General William Heath was an excellent administrator. Versed in military training from his militia leadership role during the French and Indian War, he was loyal, hardworking, and dedicated to duty. In fact, it could be said that Heath was everything a good commander could be, except one major flaw; he was rubbish in combat.
Early Life and Military Experience Prior to the Revolution
William Heath (1737-1814) was born on March 2, 1737 to Samuel Heath (1701-1763) and Elizabeth Payson (1706-1763) in his 1636 ancestral farm just outside Boston in Roxbury, Massachusetts, present day Jamaica Plains. The fifth generation of his family to inherit the estate, he would live his entire life on the farm. He would later marry Sarah Lernard of Cambridge, Mass. (1735-1814 – born Lernard and sometimes referred to as ‘Lockwood’) and the pair would have three children; William, Joseph, Samuel. Like most young men, he became active in the local militia, joining the Suffolk County Regiment just as the Seven Year’s War (French and Indian War) erupted. Interestingly, the regiment, first titled the South Regiment, was established in 1636, the same year Heath’s ancestral home was purchased. Later in 1643, it became the Suffolk Regiment.
Most internet articles incorrectly state that in 1760 he was appointed a captain of a company in the 1st Regiment of Militia in Suffolk County. This has two major problems. During the French and Indian War, there was only one regiment of militia for Suffolk County, no need to number them. Not until January 1776 would the county establish five regiments in which the 1st Suffolk was one. Also, Heath was not a captain until 1770, ten years later, and not in the Suffolk regiment. According to his memoir, he held no officer’s rank prior to 1765; “Through the inactive state of the militia company to which he belonged, in the spring of the year 1765, he went over to Boston, and entered a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.” While in the Artillery Company, he first served as lieutenant, commissioned in 1768, and afterwards as Captain, 1770.
While serving with artillery company, Heath, according to his memoir, became a military favorite of Royal Governor of Massachusetts, Sir Francis Bernard (gov. 1760-69). Accordingly, Bernard favored appointing Heath as colonel. However, Heath made known his leanings towards the growing patriot movement and Bernard left office without promoting Heath. In 1770, while captain of the Artillery Company, Heath began writing a series of pamphlets under the pseudonym A Military Countryman. It urged the importance of military discipline and skill in the use of arms as the only means that could save the country from British tyranny. Governor Bernard’s replacement, homegrown loyalist Governor Thomas Hutchinson, knew of Heath’s convictions. During Hutchingson’s three years as governor before he was run out of the colonies in May, 1774, he appointed others over Heath until the rebellious colonials established their own Provincial Congress.
From 1770 until 1774, when hostilities between the colonies and England were reaching a critical stage, it is unclear Heath’s commissions as captain and later colonel of Massachusetts Militia. When Committees of Correspondence were formed, early provincial legislatures, Heath became an active member. After the formation of Committees of Safety, the military arm of the Provincial Assemblies, and Committees of Supply, those tasked to gather weapons in preparation of hostilities, Heath so too took an active role. He was therefore in the eye of legislatures at the time local militias were being taken over by rebel activists and loyalist commanders removed.
His memoir states that he was given a captain’s commission in the 1st Suffolk Militia and after the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was formed, October, 1774, he was its’ colonel. However, as already stated, the 1st Suffolk Militia regiment was not officially formed until January, 1775, with Colonel William McIntosh its commander. By then, William Heath had been appointed Brigadier General of Massachusetts Militia in December 1774, behind General Artemas Ward who was Major General of the Massachusetts Bay Provincial Militia (a small army that morphed into the Continental Army during the Siege of Boston). Records indicate that Lt. Colonel William McIntosh had served under Colonel Heath of the Massachusetts Bay Regiment just prior to Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775.
At the later stage of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Brigadier Heath assumed command of the militia forces that continued to attack and chase British troops back to Boston. Heath was later criticized for having not aggressively cutting off the British retreat, instead holding back forces that allowed them to slip north across Charleston Neck to Bunker Hill; perhaps foretelling Heath’s hesitation while in charge of Continental forces nearly two years later. Heath spent the next several weeks aiding Major General Artemas Ward in organizing and training the newly organized militia regiments assembled outside of Boston. This loose army of farmers and merchants conducted the Siege of British troops within the city and would become the core of the newly formed Continental Army.
