Henry Knox
Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and the United States Army, who 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, rose to become the chief artillery officer of the Continental Army. In this role he accompanied Washington on most of his campaigns, 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 Washington's Secretary of War. In this role he oversaw the development of coastal fortifications, worked to improve the preparedness of local militia, oversaw the nation's military activity in the Northwest Indian War.
He was formally responsible for the nation's relationship with the Indian population in the territories it claimed, articulating a policy that established federal government supremacy over the states in relating to Indian nations, called for treating Indian nations as sovereign. Knox's 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, where he oversaw the rise of a business empire built on borrowed money. He died in 1806 from an infection he contracted after swallowing a chicken bone, leaving an estate, bankrupt. Henry Knox's parents and Mary, were of Scotch-Irish origin, his father was a ship builder who, due to financial reverses, left the family for Sint 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 and European history. 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 shop's owner, Nicholas Bowes, became a surrogate father figure for the boy, allowing him to browse the shelves of the store and take home any volume that he wanted to read. The inquisitive future war hero, when he was not running errands, taught himself French, learned some philosophy and advanced mathematics, devoured tales of ancient warriors and famous battles, he immersed himself in literature from a tender age. However, Knox was involved in Boston's street gangs, becoming one of the toughest fighters in his neighborhood. Impressed by a military demonstration, at 18 he joined. 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 testified at the trials of the soldiers, in which all but two were acquitted. In 1771 he opened his own bookshop, the London Book Store, in Boston "opposite William's Court in Cornhill." The store was, in the words of a contemporary, a "great resort for the British officers and Tory ladies, who were the ton at that period."
Boasting an impressive selection of excellent English products and managed by a friendly proprietor, it became a popular destination for the aristocrats of Boston. As a bookseller, Knox built strong business ties with British suppliers and developed relationships with his customers, but he retained his childhood aspirations. Self-educated, he stocked books on military science, questioned soldiers who frequented his shop in military matters; the genial giant enjoyed reasonable pecuniary success, but his profits slumped after the Boston Port Bill and subsequent citywide boycott of British goods. In 1772 he cofounded the Boston Grenadier Corps as an offshoot of The Train, served as its second in command. Shortly before his 23rd birthday Knox accidentally discharged a gun, shooting two fingers off his left hand, he managed to reach a doctor, who sewed the wound up. Knox supported the Sons of Liberty, an organization of agitators against what they considered repressive British colonial policies, it is unknown if he participated in the 1773 Boston Tea Party, but he did serve on guard duty before the incident to make sure no tea was unloaded from the Dartmouth, one of the ships involved.
The next year he refused a consignment of tea sent to him by James Rivington, a Loyalist in New York. Henry married Lucy Flucker, the daughter of Boston Loyalists, on June 16, 1774, despite opposition from her father, due to their differing political views. Lucy's brother served in the British Army, her family attempted to lure Knox to service there. Despite long separations due to his military service, the couple were devoted to one another for the rest of his life, carried on an extensive correspondence. After the couple fled Boston in 1775, she remained homeless until the British evacuated the city in March 1776. Afterward, she traveled to visit Knox in the field, her parents left, never to return, with the British during their withdrawal from Boston after the Continental Army fortified Dorchester Heights, a success that hinged upon Knox's Ticonderoga expedition. When the war broke out with the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, Knox and Lucy snuck out of Boston, Knox joined the militia army besieging the city.
His abandoned bookshop was looted and all of its stock stolen. He served under General Artemas Ward, putting his ac
Alexander Scammell
Alexander Scammell was a Harvard educated attorney and an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was wounded on September 30, 1781 near Yorktown and subsequently died on October 6 in Williamsburg, making him, a colonel, the highest ranking American officer killed during the Siege of Yorktown. Scammell was born May 16, 1742 in the part of Mendon, Massachusetts which became Milford, Massachusetts, his father, Doctor Samuel Leslie Scammell died in 1753 and Alexander and his older brother, Samuel were placed under the care and guidance of Reverend Amariah Frost. As a young man, Alexander graduated from Harvard College in 1769, moved to Plymouth County, MA where he taught school in the towns of Kingston and Plymouth and became a member of the Old Colony Club celebrating the Plymouth landing. In 1772 he moved to Portsmouth, NH where he worked surveying and exploring the lands of the Royal Navy Timber; when not surveying, he kept a school at Berwick, was one of the proprietors of the town of Shapleigh, ME.
