It was Tuesday, July 30, 1776.
British warships threatened New York, but George Washington warned his army about a danger inside the city: its water.
“It is represented to the General, that the pump Water in the City, is very unhealthy,” his General Orders stated.
Washington told troops to avoid it. He ordered canteens, inspections of water stored in the defensive works and a plan to supply fresh water throughout the city, according to the orders.
In Philadelphia, Congress spent the same day examining why the American invasion of Canada had collapsed. Its report identified three “great” causes: short enlistments, the lack of hard money and smallpox.
The DX Brief
- Washington warned troops that New York’s pump water had been reported as unhealthy.
- He ordered canteens, inspections of water stored in casks and a fresh-water supply for soldiers in the city.
- Congress blamed the failed Canada campaign on short enlistments, the lack of hard money and smallpox.
- It ordered court-martial proceedings for officers accused of abandoning or surrendering the post at the Cedars.
- Congress sent $500,000 to the paymaster general and $60,000 for the Flying Camp.
- It extended a recruiting allowance to officers who enlisted men for the new three-year army.
- Delegates continued debating the Articles of Confederation but did not finish.
Washington warns against city pumps
The quartermaster general had to provide canteens as soon as possible. Water stored in casks inside the defensive works had to be examined and replaced when necessary.
Washington cautioned troops against the city’s pump water and directed the quartermaster and commissary generals to establish another fresh-water supply. The order identified no specific pump or illness.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Washington had reorganized regimental hospitals July 28 as sickness increased. Two days later, he moved to protect the water used by troops defending New York.
Congress diagnoses the Canada disaster
Congress’ first answer was short enlistments. Temporary service made troop strength unstable, encouraged disorder and disobedience and pushed commanders toward decisions they might have postponed if they could rely on their men remaining in the field.
The second answer was the “want of hard money.” Congress said it made supplies difficult and uncertain, prevented the creation of proper magazines and left military pay of little practical use to soldiers.
The third answer was smallpox. Congress said the disease regularly kept a large share of the northern army unfit for duty.
Failure brings court-martials
Congress ordered Col. Timothy Bedel tried by court-martial for leaving his command at the Cedars and declining to return with a reinforcement. It also ordered Maj. Isaac Butterfield and officers who consented to the surrender there to face trial. The resolutions ordered trials; they did not establish guilt.
Congress also directed Maj. Gen. Philip Schuyler to investigate allegations that Col. Moses Hazen had beaten or mistreated two Canadians. It urged speedy trials when an officer’s or soldier’s pay had been stopped so “there may be no delay of justice.”
Money, recruits and guns move toward the front
Congress sent $500,000 to the paymaster general and another $60,000 to the deputy paymaster general for the Flying Camp.
Delegates extended an allowance of $1⅓ per recruit to officers who enlisted men for the new three-year army. Washington had warned that recruiting efforts remained weak and that a $10 bounty could not compete with shorter state service.
Congress also referred Brig. Gen. Hugh Mercer’s boat-building request to Washington and urged him to use shipwrights and other craftsmen in the Flying Camp. It ordered up to 10 four-pounders and 10 six-pounders sent to Mercer’s works in New Jersey.
The union remains unfinished
Congress again debated the Articles of Confederation and again failed to finish.
Maryland delegate Samuel Chase described three disputes blocking agreement: representation, the mode of voting and western land claims reaching toward the South Sea.
Why it mattered
Canada had shown that an army could collapse without one decisive defeat. Enlistments expired, disease removed men from duty and pay could not reliably purchase supplies.
Those failures were already visible around New York. The Flying Camp remained thousands of men short, sickness was rising and Washington now questioned the city’s water while British ships gathered nearby.
On July 30, Americans stopped treating the Canada disaster as a mystery. They named what had broken the campaign and began trying not to repeat it in New York.
Tomorrow on Road to Independence
July 31, 1776: Washington tightened countersign secrecy after a security failure, while Congress ordered five tons of musket powder sent to New York.
Follow the full Road to Independence series here.
Provided by Dallas Express
