Earlier today, when the smoke cleared on the battlefield here in Princeton, there stood General Washington in all of his glory. I couldn't help but think of the brave men and women who risked their patriotic necks to gather intelligence to help the general see his way through the smoke, and there was a lot of it as he led the troops across the Delaware River.
But when it was over, the smoke was all in Cornwallis' eyes after the Battle of Princeton. Instead of the British taking Philadelphia as they planned, almost all of New Jersey is now ours. Not too long ago, Washington told his generals what he expected from our spies: "Leave no stone unturned, nor do not speak to expense," he said.
So ole Tater can't help but get a little misty-eyed (and if you snicker, I'll put you flat on your musket) when he thinks about all of those patriots who used their eyes and ears to help the cause. A couple of privates stopped by my tent tonight, and we first started talking about the one who had to be among our bravest.
Everyone's talking about Nathan Hale's last words, so I'm sure some fool newspapers will get them wrong. But what swelled my normally cold as cod heart was what Nathan said to his best friend who tried to talk him out of the foolhardy mission: "I will reflect, and do nothing but what duty demands."
By now, you've probably heard what happened. Nathan posed as a Dutch school teacher, but the British captured him Sept. 21, 1776 with concealed papers that had sketches of fortifications and other information. They hung him at 11 a.m. the next day, but not before he said his already famous line that was paraphrased from the play, "Cato:" "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
The same day Hale was executed, another man was arrested in New York and charged as a spy. Haym Salomon eventually became an interpreter for General von Heister, commander of Hessian mercenaries, but he encouraged quite a few troops to desert.
One of our most successful intelligence came from the Culper Ring, which used codes, ciphers and secret communication links to pick up valuable information from all kinds of gatherings of British and Tories.
One member of the ring was a woman, we only know by her codename, "355." Rumor has it 355, which means lady in the Cipher code, came from a Tory family that gave her an inside link with British commanders.
Lydia Darragh took advantage of the British using her house in Philadelphia for conferences by slipping into a closet and taking notes on their military plans. Her husband then transferred the notes in shorthand on tiny slips of paper that Lydia put in a button mold and covered with fabric. She put the buttons on a coat they sent with their 14-year-old son when he visited his brother, Lt. Charles Darragh, with the American troops outside the city.
There have been many others, going as far back as the beginning of this little tussle we're in, with Paul Revere and the "mechanics," who sabotaged and stole British military equipment in Boston, not to mention watching every move of the redcoats.
I give each one of our people who brought us important information a heartfelt salute. Each tidbit is helping George Washington see a strategy for victory through the smoke of war and a fledgling nation.
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
Tater Hales' Dispatch from the American Revolution Benedict Arnold A Hero Story?, July 1777
I'm sure much will be written about this man once our little tussle with the mother country is over (no matter how it turns out), but no one can tell a story like ole Tater, so I want to get my two pence worth in about Col. Benedict Arnold.
The man is in the middle of a torrid love affair with himself, just about anyone in his command or out of it will tell you. He can hardly walk by a piece of glass without gazing longingly at his reflection. He also frets endlessly about his superiors appreciating all he's done for our cause.
Arnold also talks loud and has a quick temper.
But he also gets the job done and has helped save our cause more than once. As we were making our strategic retreat from Fort Ticonderoga this week, I couldn't help remembering the role Arnold played in how we took the fort just a little more than two months ago.
The French built this fort that overlooks the Hudson River Valley from the Canadian border in 1775 to protect their fur-trading routes. The British took the fort in 1759 and Gen. Jeffrey Amhurst renamed it Fort Ticonderoga after a nearby town. In Iroquois, the name means "the place between two waters."
When Col. Samuel Parson left Cambridge, Mass., on April 19, 1775 he realized the Continental Army didn't have enough cannons or artillery. But Arnold told him there were plenty of cannons at Ticonderoga, and he went to Cambridge and pleaded with the Committee of Safety to allow him to seize the fort. They gave him the go-ahead, but said he could only take 400 Massachusetts men.
Parson then joined with John Brown and Col. James Easton, and they met Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, who were already marching toward the fort. Allen joined forces with Arnold at Castleton, and early May 10, they walked through the fort's open gate and easily captured it from the sleeping British.
We also captured Fort Crown Point, which is on the southern tip of Lake Champlain, so we had both forts under our control. Arnold really wanted to be placed in command of the two forts, but Connecticut chose Allen instead. Talk about a man stewing! I checked in on him the next night, and he was still cursing Allen's name.
In a way, I don't blame him. He's helped save our young country more than once. In September 1775, Arnold led about 1,150 riflemen against Quebec up the Kennebec and Dead Rivers through leaky birchwood canoes, spoiled food and starvation until he attacked with only about 650 men remaining. He even took a ball in the leg while trying to bypass a barricade.
