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00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:30The year's campaigns have taken a heavy toll on the soldiers.
00:34Their clothes are tattered, their spirits down.
00:38The Commander-in-Chief George Washington is feeling the strain as well.
00:44Three months earlier, another American general, Horatio Gates, catapulted himself onto the National
00:51Sea by defeating the British at Saratoga, New York.
00:56The victory has given America a new war hero, one with boundless ambition.
01:02Horatio Gates wanted to be Commander-in-Chief of the American Army.
01:05And it goes much beyond that.
01:09Whoever was the victorious leader of the revolutionaries would emerge as the leader of a new nation.
01:15At the same time that Horatio Gates' stock is on the rise, Washington's is in freefall.
01:22At Brandywine, Pennsylvania, the Americans fought the largest engagement of the war so far.
01:28And Washington suffered one of his worst losses.
01:321,000 American soldiers are wounded or killed.
01:37And Washington is forced to retreat north into New Jersey.
01:42The victory at Brandywine gives the British the prize they were after, the rebel capital, Philadelphia.
01:50Independence Hall, the seat of rebel power, now sits empty.
01:54A burning reminder of Washington's failures.
01:58America's rebel Congress is now a body in exile.
02:03And have set up a new home, 100 miles to the west of Philadelphia, in York, Pennsylvania.
02:09In the chamber, there are murmurings that George Washington is weak-willed.
02:14That the general's poor judgment keeps the Americans from defeating the British.
02:18The expectations that civilian leaders had, that Howe's army could be conquered just like that.
02:27There were doubters and carping and criticism and Monday morning quarterbacking against what he had done.
02:37Revolutionaries like Samuel Adams are calling the abilities of their commander-in-chief into question.
02:43Our troops are victorious in the north.
02:46The enemy troops are divided and scattered over a country several hundred miles.
02:50If we do not beat them this fall, will not the faithful historian record it as our own fault?
02:57Samuel Adams.
03:01Congress takes action.
03:04And names Horatio Gates to head the newly created Board of War.
03:09A position that gives him a say in American military strategy.
03:13This is the low point of George Washington's professional life.
03:18Congress begins to lose confidence in him.
03:21Gates' followers are pumping up Gates.
03:24And the idea is then, Brods, that Gates ought to be the commander-in-chief.
03:27But now, Washington, knowing that he's seen as weak,
03:31must win big soon to solidify that command.
03:42But the Continental Army is in no shape for a fight.
03:45And in 18th century warfare, winter is the time to rest, to train, to resupply.
03:54For Washington, now is the time to rebuild his army and his reputation.
04:00And do it before the winter is over.
04:03It will be an uphill battle at the soon-to-be-storied Valley Forge.
04:10It is a strategic location, just 23 miles north of Philadelphia.
04:15Valley Forge is an ideal place from which to keep a close eye on the movements of the British army
04:20and stop the enemy from pillaging the fertile countryside.
04:24Sitting on a plateau, the camp is easily defensible.
04:28Creeks and the Schuylkill River provide a natural fortification to the camp.
04:34But building and running a city a third the size of Philadelphia is a mammoth undertaking.
04:41Washington throws himself into the work.
04:45He designs the camp himself, down to the last detail.
04:49The layout of the barracks, the placement of roads, the location of its defenses.
04:57Washington enacts strict rules to fight typhus and dysentery.
05:00Soldiers who do not use proper privies face five lashes to be administered on the spot.
05:07Soldiers who contract venereal disease from prostitutes selling their services on the peripheries of the camp
05:13pay for their own treatment.
05:15Four dollars for the rank and file and ten dollars for the officers.
05:21These seemingly mundane tasks consume all of Washington's time.
05:26We might accuse him of being a micromanager, but in fact this was a situation that needed micromanaging.
05:34He has to really pay attention to the minutiae because it's the minutiae that's going to kill off his army.
05:40Dysentery and other camp diseases are going to create havoc in his camp unless matters of sanitation are attended too
05:48carefully.
05:48So he has to pay close attention to the details, and he does it really well.
05:55Washington's hands-on approach wins the admiration of his soldiers.
06:00And he assures the men that he himself will share in every hardship and partake in every inconvenience.
06:09During the first month of construction at Valley Forge, Washington chooses to live in a tent at the edge of
06:15the camp, alongside his army.
06:27Life in Philadelphia, however, stands in stark contrast.
06:31For the British, the winter break from the war brings a return to the creature comforts that status affords.
06:38The British army is very warm and comfortable wherever they want to be, whether it's New York or Philadelphia.
06:44They have no problems.
06:46Their problem is deciding which tavern to drink at at night.
