#686-687 The Palmetto Tree's Impact on the American Revolution.
Fun Fact #686
To Gauge an enemy
Upon returning home to Boston in June, 1773, Tomas Gauge (Military governor Of Massachusetts) became aware of several fiascos which had happened while he was away (Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre, and The Committee of Safety Conspiracy). He immediately retook control and began enforcing “The Intolerable acts”. Upon learning of a continental congress and bribing Congressman Benjamin Church to act as a spy, Gauge learned of Both the Sons of Liberty and their growing weapon horde. Seeking to limit the power of the Sons, Gauge sent his troops to seize the Gunpowder held for militia cannons. While successful they learned afterwards of thousands of Militiamen who had been marching toward Cambridge to confront them, only to disband after they learned the powder had already been seized. This “Powder Alarm” set Gauge and his troops on high alert and he became much more cautious after the fact, even sending a letter to England asking for “a large foreign force brought in to quickly and suddenly restore order”.
England’s response? They sent 3 Major Generals to The Colonies with armies/navies to match (William Howe, John Burgoyne, and Henry Clinton). However by the time they arrived they found that Gauge had already mucked up the situation and sparked a war with the battle of Lexington. Immediately Clinton took over as Commander-in-Chief for the British forces in America. One tiny problem however, 2 of George Washington’s most loyal advisers (Charles Lee, and William “Lord Sterling” Alexander) had grown up as Clintion’s friends and advisors. In other words, they knew his playbook. This proved disastrous when Clinton refused to give his troops the authority to make their own combat decisions, but fixed their positions and habits –making them vulnerable to Guerrilla style warfare.
PS: The Henry Clintion mentioned here is an Ancestor to the modern Clintion Family –but not related to President Bill Clintion since he adopted his Step-Father’s last name, and wasn't actually related by blood. Also interestingly, Henry's close relatives George and Dewitt were founding members of The Democrat Party, serving as the 4th VicePresident and First governor of New York respectively. Kinda interesting the rabbit holes you find in history.
Fun Fact #687
This also meant that once Clinton went south to deal with “rebels” in South Carolina, MG Howe was out maneuvered and defeated in The battle of Trenton after Washington Crossed the Delaware. This in turn paved the way to MG Burgoyne’s loss of the Hudson river valley. Meanwhile Clinton’s “Grand bet” to end the war in the south quickly hit a snag on their coastal landing of South Carolina. You see there was a little known trait about the Palmetto trees which grew there that had been discovered during the French and Indian war. Palmettos turned into fortifications, were spongy and absorbed cannonballs without splintering or breaking, making naval bombardments ineffective. Unable to soften up the island forts, Clinton turned his invasion force around to regroup with the now battered forces in the North and revise battle plans. These three defeats, finally pushed France and the Hodenashone (native americans) over the edge into open support of The Revolution.
These victories and new allies proved a major boon and morale boost to The Continental army, who began to sing a new song to mock the 4 British generals who failed to defeat mere “rebels”. The song would go on to be sung for the rest of the war as one of the few marching songs General George Washington allowed. Today you can still find the Song Known as “Chester” in which the British armies are mocked with vicious glee.
As for the Palmetto, it continued to be used by The Revolutionary Army in key locations exposed to cannon fire for the rest of the war. Post war it was fondly remembered, and is honored today as part of South Carolina's Flag, while several arms companies (Such as Palmetto State Armoury) have appeared to carry its legacy of defense into the 21st Century.
