The Battle of the Kegs

Last updated

Issue by the New Jersey Gazette with the lyrics of the ballad Battle of the Kegs broadside.jpg
Issue by the New Jersey Gazette with the lyrics of the ballad

The Battle of the Kegs is a ballad written by Francis Hopkinson dramatizing an attempted attack upon the British Fleet in the harbor of Philadelphia on January 6, 1778 during the American Revolutionary War.

Contents

The kegs themselves were made by Colonel Joseph Borden's cooperage to the specifications of Caleb Carman and designed by David Bushnell, an inventor and graduate of Yale College. They were filled with gunpowder and released to float down the Delaware River. It was hoped that they would contact British warships along the riverfront and explode as river mines. As the floating mines moved downriver, however, few of them contacted the ships of the British navy. The British had hauled their ships into positions that protected them from floating river ice, and as a result of this precaution the ships also avoided the exploding kegs. The operation did not achieve strategic military results, and the British fleet was little damaged. The only casualties were two curious young boys who were killed by a mine/keg and alerting the British. [1] The attack was ineffectual.

Even so, the attack generated a panic on the waterfront, and throughout the entire day the sound of cannon was present in the port as the navy desperately attempted to destroy the kegs before they could find a target. Similarly there sounds of musketry from the shore as the soldiers were ordered to fire upon any piece of flotsam in the water, with not one piece of wood being overlooked. The defense operation continued for several days longer until the British were confident the anchorage was safe. [2]

While the episode did not inflict any casualties on the British forces, the Red Coats response was the source of much amusement to the Americans, and provided an opportunity to uplift morale. The event was dramatized in ballads and a series of mocking newspaper articles, including most prominently in the New Jersey gazette. The ballad sarcastically praises the "courage" of the British occupation force during emotional scene on the Philadelphia riverfront. [3] [4]

Bushnell mines destroying a small British boat from Cerberus in New London, CT Bushnell mines.jpg
Bushnell mines destroying a small British boat from Cerberus in New London, CT

On August 13, 1777, a Bushnell floating mine/keg sank a small (captured) schooner/tender to HMS Cerberus, in Black Point Bay, New London, CT killing three sailors and saving 1 man. [5]

The Ballad of the Kegs was meant to signal the indefatigable nature of the American rebel army, which had been driven out of Philadelphia and at the time of this operation was encamped under miserable conditions at Valley Forge. By creating a defiant song, the Americans hoped to signal that they did not propose to give up.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Jutland</span> 1916 naval battle during World War I

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, during World War I. The battle unfolded in extensive manoeuvring and three main engagements from 31 May to 1 June 1916, off the North Sea coast of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula. It was the largest naval battle and only full-scale clash of battleships of the war, and the outcome ensured that the Royal Navy denied the German surface fleet access to the North Sea and the Atlantic for the remainder of the war, as Germany avoided all fleet-to-fleet contact thereafter. Jutland was also the last major naval battle, in any war, fought primarily by battleships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval mine</span> Weapon for use in waters, triggered by the targets approach

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any vessel or a particular vessel type, akin to anti-infantry or anti-vehicle mines. Naval mines can be used offensively, to hamper enemy shipping movements or lock vessels into a harbour; or defensively, to protect friendly vessels and create "safe" zones. Mines allow the minelaying force commander to concentrate warships or defensive assets in mine-free areas giving the adversary three choices: undertake an expensive and time-consuming minesweeping effort, accept the casualties of challenging the minefield, or use the unmined waters where the greatest concentration of enemy firepower will be encountered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914)</span> First major naval battle of First World War

The Battle of Heligoland Bight was the first Anglo-German naval battle of the First World War, fought on 28 August 1914, between ships of the United Kingdom and Germany. The battle took place in the south-eastern North Sea, when the British attacked German patrols off the north-west German coast. The German High Seas Fleet was in harbour on the north German coast while the British Grand Fleet was out in the northern North Sea. Both sides engaged in long-distance sorties with cruisers and battlecruisers, with close reconnaissance of the area of sea near the German coast—the Heligoland Bight—by destroyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warship</span> Ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare

A warship or combatant ship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a nation. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are typically faster and more maneuverable than merchant ships. Unlike a merchant ship, which carries cargo, a warship typically carries only weapons, ammunition and supplies for its crew. Warships usually belong to a navy, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations.

