1.
Battle of Monmouth (1233)
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Richard Marshal, the second son of the more famous William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, was a leader of the barons opposed to the growth of King Henrys powers. He was an adversary of the kings foreign allies at court, notably the Poitevins Peter de Rivaux, Marshal refused to attend Henrys court at Gloucester in August 1233, and Henry declared him a traitor. Marshal retired to his castle at Striguil, while the king, in response, Marshal joined with Owain to seize the castles at Cardiff and Newport before attacking Abergavenny and Grosmont. The king then retreated to Gloucester, according to the chronicler Roger of Wendover in his Flores Historiarum, Marshal and his knights then came to Monmouth to reconnoitre the town before besieging it. However, they were coming towards the castle walls by Baldwin III. He was a nobleman of Flanders who, with his force of Flemings. The local lord, John of Monmouth, was absent from the battle, Baldwin wrongly thought that Marshal had only a few followers with him, and rode out with his forces to pursue him, but Marshal turned the tables. It was said of Marshal, in defending himself against Baldwins men, that, he. Whilst these events were passing, news had been carried to the Marshals army of the danger he was in, on which they marched with all haste to his assistance, after the battle, which Baldwin survived, John of Monmouth returned to take control of the town. Marshal travelled to Ireland to rally his supporters there and he agreed a truce with Henry early in 1234, but died of wounds sustained in the Battle of the Curragh shortly afterwards. The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust refer to the battle as having taken place at Castle Field, to the west of the River Monnow, the supporters of Richard Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, in the rebellion of 1233-1234 in Welsh History Review vol. 17, nos. 1-4 1994-95 p.41 ff
2.
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
3.
Emanuel Leutze
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Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze was a German American history painter best known for his painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting, Leutze was born in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Württemberg, Germany, and was brought to the United States as a child. His parents settled first in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and then at Philadelphia and his early education was good, though not especially in the direction of art. The first development of his artistic talent occurred while he was attending the sickbed of his father, at 14, he was painting portraits for $5 apiece. Through such work, he supported himself after the death of his father, in 1834, he received his first instruction in art in classes of John Rubens Smith, a portrait painter in Philadelphia. He soon became skilled, and promoted a plan for publishing, in Washington, portraits of eminent American statesmen, however, he met with, in 1840, one of his paintings attracted attention and procured him several orders, which enabled him to go to the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. In due to his attitude, he studied only one year at the academy. Mainly Leutze was affected by the painter Lessing, in 1842 he went to Munich, studying the works of Cornelius and Kaulbach, and, while there, finished his Columbus before the Queen. The following year he visited Venice and Rome, making studies from Titian and his first work, Columbus before the Council of Salamanca was purchased by the Düsseldorf Art Union. In 1845, after a tour in Italy, he returned to Düsseldorf, marrying Juliane Lottner, during his years in Düsseldorf, he was a resource for visiting Americans, he found them places to live and work, provided introductions, and emotional and even financial support. A strong supporter of Europes Revolutions of 1848, Leutze decided to paint an image that would encourage Europes liberal reformers with the example of the American Revolution. Using American tourists and art students as models and assistants, Leutze finished a first version of Washington Crossing the Delaware in 1850, just after it was completed, the first version was damaged by fire in his studio, subsequently restored, and acquired by the Kunsthalle Bremen. On September 5,1942, during World War II, it was destroyed in a raid by the Allied forces. It is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, in 1859, Leutze returned to the United States and opened a studio in New York City. He divided his time between New York City and Washington, D. C, in 1859, he painted a portrait of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney which hangs in the Harvard Law School. In a 1992 opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia described the portrait of Taney and he sits facing the viewer and staring straight out. There seems to be on his face, and in his deep-set eyes, Leutze also executed other portraits, including one of fellow painter William Morris Hunt. In 1860 Leutze was commissioned by the U. S, late in life, he became a member of the National Academy of Design
4.
