King George (13 page)
Authors: Steve Sheinkin
W
hile Washington tried to think of a way to win the war, John Adams sailed to France.
hile Washington tried to think of a way to win the war, John Adams sailed to France.
The French had already begun sending soldiers, clothing, and weapons to the United States. But Congress hoped to get even more from France. Adams's new assignment: join Ben Franklin in Paris and help persuade the French to send more stuff to the Continental army.
John had wanted Abigail to come along, but he was afraid his ship might be captured by the British. So Abigail stayed home. As always, John and Abigail kept in touch through letters. “To tell you the truth,” John wrote soon after arriving in France, “I admire the ladies here. Don't be jealous. They are handsome and very well educated.”
Unfortunately, the French people quickly ruined John's good mood. They rushed up to him and asked, “Are you the famous Adams?” They knew all about the great revolutionary leader Samuel Adams. John had to say no, that's my cousin, I'm John Adams. The French had never heard of anyone by that name.
That was just the start of John's troubles. Adams had decided he could save his country some money by moving in with Ben Franklin. And just like the time they shared a bed in the crowded inn, John and Ben began arguing right away. For one thing, Adams complained, Franklin slept too late and spent too much time going to parties. Adams was also annoyed by the constant stream of visitors to their apartmentâit seemed like everyone in France wanted to meet Benjamin Franklin. He told Abigail:
“By far the greater part were women and children, come to have the honor to see the great Franklin, and to have the pleasure of telling stories about his simplicity, his bald head and scattering straight hairs.”
John Adams
The older, wiser Franklin tried to be patient with his roommate. “John Adams is always an honest man, often a wise one,” Franklin said, “but sometimes and in some things absolutely out of his senses.”
What Adams didn't realize was that Franklin knew exactly what he was doing. By forming close friendships with important people in Paris, Franklin was able to win favors for the Americans. For example, he succeeded in talking the French into giving a few of their old ships to the new Continental navy. Franklin made sure that one of the ships went to a captain he admired, a man from Scotland named John Paul Jones.
J
ohn Paul Jones had spent the past few years cruising the waters around Britain, capturing one British ship after another. Jones's favorite targets were British trading ships, which were loaded with valuable goods. After capturing these ships, Jones sailed them to nearby ports, sold the goods, and split the profits with his crew: Basically, he was a pirate. But this was legal in the 1700s. If you were at war with another country, you were allowed to capture any ship flying their flag (and you called yourself a privateer, not a pirate).
ohn Paul Jones had spent the past few years cruising the waters around Britain, capturing one British ship after another. Jones's favorite targets were British trading ships, which were loaded with valuable goods. After capturing these ships, Jones sailed them to nearby ports, sold the goods, and split the profits with his crew: Basically, he was a pirate. But this was legal in the 1700s. If you were at war with another country, you were allowed to capture any ship flying their flag (and you called yourself a privateer, not a pirate).
By 1778 Jones was the most feared captain in the American navy. Abigail Adams heard so much about his bold fighting style, she expected him to be a fire-breathing giant. She was surprised to meet the short (just over five feet), gentle-looking Jones. Abigail commented: “I should sooner think of wrapping him up in cotton wool and putting him in my pocket, than sending him to contend with cannon balls.”
The British, of course, felt a bit differently about Jonesâthey were dying to catch and hang him. And on a warm night in September 1779, with moonlight reflecting off the smooth sea, they got their
chance. A British warship named the
Serapis
spotted an American ship.
chance. A British warship named the
Serapis
spotted an American ship.
“What ship is that?” called out Richard Pearson, captain of the
Serapis.
“Answer immediately, or I shall be under the necessity of firing into you.”
Serapis.
“Answer immediately, or I shall be under the necessity of firing into you.”
The next thing Pearson knew, a cannonball was flying toward his ship. Pearson had run into the
Bonhomme Richard,
under the command of John Paul Jones. Floating so close that they sometimes crashed together, the two ships battered each other with cannonballs, guns, and grenades. Both crews had to stop fighting every few minutes to put out fires on their wooden ships. Seeing that the
Bonhomme Richard
was badly damaged, Captain Pearson asked John Paul Jones if he was ready to surrender.
Bonhomme Richard,
under the command of John Paul Jones. Floating so close that they sometimes crashed together, the two ships battered each other with cannonballs, guns, and grenades. Both crews had to stop fighting every few minutes to put out fires on their wooden ships. Seeing that the
Bonhomme Richard
was badly damaged, Captain Pearson asked John Paul Jones if he was ready to surrender.
Jones barked back one of the best lines in American history:
“I have not yet begun
to fight!”
to fight!”
The fighting continued for nearly four hours, and the
Bonhomme Richard
was soon blasted so full of holes that British cannonballs sailed in one side of the ship and out the other without hitting anything.
Bonhomme Richard
was soon blasted so full of holes that British cannonballs sailed in one side of the ship and out the other without hitting anything.
John Paul Jones
Then Jones saw one of his sailors, William Hamilton, do something amazing. “This brave man, on his own accord, seized a lighted match and a basket of grenades,” Jones said. Hamilton climbed up the mast and started tossing grenades down onto the deck of the British ship. One of these grenades landed in a pile of gunpowder on the
Serapis
, sparking a massive explosion.
