My Brave Fusiliers!

Landing at Kip's Bay

While preparing my next talk on the Battles of Kip's Bay and Harlem Heights I did a deep dive into how the British Navy and Army conducted amphibious operations in the 18th century.  Unsurprisingly it all sounded very modern to my ear.  Heavy naval bombardment to clear the shore and boats going in into the beach.  Here is some information I found about the landing boats or flat boats of the period.

model of flat boat 1758 National Maritime Museum

Standard ships longboats were unsuitable for landing operations. Their deep draft which could be up to five feet when loaded prevented them from getting close in shore unless the dudes cooperated. Also the  loading and unloading troops were difficult since they would have to climb over the oarsmen to get over the sides.

Model of flat boat in Royal Museums at Greenwich

This changed in 1758 when  the Admiralty approved the design for two shallow draft landing boat. One was thirty-six-feet long and ten-feet two-inches wide;  It would carry fiftyinfantry men plus a naval officer, gunner and twenty oarsmen. A smaller version was thirty-feet long, nine-feet nine-inches wide;  and carry sixteen oarsmen. Both of these boats were only two-feet eleven-inches in depth with wide, rounded bows and transom sterns. Fully loaded they required only two-feet of water, which allowed them to get very close to the beach.  Troops were packed in close together seated in two rows facing each other with their muskets standing upright between their knees. A sailor manned the tiller while twenty others sat outboard of the troops to man the oars. The flatboats could also be fitted with a mast, sails and a small cannon, or swivel gun mounted in the bow. However procedure dictated that the landing site would be heavily bombarded by warships prior to the landing. The flatboats were not meant to fight their way ashore. Twin gangplanks were extended over the bow onto the beach allowing for fast and orderly entry and exit of the troops. 

The procedure was described by a witness:

“All these flat boats…were lying in one row along the shore, and as soon as the regiment had marched past, it formed up again close to the shore, and awaited the signal for entering the boats. Immediately on this being given each officer marched with his men to the boats,…then he and his drummer entered first and passed right through from the bows on shore to the stern, the whole division following him without breaking their ranks; so that in two minutes everybody was in the boat.”

Landing New York 1776

Detail of troops 1776

On reaching the enemy shore the men would march out over the bow onto the beach and would be combat ready immediately. Just prior to hitting the beach the flatboat would drop a kedge anchor off the stern. When the troops had disembarked the anchor was pulled, oars backed, and the flatboat would head out to sea for another load.

Most readers are familiar with the works of H. Charles McBarron through his illustrations of United State military uniforms and battles.  These works are often found in the better books and in many museums.  

H. Charles McBarron

What few individuals know about McBarron is he had a keen sense of humour.   He often placed himself in his works.  The illustrator Martin Handford cited McBarron as a primary influence in the creation of his works, "Where's Waldo?". 

So, where is he in his illustrations?  Here are a few that I found.

From The Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

From The Battle of Bunker Hill:

From The Battle of Montreal:

For more information and details check out;

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bgfjXdC5__w

Anniversary of the British leaving Boston.  The placement of artillery on Dorchester Heights made the harbour untenable for the Royal Navy.   In the illustration above Washington is standing by Artemis Ward who commander the New England army before the Virginian arrived.

Generations of Bostonians were thankful it was done on 17 March so that business and school will be closed for the local holiday;  which just happens to be St Patrick's day!

Watercolor by Lt. Richard Williams 23rd RWF of a sentry in Boston with Dorchester Heights in the background.

  " As at Camden, the British went forward as soon as they were in line. Captain Peter led the 23rd on as acting commanding officer, with the regiment effectively in two wings under captains Saumarez and Champagne. As they went forward, one of them noticed the ‘field lately ploughed, which was wet and muddy from the rains which had recently fallen’.  On  they trudged towards the fence that marked the end of Hoskins’ cornfield and the beginning of the woods to the fore, observing as they grew closer that the rails were lined with men. MacLeod’s cannon opened fire, sending their ballwhooshing into the American lines. Colonel Webster, on horseback, trotted to the front of his brigade and called out so that all could hear, ‘Charge!’ The men began jogging forward, bayonets fixed and muskets levelled towards the enemy. A crackling fire from their left, Kirkwood’s riflemen, began knocking down a redcoat here or there, but did nothing to check their impetus. When the British line was little more than 50 yards from the North Carolina militia everything seemed to stop for Serjeant Lamb: … it was perceived the whole of their force had their arms presented, and resting on a rail fence … they were taking aim with the nicest precision. At this awful period a general pause took place; both parties surveyed each other for the moment with the most anxious suspense … Colonel Webster spurred his horse to the head of the 23rd and bellowed out, ‘Come on my brave Fusiliers!’ Some of the Americans started to run, but most held on for a moment; there was a rippling crash of American musketry when the redcoats were at optimum range, 40 to 50 yards away. Dozens of Webster’s men went down as the musket balls cut legs from under them or smashed into their chests. Lieutenant Calvert worried for an instant how his men might react to such a heavy fire: ‘They instantly returned it and did not give the enemy time to repeat their fire but rushed on them with bayonets.’ Captain Saumarez noted with pride, ‘No troops could behave better than the regiment … they never returned the enemy’s fire but by word of command and marched on with the most undaunted courage.’..."

Quote from;

Fusiliers:  The saga of a British Redcoat Regiment in the American Revolution  by Mark Urban

 Rereading Richardson's Standards and Colors of the American Revolution this morning.  What happened to the Hessian colors captured at Trenton?  They were displayed in the halls of Congress for a short time. On 31 December 1776 William Ellery writes the Governor of Rhode Island a description of the flags which are on display in the room where Congress meets in Baltimore.The six colors captured at Trenton are depicted in good detail in Charles Wilson Peale's painting of Washington victorious after Trenton and Princeton. Other colors captured have survived.  There are four Anspach-Beyreuth colors captured at Yorktown still in existence and in good condition. Two are at West Point, one at the Smithsonian and the fourth one at Yorktown. Davis (Regimental colors in the War of the Revolution) said there were no know (to him) Colors in Germany when he did his research during the 1900's.  The colors of the 7th (Royal Fusiliers) Regiment are at West Point.

   Here is some information about what happened to them. Davis describes the existing colors when he examined them in 1907 in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and photographed the two flags and the remains of a third which had a black field. These were in the Clymer papers. These two colors and the fragments disappeared sometime between when Davis saw them in 1900-1907 and the mid 1970's when they were found to be missing. It is possible, based on a " cryptic" entry on a accession card that they were loaned out and never returned; possibly during the Sesquicentennial of 1926.

   William Buehler wrote Admiral Preble on 18 November 1881 "two flags out of six captured ...At Trenton are in the department on the hill at Harrisburg." This appears to have been the William Penn museum at Harrisburg Pennsylvania. Richardson is quoted as saying staff members " have no knowledge as to the whereabouts of any surviving remnants there. "

   Lastly there are fragments of another Hessian flag captured at Trenton in the First City Troop Museum in Philadelphia. The fragments are about " twenty by seven inches and are black brocade will seamed to a narrow strip of White are are decorated with a small elements of brown and yellow painted designs. "

Richardson, Edward W. Standards and Colors of the American Revolution.

1982.

Davis, Gherardi.  Regimental Colors in the War of The Revolution.

1907.

For a copy of the book online see:

https://archive.org/details/regimentalcolors00davi/page/n12