To George Washington from Major General William Heath, 10–11 January 1780
From Major General William Heath
Robinson’s House [N.Y.] Jany 10th[–11] 1780
Dear General
The last evening the North Redoubt was discovered to be on fire;1 at the Southwest corner, on the out side, about two feet below the top of the Parapet, & within the face, or outside timbers; the fire appeared to be makeing its way towards the Magazine, which is in that end of the bomb proof, and where at that time, were ten barrells of powder, which at first much alarmed the Garrison; but the Powder & about 100 barrells of provissions, were immediately & safely removed. As soon as I received information of the fire, I sent to West Point (being the nearest Post from which assistance could be afforded) and desired General Patterson, instantly to send over 100 men with axes Shovells &c.—this was done with great expedition, & the fire after some time happily extinguished, without any great damage to the works, altho, appearances for some time were very serious. How the fire in that place began, & whether by accident or design, is yet a mystery. I shall order the most critical enquiry into the matter. The two Redoubts are garrisoned by Captain Walkers Company of Artillery, & a Sergeants Guard of Infantry in each. Captain Walker appears to be a most judicious, active & vigilant Officer.
I have this day surveyd the damage, and find that it will be very easily repaired, haveing been principally occassioned by starting a few timbers at the Corner to come at the fire, which will be placed down again. Since it is my duty to make this report, I take the liberty to make another, which I did not intend to trouble your Excellency with (at least not untill I reported the conclusion of the whole) viz. that on the morning of the first of January, sixty odd Soldiers of the Garrison of West Point, who had entertained a most absurd & groundless opinion, that thier time of service expired the first instant, altho engaged for three years, & enlisted at different periods since January 1777, slung their packs & went of[f] with arms & accoutrements compleat.2 As soon as it was known, Captain Bailey with 100 men was ordered to pursue, & bring them back, dead or alive.3 They proceded up the West side of the river, not being able to pass at West Point, either in boats or on the ice. Not knowing, as they had so much the start of Captain Bailey, but they might reach Fish Kill before him & pass there; I sent off an Express to the Commanding Officer of the Regiment at that place, to be in rea⟨d⟩iness to stop them. Fortunately Captain Bailey overtook them at New Windsor, and without any opposition, escorted them safely back to West Point, on monday the 3d inst.; where a number of the Principals are closely confined, & the rest set at liberty. A Court Martial is now sitting for the tryal of them, & probably some will meet the punishment they deserve. It appears to have been a plan for Those belonging to the Massachusetts Brigades to have rendezvoused at Fish Kill, and from there procede to Danbury, and after being joined by those of General Poors Brigade, of like sentiments to march home. The early measures taken disconcerted their plan. Several Sergeants went off with, and led the men. A Sergeant in Colonel Bigelows Regt who had expressed his sentiments a day or two before rather too freely, was confined, tryed & sentenced to receive one hundred lashes & be reduced to the ranks; this was executed at the head of the Brigade at roll call the evening of the 31st ulto, and I believe with good effect; for not a single man went off from the Quarters of the Brigade, altho near sixty, belonging to General Glovers Brigade, went off from the lines; where they had not heard what had taken place in the Brigade.4 Parties were immediately sent after these, but whether they are overtaken, or were stopped by General Poor, or the Light horse, is not yet known. Should they escape our parties, as soon as I am ascertained of it, shall write the Genl Assembly, requesting that they may be immediately apprehended & sent back in the most exemplary manner. We are now perfectly quiet, and not a lisp is heard of going home, before terms of service are fully expired. I am sor[r]y that the Contents of this letter are such, as tend to give Your Excellency pain—they have given me much, but I would have born it alone, did I not think it my duty to report them. I have the Honor to be with the greatest respect Your Excellencys Most Obedient Servant
W. Heath
P.S. Jany 11th I am this moment informed that all the Mutineers, that went off from the Lines, were overtaken secured & are bringing back.
W.H.
LS, DLC:GW; ADfS, MHi: Heath Papers.
1. The north and south redoubts, two of the main bastions in the complex of forts, redoubts, and batteries protecting West Point, N.Y., were located one mile east of the Hudson River on the high elevation now known as Fort Hill. The two redoubts, each with three external batteries, guarded the approach route to West Point from the direction of Peekskill, New York. For the armament of the redoubts’ batteries, see GW to Henry Knox, 20 Aug. 1779, and n.1 to that document. For the planned strength of the garrisons of these redoubts, see Duportail to GW, 24 Sept. 1779.
2. On 1 Jan., Brig. Gen. John Paterson reported to Heath that these deserters were from the 4th Massachusetts Brigade and numbered “towards a hundred Men” (MHi: Heath Papers). Fourteen soldiers from the 5th Massachusetts Regiment also deserted on 1 January. Thirteen of these were from Northampton, Mass. (see Ezra Newhall to Heath, 1 Jan., MHi: Heath Papers). An undated return in MHi: Heath Papers filed with the 1 Jan. documents indicates that an additional three men may have deserted from Col. Thomas Nixon’s 6th Massachusetts Regiment.
3. Two captains with the name of Bailey were at this time serving in the 2d Massachusetts Regiment, which was assigned to Heath’s Highlands, N.Y., command. Adam (Adams) Bailey (1749–1824) of Bridgewater, Mass., participated as a sergeant in the Lexington Alarm of April 1775. The next month he joined Col. John Thomas’s Massachusetts Regiment, serving as its quartermaster until December. He became a second lieutenant in Col. John Bailey’s 23d Continental Regiment in January 1776. In January 1777 he transferred to Colonel Bailey’s 2d Massachusetts Regiment as a first lieutenant and regimental paymaster. He became a captain in November 1778 and served to the close of the war.
Luther Bailey (d. 1820) of Hanover, Mass., participated as a corporal in the Lexington Alarm of April 1775. The next month he joined Col. John Thomas’s Massachusetts Regiment as adjutant and remained in the regiment until it was disbanded in December. In January 1776 he became a second lieutenant and quartermaster in the 23d Continental Regiment. In January 1777 he joined the 2d Massachusetts Regiment as a first lieutenant and adjutant. In August of that year he was promoted to captain and served to the close of war.
4. These soldiers, who deserted on 31 Dec. 1779, were from the detachments on the front lines, near North Castle Church, commanded by colonels William Shepard and Joseph Vose. According to Shepard, “they went off in the Dead of the Night” unbeknownst to any of the officers (Shepard to Heath, 1 Jan., MHi: Heath Papers). “A List of the Deserters from General Glovers Brigade,” dated 1 Jan. 1780, is in MHi: Heath Papers. The document names three sergeants, one corporal, two drummers, and fifty-two privates as having deserted from Col. Timothy Bigelow’s 15th Massachusetts Regiment. Four privates deserted from Shepard’s 4th Massachusetts Regiment, and two privates deserted from Lt. Col. Calvin Smith’s 13th Massachusetts Regiment.