Untold Stories: John Callendar, the Coward Who Became a Patriot Hero
Captain John Callendar was cashiered from the Revolutionary Army for cowardice—and lived to become a hero of the American cause.
There are so many inspiring, beautiful stories about the great heroes of American history which are scarcely ever told. One happens on them accidentally—buried in a thick, out-of-print biography, in small print on a museum sign, casually and fleetingly mentioned in an obscure educational video. America cannot return to greatness in the future if we do not truly understand the greatness of our past. That is why I am writing an article series to tell a few of these little-known but moving or illustrative “untold stories” of American greatness.
Previous articles in this series have included the life of slave turned Patriot double agent James Armistead Lafayette; unsung local war heroes from WWII and the Korean War; Abraham Lincoln’s visits to the “contraband” camps of former slaves; and how George Washington saved a slave family from being divided. Today’s story is about the importance of second chances, and how one failure should not be allowed to define a man: specifically, the man named John Callendar.
Recently, I attended the Independence Day celebration at George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon. Before the magnificent fireworks display, a reenactor portraying Washington came out onto the back terrace of the mansion to give a little speech—a speech which began with the mundane and ended with the inspiring.
For context, the mansion’s back is currently under construction, and “Washington” used this construction as a starting point to tell us the story of a nearly forgotten hero of the American Revolution, John Callendar. Referring to the theme of restoration, and of weathering storms based on solid foundations, “Washington” went on to narrate the story from his perspective:
“Puts to mind a gentleman whose name came to my attention when I first took command of the army outside of Boston [on July 3, 1775]. Now, I came just after the Battle of Bunker’s Hill, and what would my first duties be, as Commander-in-Chief, as I took command of the army? To mete out punishment, for a court-martial. Captain John Callendar had been found guilty of one of the darkest crimes that’s possible within the army, the crime of cowardice.
Now, there were many punishments that were available, and it was very important that punishment be given, because the Army was in its infancy, and if I were to allow this example to breed, it could very well mean the end of our bid for our rights and liberties. So the punishments I could choose between were simple—I could choose something as extreme as death, but I chose shame. Captain John Callendar was removed of rank, he was cashiered from the Army, and separated.
His artillery company, you see, had been at Bunker’s Hill. Now, there were several artillery companies meant to be part of that battle, [but] only a few arrived. And while others also fled, Captain John Callendar was—for political reasons—chosen to take the blame for all. He had his guns trained upon the enemy, and when the firing began, he and his crew fled their position, leaving our troops exposed, and eventually overrun by the British.”
You would think that would be the end of the story of John Callendar. He had proven that he could not stand up to the stresses of battle, that he could not lead other soldiers, at Bunker Hill. He was court-martialed and humiliated in front of the entire Revolutionary Army for his failure. So what did Callendar do? “Washington” explained:
“Now, separated from the Army, with such humiliation, you would imagine the story would end there, but it did not. John Callendar accepted his punishment, and, deciding that the cause he was engaged in was more important than his personal honor, he re-enlisted, in the very same artillery company he had previously commanded. Now all in that company would be above him in rank.”
It is one thing to be humiliated, and another to be humble. There are few men able to take such a rebuke as Callendar received gracefully, let alone willingly keep the wound fresh by re-enlisting in the same company where he had previously been both commander and coward.
“It was almost a year later … that we found ourselves engaged in the Battle of Long Island, and John Callendar was again at an artillery position with the enemy fast approaching. But this time, John Callendar would not run. The enemy fired brutally upon their positions—as they [the British] moved up the hill, [Callendar’s] lieutenant was killed in front of him, but he would not run away. He continued, with the rest of his crew, to load the gun and fire it again and again.
The enemy fired upon them until, one by one, all of the rest of the artillery company had been killed. But this time, John Callendar would not run away. He continued to load and fire the weapon by himself, the British and their Hessian allies [famed for their brutality to captured American soldiers] charging up the hill, [with] fixed bayonets, determined on his destruction. John Callendar would not run away. In the last moment, at the very last second, one of the British officers saw what he could not believe as bravery from this man, and he held back the Hessians; so that John Callendar was not killed, but was captured.”
But the heroism of John Callendar did not end even there. Unlike too many prisoners-of-war, Callendar survived imprisonment—to fight, and win, another day.
“When I [Washington] first heard reports of the astounding acts of bravery of this man, I could scarce believe this was the same man who had previously been so rebuked. It took us almost a year before we could exchange Private John Callendar for other [British] soldiers, and he was returned to us and restored to his rank. He served throughout the rest of the war and was even present with us when we marched back into New York.
You see, once everything was stripped away from him, what was left of the man were the foundations that we did not previously see. The damage can always be restored. . .[and], my fellow countrymen, our foundations—our foundations are strong.”
They are strong indeed. There have been many—too many—villains and crimes committed in the name of America throughout our nation’s history, but America’s founding principles were those which were championed by the heroes and distorted or attacked by the villains. No matter how many times we fail to live up to our own ideals, we can always begin again, because our foundations are strong.
This Independence Day, let us not remember the villains but the heroes—and most especially recall that America is not only a land of liberty, but a land of opportunity: a land where every man has a second chance. We believe that a man is not defined by his past mistakes but by his present achievements, and John Callendar, the coward turned hero, is the perfect illustration of that truth.