After Lexington and Concord, the Massachusetts Assembly established twenty-seven militia regiments often identified by the leading colonel’s last name. Heath was given a regiment under his own name right after battle and like frequent British Army Commands, obtained both the title of colonel and brigadier general. In June, the Massachusetts Assembly appointed Heath as Major General of state troops. Heath would have no role during the Battle of Bunker Hill, that occurred north of Boston along the heights of Charlestown, June 17, 1775. He and General John Thomas each commanded regiments along the southwestern Roxbury perimeter of the rebel line of siege.
Heath’s Placement in the Continental Army’s Command Structure
The Second Congress assembled in Philadelphia established a Continental Army on June 14, 1775 (three days before the monumental Battle of Bunker Hill; June 17th. The next day they voted to commission the army’s supreme commander; General George Washington. Two days later, the 17th, Artemus Ward and Charles Lee were commissioned Major General followed on the 19th with Philip Schuler and Israel Putnam. On June 22nd, Heath was commissioned a brigadier general. He was the fifth of eight to receive this rank that day; behind Horatio Gates, John Thomas, Richard Montgomery, and David Wooster.
Interestingly, only Gates of the original four brigadiers appointed before Heath would survive by mid-1776. Gates would become the fifth Major General serving after June 2, 1776 and Heath would become the sixth, appointed on August 9, 1776. Maj. General Thomas died of small pox on June 2, 1776, during the retreat from Canada, Major General Montgomery was killed in action outside Quebec on Dec, 31, 1775, and Maj. General Wooster died May 2, 1777 of wounds received at the Battle of Ridgefield, CT. Due to retirements and disgrace (Lee at Monmouth and Gates at Cowpens), by war’s end, Heath would be the first Major General by seniority and second in command of the Continental Army after Washington.
American Revolution 1775-1777
The first two years of the American Revolution would prove to be the most active for Heath in a combat role. Outside Boston, under Washington’s supreme command, he would continue his role as regimental commander and what amounted to a brigade of several regiments, manning the siege lines along Roxbury. Heath played an important role in the occupation of Dorchester Heights where some of the cannon General Henry Knox had taken from Fort Ticonderoga, NY, were placed along the Heights; forcing the British to abandon Boston. Not until after the British departed Boston, March 17, 1776, and the Continental Army’s shift to New York City to man defenses for a possible invasion by British forces would Major General Heath command a division in the newly structured Continental Army.
Long Island
By August 1776, and just prior to the major Battle of Long Island (Aug. 27), Heath commanded one of the five Continental Army Divisions; the other four were led by Israel Putnam, Joseph Spencer, John Sullivan, and Nathanael Greene (Second in command, General Charles Lee, had aided in the defense of Charleston, June 28, 1776, and not rejoined Washington’s army). Each division was divided into two brigades (Putnam having three) with two additional separate brigades; Connecticut Militia Brigade – due to the large number of troops from that state, and the Long Island Militia Brigade. Brigadier Thomas Mifflin of Philadelphia led Heath’s Continental troops – three Connecticut and two Pennsylvania regiments. Brigadier George Clinton of New York led five New York regiments of militia in Heath’s other brigade.
At the Battle of Long Island, Heath’s Division was stationed north of Harlem Heights, at King’s Bridge. He was responsible for the northernmost defenses on the Hudson just above Manhattan. He nor his troops were involved in the battle. The next morning after the battle, August 28th, two of Heath’s Continental battalions under Brigadier Mifflin were sent over to Brooklyn to cover the army’s retreat from Long Island; 5th Pennsylvania Battalion under Col. Robert Magaw and the 3rd Pennsylvania Battalion under Col. John Shee.