06:49The British may have lost at Saratoga, but they hold the rebel capital and are savoring it for all it
06:55is worth.
06:57Evenings are filled by social gatherings, and each Thursday there is a ball where Philadelphia's high society loyalists mingle with
07:04the British officer class.
07:08Back at Valley Forge, the temperature hovers around freezing, and many of the soldiers are forced to wrap their feet
07:15in rags for lack of shoes.
07:17But the men make do, fighting off the cold by playing cards, mending their clothes, and learning new drills.
07:27For soldiers like Joseph Hodgkins, the 34-year-old cobbler from Massachusetts, letters from home are a bittersweet reminder of
07:36what has been left behind.
07:37My dear, I have looked for you till I know not how to look any longer.
07:43Monday afternoon I was very low in spirits, almost despair of your coming home.
07:49Brother Perkins and sisters send their love to you.
07:52Your most affectionate companion till death, Sarah.
08:03As the winter grinds on at Valley Forge, supply shortages become a problem.
08:10America has never had to feed and clothe an army.
08:13During the Seven Years' War, just a fraction of the soldiers' food came from the colonies.
08:17All the rest was shipped across the ocean from England.
08:22And since the outset of the war, the congressionally controlled provisioning offices have struggled mightily to supply the armies.
08:30Supplying the Continental Army was immensely complex.
08:34We call it the Continental Army, thinking of it as a national permanent army, a regular army, which it was.
08:42But in many ways, it's still organized and paid for locally.
08:47Each state was responsible for supplying its own troops.
08:51And this creates enormous confusion.
08:54In February, the army supply lines grind to a halt.
08:58The staple diet for the soldiers becomes fire cakes, a meager meal made of flour mixed with water into an
09:06unappetizing paste that is cooked over an open fire.
09:09It is a far cry from the promised daily ration of a pound of beef and a pound of bread.
09:17Washington is all too aware of the hardships faced by his soldiers.
09:21With his army facing starvation, he throws himself into a writing frenzy.
09:27Petitioning the states for more food and clothing.
09:31Pleading to Congress for more power to oversee the supply offices.
09:35And imploring local officials to send more aid.
09:39But for all his efforts, relief is slow in coming.
09:44Washington will need help to turn his army back into a fighting force.
09:48And it will come from a most unlikely source.
09:51A new arrival in camp.
09:52A Prussian who goes by the name of Frederick William Augustus Heinrich Ferdinand.
09:59Baron von Steuben.
10:14February 1778.
10:16The winter at Valley Forge is taking a heavy toll on the Continental Army.
10:212,500 soldiers die from disease.
10:25More than have been killed in battle in the entire war.
10:31Thousands of others are incapacitated by sickness and hunger.
10:36Washington has done his best to hold his army together.
10:40But is still under pressure from Congress to mount a successful spring campaign and take back Philadelphia from the British.
10:48But to achieve that goal, he will have to enlist the help of others.
10:53On February 17th, a new recruit arrives in camp, sent by the American Congress to aid in the cause.
11:02He calls himself Frederick William Augustus Heinrich Ferdinand, Baron von Steuben and wears the bejeweled cross of the Order of
11:12de la Fidelité, denoting an honorary knighthood from Prussia.
11:18Von Steuben carries letters of introduction, but no papers confirming his achievements, an omission that should be a clue.
11:26For the Baron is stretching his story, just as he's stretched his name.
11:31He has never risen higher than the rank of captain.
11:34And he has been turned down for service by the French, Spanish and German armies.
11:39Amidst rumors, he has taken familiarities with young boys, which the law forbids and severely punishes.
11:48In short, von Steuben has come to the only army in the world that will have him, the Americans.
11:55The Baron's past may be shrouded in mystery, but Washington is desperate for leadership, for officers with European training.
12:03He puts von Steuben right to work.
12:07The task, to create a single method of training, a critical step towards a more professional army.
12:15And to do it before the winter is over, von Steuben embraces the opportunity.
12:24The Baron starts small, spending hours each day working directly with a model unit that will be used to train
12:30the rest of the army.
12:32Baron von Steuben is a remarkable figure.
12:36Von Steuben's genius was the ability to distill the complexity of state-of-the-art European drill tactics into a
12:44digestible form to this raw material that was the American soldier.
12:49They are tactics that are new to Washington and his army.
12:53Tactics learned during the Baron's service in the Prussian army.
12:57But he makes an important adjustment in the way he teaches them.
13:01Von Steuben recognized that he was not dealing with Prussian conscripts.
13:05He recognized the individuality and the Republican notions of the population of troops that he dealt with.
