Raid on the New York Battery

Raid on the New York Battery
Part of the American Revolutionary War

Alexander Hamilton in uniform at the New York Battery, painting by Alonzo Chappel
DateAugust 23, 1775
Location
New York Battery
40°42′09″N 74°00′59″W / 40.702389°N 74.016472°W / 40.702389; -74.016472
Result

American patriot victory

  • Part of the beginning of the American Revolutionary War
Belligerents
New England Colonies (before May 1775)
United Colonies
(after May 1775)		  Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Alexander Hamilton
John Lamb
Hearts of Oak militia
Sons of Liberty		 Captain George Vandeput
Strength
unknown HMS Asia
Casualties and losses
Three citizens wounded 1 sailor killed

Raid on the New York Battery was a raid by the Sons of Liberty and Hearts of Oak militia on August 23, 1775, in the early days of the American Revolutionary War. The raid was on the British cannons in New York City. The 21 royal cannons from the New York Battery were taken under fire from the ship HMS Asia offshore. The cannons became a target for American patriots shortly after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775. The seizure of the cannons helped the patriots of the Revolutionary War.[1][2][3][4]

Raid

The cannon raid followed the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, which was the first major military action between the Kingdom of Great Britain's British Army and Patriot militias of the Thirteen Colonies. The citizens of New York heard of the Battles of Lexington and Concord from a letter from Stephen Hopkins, which arrived in New York from Providence, Rhode Island on April 23, 1775. Stephen Hopkins wrote that the British army had …engaged in butchering and destroying our brethren in the most inhuman manner.[5] The Battles of Lexington and Concord angered many New York City residents. The anger rose, and rioting started in the city. To arm themselves against British forces, the New York City British cannons were taken.[3][4]

HMS Asia fired grapeshot and cannonballs on the city of New York in the night, as the Sons of Liberty under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton and John Lamb removed the 21 royal cannons from the New York Battery. Asia was used as a British cargo ship and troop transport ship in the American Revolutionary War. Alexander Hamilton removed the 21 cannons, as the Provincial Congress had ordered, because they were a threat to the new American patriots. The Sons of Liberty returned cannon fire on Asia, killing one of the ship's crew members.[4] Asia's cannon fire hit homes in the city, near the New York Battery, wounding three citizens. The cannon fire put much of the city into a panic, with some departing the city and heading to the safety of the nearby countryside.[3] All the New York Battery cannons were removed and later were used by the Continental Army's New York Provincial Company of Artillery, today called the Regular Army's 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery) Asia was a 1764, 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Thomas Bucknall. Asia's captain was George Vandeput.[6][7] On August 24, 1775, the British governor William Tryon arranged a meeting between the patriot local officials and Captain Vandeput, which calmed the patriots and eased fears of further attacks. Tryon was later removed from his position by the Provincial Congress.[4][8]

Aftermath

The Raid on the New York Battery, in addition to the April 23, 1775 New York Armory Raid, and the June 6, 1775 Broad Street Raid both intensified tensions in the city and gave patriots needed supplies used later in the American Revolutionary War.[9] On July 20, 1775, Patriots seized British supplies in Turtle Bay, New York in the Capture of Turtle Bay Depot.[4][3][5]

Location

The New York Battery is located at the mouth of the Hudson River, at the south tip of Manhattan Island.[10] Today, the Battery Park area has memorials to a number of Revolutionary War actions.[11][12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lankevich, George J. (2002). New York City: A Short History. New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-5186-2. Page 44
  2. ↑ Staff, Editorial (August 22, 2022). "August 23, 1775: The British Bombard the City of New York - New York Almanack".
  3. 1 2 3 4 Entwistle, Hugh; McAtamney, B. (1909). Cradle Days of New York: (1609-1825). p. 67.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "New York City During the First Year of the Revolution". www.varsitytutors.com.
  5. 1 2 "Marinus Willett, Soldier, Sons of Liberty, American Revolution".
  6. ↑ Journal of H.M.S. Asia, Captain George Vandeput, October 25, 1775
  7. ↑ "British Third Rate ship of the line 'Asia' (1764)". threedecks.org.
  8. ↑ Diary entries of August 24 & 25, 1775 by Reverend Shewkirk; in The Campaign of 1776 Around New York and Brooklyn by Henry P. Johnson (Brooklyn, NY: Long Island Historical Society, 1878) Part II, pp. 103. Letter of August 24, 1775, from Captain Vandeput to the Mayor and other Magistrates of the City of New York; American Archives, Series 4 Vol. 3 p. 550. Wertenbaker, pp. 62-3.
  9. ↑ "Notes on the Dunsmore Paintings". U.S. Naval Institute. February 1, 1928.
  10. ↑ "Stop 1: The Battery". NYC Revolutionary Trail.
  11. ↑ "The Battery Monuments - East Coast Memorial : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org.
  12. ↑ "The Battery Highlights - Wireless Operators Monument : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org.
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Battery (Manhattan).
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.