1.
American Revolutionary War
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From about 1765 the American Revolution had led to increasing philosophical and political differences between Great Britain and its American colonies. The war represented a culmination of these differences in armed conflict between Patriots and the authority which they increasingly resisted. This resistance became particularly widespread in the New England Colonies, especially in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On December 16,1773, Massachusetts members of the Patriot group Sons of Liberty destroyed a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor in an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. Named the Coercive Acts by Parliament, these became known as the Intolerable Acts in America. The Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, establishing a government that removed control of the province from the Crown outside of Boston. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, and established committees, British attempts to seize the munitions of Massachusetts colonists in April 1775 led to the first open combat between Crown forces and Massachusetts militia, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Militia forces proceeded to besiege the British forces in Boston, forcing them to evacuate the city in March 1776, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington to take command of the militia. Concurrent to the Boston campaign, an American attempt to invade Quebec, on July 2,1776, the Continental Congress formally voted for independence, issuing its Declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe began a British counterattack, focussing on recapturing New York City, Howe outmaneuvered and defeated Washington, leaving American confidence at a low ebb. Washington captured a Hessian force at Trenton and drove the British out of New Jersey, in 1777 the British sent a new army under John Burgoyne to move south from Canada and to isolate the New England colonies. However, instead of assisting Burgoyne, Howe took his army on a campaign against the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia. Burgoyne outran his supplies, was surrounded and surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777, the British defeat in the Saratoga Campaign had drastic consequences. Giving up on the North, the British decided to salvage their former colonies in the South, British forces under Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis seized Georgia and South Carolina, capturing an American army at Charleston, South Carolina. British strategy depended upon an uprising of large numbers of armed Loyalists, in 1779 Spain joined the war as an ally of France under the Pacte de Famille, intending to capture Gibraltar and British colonies in the Caribbean. Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in December 1780, in 1781, after the British and their allies had suffered two decisive defeats at Kings Mountain and Cowpens, Cornwallis retreated to Virginia, intending on evacuation. A decisive French naval victory in September deprived the British of an escape route, a joint Franco-American army led by Count Rochambeau and Washington, laid siege to the British forces at Yorktown. With no sign of relief and the situation untenable, Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tory majority in Parliament, but the defeat at Yorktown gave the Whigs the upper hand
2.
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
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Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a county located in the U. S. state of Pennsylvania. With a population of 562,960, it is the fifth most populous county in Pennsylvania, the county was created on September 26,1789, from part of Chester County and named for the Delaware River. Until 1850, Chester City was the county seat of both Delaware County and, before that, of Chester County, Delaware County is adjacent to the city-county of Philadelphia and is included in the Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington, PA–NJ–DE–MD Metropolitan Statistical Area. Delaware County is the county covered in its entirety by area codes 610 and 484. Delaware County lies in the river and bay drainage area named Delaware in honor of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, Governor of the nearby English colony of Virginia. The land was discovered and explored by Henry Hudson in 1609, and over the several decades it was variously claimed and settled by the Swedes, the Dutch. Its original human inhabitants were the Lenni-Lenape tribe of American Indians, once the Dutch were defeated and the extent of New York was determined, King Charles II of England made his grant to William Penn in order to found the colony which came to be named Pennsylvania. Penn divided his colony into three counties, Bucks, Philadelphia, and Chester, the riverfront land south of Philadelphia, being the most accessible, was quickly granted and settled. In 1789, the portion of Chester County was divided from the rest. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 191 square miles. It is the third-smallest county in Pennsylvania by area, the lowest point in the state of Pennsylvania is located on the Delaware River in Marcus Hook in Delaware County, where it flows out of Pennsylvania and into Delaware. The highest point in Delaware County is 500 feet at two points southeast of Wyola in Newtown Township, waterways in Delaware County generally flow in a southward direction and ultimately drain into the Delaware River. The waterways are, from west to east, the Brandywine River, Chester Creek, Ridley Creek, Crum Creek, Muckinipates Creek, Darby Creek and Cobbs Creek. Crum Creek was dammed in 1931 near Pennsylvania Route 252 to fill Springton Lake, an approximately 391-acre drinking water reservoir maintained by Aqua America, John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge 2,600 acres of the county are occupied by the Ridley Creek State Park. 3. 0% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry, as of 2000, there were 550,864 people,206,320 households, and 139,472 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,990 people per square mile, There were 216,978 housing units at an average density of 1,178 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 80. 32% White,14. 52% African American,0. 11% Native American,3. 29% Asian,0. 02% Pacific Islander,0. 56% from other races, and 1. 19% from two or more races. 1. 52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,24. 6% were of Irish,17. 5% Italian,10. 1% German and 6. 7% English ancestry
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
5.
2nd Canadian Regiment
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All or part of the regiment saw action at Staten Island, Brandywine, Germantown and the Siege of Yorktown. Most of its time was spent in and around New York City as part of the forces monitoring the British forces occupying that city. The regiment was disbanded on November 15,1783 at West Point, the regiment was one of a small number of Continental Army regiments that was the direct responsibility of the Continental Congress. Hazen and his staff were later authorized by Congress to recruit in other areas to supplement their ranks, late in 1775, Colonel James Livingston raised and commanded a regiment of Canadians which fought at St. Jean, Quebec, in support of General Montgomerys 1775 invasion of Quebec. Livingstons 300 Canadians, along with about 50 Americans, were instrumental in the fall of Fort Chambly during that engagement, Livingstons regiment, which was not formalized by Montgomery until November 1775, also participated in the action at Quebec. On January 3,1776, Congress commissioned him Colonel, moses Hazen had served as a lieutenant in the 44th Regiment during the French and Indian War and was receiving a half-pay pension for his British service. In 1775, while he was living on this plus the income from his estate in St. Jean, Quebec, the Americans plundered Hazens estate plundered and damaged his property damaged by the during the siege of the fort. Nevertheless, Hazen was arrested by the British on suspicion of spying for the Americans and he was held a prisoner for 54 days, until he was finally released by General Montgomery after the fall of Montreal in November. Hazen then joined the American cause, and took part in the battle of Quebec, following the American failure to take the city, Hazen and Edward Antill, an American expatriate, traveled to Philadelphia to report on the battle. Congress partially compensated Hazen by establishing the 2nd Canadian Regiment and he accepted the command, thus forfeiting his British half-pay. Antill was made lieutenant colonel of the regiment, on January 20,1776, Congress authorized the 2nd Canadian Regiment with an allowed maximum strength of 1,000. It would consist of four battalions, the only oversized regiment in the Continental Army and it was assigned to the Armys Canadian Department, and was organized by Hazen on February 10,1776 at Montreal, to be recruited from the Richelieu and St. Lawrence Valleys. Over the next two months, Hazen and Antill recruited in areas, until early April, when the recruiting funds dried up. During much of the war, the 2nd Canadian Regiment was known as Congresss Own Regiment, greatly depleted by its five years of service, Livingstons regiment was disbanded in the reorganization of the Continental Army on January 1,1781. Its Canadian elements were assigned to Hazens command, which was redesignated as the Canadian Regiment. The regiment was first assigned to duty in and around Montreal. In March 1776, Wooster went to Quebec City to assume command of the army there, Arnold then assigned the regiment to guard duty at Fort Chambly, where it remained until the American retreat in June 1776. On July 2, the Canadian Department was disbanded, and regiment was reassigned to the Northern Department, the regiment was at Fort Ticonderoga in July 1776, Albany in September, and then Fishkill, New York for winter quarters
6.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
7.
Hesse
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Hesse or Hessia is a federal state of the Federal Republic of Germany, with just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden, the largest city is Frankfurt am Main, the English name Hesse originates in the Hessian dialects. The variant Hessia comes from the medieval Latin Hassia, the German term Hessen is used by the European Commission because their policy is to leave regional names untranslated. The term Hesse ultimately derives from a Germanic tribe called the Chatti, an inhabitant of Hesse is called a Hessian. The synthetic element hassium, number 108 on the table, is named after the state of Hesse. As early as the Paleolithic period, the Central Hessian region was inhabited, due to the favorable climate of the location, people lived there about 50,000 years ago during the last glacial period, as burial sites show from this era. Finds of paleolitical tools in southern Hesse in Rüsselsheim suggest Pleistocene hunters about 13,000 years ago, the Züschen tomb is a prehistoric burial monument, located between Lohne and Züschen, near Fritzlar, Hesse, Germany. Classified as a grave or a Hessian-Westphalian stone cist, it is one of the most important megalithic monuments in Central Europe. Dating to the fourth millennium BC, it belongs to the Late Neolithic Wartberg culture. An early Celtic presence in what is now Hesse is indicated by a mid-fifth-century BC La Tène style burial uncovered at Glauberg, the region was later settled by the Germanic Chatti tribe around the first century BC, and the name Hesse is a continuation of that tribal name. The ancient Romans had a camp in Dorlar, and in Waldgirmes directly on the eastern outskirts of Wetzlar was a civil settlement under construction. Presumably, the government for the occupied territories of the right bank of Germania was planned at this location. The governor of Germania, at least temporarily, likely had resided here, the settlement appears to have been abandoned by the Romans after the devastating Battle of the Teutoburg Forest failed in the year 9 AD. The Chatti were also involved in the Revolt of the Batavi in 69 AD, Hessia occupies the northwestern part of the modern German state of Hesse, its borders were not clearly delineated. Its geographic center is Fritzlar, it extends in the southeast to Hersfeld on the Fulda river, in the north to past Kassel and up to the rivers Diemel, to the west, it occupies the valleys of the rivers Eder and Lahn. It measured roughly 90 kilometers north-south, and 80 north-west, the area around Fritzlar shows evidence of significant pagan belief from the first century on. Excavations have produced a horse burial and bronze artifacts, a possible religious cult may have centered on a natural spring in Geismar, called Heilgenbron, the name Geismar itself may be derived from that spring. By 650, the Franks were establishing themselves as overlords, which is suggested by evidence of burials
8.
Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel
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His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the capital of Kassel. The other sons received the Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Rheinfels, the line of Landgraves was founded by William IV, surnamed the Wise, the eldest son of Philip I. On his fathers death in 1567, he received one half of the Landgraviate of Hesse, with Kassel as his capital, and this formed the Landgraviate. The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel expanded in 1604 when Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel inherited the Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg from his childless uncle, Louis IV and his younger sons received apanages, which created several cadet lines of the house. The family line of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Rotenburg survived till 1834, with the aid of the French and Swedes, she held it, together with part of Westphalia. During the Thirty Years War, the Calvinist Hesse-Kassel proved to be Swedens most loyal German ally and they maintained an army, garrisoning many strongholds, including Dorsten, the strongest fortress on the right bank of the Rhine which was subsequently lost as the Siege of Dorsten. Meanwhile, Hesse-Kassel was occupied by Imperial troops, at the Peace of Westphalia, accordingly, Hesse-Kassel was augmented by the larger part of the County of Schaumburg and by the Hersfeld Abbey, secularized as a principality of the Empire. The regent Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg introduced the rule of primogeniture, William VI, who came of age in 1650, was an enlightened patron of learning and the arts. He was succeeded by his son William VII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, then an infant and he was succeeded by his brother Charles I. Frederick I of Sweden, the next landgrave, had become by marriage King of Sweden, on his death, he was succeeded in the landgraviate by his brother William VIII, who fought as an ally of Kingdom of Great Britain during the Seven Years War. This action, often criticized, has in later years found apologists. Historians now argue that the troops were Auxiliaries or mercenaries, Frederick II used the revenue thus derived to develop the economic and intellectual life of the country. Due to their involvement in the American War of Independence, Hessian has become an American slang term for all German soldiers deployed by the British against the American Revolution, one such regiment was the Musketeer Regiment Prinz Carl. Since the early years of the Reformation, the House of Hesse was Protestant, Landgraves Philip I, William V, and Maurice married descendants of King George of Bohemia. From William VI onwards, mothers of the heads of Hesse-Kassel were always descended from William the Silent, William V was succeeded by Landgraves William VI and William VII. Under King Frederick I of Sweden, Hesse-Kassel was in union with Sweden from 1730–51. But the Kings younger brother, Prince William, ruled in Kassel as regent until he succeeded his brother, Hesse-Kassel maintained 7% of its entire population under arms throughout the eighteenth century. This force served as a source of mercenaries for other European states, the principality thus became known as Kurhessen, although still usually referred to as Hesse-Kassel
9.