13:12And he was able to take principles and tactics and give them to this force in such a manner that
13:20they were willing to receive it and that they were able to transform themselves from virtuous Republicans into soldiers in
13:27a professional army.
13:29Under von Steuben's tutelage, the soldiers learn how to form solid, orderly columns, how to properly load and fire a
13:38weapon in formation, and the proper use of a bayonet.
13:41The army that comes out of Valley Forge is, in many ways, a much more sophisticated one than the one
13:47that goes in there.
13:49Von Steuben brings a new level of professionalism to the army, and that by itself creates its own sense of
13:56professionalism.
13:57It creates its own sense of belonging.
13:59They're belonging to something larger than themselves.
14:03In a matter of weeks, the ragtag unit is marching in lockstep.
14:09Soon, every soldier is taught the von Steuben technique.
14:13It becomes the foundation for the army's first training manual.
14:18Washington's army is slowly remade.
14:22It is nearly battle ready.
14:30In March, spring finally comes to Valley Forge.
14:35The dark months of winter begin to fade away.
14:39Yet food shortages have been a recurring problem.
14:43For the young general Nathaniel Green, watching his army go hungry is more than he can bear.
14:49At 35, the formidable Green is a rising star in the army, even though he is an unlikely soldier.
14:57Born in Rhode Island, Green is a successful merchant from a devout Quaker family that loathes war.
15:03But he is ambitious and fiercely loyal.
15:07When war breaks out, he throws himself behind the patriot cause.
15:12Green becomes the youngest brigadier general in the Continental Army at age 33.
15:18Now he has risen to the rank of major general and is one of Washington's closest confidants
15:23and one of the loudest critics of the army's failed supply departments.
15:29The quartermaster general, commissary general, and clothier general departments are in such a wretched condition
15:35that unless there are some very good alterations in those departments,
15:39it will be impossible to prosecute another campaign.
15:42Our troops are naked and the men getting sickly in their huts.
15:45This is Nathaniel Green.
15:48Green's experience as a merchant leads him to take matters into his own hands.
15:53He leads foraging parties into the Pennsylvania countryside to round up food and supplies.
16:00But the citizens are often unwilling to give up their property,
16:03even to an army fighting for their independence.
16:06It creates a precarious situation.
16:09Washington didn't want to alienate the local civilian population.
16:14He did what he could to supply the army,
16:17but he wants to protect that relationship with the local community.
16:24But desperate times call for desperate measures.
16:29When persuasion fails, livestock and grain are occasionally taken at the end of a musket.
16:36Green leaves the scared civilians with the only reimbursement his army is offering,
16:40the promise of future payment, an IOU.
16:47Green's efforts impress Washington,
16:49who puts him in charge of acquiring supplies for the army.
16:53The duty-bound general accepts his assignment as quartermaster,
16:59but it is certainly not the commission that he had hoped for.
17:04Nobody ever heard of a quartermaster in history.
17:07All of you will be immortalizing yourselves in the golden pages of history
17:10while I am confined to a series of drudgeries to pave the way for it.
17:15Nathaniel Green
17:17This is the classic case of a successful general being called back to the Pentagon to be a bureaucrat.
17:22And Green doesn't want that.
17:24But on the other hand, it's a sense of Puritan guilt.
17:26It's a sense of sacrificing what's good for you, what's good for your country.
17:33Green dispatches foraging parties far and wide,
17:36south into Virginia, to the eastern shore of Maryland,
17:40and north into New Jersey,
17:44rebuilding the supply lines for the army.
17:51The efforts of Baron von Steuben and Green over the winter at Valley Forge
17:55have given Washington confidence that he has an army
17:59that is now ready to take the fight to the British.
18:06Meanwhile, an ocean away,
18:08a bold American is pushing the war to a new and unlikely front,
18:13the shores of England itself.
18:24April, 1778.
18:27The long winter at Valley Forge has finally come to an end.
18:31The Continental Army continues to train in preparation for the summer campaign.
18:36One that Washington hopes will bring a much-needed military victory
18:40and vindication for his previous losses.
18:44But the fighting season is still months away.
18:47For now, all the general can do is ready his troops.
18:52Unbeknownst to Washington, though,
18:54the war for independence is spreading to a new and unexpected front,
18:58across the ocean.
19:09On a chilly spring morning,
19:11a lone American ship,
19:12the Ranger,
19:13cuts through the water off the coast of England.
19:17Their target?
19:18The port towns along the western coast of Britain.
19:23It has been 700 years since anyone has raided these shores.
19:28700 years since a foreigner has reigned terror
19:31on the inhabitants of the British mainland.
19:34The architect of this bold plan?
19:36John Paul Jones.
19:39At first sight,
19:41the 31-year-old Jones is an unlikely captain.
