More American History for those who may care; this includes “A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, was the response of King George III of Great Britain to the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill; this also gives everything a better timeline: The Boston Tea Party of which my Grand Uncle Major Samuel Barnard, brother of Jonathan Barnard, participated (initially referred to by John Adams as the Destruction of the Tea in Boston) was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, on December 16, 1773. 18 months later the battle of Bunker Hill/Breeds Hill took place; my grandfather Jonathan Barnard participated in this battle. They really pissed off King George III of Great Britain. I posted as a comment below a transcribed letter written by my Grandfather Jonathan to his brother Samuel during the battle of Bunker/Breeds Hill. The Proclamation of Rebellion, officially titled A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, was the response of George III of Great Britain to the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill at the outset of the American Revolutionary War. Issued August 23, 1775, it declared elements of the American colonies in a state of open and avowed rebellion. It ordered officials of the British Empire to use their utmost endeavors to withstand and suppress such rebellion. The Proclamation also encouraged subjects throughout the Empire, including those in Great Britain, to report anyone carrying on traitorous correspondence with the rebels so that they could be punished. A Proclamation by the King for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, August 23, 1775 By the spring of 1775, peaceful protest gave way to armed conflict at Lexington and Concord. Ignoring one last, futile plea for peace in a message known as the Olive Branch Petition, the King proclaimed in this document that the colonies stood in open rebellion to his authority and were subject to severe penalty, as was any British subject who failed to report the knowledge of rebellion or conspiracy. This document literally transformed loyal subjects into traitorous rebels. National Archives, Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after the adjacent Bunker Hill, which was peripherally involved in the battle, and was the original objective of both the colonial and British troops, though the vast majority of combat took place on Breeds Hill. The retreat of much of the colonial forces from the peninsula was made possible in part by the controlled retreat of the forces along the rail fence, led by John Stark and Thomas Knowlton, which prevented the encirclement of the hill. Their disciplined retreat, described by Burgoyne as no flight; it was even covered with bravery and military skill, was so effective that most of the wounded were saved; most of the prisoners taken by the British were mortally wounded. General Putnam attempted to reform the troops on Bunker Hill; however the flight of the colonial forces was so rapid that artillery pieces and entrenching tools had to be abandoned. The colonists suffered most of their casualties during the retreat on Bunker Hill. By 5 p.m., the colonists had retreated over the Charlestown Neck to fortified positions in Cambridge, and the British were in control of the peninsula. Aftermath The British had taken the ground but at a great loss; they had suffered 1,054 casualties (226 dead and 828 wounded), with a disproportionate number of these officers. The casualty count was the highest suffered by the British in any single encounter during the entire war. General Clinton, echoing Pyrrhus of Epirus, remarked in his diary that A few more such victories would have shortly put an end to British dominion in America. British dead and wounded included 100 commissioned officers, a significant portion of the British officer corps in North America. Much of General Howes field staff was among the casualties. Major Pitcairn had been killed, and Lieutenant Colonel James Abercrombie fatally wounded. General Gage, in his report after the battle, reported the following officer casualties (listing lieutenants and above by name): • 1 lieutenant colonel killed • 2 majors killed, 3 wounded • 7 captains killed, 27 wounded • 9 lieutenants killed, 32 wounded • 15 sergeants killed, 42 wounded • 1 drummer killed, 12 wounded The colonial losses were about 450, of whom 140 were killed. Most of the colonial losses came during the withdrawal. Major Andrew McClary was technically the highest ranking colonial officer to die in the battle; he was hit by cannon fire on Charlestown Neck, the last person to be killed in the battle. He was later commemorated by the dedication of Fort McClary in Kittery, Maine. A serious loss to the Patriot cause, however, was the death of Dr. Joseph Warren. He was the President of Massachusetts Provincial Congress, and he had been appointed a Major General on June 14. His commission had not yet taken effect when he served as a volunteer private three days later at Bunker Hill. Only thirty men were captured by the British, most of them with grievous wounds; twenty died while held prisoner. The colonials also lost numerous shovels and other entrenching tools, as well as five out of the six cannon they had brought to the peninsula. Political consequences When news of the battle spread through the colonies, it was reported as a colonial loss, as the ground had been taken by the enemy, and significant casualties were incurred. George Washington, who was on his way to Boston as the new commander of the Continental Army, received news of the battle while in New York City. The report, which included casualty figures that were somewhat inaccurate, gave Washington hope that his army might prevail in the conflict The Massachusetts Committee of Safety, seeking to repeat the sort of propaganda victory it won following the battles at Lexington and Concord, commissioned a report of the battle to send to England. Their report, however, did not reach England before Gages official account arrived on July 20. His report unsurprisingly caused friction and argument between the Tories and the Whigs, but the casualty counts alarmed the military establishment, and forced many to rethink their views of colonial military capability. King Georges attitude toward the colonies hardened, and the news may have contributed to his rejection of the Continental Congress Olive Branch Petition, the last substantive political attempt at reconciliation. Sir James Adolphus Oughton, part of the Tory majority, wrote to Lord Dartmouth of the colonies, the sooner they are made to Taste Distress the sooner will [Crown control over them] be produced, and the Effusion of Blood be put a stop to. This hardening of the British position also led to a hardening of previously weak support for the rebellion, especially in the southern colonies, in favor of independence. Gages report had a more direct effect on his own career. His dismissal from office was decided just three days after his report was received, although General Howe did not replace him until October 1775. Gage wrote another report to the British Cabinet, in which he repeated earlier warnings that a large army must at length be employed to reduce these people, that would require the hiring of foreign troops.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 21:56:16 +0000