<i>Turtle</i> (submersible) First submersible vessel with a documented record of use in combat

Turtle was the world's first submersible vessel with a documented record of use in combat. It was built in 1775 by American David Bushnell as a means of attaching explosive charges to ships in a harbor, for use against the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull recommended the invention to George Washington, who provided funds and support for the development and testing of the machine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Bushnell</span> American inventor who built the "Turtle" submersible (1740–1824/1826)

David Bushnell , of Westbrook, Connecticut, was an American inventor, a patriot, a teacher, and a medical doctor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ushant (1778)</span> 1778 battle of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Ushant took place on 27 July 1778, and was fought during the American Revolutionary War between French and British fleets 100 miles (160 km) west of Ushant, an island at the mouth of the English Channel off the westernmost point of France. "Ushant" is the anglicised pronunciation of "Ouessant".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-submarine weapon</span> Weapon to be used in anti-submarine warfare

An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon is usually a projectile, missile or bomb that is optimized to destroy submarines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Navy</span> Naval force of Pennsylvania during the American Revolution

The Pennsylvania Navy served as the naval force of Pennsylvania during the American Revolution and afterward, until the formation of the United States Navy. The navy's vessels served almost exclusively on the Delaware River, and were active in first defending the approaches to the city of Philadelphia during the British campaign that successfully occupied the city in 1777, and then preventing the Royal Navy from resupplying the occupying army.

USS <i>Sumner</i> (AGS-5) Tender of the United States Navy

USS Sumner (AG-32/AGS-5) was a survey ship in the United States Navy. She was named in honor of Thomas Sumner. She was originally commissioned as a submarine tender as USS Bushnell (AS-2/AG-32), in honor of David Bushnell, the inventor of the first American submarine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Russian Navy</span> Navy of the Russian Empire

The Imperial Russian Navy operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a smaller force that had existed prior to Tsar Peter the Great's founding of the modern Russian navy during the Second Azov campaign in 1696. It expanded in the second half of the 18th century and reached its peak strength by the early part of the 19th century, behind only the British and French fleets in terms of size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Siege of Gibraltar</span> Failed Franco-Spanish attempt to capture Gibraltar (1779–1783)

The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia campaign</span> 1777–78 British offensive during the American Revolutionary War

The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British military campaign during the American Revolutionary War designed to gain control of Philadelphia, the Revolutionary-era capital where the Second Continental Congress convened and formed the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander in 1775, and authored and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year, on July 4, 1776, which formalized and escalated the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Cape Henry</span> 1781 naval battle of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Cape Henry was a naval battle in the American War of Independence which took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 16 March 1781 between a British squadron led by Vice Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot and a French fleet under Admiral Charles René Dominique Sochet, Chevalier Destouches. Destouches, based in Newport, Rhode Island, had sailed for the Chesapeake as part of a joint operation with the Continental Army to oppose the British army of Brigadier General Benedict Arnold that was active in Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra Lee</span> Colonial American soldier – commander of the Turtle (1749–1821)

Ezra Lee was an American colonial soldier, best known for commanding and operating the one-man Turtle submarine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Red Bank</span> Battle fought during the American Revolutionary war

The Battle of Red Bank, also known as the Battle of Fort Mercer, was fought on October 22, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War. A British and Hessian force was sent to take Fort Mercer on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River just south of Philadelphia, but was decisively defeated by a smaller force of Continental Army troops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga</span>

The northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga consisted of a series of battles between American revolutionaries and British forces, from 1778 to 1782 during the American Revolutionary War. It is characterized by two primary areas of activity. The first set of activities was based around the British base of operations in New York City, where each side made probes and counterprobes against the other's positions that sometimes resulted in notable actions. The second was essentially a frontier war in Upstate New York and rural northern Pennsylvania that was largely fought by state militia companies and some Indian allies on the American side, and Loyalist companies supported by Indians, British Indian agents, and occasionally British regulars. The notable exception to significant Continental Army participation on the frontier was the 1779 Sullivan Expedition, in which General John Sullivan led an army expedition that drove the Iroquois out of New York. The warfare amongst the splinters of the Iroquois Six Nations were particularly brutal, turning much of the Indian population into refugees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adriatic Campaign of World War I</span>

The Adriatic Campaign of World War I was a naval campaign fought between the Central Powers and the Mediterranean squadrons of Great Britain, France, the Kingdom of Italy, Australia, and the United States.

HMS <i>Cerberus</i> (1758) Coventry-class Royal Navy frigate

HMS Cerberus was a 28 gun sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Durazzo (1918)</span> Naval battle fought in the Adriatic Sea during the First World War

The Second Battle of Durazzo, or the Bombardment of Durazzo was a naval battle fought in the Adriatic Sea during the First World War. A large allied fleet led by the Regia Marina attacked the enemy-held port at Durazzo, Albania. The fleet destroyed the Austro-Hungarian shore defenses and skirmished with a small naval force. Allied forces involved primarily were Italian though British, American and Australian warships also participated. It was the largest naval battle the United States participated in during the war. Most of the city was destroyed in the bombardment.

References

  1. "Battle of the Kegs 1778". americanrevolution.org. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012.
  2. Hiscocks, Richard (February 1, 2016). "The Battle of the Kegs 5 January 1778".
  3. "Battle of the Kegs | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com.
  4. Moore, Frank. "Battle of the Kegs | American Revolution War Song".
  5. Naval Documents of the American Revolution pp.740-741;746-747

Further reading