Freehold Borough, New Jersey
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Freehold is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It is the county seat of Monmouth County, what is now Freehold Borough was originally incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25,1869, from portions within Freehold Township. The town became independent of the township in 1888, on April 15,1919, Freehold was incorporated as a borough, including all of Freehold and additional portions of Freehold Township, based on the results of a referendum held on July 8,1919. Additional portions of Freehold Township were annexed on September 7,1926. The Hispanic population is growing in Freehold Borough, making up 4. 6% in the 1980 Census,11. 3% in the 1990 Census,28. 0% in 2000. On the contrary, the Black or African American population has decreased in recent decades,17. 1% in 1970,19. 8% in 1980,18. 2% in 1990,15. 8% in 2000 and 12. 6% in 2010. The Lenni Lenape Native Americans were the earliest known people to live in the area that became Freehold, the Lenape were a hunter-gatherer society. They were largely sedentary, changing campsites seasonally and they were prolific hunters of small game and birds. They were also skilled fisherman, and were known to harvest vast amounts of clams from the bays and they also practiced some agriculture to augment their food supply. During this time, an important crossroad of two major Lenape trails was located in the area of Freehold, in 1498, John Cabot became the first European to sight this land. The Dutch were the first to settle and develop the area, by the 17th Century, the English had taken over the area. In 1664, the Duke of York granted a patent to Sir George Carteret to develop the area, in 1685, Scottish immigrants, fleeing religious persecution at home, became the first to settle the area. In 1693, Along with Middletown and Shrewsbury, Freehold was established by act of legislature as one of the three townships in Monmouth County. The name of the borough comes from the word Freehold, an English legal term describing fee simple property ownership. In return for the discounted price, Reid placed a restrictive covenant in the deed that, should the property ever cease being used as a courthouse. Direct descendants of John Reid still reside in Freehold Township, Freehold was officially designated as the seat of the Monmouth County government, and a court house was commissioned to be built on the land purchased from John Reid. The Monmouth Courthouse opened in 1715, a small village quickly began to develop around the courthouse. At first, the village was called Monmouth Courthouse, over time, other government buildings opened near the courthouse, including a sheriffs office, a prison and a post office
5.
New Jersey
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New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania, New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state but the 11th-most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States. New Jersey lies entirely within the statistical areas of New York City. New Jersey was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, in the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. New Jersey was the site of decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War in the 18th century. In the 19th century, factories in cities such as Camden, Paterson, Newark, Trenton, around 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period, New Jersey bordered North Africa. The pressure of the collision between North America and Africa gave rise to the Appalachian Mountains, around 18,000 years ago, the Ice Age resulted in glaciers that reached New Jersey. As the glaciers retreated, they left behind Lake Passaic, as well as rivers, swamps. New Jersey was originally settled by Native Americans, with the Lenni-Lenape being dominant at the time of contact, scheyichbi is the Lenape name for the land that is now New Jersey. The Lenape society was divided into clans that were based upon common female ancestors. These clans were organized into three distinct phratries identified by their animal sign, Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf and they first encountered the Dutch in the early 17th century, and their primary relationship with the Europeans was through fur trade. The Dutch became the first Europeans to lay claim to lands in New Jersey, the Dutch colony of New Netherland consisted of parts of modern Middle Atlantic states. Although the European principle of ownership was not recognized by the Lenape. The first to do so was Michiel Pauw who established a patronship called Pavonia in 1630 along the North River which eventually became the Bergen, peter Minuits purchase of lands along the Delaware River established the colony of New Sweden. During the English Civil War, the Channel Island of Jersey remained loyal to the British Crown and it was from the Royal Square in St. Helier that Charles II of England was proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father, Charles I. The North American lands were divided by Charles II, who gave his brother, the Duke of York, the region between New England and Maryland as a proprietary colony. James then granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to two friends who had remained loyal through the English Civil War, Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton, the area was named the Province of New Jersey. Since the states inception, New Jersey has been characterized by ethnic, New England Congregationalists settled alongside Scots Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed migrants
6.
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
7.
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
8.
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
9.
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
10.
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
11.
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
12.
