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Dear Reader,
Today we have a book review from Ben Olex. Ben reviews David C. Bonk's Men Who Are Determined To Be Free, a recent title from Helion and Company. Without further introduction, here is Ben's review:
The Battle of Stony Point is certainly one of the more exciting and unorthodox battles of the American War for Independence. While it was rather famous in its time, it has become one of the lesser known battles of the war. In the early hours of July 16, 1779, the American Corps of Light Infantry assaulted the British position at Stony Point on the Hudson River. In twenty-five minutes American forces captured over 500 British troops, including the entirety of the His Majesty’s 17th Regiment of Foot, fifteen artillery pieces, and over 100,000 continental dollars’ worth of goods.[1] David C. Bonk covers this unique battle in this new book, Men Who Are Determined to be Free.”
In Determined to be Free Bonk argues that Corps of Light Infantry played an important in the Battle of Stony Point, and that the battle played in the larger strategic role in the context of the War for Independence. The book is roughly 120 pages in length and contains a good number of photos and maps to help the reader in visualizing the events of the 15th of July. It is part of the “From Reason to Revolution” Series published by Helion and Company. It is good to see that Bonk draws from two of the most important secondary sources relating to the battle of Stony Point: Don Loprieno’s The Enterprise in Contemplation: The Midnight Assault on Stony Point, and Henry P. Johnston’s The Storming of Stony Point on the Hudson. Enterprise in Contemplation was written by the former site supervisor of Stony Point Battlefield and Lighthouse State Historic Site, and includes the full transcripts for the Court Martial of Lieutenant Colonel Johnson, the fort’s commander. Though published over one hundred years ago, Johnston’s Storming of Stony Point remains a reliable resources for those researching the battle as well.
Bonk begins his coverage of the Battle of Stony Point by describing the strategic situation in 1778, delving as far back as 1777. To the reader who may be looking to learn more about the battle itself than the larger strategic situation, this may feel somewhat unnecessary. Bonk goes into a large amount of detail about these events, that while related to the battle, do not play a direct role in its outcome.[2] However, Bonk does give a great deal of context for those looking to better understand the larger strategy at hand from 1777 to 1779.It is in the third and fourth chapters that the reader begins to get a clearer sense of how Stony Point fit strategically in the campaign of 1779. Chapters five through seven outline the defenses erected at Stony Point, the history of Anthony Wayne and the Corps of Light Infantry, and the American plan for attacking the fort. In the final two chapters the reader learns about the battle itself and the events that unfolded after the conclusion of the fighting.
Determined to be Free has a good amount of pictures, including many of the battlefield. Throughout the book the reader can find a number of maps that detail the movements of Washington and Clinton as they maneuver through the Hudson Highlands that are clearly marked and easy to understand. The middle of the book includes a section with several images and maps, including the map of Stony Point drawn by William Faden, and a modern map showing the movement of the battle. This last map has some small flaws, such as the positions of the pickets that are placed too far from the fort, or the position of the HMS Vulture which was more likely more to the South-East of its current position. However, the map is generally representative of the battle.
The book falls prey to some small flaws, such as the idea that Lt. Col. Johnson was captured by Lt. Col. de Fluery[3]. There is one photograph which is mislabeled. That is the photograph labeled “Captured three-inch mortar deployed by the British at Stony Point”[4] The artillery piece pictured is actually an eight-inch howitzer, though the manner in which it is displayed (with the barrel almost vertical) may cause some people to mistake it for a mortar. There are two mistakes that should be addressed. The first involves the eight-inch mortar again. Towards the end of chapter eight Bonk discussed the eight-inch mortar and how the garrison was unable to utilize it.[5] It is clear from the details Bonk gives that he is actually referring to the eight-inch howitzer pictured in the book.[6] It seems that this is simply a typing error, because the events that Bonk describes are correct. His second mistake involves His Majesty's Galley Cornwallis, and the role that vessel played at Stony Point. Bonk writes that “On the south side the row-galley Cornwallis could bring fire from one 24lb and four 4lb guns to bear in defense of the lower abatis near the Hudson River.”[7] For many years it was thought that the ‘gunboat’ that is referred to in Lt. Col. Johnson’s court martial might be the galley Cornwallis, which was indeed in the area at the time of the battle. This is unlikely given that throughout the proceedings, the gunboat in question is consistently referred to as a gunboat by many different parties. Furthermore Captain Mercer, engineer at the time of the battle, testified that General Clinton ordered the two gunboats that had advanced with Collier’s fleet from New York to guard Stony Point and Verplanks’ Point.[8]
Despite these small flaws, Bonk’s research is generally correct, and readers will gain a good understanding of the battle, its key players, and important points. He is to be commended for adding to the relatively lightly trod history of the Battle of Stony Point. Determined to be Free offers the reader a great amount of information about not only the battle, but the strategy and people surrounding the Battle of Stony Point. We look forward to more titles from Helion addressing the American War of Independence.
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Ben Olex
[1] Don Loprieno, The Enterprise in
Contemplation: The Midnight Assault of Stony Point, (New York: Heritage
Books, 2009), 47.
[2] It
is worth noting, as Bonk does, that the campaigns provided valuable experience
for the Corps of Light Infantry.
[3] Henry
P. Johnston, The Storming of Stony Point,
(New York: James T. White & Company, 1900), 83
[4] David C. Bonk, “Men Who are Determined to be Free”: The American Assault on Stony Point, 15 July 1779, (Warwick, England: Helion & Company Limited: 2018), 54
[5]
Bonk, 54
[6] For
description of events around the howitzer battery see Testimony of Corporal
Newton in Loprieno, 241-245.
[7]
Bonk, 54
[8] Testimony of Captain Alexander Mercer in Loprieno, 259
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