19:44He is short in stature and soft in his speech.
19:47But the Scottish-born Jones is already a veteran sailor.
19:51Jones is a proud man.
19:53He's a very handsome man.
19:55Almost beautiful to look at.
19:57He's wearing a British naval uniform.
20:01Now, you may wonder,
20:01why would an American naval officer wear a British Navy uniform?
20:07because he thought it was better looking.
20:09Jones is the son of a gardener
20:11who set out for the open sea at the age of 13
20:14to make a name for himself working on merchant and slave ships.
20:18Jones casts himself in his own play.
20:21And it's a play of upward mobility.
20:24This is a notion that's very 20th century,
20:27but in the 18th century, it was unusual.
20:31In the 18th century, your place in society is defined.
20:35That's not the way John Paul Jones wants to see the world.
20:40He wants to be a rising figure.
20:42He wants to overcome his modest origins
20:45and become a gentleman.
20:49It takes him just eight years to reach the rank of captain.
20:54But shipboard life is a dangerous business,
20:56and at 28, he is forced to flee to Virginia
20:59to escape charges of murdering a mutinous crew member.
21:03He starts life anew in America,
21:06adding the last name Jones to avoid being found,
21:09and joins the fledgling Continental Navy in 1775.
21:15But what America calls a Navy
21:17is little more than an awkward flotilla
21:19of mismatched merchant ships
21:21clumsily converted for battle,
21:23a fighting force that could never stand up
21:25to the superior power of the British Navy.
21:28So the ambitious Jones sets out on his own course.
21:33Jones is a military genius,
21:35and he has a fundamental insight,
21:37which is that we're never going to beat the British
21:39by playing some defensive game.
21:42The British Navy at this time
21:44has more than 100 men of war.
21:47The American Navy has none.
21:49So they're not going to win some mass naval battle.
21:52They have to go guerrilla.
21:56John Paul Jones returns to the waters of his youth
21:59and, in surprise attacks, shocks the enemy.
22:05Raiding British merchant ships along the Irish coast,
22:08burning supply ships along the west coast of Britain,
22:12and leading an attack on the port of Whitehaven,
22:15the very town Jones set sail from as a young boy.
22:19The idea is to terrorize the British people,
22:22to show them that the cost of suppressing the American Revolution
22:26is going to be high,
22:28to take the fight home to the Brits.
22:31It is a strategy that has an immediate effect.
22:34News of the raids hits London like a thunderclap.
22:38This morning, an express arrived with alarming intelligence
22:41that an American privateer had appeared off the coast
22:44and proceeded to Selkirk House, which they pillaged.
22:47Along the northwest coast of England,
22:48a general intimidation discovers itself
22:51on every appearance of a sail.
22:55But for his tactics,
22:57raiding towns and taking merchant ships,
23:00Jones becomes known as the Pirate Jones.
23:05It is a label that plagues him.
23:09John Paul Jones wants to be seen as an officer and a gentleman,
23:12not as a pirate, and it hurts him.
23:15In an attempt to prove that he is more than just a pirate,
23:18Jones sets his eye on one last goal,
23:21taking a British warship.
23:24He finds the perfect target anchored off the Irish coast,
23:28the Drake.
23:29With 20 guns, all four pounders,
23:32she is a relatively even match to Jones' ranger.
23:35As is his custom,
23:37Jones flies the British naval ensign,
23:39which allows him to slide close to the enemy ship.
23:41And at the last minute,
23:43Jones gives the order to fire.
23:46The battle is on.
23:48The two ships exchange broadsides,
23:51at close range.
23:5418th century warfare was supposed to be gentlemanly,
23:58at least for the gentleman who fought it.
23:59It was almost like a formal dance.
24:01At sea, ships,
24:03like a minuet in a ball.
24:06Jones didn't believe in all that.
24:08Jones believed in what today we would call total war.
24:10He would put men up in the tops,
24:12as they were called,
24:13up the mast on these platforms
24:16to blaze away with muskets,
24:18with guns.
24:21These new tactics give Jones the upper hand.
24:24His crew rakes the deck of the Drake with hot grapeshop,
24:27that tears through sails and limbs.
24:30And after just one hour,
24:32the British lower their flag in defeat.
24:34The significance is that no American ship has taken a British ship in a clean, fair fight.
24:42And the British navy considers itself to be so superior to any other navy.
24:48So for an American ship to defeat a British ship was a real blow to the Brits.
24:54and it told them, hmm, what are we getting into here?
24:56The ranger makes a hasty retreat,
24:59heading to France,
25:00the British navy in desperate pursuit.
25:03For Jones,
25:05the mission is a success.