Charles Lee (general)
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Charles Lee served as a general of the Continental Army during the American War of Independence. He also served earlier in the British Army during the Seven Years War and he sold his commission after the Seven Years War and served for a time in the Polish army of King Stanislaus II. Lee moved to North America in 1773 and bought an estate in Virginia, when the fighting broke out in the American War of Independence in 1775, he volunteered to serve with rebel forces. Lees ambitions to become Commander in Chief of the Continental Army were thwarted by the appointment of George Washington to that post, during 1776, forces under his command repulsed a British attempt to capture Charleston, which boosted his standing with the army and Congress. Later that year, he was captured by British cavalry under Banastre Tarleton, during the decisive Battle of Monmouth later that year, Lee led an assault on the British that miscarried. He was subsequently court-martialed and his service brought to an end. He died in Philadelphia in 1782, Lee was born on 26 January 1731 in Darnhall, Cheshire, England, the son of Major General John Lee and his wife Isabella Bunbury. He was sent to King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds, a grammar school, and later to Switzerland, where he became proficient in several languages, including Latin, Greek. His father was colonel of the 55th Foot when he purchased a commission on April 9,1747 for Charles as an ensign in the same regiment, after completing his schooling, Lee reported for duty with his regiment in Ireland. Shortly after his fathers death, on 2 May 1751 he received a Lieutenants commission in the 44th and he was with Braddock at his defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela in 1755. During this time in America, Lee married the daughter of a Mohawk Indian chief and his wife gave birth to twins. Lee was known to the Mohawk, who were allies of the English, on 11 June 1756 Lee purchased a Captains commission in the 44th for the sum of £900. The following year he took part in an expedition against the French fortress of Louisbourg and he was sent to Long Island to recuperate. A surgeon whom he had earlier rebuked and thrashed attacked him, after recovering, Lee took part in the capture of Fort Niagara in 1759 and Montreal in 1760. This brought the war in the North American theater to an end by completing the Conquest of Canada, Lee went back to Europe, transferred to the 103rd Foot as a major, and served as a lieutenant colonel in the Portuguese army. He fought against the Spanish invasion of Portugal and distinguished himself under John Burgoyne at the Battle of Vila Velha and he returned to England in 1763 following the Peace of Paris, which ended the Seven Years War. His regiment was disbanded and he was retired on pay as a major. In May 1772, although inactive, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel
13.
Henry Knox
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Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, who also served as the first United States Secretary of War from 1789 to 1794. Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, he owned and operated a bookstore there, cultivating an interest in military history and joining a local artillery company. When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, he befriended General George Washington, in this role he accompanied Washington on most of his campaigns, and had some involvement in many major actions of the war. He established training centers for artillerymen and manufacturing facilities for weaponry that were valuable assets to the fledgling nation, following the adoption of the United States Constitution, he became President Washingtons Secretary of War. In this role he oversaw the development of coastal fortifications, worked to improve the preparedness of local militia, Knoxs idealistic views on the subject were frustrated by ongoing illegal settlements and fraudulent land transfers involving Indian lands. He retired to what is now Thomaston, Maine, in 1795 and he died in 1806 from an infection he contracted after swallowing a chicken bone, leaving an estate that was bankrupt. Henry Knoxs parents, William and Mary, were of Scotch-Irish origin and his father was a ship builder who, due to financial reverses, left the family for St Eustatius in the West Indies where he died in 1762 of unknown causes. Henry was admitted to the Boston Latin School, where he studied Greek, Latin, arithmetic, since he was the oldest son still at home when his father died, he left school at the age of 12 and became a clerk in a bookstore to support his mother. The shops owner, Nicholas Bowes, became a father figure for the boy, allowing him to browse the shelves of the store. The inquisitive future war hero, when he was not running errands, taught himself French, learned some philosophy and advanced mathematics and he immersed himself in literature from a tender age. However, Knox was also involved in Bostons street gangs, becoming one of the toughest fighters in his neighborhood, impressed by a military demonstration, at 18 he joined a local artillery company called The Train. On March 5,1770 Knox was a witness to the Boston massacre, according to his affidavit, he attempted to defuse the situation, trying to convince the British soldiers to return to their quarters. He also testified at the trials of the soldiers, in which all, in 1771 he opened his own bookshop, the London Book Store, in Boston opposite Williams Court in Cornhill. The store was, in the words of a contemporary, a resort for the British officers and Tory ladies. Boasting an impressive selection of excellent English products and managed by a friendly proprietor, as a bookseller, Knox built strong business ties with British suppliers and developed relationships with his customers, but he retained his childhood aspirations. Largely self-educated, he stocked books on science, and also questioned soldiers who frequented his shop in military matters. The genial giant initially enjoyed reasonable success, but his profits slumped after the Boston Port Bill. In 1772 he cofounded the Boston Grenadier Corps as an offshoot of The Train, shortly before his 23rd birthday Knox accidentally discharged a shotgun, shooting two fingers off his left hand
14.
