In many ways the “star” of the second book in the Jake
Gibbs: Patriot Spy series isn’t Gibbs or even his sidekick Van Clynne, but an
inanimate water beast – the iron chain that stretched across the Hudson River.
Which of course is why the book is called The Iron Chain.
During the early stages of the War, the Hudson River was a
critical highway for the Revolutionists. It was also a link between the new
England colonies and the rest of the young nation. Both sides recognized this,
and the river became the focal point of a major campaign to split the rebellion in two
in 1777. While the British campaign ultimately failed, the river retained its strategic importance, and
Washington could never afford to leave it completely unguarded.
There were actually two chains across the Hudson, and many more schemes to build one. The chain in the
book – and the only one that actually saw battle – was anchored on the western bank near Fort Montgomery, running
east across the river roughly where the Bear Mountain Bridge runs today. Made
of iron links, it floated at intervals on rafts, which undoubtedly would have
bobbed and weaved with the river, still tidal there. The chain was one part of
an integrated defense, functioning something like a minefield would. Located at
the bend in a river where ships would presumably have to tack or slow as they maneuvered,
the chain would hold them back long enough for shore batteries to sink them.
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| The chain would have been just to the left of the bridge in the picture above. |
In the fall of 1777, a British force sailed north on the
river, aiming to relieve the beleaguered British army marching to Saratoga.
(Or, if you want the more optimistic British view, hoping to unite with it and snap the
head off the dastardly rebellion.) The fleet sailed north, but rather than attacking the
chain directly, the commander sent troops ashore below the fort to overwhelm
the defenses. The lead elements engaged in a commando-style attack through the woods, surprising the few American defenders in the half-built earthworks
below the main fort; Fort Montgomery and the river were cleared by the end of
the day.
After the British retreated, a more elaborate chain was strung across the Hudson
further north at West Point. That chain included a boom to help slow down an attacking fleet. From the vantage point of some 250 years, it also seems to have been better located - the river bend is nastier and West Point had a more commanding view of the river than Fort Montgomery - but in the event it was never challenged. Visitors to the Military Academy can see some of
the chain, and judge the location for themselves.
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