“Der Feind, Heraus! Heraus!”
“Der Feind, Heraus! Heraus!” - is what Lt Andreas Wiederholdt may have heard on Christmas Day 1776. The Hessian, Lt Andreas Wiederholdt, saw Adam Stephen's men coming at him.
So, out of this Christmas attack, we will look at two men on opposite sides. Adam Stephen and Lt Andreas Wiederholdt.
We also look at what Fort Loudoun was like 20 years after the French and Indian War when Wiederholdt became a prisoner there.
By 4 September 1777 we know from Wiederholdt's own diary, he is a prisoner at Fort Loudoun Winchester VA. He is allowed to walk the town. There are no good odds escaping west. The Indians are there. No good odds going south, north or east, since you're more than likely going to run into a Patriot. We make note of this because Wiederholdt, captured on Christmas Day 1776 is in Winchester walking the town, counting his steps, measuring his way to make a map of Winchester VA, the first known map since James Wood and Lord Fairfax's plans submitted to the House of Burgesses in 1744, 1752, 1758, 1759.
But the day before Christmas 1776?
Adam Stephen almost blew it. He ordered a revenge attack on some Hessians the day before the Christmas attack.
This could have alerted the Hessians that there was a large American force nearby.
Did Adam Stephen think the Hessians would just look at it as no real threat, that such an attack would be just viewed as the Americans only being able to muster harassment, not a full scale assault?
Who was this Adam Stephen?
This wasn't Adam Stephen's only mistake in his army career.
Ever since the French and Indian War twenty years ago, Adam Stephen was known to make his own decisions without confirming such with his superiors. Douglas Southall Freeman noted, "“…where Stephen was, trouble was.”
Adam Stephen's career in this army ends 10 month later. After the Battle of Germantown 4 Oct 1777, he is court-martialed. He is found guilty of a friendly fire debacle. Added to that was the charge of being drunk. He didn't miss a beat though. He created Martinsburg WV, naming it after a passive loyalist, nephew to Lord Fairfax, another passive loyalist in the heart of this new war of independence from England.
Twenty years ago, Adam Stephen was mostly stationed at Fort Cumberland MD under Colonel George Washington in the Virginia Regiment in the French and Indian War since 1754.
Adam Stephen had written a letter to GW in July 4, 1776 asking GW if he remembered the dates of the 3rd and the 9th, referring to Battle of Fort Necessity 3 July 1754, and the Battle of the Monongahela, the defeat of Braddock 9 July 1754. When GW received that letter from Adam Stephen reminding him of those two battles twenty some years, GW was standing with his binoculars looking at the British armada docking on Staten Island, preparing to dominate New York City.
So now back to Christmas morning 1776. .
Crossing the Delaware Christmas Eve was still going to happen, despite that unauthorized attack by Adam Stephen the day before.
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(Picture by Kunstler.) It is possible that GW stood on one of these type of boats crossing the Delaware.
This is a bad cold icy night.
How to motivate? His Excellency, General George Washington, read Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" 3 days before surprising the Hessians in Trenton Christmas Day:
You've heard these words before: . "These are the times that try men's souls:
The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will,
in this crisis,
shrink from the service of his country;
but he that stands it now,
deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." "Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered;
yet we have this consolation with us,
that the harder the conflict,
the more glorious the triumph."
About Andrea Wiederholdt
. Crossing The Delaware Christmas Eve 1776, led to the Battle of Trenton NJ.
This surprise attack on Christmas Day 1776, gave Winchester VA an interesting prisoner and its earliest map since James Wood founded the town in 1744, and established it 1752.
Wiederholdt was a "Hessian"
of Hesse-Kassel (Hesse-Cassel)
Regiment von Knyphausen.
There was more than one principality called Hesse.
These hired soldiers from the were all dubbed Hessians.
For the numbers recruited in this chart, see source: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/img_auth.php/6/64/Class_Hessian_Soldiers_Handout_G_Palmer_Mar_2021_JMR.pdf
This particular Hessian, made a lot of maps of different towns in the colonies, including the one of Winchester VA when he was a prisoner there. On 28 December 1776, "His Excellency," General George Washington interviews prisoner Lieutenant Andreas Wiederholdt.
See source:.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015009337513;view=2up;seq=56;size=150
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Eventually he arrives at Fort Loudoun Winchester VA September 4, 1777.
See confirmation of this date?