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
15.
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
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A close friend of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. Born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France and he followed its martial tradition, and was commissioned an officer at age 13. He became convinced that the American cause in its war was noble. There, he was made a general, however, the 19-year-old was initially not given troops to command. Wounded during the Battle of Brandywine, he managed to organize an orderly retreat. He served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island, in the middle of the war, he returned home to lobby for an increase in French support. He again sailed to America in 1780, and was given positions in the Continental Army. In 1781, troops in Virginia under his command blocked forces led by Cornwallis until other American, Lafayette returned to France and, in 1787, was appointed to the Assembly of Notables, which was convened in response to the fiscal crisis. He was elected a member of the Estates-General of 1789, where representatives met from the three orders of French society—the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. He helped write the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, after the storming of the Bastille, Lafayette was appointed commander-in-chief of the National Guard and tried to steer a middle course through the French Revolution. In August 1792, the radical factions ordered his arrest, fleeing through the Austrian Netherlands, he was captured by Austrian troops and spent more than five years in prison. Lafayette returned to France after Napoleon Bonaparte secured his release in 1797, after the Bourbon Restoration of 1814, he became a liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies, a position he held for most of the remainder of his life. During Frances July Revolution of 1830, Lafayette declined an offer to become the French dictator, instead, he supported Louis-Philippe as king, but turned against him when the monarch became autocratic. Lafayette died on 20 May 1834, and is buried in Picpus Cemetery in Paris, for his accomplishments in the service of both France and the United States, he is sometimes known as The Hero of the Two Worlds. Lafayettes lineage was likely one of the oldest and most distinguished in Auvergne and, perhaps, males of the Lafayette family enjoyed a reputation for courage and chivalry and were noted for their contempt for danger. One of Lafayettes early ancestors, Gilbert de Lafayette III, a Marshal of France, had been a companion-at-arms of Joan of Arcs army during the Siege of Orléans in 1429, according to legend, another ancestor acquired the crown of thorns during the Sixth Crusade. Lafayettes father likewise died on the battlefield, on 1 August 1759, Michel de Lafayette was struck by a cannonball while fighting a British-led coalition at the Battle of Minden in Westphalia. Lafayette became marquis and Lord of Chavaniac, but the estate went to his mother, in 1768, when Lafayette was 11, he was summoned to Paris to live with his mother and great-grandfather at the comtes apartments in Luxembourg Palace
16.
Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)
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General Sir Henry Clinton, KB was a British army officer and politician, best known for his service as a general during the American War of Independence. First arriving in Boston in May 1775, from 1778 to 1782 he was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America, in addition to his military service, due to the influence of the 2nd Duke of Newcastle, he was a Member of Parliament for many years. Late in life he was named Governor of Gibraltar, but died before assuming the post, Henry Clinton was born, probably in 1730, to Admiral George Clinton and Anne Carle, the daughter of a general. Willcox also notes that none of these records give indication of the place of Clintons birth, historian John Fredriksen claims that Clinton was born in Newfoundland, his father was posted there from 1732 to 1738. Little is known of the earliest years of Clintons life, or of his mother, given his fathers naval career, where the family was domiciled is uncertain. They were not obviously well-connected to the seat of the Earls of Lincoln, from whom his father was descended, or the estate of the Dukes of Newcastle, to whom they were related by marriage. In 1739 his father, then stationed at Gibraltar, applied for the governorship of the Province of New York, however, he did not actually go to New York until 1743, he took young Henry with him, having failed to acquire a lieutenants commission for the 12-year-old. Henrys career would also benefit from the connection to the Newcastles. Records of the life in New York are sparse. He is reported to have studied under Samuel Seabury on Long Island, Clintons first military commission was to an independent company in New York in 1745. The next year his father procured for him a captains commission, in 1749, Clinton went to Britain to pursue his military career. It was two years before he received a commission as a captain in the Coldstream Guards and his father, after he returned to London when his term as New York governor was over, procured for Clinton a position as aide to Sir John Ligonier in 1756. George II died on 25 October 1760 and Clinton, along with all Officers of the Regiment, was amongst those listed in the renewal of commissions to George III and his father died this year necessitating a return to England to resolve family affairs. In 1762 the unit, part of the led by Prince Ferdinand, was in action at the Battle of Wilhelmsthal on 24 June 1762. After this action they participated in cutting the French supply lines at the heights of Homberg on 24 July 1762 and it was after this engagement that the unit lost its Commanding Officer, General Julius Caesar who died at Elfershausen and is buried there. Prince Ferdinand was wounded during this engagement and Clinton severely wounded forcing him to quit the field and this and the consequent siege of Cassel, were the last actions of the 1st Foot Guards in the Seven Years War and Clinton returned to England. Clinton had distinguished himself as an aide-de-camp to Brunswick, with whom he established an enduring friendship, during these early years, he formed a number of friendships and acquaintances, mostly with other officers serving in Brunswicks camp. These included Charles Lee and William Alexander, who styled himself Lord Stirling and he formed long-lasting and deep friendships with John Jervis, and William Phillips, Phillips later served under Clinton in North America, and Jervis rose to prominence in the Royal Navy
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.
