An Exceedingly Fortunate Campaign, as described by Capt. J. MacDonald, 84 Regiment By Brian McConnell* Recently I received a transcribed copy of a letter sent on March 18, 1778 by Captain John nd MacDonald, Officer in e 2 Battalion, 84 Regiment of Foot. The letter is part of a collection held by a relative. (1) I was very interested to read how he explained e conduct of e war in America. It was sent from Halifax, Nova Scotia to his sister Helen (Nelly) in Prince Edward nd Island. At e time Halifax was e Headquarters of e 2 Battalion, 84 Regiment of Foot, also known as e Royal Highland Emigrants. After explaining e events and military engagements he writes Upon e Whole you may see at e Campaign has been exceedingly fortunate everywhere. At e start of e American Revolution, John MacDonald, eldest son of Alexander MacDonald, 7 Laird of Glenaladale, had been involved in assisting oer highland scots to settle on lands received in Prince Edward Island near Scotchfort. When he was offered an Officer s commission in e Royal Highland Emigrants he accepted and travelled to Halifax wi oers to form a Company. He was involved in recruiting roughout e Maritimes including a trip to Newfoundland. In 1778 he was stationed in Halifax. (2) His time spent in Halifax was not all easy work nor to his liking. He notes at recently on St Patricks night when e whole town is unruly & in uproar & I had Charge of it on Guard. I am sleepy & wearied, & cannot possibly give you More Satisfaction.
- 2 - The defeat of General John Burgoyne in New York province at e Battle of Saratoga is described by him as not due to any incompetence or poor judgement by e British but raer due to having insufficient numbers. After leading an invasion army into e Champlain Valley from Canada, Burgoyne met wi resistance from American troops and surrendered on October 17, 1777. General Burgoyne s ruin was at half of his force was left in Canada, & are ese now idle viz 5000 men, while himself went wi only 6000 expecting at he would have been assisted from New York, & e half even of is Number was left here & ere to Garrison every place he took, until his Numbers were at last reduced to little more an 3000. He ventured on farer an he would if he had not expected a greater diversion from New York, & so he was at last overtaken in a place where he could get no Provisions nor could he extricate himself since e Smallness of his Numbers had induced About 20,000 of e New England Militia to Surround him, of whom he Killed prodigious Numbers, until his Army became at last fatigued, and wearied wi down right bayoneting e rebels, & yet ere were enough of em remaining. In e time of is difficulty General Burgoyne being Surrounded did not Know at General Howe had Sent General Clinton wi Assistance for him from New York, & at he was wiin Sixty or Seventy Miles of him, Oerwise he would have Stood it out. But e Rebels knew it, & ey were anxious to get quit of Burgoyne on Any terms before Clinton should come up, erefore ey gave Burgoyne e most honorable terms at ever were Granted on such an Occasion. (illegible) Provisions to have stood it out twenty days longer, e rebels beginning (to) run short of Ammunition & Provisions would have been Obliged to go home in a fortnight. Probably what induced General Howe not to have sent up (illegible) Assist Burgoyne sooner, may have seen e notion at a greater Number of e Canadian Force (I mean e Army, at was in Canada) would have been wi Burgoyne, in which case it would not indeed have been so necessary wi (illegible) on e part of is last, o in all events it were much to be wished. When General Maclean, commanding at Montreal, heard at Ticonderoga was invested, he went over e Lakes, drove back e Rebels, & offered to e Senior Officer, General Powell, to go, if Powell would Give him leave, wi 3000 men which he had, & believe (illegible) be content to lose honor, life, or his Commission; but unfortunately for some oer idle reason Powell did not permit him, oerwise it is certainly ought he would have done it. Burgoynes army, at capitulated, will supply e place of e like Number in Britain at may be sent out in eir place, So at all e loss is, e Spirits it has given e rebels, & e Expence of transporting oer troops in eir place, for you ll have heard at e Condition of e Surrender was at he & his Army Should be Allowed to pass to Great Britain.