He assisted Captain Samuel Holland in making surveys for his Topographical Map of New Hampshire. "In 1772 he went to Plymouth. Here he was associated with Samuel Holland, accomplished surveyor and Surveyor General of the northern District. Holland's map of New York, New Jersey and part of Pennsylvania was published by Sayer and Bennett and was used by both sides during the American Revolution. Scammell himself submitted a map of Maine's pine forests in 1772. Subsequently, in 1773 Scammell began to read law with John Sullivan General Sullivan, of Durham, New Hampshire."Scammell had a high opinion of Sullivan whom he styled, "an excellent instructor and worthy patron". Sullivan was a member of the Congress of 1774 and 1775, the following year he was appointed a brigadier general by that Congress. Scammell was with Sullivan during the raid on Fort William and Mary on December 14, 1774. With the start of the American Revolution, Scammell became a major in the 2nd New Hampshire Regiment, in Sullivan's Brigade, after the Siege of Boston was sent with them to reinforce the Continental Army units in the Invasion of Canada.
Sullivan's force returned to Fort Ticonderoga by mid July 1776, by August Scammell had been assigned as Aide-de-Camp to Sullvan. But in September he was ordered to Assist Col George Reid in New York City and fought at the Battle of Long Island. In October 1776 he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General for Charles Lee's Division. In November 1776, Scammell was promoted to colonel. On 11 December 1776 he was given command of the 3rd New Hampshire Regiment. However, as that regiment had not yet been recruited, Scammell accompanied the 1st and 2nd regiments under Col John Stark south to join Washington's Army. In this capacity Scammell crossed the Delaware with Washington and took part in the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton. In the latter Scammell is recalled to have preceded Washington in rallying the troops who were being beaten badly. Both officers came through unscathed; the recruiting of the 3d NH Regiment was completed in June 1777, within two weeks of men mustering for the first time at Fort Ticonderoga did Major General Arthur St. Clair order its evacuation.
Scammell commanded the regiment at Saratoga, distinguished himself bravely in the battles of Freeman's Farm and Bemis Heights, was wounded in the latter battle. At this time Henry Dearborn, his light infantry were under his command. Just two days after Burgoyne's surrender the regiment moved to winter quarters at Valley Forge where Scammell was appointed adjutant general of the Continental Army by Gen. George Washington. Scammell served in this capacity through 1780. In October 1780 Scammell was appointed as executioner to Major John André, a duty that weighed on him; the result was a letter of Nov 16, 1780 to Washington requesting permission to resign his post and take command of a regiment of the line. He replaced in early 1781 by Edward Hand. Scammell was reassigned as commander of the 1st NH Regiment in early 1781; however on May 17, 1781 he was assigned command of a light infantry detachment that became known as Scammell's Light Infantry, this regiment fought at the Battle of King's Bridge, was the vanguard for the Army's march South to Yorktown.
Once at Yorktown the regiment was organized as part of the 2nd brigade of The Light Infantry Division at Yorktown. On September 30, 1781, while serving as Field Officer-of-the-Day, Scammell was wounded while reconnoitering abandoned British fortifications, he had become separated from his scouting party, encountered a party of British light dragoons, was shot in the side. He was taken into Yorktown, but because of the gravity of his wound he was paroled to Williamsburg, only to die on October 6, he was buried in Williamsburg A monument was erected in Williamsburg to Scammell but may never have been engraved the following inscription: Alexander Scammell, Adjutant-General of the American armies, the Colonel of the First Regiment of New Hampshire, while he commanded a chosen corps of Light Infantry at the successful siege of Yorktown, in Virginia, was in gallant performance of his duty as field officer of the day captured
Portrait miniature
A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting executed in gouache, watercolour, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, were popular among 16th-century elites in England and France, spread across the rest of Europe from the middle of the 18th-century, remaining popular until the development of daguerreotypes and photography in the mid-19th century, they were intimate gifts given within the family, or by hopeful males in courtship, but some rulers, such as James I of England, gave large numbers as diplomatic or political gifts. They were likely to be painted when a family member was going to be absent for significant periods, whether a husband or son going to war or emigrating, or a daughter getting married; the first miniaturists used watercolour to paint on stretched vellum, or on playing cards trimmed to the shape required. During the second half of the 17th century, vitreous enamel painted on copper became popular in France.