Alexander Leslie (British Army officer)
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The Honourable Major General Alexander Leslie was a major general in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was the commander of the British troops at the Battle of Harlem Heights and he replaced Cornwallis as commander in the South in 1782. Very little is known of his childhood, Leslie was born in England in 1731 to Alexander Leslie, 5th Earl of Leven, and was brother to Lady Mary Hamilton. He enlisted in the 3rd Foot Guards of the British Army in 1753 and he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the 64th Regiment of Foot in 1766. In 1775, before the American War of Independence broke out, he led troops to Salem and his advance was delayed by a standoff at a bridge, during which the colonists removed the weapons he was looking for. His force was allowed to proceed, but found nothing of consequence. In 1776, Leslie was promoted to brigadier-general, at Princeton, his nephew, Captain William Leslie was mortally wounded. In 1780, he was sent to the Chesapeake Bay by Sir Henry Clinton in order to make a diversion in favor by striking at the magazines then collecting by the enemy. For supplying the army they were assembling to oppose him and he became major general in 1782 and was made Colonel of the 63rd Regiment of Foot the same year. He transferred in 1788 to be Colonel of the 9th Regiment of Foot to his death, on 27 December 1794, Leslie became deathly ill while traveling from Glasgow and died at the Beechwood House. In 1760, he married Mary Tullidelph and she died in 1761 in childbirth
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 Brandywine
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The British Army defeated the American Army and forced them to withdraw toward the American capital of Philadelphia. The engagement occurred near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania during Howes campaign to take Philadelphia, more troops fought at Brandywine than any other battle of the American Revolution. It was also the longest single-day battle of the war, with fighting for 11 hours. Howes army departed from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, on July 23,1777, marching north, the British Army brushed aside American light forces in a few skirmishes. Washington offered battle with his army posted behind Brandywine Creek, while part of his army demonstrated in front of Chadds Ford, Howe took the bulk of his troops on a long march that crossed the Brandywine beyond Washingtons right flank. Due to poor scouting, the Americans did not detect Howes column until it reached a position in rear of their right flank, belatedly, three divisions were shifted to block the British flanking force near a Quaker meeting house. After a stiff fight, Howes wing broke through the newly formed American right wing which was deployed on several hills, at this point Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen attacked Chadds Ford and crumpled the American left wing. As Washingtons army streamed away in retreat, he brought up elements of Nathanael Greenes division which held off Howes column long enough for his army to escape to the northeast, polish General Casimir Pulaski defended Washingtons rear assisting in his escape. The defeat and subsequent maneuvers left Philadelphia vulnerable, the British captured the city on September 26, beginning an occupation that would last until June 1778. Unloading the ships proved to be a problem because the narrow river neck was shallow. General George Washington had situated the American forces, about 20, 300-strong and his forces were able to reconnoiter the British landing from Iron Hill near Newark, Delaware, about nine miles to the northeast. Because of the delay disembarking from the ships, Howe did not set up a typical camp, as a result, Washington was not able to accurately gauge the strength of the opposing forces. This site was important as it was the most direct passage across the Brandywine River on the road from Baltimore to Philadelphia, on September 9, Washington positioned detachments to guard other fords above and below Chadds Ford, hoping to force the battle there. Further upstream was a brigade under Colonel Moses Hazen covering Buffingtons Ford, Washington was confident that the area was secure. The British grouped forces at nearby Kennett Square, Howe, who had better information about the area than Washington, had no intention of mounting a full-scale frontal attack against the prepared American defenses. He instead employed a flanking maneuver, similar to that used in the Battle of Long Island, about 6,800 men under the command of Wilhelm von Knyphausen advanced to meet Washingtons troops at Chadds Ford. September 11 began with a fog, which provided cover for the British troops. Washington received contradictory reports about the British troop movements and continued to believe that the force was moving to attack at Chadds Ford
25.