George Washington
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George Washington was an American politician and soldier who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and he is popularly considered the driving force behind the nations establishment and came to be known as the father of the country, both during his lifetime and to this day. Washington was widely admired for his leadership qualities and was unanimously elected president by the Electoral College in the first two national elections. Washingtons incumbency established many precedents still in use today, such as the system, the inaugural address. His retirement from office two terms established a tradition that lasted until 1940 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term. The 22nd Amendment now limits the president to two elected terms and he was born into the provincial gentry of Colonial Virginia to a family of wealthy planters who owned tobacco plantations and slaves, which he inherited. In his youth, he became an officer in the colonial militia during the first stages of the French. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress commissioned him as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, in that command, Washington forced the British out of Boston in 1776 but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the middle of winter, he defeated the British in two battles, retook New Jersey, and restored momentum to the Patriot cause and his strategy enabled Continental forces to capture two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies, after victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism. Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which devised a new form of government for the United States. Following his election as president in 1789, he worked to unify rival factions in the fledgling nation and he supported Alexander Hamiltons programs to satisfy all debts, federal and state, established a permanent seat of government, implemented an effective tax system, and created a national bank. In avoiding war with Great Britain, he guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795 and he remained non-partisan, never joining the Federalist Party, although he largely supported its policies. Washingtons Farewell Address was a primer on civic virtue, warning against partisanship, sectionalism. He retired from the presidency in 1797, returning to his home, upon his death, Washington was eulogized as first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen by Representative Henry Lee III of Virginia. He was revered in life and in death, scholarly and public polling consistently ranks him among the top three presidents in American history and he has been depicted and remembered in monuments, public works, currency, and other dedications to the present day. He was born on February 11,1731, according to the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar was adopted within the British Empire in 1752, and it renders a birth date of February 22,1732. Washington was of primarily English gentry descent, especially from Sulgrave and his great-grandfather John Washington emigrated to Virginia in 1656 and began accumulating land and slaves, as did his son Lawrence and his grandson, Georges father Augustine
10.
Nathanael Greene
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When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible, he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washingtons most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United States are named after him and he suffered financial difficulties in the post-war years and died in 1786. Greene was the son of Nathanael Greene, a Quaker farmer and smith, Nathanael was born on Forge Farm at Potowomut in the township of Warwick, Rhode Island on August 7,1742. His mother Mary Mott was his fathers second wife and his fathers sect discouraged literary accomplishments, so Greene educated himself with a special study of mathematics and law. The Rev. Ezra Stiles, later president of Yale University, was an influence in the young Nathanaels life. In 1770, Greene moved to Coventry, Rhode Island to take charge of the family-owned foundry and he sympathized strongly with the Whig or Patriot element among the colonists. In July 1774, he married Catharine Littlefield, also known as Caty or Kitty and they had six children who survived infancy. He was Quaker by birth, and struggled to reconcile the faiths commitment to pacifism throughout his military career and he continued to serve despite this, as did many other Quakers in the American Revolution. In August 1774, Greene helped organize a militia which was chartered as the Kentish Guards that October. His participation in the group was challenged because he had a pronounced limp, at this time, he began to acquire many expensive volumes on military tactics and began to teach himself the art of war. In December 1774, he was on an appointed by the assembly to revise the militia laws. His zeal in fighting the British and organizing the militia led to his expulsion from the pacifistic Quakers, on May 8,1775, he was promoted from private to major general of the Rhode Island Army of Observation formed in response to the Siege of Boston. He was appointed a brigadier of the Continental Army by the Continental Congress on June 22,1775, George Washington assigned Greene the command of the city of Boston after it was evacuated by the British in March 1776. Severe illness prevented him taking part in the Battle of Long Island. Greene was also a Rhode Island Freemason and bore a masonic jewel, Greene was prominent among those who advised a retreat from New York City. He also advocated the burning of the city so that the British might not use it and he justified this by asserting that the majority of property was owned by Loyalists. While Washington agreed with this, the proposal was rejected by Congress and he was placed in command of Fort Constitution on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. On October 25,1776, he succeeded General Israel Putnam in command of Fort Washington, Greene ordered Colonel Magaw, who was in immediate command, to defend the place until he should hear from him again, and reinforced it to meet General Howes attack
11.
John Sullivan (general)
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John Sullivan was an American General in the Revolutionary War, a delegate in the Continental Congress, Governor of New Hampshire and a United States federal judge. Sullivan, the son of Irish settlers, served as a major general in the Continental Army. He commanded the Sullivan Expedition in 1779, a scorched earth campaign against the Iroquois towns that had taken up arms against the American revolutionaries, as a member of Congress, Sullivan worked closely with the French Ambassador the Chevalier de la Luzerne. Born in Somersworth in the Province of New Hampshire, Sullivan was the son of Irish settlers from the Beara Peninsula in County Cork. One of his brothers, James Sullivan, became Governor of Massachusetts, another brother, Benjamin, who served in the Royal Navy died before the American Revolution. A landing party from HMS Allegiance on February 14,1781 kidnapped another brother, Captain David Sullivan, who later died of disease. The father, John Owen OSullivan was the son of Philip OSullivan of Beare of Ardea, minor gentry in Penal Ireland, the Penal Laws reduced them to the status of peasants. After emigrating to York, Maine, in 1723, the elder John became a Protestant, in 1760, Sullivan married Lydia Remick Worster of Kittery, now in Maine. John and Lydia Sullivan had six children, Margery, who died in infancy, Lydia, John, James, George and another Margery, Sullivan read law with Samuel Livermore of Portsmouth, New Hampshire between 1758 and 1760. He began the practice of law in 1763 at Berwick, now in Maine and he annoyed many neighbors in his early career, when he was the only lawyer in town, with numerous suits over foreclosures and was threatened with violence at least twice in 1766. But by 1772, he was established and began work to improve his relations with the community. He also expanded his interests into milling from which he made a substantial income, in 1773 Alexander Scammell joined John Sullivans law practice. Sullivan built a friendship with the governor of New Hampshire, John Wentworth. In November 1772, Wentworth appointed Sullivan a major in the militia, as the American Revolution grew nearer, Sullivan turned away from Wentworth and began to side more with the radicals. On May 28,1773, at the urging of the Virginia House of Burgesses, hoping to thwart the committee, Wentworth adjourned the Assembly the next day. On December 16,1773, colonists in Massachusetts destroyed tea worth 15,000 pounds at the Boston Tea Party to protest taxes under the Tea Act. The British Parliament responded with the Boston Port Act, effective March 21,1774, Wentworth called a new Assembly, which began meeting on April 7,1774. On May 13, news of the Boston Port Act reached the Assembly, on May 27, the Assembly provided for only five men and an officer to guard Fort William and Mary at Portsmouth harbor
12.
William Alexander, Lord Stirling
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William Alexander, known as Lord Stirling, was an American Brigadier-General during the American Revolutionary War. Alexander was considered male-heir to the title of Earl of Stirling through Scottish lineage and his claim was granted by a Scottish Court, however, the House of Lords ultimately over-ruled Scottish law and denied the title, granting Alexander instead the compromise title of Lord. Lord Stirling commanded the 1st Maryland Regiment that fought at the Battle of Long Island and he lost the battle and was captured but his actions allowed General George Washingtons troops to escape. Stirling was returned by prisoner exchange, promoted for his actions and he was trusted by Washington and in 1780 he exposed the Conway Cabal. Alexander was educated, ambitious, and proficient in mathematics and astronomy and he joined his mother, Mary Alexander, in a successful business and, in 1747, married Sarah Livingston, the daughter of Philip Livingston and sister of Governor William Livingston. The couple had two daughters and one son William, one of his daughters, Mary Alexander, would marry a wealthy merchant named Robert Watts of New York. Another daughter Catherine was the wife of Congressman William Duer, the title Earl of Stirling became dormant or expired upon the death of Henry Alexander, the 5th Earl of Stirling. Williams father, James Alexander, who had fled from Scotland in 1716 after participating in the Jacobite rising, upon his death William lay claim to the title and filed suit. His relationship to the 5th Earl was not through heirs of the body, but through heir male collateral and the inheritance by Proximity of blood had been questioned. It was settled in his favor, by a vote of a jury of twelve in a Scottish court in 1759. It is not clear if the case went to court because of an answer from the Lord Lyon King of Arms concerning the peerage. Legal opinion was that this was a Scottish heir problem so the right was solved. This might have been unopposed, as indisputable peerage, except there was a catch, the two sponsors, Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, and John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, encouraged William through representatives to seek the title. The goal was vast land holdings in America that the holder of the title was to enjoy, the sponsors were to receive money and land if Alexander was successful. With this in mind William decided to petition the House of Lords, a friend and professional agent in Scotland, Andrew Stuart, wrote and advised William not to petition the House of Lords. He felt that the right of indisputable peerage demanded that William just claim the titles as others had done and his opinion was that others lay similar claims to titles so he would not be opposed. It is possible William did not want to commit a crime, or be found out, one problem is that to prove his claim in court two old men were used to testify that William did in fact descend from the 1st Earl through his uncle named John Alexander. This might have been persuasive in a Scottish court but might be considered dubious in England, Stirling inherited a large fortune from his father
13.
Anthony Wayne
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Anthony Wayne was a United States Army officer, statesman, and member of the United States House of Representatives. He later served as General in Chief of the Army and commanded the Legion of the United States, Wayne was one of four children born to Isaac Wayne and Elizabeth Iddings Wayne in Easttown Township, near present-day Paoli, Chester County, Pennsylvania. His father had immigrated from Ireland, and was part of a Protestant Anglo-Irish family, Wayne was born on January 1,1745, on his familys Waynesborough estate. He was educated as a surveyor at his uncles private academy in Philadelphia, as well as at the College of Philadelphia, in 1767 he returned to work in his fathers tannery, while continuing work as a surveyor. He became a prominent figure in Chester County and served in the Pennsylvania legislature from 1774–80 and he married Mary Penrose in 1766 and they had two children. Their daughter Margretta was born in 1770 and their son Isaac Wayne, representative from Pennsylvania, was born in 1772. At the onset of the war in 1775, Wayne raised a unit and, in 1776. His service resulted in a promotion to general on February 21,1777. On September 11,1777, Wayne commanded the Pennsylvania Line at Brandywine, the two forces fought for three hours until the American line withdrew, and Wayne was ordered to retreat. Later, Wayne was ordered to harass the British rear in order to slow General Howes advance towards Pennsylvania, Waynes camp was attacked on the night of September 20–21, in the Battle of Paoli. General Charles Grey ordered his men to remove their flints and attack with bayonets in order to keep their assault secret, the attack earned General Grey the nickname No Flint, but the Americans used the tactics and casualties as propaganda regarding British brutality. General Waynes own reputation was tarnished by the American losses, only days later, on October 4,1777, Wayne again led his forces against the British in the Battle of Germantown. Waynes soldiers pushed ahead of other American units, and, according to his report, generals Wayne and Sullivan advanced too quickly, however, and became entrapped when they reached two miles ahead of other American units. As General Howe arrived and reformed the British line, American forces retreated, General Wayne was again ordered to hold off the British and cover the rear of the retreating body. After winter quarters at Valley Forge, Wayne led the American attack at the 1778 Battle of Monmouth, during this battle, Waynes forces were abandoned by General Charles Lee and pinned down by a numerically superior British force. Wayne held out until relieved by reinforcements sent by Washington, Wayne reformed his troops and continued to fight. Because the body of Lt. Colonel Henry Monckton was discovered by the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment, in July 1779 Washington named Wayne to command the Corps of Light Infantry, a temporary unit of four regiments of light infantry companies drawn from all the regiments in the Main Army. Waynes successful attack on British positions at Stony Point, New York in the Battle of Stony Point was the point of his revolutionary war service
14.
