Background for John Jay Christmas Address 1776

Why John Jay Had to Stay: New York Christmas Address 1776 The year 1776 turned out to be more than a tough year for the state and City of New York, it was disastrous. If you did not realize it before you will see why John Jay had to stay in New York. As of June 1776 there were two British warships in New York harbor and New Yorkers were anticipating the arrival any day of the British Fleet. As advertised, the fleet came and showed off its power and intimidated the citizens. Let us look at the multiplied defeats in the New York Theater of operations.

The Battle of Brooklyn could have ended the American Revolution. Our army was almost totally destroyed; almost. The Americans were outnumbered (15,000 to 20,000 or 30,000), outclassed, outgunned and out strategized. We were no match for the British Fleet. General Howe outflanked us and had the Continental Army facing two fronts. The Maryland Line served with honor; 256 Marylanders gave up their lives so that the rest of the Continental Army could escape. A huge storm came up which delayed the British advance. In an amazing feat, Washington retreated across the East River. The dawn came accompanied with a fog that did not lift until Washington left on the last boat. I highly recommend David McCullough’s illustrated version of 1776 about the battle of Brooklyn.

After the Brooklyn defeat, another battle was fought at Kip’s Bay. We lost that battle also. The British rubbed it in by sounding fox hunt music. After Kip’s Bay, the British beat us again at Harlem but we put up a good fight. We lost Fort Lee and then Fort Washington. The loss of life and the number of prisoners lost to the British staggered the resolve of the Patriots. On top of all the losses, New York suffered with the great fire in September. Defeat after hard defeat gives us the context for the New York Convention asking John Jay to write something to enliven the spirits of New Yorkers. He wrote what I have entitled “The New York Christmas Address of 1776” or “John Jay’s 1776 Christmas Address.” What was John Jay doing all this time? Most of us do not think of John Jay on horseback. He travelled over 250 miles on horseback from Fort Montgomery (nine miles south of West Point) to Salisbury, Connecticut ( a trip of about 70 miles) trying to secure cannons. Being unsuccessful, he went another 75 miles to Lebanon, Connecticut where he got 10 twelve pound and 10 six pound cannons. He took them to Poughkeepsie and travelled to Livingston Manor. In the midst of all this, John Jay is a young guy that just got married to Sally Jay in 1775. His wife Sally gave birth to a son named Peter in January 1776. Sally became ill around this time and Jay had to pick her up at Elizabeth, New Jersey and took her to supposed safety in Fishkill, New York. Once he got her settled, Jay went to Rye, New York and brought his parents to Fishkill also. If you were a New Yorker during this time, things were lower than glum, they were desperate. Knowing his despondent audience, Jay wrote his address to give hope to suffering New Yorkers. To see a reading of the address go to