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
26.
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
27.
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
28.
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
29.
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
30.
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
31.
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
32.
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
33.
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
34.
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
35.
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
36.
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
37.
Monmouth County, New Jersey
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Monmouth County /ˈmɒnməθ/ is a county located in Central New Jersey, in the United States within the New York metropolitan area, and the northernmost county along the Jersey Shore. As of 2010, the county fell to the fifth-most populous county in the state and its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous place was Middletown Township, with 66,522 residents at the time of the 2010 Census, while Howell Township covered 61.21 square miles, the largest total area of any municipality. Monmouth County ranked 38th among the counties in the United States as of 2011. As of 2009, it was ranked 56th in the United States by personal per-capita income, among the first European settlers and majority landowners in the area was Richard and Penelope Stout. Penelope miraculously survived her wounds from an attack in Sandy Hook. Additionally, a group of Quaker families from Long Island who settled the Monmouth Tract and they were followed by a group of Scottish settlers who inhabited Freehold Township in about 1682–85, followed several years later by Dutch settlers. As they arrived in this area, they were greeted by Lenape Native Americans, enslaved Africans were present in the area from at least 1680, and by 1726 made up 9% of the total population of the county. Monmouth County was established on March 7,1683, while part of the province of East Jersey, on October 31,1693, the county was partitioned into the townships of Freehold, Middletown and Shrewsbury. Its name may come from the Rhode Island Monmouth Society or from a suggestion from Colonel Lewis Morris that the county should be named after Monmouthshire in Wales, Great Britain. Other suggestions include that it was named for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, in 1714, the first county government was established. It was at Monmouth that the tactics and training from Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben developed at Valley Forge during the encampment were first implemented on a large scale. At independence, Monmouths population included 1,640 slaves, as well as a number of free African Americans. The number of enslaved persons fell steeply after 1820, though a number remained until at least 1850. Monmouths free African American population climbed from 353 in 1790 to 2,658 in 1860. According to the 2010 Census, the county had an area of 665.32 square miles. Much of Monmouth County remains flat and low-lying even far inland, the top portion of the hill is owned by Alcatel-Lucent and houses a research laboratory of Bell Laboratories. The northeastern portion of the county, in the Locust section of Middletown Township, the lowest point is sea level
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Continental Army
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The Continental Army was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Congress on June 14,1775, the Continental Army was supplemented by local militias and troops that remained under control of the individual states or were otherwise independent. General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the army throughout the war, most of the Continental Army was disbanded in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris ended the war. The 1st and 2nd Regiments went on to form the nucleus of the Legion of the United States in 1792 under General Anthony Wayne and this became the foundation of the United States Army in 1796. The Continental Army consisted of soldiers from all 13 colonies, and after 1776, when the American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19,1775, the colonial revolutionaries did not have an army. As tensions with Great Britain increased in the leading to the war. Training of militiamen increased after the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774, colonists such as Richard Henry Lee proposed forming a national militia force, but the First Continental Congress rejected the idea. On April 23,1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress authorized the raising of an army consisting of 26 company regiments. New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut soon raised similar, on July 18,1775, the Congress requested all colonies form militia companies from all able bodied effective men, between sixteen and fifty years of age. It was not uncommon for men younger than sixteen to enlist as most colonies had no requirement of consent for those under twenty-one. Four major-generals and eight brigadier-generals were appointed by the Second Continental Congress in the course of a few days, after Pomeroy did not accept, John Thomas was appointed in his place. As the Continental Congress increasingly adopted the responsibilities and posture of a legislature for a sovereign state, as a result, the army went through several distinct phases, characterized by official dissolution and reorganization of units. Soldiers in the Continental Army were citizens who had volunteered to serve in the army, early in the war the enlistment periods were short, as the Continental Congress feared the possibility of the Continental Army evolving into a permanent army. The army never numbered more than 17,000 men, turnover proved a constant problem, particularly in the winter of 1776–77, and longer enlistments were approved. Major General Philip Schuylers ten regiments in New York were sent to invade Canada, the Continental Army of 1776, reorganized after the initial enlistment period of the soldiers in the 1775 army had expired. Despite attempts to broaden the recruiting base beyond New England, the 1776 army remained skewed toward the Northeast both in terms of its composition and of its geographical focus. This army consisted of 36 regiments, most standardized to a battalion of 768 men strong and formed into eight companies. Enlistment terms extended to three years or to the length of the war to avoid the crises that depleted forces