Arnold led the retreat and then suddenly turned back on the British at Lake Champlain, and we stomped them at the Battle of Valcour Island.
Some New England officers wanted to have Arnold relieved of his command for the attack, but Congress made him a brigadier general instead and gave him a new horse for the one that was shot out under him.
He also commanded the construction of the gunboats on Lake Champlain and the fleet that helped slow the British as they tried to move on the colonies in October 1776. I've heard some folks say we would have already lost the war if it hadn't been for Arnold's brilliance in the Champlain Valley.
He's also been a little fed up with the suffering of the troops because of the lack of sufficient food, clothing and supplies. I know Arnold has written the Continental Congress countless times for help, and I can't help but wonder if he's not getting a little fed up with it all. I fear there may be a point when his ego will no longer allow him to accept being overlooked and his successes downplayed. I hope I'm just being a little tater-head about this because some big battles almost certainly are ahead of us. I know one way or the other General Arnold will have a say in how they turn out.
The man is in the middle of a torrid love affair with himself, just about anyone in his command or out of it will tell you. He can hardly walk by a piece of glass without gazing longingly at his reflection. He also frets endlessly about his superiors appreciating all he's done for our cause.
Arnold also talks loud and has a quick temper.
But he also gets the job done and has helped save our cause more than once. As we were making our strategic retreat from Fort Ticonderoga this week, I couldn't help remembering the role Arnold played in how we took the fort just a little more than two months ago.
The French built this fort that overlooks the Hudson River Valley from the Canadian border in 1775 to protect their fur-trading routes. The British took the fort in 1759 and Gen. Jeffrey Amhurst renamed it Fort Ticonderoga after a nearby town. In Iroquois, the name means "the place between two waters."
When Col. Samuel Parson left Cambridge, Mass., on April 19, 1775 he realized the Continental Army didn't have enough cannons or artillery. But Arnold told him there were plenty of cannons at Ticonderoga, and he went to Cambridge and pleaded with the Committee of Safety to allow him to seize the fort. They gave him the go-ahead, but said he could only take 400 Massachusetts men.
Parson then joined with John Brown and Col. James Easton, and they met Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, who were already marching toward the fort. Allen joined forces with Arnold at Castleton, and early May 10, they walked through the fort's open gate and easily captured it from the sleeping British.
We also captured Fort Crown Point, which is on the southern tip of Lake Champlain, so we had both forts under our control. Arnold really wanted to be placed in command of the two forts, but Connecticut chose Allen instead. Talk about a man stewing! I checked in on him the next night, and he was still cursing Allen's name.
In a way, I don't blame him. He's helped save our young country more than once. In September 1775, Arnold led about 1,150 riflemen against Quebec up the Kennebec and Dead Rivers through leaky birchwood canoes, spoiled food and starvation until he attacked with only about 650 men remaining. He even took a ball in the leg while trying to bypass a barricade.
Arnold led the retreat and then suddenly turned back on the British at Lake Champlain, and we stomped them at the Battle of Valcour Island.
Some New England officers wanted to have Arnold relieved of his command for the attack, but Congress made him a brigadier general instead and gave him a new horse for the one that was shot out under him.
He also commanded the construction of the gunboats on Lake Champlain and the fleet that helped slow the British as they tried to move on the colonies in October 1776. I've heard some folks say we would have already lost the war if it hadn't been for Arnold's brilliance in the Champlain Valley.
He's also been a little fed up with the suffering of the troops because of the lack of sufficient food, clothing and supplies. I know Arnold has written the Continental Congress countless times for help, and I can't help but wonder if he's not getting a little fed up with it all. I fear there may be a point when his ego will no longer allow him to accept being overlooked and his successes downplayed. I hope I'm just being a little tater-head about this because some big battles almost certainly are ahead of us. I know one way or the other General Arnold will have a say in how they turn out.
Tater Hales' Dispatch from the American Revolution Saratoga's Turning Point, October 1777
Humanity has won its battle. LIberty now has a country. You know I've never liked fancy speeches and long-winded orators, but those words said what my countrymen and I feel perfectly.
Who said it, you ask? Even if you didn't ask, I'm gonna tell you anyway. It was Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Montier. But you probably know him better as the Marquis de Lafayette.
Yes, he's a Frenchman. He's also a man who thinks quite highly of himself and has even been called "a statue in search of a pedestal."
But already I can tell this is a man who not only loves liberty, but also seems to have fallen in love with America. I hear him talk about how our young country gives a man a chance "to start the world over," borrowing a phrase made famous by Thomas Paine. Lafayette joined our ranks as a major general at the age of 20 after an American agent in Paris gave him a commission. The young whippersnapper aristocrat joined our war just in time. This was a summer that gave us our own flag, with 13 stars and white and red stripes. But then on July 6, two days after our new Independence Day, we lost Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain, along with our much-needed supplies.
