Across The Connecticut River - “Our Army Is Expected In Springfield”

People across Massachusetts were well aware of the 1777 march of the Convention Army from Saratoga to Cambridge.  Brunswick dragoon company surgeon Julius Friedrich Wasmus, who had been captured at the the Battle of Bennington in August, and was being held in Brimfield, Massachusetts, was among those who heard they were coming.  Two days after the surrender at Saratoga he wrote in his journal: “[October] 19th  Tonight, we received the sad news that our army has been captured at Saratoga.  Therefore, they made a feu de joie with cannon in Springfield.”  Ten days later he would note: “[October] 29th  News comes from everywhere that our army is expected in Springfield” [1] 

Springfield, Massachusetts, was one of the oldest and largest towns that the Convention Army would pass through.  Europeans first settled in Springfield in 1636, when it was still part of Connecticut.  A plaque to the right of the door of the Student Prince, Springfield's famous German restaurant (no connection or reference to the passing of the German element of the Convention Army that I could find on my recent visit), marks the site of the home of its founder, William Pynchon.

The first to arrive from the Convention Army were guards from their Massachusetts militia escort.  Joshua Pillsbury's account indicates that after spending two nights in Westfield, he spent two nights in Springfield.  On October 29th he left Westfield, passed through West Springfield “... and crossed Conitcut River at Springfield 08 miles”.  On the 30th, he noted that he “Lay Still” in Springfield, then set out on Friday, October 31st, and “Marched  05 [miles.]” [2]

Springfield's location on the east bank of the flat, fertile Connecticut River valley and along one the post roads which ran from Boston to New York City, led to it becoming a prosperous settlement.  The German captives were impressed with what they saw after crossing the river.  "East Springfield is much bigger and also more beautiful in its lay-out than West Springfield..." one observed.  "We found exquisite houses there, that immediately attracted your attention.  The place largely consists of a very long and broad main street, on which the houses are set not very far apart from each other.  The gardens and courtyards on the sides of the houses are bordered towards the street with beautiful palings [fences] and are at times also adorned with statutes." [3]

The Germans also found that at Springfield “This place is now an important munitions center of the Americans.  It contains a small but well built arsenal…”; and the following day "From here to Boston stands a stone milepost every mile…” [4]  Not specifically mentioned was a rather unique road marker, the Wait Monument.  A replica, pictured here, is located near the entrance to the Springfield Armory National Historic Site. 

The German troops who crossed the Connecticut River into Springfield on October 31st may have liked the town with its "exquisite houses", but only a very few of the Convention Army would stay there.  As one officer noted: “October 31st, we crossed the Connecticut, taking till night.  The Committee in East Springfield… relegated the regiments to a wood three and a half miles further on. … ” [5]  The Brunswick grenadier Johann Bense likewise recorded in his diary that after a day of rest in West Springfield, he found himself:“[Oct.] 31 across the Connecticut River in the woods.”  [6]

An allowance was made for the sick and wounded from the column.  The orders of one of the German regiments indicate:  "Order Springfield, Nov. 1, 1777 By command of Major General v. Riedesel the regiment of Hessen-Hanau provides 1 officer for those wounded left behind in the school.  This one officer would be relieved by one other officer from the Corps as soon as possible.”  [7] 

Another who stayed was Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne, traveling under guard by the American Brigadier-Generals John Glover and William Whipple.  They spent two nights in the town, Whipple noting in his journal: "Nov. 1st set out from Westfield at 4 o’clock crossed the River & arrived at Springfield at Parson’s between 6 and 7.  Hear the German Troops have got no farther than Palmer which determined us to halt here tomorrow." [8]

[1] Wasmus, 89.
[2] Pillsbury, 787.

[3] Specht Journal, 108.

[4] Letters From America, 124.

[5] Letters From America, 124.

[6] Bense, 76.

[7] Robert M. Webler, "Braunschweig and Hessen-Hanau Captives From Burgoyne's Army Marching Through New England to Prisons August-November 1777", Journal of the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2003, 7 (Orderly Book of the Hesse-Hanau Regiment Erbprinz).

[8] Whipple Journal, Annotated Transcription, 8.

Next Week: The Germans In Wilbraham and Palmer - "Our Troops Will Spend The Night"

For more on the Convention Army's 1777 march from Saratoga to Boston, see:

1777 March Blog Home          Overnight Stopping Points          Towns and Villages Along the Way

 Annotated Bibliography