The following is an installment of “On This Day,” a series celebrating America’s 250th anniversary by following the actions of Gen. George Washington, the Continental Congress, and the men and women whose bravery and sacrifice led up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
March 16, 1776
The weather, specifically the severity of it, rules Gen. George Washington’s every decision and the movement of his troops. Writing from Braintree, Abigail Adams’s letters to her husband John Adams in Philadelphia give details of what Washington was facing.
The wind, deep and thick mud, ice, rain, and snow force Washington to countermand marching orders that he gave just the day before because of “mirey” roads. Washington is forced to direct the artillery that was scheduled to move this morning to halt until tomorrow.
The unnavigable roads also halt British Gen. William Howe’s plans to evacuate Boston. The mud has stalled their maneuvers. The wind has also halted his fleet in Boston Harbor, leaving them windbound.
Washington, undeterred by the fickleness, looks toward the days ahead. He writes to Jeduthan Baldwin, a Massachusetts engineer, and orders him to proceed at once to New York and follow the directions of the commanding officer there.
Instructions to Jeduthan Baldwin
Headquarters Cambridge 16 March 1776
Sir
You are hereby Order’d to proceed immediately to the City of Newyork where being arrived, you are to receive and follow such Orders & directions as shall be given you by the Officer Commanding the Continental Forces there. I am Sir Your most obedt Servt. GW
ON THIS DAY: WASHINGTON RIGHTLY FEARS THAT THE BRITISH WILL USE SMALLPOX
Baldwin, similar to Washington, was a veteran of the French and Indian War. His engineering work here at the Siege of Boston, along with Fort Ticonderoga, and later in the fortification of West Point, are well regarded. His detailed journal, in which he kept a daily record of events from 1775 to 1778, was published in 1906 as The Revolutionary Journal of Col. Jeduthan Baldwin. It is an extraordinary treasure of reports, containing intricate details, not only from the Siege of Boston but the breadth of the entire Revolutionary War, and I urge you to read it.