When our help came, Lafayette didn't arrive alone. A long list of European soldiers had also joined us, including Baron von Steuben, from Prussia. It wasn't long before lady luck joined us as well, when we had our first major victory of the war at Saratoga Oct. 7. A British army of nearly 7,000 surrendered to a combined force of American militia and Continental regulars.
The end for Burgoyne and his army came on the heels of a long campaign that began with that cursed British victory at Ticonderoga.
General Burgoyne, who the newspaper people like to call "Gentleman Johnny," tried to join forces with General Howe coming north from New York. On the way, they captured Ticonderoga, but we surprised them when they reached our land. Burgoyne's entourage wasn't built to withstand our New York forests, with his 30 carts of his personal junk, including several cases of champagne. Ole Tater can't help but wonder if he ever even opened a bottle after the whipping he gave him.
Our militia already knew Burgoyne was coming, and we really gave him the musket. By the time the two battles of Saratoga were fought, American forces led by Gates and his field general, Benedict Arnold, outnumbered Burgoyne almost 2 to 1.
One of the British officers who was killed was Burgoyne's second-in-command, General Simon Fraser. I've been told his last words were "Oh fatal ambition."
But on our side, the ambition now appears anything but fatal. That ambition, of course, is the liberty that now has a country, as Lafayette said.
Who said it, you ask? Even if you didn't ask, I'm gonna tell you anyway. It was Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Montier. But you probably know him better as the Marquis de Lafayette.
Yes, he's a Frenchman. He's also a man who thinks quite highly of himself and has even been called "a statue in search of a pedestal."
But already I can tell this is a man who not only loves liberty, but also seems to have fallen in love with America. I hear him talk about how our young country gives a man a chance "to start the world over," borrowing a phrase made famous by Thomas Paine. Lafayette joined our ranks as a major general at the age of 20 after an American agent in Paris gave him a commission. The young whippersnapper aristocrat joined our war just in time. This was a summer that gave us our own flag, with 13 stars and white and red stripes. But then on July 6, two days after our new Independence Day, we lost Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain, along with our much-needed supplies.
When our help came, Lafayette didn't arrive alone. A long list of European soldiers had also joined us, including Baron von Steuben, from Prussia. It wasn't long before lady luck joined us as well, when we had our first major victory of the war at Saratoga Oct. 7. A British army of nearly 7,000 surrendered to a combined force of American militia and Continental regulars.
The end for Burgoyne and his army came on the heels of a long campaign that began with that cursed British victory at Ticonderoga.
General Burgoyne, who the newspaper people like to call "Gentleman Johnny," tried to join forces with General Howe coming north from New York. On the way, they captured Ticonderoga, but we surprised them when they reached our land. Burgoyne's entourage wasn't built to withstand our New York forests, with his 30 carts of his personal junk, including several cases of champagne. Ole Tater can't help but wonder if he ever even opened a bottle after the whipping he gave him.
Our militia already knew Burgoyne was coming, and we really gave him the musket. By the time the two battles of Saratoga were fought, American forces led by Gates and his field general, Benedict Arnold, outnumbered Burgoyne almost 2 to 1.
One of the British officers who was killed was Burgoyne's second-in-command, General Simon Fraser. I've been told his last words were "Oh fatal ambition."
But on our side, the ambition now appears anything but fatal. That ambition, of course, is the liberty that now has a country, as Lafayette said.
Tater Hales' Dispatch from the American Revolution Benedict Arnold A Hero Story?, July 1777
I'm sure much will be written about this man once our little tussle with the mother country is over (no matter how it turns out), but no one can tell a story like ole Tater, so I want to get my two pence worth in about Col. Benedict Arnold.
The man is in the middle of a torrid love affair with himself, just about anyone in his command or out of it will tell you. He can hardly walk by a piece of glass without gazing longingly at his reflection. He also frets endlessly about his superiors appreciating all he's done for our cause.
Arnold also talks loud and has a quick temper.
But he also gets the job done and has helped save our cause more than once. As we were making our strategic retreat from Fort Ticonderoga this week, I couldn't help remembering the role Arnold played in how we took the fort just a little more than two months ago.
The French built this fort that overlooks the Hudson River Valley from the Canadian border in 1775 to protect their fur-trading routes. The British took the fort in 1759 and Gen. Jeffrey Amhurst renamed it Fort Ticonderoga after a nearby town. In Iroquois, the name means "the place between two waters."
When Col. Samuel Parson left Cambridge, Mass., on April 19, 1775 he realized the Continental Army didn't have enough cannons or artillery. But Arnold told him there were plenty of cannons at Ticonderoga, and he went to Cambridge and pleaded with the Committee of Safety to allow him to seize the fort. They gave him the go-ahead, but said he could only take 400 Massachusetts men.
