British Propaganda Downplayed the Battle of Pelham to British Readers in 1776

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Clearly, early during the Revolutionary War Great Britain held its American colonies in utter disdain.  There are countless references in the British press of the day belittling the Americans and their cause.  Indeed, I have quoted some such references before:

"[T]he inferiority of the provincials was most felt. . ." 
"[A] slovenliness [is] generally prevalent in America" 
"[T]he colonists . . . were little used to any restraint, very ill brooked" 

These are from a 1776 British news report of the Revolutionary War shortly before, during, and after the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.  See Thu., Oct. 19, 2017:  Another 18th Century Account of the October 1776 British Campaign that Included the Battle of Pelham.

Early in the war, of course, it seemed inconceivable to Great Britain that Americans would prevail.  Thus, many accounts of skirmishes early in the war were lopsided accounts that minimized the successes of the Americans and exaggerated the accomplishments of the British and Hessian troops.  One such account appeared in a number of British newspapers including December 26, 1776 issue of The Bath Chronicle.  

The Bath Chronicle reprinted a brief account of military activities between October 12 and November 1 which included the British landing on Throgg's Neck (and skirmishes there), the crossing to Pell's Point and the Battle of Pelham on October 18, the movement of Washington's Army to White Plains, and the Battle of White Plains.

The news article in The Bath Chronicle is fascinating for the way it minimizes American successes.  Though the Battle of Pelham was little more than a skirmish, it lasted the better part of a day.  A few hundred American troops held up more than 4,000 British and Hessian troops for much of the day in a delaying action that allowed George Washington and his army to escape from northern Manhattan to White Plains, likely saving the American cause.  Regarding the Battle of Pelham, the news article says only:

"the troops embarked again in boats, and landed in Pelham's manor the 18th without opposition; and marching on, through a random fire of the rebels from behind stone walls, gained the road which leads from Connecticut to King's-bridge."

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"MONDAY'S POST.
LONDON, SATURDAY, Dec. 21.
Whitehall, December 21.

His Majesty's ships Active and Fowey are arrived from New York, but bring no letters from General Sir William Howe, the General being, at the time of their sailing on the 13th ult. with the army in the country, at a considerable distance from New York.

The accounts which have been received of the late operations of his Majesty's forces are to the following effect:

That on the 12th of October the guards, light infantry, and reserve, together with Colonel Donop's corps of Hessian grenadiers and chaffeurs, marched from the advanced posts on New-York island, and embarking in boats at Turtle Bay [i.e., on the eastern shore of Manhattan], passed up the East River through Hell-gates, and landed on Frog's-neck.  That having crossed the neck, they found the bridge, which joined it to the main, had been broken down by the rebels, who had thrown up some works on the opposite side.  That being joined by the first, second, and sixth brigades from Long-Island, the troops embarked again in boats, and landed in Pelham's manor the 18th without opposition; and marching on, through a random fire of the rebels from behind stone walls, gained the road which leads from Connecticut to King's-bridge.  The rebels, apprehending their communication to the Eastward would be cut off, moved from their camp at King's bridge, and extended their left to the White plains, a chain of stony hills so called.  On the 21st his Majesty's light troops took possession of the heights of New Rochelle.  Colonel Rogers with his New York companies, having taken post at Maramack [i.e., Mamaroneck], was attacked by a party of the rebels which he drove back with considerable loss.

On the 25th the advanced corps moved forward to the road which leads to the White plains, where the rebels appeared determined to make a stand; but, on the 27th, the party that was posted there struck their tents in the night, and moved off to the entrances of the White plains, where the main body of the rebels was entrenched, having the Bronx's river in their front, the banks of which are swampy, and the river deep, except at the ford, where the banks are steep and rocky.  On the 28th in the morning, our army marched in columns to attack the rebels, who seeing the troops in motion, a body of about 8000 came out of their lines, and posted themselves on the top of a very steep hill above the ford.  The second brigade, consisting of the 5th, 28th, 35th, and 49th regiments, with a battalion of Hessians, and a party of the light dragoons, marched down, and crossing the ford, though much annoyed by the rebels grape shot, ascended the hill with the greatest intrepidity, attacked and routed the body of rebels that were posted there, driving them to their entrenchments in the entrances to the White plains, where Gen. Howe was preparing to attack them on the morning of the 1st of November; but being prevented by a very heavy rain, the rebels quitted their entrenchments in the night following, and retired towards Connecticut and the highlands, abandoning their camp at King's bridge, after setting fire to their hutts and barracks they had built for their winter quarters, which was immediately taken possession of by a detachment of the King's troops, where they found between 60 and 70 pieces cannon, large quantities of provisions, which the rebels had spoiled, and a great number of hogheads of rum, which the General ordered to be destroyed.  There is no exact return of loss in the different attackes, but it is supposed to have been between 190 and 200 killed and wounded. -- Thus far London Gazette."

