AMERICAN REVOLUTION ROUND TABLE of RICHMOND
APRIL NEWS
”Sir William he, snug as a flea, Lay all this time a snoring, Nor dreamed of harm, as he lay warm...” Come and hear Sean Heuvel of the Williamsburg Yorktown ARRT tell the rest of the story in his "General Howe and Mrs. Loring: The Myth vs. Reality Behind An Infamous Revolutionary War Affair." Sean is the founding president of WYARRT and a past speaker at ARRT-R. Get ready for all the salacious details at our Wednesday, May 17 meeting. We’ll begin with dinner at 5 PM (the summer schedule) followed by the meeting at 6 PM in the Heilman Dining Center at the University of Richmond. The May reminder will follow.
Here’s a last minute notice of Wednesday’s Monticello lecture on Clinton and Cornwallis controversy. Additional details are at 434-984-7575.
Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies
Fellow’s Forum
Thursday, April 27th, 12:00pm in the Berkeley Room
Richard Middleton, former Professor of British and American History, Queen’s University, Belfast
The Clinton-Cornwallis Controversy and Responsibility for the
British Surrender at Yorktown
Charles Earl Cornwallis was the most dynamic and resourceful of the British commanders who attempted to restore royal authority in the American colonies. He accordingly appeared the last person to find himself trapped on a peninsula, faced by overwhelming forces on land and sea, and forced into an abject surrender. Recriminations as to who was responsible for this outcome soon began to be made as the magnitude of the disaster became apparent. Initially Sir Henry Clinton, Cornwallis’s commanding officer, blamed the Royal Navy for sending too few ships to effect the relief of the beleaguered army at Yorktown. But after Cornwallis made some oblique comments in his official account of the affair that seemed to implicate Clinton himself, the commander-in-chief quickly redirected his ire, asserting that responsibility for the disaster must be laid squarely at the door of Cornwallis himself. He made three charges against his erstwhile subordinate. Firstly, that Cornwallis had disobeyed orders by marching into Virginia after the battle of Guilford Court House instead of returning to South Carolina in the wake of Nathaniel Greene. Secondly, Cornwallis’s assertion that he had been forced to take post at Yorktown against his wishes was entirely false, since Clinton had given him free rein where he should establish a base for the army and navy. Thirdly Cornwallis had failed to recognize the danger he faced on the arrival of De Grasse’s fleet in Chesapeake Bay. He should have attempted to escape instead of relying mistakenly on promises that Clinton had never made about coming to his rescue. This paper will accordingly attempt to examine these charges as part of a larger study of Cornwallis’s life. Only one biography has ever been written about him, by Franklin and Mary Wickwire, which left unanswered many questions about his career. This neglect has occurred despite Cornwallis’s subsequent achievements, notably in India where he became a reforming Governor General of Bengal, in England where he acted as military adviser in the Younger Pitt’s war Cabinet, and in Ireland whereas Lord Lieutenant he had the twin responsibility for ending the 1798 rebellion and effecting the 1801 Act of Union. A long and distinguished career surely deserves fuller treatment.
Richard Middleton was for many years a member of the history staff at Queen’s University Belfast, teaching British and American History. His publications include: The Bells of Victory: The Pitt-Newcastle Ministry and the Conduct of the Seven Years War, 1757-1762 (Cambridge University, 1985); Colonial America, A History (Blackwell 1992, 1996, 2001, and 2011); Pontiac’s War: Its Causes, Course and Consequence (Routledge, 2007); and The War of American Independence, 1775-1783 (Pearson, 2011)
Woody Childs, our membership VP, has asked that you be informed of his new email address. He’s now at [log in to unmask] Are there really two other Woodys?
John Maass offered this.
The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Virginia will explore how the “Road to Revolution” passed through the Valley on Saturday June 3 with a full day of noted authors and experts tracing its path from the French & Indian War through the American Revolution, as well as the material culture of this period:
a.. Braddock's Defeat: The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution David Preston, The Citadel
b.. Dunmore's War: The Last Conflict of America's Colonial Era Glenn Williams, U.S. Army Center of Military History
c.. “Every Presence is warlike, every Sound is martial!” The Revolutionary War in the Shenandoah Valley Todd Post
d.. “Of Sorts for Provincials”: American Weapons of the French & Indian and Revolutionary Wars Jim Mullins, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
e.. “The Swords of George Washington” Erik Goldstein, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
For more information and tickets, visit roadtorevolution.eventbrite.com. “Early bird” registration is $40 through April 30, $45 after May 1 and at the door.
Please mark your calendars for John’s Patrick Henry tour on November 4. Details will be available as we get closer.
To date, we have only one nominee for our 2017 Preservation Partner. Please bring your nominations to the May meeting or send them to me via email, so we can soon vote.
Dave Riggs sent along news of the passing of important Virginia historian Thad Tate. His obituary is here. http://wydaily.com/2017/04/19/obits-thaddeus-wilbur-thad-tate-jr/
Finally, registration is now open for the June 17 Middlebrook Encampment of the Continental Army Symposium in New Jersey. Details are here. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/middlebrook-symposium-tickets-33065946135?utm_source=Symposium+on+Washington%27s+Middlebrook+Encampment&utm_campaign=August+and+early+September+events+2015&utm_medium=email This overlooked encampment is certainly worthy of new study.
See you in May.
Bill
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