New Canaan There & Then: George Washington, the First Purple Heart and the Sergeant from Town

‘New Canaan There & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Bettina Hegel, Joanne Santulli and Dawn Sterner. 

It’s the oldest military decoration in American history.

It was created and designed by none other than George Washington.

One of the first three recipients of the honor was awarded it for gallantry exhibited in the battle that won the Revolutionary War for the nascent United States.

And that honoree – who received it in person from General Washington – was from New Canaan.
Does local history get any more noteworthy than that?

The original Purple Heart was designated as the Badge of Military Merit.  It was first announced in General Washington’s general orders to the Continental Army issued on August 7, 1782, at his headquarters in Newburg, New York.

The Badge was intended as a military order for soldiers who exhibited, “not only instances of unusual gallantry in battle, but also extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way.”  The general order described the form of the badge as “the figure of a heart in purple cloth, or silk, edged with narrow lace or binding,” intended to be worn over the left breast.  The design was entirely the creation of the American commander.

While the Badge of Merit morphed into what is today the Purple Heart – awarded in the name of the president to those military personnel wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 – the Badge is also generally considered to be the forerunner of today’s Medal of Honor, since it was the first to focus on “unusual” and “extraordinary” efforts on the battlefield.

The Badge of Military Merit has historic significance beyond its connection to the Purple Heart; military historians believe it is one of the first instance of an award being given to common soldiers (i.e., enlisted men).  Previously, only officers received military honors.  Washington was well aware of this when he created the award and specifically promoted its importance as a symbol of honor for patriotic citizens in a volunteer army.

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Before we get into more detail on New Canaan’s Badge of Merit recipient, and as we approach the nation’s semiquincentennial in two months’ time, a few words of remembrance for the creator of the Badge are in order.

Without George Washington, there likely would be no United States of America.  Besides commanding the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolution that took place over six long and difficult years, he presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787.  He was then unanimously elected as the first U.S. President (1789-1797), where he set enduring precedents not only for that office in particular but for American leadership in general, including self-imposed term limits.  It’s often forgotten that he was the only Founding Father to provide for the emancipation of all of his owned enslaved people in his will.

As Ron Chernow wites in his marvelous, and seminal, 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning biography:

“George Washington possessed the gift of inspired simplicity, a clarity and purity of vision that never failed him.  Whatever petty partisan disputes swirled around him, he kept his eyes fixed on the transcendent goals that motivated his quest.  As sensitive to criticism as any other man, he never allowed personal attacks or threats to distract him, following an inner compass that charted the way ahead.”

One problem with Washington as a historical figure is that he too often appears as almost alabaster in character – rigid, unsmiling and deadly serious – whether in portraits, sculptures, or the dollar bill.  And the mythic stories of biographers such as Parson Weems (e.g., “he could tell no lies”) made him seem just too perfect.

In fact, the Father of our Country had a pretty good sense of humor.  During the debates on the Constitution, a member made a motion restricting the future nation’s standing army to 5,000 troops; the General, who as chairman couldn’t participate in the discussion, whispered to another member to amend the motion to make it on condition that “no foreign enemy should invade the United States with more than 3,000 troops.”

More famous was his interaction with his brilliant Treasury Secretary and de facto son, Alexander Hamilton.  Washington was extremely punctual and would set his cabinet meetings for 11:00 AM on set days.  Hamilton was invariably late for those meetings, typically exclaiming that “his watch had deceived him” when he arrived.  Exasperated, the President finally advised his protege: “Sir you must provide yourself a new watch or I a new Secretary.”

Chernow with the last word:

“For a quarter century, Washington stuck to an undeviating path that led straight to the creation of an independent republic, the enactment of the constitution and the formation of the federal government.  History records few examples of a leader who so earnestly wanted to do the right thing, not just for himself but for his country. He had indeed been the indispensable man of the American revolution.”

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William Brown joined what ultimately became the 5^th Connecticut Regiment in 1777 after he turned the ripe old age of 16.   The regiment spent the winter at Valley Forge, fought in Washington’s victory at Battle of Monmouth in 1778, and then spent much of its time guarding the Hudson Highlands.  During that period Brown was promoted to corporal (1779) and sergeant (1780).

October 14, 1781 found Brown on the outskirts of Yorktown, Virginia, where his regiment had marched from their camp in Morristown, New Jersey during the summer.  The British position there had been under severe bombardment by the combined Continental and French armies for five days.  The siege lines surrounding the town were nearly complete except for two British “redoubts” that still held stubbornly to their position (a redoubt is a small, enclosed, temporary defensive fortification built of earth and wood).   

The two redoubts had to be captured before the encirclement of British General Charles Cornwallis and his army was complete.  According to Lois B. Bayles of the New Canaan Historical Society in her definitive 1976 account, “Canaan Parish and the American Revolution”:

“An assault by a small group of soldiers on such a stronghold as these small British fortifications was a standard military practice and, as such, was called a ‘forlorn hope.’  In a ‘forlorn hope’ action surprise and audacity were the big factors, but too often the men leading the charge were sacrificed for the good of the additional assault waves.  If the ‘forlorn hope’ company could breach the lines, the day could be won, but few in the first assault [were] expected to return.”

The redoubts were designated redoubt #9 and redoubt #10.  The attack on redoubt #9 was to be conducted by French troops, while the attack on redoubt #10 was in the hands of Continental Army soldiers under the command of Hamilton, then a Lieutenant Colonel.

Hamilton selected about 80 men for the assignment, including Sergeant Brown.  The band “rushed furiously” at the British redoubt in a night attack, “tearing down the strong defenses with their bare hands, and ultimately routing the surprised British.”   The surprise was augmented by the fact that Hamilton’s men had attacked with bayonets, and no shots were fired by them that would alert their presence or their French comrades to the enemy.  Seven of the Americans were killed, and “less half their number” wounded.

The capture of the two redoubts completed the siege lines around Yorktown, sealing the fate of Cornwallis and his army.  At two o’clock on the afternoon of October 17^th, the British Army marched out of the town, their colors furled and drums muffled.  While a military band played an old English ballad, “The World Turned Upside Down,” the British laid down their arms.  The Revolutionary War was effectively over.
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On May 3, 1783, William Brown received his Badge of Military Merit from General Washington, who pinned it on his left breast.  The ceremony took place at the army’s Newburgh headquarters.

Brown returned to Canaan Parish after his discharge from the Continental army later that year.  He soon married his third cousin, Ruth Hanford, daughter of Stephen Hanford, a travelling weaver and the builder of the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society’s Hanford-Silliman House.  (He was also New Canaan’s first licensed tavernkeeper).

Like a number of soldiers whose service in the army “gave them a wandering foot,” as a six-year veteran Brown ended up receiving bounty land grants in the Northwest Territory.  He moved his family there and helped to establish what today is Cincinnati, Ohio, where he is buried.