Parson then joined with John Brown and Col. James Easton, and they met Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, who were already marching toward the fort. Allen joined forces with Arnold at Castleton, and early May 10, they walked through the fort's open gate and easily captured it from the sleeping British.
We also captured Fort Crown Point, which is on the southern tip of Lake Champlain, so we had both forts under our control. Arnold really wanted to be placed in command of the two forts, but Connecticut chose Allen instead. Talk about a man stewing! I checked in on him the next night, and he was still cursing Allen's name.
In a way, I don't blame him. He's helped save our young country more than once. In September 1775, Arnold led about 1,150 riflemen against Quebec up the Kennebec and Dead Rivers through leaky birchwood canoes, spoiled food and starvation until he attacked with only about 650 men remaining. He even took a ball in the leg while trying to bypass a barricade.
Arnold led the retreat and then suddenly turned back on the British at Lake Champlain, and we stomped them at the Battle of Valcour Island.
Some New England officers wanted to have Arnold relieved of his command for the attack, but Congress made him a brigadier general instead and gave him a new horse for the one that was shot out under him.
He also commanded the construction of the gunboats on Lake Champlain and the fleet that helped slow the British as they tried to move on the colonies in October 1776. I've heard some folks say we would have already lost the war if it hadn't been for Arnold's brilliance in the Champlain Valley.
He's also been a little fed up with the suffering of the troops because of the lack of sufficient food, clothing and supplies. I know Arnold has written the Continental Congress countless times for help, and I can't help but wonder if he's not getting a little fed up with it all. I fear there may be a point when his ego will no longer allow him to accept being overlooked and his successes downplayed. I hope I'm just being a little tater-head about this because some big battles almost certainly are ahead of us. I know one way or the other General Arnold will have a say in how they turn out.
The man is in the middle of a torrid love affair with himself, just about anyone in his command or out of it will tell you. He can hardly walk by a piece of glass without gazing longingly at his reflection. He also frets endlessly about his superiors appreciating all he's done for our cause.
Arnold also talks loud and has a quick temper.
But he also gets the job done and has helped save our cause more than once. As we were making our strategic retreat from Fort Ticonderoga this week, I couldn't help remembering the role Arnold played in how we took the fort just a little more than two months ago.
The French built this fort that overlooks the Hudson River Valley from the Canadian border in 1775 to protect their fur-trading routes. The British took the fort in 1759 and Gen. Jeffrey Amhurst renamed it Fort Ticonderoga after a nearby town. In Iroquois, the name means "the place between two waters."
When Col. Samuel Parson left Cambridge, Mass., on April 19, 1775 he realized the Continental Army didn't have enough cannons or artillery. But Arnold told him there were plenty of cannons at Ticonderoga, and he went to Cambridge and pleaded with the Committee of Safety to allow him to seize the fort. They gave him the go-ahead, but said he could only take 400 Massachusetts men.
Parson then joined with John Brown and Col. James Easton, and they met Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, who were already marching toward the fort. Allen joined forces with Arnold at Castleton, and early May 10, they walked through the fort's open gate and easily captured it from the sleeping British.
We also captured Fort Crown Point, which is on the southern tip of Lake Champlain, so we had both forts under our control. Arnold really wanted to be placed in command of the two forts, but Connecticut chose Allen instead. Talk about a man stewing! I checked in on him the next night, and he was still cursing Allen's name.
In a way, I don't blame him. He's helped save our young country more than once. In September 1775, Arnold led about 1,150 riflemen against Quebec up the Kennebec and Dead Rivers through leaky birchwood canoes, spoiled food and starvation until he attacked with only about 650 men remaining. He even took a ball in the leg while trying to bypass a barricade.
Arnold led the retreat and then suddenly turned back on the British at Lake Champlain, and we stomped them at the Battle of Valcour Island.
Some New England officers wanted to have Arnold relieved of his command for the attack, but Congress made him a brigadier general instead and gave him a new horse for the one that was shot out under him.
He also commanded the construction of the gunboats on Lake Champlain and the fleet that helped slow the British as they tried to move on the colonies in October 1776. I've heard some folks say we would have already lost the war if it hadn't been for Arnold's brilliance in the Champlain Valley.
He's also been a little fed up with the suffering of the troops because of the lack of sufficient food, clothing and supplies. I know Arnold has written the Continental Congress countless times for help, and I can't help but wonder if he's not getting a little fed up with it all. I fear there may be a point when his ego will no longer allow him to accept being overlooked and his successes downplayed. I hope I'm just being a little tater-head about this because some big battles almost certainly are ahead of us. I know one way or the other General Arnold will have a say in how they turn out.
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