Look at bottom of page 51 for the September 4, 1777 and top of page 52 for the September 7, 1777 entry by Wiederholdt in his diary.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015009337513;view=2up;seq=56;size=150
. Fear of Indians: He isn't going to escape. He and the other prisoners know about the Indians in the wild nearby.
Ctrl F for Indians to find quote by German diarist, Lieutenant Johann Ernst Prechtel who writes, “Indians and other wild people” could be found as close as fifty miles away. . http://www.rasnickfamily.org/thehessianbarracks.pdf This fear of Indians is also mentioned in this source: Lewis N. Barton, The Revolutionary Prisoners of War in Winchester and Frederick County, Men and Events of the Revolution in Winchester and Frederick County Virginia, Vol. IX, 1975. p. 46.
Wiederholdt's Map
of Fort Loudoun and Winchester VA. Compare this map with the 2nd map made by Wilbur S Johnson. The 2nd map is an overlay. Local historian Willbur S Johnson made this overlay. This shows you how accurate Wiederholdt was in stepping off this map.
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Notice how big Fort Loudoun is on the left side of this map.
. Wiederholdt Map.
Overlay Map by Wilbur S Johnson
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The 2nd map is an overlay. Local historian Willbur S Johnson made this overlay. This show you how accurate Wiederholdt was in stepping off this map.
One of the last maps:
1758 is one of the last plans of Winchester before Wiederholdt's 1777 map:
Notice that
even though
James Wood
had put in a design
those streets
were not built yet
as of 1777
in the map
stepped off by
Lt Andreas Wiederholdt. . . .
. ..
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End of the Lead Story.
For more, skip around.
Read bits and pieces at your leisure.
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Blog compiled and written by Jim Moyer, original posted 2016, 2018, updated 12/26/2021
SOURCES:
About Adam Stephen:
Trouble:
“…where Stephen was, trouble was,”
wrote Douglas Southall Freeman, author of an extensive multi volume bio on Young George Washington, page 256, Volume II, Chapter on Rebuilding the Regiment (Summer of 1757), published 1948.
The Revenge Attack:
might have ruined the Surprise Christmas Day attack.
Excerpt from NY Post article summarizes the matter, if not completely accurately, the main ideas are covered.
"Washington rode alongside his men. Concerned about Hessian patrols, he warned them to maintain a “profound silence,” and threatened anyone who broke ranks with “instant death.”
They soon came across around 50 previously unaccounted for American soldiers. They had been sent by a general named Adam Stephen — before he received word of the invasion — to fire on the Hessians, as revenge for the death of one of his men several days earlier.
Hearing this, Washington went ballistic.
Stephen, a known patron of prostitutes and a copious imbiber of booze, had once run against Washington in an election for Virginia’s legislature, and the two had long been uneasy rivals. Washington summoned Stephen immediately. “You, sir!” he bellowed. “You, sir, may have ruined all my plans by having put them on their guard!”
Soldiers later recalled having never seen Washington so enraged — which, given his reputation, was saying a lot. “Washington had a volcanic temper,” says Ferling, who referred to Washington in his book as being in a “white hot rage” during the Stephen affair. “There were incidents at the battle of Monmouth where Washington felt betrayed by General Lee, and one eyewitness said that ‘Washington cursed until the leaves fell off the trees.’ I suspect something like that might have happened in this case.”
What Washington didn’t yet realize is that Stephen inadvertently did him a favor. The Hessians had lugged cannons through the storm after Stephen’s men. Finding nothing but sleet and hail, they returned to their quarters chilled and annoyed, and cancelled their usual morning patrols."
Source:
Source:
Source
Harry M. Ward, Between the Lines: Banditti of the American Revolution, Studies in Military History and International Affairs (Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2002), page 151. https://geneprock.com/2017/07/26/drunkard-or-dissenter-the-case-of-major-general-adam-stephen/#_ednref1
Source:
General Stevenss Brigade to form the advanced party & to have with them a detachment of the Artillery without Cannon provided with Spikes and Hamners to Spike up the enemies Cannon in case of necesity or to bring them off if it can be effected. the party to be provided with drag ropes for the purpose of dragging off the Cannon. General Stevens is to attack and force the enemies Guards and seize such posts as may prevent them from forming in the streets and in case they are annoy’d from the houses to set them on fire.