Casimir Pulaski
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Born in Warsaw and following in his fathers footsteps, he became interested in politics at an early age and soon became involved in the military and the revolutionary affairs in Poland. Pulaski was one of the military commanders for the Bar Confederation. When this uprising failed, he was driven into exile, following a recommendation by Benjamin Franklin, Pulaski emigrated to North America to help in the cause of the American Revolutionary War. He distinguished himself throughout the revolution, most notably when he saved the life of George Washington, Pulaski became a general in the Continental Army, created the Pulaski Cavalry Legion and reformed the American cavalry as a whole. At the Battle of Savannah, while leading a charge against British forces, he was gravely wounded. Pulaski has been remembered as a hero who fought for independence, numerous places and events are named in his honor, and he is commemorated by many works of art. Pulaski is one of eight people to be awarded honorary United States citizenship. He never married and had no descendants, despite his fame, there have been uncertainties and controversies surrounding both his place and date of birth and burial. He was a brother of Franciszek Ksawery Pułaski and Antoni Pułaski and his family bore the Ślepowron coat of arms. There is some evidence that Pulaski was a Freemason. Other sources claim Pulaski was a member of the Masonic Army Lodge in Maryland, to date no surviving documents of Pulaskis actual membership have been found. In 1762, Pulaski started his career as a page of Carl Christian Joseph of Saxony, Duke of Courland. He spent six months at the court in Mitau, during which the court was interned in the palaces by the Russian forces occupying the area. He then returned to Warsaw, and his father gave him the village of Zezulińce in Podole, with his family, he took part in the 1764 election of the new Polish monarch, Stanisław II August. In December 1767, Pulaski and his father became involved with the Bar Confederation, the confederation was actively opposed by the Russian forces stationed in Poland. Pulaski recruited a unit and on February 29,1768, signed the act of the confederation, on March 6, he received the rank of a pułkownik and commanded a choragiew of cavalry. In March and April he agitated among the Polish military, successfully convincing some forces to join the Confederates and he fought his first battle on April 20 near Pohorełe, it was a victory, as was another on April 23 near Starokostiantyniv. An engagement at Kaczanówka on April 28 resulted in a defeat, in early May he garrisoned Chmielnik, but was forced to retreat when allied reinforcements were defeated
15.
Moses Hazen
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Moses Hazen was a Brigadier General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Born in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, he saw action in the French and his service included particularly brutal raids, during the Expulsion of the Acadians and the 1759 Siege of Quebec. During his lifetime he acquired land in Quebec, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, but lost most of his Quebec land due to litigation, with Christie and the negative effects of the Revolution. In 1775 he became involved in the American invasion of Quebec early in the American Revolutionary War and he went on to lead his own regiment, throughout the war, seeing action in the 1777 Philadelphia campaign and at Yorktown in 1781. He was frequently involved in litigation, both military and civil, and constantly petitioned Congress for compensation of losses and expenses incurred due to the war. He supported similar efforts by men from his regiment who were unable to return to Quebec because of their support for the American war effort, Moses Hazen was born in Haverhill, a frontier town in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, to an old New England Puritan family. Some histories that mention Hazen sometimes indicate that he was Jewish, a genealogist clearly documents Hazens lineage to England, where the family name was Hassen. Hazen was apprenticed to a tanner when the French and Indian War broke out, in 1756, he enlisted with the local militia, which included a number of family members. He first served at Fort William Henry near Lake George, where he probably first met, in McCurdys company, he saw action at Louisbourg, including the initial landings, when the action was quite fierce. These raids were sometimes quite brutal, the company was known to scalp Acadian settlers. In one particularly brutal incident, Hazen was responsible for the scalping of six men, and the burning of four others, along with two women and three children, in a house he set on fire. Joseph Bellefontaine, a leader of the militia and the father of one of the women. In January 1759, Captain McCurdy was killed when a tree felled by one of his men fell on him, in another notable atrocity that may have involved Hazens company, a priest and thirty parishioners in a parish near Quebec were killed and scalped. Hazen also fought at the 1760 Battle of Sainte-Foy, where he was wounded in the thigh. In February 1761, he purchased a commission as a first Lieutenant in the 44th Regiment of Foot in the British Army and he spent the remainder of the war on garrison duty at Montreal, retiring on half-pay in 1763. General James Murray wrote approvingly of Hazen in 1761, He discovered so much still bravery, during the siege of Quebec, Hazen had met Gabriel Christie, then a deputy quartermaster. Christie owned some land in the Richelieu River valley south of Montreal, after the war, Christie and Hazen jointly purchased the seigneuries of Sabrevois and Bleury, located on the east bank of the Richelieu near Fort Saint-Jean. They also leased land on the west side of river from the Baron of Longueuil and these holdings gave them almost exclusive control over the land holdings around Saint-Jean, which is the northernmost navigable point reachable from Lake Champlain
16.
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe
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General William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brothers who had distinguished military careers, having joined the army in 1746, Howe saw extensive service in the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years War. Howe also participated in the campaigns to take Louisbourg, Belle Île and he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Wight, a post he would hold until 1795. Howe was sent to North America in March 1775, arriving in May after the American War of Independence broke out. After leading British troops to a victory in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Howes record in North America was marked by the capture of both New York City and Philadelphia. However, poor British campaign planning for 1777 contributed to the failure of John Burgoynes Saratoga campaign, Howes role in developing those plans and the degree to which he was responsible for British failures that year have both been subjects of contemporary and historic debate. He resigned his post as Commander in Chief, North America, in 1778, and returned to England and he served for many years in Parliament, and was knighted after his successes in 1776. He inherited the Viscountcy of Howe upon the death of his brother Richard in 1799 and he married, but had no children, and the viscountcy was extinguished with his death in 1814. His mother was a regular in the courts of George II and this connection with the crown may have improved the careers of all four sons, but all were also very capable officers. His father was a politician, who served as Governor of Barbados where he died in 1735, williams eldest brother, General George Howe, was killed just before the 1758 Battle of Carillon at Fort Ticonderoga. Another brother, Admiral Richard Howe, rose to one of Britains leading naval commanders. A third brother, Thomas, commanded ships for the East India Company, Winchelsea in 1762–4 and Nottingham in 1766, William entered the army when he was 17 by buying a cornets commission in the Duke of Cumberlands Dragoons in 1746. He then served for two years in Flanders during the War of the Austrian Succession, after the war he was transferred to the 20th Regiment of Foot, where he became a friend of James Wolfe. During the Seven Years War Howes service first brought him to America and he joined the newly formed 58th Regiment of Foot in February 1757, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in December of that year. He commanded the regiment at the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758 and this action won the attackers a flanking position and earned Howe a commendation from Wolfe. Howe commanded an infantry battalion under General Wolfe during the 1759 Siege of Quebec. Howe led a brigade in the 1761 Capture of Belle Île, off the French coast and he served as adjutant general of the force that captured Havana in 1762, playing a part in a skirmish at Guanabacoa
17.
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
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In the United States and the United Kingdom he is best remembered as one of the leading British generals in the American War of Independence. His surrender in 1781 to a combined American and French force at the Siege of Yorktown ended significant hostilities in North America, born into an aristocratic family and educated at Eton and Cambridge, Cornwallis joined the army in 1757, seeing action in the Seven Years War. Upon his fathers death in 1762 he became Earl Cornwallis and entered the House of Lords, from 1766 until 1805 he was Colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot. He next saw action in 1776 in the American War of Independence. Active in the forces of many campaigns, in 1780 he inflicted an embarrassing defeat on the American army at the Battle of Camden. He also commanded British forces in the March 1781 Pyrrhic victory at Guilford Court House, Cornwallis surrendered his army at Yorktown in October 1781 after an extended campaign through the Southern states, marked by disagreements between him and his superior, General Sir Henry Clinton. Despite this defeat, Cornwallis retained the confidence of successive British governments, knighted in 1786, he was in that year appointed to be Governor-General and commander-in-chief in India. From 1789 to 1792 he led British and Company forces in the Third Anglo-Mysore War to defeat the Mysorean ruler Tipu Sultan, returning to Britain in 1794, Cornwallis was given the post of Master-General of the Ordnance. Following his Irish service, Cornwallis was the chief British signatory to the 1802 Treaty of Amiens and was reappointed to India in 1805 and he died in India not long after his arrival. Cornwallis was born in Grosvenor Square in London, though his familys estates were in Kent and he was the eldest son of Charles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend and his uncle, Frederick, was Archbishop of Canterbury. Fredericks twin brother, Edward, was an officer, colonial governor. His brother William became an Admiral in the Royal Navy and his other brother, James, eventually inherited the earldom from Cornwalliss son, Charles. The family was established at Brome Hall, near Eye, Suffolk, in the 14th century, Frederick Cornwallis, created a Baronet in 1627, fought for King Charles I, and followed King Charles II into exile. He was made Baron Cornwallis, of Eye in the County of Suffolk, in 1661, Cornwallis was educated at Eton College and Clare College, Cambridge. While at Eton, he received an injury to his eye by an accidental blow while playing hockey, from Shute Barrington and he obtained his first commission as Ensign in the 1st Foot Guards, on 8 December 1757. He then sought and gained permission to engage in studies abroad. After travelling on the continent with a Prussian officer, Captain de Roguin, upon completion of his studies in Turin in 1758, he traveled to Geneva, where he learned that British troops were to be sent to the Continent in the Seven Years War
18.
Wilhelm von Knyphausen
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Reichsfreiherr Wilhelm von Innhausen und Knyphausen was a general officer of Hesse-Kassel. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, during which he commanded Hessian auxiliaries on behalf of Great Britain, Knyphausens father was the colonel of a Prussian regiment under the Duke of Marlborough. Educated in Berlin, the young Knyphausen entered the Prussian military service in 1734, in the army of Hesse-Cassel, he was a lieutenant general. In 1776, with 42 years of experience, he came to the Thirteen Colonies of British North America as second-in-command of an army of 12,000 men called “Hessians” under General Heister. Knyphausen led the Hessian troops in the Battles of White Plains, Fort Washington, Brandywine, Germantown, Springfield, in 1779 and 1780, he commanded British-held New York City. When Heister left for Germany, Knyphausen took command of the German troops serving under Sir William Howe, because of Knyphausens seniority, British officers held dormant commissions outranking him in case the British commander became disabled. Despite this, Knyphausen was trusted by his British superiors, Knyphausens regiment took part in the attack on Fort Washington and was in garrison at Trenton, New Jersey. Major von Dechow, who was in command in late 1776, warned Colonel Johann Rall to fortify the town, during the Battle of Trenton the regiment tried to escape across Assunpink Creek but was forced to surrender. Dechow was mortally wounded during the battle and he also commanded the vanguard of the army withdrawing from Philadelphia at the time of the Battle of Monmouth. For several years the body of Knyphausens force occupied the upper part of Manhattan Island. Knyphausens regiment served in the Americas from 1776 to 1783, Knyphausen left the North American theater in 1782 in part because of ill health, including blindness in one eye caused by a cataract. Friedrich Wilhelm von Lossberg succeeded to command of the Hessian troops in New York, Knyphausen returned to Europe, having, as he said, achieved neither glory nor advancement, but near the end of his life he became military governor of Cassel. He was a taciturn and discreet officer, who understood the temper of his troops and his was a hireling army of recruits gathered from work-houses and by impressment, drilled in the use of arms on shipboard. As he frequently declared, on such forces a judicious commander could place little reliance, in 1785, shortly after the end of the war, General Lafayette travelled to Cassel and met Knyphausen. He wrote to General Washington that they had reminisced about the war, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Wilson, James Grant, Fiske, John, eds. Eelking, Max von, Rosengarten, Joseph George, The German Allied Troops in the North American war of Independence 1776-1873, Baltimore Atwood, Rodney, The Hessians, Cambridge Knyphausen, Wilhelm von. Bernhard von Poten, Knyphausen, Wilhelm, Reichsfreiherr zu Innhausen und in Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol
19.
