Mercy Leroux

Francis Rawdon’s biographer Paul David Nelson notes that Rawdon disdained Admiral Graves, writing that he should be court-martialed for incompetence. Imagine my surprise when I finally read the letter myself and saw the actual words:

“If you do not send us a strong reinforcement and a new admiral, you have nothing to expect from us. Indeed Graves deserves to be made an example of much more than ever Byng did.” (emphasis mine)

See, Admiral John Byng was a high-ranking officer who was indeed court-martialed for failing to relieve a garrison at Minorca during the Seven Year’s War. He was convicted… and sentenced to a very unusual penalty for a commissioned officer: execution by firing squad. So Rawdon is going much, much further than suggesting a mere court-martial.

(lt may also be worth nothing that, generally, when Rawdon wrote his uncle, he knew it would be read by prying eyes. This is part of one letter wherein he’s honest about how bad things are in Boston, because he entrusts a friend to bring it unread by others. He then finishes by asking his uncle to burn the letter; clearly, that request was not followed.)

So who was Admiral Graves, and why did Rawdon hate him?

Admiral Graves had the decidedly not-feasible and thereby thankless task of defending Boston Harbor and guarding any and all supply ships from privateers… with not nearly enough resources. This did not endear him to the besieged soldiers and Loyalists in Boston. Rumors that he hoarded items to enrich himself made things worse.

Graves wasn’t ever going to be dear to the Patriots, either, but he made things much, much worse in October. Growing frustrated with the capture of supply ships, Graves decided to set an example by sending a fleet captained by Henry Moffat to burn down the entire coastal town of Falmouth, Massachusetts. (Wait, not that Falmouth – this refers to modern-day Portland, Maine, which was part of Massachusetts back then!) After the town was told they would only receive mercy if they swore loyalty… the townsfolk decided to leave town instead. And the cannonade and burning commenced.

Which brings us to the fall of 1775. In Boston, Commissioner Benjamin Hallowell had grown frustrated, because he’d sent Graves repeated petitions over a matter of hay, yet Graves did not respond. Hallowell then happened to encounter Graves in the street.

These grown-ass men proceeded to engage in a fistfight. Reportedly, before they parted, Graves received a black eye, and I’d like to imagine this is the rare moment wherein all the populace inside and outside Boston, British and Patriot alike, said amen.

But, just to show you that you cannot just assume anything about anyone… Graves was actually a pretty generous father figure. He never had biological children, but he and his wife Margaret raised her orphaned niece as their own, and he lavished on his godsons, including John Graves Simcoe, who married the niece. (Simcoe will make an appearance later in the Omegaverse series–and he was far from the psychopath portrayed in a certain TV show!)

By the time next week’s posting rolls around, it will be right before the the new and improved version of We Are Not Strangers hits shelves (and by shelves we mean screens), so we’ll look at some of the choices we made in portraying the Battle of Bunker Hill: namely, three rumors about who killed three distinct people, what can be conclusively established, and why we chose to portray what we did (not only for drama). But first, we’ll have another extra scene from We Are Not Strangers!