Serapis
, sparking a massive explosion.
“It was awful!” reported British officer Francis Heddart. “Some twenty of our men were fairly blown to pieces. There were other men who were stripped naked, with nothing on but the collars of their shirts and wristbands.”
The British pulled down their flagâthe signal for surrender.
Jones had won, though his ship was so badly damaged, it sank two days later. And Jones himself was shaken by his violent victory. “A person must have been an eyewitness,” he said, “to form a just idea of the tremendous scene of carnage, wreck and ruin that everywhere appeared.”
N
ow we return to the never-boring Benedict Arnold. Nearly a year after the battle of Saratoga, Arnold had still not recovered from his wounds. Splinters from his shattered bone often poked into the nerves in his left leg, causing unbearable pain. Clearly, Arnold was not well enough to charge around the battlefield on horseback. So Washington gave him the fairly easy job of protecting Philadelphia.
ow we return to the never-boring Benedict Arnold. Nearly a year after the battle of Saratoga, Arnold had still not recovered from his wounds. Splinters from his shattered bone often poked into the nerves in his left leg, causing unbearable pain. Clearly, Arnold was not well enough to charge around the battlefield on horseback. So Washington gave him the fairly easy job of protecting Philadelphia.
Arnold had not been in town long before he met and fell in love with ⦠guess who? Young Peggy Shippen! Peggy easily accomplished something British guns had notâshe made the great general nervous. Arnold wrote:
“Twenty times have I taken up my pen to write to you, and as often has my trembling hand refused to obey the dictates of my heart.”
Benedict Arnold
Arnold got over his fears, though, and soon he won Peggy's heart. They were married in April 1779 (he was thirty-nine; she was nineteen).
You might think Benedict Arnold would finally be happy. Aside from the pain in his leg, though, he was still bitter about seeing Horatio Gates take credit for his victory at Saratoga. Arnold was the kind of guy who always felt people didn't appreciate him enough. Also, Arnold was broke. He had recently borrowed a fortune to buy Peggy a huge house, and he had no hope of paying back the loan.
Just a month after his marriage, Benedict Arnold decided to see how much the British would pay him to change sides in the war.
Peggy, a Loyalist at heart, played a key role in Benedict Arnold's secret plan. She knew that he would need to begin sending messages to the British, so she helped him contact her good friend John André. André was now an assistant
to General Clintonâin a perfect position to help with the plot. In a long series of coded letters written in invisible ink, the three started working out their strategy.
to General Clintonâin a perfect position to help with the plot. In a long series of coded letters written in invisible ink, the three started working out their strategy.
I
n the summer of 1780, Benedict Arnold took over command of West Point, an American fort on the Hudson River in New York. Control of West Point was so important, Washington called it “the key to America.” It was also the key to Arnold's plan.
n the summer of 1780, Benedict Arnold took over command of West Point, an American fort on the Hudson River in New York. Control of West Point was so important, Washington called it “the key to America.” It was also the key to Arnold's plan.
Here's how it was supposed to work. Arnold and André would agree on a time for the British to attack West Point. Arnold would make sure to have his soldiers in all the wrong places, and the British would capture the fort easily. And there was more. George Washington was coming to inspect West Point in September. If the British timed their attack just right, they could grab General Washington too! In exchange, Arnold was to be paid a cool 20,000 pounds and made a general in the British army.
One of the most amazing things about Benedict Arnold's plot is just how close it came to working. Imagine how different our history would be if Washington had been taken to Britain and hanged! Arnold made a critical mistake, though. He insisted on meeting André face-to-face, so the two men could work out the last-minute details of their plan.
At about two in the morning on September 22, André rowed a small boat to a dark spot on the shore of the Hudson River. Arnold was waiting for him.
A
rnold and André talked until sunrise. Arnold wrote out plans showing just how the British should attack West Point. André put the papers in his boot, got on a horse, and rode south toward New York City (which the British still controlled). There he would meet with General Clinton, and then the British attack could begin.
rnold and André talked until sunrise. Arnold wrote out plans showing just how the British should attack West Point. André put the papers in his boot, got on a horse, and rode south toward New York City (which the British still controlled). There he would meet with General Clinton, and then the British attack could begin.
One big problem: the woods north of New York City were a dangerous “no man's land”âan area in between British and American territory, filled with gangs of violent bandits. Some gangs were pro-American, some pro-British, but mostly they just liked to steal people's money.
As André rode through these woods, three men jumped out from behind a tree and grabbed his horse. André had a split second to guess which side these guys were on. He guessed wrong:
André:
I am glad to see you. I am an officer in the British service.
I am glad to see you. I am an officer in the British service.
Bandit:
Get down. We are Americans.
Get down. We are Americans.
Struggling to keep his cool, André instantly changed his story. He tried to frighten the thieves by saying he was actually an American on urgent business for General Arnold: “Gentlemen, you had best let me go or you will bring yourselves in trouble, for, by stopping me, you will detain the general's business.”
But these guys just wanted to know one thing: “Where is your money?”
“Gentlemen, I have none about me,” André explained.
The men pulled André off the road and searched him. And André really didn't have much money on him. But he did have some
very strange papers stuffed in his boot. The thieves started reading the papers ⦠. .
very strange papers stuffed in his boot. The thieves started reading the papers ⦠. .
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