Philadelphia campaign
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The Philadelphia campaign was a British initiative in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, which was then the seat of the Second Continental Congress. From there, he advanced northward toward Philadelphia, Washington prepared defenses against Howes movements at Brandywine Creek, but was flanked and beaten back in the Battle of Brandywine on September 11,1777. After further skirmishes and maneuvers, Howe was able to enter, Washington then unsuccessfully attacked one of Howes garrisons at Germantown before retreating to Valley Forge for the winter. General Howe resigned during the occupation of Philadelphia and was replaced by his second-in-command, Clinton evacuated the troops from Philadelphia back to New York City in 1778 in order to increase that citys defenses against a possible Franco-American attack. Washington harried the British army all the way across New Jersey, at the end of the campaign the two armies were roughly in the same positions they were at its beginning. While this time was punctuated by numerous skirmishes, the British army continued to occupy outposts at New Brunswick and Perth Amboy, Germain approved his plan, although with fewer troops than Howe requested. He also approved plans by John Burgoyne for an expedition to force his way to Albany from Montreal, Washington realized that Howe certainly ought in good policy to endeavor to Cooperate with Genl. Burgoyne and was baffled why he did not do so, historians agree that Lord Germain did a poor job in coordinating the two campaigns. Following Howes capture of New York and Washingtons retreat across the Delaware, Howe on December 20,1776 wrote to Germain, proposing an elaborate set of campaigns for 1777. These included operations to control of the Hudson River, expand operations from the base at Newport, Rhode Island. The latter Howe saw as attractive, since Washington was then just north of the city, Howe wrote that he was persuaded the Principal Army should act offensively, where the enemys chief strength lies. Germain acknowledged that this plan was well digested, but it called for more men than Germain was prepared to provide. However, by mid-May Howe had apparently abandoned the idea of an overland expedition and we must probably abandon the Jersies. Along the same lines Don Higginbotham concludes that in Howes view, was Burgoynes whole show, with regard to Burgoynes army, he would do only what was required of him. He sailed from New York not long after, Washingtons Continental Army had been encamped primarily at Morristown, New Jersey, although there was a forward base at Bound Brook, only a few miles from the nearest British outposts. In response to this raid, Washington moved his army forward to a fortified position at Middlebrook in the Watchung Mountains that commanded likely British land routes toward Philadelphia. For reasons that are not entirely clear, General Howe moved an army to Somerset Court House. If he performed this move as a feint to draw Washington out from his position, it failed
20.
Battle of Bound Brook
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The Battle of Bound Brook was a surprise attack conducted by British and Hessian forces against a Continental Army outpost at Bound Brook, New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War. The British objective of capturing the garrison was not met. The American commander, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, left in haste, abandoning papers. Late on the evening of April 12,1777, four thousand British, all but one detachment reached positions surrounding the outpost before the battle began near daybreak the next morning. During the battle, most of the 500-man garrison escaped by the unblocked route, American reinforcements arrived in the afternoon, but not before the British plundered the outpost and began the return march to New Brunswick. One of the bases used for these operations was at Bound Brook, located on the Raritan River upriver from New Brunswick. The post was responsible for patrolling three bridges across the Raritan likely to be used by the British in moves against the camp at Morristown. In February 1777, the Bound Brook outpost consisted of 1,000 men under the command of Major General Benjamin Lincoln, on the night of April 12, the plan was put into action. Under the overall command of Cornwallis,4,000 British, the right flank, under the command of Major General James Grant, consisted of the Hessian jäger corps, grenadiers from the English Brigade of Guards, and a detachment of British light dragoons. Ewald and a few of his jägers were in the vanguard of Grants column, unaware that this was supposed to be a feint, Ewald drove the sentries back nearly to the main redoubt where the outposts cannons were located. By sunrise he was surrounded, the timely arrival of von Donops column just over the river. The surprise was nearly complete, the Pennsylvania artillery company. Colonel von Donop reported that General Lincoln must have retired en Profond Négligé, the British plan was marred by the early skirmishing involving Ewald, and the too-late arrival of the companies sent to cut off the road to Morristown, Many Americans escaped via this route. The British captured also cannons, ammunition, and supplies, and looted Bound Brook, the Continental Army response was immediate, Washington sent a large force under Major General Nathanael Greene to reoccupy Bound Brook. The British had already left by the time arrived, Greene sent a detachment to harass their rear guard. This detachment caught up with the British near Raritan Landing, where they killed 8, General Howe reported that about 30 Americans were killed and 80 to 90 were captured, while General Lincoln reported that 60 of his men were killed or wounded. Howe claimed no deaths and seven wounded among the British and Hessians, Washington reported that he enemy lost the post at Eleven OClock the same day, & our people took possession of it again, and that the armys losses were trifling and not worth mentioning. He did, however, also report that between 35 and 40 killed or captured, and the loss of three field cannons, in a report to the Board of War, Washington admitted the capture of two cannons, two officers and 20 men from Colonel Proctors Regiment
21.
Battle of Short Hills
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The Battle of Short Hills was a conflict between a Continental Army force commanded by Brigadier General William Alexander, and an opposing British force commanded by Lieutenant General William Howe. The battle took place on June 26,1777, at Scotch Plains and Metuchen, New Jersey, despite the name, no fighting occurred in modern-day Short Hills, a section of Millburn. When Washington refused to abandon his position Howe returned to Amboy on June 22, Washingtons forward divisions, including that of Lord Stirling, shadowed this British movement, and Washington moved his main army out of the hills. Howe seized this opportunity, and on June 26 marched two columns of troops out in an attempt to cut Washington off from the high ground and these troops skirmished with Lord Stirlings troops, and eventually engaged in a pitched battle in Scotch Plains. Stirlings outnumbered force retreated, but Washington, alerted to the British movement, had by then retreated back into the hills, in March 1776 the British forces of Lieutenant General William Howe withdrew from Boston after Major General George Washington fortified high ground threatening the city and its harbor. With this army augmented by reinforcements from Europe, General Howe captured New York City, at the end of 1776, Washington crossed the Delaware River and surprised German troops at Trenton, New Jersey, and eventually regained control of most of the state. The two armies settled into winter quarters, and engaged in a war of skirmishes during the winter months. General Howe spent the winter planning a campaign to capture the seat of the rebel Congress, historians who mention this battle only occasionally give it a name. It is often called Short Hills, even though the battle took place primarily in present-day Edison and Scotch Plains, historians also give the battle other names, David Martin calls it Flat Hills or Metuchen Meeting House, one British regimental history refers to it by Westfield. On June 9, Howe began moving troops from Staten Island to Perth Amboy, on June 11, almost his entire army moved up the roads along the Raritan River to New Brunswick. On June 14, Howes army marched again, its destination Somerset Court House, apparently seeking to draw Washington into battle on open terrain, Howe remained there five days. Washington refused to out of the hills, and on June 19, Howe began the march back to Perth Amboy. Stirlings command, numbering about 2,500, comprised William Maxwells New Jersey brigade, Thomas Conways Pennsylvania brigade, Daniel Morgans Corps of Riflemen and Ottendorfs Corps. Maxwells brigade consisted of the 1st through 4th New Jersey Continentals and Oliver Spencers Additional Regiment, while Conways consisted of the 3rd, 6th, 9th, at 1,00 am on the morning on June 26 Howe marched two columns of troops out of Perth Amboy. The second column was under the command of Major General John Vaughan and it consisted of jäger companies from Hesse-Kassel and Ansbach-Bayreuth, and battalions of British light infantry and grenadiers. The column of General Cornwallis marched for Woodbridge, while Vaughans marched toward Bonhamton, the retreating Americans lead both of the armies into the Ash Swamp and Scotch Plains areas, where Stirling prepared a defensive position. Severe cannon fire and strength of British numbers forced Stirling, as determined as he was to stand against them, to even further back. There the British, suffering under the heat of the day, ended the pursuit
22.
Battle of Staten Island
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The Battle of Staten Island was a raid by Continental Army troops under Major General John Sullivan against British forces on Staten Island on August 22,1777, during the American Revolutionary War. As a result, Sullivan did not take as many prisoners as expected, although Sullivan was accused of mismanaging the raid, a court martial held later in 1777 exonerated Sullivan of all charges. In March 1776 the British forces of General William Howe withdrew from Boston after Major General George Washington fortified high ground threatening the city, with this army augmented by reinforcements from Europe, General Howe captured New York City, forcing Washington to retreat all the way across New Jersey. At the end of 1776, Washington crossed the Delaware River and surprised German troops at Trenton, New Jersey, the two armies then settled into winter quarters, although there was much skirmishing before the 1777 campaign got underway. General Washington, although he was notified promptly of the departure, was unaware of its destination. He heard on August 10 that the fleet appeared to be moving south of Philadelphia, possibly heading for Charleston, as a result, he prepared to move north to assist General Horatio Gates defend the Hudson River against Lieutenant General John Burgoynes march south from Quebec. On August 21 he was alerted that the fleet had been spotted one week earlier at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, realizing the danger to Philadelphia, he immediately issued orders to move the entire army south with all speed. His orders to Major General John Sullivan, who commanded the front line defenses in eastern New Jersey, were to rejoin the army with all convenient speed. Sullivan, in the meantime, had learned that the departure of Howes army had left Staten Island vulnerable and his plan was to cross two groups onto the island from points in Elizabethtown, capture prisoners from the isolated militia outposts, and destroy supplies. They would then go to the Old Blazing Star Ferry to return to the mainland, Campbells men numbered about 900, and were stationed near the northeastern tip of the island. Skinners men, numbering about 400 according to Campbells report, were stationed at outposts along the shore between Dexters Ferry and Wards Point. General Sullivan, at his base in Hanover, New Jersey, sources do not describe the precise composition of the troops chosen, but most of them were drawn from Sullivans division, which consisted of the First and Second Maryland Brigades. These brigades comprised the regiments of the Maryland Line, additional troops chosen for the operation included companies from the 2nd Canadian Regiment, on the afternoon of August 21 two columns numbering about 1,000 in all left the camp. After reaching Elizabethtown late that evening, they rested for a few hours, one detachment, led by Colonel Matthias Ogden, crossed opposite Fresh Kills and rowed partway up the kill, in order to approach their target, the militia brigade of Elisha Lawrence, from its rear. The remaining troops crossed near Palmers run on the side of the island. Smallwood and Sullivan led most of their columns away to attack specific targets, Ogden attacked Lawrences outpost at dawn, surprising and routing the militia company. After a few minutes of battle he had taken 80 prisoners, dongans men put up stiff resistance, even though he was felled with a mortal wound. This prompted Ogden to retreat toward the Old Blazing Star, after waiting there as long as he thought prudent, Ogden crossed his men back to the mainland before Sullivan and Smallwood arrived
23.