Source:  MONDAY'S POST-- LONDON, SATURDAY, Dec. 21, The Bath Chronicle [Bath, England], Dec. 26, 1776, Vol. XVI, No. 845, p. 1, col. 1 (Note:  Subscription required to access via this link)..  

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I have written extensively about the Battle of Pelham fought on October 18, 1776.  See, for example, the following 59 previous articles many of which, like today's, document research regarding the battle:  


Bell, Blake A., The Battle of Pelham:  October 18, 1776, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 41, Oct. 15, 2004, p. 10, col. 1.  

Bell, Blake, History of the Village of Pelham:  Revolutionary War, HistoricPelham.com Archive (visited Dec. 18, 2015).  

Mon., Feb. 28, 2005:  Glover's Rock on Orchard Beach Road Does Not Mark the Site of the Battle of Pelham.  

Mon., Apr. 18, 2005:  Restored Battle of Pelham Memorial Plaque Is Unveiled at Glover Field.  

Fri., May 27, 2005:  1776, A New Book By Pulitzer Prize Winner David McCullough, Touches on the Battle of Pelham.  

Thu., Jul. 14, 2005:  Pelham's 1926 Pageant Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Pelham.  

Wed., Oct. 26, 2005:  Remnants of the Battlefield on Which the Battle of Pelham Was Fought on October 18, 1776.  

Fri., May 19, 2006:  Possible Remains of a Soldier Killed in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 Found in 1921.  

Fri., Aug. 11, 2006:  Article by William Abbatt on the Battle of Pelham Published in 1910.  

Thu., Sep. 21, 2006:  A Paper Addressing the Battle of Pelham, Among Other Things, Presented in 1903.  

Mon., Oct. 30, 2006:  Brief Biographical Data About Sir Thomas Musgrave, British Lieutenant Colonel Wounded at the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Wed., Nov. 1, 2006:  Two British Military Unit Histories that Note Participation in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Tue., Jan. 16, 2007:  Brief Biography of British Officer Who Served During the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Thu., Jan. 18, 2007:  Three More British Military Unit Histories that Note Participation in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Wed., Jan. 24, 2007:  An Account of the October 18, 1776 Battle of Pelham and the "Grand Review" that Followed It, Published in 1897.

Fri., Feb. 09, 2007:  Extract of October 23, 1776 Letter Describing British Troops in Eastchester After the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.  

Mon., Feb. 12, 2007:  Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site Opens New Exhibition:  "Overlooked Hero:  John Glover and the American Revolution."  

Mon., Jul. 16, 2007:  Mention of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 in Revolutionary War Diary of David How.  

Tue., Jul. 17, 2007:  Mention of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 in Writings of Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Aide-de-Camp to British General Clinton.  

Wed., Jul. 18, 2007:  Another British Military Unit History that Notes Participation in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.  

Tue., Aug. 7, 2007:  An Account of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 Contained in the McDonald Papers Published in 1926.  

Wed., Aug. 8, 2007:  A Description of an Eyewitness Account of the Interior of St. Paul's Church in Eastchester During the Revolutionary War.  

Thu., Sep. 6, 2007:  Information About St. Paul's Church, the Battle of Pelham and Other Revolutionary War Events Near Pelham Contained in an Account Published in 1940.  

Mon., Oct. 8, 2007:  American Troops Who Guarded Pelham's Shores in October 1776.  

Fri., Oct. 12, 2007:  Images of The Lord Howe Chestnut that Once Stood in the Manor of Pelham.  

Fri., Oct. 27, 2006:  Orders Issued by British Major General The Honourable William Howe While Encamped in Pelham After the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Thu., Jan. 22, 2009:  Another Brief Biography of Sir Thomas Musgrave, a British Officer Wounded at the Battle of Pelham on October 18 1776.  

