Hello and welcome to a history of the United States.

Episode 146. Philadelphia Falls.

Last time out, we looked at events in North America over late 1776, with British forces in Canada,

under Carlton, unable to get through the Lake Champlain Corridor in upstate New York, while General Howe chased Washington across New Jersey and over the Delaware,

before Washington struck back with a victory at Trenton.

Washington found a good spot in New Jersey and encamped for the winter.

Meanwhile, General Howe was making his plans for 1777, which he coordinated with London.

The conquest of New England, which was the original plan for 1776, was postponed.

In Canada, General John Begoyne was to take command of the Canadian Army and march

south to Albany, where it would be under Howe's authority. There was some logic to this decision.

Carlton and Howe were both commanders in chief, and neither would happily serve under the other, but there was also

an enmity between Carlton and the colonial secretary, Germain. Carlton was compensated for the

loss of his command with the knighthood, and honour was also awarded to General Howe. While this was the plan for the Northern force, that for the Southern was simpler.

Howe would launch an invasion of Pennsylvania?

Such a bold plan was only possible due to the failure of the Continental Congress to recruit the

numbers they planned. Congress wanted to recruit some 75 continental soldiers, offering $20 and

a plot of 100 acres once the war was over. However, some of the states would outbid Congress to keep the fighting men in their

own locality rather than in a centralized army. Combined with the general discomfort that

fighting in the Continental Army would entail, wintering at Morristown was not fun, and Washington found his forces leaking away,

constantly needing to be reinforced by militia. Then, there was also the issue of supplies that

plagued the American forces. Charles Lee had been unable to move to reinforce Washington

quickly because his men didn't have enough shoes.

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