Along the Hudson River, Upstate New York
October 1863
The letter from Prime Minister Palmerston was barely two weeks old. The Royal Navy had delivered it to Montreal, then it had come overland. The courier had carried nothing more. No letters from home. Not surprising, given that the prime minister’s letter would have been dispatched in great haste and via military courier. The Royal Mail would deliver his wife’s letters, should she choose to write, via steamship to Halifax, and then find its way to the army in due course. Burgoyne was long accustomed to being without news of family for months. The steamship had cut the time for a trans-Atlantic crossing by more than half. A mixed blessing to a field commander, Burgoyne thought. On the one hand, it permits faster and closer coordination with London. On the other hand, it permits faster and closer coordination with London. The general smiled at his own joke. This war will be won or lost here, not in London.
Seated in his tent, Burgoyne read the letter again. Palmerston’s instructions were clear as far as they went. Proceed south down the line of the Hudson and threaten New York City. Draw the Union Army away from Washington City. Avoid a general engagement until such time as he was reinforced. Force the Union to divide their army or choose to defend either Washington or New York. Expect the first troops to leave England in a week, which meant they were already on the water. Within two months Burgoyne would have more than 100,000 soldiers to augment his force of 15,000.
You shall retain overall command of all British forces in the field. Establish contact and communications with President Davis by any means possible. He has agreed that British war aims will be paramount as long as Southern independence is recognized, Burgoyne read.
British war aims. Palmerston did not elaborate. In their only conversation, before Burgoyne departed London for America, Palmerston had gone on at some length about the decision to intervene on the side of the Confederacy. It was clear that he, and many others, had never truly gotten over the loss of the colonies. But more importantly, Palmerston saw the United States as an emerging colossus, a country of enormous size, unlimited resources, unchecked ambition, and religious zeal for expansion. The Southern rebellion offered a once-in-our-lifetimes opportunity to cut the United States back down to size and halt, or at least delay, its emergence as a serious competitor to the British Empire. Palmerston hadn’t mentioned slavery in their conversation, nor did his letter.
Burgoyne pondered that nothing less than the global balance of power depended on his ability to maneuver his 15,000 men made soft and lazy by years of garrison duty in Canada. His challenge was to threaten, posture, sow fear and panic, and force the Union to react to him, all the while avoiding a fight until he could do so at full strength.
Thus far Burgoyne had taken his time on his march south, intentionally giving the Union time to dispatch a force to meet him. He could threaten New York City in a couple of days’ quick march, but he preferred to lure the Federal Army as far north as possible and shorten the distance from Montreal for the troops that would reinforce him. He, not the Union Army, would choose the field of battle.
No stranger to campaigning in cold weather, the snow flurries that were visible through the open flap of his tent nonetheless reminded him that North American winters came early and hard. His troops were fine for now, but soon enough they’d need to prepare themselves for the harsh realities of making war in winter. That argued for moving south, but his orders, and his own judgment, were clear. Stay north, draw the Union out, divide their strength.
Establishing contact with President Davis was another matter. With Southern ports still blockaded, and with no telegraph communication between the Northern states and the Confederate government, he would have to depend on couriers, who would run a great risk in trying to cross the lines. Burgoyne wondered if Packenham were game for more soldiering and summoned the young officer.
“Major Packenham, do you have a moment? I should like to know if you are disposed to another adventure on horseback.”