Source:
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The July 4, 1776 letter
about the 3 July 1754 and the 9 July 1755:
Douglas Southall Freeman write about Adam Stephen:
He had been loyal to Washington . . .
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Even some 2 decades later in the midst of a new “fire” …
George Washington appreciates
Adam Stephen’s letter of July 4, 1776.
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GW writes back to Adam Stephen on July 20, 1776:
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I did not let the Anniversary of the 3d or 9th of this Instt
pass of without a grateful remembrance of the escape
we had at the Meadows
and on the Banks of Monongahela.2
the same Provedence that protected us
upon those occasions will, I hope, continue his Mercies,
and make us happy Instruments
in restoring Peace & liberty to this once favour’d,
but now distressed Country.
Give my Complimts to the Sev⟨eral⟩ of yr Corps
of my acquaintan⟨ces and⟩
believe me to be
Dr Sir
Yr Most Obedt ⟨Sert,⟩
BACK TO PREVIOUS
While GW wrote that letter, look at the picture below of what he was seeing.
Click or Touch to Enlarge. Quote is from source: A View of the Narrows between Long Island and Staten Island, with Our Fleet at Anchor and Lord Howe Coming In Lieutenant Archibald Robertson This picture was drawn by one of the Royal Engineers as he watched Admiral Howe’s flagship, HMS Eagle, arriving in the distance. See source.
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What was George Washington looking at?
When he wrote this letter?
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We have a powerful Fleet under the Command of Lord Howe in full view of us—
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distant about 8 Miles from this City—
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the Troops (from the best Accts amounting to about Eight or nine thousand Men)
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are upon Staten Island,
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fortifying themselves and waiting the Re-inforcement from England,
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which every fair Wind is expected to bring. this Reinforcement from different Accts will be from Fifteen to 20,000 Men.
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The invasion of Staten Island:
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“All of New York is like a funnel that leads into the Hudson River, and who controls the Hudson River controls a lot of the land to the north,” said Felicity Bell, director of education and programs at Historic Richmond Town. “Staten Island is like the cork in the bottle. They wanted to be sure to control that square on the chess board.”
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From June 28, 1776 to July 5, 1776, a total of 130 British ships sailed to Staten Island and occupied the coastline of the mainly loyalist borough.
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By mid-August about 32,000 troops camped all around the island, mainly occupying what is now New Dorp and Old Town, Bell said.
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Source:
Before Battle of Brooklyn, Invasion Started in Staten Island By Nicholas Rizzi August 25, 2015 4:24pm
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Crossing the Delaware
THOMAS PAINE: The pamphlet, The American Crisis,
signed by Thomas Paine using the pseudonym, “Common Sense” which was the name of a previous pamphlet, was read aloud to the Continental Army on December 23, 1776, three days before the Battle of Trenton, to bolster morale and push neutrals and loyalists toward the cause:
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Crisis
Der Feind, Heraus ! Heraus !
Washington's Crossing
By David Hackett Fischer
The Penn Germania ...: A Popular Journal of German History and ..., Volumes 3-4
edited by Philip Columbus Croll, Henry Addison Schuler, Howard Wiegner Kriebel
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And what did Fort Loudoun look like in 1777?
There was a model
of the fort that sat
for over decades
at the Washington Office Museum
on the corner of Cork and Braddock i
n Winchester VA.
This model was meant to represent
the fort as a French and Indian War fort.
We believe this mistake came from a painting.
A picture showing a stockade was painted by Leslie Neil Woods done in the 1930s.
We believe that it might better represent the fort 20 years after that war when it was used as a prison in the Revolutionary War.
Because by then the original walls were taken down as wood to build homes around town.
So we believe there might have been some rudimentary stockade built around the barracks when prisoner from the Revolutionary War were moved to this fort.
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That painting in the 1930s:
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The fort during the French and Indian War as designed by Colonel George Washington looked like this.
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By 1777 the Fort walls were stripped to build homes in the area.
Wood from fort used for a gavel:
Other pieces of wood live on allegedly in a gavel held by the French and Indian War Foundation and in toys carved by Nail. Source: Catherine Glass Greene's "Winchester, Virginia and Its Beginnings, 1743-1814", Page 92
Wood from fort used for toys and carved items: Look for John Nail carvings of Fort Loudoun wood in this story: https://jimmoyer1.wixsite.com/fortloudounva/single-post/2017/06/04/confederate-statue-winchester-va
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