25:07What was done
25:08is sufficient to show
25:10that not all their boasted navy
25:12can protect their own course,
25:14and that the scenes of distress,
25:15which they have occasioned in America,
25:17may soon be brought home to their own doors.
25:20John Paul Jones.
25:25Jones has brought the revolution
25:26right to the doorstep of the British.
25:29Arriving in France,
25:31he becomes the toast of Paris,
25:33the ideal of American heroism.
25:37Jones' war will continue.
25:39The following year,
25:40he will lead a modest fleet
25:41aboard his new ship,
25:43the Bonhomme Richard,
25:44winning the greatest American naval battle of the time
25:46against the British warship,
25:48the Serapis.
25:50And years later,
25:51for his daring missions,
25:53John Paul Jones
25:54will become known
25:55as the father
25:56of the American navy.
25:59Back in America,
26:00George Washington prepares
26:02to take the fight
26:03to the British army,
26:05looking for the battle
26:06that will restore his reputation
26:08once and for all.
26:15May 5th, 1778,
26:18Valley Forge.
26:20Three months of drilling
26:22have given Washington
26:23a new confidence in his army.
26:25The efforts of Washington,
26:27Nathaniel Green,
26:28and Baron von Steuben,
26:29whose service has now earned him
26:31the position of Inspector General
26:32of the army,
26:33have emboldened a force
26:34that is now 13,000 strong.
26:38Washington's perseverance
26:39through the hardship of the winter
26:41has held his army together.
26:43He is now eager
26:45to test the mettle
26:45of his soldiers,
26:46and the British are about to provide
26:48the perfect opportunity.
26:55British headquarters,
26:56Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
26:57A new commander-in-chief
26:59is taking over
27:00the British army,
27:01Sir Henry Clinton.
27:02His predecessor,
27:04William Howe,
27:05recalled after the British loss
27:07at Saratoga.
27:09Clinton arrived in America
27:11in 1775
27:12with Howe
27:13and General John Burgoyne.
27:16Both generals
27:17left America in defeat.
27:18Now,
27:19he is the last one standing.
27:22At the time
27:23of the American Revolution,
27:24positions of command
27:25devolved
27:26to the next man
27:27in the line
27:28according to seniority.
27:31Promotion
27:31was subject,
27:32with very few exceptions,
27:34to the rigid law
27:35of seniority.
27:36And in this case,
27:38Henry Clinton
27:38was the only choice
27:40because he was
27:41the next most senior officer
27:43following the recall
27:44of Howe.
27:45Clinton is as concerned
27:47with how his actions
27:48will be interpreted,
27:50how he will be judged,
27:51that awareness of,
27:53if I don't handle
27:54this right,
27:56what's this going to mean
27:57for my reputation
27:58back at home?
28:00Clinton has good reason
28:01to worry about his reputation.
28:03The war for independence
28:04has changed dramatically.
28:07It is no longer a battle
28:08between two adversaries.
28:11Now,
28:12there are three.
28:15For the past year,
28:17the Americans
28:17have been courting France,
28:19the world's other superpower.
28:23Leading the effort
28:24is the rebel emissary,
28:25Benjamin Franklin.
28:27At 72 years old,
28:29Franklin is an internationally
28:31renowned scientist
28:32and writer
28:33who has entered
28:33a new phase
28:34in his career,
28:35that of diplomat.
28:39America's victory
28:40at Saratoga
28:41has shown the French
28:42that the colonies
28:43can hold their own
28:44against the British
28:45and has persuaded them
28:46to join the fight
28:47against their ancient enemy.
28:50Now,
28:51the elder statesman
28:52is working out
28:53the final details
28:54in the newly signed
28:55Treaty of Friendship.
28:56France gives money
28:57and supplies,
28:59but more importantly,
29:00offers their navy
29:01to the American cause.
29:03French naval support
29:04is absolutely crucial
29:05for American resistance.
29:08The British,
29:09they have to now
29:10take the naval dimensions
29:12of this war
29:13into account.
29:14They can no longer
29:15say we can take
29:16naval supremacy
29:17for granted
29:17and concentrate
29:18on winning the war
29:21on land.
29:26Back in Philadelphia,
29:27British General Clinton
29:28opens his first orders,
29:30which have just arrived
29:31from England.
29:33The British ministry
29:34has been forced
29:35to make a dramatic choice.
29:38In May 1778,
29:40the British hold Philadelphia,
29:43New York City
29:45and Newport, Rhode Island.
29:48Now,
29:49there is a very real danger
29:50of a blockade
29:51by the French fleet
29:52at any of these ports.