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Major general
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Major general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the rank of sergeant major general. In the Commonwealth, major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral. In some countries, including much of Eastern Europe, major general is the lowest of the officer ranks. In the old Austro-Hungarian Army, the general was called a Generalmajor. Todays Austrian Federal Army still uses the same term, see also Rank insignias of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces General de Brigade is the lowest rank amongst general officers in the Brazilian Army. AGeneral de Brigada wears two-stars as this is the level for general officers in the Brazilian Army. In tha Brazilian Air Force, the two-star, three-star and four-star rank are known as Brigadeiro, Major-Brigadeiro, see Military ranks of Brazil and Brigadier for more information. In the Canadian Armed Forces, the rank of major-general is both a Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force rank equivalent to the Royal Canadian Navys rank of rear-admiral, a major-general is a general officer, the equivalent of a naval flag officer. The major-general rank is senior to the ranks of brigadier-general and commodore, prior to 1968, the Air Force used the rank of air vice-marshal, instead. In the Canadian Army, the insignia is a wide braid on the cuff. It is worn on the straps of the service dress tunic. On the visor of the cap are two rows of gold oak leaves. Major-generals are initially addressed as general and name, as are all general officers, major-generals are normally entitled to staff cars. In the Estonian military, the general rank is called kindralmajor. The Finnish military equivalent is kenraalimajuri in Finnish, and generalmajor in Swedish and Danish, the French equivalent to the rank of major general is général de division. In the French military, major général is not a rank but an appointment conferred on some generals, usually of général de corps darmée rank, the position of major général can be considered the equivalent of a deputy chief of staff. In the French Army, Major General is a position and the general is normally of the rank of corps general
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Enfilade and defilade
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Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formations exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is in enfilade if weapons fire can be directed along its longest axis, a unit or position is in defilade if it uses natural or artificial obstacles to shield or conceal itself from enfilade. The strategies invented by the English use the French enfiler and défiler which the English nobility used at that time, enfilade fire, a gunfire directed against an enfiladed formation or position, is also commonly known as flanking fire. Raking fire is the equivalent term in naval warfare, strafing, firing on targets from a flying platform, is often done with enfilade fire. A formation or position is in enfilade if weapons fire can be directed along its longest axis, for instance, a trench is enfiladed if the opponent can fire down the length of the trench. A column of marching troops is enfiladed if fired on from the front or rear such that the travel the length of the column. A rank or line of advancing troops is enfiladed if fired on from the side, the benefit of enfilading an enemy formation is that, by firing along the long axis, it becomes easier to hit targets within that formation. Enfilade fire takes advantage of the fact that it is easier to aim laterally than to correctly estimate the range to avoid shooting too long or short. Additionally, both indirect and direct fire projectiles that might miss a target are more likely to hit another valuable target within the formation if firing along the long axis. A unit or position is in if it uses natural or artificial obstacles to shield or conceal. For an armored fighting vehicle, defilade is synonymous with a hull-down or turret-down position, defilade is also used to refer to a position on the reverse slope of a hill or within a depression in level or rolling terrain. Defiladed positions on hilltops are advantageous because dead space – a space that cannot be engaged with direct fire – will be created in front of the position. Ideally, this space should be covered by the interlocking fields of fire of other nearby positions. In the case of weapons, and especially short-range man-portable antitank rockets. Early detection and elimination of antitank threats is an important reason that tanks attack with infantry support, the same principles apply to fighting positions for artillery and armored fighting vehicles. A unit sited in defilade threatens an enemy that decides to pass it and move forward, the friendly unit would be in a position that is shielded by terrain from direct enemy fire, while still being able to fire on the enemy in an effective manner
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Withdrawal (military)