Kip’s Bay and Harlem Heights
During the Battles of Kip’s Bay, September 15, 1776, and Harlem Height’s, September 16, General’s Heath’s Division was still posted north of Manhattan along King’s Bridge and Hell’s Gate and did not take part. Generals Joseph Spencer’s Connecticut militia manned defenses north and south of the East River and at Kip’s Bay and took the brunt of British Commander William Howe’s invasion. General Israel Putnam was further south in the city, sending some troops to assist Spencer’s men while his division barely escaped entrapment by fleeing over country wagon paths on the banks of the Hudson. Spencer and Greene’s troops, along with Putnam’s division, were entrenched along the line of Harlem Heights and on the 16th, beat back a half-hearted British attack; the first time routing England’s elitist troops that included famed Black Watch Highlanders.
White Plains
Once again, Heath’s division would see little or no action at the Battle of White Plains, October 28, 1776. By late October 1776, Washington had pulled back from Harlem Heights and had entrenched his army at White Plains in Westchester County. General Howe moved his forces up from Manhattan and drew up in front of Washington’s defenses. Heath’s division occupied the Continental army’s left wing that bordered swampland. Rebel troops spanned three miles from east to west behind the village of White Plains with Putnam’s division on the far right at Purdy Hill, overlooking a narrow valley down to the Bronx River. In front of the American right, about a half mile across the valley and Bronx River, running north and south, lay Chatterton’s Hill. It was about 180 feet above the Bronx River and overlooked the plain, including Washington’s defensive line. General Lee had pointed out to Washington that if Chatterton’s Hill were taken by the enemy, the American line would be compromised. Washington dispatched two militia regiments under General Benjamin Lincoln to defend the hill.
General Howe thought Washinton’s double line of defense too formidable for a direct assault; some historians believe he was still smarting after sixteen months from his disastrous decision for a head on attack against rebel forces at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. Seeking a flanking movement, Howe sent his German mercenaries supported by a British brigade against Chatterton’s Hill. Most of the militia fell back, but were supported by additional Continental troops who held the hill as long as they could, forcing the enemy to pay dearly for the captured ground.
Meanwhile, Howe had the rest of his army sit on their arms while he probed the far left, commanded by Heath. Only a company of cavalry were sent forward who were easily forced back by artillery. It would prove to be the only action Heath and his division would see that day. Once again, as he had done at Long Island and Harlem Heights, Howe’s delay would enable Washington to retreat and form new defenses further north.
Washington Heads South into New Jersey leaving Lee, Heath, and Putnam Behind
After White Plains, Howe gave up chasing Washington’s army and returned to New York City, focusing on the large garrison of rebels defending Fort Washington, just north of the city along the Hudson River. Washington crossed the Hudson and marched a portion of his army south into New Jersey to counter Howe’s intensions south, leaving General Lee in charge of several divisions at Peekskill, NY. This force included Heath’s, assigned to guard the upper Hudson region and New England. While Washington was chased across New Jersey into Pennsylvania, he ordered Lee to rejoin him with a portion of the Hudson Highland army. Lee dragged his feet and when finally complying, was captured at an Inn in Basking Ridge, NJ after spending the night with a prostitute; the British cavalry unit was led by the young and upcoming dragoon, Banastre Tarleton. This left Heath in charge of the Highland forces.
Heath’s Botched Attack on Fort Independence
General Heath remained north of New York City in Westchester County during Washington’s critical victories at Trenton, December 25, 1776, and Princeton, January 3, 1777. After Princeton, Washington marched his main army to Morristown, New Jersey and into winter quarters, beginning what has been termed part of the forage war with British troops stationed in northeastern New Jersey. Washington believed that another front north of New York City would force British General Howe to withdraw his forces out of New Jersey to defend New York City.
For this Washington chose Heath in command at Peekskill to organize a large force of three divisions of militia and march south. Washington wrote to Heath dated January 5, 1777, shortly after the Battle of Princeton; “…it has been determined in Council, that you [Heath] should move down towards New-York with a considerable force, as if you had a design upon the city; that being an object of great importance, the enemy will be reduced to the necessity of withdrawing a considerable part of their force from the Jersies, if not the whole to secure the city…” Washington suggested troops to join Heath writing, “You will retain 4,000 of the militia coming on from the New-England Governments for the expedition…”
Along with Heath were Generals Benjamin Lincoln leading Massachusetts militia, David Wooster in charge of Connecticut militia (who had been previously relieved of command in Canada), John Morin Scott (leading NY militia) and Samuel Parsons also in charge of Connecticut militia. There were several redoubts and outposts occupied by British troops just north of the city in what is today the Bronx Boro; all constructed by Washington’s forces as part of the defense of New York City. The main fortification was Fort Independence, in the Valentine’s Hill region just north of Spuyten Duyvil (river that formed the northern border of Manhattan Island) and Kings Bridge that spanned the waterway onto Manhattan.