29:53So,
29:54Clinton is ordered
29:55to give up
29:55the rebel capital
29:56of Philadelphia
29:57and consolidate his forces
29:59in New York City.
30:01It is a forced retreat,
30:04not how Clinton
30:06had expected
30:06his leadership to begin.
30:10American spies
30:11in Philadelphia
30:12rush dispatches
30:13to Valley Forge
30:14with word
30:14of the British action.
30:18The news
30:19finds Washington
30:20and his generals
30:20discussing battle plans
30:22for the upcoming summer.
30:24Now,
30:25the question
30:25on the table
30:26is whether to move
30:28on the British
30:28when they begin
30:29their retreat
30:30to New York.
30:32Washington
30:32is still stinging
30:34from last year's losses
30:35at Brandywine
30:36in Germantown
30:36and is eager
30:38for a fight.
30:39But before he can
30:41take on the enemy,
30:42Washington has to take on
30:43one of his most talented generals
30:45and one of the most
30:46outspoken challengers
30:48to his authority,
30:49General Charles Lee.
30:51The British-born Lee
30:53is an eccentric
30:54but capable officer
30:55and a brilliant
30:56military tactician.
30:57But in December
30:58of 1776,
31:00as he was supposed
31:01to be on his way
31:02to aid Washington
31:03as the Americans
31:03fled New York,
31:05Lee was instead
31:06captured by the British
31:07while he lounged
31:08in his night clothes
31:09at a tavern.
31:11Despite the blunder,
31:12Washington worked hard
31:13to get the experienced Lee
31:14back from the British
31:15in a prisoner exchange.
31:18Lee is arguably
31:20the most qualified
31:22general officer
31:24in the American army
31:25in a strictly military sense.
31:28He fought in the French
31:28and Indian War,
31:29he fought in continental Europe
31:31during the Seven Years War,
31:32he fought from Russia
31:33to Poland.
31:34He's exceptionally experienced.
31:36But this experience
31:37breeds some hubris.
31:39He thinks that he knows better.
31:41Lee seemed to have an agenda
31:42throughout the war
31:44of really carving out
31:45an independent command
31:46for himself.
31:48And one could speculate
31:49that he probably
31:51would have liked
31:52to supplant Washington
31:54as the commander-in-chief.
31:56Lee's arrogance
31:57has always been an issue,
31:59and he questions
32:00Washington's plans
32:01at every turn.
32:02But today,
32:03he takes his argument
32:04one step further,
32:06suggesting that the American force
32:07would never stand a chance
32:09fighting the royals head-on.
32:11Coming from someone
32:13who spent more than a year
32:14in British captivity,
32:15Lee's stance raises questions
32:17about his loyalty.
32:19There was always an aura
32:20of suspicion around him,
32:22in Washington's mind at least.
32:24Part of the reason
32:25I'm very suspicious of Lee
32:27is he wasn't treated
32:28as a prisoner.
32:29He had dinner
32:30with the other officers.
32:32He had a convivial life
32:33with them.
32:34It was not the kind
32:36of treatment
32:37that was given
32:37to other revolutionaries
32:39when they were captured.
32:41What none of the Americans
32:43knew at the time
32:44is that while in captivity,
32:46Lee had offered advice
32:48to the British
32:48as to how to beat
32:50the Americans
32:50and bring the conflict
32:51to an end,
32:53an act of treason
32:54that would color Lee's actions
32:56for the rest of the war.
33:01June 20, 1778,
33:03Mount Holly, New Jersey.
33:06The main force
33:08of the British Army,
33:0911,000 soldiers,
33:10have begun their withdrawal
33:11from Philadelphia
33:12to New York
33:13with a supply train
33:14that stretches
33:14more than 12 miles.
33:17Washington sees
33:18the British as vulnerable
33:20and wants to bring on
33:21a fight
33:22against the advice
33:23of his generals,
33:25including Saratoga's
33:27victor Horatio Gates.
33:29But Gates,
33:30now stationed
33:31in Albany, New York,
33:32has become obsessed
33:33with a major campaign
33:34into Canada,
33:36an offensive
33:37that Washington calls
33:38the child of folly.
33:40Even supporters
33:41in Congress
33:42view the idea
33:42as impractical
33:43because it would split
33:45the American army
33:45in two.
33:47Gates' plan
33:48is rejected.
33:50The American army,
33:5113,000 strong,
33:53breaks camp
33:54at Valley Forge
33:55and sets off
33:56after the British.
33:59For more than a week,
34:01the two armies
34:02march across New Jersey
34:03covering 90 miles
34:05in a searing June heat.
34:07American detachments
34:09ahead of the British
34:09fell trees,
34:10destroy bridges
34:11and engage in skirmishes,
34:13slowing the British
34:14army's progress.