- 3 - But ese false Spirits will soon evaporate by a few drubbings, & e Expence of transporting oer troops in eir place is Noing to e British Treasury. After e Surrender of Burgoyne our Oer Army under McLean, or raer Powell, after destroying e forts of Ticonderoga, Crown point & Mount Independence returned to winter in Canada, where ere are now at least 5000 of em & As already said e Affair of Burgoyne lies before e Parliament, e Resolutions of which we expect in April or May. General Burgoyne s Surrender at Saratoga (3) Captain MacDonald was not at all discouraged by Burgoyne s defeat. He wrote: The loss of Burgoyne, being no more an 3000 men, is no more to Great Britain, an a drop of water is to a Bucket full. On September 11, 1777, a British army under e command of General Sir William Howe defeated General George Washington at e Battle of Brandywine Creek near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. This was followed on October 4, 1777 by e Battle of Germantown at Germantown, Pennsylvania which was also a victory for e British over e Continental Army. Bo Battles are described by Captain MacDonald as a victories wi relatively small loss of men considering e gain of Philadelphia.
- 4 - For e news of e Souern army under General Howe I refer you to e news papers herewi sent. That of e 3d March gives an Account of a general & considerable Action he fought against em on e heights of Brandywine wherein he was Successful, & killed Great Numbers of em, wi e loss only on his own Side of 3 captains, 5 Lieutenants, 5 Serjeants, 68 private men killed, ese were wounded 1 Lieutenant Colonel, 1 major, 16 captains, 21 Lieuntenants, 5 Ensigns, 35 Serjeants, 4 Drummers, 372 private men, & 6 men missing. All is of e British troops. Of e Hessians or foreigners ese were killed 2 Serjeants & 6 private men & ere were wounded 1 Captain, 3 Lieutenants, 5 Serjeants & 23 men. A very small number indeed considering e loss of e enemy & e advantage gained by it. The Consequence of is Action was at we got Philadelphia for some few weeks ereafter ere were Skirmishes & storming of forts, until e command of e River was obtained & every Obstruction was removed from e Sea to e town for 150 miles, in which e Navy bore a considerable part. There was a considerable And general battle at Germantown some Miles out of Philadelphia wherein e rebels lost great Numbers, were beat, & it seems rendered sick of Giving any farer disturbance wor while in at quarter. It is described in e same Letter of General Howe s in at Newspaper of e 3d March. Our loss was as small in proportion as in e Oer battle being only of e British troops & Hessians 2 Lieutenant Colonels, 2 Ensigns, 7 Serjeants, 1 Drummer & 58 private men killed & ere were wounded 2 Lieutenant Colonels, 6 Captains, 13 Lieutenants, 10 Ensigns, 24 Serjeants, 1 Drummer, 395 private men, & 1 Captain & 13 men were taken prisoners. The great Appearance at e Number of killed & wounded make in e papers is because eir respective Regiments, Names, & Rank are particularly Sett down, but e total at e foot of bo Actions is as I have mentioned. The Consequence of is Action was at General Howe got leisure to fortify himself in Philadelphia by a Chain of Forts between e Rivers Delaware & Sculkill across e neck above e town, for it Stands on a neck of land between ese two Rivers. The rebels inking it very Convenient for em to brea a while & keep quiet, excepting As to some Skirmishes wi our foraging parties, which is all e News we have had of em Since, as by e Arrival lately of e Reasonable man of war. The loss of Philadelphia will be much felt. It gives us e Command of e Lower Counties, & of at part of Maryland lying between Chesapeake bay & e Delaware. They also lost a great deal of effects & Resources in e Town. The Congress was obliged to refine, & our Army has over ran & destroyed A great part of e Country, on e Pennsylvania & Jersey Sides, Which we did Not pretend to Keep possession of. The Delaware was also a great Station for e rebel Shipping. The town was a Noble Magazine, & convenient for Conveying every where Provisions & every oer requisite to e Norward & Souward, in so much as at since e forts Montgomery & oers on e Nor River of New York have been destroyed, it is ought & reported at New England, which never raised bread for itself, enjoys at present a degree of famine at will daily increase, And at ere was a rebel fleet sent wi rice from Sou Carolina to relieve em, Which is now out at Sea, & ten to one but part of em will fall in wi our Cruizer.