The fort had been constructed in June, 1776. Heath knew it well as some of his division had been assigned to defend the fort. When Washington retreated towards White Plains, the fort fell into British hands. The fortification was unimpressive. Built hastily, it had four earthen walls with a few stone structures within. By January, 1777, it was defended by 2,000 Hessian soldiers; the commanding officer’s name has escaped historical records. Some accounts also place a few hundred members of Colonel Robert Rogers’ Queen’s Rangers in the garrison as documents indicate Ranger units garrisoned some of the outposts.
On the night of January 17, 1777, Heath marched three divisions towards Kingsbridge; Lincoln’s division from Tarrytown on the Albany Road, Generals Wooster and Parsons from New Rochelle and East Chester, and General Scott’s from below White Plains; Heath’s column marched with Scott’s. Between four and five thousand rebel militia marched throughout the night and just before sunrise, approached several British hillside outposts; Valentine’s Stone House, Williams’ Bridge, Van Courtland’s House, and the Negro Fort. Records indicate the Negro Fort was defended by a unit of Black Loyalists in the Queen’s Rangers under Captain Robert Cook. The British were totally surprised by the appearance of a large body of rebels and immediately evacuated with the Americans hot on their heels. Most of the British defenders made it back to Fort Independence. After securing the outposts, Heath’s forces advanced so by afternoon they were approaching Fort Independence.
Heath sent a flag to the fort and demanded the German commander surrender the fort immediately (according to Heath’s memoirs – the exact wording of the demand, though described as pompous, did not survive history). The order to surrender was refused by the garrison’s commander and Heath decided to open with artillery. He only hand two field pieces and ordered they descend the hill before the fort and begin an active fire. The Americans did not suspect the Hessians had artillery and were surprised when the garrison returned cannon fire. Since they were exposed, the rebel artillery immediately limbered their pieces and fled back up the hill. At this early stage, Heath was at a loss how to press the attack against the fort.
In the meantime, reports that the outposts were easily taken were magnified to include Fort Independence. The news reached General Washington before having received an official account from Heath. Washington was so delighted, he immediately wrote to Congress on January 22nd that included Heath’s success, penning: “I have not heard from Genl. Heath since the firing near Kingsbridge last Saturday…But the Account of his having surprised and taken Fort Independence on Friday Night last, comes so well Authenticated by different ways, that I cannot doubt it…” This would become a point of embarrassment for Washington when later reports stated that not only was the fort not taken, but eventually, would result in Heath’s failed efforts to maintain a front to the north of the city when forced to retreat.
On the 19th, the enemy cannonade from the fort intensified and killed one American. It was determined to cut off the fort from Kingsbridge. Early the next morning on the 20th, Heath ordered that with first light on the next day, a thousand men were to pass over the frozen Spuyten Duyvil Creek. The ice was questionable; however, the weather had been very cold. But fate played its hand as that night, the weather warmed. By morning, the General Officers informed Heath that it would be too hazardous to attempt crossing on the ice; the attack was called off.
Over the next couple of days, Heath rode the several nearby hills to best effectively place his small number of cannon. He focused his artillery on reserve Hessian troops and enemy artillery on the far side of the fort. This resulted in a cannonade between the two opposing forces that little or no effect. He also ordered his men to construct chandeliers and fascines in preparation for an assault on the fort. On the 23rd, Heath ordered a small detachment of troops closer to the fort to lay down small arms fire. A heated skirmish took place just before dusk near the south side of the fort. An Ensign and New York militiaman were killed with five wounded. Enemy casualties were not reported.