34:15Set!
34:16Fire!
34:17Fire!
34:20Until finally,
34:21Washington sees
34:22his opportunity
34:23for a full engagement.
34:25On the night
34:26of June 24th,
34:27Washington lays out
34:28his battle plan.
34:29at the crossroads
34:31of Monmouth Courthouse,
34:32an advanced corps
34:33of 5,000 soldiers
34:35will move forward
34:36and engage the rear
34:37of the British army
34:37as they prepare
34:38to get underway.
34:40Washington,
34:41with 7,000 soldiers,
34:43will hang behind
34:44the advanced force.
34:45If the British retreat,
34:47the Americans
34:47will let them go.
34:49But if they engage,
34:50Washington will move forward
34:52and join the fight.
34:55In accordance
34:56with military etiquette,
34:58Washington's senior officer,
34:59General Charles Lee,
35:01is offered command
35:02of the advanced force.
35:04Lee claims the right
35:05to lead the attack
35:06because he's inexperienced
35:07second in command.
35:09Lee didn't turn it down.
35:11He took it,
35:12which was unfortunate
35:13because Washington
35:15had to let him go
35:16ahead of the rest
35:17of his army.
35:19On June 27th,
35:21Washington issues
35:22the order.
35:24Lee will attack
35:25the next morning.
35:34The British army
35:35has been retreating
35:36across New Jersey
35:37for more than a week.
35:39And against the wishes
35:40of his generals,
35:42George Washington
35:42has set his army
35:43out in pursuit,
35:45seeking an opportunity
35:46to bring on
35:47a full engagement.
35:50Finally,
35:51at a crossroads
35:52called Monmouth Courthouse,
35:53the Continental Army
35:55catches up
35:56with the British.
35:57June 28th, 1778.
36:01A devastating heat
36:03has engulfed
36:04the parched fields
36:05of eastern New Jersey.
36:09In the morning,
36:10General Charles Lee's men
36:11set off towards
36:12the British rear guard
36:13at Monmouth.
36:16Washington
36:16and 7,000 soldiers
36:18wait seven miles
36:19behind Lee's troops.
36:21The general waits
36:23anxiously for word
36:24of the offensive,
36:25but so far,
36:26there has been none.
36:28His army has been trained
36:30and turned into
36:30a new and hard-fighting army,
36:33and that army
36:34and its commander
36:35are now convinced
36:36that they can beat
36:37any army on the face
36:38of the earth,
36:39and they are eager
36:40for the fight.
36:41and that fight
36:42comes on one
36:43of the hottest days
36:44of the war.
36:45Different records
36:46show that the heat
36:47was somewhere
36:47between 100
36:48and 104 degrees
36:50on the morning
36:51of the battle.
36:53at noon,
36:54the first progress reports
36:55come in from
36:56Continental soldiers
36:57that appear to be
36:57in retreat.
36:59The news is unbelievable.
37:01Lee was not attacking
37:03what was going on here.
37:06He had the strength,
37:07he had the trained men
37:08who knew how to maneuver now.
37:10Then all of a sudden,
37:11he began to retreat
37:12when he should have attacked.
37:15In fact,
37:16Lee had no battle plan.
37:18Nothing.
37:18He was hopeful
37:19of victory somehow.
37:21It's obvious
37:22to all the men
37:23at Monmouth
37:24that there is no plan.
37:25The men retreat.
37:29Furious,
37:30Washington rides ahead
37:31and encounters
37:32General Lee himself.
37:34Washington personally
37:36rode up and took over
37:37and relieved
37:38Lee of his command.
37:42Nobody accurately
37:43knows
37:44what Washington said
37:46because it was almost
37:50sacrilegious
37:50to write down
37:51when George Washington
37:52swore.
37:53And whatever he called Lee,
37:56it was enough for Lee
37:57to get the idea
37:58and to get out of there.
38:00With Lee reprimanded,
38:01Washington turns his attention
38:03to a more urgent matter.
38:06The British Army,
38:07which is fast approaching.
38:14marching in 100-degree heat
38:16in their full-world uniforms,
38:18it is an exhausting advance.
38:21We proceeded five miles
38:23in a road composed
38:24of nothing but sand,
38:26which scorched through our shoes
38:27with intolerable heat.
38:29The sun beating on our head
38:30with a force scarcely
38:31to be conceived in Europe,
38:33and not a drop of water
38:34to assuage our parching thirst.
38:36A number of soldiers
38:38were unable to support
38:39the fatigue
38:40and died on the spot.
38:42Lieutenant William Hale.
38:46At one o'clock,
38:48less than half a mile
38:49separates the British Army
38:50from the Americans.
