodore P. Savas &
J. David Dameron, A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution (New York,
NY: Savas Beatie, 2010), 58.
[24] Laura Lee, Blame It On
the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History (New York: William Morrow
Paperbacks, 2006), 119.
[25] Theodore P. Savas &
J. David Dameron, A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution (New York,
NY: Savas Beatie, 2010), 60.
[26] George Washington,
Letter, “To THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS Long Island, August 29, half past four,
A.M., 1776,” Vol. 5, http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/washington/fitzpatrick/.
[27] Enoch Anderson, Personal
Recollections of Captain Enoch Anderson an Officer of the Delaware Regiments in
the Revolutionary War. with Notes by Henry Hobart Bellas. (Williamston: The
Historical Society of Delaware, 1896), 22.
[28] Benjamin Tallmadge,
Memoir of Col. Benjamin Tallmadge, (New York: Thomas Holman Book and Jon
Printer, Corner of Center And White Streets, 1858), 11.
[29] Edward G. Lengel, General
George Washington: a Military Life (New York: Random House, 2005), 148.
[30] Theodore P. Savas &
J. David Dameron, A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution, 60.
[31] Ibid., 82.
[32] Ibid., 82.
[33] Elisha Bostwick, “For God’s
Sake, Keep By Your Officers!” in The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of the
American Revolution as Told by Participants, 511.
[34] Henry Knox, “Providence
Seemed to Have Smiled Upon This Enterprise!” in The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the
Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 513.
[35] George Washington,
Writings (New York: Library of America, 1997), 262.
[36] Ibid.
[37] Theodore P. Savas &
J. David Dameron, A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution (New York,
NY: Savas Beatie, 2010), 87.
[38] David G. Martin, The
Philadelphia Campaign: June 1777-July 1778 (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press,
2003), 232-233.
[39] Jonathan T. Engle, “The
Force of Nature: The Impact of Weather On Armies During the American War of
Independence, 1775-1781”, 67.
[40] Henry Clinton, The
American Rebellion: Sir Henry Clinton’s Narrative of
His Campaigns, 1775-1782, with an Appendix of Original
Documents, edited by William B. Willcox (New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1954), 290-291.
[41] Theodore P. Savas &
J. David Dameron, A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution (New York,
NY: Savas Beatie, 2010), 336.
[42] George Washington,
“General Orders, 30 September 1781,” National Archives, accessed April 29,
2015, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-07054.
[43] Theodore P. Savas &
J. David Dameron, A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution (New York,
NY: Savas Beatie, 2010), 335.
[44] Russell S. Perkins,
“Yorktown Campaign,” MOUNT VERNON, accessed May 9, 2015, http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/yorktown-campaign/.
[45] Dr. James Thacher, “An
Army Surgeon Describes The Great Cannonade” in The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the
Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 1233.
[46] Charles Cornwallis, “I
Have The Mortification To Inform Your Excellency” in The Spirit of
'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants,
1238.
[47] Johann Ewald, Diary of
the American War, A Hessian Journal, translated and edited by Joseph P. Tustin
(New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1979), 337.
[48] Theodore P. Savas &
J. David Dameron, A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution, 336.
[49] Charles Cornwallis, “I
Have The Mortification To Inform Your Excellency” in The Spirit of
'seventy-Six: the Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants,
1238.
[50] Victor Brooks, The Boston
Campaign: April 1775-March 1776 (Conshohocken, PA: Da Capo Press, 1999), 210.
[51] George Washington, Letter, “To JOSEPH REED Cambridge, March
7, 1776,” In “The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript
Sources, 1745-1799, Ed. John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 4,” George Washington
Resources, University of Virginia, accessed March 30, 2015, Vol. 4, http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/washington/fitzpatrick/.
[52] Catalina Gaitan,
“Evacuation Day Remembered at Dorchester Heights Ceremony,” The Boston Globe,
March 17, 2014, accessed May 9, 2015, http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/03/17/evacuation-day-remembered-dorchester-heights-ceremony/PzoAaQiyf3dwFY1IZ38RVN/story.html.
[53] Wraxall, Sir Nathaniel.
Letter, “Oh God! It Is All Over” In The Spirit of 'seventy-Six: the Story of
the American Revolution as Told by Participants, 1244-1245, Edited by Henry
Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
[54] Jonathan T. Engle, “The
Force of Nature: The Impact of Weather On Armies During the American War of
Independence, 1775-1781”, 72.
[55] Kyle Madison, “The Battle
of Monmouth: How the Continental Army Used the Environmental Conditions to Gain
Victory On June 28, 1778” (master's thesis, Rutgers University, 2011), 30.
[56] Harry Schenawolf “Uniform
of the British Army Soldier During the American Revolution,” Shade of Liberty,
May 23, 2013, accessed May 9, 2015, http://www.harryschenawolf.com/uniform-of-the-british-army-soldier-during-the-american-revolution/,
Kyle Madison, “The Battle of Monmouth: How the Continental Army Used the
Environmental Conditions to Gain Victory On June 28, 1778” (master's thesis,
Rutgers University, 2011), 27.
[57] Kyle Madison, “The Battle
of Monmouth: How the Continental Army Used the Environmental Conditions to Gain
Victory On June 28, 1778”, 26.
[58] Ibid., 27.
[59] Ibid., 46.
[60] Jonathan T. Engle, “The
Force of Nature: The Impact of Weather On Armies During the American War of
Independence, 1775-1781”, 71.
[61] Theodore P. Savas &
J. David Dameron, A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution, 55.
[62] Ibid., 72.
[63] George Washington,
Writings (New York: Library of America, 1997), 264.