Heath’s memoir only states that on the 24th, the weather was excessively stormy. In fact, a cold, torrential January rain soaked the soldiers and all their supplies as few marched south with tents. The bulk of General Lincoln’s troops who faced the fort were forced to leave the immediate region and seek shelter in nearby homes and barns; some as far as Dobbs’ Ferry on the Hudson. Early in the morning on the 25th, seeing the Americans had pulled back, part of the garrison sallied from behind their shelters and reclaimed the outposts from Delancey’s Mills to Valentine’s house including driving off American pickets at the Negro Fort. At Williams’ Bridge, Heath ordered a detachment of soldiers and artillery to cross the bridge and unlimber the cannon to fire upon the enemy. After much difficulty positioning the cannon due to terrain and weather, the rebel fire smashed through stone walls that offered the Hessians some defense. This caused the King’s troops to retire back to the fort. American losses were two killed and several wounded with no report of enemy casualties.
Heath decided he could not take the fort without more fire power. He ordered a brass 24-pouder and howitzer brought up which were positioned on the 27th. As if a scene from Charlie Chaplin’s Keystone Cops, after the third shot, the 24-pounder sprang its carriage and proved useless. Insult to injury, no one brought ammunition for the Howitzer. Seemed the artificers could not find any at North-Castle and lugged the howitzer anyway – since Heath ordered it be brought down. With no hope of forcing the fort to surrender by cannonade, Heath positioned his men closer to the fort to draw the Hessians and Queens’ Rangers out from behind their defenses. The fort’s commander would have none of it and remained safely behind the fort’s walls.
By the 29th, with no hope of battering the fort to surrender and with the fortification too heavily defended for an assault, Heath and his generals were at a loss of what steps needed to be taken. It appears the weather once more took command of the situation. A severe snowstorm was developing. As recorded in Heath’s memoirs, “…when all the General Officers on the ground…were unanimously of the opinion that the troops ought to move back before the storm came on…And from first to last they were unanimously opposed to any idea of an assault or storm of the fort…” Having spent days without tents and constantly shifting along enemy lines while exposed to wintery rainy conditions that ‘soaked to the bone,’ Heath’s command was in dire straits. As the memoir stated, “…the troops were ordered as soon as it grew dark to move back, Gen. Lincoln’s division to Dobbs’ Ferry and Tarrytown, Gen. Wooster’s to New Rochelle, and Gen. Scott’s to White Plains; the guards to remain at their posts and alert, until the troops were all moved off, and to form rear guards on the several roads, following the troops…”
Aftermath of Heath’s Retreat and Washington’s Censure
A week after pulling back to their camp, Heath tried once more to make good on Washington’s hopes to create a distraction with another front to the north of the city. He sent Colonel Enos to retake the outposts. However, the British and Hessian troops were not taken by surprise and were prepared to defend their position. After this halfhearted attempt to renew a front, the operation was suspended for the rest of the winter when a suspected smallpox outbreak in the area was reported. Heath returned his forces to Peekskill and General Lincoln marched his men to New Jersey to join up with Washington’s main force outside Morristown.
In Michael Troy’s December 22, 2019 podcast, he explained that in effect Heath had partially obtained his mission goal. “The attack on Fort Independence did force General Howe to redeploy some British Regulars from North Jersey to New York. If the Americans were going to attempt an assault on New York, they would almost certainly do so from the north, where they would not be forced to cross the Hudson River in the face of the enemy. The failure to take the fort though, ended any contemplation of further attacks.”
On January 27th, Washington had not heard officially from Heath since the 24th when the Roxbury native was still outside of Fort Independence. Washington shot him a short, curt letter demanding better communications along with a copy of his January 19th letter in which Heath’s operation was originally outlined by Washington. On January 31, Washington wrote to Congress and mentioned Heath in what could be described as damage control for having originally reported the fort had been taken nine days previously “I have a Letter from Genl. Heath of the 24th Instant; he was at and near Kingsbridge with his Army, I dont find that he is likely to do more than to draw the attention of the Enemy that way and cut them off from Forage, of which they are in great want.”