- 5 - Based on ese events Captain MacDonald is optimistic for e future. It may take longer at originally believed due to e loss at Saratoga, however, victory will be inevitable. Indeed e Spirit of e British nation is certainly too high to give it up. As for e Speeches of e Minority in favors of e Americans, & eir disrespect of e King, as you will see in e same last mentioned paper, it is not to be minded, being only e Rhapsody of a faction discontented because emselves have not (illegible) manage (to) & ey are but few, for in e votes of Parliament you will always See a prodigious Majority for e King & Ministry s Measures, which while it continues to be e case, Matters will go as ey ought. Besides is sort of Abuse is but common in e English parliaments minority even in times of peace, & it goes generally for noing. Since en ere is no reason to doubt but more effectual measures will now be Adopted, So ere is (illegible) sort of reason for despondency. The only meod was to be followed from e beginning was Separating e Souern & norern Colonies, & reducing first e one & en e oer by, destroying eir Sea port towns, Coasts, landing wi brigade here & ere, burning e Country, en get on board & do e same in Anoer place, & besides ese making a Strong & principal effort to penetrate into e Country in some one particular part. I should wonder indeed if is would not effectually root out eir Shipping, & being to terms all ose at are not greedy of eir own (illegible) Burgoyne, but raer in a way at was inadequate. However ere are More troops now an are sufficient to Keep what we have. Great Britain can fall on ways & Means to Send out irty, forty, or fifty ousand more troops, any one of which Numbers is Sufficient for e Above purpose, & when ey begin to Act, it will give ease & opportunity for taking out of garrison & sending on Active Service e one half of e troops we have out already. The Expedition at Misgave in e hands of Burgoyne can certainly be repeated, for who will say e ups of 3000 men is sufficient to knock (illegible) have Now possession of Philadelphia, it is a Much more important Circumstance in our favors for attaining is view, an e loss of Burgoyne is Against us. Therefore it will Now be more practicable to us, & distressing to e rebels, an it was when Burgoyne began it. It may however take a longer time, because a great part of next Summer may be over before e fall And necessary Complement of troops can be Assembled on e Scene of Action.
- 6 - You will perhaps say I have been A poor prophet hierto, & at my assertions have fallen out oer(partially illegible) To is give me leaves, to Say at I have not been mistaken in what might have been done, ought to have been done & what would have been effectual, but I own I have been mistaken in Supposing it would have been done what I have Said, if Judiciously pursued will have certainly been effectual. Moreover Great Britain can effect it at she will do it is, one would ink, apparent from e now more, an formerly, evident Necessity of doing it for wi wiout dallying any longer. If en She will not attempt it, or shall not have been Successful, it must be attributed to e Decree of Heaven for putting an end to her existence as a Nation. Unfortunately for Captain MacDonald and oers in e British service in America, France entered e war against Great Britain followed later by Spain. Captain MacDonald was unaware at e time of writing of is letter due to e time it took for news to travel by ship but France signed a Treaty of Alliance recognizing e United States of America on February 18, 1778. Spain officially entered e war on e side of America in 1779. After France became an ally of e Continental Army fighting for independence for e American colonies, battles between e French and e British occurred from e Carribean to India. Mounting costs to e British government led to increased pressure on it and in time a treaty to end e war was more acceptable to Great Britain an continuing wi e conflict. Instead of sending more troops as Captain MacDonald had suggested could happen, e British government would agree to a peace in which it would lose American colonies but retain holdings in e Caribbean where it had vital financial interests.
- 7 - Notes: * This article was prepared by Brian McConnell, UE, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B., on December 30, 2015. To contact him please email: brianm564@gmail.com (1) Thanks to Mary J. (MacDonald) Gallant of Prince Edward Island, relative of Captain John MacDonald, for providing me wi a copy of transcribed letter dated March 18, 1778. The University of New Brunswick has digitalized many of e letters of Captain John MacDonald and ey are available to be viewed and read at http://preserve.lib.unb.ca/wayback/20141205153655/http://atlanticportal.hil.unb.ca/acva/macdon ald/en/letters/browse/ (2) See article Captain John MacDonald of e Royal Highland Emigrants, by Brian McConnell at http://brian.mcconnell.tripod.com/jmac.pdf (3) Painting entitled Surrender of General Burgoyne at Battle of Saratoga by John Trumbull, 1822