In the 18th century, miniatures were painted with watercolour on ivory, which had now become cheap. As small in size as 40 mm × 30 mm, portrait miniatures were fitted into lockets, inside watch-covers or pieces of jewellery so that they could be carried on the person. Others were hung on a wall, or fitted into snuff box covers; the portrait miniature developed from the illuminated manuscript, superseded for the purposes of book illustration by techniques such as woodprints and calc printing. The earliest portrait miniaturists were famous manuscript painters like Jean Fouquet, Simon Bening, whose daughter Levina Teerlinc painted portrait miniatures, moved to England, where her predecessor as court artist, Hans Holbein the Younger painted some miniatures. Lucas Horenbout was another Netherlandish miniature painter at the court of Henry VIII. France had a strong tradition of miniatures, centred on the court, although this came to concentrate in the mid-16th century on larger images, about the range of sizes of the modern paperback book, which might not qualify as miniatures in the usual sense.
These might be paintings, or finished drawings with some colour, were produced by François Clouet, his followers. The earliest French miniature painters were Jean Clouet, his son François Clouet, Jean Perréal and others; the seven portraits in the Manuscript of the Gallic War are assigned to the eider Clouet. Following these men we find Simon Renard de St. André, Jean Cotelle. Others whose names might be mentioned were Joseph Werner, Rosalba Carriera; the first famous native English portrait miniaturist is Nicholas Hilliard, whose work was conservative in style but sensitive to the character of the sitter. The colours are opaque, gold is used to heighten the effect, while the paintings are on card, they are signed, have also a Latin motto upon them. Hilliard worked for a while in France, he is identical with the painter alluded to in 1577 as Nicholas Belliart. Hilliard was succeeded by his son Lawrence Hilliard. Isaac Oliver and his son Peter Oliver succeeded Hilliard. Isaac was the pupil of Hilliard.
Peter was the pupil of Isaac. The two men were the earliest to give roundness and form to the faces they painted, they signed their best works in monogram, painted not only small miniatures, but larger ones measuring as much as 10 in × 9 in. They copied for Charles I of England on a small scale many of his famous pictures by the old masters. Other miniaturists at about the same date included Balthazar Gerbier, George Jamesone, Penelope Cleyn and her brothers. John Hoskins was followed by a son of the same name, known to have been living in 1700, since a miniature signed by him and bearing that date is in the Pierpont Morgan collection, representing James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick. Samuel Cooper was a nephew and student of the elder Hoskins, is considered the greatest English portrait miniaturist, he spent much of his time in Paris and Holland, little is known of his career. His work has a superb breadth and dignity, has been well called life-size work in little, his portraits of the men of the Puritan epoch are remarkable for their truth to life and strength of handling.
He painted upon card, chicken skin and vellum, on two occasions upon thin pieces of mutton bone. The use of ivory was not introduced until long after his time, his work is signed with his initials in gold, often with the addition of the date. Other miniaturists of this period include Alexander Cooper, who painted a series of portraits of the children of the king and queen of Bohemia, they are followed by such artists as Gervase Spencer, Bernard Lens III, Nathaniel Hone and Jeremiah Meyer, the latter two notable in connection with the foundation of the Royal Academy. The workers in black lead must not be overlooked David Loggan, William Fai
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer, is known for his successful command in the southern theater of the war. Born into a prosperous Quaker family in Warwick, Rhode Island, Greene became active in the resistance to British revenue policies in the early 1770s and helped establish the Kentish Guards, a state militia. After the April 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord, the legislature of Rhode Island established an army and appointed Greene to command it. In the year, Greene became a general in the newly-established Continental Army. Greene served under Washington in the Boston campaign, the New York and New Jersey campaign, the Philadelphia campaign before being appointed quartermaster general of the Continental Army in 1778. In October 1780, General Washington appointed Greene as the commander of the Continental Army in the southern theater.
After taking command, Greene engaged in a successful campaign of guerrilla warfare against the numerically superior force of General Charles Cornwallis. He inflicted heavy losses on British forces at Battle of Guilford Court House, the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, the Battle of Eutaw Springs, eroding British control of the Southern United States. Major fighting on land came to an end following the surrender of Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown in October 1781, but Greene continued to serve in the Continental Army until late 1783. After the war, he sought to become a successful planter in the South, but died in 1786 at his Mulberry Grove Plantation in Chatham County, Georgia. Many places in the United States are named after Greene. Greene was born on August 7, 1742, on Forge Farm at Potowomut in the township of Warwick, Rhode Island, part of British North America, he was Nathanael Greene Sr. a prosperous Quaker merchant and farmer. Greene was descended from John Greene and Samuel Gorton, both of whom were founding settlers of Warwick.