Battle of Cooch's Bridge
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It was the only significant military action during the war on the soil of Delaware, and it took place about a week before the major Battle of Brandywine. Reportedly, the saw the first flying of the American flag. Their advance was monitored by an infantry corps of Continental Army and militia forces that had based itself at Coochs Bridge, near Newark. On September 3, German troops leading the British advance were met by fire from the American light infantry in the woods on either side of the road leading toward Coochs Bridge. Calling up reinforcements, they flushed the Americans out and drove them across the bridge, after having successfully captured New York City in 1776, British military planners organized two expeditions to divide the Thirteen Colonies and, they hoped, decisively end the rebellion. One expedition was to control of the Hudson River by a descent from Quebec, while the other was targeted at the colonial capital. In pursuit of the objective, Lieutenant General William Howe embarked an army numbering about 18,000 onto transports in late July 1777. The Continental Army of Major General George Washington remained near New York until Howes objective became clear, Howes plan was gauged to the south, intending to move against Philadelphia via the Chesapeake. Washington marched his army, numbering about 16,000, through Philadelphia, riding further south and west to perform reconnaissance on August 26, Washington learned that the British had landed. On August 25, Howes army disembarked below a small town called Head of Elk in Maryland, due to the relatively poor quality of the landing area, his troops moved immediately to the north, reaching Head of Elk itself on August 28. The bridge was named for Thomas Cooch, a landowner whose house was near the bridge. These troops occupied Iron Hill and Coochs Bridge, Maxwells men were encamped on either side of the road leading south from Coochs Bridge toward Aikens Tavern in a series of small camps designed to facilitate ambushes. Those of our officers who know Washington well, maintained that the man in the coat was Washington. On September 2, Howes right wing, under the command of the Hessian general, Wilhelm von Knyphausen, left Cecil County Court House and headed north, hampered by rain and bad roads. Early the next morning, Howes left wing, headed by troops under the command of Charles Cornwallis, left Head of Elk, expecting to join with Knyphausens division at Aikens Tavern, about 5 miles east. Cornwallis reached the tavern first, and Howe, traveling with Cornwallis, a small company of Hessian dragoons led by Captain Johann Ewald headed up the road from the tavern toward Coochs Bridge as Cornwalliss advance guard. These were struck by a volley of fire from an American ambush, Ewald did not, and he quickly alerted the Hessian and Ansbach jägers, who rushed forward to meet the Americans. This began a running skirmish that Major John André described as follows, Howe rode to the front lines, and seeing Iron Hill crawling with enemy soldiers, ordered his troops to clear it
24.
Battle of the Clouds
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The Battle of the Clouds was an aborted engagement of the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War on September 16,1777, in the area surrounding present day Malvern, Pennsylvania. After the American defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, the British Army remained encamped near Chadds Ford, when British commander William Howe was informed that the weakened American force was less than ten miles away, he decided to press for another decisive victory. George Washington learned of Howes plans, and prepared for battle, before the two armies could fully engage, a torrential downpour ensued. Significantly outnumbered, and with tens of thousands of cartridges ruined by the rain, bogged down by rain and mud, the British allowed Washington and his army to withdraw. After Washingtons defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, he was intent on accomplishing two tasks and he wanted to protect Philadelphia from British forces under the command of Howe, and he needed to replenish the rapidly dwindling supplies and munitions which were stored in Reading, Pennsylvania. Washington withdrew across the Schuylkill River, marched through Philadelphia, since the Schuylkill was fordable only far upstream starting at Matsons Ford, Washington could protect both the capital and the vital supply areas to the west from behind the river barrier. Yet he reconsidered, and recrossed the river to face the British, the going was difficult because the weather had been rainy and windy, and the troops and wagons turned the roads into muddy quagmires. The next morning, Washingtons 10,000 man army was moving west through the Great Valley and he learned from his cavalry, led by General Pulaski, that the British were advancing on him from the south just a few miles away. The position was three miles long and was strong, especially in the center, Washington sent an advance force under General Anthony Wayne to slow the British progress. At about 2,00 pm, his men encountered the advance units of the Hessian column on one road. These forces began skirmishing, and the Americans very nearly captured Colonel Carl von Donop when he separated from his main column with a small company of jägers. The main British column, led by General Charles Cornwallis, met with Waynes Pennsylvania militia on another road at around 3,00, who gave way in a panicked retreat, suffering 10 killed or wounded. While this went on, Washington, who was trying to organize the line of battle, had a change of heart about the position and this withdrawal was just getting underway when it began pouring rain. Hessian jäger captain Johann Ewald described it as an extraordinary thunderstorm, the British army halted its advance, although General Wilhelm von Knyphausen ordered the jägers to engage the enemy. Ewald and his men rushed forward, swords drawn since their muskets were inoperable due to wet powder, Ewald reported losing 5 killed,7 wounded, and 3 captured in this action. The storm, which historian Thomas McGuire describes as a classic noreaster, the British were forced to construct a makeshift camp, and Washington managed to form a battle line, but a great deal of his ammunition was spoiled by the rain and poorly constructed cartridge boxes. Howes army found it impossible to follow Washington over the rutted. The decision was made to wait out the storm, then move toward their objective, Wayne was to be joined by militia, and together they were to strike at the enemy baggage train as the British advanced on Washingtons main army
25.
Battle of Paoli
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The Battle of Paoli was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 20,1777, in the area surrounding present-day Malvern, Pennsylvania. On the evening of September 20, British forces under Major General Charles Grey led an attack on Waynes encampment near the Paoli Tavern. Although there were relatively few American casualties, claims were made that the British took no prisoners and granted no quarter, after the American defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, American Major General George Washington was intent on accomplishing two tasks. Washington withdrew across the Schuylkill River, marched through Philadelphia, since the Schuylkill was fordable only far upstream starting at Matsons Ford, Washington could protect both the capital and the vital supply areas to the west from behind the river barrier. Washington reconsidered, and recrossed the river to face the British, when the British columns passed by, Wayne followed, under orders from Washington to harass the British and attempt to capture all or part of their baggage train. Wayne assumed that his presence was undetected and camped close to the British lines in Paoli, Pennsylvania. His division consisted of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th and 11th Pennsylvania Regiments, Hartleys Regiment, an artillery company. All told, it was about 1,500 strong, camped about 1 mile away was William Smallwoods Maryland militia, about 2,100 relatively inexperienced troops. The British heard rumors that Wayne was in the area, since his position was just 4 miles from the British camp at Tredyffrin, Pennsylvania, Howe immediately planned an attack on Waynes relatively exposed camp. At 10 p. m. Greys troops consisted of the 2nd Light Infantry, altogether, his brigade comprised some 1,200 men. To ensure that the Americans were not alerted, Grey had the flints removed from his troops muskets, the British, led by a local blacksmith forced to act as guide, approached the camp from a wood and were able to achieve complete surprise. They stormed the camp in three waves—the 2nd Light Infantry in the lead followed by the 44th and the 42nd, completely unprepared, Waynes troops fled from the camp and were pursued. Near the White Horse Tavern the British encountered Smallwoods force and routed it as well, with casualties of only 4 killed and 7 wounded, the British had routed an entire American division. Historian Thomas J. McGuire says that 53 Americans were buried on the battlefield, local tradition says that 8 more Americans killed in the battle were buried at the nearby Anglican church of St. Peter-in-the-Great Valley. 71 prisoners were taken by the British,40 of whom were so badly wounded that they had to be left behind in nearby houses, a total of 272 men were killed, wounded or missing from Waynes division after the battle. An official inquiry found that Wayne was not guilty of misconduct, Wayne was enraged and demanded a full court-martial. On November 1, a board of 13 officers declared that Wayne had acted with honor, the incident gained notoriety partly because of accounts by eyewitnesses who stated that the British had stabbed or mutilated Americans who tried to surrender. Among them were the following, I with my own Eyes, see them, cut & hack some of our poor Men to pieces after they had fallen in their hands, - Lt. Col. Adam Hubley, 10th PA Regiment
26.
Battle of Germantown
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The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. Howe left a garrison of some 3,000 troops in Philadelphia, while moving the bulk of his force to Germantown, learning of the division, Washington determined to engage the British. His plan called for four columns to converge on the British position at Germantown. The ambition behind the plan was to surprise and destroy the British force, much in the way as Washington had surprised. In Germantown, Howe had his infantry and the 40th Foot spread across his front as pickets. In the main camp, Wilhelm von Knyphausen commanded the British left, a heavy fog caused a great deal of confusion among the approaching Americans. After a sharp contest, Sullivans column routed the British pickets, unseen in the fog, around 120 men of the British 40th Foot barricaded the Chew Mansion. When the American reserve moved forward, Washington made the decision to launch repeated assaults on the position. Penetrating several hundred yards beyond the mansion, Sullivans wing became dispirited, running low on ammunition, as they withdrew, Anthony Waynes division collided with part of Greenes late-arriving wing in the fog. Mistaking each other for the enemy, they opened fire, meanwhile, Greenes left-centre column threw back the British right. With Sullivans column repulsed, the British left outflanked Greenes column, the two militia columns had only succeeded in diverting the attention of the British, and had made no progress before they withdrew. Despite the defeat, France, already impressed by the American success at Saratoga, Howe did not vigorously pursue the defeated Americans, instead turning his attention to clearing the Delaware River of obstacles at Red Bank and Fort Mifflin. After unsuccessfully attempting to draw Washington into combat at White Marsh, Washington, his army intact, withdrew to Valley Forge, where he wintered and re-trained his forces. The Philadelphia campaign had begun badly for the Americans, the Continental Army had suffered a string of defeats at Brandywine, and at Paoli, leaving the city of Philadelphia defenceless. Charles Cornwallis subsequently seized Philadelphia for the British on September 26,1777, Howe left a garrison of 3,462 men to defend the city, moving the bulk of his force north, some 9,728 men, to the outlying community of Germantown. With the campaigning season drawing to a close, Howe determined to locate, Howe established his headquarters at the Stenton Mansion, the former country home of James Logan. Despite having suffered successive defeats, Washington saw an opportunity to entrap and he resolved to attack the Germantown garrison, as the last effort of the year before entering winter quarters. His plan called for a complex, ambitious assault, four columns of troops were to assail the British garrison from different directions, at night, Washingtons hope was that the British would be surprised and overwhelmed much how the Hessians were at Trenton
27.
Battle of Red Bank
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To that end, two forts were constructed commanding the river. One was Fort Mercer on the New Jersey side at the Red Bank Plantation in what was part of Deptford Township. The other was Fort Mifflin on Mud Island, in the Delaware River just south of the confluence of the Schuylkill River, so long as the Americans held both forts, British navy ships could not reach Philadelphia to resupply the army. On October 18, General Sir William Howe, the commander of the British Army, evacuated his camp at Germantown and he sent a part of his force to capture the two American forts denying him use of the Delaware River. Earlier, Howe had sent a group of men via Webbs Ferry, at the mouth of the Schuylkill River, the first bombardment of Fort Mifflin came on October 11. This was merely a desultory attack which convinced the British to expand, von Donop, whose attack had been repulsed at the Second Battle of Trenton, was eager to avenge what he considered to be a humiliation. He declared to his men, Either the fort will be called Fort Donop, von Donop divided his force into two groups totaling 1,200 men for a two-pronged attack upon the fort on the morning of October 22. With six British men-of-war in the river to support the attack, after a cannonade by the Hessian artillery, Linsing moved against the nine-foot-high southern parapet, and his men were cut down by devastating cannon and musket fire and were forced to retreat. On the north, Minnigerodes grenadiers managed to scale the ramparts of a section of the fort. But when they moved on they were confronted by a mass of felled trees with pointed branches. With little in the way of tools, they were soon spotted trying to claw their way through the barricade and were fired upon by the Americans waiting for them on the other side. Suffering heavy casualties, the Hessians began to retreat, falling back to their camp ten miles away in the village of Haddonfield which they had taken after landing at nearby Coopers Ferry. Von Donop was wounded in the thigh during the attack and was left on the battlefield by his retreating troops. Mortally wounded, von Donop died three days later in the Whitall House, a farmhouse just outside the works of the fort between the fort and Woodbury Creek. To make matters worse for the British and Hessians, the six British men-of-war were engaged by smaller American gunboats, overnight attempts to free the ships were unsuccessful. Fort Mifflin and the Pennsylvania Navy engaged the stranded ships the next morning, with cannons and fire ships, the Augusta caught fire and within an hour the fire reached the magazine and the ship exploded. The loss of the Augusta was attributed to accidental ignition by the British, soon after, the crew of Merlin was ordered to abandon the ship and destroy it also. The Hessian army reported casualties of 377 killed and wounded with 20 missing or captured, frustrated by the failure to capture Fort Mercer, Howe ordered the Hessian regiments withdrawn from New Jersey while he made plans to attack Fort Mifflin by a massive artillery bombardment
28.
