|
| Affiliation | Democratic-Republican |
|
| Name | Horatio Gates |
| Address |
New York, New York , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
July 26, 1727
|
| Died | April 10, 1806
(78 years)
|
| Contributor | Ralphie |
| Last Modifed | Juan Croniqueur
Apr 06, 2023 10:05pm |
| Tags |
Army -
|
| Info | Horatio Gates (1726 – 1806) was an American general during the Revolutionary War. He is usually credited with the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga and blamed for the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Camden.
Horatio Gates was born to servants of Peregrine Osborne, 2nd Duke of Leeds, in Maldon, England.
Gates received a lieutenant's commission in the British Army in 1745. He served in Germany during the War of the Austrian Succession, and later was promoted to captain in the Nova Scotia provincial ranks in 1753.
During the French and Indian War Gates served under General Edward Braddock in America. In 1755 he accompanied the ill-fated Braddock Expedition in its attempt to control access to the Ohio Valley. This force included other future Revolutionary War leaders such as Thomas Gage, Charles Lee, Daniel Morgan, and George Washington. Gates later served in the West Indies and participated in the capture of Martinique.
In October of 1754, Gates married Elizabeth Phillips and had a son, Robert, in 1758. Gates' military career stalled, as advancement in the British army required money or influence. He retired as a major in 1769 and emigrated to America, settling on a modest plantation in Virginia.
When the word of the revolution reached Gates in late May, 1775 he hurried to Mount Vernon and offered his services to George Washington. In June, the Congress began organizing the Continental Army. In accepting command, Washington urged the appointment of Gates as adjutant of the army. On June 17, 1775 Congress commissioned Gates as a Brigadier General and Adjutant General of the army.
Gates' wartime service as adjutant was invaluable to the fledgling army, as he and Charles Lee were the only men with significant experience in the British regular army. As adjutant Gates created the army's system of records and orders, and helped with the standardization of regiments from the various colonies.
While his administrative skills were valuable, Gates longed for a field command. By June of 1776, he had been promoted to Major General, and he was given command of the Canadian Department to replace John Sullivan.
Gates' results in command was much less satisfactory than his term as adjutant. He never got to command the Canadian Department, since the American Invasion of Canada had been abandoned before his arrival. He wound up as an assistant to General Schuyler in the Northern Department.
By December Gates was lobbying Congress for a new appointment, while his troops were with Washington at the Battle of Trenton. He was sent back north with orders to assist Schuyler in New York. But in 1777, Congress blamed Schuyler and St. Clair for the loss of Fort Ticonderoga and gave Gates command of the Northern Department on August 4th.
Gates assumed command on August 19th, just in time for the defeat of British General Burgoyne's invasion at the Battle of Saratoga. While Gates' reputation was greatly enhanced by the victory and Burgoyne's surrender, most actions were directed by field commanders like Benedict Arnold, Enoch Poor, and Daniel Morgan. Credit is also due to other events, such as the actions of John Stark at Bennington.
Gates attempted to maximize the political return on his victory, since Washington was having very little success with the main army. Congress named Gates to head the Board of War, a post he took while keeping his field command. Congress considered replacing Washington as commander-in-chief with Gates. The failure of the Conway Cabal ended the political maneuvering. Gates resigned from the Board of War, and took an assignment as commander of the Eastern Department in November of 1778.
In May of 1780, news of the fall of Charleston, South Carolina and the capture of General Benjamin Lincoln's southern army reached Congress. On May 7 they voted to place Gates in command of the Southern Department. He learned of his new command at his home near modern Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and headed south to assume command of remaining Continental forces near the Deep River in North Carolina of July 25, 1780.
Gates led his forces and militia south, to their stand-up fight with British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Camden on August 16 and was overwhelmingly defeated. Gates' only notable accomplishment was to cover 170 miles in three days on horseback, headed north. His bitter disappointment was compounded by the news of his son Robert's death in combat in October. Nathanael Greene replaced Gates as commander on December 3, and he returned home.
While never placed in command again, Gates did return to serve the Continental Army. After Congress repealed its resolution requiring a board of inquiry into the Camden disaster in 1782, Gates rejoined Washington's staff at Newburgh, New York. Although rumors connected some of his aides in the Newburgh conspiracy of 1783, Gates had no obvious connection.
Gates' wife Elizabeth died in the summer of 1783. Gates retired in 1784 and returned to Virginia. He served as the president of the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati, and worked to rebuild his life. He proposed marriage to Janet Montgomery, the widow of General Richard Montgomery, but she refused. In 1786 he married Mary Vallance, a wealthy widow.
Gates sold his Virginia estate and freed his slaves at the urging of his friend John Adams. The aging couple retired to an estate on northern Manhattan Island. His later support for Jefferson's presidential candidacy ended his friendship with Adams. Gates and his wife remained active in New York City's society, and he was elected to a single term in the New York state legislature in 1800. He died on April 10, 1806, and was buried in Trinity Church's graveyard on Wall Street.
[Link] |
 | BOOKS |
 |
|
| Title |
Purchase |
Contributor |
|
| Start Date |
End Date |
Type |
Title |
Contributor |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
| INFORMATION LINKS |
|
|
|