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A withdrawal is a type of military operation, generally meaning retreating forces back while maintaining contact with the enemy. A withdrawal may be undertaken as part of a retreat, to consolidate forces, to occupy ground that is more easily defended. It is considered a risky operation, requiring discipline to keep from turning into a disorganized rout or at the very least doing severe damage to the militarys morale. A withdrawal may be anticipated, as when a force is outmatched or on disadvantageous ground. In such a case, the force may employ a number of tactics. This could include setting mines or booby traps during or before withdrawal, leading the enemy into prepared artillery barrages, in warfare, the long term strategy is the defeat of the enemy. An effective tactical method is the demoralisation of the enemy by defeating their army, once a force had become disorganized, losing its ability to fight, the victors can chase down the remnants and attempt to cause as many casualties or take as many prisoners as possible. Thus there was value in a feigned retreat, the act of feigning a withdrawal or rout in order to lure an enemy away from a defended position or into a prepared ambush is an ancient tactic, and has been used throughout the history of warfare. Ancient Mongols were famed for, among other things, their use of feigned retreats during their conquests, as their fast. In the heat and muddle of a battle, the Mongol army would pretend to be defeated, exhausted and confused, the opposing force, thinking they had routed the Mongols, would give chase. The Mongol cavalry would, while retreating, fire upon the pursuers, when the pursuing forces stopped chasing the Mongol cavalry, the cavalry would then turn and charge the pursuers, generally succeeding. This was used partly as a defeat in detail tactic to allow the Mongols to defeat larger armies by breaking them down into smaller groups. Early on in the Battle of Kasserine Pass in 1943, tanks of the US 1st Armored Division followed what appeared to be a retreat by elements of the 21st Panzer Division. The advancing US forces then met a screen of German anti-tank guns who opened fire, a U. S. forward artillery observer whose radio and landlines had been cut by shellfire recalled, It was murder. They rolled right into the muzzles of the concealed eighty-eights and all I could do was stand by and watch tank after tank blown to bits or burst into flames or just stop and those in the rear tried to turn back but the eighty-eights seemed to be everywhere. Withdrawal of an occupation is anticipated and therefore tactical but may be subject to political rather than operational variables. The purpose of Troop withdrawal from occupied territories may not involve engagement with an enemy and may be conducted during a period of ceasefire or relative peace as in the cases of Palestine
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New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
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Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
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Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Steuben, also referred to as the Baron von Steuben, was a Prussian and American military officer. He served as general and major general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is credited with being one of the fathers of the Continental Army in teaching them the essentials of military drills, tactics, and disciplines. He wrote Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States and he served as General George Washingtons chief of staff in the final years of the war. Baron von Steuben was born in the town of Magdeburg on September 17,1730. Baron Wilhelm von Steuben, and his wife, Silvia Sue Steuben, in 1740 Steubens father returned to Prussia and Friedrich was educated in the garrison towns Neisse and Breslau by Jesuits. It is said that at age 14 he served as volunteer with his father in one of the campaigns of the War of the Austrian Succession, Baron von Steuben joined the Royal Prussian Army at age 17. He served as a lieutenant during the Seven Years War in 1756. He served as adjutant to the battalion of General Johann von Mayer and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1759. In August 1759 he was wounded a second time at the Battle of Kunersdorf, in June 1761, he was appointed deputy quartermaster at the general headquarters. Later that year he was prisoner by the Russians at Treptow. Upon the reduction of the army at the end of the war, in 1763, towards the end of his life, Steuben indicated in a letter that an inconsiderate step and an implacable personal enemy led to his leaving the Prussian army. In 1764 Steuben became Hofmarschall to Fürst Josef Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, in 1769 the Duchess of Wurttemberg, niece of Frederick the Great, presented him with the Cross of the Order of De la Fidelite. In 1771 he was made a baron and that same year he accompanied the prince to France in 1771, hoping to borrow money. Failing to find funds, they returned to Germany in 1775, in 1763 Steuben had been formally introduced to the future French Minister of War, Claude Louis, Comte de Saint-Germain in Hamburg. They met again in Paris in 1777, the Count, fully realizing the potential of an officer with Prussian general staff training, introduced him to Benjamin Franklin. Franklin, however, was unable to offer Steuben a rank or pay in the American army, the Continental Congress had grown tired of foreign mercenaries coming to America and demanding a high rank and pay. Promoting these men over qualified American officers caused discontent in the ranks, Von Steuben would have to go to America strictly as a volunteer, and present himself to Congress
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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