38:52Washington must act fast,
38:54rallying the troops
38:55on the high ground
38:56of the field.
39:01Within an hour,
39:02the American soldiers
39:03have formed their ranks.
39:06The British arrive,
39:07hot and exhausted
39:08from their march,
39:10only to face
39:11a Continental Army
39:12in a strong defensive position.
39:14The winter's training
39:15at Valley Forge
39:16is paying off,
39:17and Washington knows it.
39:20He then does
39:20something astounding.
39:23He rides back and forth
39:25in front of his lines
39:26to rally the troops,
39:28putting himself
39:28in the line of fire,
39:30risking his life
39:31as he asked his own men
39:32to risk their lives.
39:35People who know
39:36Washington in the war
39:38think that he has
39:39a feeling of invincibility
39:42because he puts himself
39:43in the line of fire
39:44so often.
39:46He's almost convinced
39:47that he can't be killed.
39:49The British open up on him
39:51and miraculously miss him.
39:59The Battle of Monmouth erupts.
40:02More than 20,000 soldiers
40:04clash in the brutal heat.
40:07The fighting rages for hours,
40:09long into the summer afternoon.
40:12For the men on the field that day,
40:14it is some of the most intense combat
40:15they have ever seen.
40:18The briskest cannonade commenced
40:20on both sides
40:21that I ever heard.
40:22If anything can be called musical
40:24when there is so much danger,
40:25I think it was the finest music
40:27I ever heard.
40:28Henry Dearborn.
40:31The English commander
40:32to the right hollered,
40:33Come on, my brave boys,
40:35for the honour of Great Britain
40:36and killed many
40:37with their bayonets.
40:39British Lieutenant
40:40Alexander Dow.
40:43The shattered remains
40:45of our battalion
40:46suffered from thirst
40:47and heat
40:47of which several died.
40:49Some preferred
40:50the shade of the trees
40:51in the direct range of shock
40:52to the more horrid
40:53tortures of thirst.
40:54One of these
40:55had his arm shattered
40:56to pieces.
40:58Lieutenant Hale.
41:00The British advance repeatedly,
41:03but Washington's men
41:04repel each of the assaults.
41:08In the thick of the fighting,
41:09a young woman
41:10named Mary Hayes McCall
41:12risks her life
41:14caring for the wounded
41:15and bringing water
41:15to the parched American troops.
41:18She is just one
41:19of the scores of women
41:20who take to the battlefields
41:21of the revolution
41:22and become known
41:24to the soldiers
41:24as Molly Pitcher.
41:27The Battle of Monmouth
41:29is the longest
41:29of the Revolutionary War,
41:31lasting continuously
41:32more than five hours.
41:39Sunstroke,
41:40not musket balls,
41:41is the biggest killer
41:42on this day.
41:44Scores of soldiers
41:45on both sides
41:46die from the heat.
41:50When the smoke
41:51had cleared at Monmouth,
41:54it was a draw.
41:57Washington knew
41:58and the country knew
41:59that this new army
42:00that had come out
42:01of Valley Forge
42:03was a good one.
42:04They had held their own
42:05against the British.
42:06and the British.
42:07This renews the public's
42:09spirit for the war
42:11and forever solidifies
42:13Washington's position
42:14as the unquestioned
42:16Commander-in-Chief.
42:28The Continental Army
42:29has proven itself
42:30a capable fighting force.
42:33Washington has proven
42:34his leadership
42:35as their general.
42:38For his retreat
42:39in the face of the enemy,
42:40Charles Lee
42:41will face court-martial.
42:42He will be wounded
42:44in one duel
42:44and challenge to seven others
42:46for suggesting
42:47that the Americans
42:48could not stand up
42:49to the British.
42:52Disgraced,
42:53he will retire
42:54to his Virginia home
42:55and die there
42:56with his beloved dogs
42:57in 1782.
43:01The rebel capital,
43:02Philadelphia,
43:03is now back
43:04in American hands
43:06and Washington
43:07turns control
43:07of the city
43:08over to one of his
43:09most trusted generals,
43:11Benedict Arnold.
43:13The bold general
43:14is now a military governor.
43:16He will make choices here
43:17that will forever
43:18change his past,
43:20his present,
43:21and his future.
43:26On the field
43:27that evening
43:27at Monmouth Courthouse,
43:28the entire army
43:29lay together
43:30in exhaustion
43:31and Washington
43:33sleeps here
43:33on the battlefield
43:35with his men.
43:37The French Navy
43:38is now under sail.
43:40Destination,
43:41America.
43:42Just maybe
43:43the war can be won
43:44before the year is out.
44:05The French Navy
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