On February 2nd, Washington sent another short and direct letter to Heath demanding more information: The tone may indicate Washington was suspicious as to just how poorly Heath had performed his task. The fact that Heath was using just militia reaffirmed General Washington’s dim view of the effectiveness of ‘citizen soldiers’ when facing an enemy of trained, regular soldiers.
“Dear Sir. I have not been favored with any information from you since the 24th. Ulto, Anxious for the success of the Troops under you, I wish to hear from you frequently;…” Washington received a letter from Heath later that evening penned on the 30th. He shot another letter off the next day on February 3rd; his words expressing the supreme commander’s frustration: “Dear Sir: Your two favors of the 30th last month reached me last Night. I cannot say but I was a good deal surprised and disappointed at the contents. I never was very sanguine, as to any thing more being affected than to oblige the Garrison either to Surrender or evacuate Fort Independence…as neither has been done, I wish your summons had never been sent, as I am fearful it will expose us to the ridicule of our Enemies. By falling back as far as you have done, one valuable purpose of your going down, is lost, and that is depriving the Enemy of the forage of which they are in extreme want, and collecting it for our own use.”
Heath responded to Washington’s February 3rd letter on February 6th with a litany of excuses as to what he had faced and reasons for his actions. By then it was far too late. The colloquial express – like a lead balloon – best represents how Washington treated Heath’s failure. A full reading over the three days of letters the supreme commander wrote to Heath, (Feb. 2nd – 4th) one can see his frustration building over the portly general’s handling of the entire affair and the consequences he, Washington, had to deal with. On February 4th, the ax fell heavily as Washington pulled no punches as he ripped into Heath:
“Dear Sir: This Letter is in addition to my public one of this date. It is to hint to you, and I do it with concern, that your conduct is censured…” He continued that his opinions are shard by Heath’s men and officers who were with the general on the expedition to Fort Independence. Washington continued that Heath’s actions were “fraught with too much caution, by which the Army has been disappointed, and in some degree disgraced…Your Summons [for the fort’s surrender], as you did not attempt to fulfil your threats, was not only Idle but farcical; and will not fail of turning the laugh exceedingly upon us;… Upon the whole, it appears to me from Information, that if you had pushed vigorously, upon your first going to Fort Independence that that post would have been carried;…”
John Adams expressed his anger over Heath’s actions, or lack of, to his wife Abigail on February 21st. He included two other general officers during his rant: “Many persons are extremely dissatisfied with numbers of the general officers of the highest rank…Putnam, Spencer, Heath, are thought by very few to be capable of the great commands they hold. We hear of none of their heroic deeds of arms. I wish they would all resign…”
On February 9th, Washington wrote to Heath and mentioned he had received the general’s letters (three dated 5th, 6th, and 7th). All three no doubt penned by an anxious commander cognizant of the mess he had made of affairs while attempting to explain actions in which no amount of elucidating could set to right. Washington agreed that it was time for Heath to go home to Roxbury for an extended leave and in his correspondence gave him one task: to order all Continental troops in Boston to march to General Schuyler at Fort Ticonderoga. In effect, though remaining a friend, Washington was done with Heath.
American Revolution February 1777 to End of War
Washington was true to his word and had censured Heath; never again giving him a combat command. Heath would attain his rank as Major General to war’s end. In fact, by 1783, he would, by seniority, be the second ranking officer behind General Washington and on paper, second in command. But Washington would never have it; instead assuring men like General Nathanael Greene assume command of America’s forces if need be. For the rest of 1777 and into 1780, Heath remained in Boston – far from the war. When General Artemas Ward retired, Heath took over command of militia forces in and around Boston; purely an administrative position.
Heath would be assigned extra duty after General John Burgoyne’s army surrendered at Saratoga, October 17, 1777, and British prisoners, both English regulars and German troops (mainly Brunswick and not Hessians) were marched to Boston. Labeled the Convention Army, Burgoyne’s men retained this name stemming from the Articles of Convention signed by Burgoyne and General Horatio Gates, which specified the terms of surrender. Though the terms designated the men would eventually be paroled and sent back to Europe, Congress balked. Until war’s end, those who remained captive (many had escaped both in and around Boston and later in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) were held prisoners of war.