Siege of Fort Mifflin
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The operation finally succeeded when the wounded Smiths successor, Major Simeon Thayer, evacuated the fort on the night of November 15 and the British occupied the place the following morning. Owing to a shift of the river, Fort Mifflin is currently located on the bank of the Delaware adjacent to Philadelphia International Airport. After General Sir William Howes British-Hessian army occupied Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 26,1777, with Philadelphia effectively blockaded by the Americans, the Howe brothers were forced to lay siege to Fort Mifflin in order to clear the river. A Hessian attempt to storm Fort Mercer failed with heavy losses on October 22 in the Battle of Red Bank, two British warships which had run aground near Mud Island were destroyed the next day. General George Washington reinforced Fort Mifflin throughout the siege, but the garrison never numbered more than 500 men, after a few setbacks, the British finally assembled enough artillery and warships to bring Fort Mifflin under an intense bombardment beginning on November 10. No longer able to reply to the British bombardment, Thayer ordered the survivors to row across to New Jersey in the night, Fort Mercer was abandoned soon afterward, opening the Delaware and permitting the British to hold Philadelphia until June 1778. After the British defeated the American army at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11,1777, Howe failed to follow up Washingtons withdrawal to Chester, from that town on the Delaware, the Americans marched northeast through Darby to cross the Schuylkill River at the Middle Ferry. From the ferry, the army moved north to present-day East Falls, for the next ten days, the two armies sparred while the British won the Battle of Paoli and several skirmishes. On the night of September 22, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and won an unopposed crossing of the Schuylkill near Valley Forge, on September 26, the British army occupied the rebel capital of Philadelphia. In the face of the British advance the Second Continental Congress fled first to Lancaster then to York, during the summer of 1777, Philippe Charles Tronson du Coudray, a French artillery expert, arrived from France. Congress appointed him a general and inspector general of ordnance. His aristocratic airs soon irritated people and he began to quarrel with another French military engineer, Louis Lebègue Duportail, about how the defenses were to be prepared and even managed to anger Gilbert Motier, marquis de La Fayette. To the relief of many, Coudray drowned on September 16 after he rode his horse onto a Schuylkill ferry. The Mud Island Fort was designed and begun by British engineer Captain John Montresor in 1771, the river front was shielded by a stone face, but then the work stopped due to a shortage of money. After the outbreak of war with Britain, the rest of the defenses were completed with wooden palisades and earthen ramparts. There were wooden barracks for the men along the west. Nearby was a building to accommodate officers. According to one of the soldiers, a battery of 18-pound artillery pieces stood at the southeast end of Mud Island
29.
Battle of White Marsh
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The battle, which took the form of a series of skirmish actions, was the last major engagement of 1777 between British and American forces. From here, Washington monitored British troop movements in Philadelphia and evaluated his options, after a series of skirmishes, Howe called off the attack and returned to Philadelphia without engaging Washington in a decisive conflict. With the British back in Philadelphia, Washington was able to march his troops to winter quarters at Valley Forge. They then marched east on Skippack Pike, turned left on Forty-Foot Road, and marched to Sumneytown Pike, while there, Brig. Gen. Francis Nash died of wounds incurred at Germantown and was buried in the Mennonite Meeting Cemetery. Washington remained at Towamencin for one week, gathering supplies and waiting to see if Howe would move against him, on October 16, Washington moved his forces to Methacton Hill in Worcester Township. After learning of Howes withdrawal from Germantown to Philadelphia, Washington moved his army to Whitpain,5 miles closer to Philadelphia, on October 20. On October 29, Washingtons army numbered 8,313 Continentals and 2,717 militia, although the terms of enlistment of many soldiers from Maryland and Virginia were due to expire. With his ranks reinforced, Washington dispatched a brigade to assist with the defense of Forts Mifflin and Mercer, on November 2, at the recommendation of his council of war, Washington marched his forces to White Marsh, approximately 13 miles northwest of Philadelphia. At White Marsh, the army began to build redoubts and defensive works, after the surrender of British Lt. Gen. Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates sent Col. Daniel Morgans rifle corps, and the brigades of Paterson and Glover. With these additional forces, and the onset of winter. A quarter of the troops were barefooted, and there were very few blankets or warm clothing, Washington became so desperate that he even offered a reward of $10 to the person who could supply the best substitute for shoes, made of raw hides. Morale was so low and desertion so common that Washington offered a pardon on October 24 to all deserters who returned by January 1, Washingtons loss of Philadelphia and inactivity brought criticism from Congress, who pressured him to attack the city. He therefore called a council of war on November 24 which voted against an attack 11 to 4, nonetheless, Washington rode out the next day to view the British defenses, which turned to be stronger than he had expected. On October 19, Howe withdrew the British forces from Germantown, Howe took advantage of his time in Philadelphia to raise additional forces from the loyalist population in the region. Newly-promoted Maj. John Graves Simcoe reinforced his unit, the Queens Rangers, William Allen, Jr. the son of notable loyalist William Allen, raised the 1st Battalion of Pennsylvania Loyalists, and was made its lieutenant colonel. Loyalist James Chalmers raised the 1st Battalion of Maryland Loyalists, and was given its command, recruitment also took place among the citys Irish Catholic population, with the formation of the Irish Catholic Volunteers, and in the counties immediately surrounding Philadelphia. The weeks with two major armies sitting within miles of each other were not without conflict, and a petite guerre ensued in the no mans land between White Marsh and Northern Liberties. Minor skirmishes between light troops increased in intensity throughout November, with almost daily losses being incurred by both the British and the Americans, eleven houses in all were burned to the ground, and residents of Philadelphia climbed onto rooftops and church steeples to watch the spectacle
30.
Battle of Matson's Ford
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The Battle of Matsons Ford was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on December 11,1777 in the area surrounding Matsons Ford. In this series of skirmish actions, advance patrols of Pennsylvania militia encountered a British foraging expedition and were overrun. The British pushed ahead to Matsons Ford, where units of the Continental Army were making their way across the Schuylkill River, the Americans retreated to the far side, destroying their temporary bridge across the Schuylkill. The British left the area the day to continue foraging elsewhere, the Continentals crossed the river at Swedes Ford. In July 1777 he embarked about 18,000 troops on transports in New York, in early December 1777, General Howe led a sizable contingent of troops out of British-occupied Philadelphia in one last attempt to destroy Washingtons army before the onset of winter. At the Battle of White Marsh, Washington successfully repelled the British attacks, after the battle, Washington and his troops remained encamped at White Marsh. On December 10, George Washingtons council determined that the Continental Army would move to winter quarters somewhere west of the Schuylkill River. The army struck camp the morning of December 11, and proceeded to march through Plymouth Meeting, across Ridge Road, unbeknownst to the Americans, General Charles Cornwallis led a sizable British force out of the city on a foraging expedition early that morning. Cornwallis was also unaware of the Continental Army movement, and had planned to forage in the area just south of Matsons Ford. Employing a local resident named John Roberts as a guide, Cornwallis crossed the Schuylkill at Middle Ferry, Cornwallis then proceeded up the road toward Matsons Ford. His force consisted of brigades of British light infantry and grenadiers, one brigade of regular infantry, the force took with them six 6-pound cannons. Soon after, the militia stationed at the Black Horse Inn exchanged fire with the British troops, outnumbered and flanked, the militia began to fall back in some confusion, taking casualties along the way. Reports were delivered to Potter, who was with the contingent located at Harriton House, indicating that the British were advancing in force up Gulph Road, Potter stationed five regiments of militia between the British forces and Harriton House. However, the militia were quickly overrun and they retreated back through Gulph Mills to Swedes Ford. The retreat was so chaotic that militiamen literally threw away their muskets, with the militia in retreat, Cornwallis discontinued pursuit and took up a strong position on the heights overlooking Matsons Ford. General Potter estimated his casualties at 5 or killed,20 wounded and he believed the British casualties to be higher than his. Jäger Captain Johann Ewald recorded that the British captured about 160 men in the battle after a stubborn resistance and those divisions had almost completed crossing the river when the British position on the heights was spotted. Sullivan quickly ordered a retreat back across the river, and destroyed the bridge behind him
31.
Valley Forge
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Valley Forge was the military camp 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia where the American Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–78 during the American Revolutionary War. Starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed more than 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778, General George Washington sought quarters for his men with winter almost setting in, and with greatly diminishing prospects for campaigning. Washington and his troops had fought in early December what was the last major engagement of 1777 at the Battle of White Marsh and he devised to pull his troops from their present encampment in the White Marsh area and move to a more secure location for the coming winter. Several locations were considered for the winter quarters, but Washington selected Valley Forge. Valley Forge was named for a forge on Valley Creek in Whitemarsh. It was not the best place to set up camp for the Continental Army. This location also left the vulnerable under-supplied army in striking distance of the British, the area was close enough to the British to keep their raiding and foraging parties out of the interior of Pennsylvania, yet far enough away to halt the threat of British surprise attacks. The densely forested plateau of Mount Joy and the adjoining two-mile-long plateau of Mount Misery made the area easily defensible and it also provided abundant forests of timber that were used to construct thousands of log huts. Seventy-eight of the huts in the camp housed the soldiers, on December 19,1777, Washingtons poorly fed, ill-equipped army staggered into Valley Forge, weary from long marches. Winds blew as the 12,000 Continentals prepared for winters fury, only about one in four of them had shoes, and many of their feet had left bloody footprints from the marching. Grounds were selected for brigade encampments, and defense lines were planned, the first properly constructed hut appeared in three days. One hut required 80 logs, and timber had to be collected from miles away and it went up in one week with the use of only one axe. These huts provided sufficient protection from the cold and wet conditions of a typical Pennsylvania winter. By the beginning of February, construction was completed on 2,000 huts and they provided shelter, but did little to offset the critical shortages that continually plagued the army. Washington ordered that two windows should be cut into each hut during the springtime, as the climate grew considerably warmer, mud was also chipped between the logs to improve ventilation. The soldiers received inadequate supplies of meat and bread, some getting their only nourishment from firecake, occasionally, there would be pepper pot soup, a black pepper-flavored tripe broth. So severe were conditions at times that Washington despaired that unless some great, starve, dissolve, or disperse, in order to obtain subsistence in the best manner they can. Snow was limited and small in amounts, the layer of snow was often too thin to be collected and melted into drinking water
32.