Greene had two older half-brothers from his father's first marriage, was one of six children born to Nathanael and Mary. Due to religious beliefs, Greene's father discouraged book learning, as well as dancing and other activities. Nonetheless, Greene convinced his father to hire a tutor, he studied mathematics, the classics and various works of the Age of Enlightenment. At some point during his childhood, Greene gained a slight limp that would remain with him for the rest of his life. In 1770, Greene moved to Coventry, Rhode Island to take charge of the family-owned foundry, he built a house in Coventry called Spell Hall. In the year and his brothers inherited the family business after their father's death. Greene began to assemble a large library that included military histories by authors like Caesar, Frederick the Great, Maurice de Saxe. In July 1774, Greene married the nineteen-year-old Catharine Littlefield, a niece-by-marriage of his distant cousin, William Greene, an influential political leader in Rhode Island.
That same year, one of Greene's younger brothers married a daughter of Samuel Ward, a prominent Rhode Island politician who became an important political ally until his death in 1776. Greene and Catherine's first child was born in 1776, they had six more children between 1777 and 1786. After the French and Indian War, the British Parliament began imposing new policies designed to raise revenue from British North America. After British official William Dudington seized a vessel owned by Greene and his brothers, Greene filed an successful lawsuit against Dudington for damages. While the lawsuit was pending, Dudington's vessel was torched by a Rhode Island mob in what became known as the Gaspee Affair. In the aftermath of the Gaspee Affair, Greene became alienated from the British government. At the same time, Greene drifted away from his father's Quaker faith, he was suspended from Quaker meetings in July 1773. In 1774, after the passage of revenue-raising measures that colonials derided as the "Intolerable Acts," Greene helped organize a local militia known as the Kentish Guards.
Because of his limp, Greene was not selected as an officer in the militia. The American Revolutionary War broke out with the April 1775 Battles of Concord. In early May, the legislature of Rhode Island established the Rhode Island Army of Observation and appointed Greene to command it. Greene's army marched to Boston, where other colonial forces were laying siege to a British garrison, he missed the June 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill because he was visiting Rhode Island at the time, but he returned immediately after the battle and was impressed by the performance of colonial forces. That same month, the Second Continental Congress established the Continental Army and appointed George Washington to command all colonial forces. In addition to Washington, Congress appointed sixteen generals, Greene was appointed as a brigadier general in the Continental Army. Washington took command of the Siege of Boston in July 1775, bringing with him generals such as Charles Lee, Horatio Gates, Thomas Mifflin. Washington organized the Continental Army into three divisions, each consisting of regiments from different colonies, Greene was given command of a brigade consisting of seven regiments.
The Siege of Boston continued until March 1776. After the end of the siege, Greene served as the commander of military forces in Boston, but he rejoined Washington's army in April 1776. Washington established his headquarters in Manhattan, Greene was tasked with preparing for the i
Horatio Gates
Horatio Lloyd Gates was a retired British soldier who served as an American general during the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battles of Saratoga – a matter of contemporary and historical controversy – and was blamed for the defeat at the Battle of Camden in 1780. Gates has been described as "one of the Revolution's most controversial military figures" because of his role in the Conway Cabal, which attempted to discredit and replace General George Washington. Born in the town of Maldon in Essex, Gates served in the British Army during the War of the Austrian Succession and the French and Indian War. Frustrated by his inability to advance in the army, Gates sold his commission and established a small plantation in Virginia. On Washington's recommendation, the Continental Congress made Gates the Adjutant General of the Continental Army in 1775, he was assigned command of Fort Ticonderoga in 1776 and command of the Northern Department in 1777. Shortly after Gates took charge of the Northern Department, the Continental Army defeated the British at the crucial Battles of Saratoga.
After the battle, some members of Congress considered replacing Washington with Gates, but Washington retained his position as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Gates took command of the Southern Department in 1780, but was removed from command that year after the disastrous Battle of Camden. Gates's military reputation was destroyed by the battle and he did not hold another command for the remainder of the war. Gates retired to his Virginia estate after the war, but decided to free his slaves and move to New York, he was elected to a single term in the New York State Legislature and died in 1806. Horatio Gates was christened on April 30, 1727, in the Parish of St Nicholas, Greenwich borough, in the English county of Kent, his parents were Dorothea Gates. Evidence suggests that Dorothea was the granddaughter of John Hubbock, Sr. postmaster at Fulham, the daughter of John Hubbock, Jr. listed in 1687 sources as a vintner. She had a prior marriage, to Thomas Reeve, whose family was well situated in the royal Customs service.