While in Boston, Heath was temporarily given command of forces in Rhode Island where preparations were underway to accept the French fleet that arrived on July 11, 1780. After turncoat General Benedict Arnold’s September 21, 1780 attempt to turn West Point over to the British, Washington needed a good administrator to take command of the American forces stationed along the river. It was a critical time for the Continental Army and America as a whole. The economy was in shatters, France was getting tired of the war and considering effecting peace talks with England, and the war in the south had not gone well for the American cause with several major defeats.
So too, the condition of a Continental army was shabbily clothed and supplied and had not seen payment for several years. Mutinies had sprung up, some negotiated peacefully, while others resulted in execution of leaders. In this Heath was the right man for the job as his administrative and organization skills saw that his small army was better fed, helping that a previous agreement gave the men at least three months payment that squashed further talk of mutiny. Though Washington still had hoped for an attack on New York City, France had other plans with their naval fleets, bringing the war to the Chesapeake where they favored to hem in British General Cornwallis’ army that had marched down the James Peninsula to the Virginia coast.
Washington’s confidence in Heath had never healed. Heath had to sit idly by, left in charge of 2,500 men in the Hudson Valley to keep an eye on the British in New York City, while during the summer of 1781, Washington marched the Continental Army, along with the French army, south to Yorktown. He thereby missed out one of the most important battles of the war that ultimately led to its conclusion. Heath would remain in command of the Hudson Highland until after the last of the British army departed from New York City on November 25, 1783 and all troops and the officers were furloughed and decommissioned to return home.
After the War
Just as the war wound down and shortly before the Paris Peace Accords was signed, September 3, 1783, Heath was admitted as an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati for the state of Massachusetts, June 9, 1783. The Society that was formed on May 13m 1783, was inclusive of officers who fought in the American Revolution and their future generations. After the war, Heath moved back to his ancestral farm in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He became a member of the Massachusetts Convention that ratified the United States Constitution in 1788. He went on to serve in the Massachusetts Senate from 1791 to 1792 and as a probate court judge.
Though Heath threw his hat in the ring for Congress, running in 1792 and 1798, he never served that body. He was also the Democratic-Republican nominee in his failed 1799 gubernatorial election. In 1806 he was finally elected lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, but due to his advanced age and health, declined the office. He died at his home in Roxbury on January 24, 1814 at the age of 77 (some sources state 76). He was buried near his lifetime home in Forest Hills Cemetery.
Legacy
Heath’s life as a founding father and soldier was considered lackluster. He demonstrated early on that as a leader of combat troops, he was too careful and conservative. During the final stages of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, he hesitated in giving orders that could have cut off the British column in their desperate march to return to Boston. In New York City, he was one of those who cautioned against any hasty movement that might jeopardize the city’s defenses – while also voicing that the city not be burned to deprive the British winter quarters. He was one of New England and Boston’s early firebrands who supported the war through pamphlets; however, his passions for do or die on the battlefield ended when he donned a uniform. A good administrator and dedicated to duty, he filled a necessary role as a ‘behind the scenes’ leader to help hold the army together. The town of Heath, Massachusetts is named in his honor as well as a street in the Bronx, New York.
Note: Fort Independence was destroyed by the British and evacuated on September 17, 1779; the stone magazine was blown up the next day.
If you would like to read more on the war and founders, we recommend the following books:
Of further interest on Revolutionary War Journal
Resource
Casey, Thomas. “Mystery of the ‘Negro Fort.’ June 20, 2023. The Kingsbridge Historical Society.
Fitzpatrick, John C. Writings of George Washington from Original Manuscripts… Vol. 7. 1936:United States Government Printing Office.
Headley, J. T. Washington and His Generals, Vol. 1. 1850: Baker and Scribner, New York, NY.
“Heath Triangle.” New York City Dept. of Parks and Recreation.
Howe, Edward T. “Massachusetts Bay Militia Regiments, Forerunners of the Army National Guard.” New England Historical Society.
Troy, Michael. “William Heath, Episode 128: Fort Independence.” December 22, 2019. American Revolution Podcast.
Whitman, Zachariah G. The History of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, From its Formation in 1637… 1842: J. H. Eastburn, Boston, MA.