Fri., Mar. 27, 2009:  Remains of 53 Individuals Thought to Be Revolutionary War Combatants Reinterred at St. Paul's Church on October 17, 1908.

Wed., Feb. 17, 2010:  British Report on Killed, Wounded and Missing Soldiers During the Period the Battle of Pelham Was Fought on October 18, 1776.  

Fri., Apr. 23, 2010:  Charles Blaskowitz, Surveyor Who Created Important Map Reflecting the Battle of Pelham.  


Thu., Feb. 06, 2014:  A Description of the Revolutionary War Battle of Pelham Published in 1926 for the Sesquicentennial Celebration.

Mon., May 19, 2014:  Biography of British Officer Who Fought in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Wed., Jun. 04, 2014:  An Account of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 Presented and Published in 1894.

Thu., Jun. 19, 2014:  Account of the Revolutionary War Battle of Westchester Creek, Leading Up to the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Mon., Jun. 23, 2014:  Excerpt of Memoir of American Officer Who, Though Wounded, Tore up the Planks of the Causeway During the Battle of Westchester and Joined His Comrades for the Battle of White Plains in October, 1776.

Wed., Jun. 25, 2014:  Image of Sir Thomas Musgrave, a British Officer Wounded During the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Fri., Jun. 27, 2014:  Newly-Published Account Concludes Colonel William Shepard Was Wounded During the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Mon., Jun. 30, 2014:  A British Lieutenant in the Twelfth Foot Who Fought at the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Wed., Sep. 17, 2014:  References to the Battle of Pelham in 18th Century Diary of Ezra Stiles, President of Yale College.

Fri., Sep. 19, 2014:  Abel Deveau, An American Skirmisher on Rodman's Neck as British and Germans Landed Before the Battle of Pelham.
Fri., Oct. 17, 2014:  First-Hand Diary Account of Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Mon., Oct. 20, 2014:  American Diary Account of Events Before, During, and After the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Tue., Oct. 21, 2014:  November 1, 1776 Letter Describing the Battle of Pelham and Events Before and After the Battle.

Fri., Oct. 24, 2014:  October 21, 1776 Report to the New-York Convention Regarding the Battle of Pelham.

Wed., Dec. 17, 2014:  Installation of the First Memorial Tablet on Glover's Rock on October 18, 1901.

Wed., Feb. 18, 2015:  Young American Hero James Swinnerton, Badly Wounded in the Battle of Pelham.

Wed., Feb. 25, 2015:  Where Were the Stone Walls Used by American Troops During the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776?

Mon., Apr. 27, 2015:  Obituary of British Officer Who Participated in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 as a Young Man.

Mon., May 18, 2015:  Cannonball Fired in The Battle of Pelham Found on Plymouth Street in Pelham Manor.

Tue., Sep. 08, 2015:  Pelham Manor Resident Makes Revolutionary War Discovery.

Fri., Dec. 18, 2015:  Brief Report on the Battle of Pelham Fought October 18, 1776 Prepared Five Days Afterward.

Fri., Feb. 19, 2016:  The 600-Year Old "Lord Howe Chestnut" Tree that Once Stood in Pelham.

Mon., Mar. 07, 2016:  Does Pelham Have a Connection to the Painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emanuel Leutze?

Thu., Mar. 24, 2016:  An Account of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 Published in The McDonald Papers. 

Mon., Apr. 25, 2016:  Extract of December 3, 1776 Letter Addressing Battle of Pelham Casualties on October 18, 1776.

Wed., May 25, 2016:  Did the Pell Homestead Known as "The Shrubbery" Serve as General Howe's Headquarters After the Battle of Pelham?

Fri., Jul. 01, 2016:  Evidence the Battle of Pelham May Have Begun at Glover's Rock After All.

Fri., Jul. 22, 2016:  Extract of November 1, 1776 Letter Describing the Battle of Pelham.

Thu., Oct. 19, 2017:  Another 18th Century Account of the October 1776 British Campaign that Included the Battle of Pelham.

Fri., Mar. 09, 2018:  More on the 1926 Pageant Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Pelham.

Tue., Apr. 03, 2018:  British Propaganda Downplayed the Battle of Pelham to British Readers in 1776.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."