Conway Cabal
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It was named after Brigadier General Thomas Conway, whose letters criticizing Washington were forwarded to the Second Continental Congress. When these suggestions were made public, supporters of Washington mobilized to assist him politically, Conway ended up resigning from the army, and General Horatio Gates, a leading candidate to replace Washington, issued an apology for his role in events. No formal requests were ever made asking for Washingtons removal as commander in chief, there was no sign of any formal conspiracy amongst the various malcontents, although Washington was concerned that there might be one. It was the major political threat to Washingtons command during the war. In the fall of 1777 forces of the British Army successfully captured Philadelphia, the seat of the Second Continental Congress, the series of military setbacks caused many in the Continental Army and Congress to question George Washingtons leadership of the war effort. In contrast, the army of General Horatio Gates had won a signal victory over John Burgoynes forces. In addition to claiming credit for the victory at Saratoga, Gates was politically connected to Congress. Conspiracy is perhaps too strong a term to use in describing varied actions taken by disaffected officers, most of those involved shared the view only that Washington was a less than perfect commander in chief, and very few of their activities were coordinated. His view of Washington as an amateur was supported by Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Rush. A number of French officers who had commissioned into the Continental Army were also critical of Washington. These notably included Johann de Kalb, Louis Lebègue Duportail, Thomas Conway was an Irishman who was educated in France and had served in its military. General Conway had been appointed as Inspector General of the Army, in October 1777 Conway began lobbying Congress for a promotion to major general, including in his writings criticisms of Washington. Washington opposed Conways promotion, as he felt there were many American-born officers more deserving of promotion who would be upset by such a move, General William Alexander received a letter from Gates adjutant, James Wilkinson, that contained this quotation. He forwarded the letter to Washington, who received it on November 8,1777 and this led Washington to consider the possibility that his subordinates were scheming behind his back to replace him. He was already aware that Gates in particular was well connected. Washington wrote Conway a brief letter, Sir, a letter which I received last Night contained the following paragraph, in a letter from Genl Conway to Genl Gates he says, and then quotes the above passage. Conway immediately acknowledged having written to Gates, but denied having written the quoted passage, Washington never saw the actual letter Conway sent to Gates. Henry Laurens did however, and sent Washington an excerpt, What pity there is, but the more I see of this Army the less I think it fit for general Action under its actual Chiefs I speak you sincerely & wish I could serve under you
33.
Battle of Crooked Billet
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The Battle of Crooked Billet was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on May 1,1778 near the Crooked Billet Tavern. The British inflicted significant damage, and Lacey and his forces were forced to retreat into neighboring Bucks County, the British Army, led by General William Howe, had captured New York City in 1776 and Philadelphia in 1777. British troops also regularly foraged for supplies in the countryside around the city, since December, Washington and the Continental Army were in winter quarters at Valley Forge, northwest of Philadelphia. John Lacey, was tasked by Washington with patrolling the region north of Philadelphia, Washington was highly critical of both Pennsylvanias militia recruitment and Laceys performance. Pennsylvania, despite promising 1,000 militia to patrol area, had been unable to raise that many. Washington wrote that militia stipulated by the state had never been above half kept up, Lacey had not been as effective as Brigadier General James Potter at interdicting trade with the British, and Washington hoped Potter, off on leave, would soon return. In late April Lacey began a series of maneuvers and patrols across the area ended with his arrival on April 27 at the Crooked Billet Tavern in present-day Hatboro. One of his companies was attacked by a British patrol. In Philadelphia, General Howe ordered Simcoe, to secure the country, during the winter of 1778, British and Loyalist troops repeatedly led raids into Bucks County, despite the presence of Lacey and the militia. In April, Simcoe secured permission from Howe to launch an attack on Lacey, on the afternoon of April 30, he and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Abercromby led their contingent of troops out of Philadelphia and towards the Crooked Billet. By then Laceys troops numbered about 400, including fresh arrivals from Cumberland and that night Lacey ordered Lieutenant William Neilsen to begin a patrol between 2,00 and 3,00 am, and ordered the brigade of Thomas Downey to stand on alert. Neilsen failed to follow his orders, and his patrol only left camp shortly before daybreak on May 1 and they had not gone far when they spotted the advancing British. The British troops arrived at Crooked Billet at daybreak on May 1, Simcoe had planned a pincer-type attack, with his troops attacking from the north and east, and Abercrombys troops from the south and west. Laceys pickets, in place to warn against any type of threat, noticed the British troops, Neilsen sent a runner back to the camp to raise the alarm, but he never arrived. Surprised and outnumbered, the militia were soon routed and forced to retreat into Warminster, losing their supplies, hOVEDENs Pennsylvania, and Capt. JAMESs Chester dragoons, left the city about eleven oclock, and proceeded up the Old York road. Besides the above waggons,3 were burnt after taking out the horses, also all the huts, the royal party did not lose a single man on this occasion, and have only 7 men wounded, and 2 horses killed. As a result of this engagement, the American forces lost ten wagons full of much-needed supplies, Lieutenant Nielson, the officer in charge of the pickets, was court-martialed and cashiered from the militia for disobeying orders. On May 11, Potter returned from his leave of absence, Washington requested that Lacey remain with the militia for a short time in order to familiarize Potter with the region
34.
Battle of Barren Hill
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The Battle of Barren Hill was a minor engagement during the American Revolution. On May 20,1778, a British force attempted to encircle a smaller Continental force under the Marquis de Lafayette, the maneuver failed, with the Continentals escaping the trap, but the British took the field. On May 18, Lafayette left the Valley Forge camp with 2,100 troops, after crossing the Schuylkill River and turning south, he took up position at Barren Hill, which was close to Matsons Ford. A brigade and the guns were posted on the ground, near a church. Another posting was at the Ridge Road to the south, the British quickly discovered that the American force was nearby and decided to attack and seek its destruction. On May 19, around 10,30 p. m, maj. Gen. James Grant and a 5, 000-man British force, including 15 guns, was sent toward Barren Hill. The plan was to take a route leading to the junction of White Marsh Road. This would cut off any avenue of retreat for the Americans, a body of 2,000 grenadiers and dragoons would then move along Lafayettes left flank while another group would move into position on the American right. The plan would result in the American position being encircled from 3 positions, the British force was to wait until morning to attack and destroy or capture the entire American force. On May 20, the British launched their attack, the militia scattered at the sight of the British troops, not offering any resistance and failing to notify Lafayette of the attack. On Ridge Road, the American group learned of the British attack, a small group was sent to fight a delaying action against the British while their commander sent word to Lafayette about the developments. After Lafayette learned of the attack, another patriot came up, Lafayette knew of another small road that led back to Matsons Ford that would bypass the British force. It ran along some low ground that would conceal the Americans from the British, the British did not know about this road. Lafayette ordered his men to retreat down this road while ordering a rear guard to delay the British at the church, a few small patrols were sent to engage the British, skirmishing including the Oneida, making them think that the American force intended to stay and fight. Lafayette calmed his retreating force and slipped away with few casualties. The British, having failed to bag Lafayette, resumed their retreat from Philadelphia to New York, washingtons army shadowed Clinton on his withdrawal and forced a battle at Monmouth on June 28,1778, the last major battle in the North. Historians have questioned the decision of Washington for dispatching a force under the command of such a young general in the vicinity of the British Army. d. C
35.
Carlisle Peace Commission
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The Carlisle Peace Commission was a group of British negotiators who were sent to North America in 1778, during the American War of Independence. The commission carried an offer of self-rule to the rebellious colonies, the Second Continental Congress, aware that British troops were about to be withdrawn from Philadelphia, insisted on demanding full independence, which the commission was not authorised to grant. The Peace Commission marked the first time the British government formally agreed to negotiate with Congress, the limited authority given to both Howe and the American negotiators made it a virtual certainty that nothing would come of the meeting. The commission was empowered to offer a type of self-rule that Thomas Pownall had first proposed a decade earlier, historian David Wilson is of the opinion that the war could have been avoided if the terms it proposed had been offered in 1775. Historian Peter Whiteley, however, notes that King George was unlikely to agree to such an offer then. William Eden organized and served on the commission, but it was headed by the Earl of Carlisle, richard Jackson declined to serve after it became known that the United States and France had signed a Treaty of Alliance. The commissioners also learned of the Franco-American alliance before they set out in April, Carlisle was of the opinion that the administration had done this intentionally, since they might not otherwise have gone at all. Carlisle wrote to his wife of the situation, We all look grave, I fear nobody will think so when we return. I dont see what we have to do here, upon learning of the planned withdrawal, Carlisle appealed to Clinton to delay it, but, in rejecting the appeal, Clinton cited his orders to act without delay. This prompted Carlisle to observe that the administration wanted the commission to be a mixture of ridicule, nullity, Eden was upset that he wasnt told of Clintons orders, since the British intent to withdraw further stiffened American resolve. On June 13, the commissioners sent a package of proposals to Congress, Congress replied insisting that either American independence be recognised, or that all British forces first withdraw from the states, terms the commission was not authorised to accept. The commission attempted to appeal to public opinion, with warnings of widespread destruction, Johnstone tried to bribe some Congressmen, and the Marquis de Lafayette challenged Carlisle to a duel over some anti-French statements he had made. Gouverneur Morris wrote several essays against the proposals, the Commissioners circulated a Manifesto, which was printed in the Hartford Courant, October 10,1778. The Marquess of Rockingham, an opponent of the war, objected to the threats in the Manifesto. Johnstone sailed to Britain in August, and the commissioners returned in November 1778. The British, being unable to bring Washington to an engagement, resumed the military campaign. It was upon the failure of this effort that Benedict Arnold elected to switch over to the side of the British during the American Revolution. Portrait of a General, Sir Henry Clinton in the War of Independence, encyclopædia Britannica Blackwell The Real History of the American Revolution, Alan Axelrod
36.
Battle of Monmouth
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The Battle of Monmouth was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on June 28,1778 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The Continental Army under General George Washington attacked the rear of the British Army column commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton as they left Monmouth Court House and it is also known as the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse. Sensing the opportunity to smash the Continentals, Cornwallis pressed his attack, finally, Washington tried to hit the exhausted British rear guard on both flanks, but darkness forced the end of the engagement. Both armies held the field, but the British commanding general Clinton withdrew undetected at midnight to resume his armys march to New York City. The battle improved the military reputations of Washington, Lafayette and Anthony Wayne but ended the career of Charles Lee, who would face court martial at Englishtown for his failures on the day. According to some accounts, an American soldiers wife, Mary Hays, brought water to thirsty soldiers in the June heat, British forces had captured Philadelphia in 1777. Clinton was ordered to dispatch units to West Florida and the West Indies which left him too few troops to continue occupying Philadelphia, Clinton was also ordered to abandon New York and withdraw to Quebec if he felt his position there was untenable. A French fleet under dEstaing had sailed from Toulon in April,1778 and it was originally intended that the withdrawing British army would travel directly to New York via the sea, escorted by the Royal Navy. A lack of transports forced Clinton to change his plans, while the stores, heavy equipment and Loyalist American civilians fleeing revenge attacks would be shipped by sea, the main army would march overland across New Jersey. On June 18, the British began to evacuate Philadelphia, the British force comprised 11,000 British and German regulars, a thousand Loyalists from Philadelphia, and a baggage train 12 miles long. As the British advanced, the Americans slowed their advance by burning bridges, muddying wells, with a high of over 100 °F, both sides lost almost as many men to heat stroke as to the enemy. Major General Charles Lee, Washingtons second-in-command, advised awaiting developments as he did not wish to commit the American force against the British regulars. However, Washington determined that the British column was vulnerable to attack as it traveled across New Jersey with its baggage train, Washington was still undecided how to attack the British column, and held a council of war. The council, however, was divided on the issue, with a group of officers including General Anthony Wayne urging a partial attack on the British column while it was strung out on the road. Lee was still cautious, advising only harassing attacks with light forces, Lee, as Washingtons senior subordinate, was initially appointed commander of the advance force, but turned it down because of his doubts about the plan. However, when the force was increased to 5,000, Lee met with his subordinates but failed to give them proper orders, resulting in a piecemeal and disorganized attack on June 28 against the British rear guard under General Charles Cornwallis. After several hours of fighting in the hot weather, several American brigades executed a tactical retreat, the British rear guard counterattacked and as his flanks rapidly became routed, Lee was forced to order a withdrawal. Washington, advancing with the force along the Monmouth road, encountered Lees fleeing troops and finally Lee himself
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General officer
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A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations air forces or marines. The term general is used in two ways, as the title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, the adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of General is known in countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks and it has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies. The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers. There are two systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition there is a system, the Arab system of ranks. Variations of one form, the old European system, were used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom, from which it spread to the Commonwealth. The other is derived from the French Revolution, where ranks are named according to the unit they command. The system used either a general or a colonel general rank. The rank of marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank. Many countries actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia, mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, confusion arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, exclusively, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general, the distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both titles, creating the modern rank titles
38.
Philadelphia
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
39.
Sandy Hook
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Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately 6 miles in length and varying from 0.1 to 1.0 mile wide, is located at the end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay south of New York City, the Dutch called the area Sant Hoek, with the English Hook deriving from the Dutch Hoek, meaning spit of land. Most of Sandy Hook is currently owned and managed by the National Park Service as the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. Geologically, Sandy Hook is a sand spit or barrier spit. On its western side, the peninsula encloses Sandy Hook Bay, the 2, 044-acre peninsula was discovered by Henry Hudson, and, historically, Sandy Hook has been a convenient anchorage for ships before proceeding into Upper New York Harbor. Sandy Hook is part of Middletown Township, although not contiguous with the rest of the Township, because the peninsula is a federal reservation, this technicality is essentially moot. The community of Highlands overlooks the part of the hook. Sandy Hook is owned by the federal government, most of it is managed by the National Park Service as the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. The eastern shoreline consists of beaches, North Beach, Gunnison Beach. The southern part of the consists of public beaches, fishing areas, and the SeaGulls Nest. The peninsulas ocean-facing beaches are considered among the finest in New Jersey and are a destination for recreation in summer when seasonal ferries bring beachgoers. Gunnison Beach is one of the largest clothing optional beaches on the East Coast, there is a vocational school that was located at the tip of Sandy Hook called M. A. S. T. or The Marine Academy of Science and Technology. The school was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and rebuilt the subsequent year, Sandy Hook Lighthouse is located within the fort grounds, as is the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, a magnet high school, part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District. At the entrance to Fort Hancock is Guardian Park, a plaza dominated by two Nike missiles, some of the buildings of Fort Hancock are off-limits because their structural integrity is dubious. A controversial proposal was accepted to allow adaptive reuse of some of the buildings in Fort Hancock for private profit. The defunct U. S. Army post Fort Hancock at the end of the peninsula is open to the public. The Sandy Hook Nike station is one of a few stations that are still intact
40.
Elkton, Maryland
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The town of Elkton is the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,443 at the 2010 census and it was formerly called Head of Elk because it sits at the head of navigation on the Elk River, which flows into the nearby Chesapeake Bay. Elkton was once known as the Gretna Green of the West because of its popularity as a place for eloping couples to marry, however, a state law was passed in 1938 requiring a 48-hour waiting period. To this day, there are several wedding chapels in the town, the town was founded by Swedish mariners and fisherman from Fort Casimir who settled the area in 1694. They called their settlement Head of Elk, as it was the head of navigation of the Elk River, the town saw several actions during the American Revolutionary War. On Aug.25,1777, Sir William Howes Anglo-German army landed on the Elk River, howe soon advanced to the short and victorious campaign of the Brandywine, and thence to capture Philadelphia. On March 8,1781, the Marquis de Lafayette embarked his troops there to attempt a capture of Benedict Arnold, returning on April 9, he began his overland march to Virginia. George Washington and Rochambeau with their combined forces stopped in Elkton on September 6–7,1781, in 1787, the town was incorporated as Elkton. By 1880, the population was 1,800, the landmark historic home, Holly Hall was built by James Sewall in the 1810s and quickly became a regional seat for important dignitaries and local politics. When northern states began to more restrictive marriage laws in the early 20th century. As a result, a number of Maryland towns near borders with other states became known as places to get married quickly and without many restrictions, Elkton, being the northeasternmost county seat in Maryland, was particularly popular. It was a notorious Gretna Green for years, in its heyday, in the 1920s and 1930s, it was the elopement capital of the East Coast and thousands of marriages were performed there each year. While some of the obtained in Elkton were of celebrities or celebrities-to-be. A 48-hour waiting period was imposed in 1938, but Elkton continued to be a place to marry, in time, Las Vegas became the new American Gretna Green, although hundreds of people are still married in Elkton each year. On December 8,1963, Pan Am Flight 214 was struck by lightning, the crash was listed in the 2005 Guinness World Records as the Worst Lightning Strike Death Toll. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 8.61 square miles. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers, according to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Elkton has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated Cfa on climate maps. As of the census of 2010, there were 15,443 people,5,580 households, the population density was 1,849.5 inhabitants per square mile
41.
Chesapeake Bay
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It is the largest estuary in North America. With its northern portion in Maryland and the part in Virginia. More than 150 major rivers and streams flow into the bays 64, 299-square-mile drainage basin, the bay is approximately 200 miles long from its northern headwaters in the Susquehanna River to its outlet in the Atlantic Ocean. It is 2.8 miles wide at its narrowest and 30 miles at its widest, total shoreline including tributaries is 11,684 miles, circumnavigating a surface area of 4,479 square miles. Average depth is 21 feet, reaching a maximum of 174 feet, the bay is spanned twice, in Maryland by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Sandy Point to Kent Island and in Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel connecting Virginia Beach to Cape Charles. Known for both its beauty and bounty, the bay became emptier, with crabs, oysters. Recent restoration efforts begun in the 1990s have been ongoing and show potential for growth of the oyster population. The health of the Chesapeake Bay improved in 2015, marking three years of gains over the past four years, according to a new report by the University of Maryland, the word Chesepiooc is an Algonquian word referring to a village at a big river. It is the seventh oldest surviving English place-name in the U. S. first applied as Chesepiook by explorers heading north from the Roanoke Colony into a Chesapeake tributary in 1585 or 1586. The name may refer to the Chesepian or Chesapeake people. They occupied an area which is now the Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, in 2005, Algonquian linguist Blair Rudes helped to dispel one of the areas most widely held beliefs, that Chesapeake means something like great shellfish bay. The name might actually have meant something like great water, or it might have just referred to a location at the bays mouth. In addition, the name is almost always prefixed by the in usage by local residents, The Chesapeake, The Chesapeake Bay, the Chesapeake Bay is an estuary to the North Atlantic, lying between the Delmarva Peninsula to the east and the North American mainland to the west. It is the ria, or drowned valley, of the Susquehanna River and it is not a fjord, because the Laurentide Ice Sheet never reached as far south as the northernmost point on the bay. The large rivers entering the bay from the west have broad mouths and are extensions of the ria for miles up the course of each river. The bay was formed starting about 10,000 years ago when rising sea levels at the end of the last ice age flooded the Susquehanna River valley. Parts of the bay, especially the Calvert County, Maryland and these cliffs, generally known as Calvert Cliffs, are famous for their fossils, especially fossilized shark teeth which are commonly found washed up on the beaches next to the cliffs. Scientists Cliffs is a community in Calvert County named for the desire to create a retreat for scientists when the community was founded in 1935
42.
Brandywine Creek (Christina River)
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Brandywine Creek is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine is 20.4 miles long and is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River with several tributary streams. The mouth of the creek on the Christina River in present-day Wilmington, Delaware, is the site of the New Sweden colony, the Battle of Brandywine was fought around the creek near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, on September 11,1777, during the American Revolution. Water powered gristmills in Brandywine Village, near the mouth. The headwaters of both the East Branch and West Branch of Brandywine Creek are in western Chester County, Pennsylvania, the creek continues south through First State National Historical Park and Brandywine Creek State Park, into Wilmington, where it flows through Brandywine Park near the city center. The confluence of the Christina and Delaware rivers is the dividing point between the freshwater Delaware River and the saltwater Delaware Bay. Nearby Avondale and Kennett Square, Pennsylvania are often considered part of the Brandywine Valley, Native Americans of the Algonquian-speaking Lenape Nation lived in the area between the Hudson River Valley and southern Delaware before the European settlement. They lived by hunting, farming corn, beans, and squash, the Brandywine had an especially rich shad fishery. The Lenape called the creek Wauwaset, Wawasiungh, or Wawassan, the first European settlement on the Brandywine was Swedish. About 600 Swedes, Finns, and Dutch settled in New Sweden and they tended to settle along the Delaware River rather than move inland along the Brandywine and are credited with introducing the log cabin into America. The creek’s current name may be from an old Dutch word for brandy or gin, brandewijn, or from the name of a mill owner. A1681 map labels the creek Brande wine Cr, Thomas Holmes 1687 map of Pennsylvania gives the name as simply Brandy Wine and shows it flowing into Christian Creek and then the Dellaware River. The Swedes, Dutch and English disputed possession of the area until 1674, William Penn was granted a charter for Pennsylvania in 1681 and gained control over the lower three counties, as Delaware was then known, soon thereafter. The population of New Sweden had only reached about 1,000, on the shore of the Delaware. By 1687, a Swedish colonist, Tyman Stidham, opened the first mill on the Brandywine, Holmes 1687 map shows only five land claims along the Brandywine, all near present-day Chadds Ford. Land claims of the earlier Swedish and Dutch colonists were not noted on this map and their estimated population had fallen from 10, 000–20,000 in 1600 to 2,000 in 1682. The Lenape signed a series of treaties with the Europeans, beginning with a 1682 treaty with William Penn, but were forced out of eastern Pennsylvania by the time of the French and Indian War. Hannah Freeman, known as Indian Hannah, is believed to be the last Lenape to have lived in Chester County and is buried in Embreeville, the valley was settled by Quakers, and other dissident Protestants, following Penn’s Charter
43.
Quakers
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Quakers are members of a historically Christian group of religious movements generally known as the Religious Society of Friends. They include those with evangelical, holiness, liberal, and traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity, to differing extents, the different movements that make up the Religious Society of Friends/Friends Church avoid creeds and hierarchical structures. In 2007, there were about 359,000 adult Quakers, in 2012, there were 377,055 adult Quakers. Some meetings of both types have Recorded Ministers in their meetings—Friends recognised for their gift of vocal ministry, the first Quakers lived in mid-17th century England. The movement arose from the Legatine-Arians and other dissenting Protestant groups, some of these early Quaker ministers were women. They emphasized a personal and direct experience of Christ, acquired through both direct religious experience and the reading and studying of the Bible. Quakers focused their private life on developing behaviour and speech reflecting emotional purity, in the past, Quakers were known for their use of thee as an ordinary pronoun, refusal to participate in war, plain dress, refusal to swear oaths, opposition to slavery, and teetotalism. & J. Clark and the big three British confectionery makers Cadbury, Rowntree and Frys, and philanthropic efforts, including abolition of slavery, prison reform, during and after the English Civil War many dissenting Christian groups emerged, including the Seekers and others. A young man named George Fox was dissatisfied with the teachings of the Church of England and he had a vision on Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England, in which he believed that the Lord let me see in what places he had a great people to be gathered. Following this he travelled around England, the Netherlands, and Barbados preaching and teaching with the aim of converting new adherents to his faith, the central theme of his Gospel message was that Christ has come to teach his people himself. His followers considered themselves to be the restoration of the true Christian church, in 1650, Fox was brought before the magistrates Gervase Bennet and Nathaniel Barton, on a charge of religious blasphemy. According to George Foxs autobiography, Bennet was the first that called us Quakers and it is thought that George Fox was referring to Isaiah 66,2 or Ezra 9,4. Thus, the name Quaker began as a way of ridiculing George Foxs admonition, Quakerism gained a considerable following in England and Wales, and the numbers increased to a peak of 60,000 in England and Wales by 1680. This was relaxed after the Declaration of Indulgence and stopped under the Act of Toleration 1689, with the restructuring of the family and household came new roles for women, Fox and Fell viewed the Quaker mother as essential to developing holy conversation in her children and husband. Quaker women were responsible for the spirituality of the larger community, coming together in meetings that regulated marriage. The persecution of Quakers in North America began in 1656 when English Quaker missionaries Mary Fisher and they were considered heretics because of their insistence on individual obedience to the Inner Light. They were imprisoned and banished by the Massachusetts Bay Colony and their books were burned, and most of their property was confiscated. They were imprisoned in terrible conditions, then deported, in 1660, English Quaker Mary Dyer was hanged on Boston Common for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony
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