Dorothea Reeve was housekeeper for the second Duke of Leeds, Peregrine Osborne, which in the social context of England at the time was a patronage plum. Marriage into the Reeve family opened the way for Robert Gates to get into and up through the Customs service. So too, Dorothea Gates's appointment circa 1729 to housekeeper for the third Duke of Bolton provided Horatio Gates with otherwise off-bounds opportunities for education and social advancement. Through Dorothea Gates's associations and energetic networking, young Horace Walpole was enlisted as Horatio's godfather and namesake. In 1745, Horatio Gates obtained a military commission with financial help from his parents, political support from the Duke of Bolton. Gates served with the 20th Foot in Germany during the War of the Austrian Succession, he arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia under Edward Cornwallis and was promoted to captain in the 45th Foot the following year. He participated in several engagements against the Mi'kmaq and Acadians the Battle at Chignecto.
He married his wife Elizabeth at St. Paul's Church in 1754. Leaving Nova Scotia, he sold his commission in 1754 and purchased a captaincy in one of the New York Independent Companies. One of his mentors in his early years was Edward Cornwallis, the uncle of Charles Cornwallis, against whom the Americans would fight. Gates served under Cornwallis when the latter was governor of Nova Scotia, developed a relationship with the lieutenant governor, Robert Monckton. During the French and Indian War, Gates served General Edward Braddock in America. In 1755 he accompanied the ill-fated Braddock Expedition in its attempt to control access to the Ohio Valley; this force included other future Revolutionary War leaders such as Thomas Gage, Charles Lee, Daniel Morgan, George Washington. Gates didn't see significant combat, since he was injured early in the action, his experience in the early years of the war was limited to commanding small companies, but he became quite good at military administration. In 1759 he was made brigade major to Brigadier General John Stanwix, a position he continued when General Robert Monckton took over Stanwix's command in 1760.
Gates served under Monckton in the capture of Martinique in 1762. Monckton bestowed on him the honor of bringing news of the success to England, which brought him a promotion to major; the end of the war brought an end to Gates' prospects for advancement, as the army was demobilized and he did not have the financial wherewithal to purchase commissions for higher ranks. In November 1755, Gates married Elizabeth Phillips and had a son, Robert, in 1758. Gates' military career stalled, as advancement in the British army required influence. Frustrated by the British class hierarchy, he sold his major's commission in 1769, came to North America. In 1772 he reestablished contact with George Washington, purchased a modest plantation in Virginia the following year; when the word reached Gates of the outbreak of war in late May 1775, he rushed to Mount Vernon and offered his services to Washington. In June, the Continental Congress began organizing the Continental Army. In accepting command, Washington urged the appointment of Gates as adjutant of the army.
On June 17, 1775, Congress commissioned Gates as a Brigadier General and Adjutant General of the Continental Army. He is considered to be the first Adjutant General of the United States Army. Gates's previou
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a coeducational independent school for boarding and day students in grades 9 through 12, offers a postgraduate program. Located in Exeter, New Hampshire, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States. Exeter is based on the Harkness education system, a conference format of student interaction with minimal teacher involvement, it has the largest endowment of any New England boarding school, which as of June 30, 2017, was valued at $1.25 billion. On January 25, 2019, William K. Rawson was appointed by the Academy's trustees as the 16th Principal Instructor, he is the 4th alumnus of Exeter to serve as Principal Instructor, after Gideon Lane Soule, Harlan Amen, William Saltonstall. Phillips Exeter Academy has educated several generations of the New England establishment and prominent American politicians, but has introduced many programs to diversify the student population, including free tuition for families whose income is $75,000 or less. In 2015–2016, over 45% of students received financial aid from grants totaling over $19 million.
The school has been highly selective, with an acceptance rate of 15% for the 2019–2020 school year, many graduates attend the Ivy League universities among others. Management of the school's financial and physical resources is overseen by trustees drawn from alumni. Day-to-day operations are headed by a principal, appointed by the trustees; the faculty of the school are responsible for governing matters relating to student life, both in and out of the classroom. The school's first enrolled class counted 56 boys; the 2018 Academic Year saw enrollment at 1,095 students with 884 boarding students and 211 day students. The students comprise equal numbers of males and females, who are housed in 25 single-sex and 2 mixed-sex dormitories; each residence is supervised by a dormitory head selected from the faculty. Phillips Exeter Academy was established in Exeter, New Hampshire in 1781 by Elizabeth and John Phillips. John Phillips had made his fortune as a merchant and banker before going into public service, financially supported his nephew Samuel Phillips, Jr. in founding his own school, Phillips Academy, in Andover, three years earlier.
As a result of this family relationship, the two schools share a rivalry. The school that Phillips founded at Exeter was to educate students under a Calvinist religious framework. However, like his nephew who founded Andover, Phillips stipulated in the school's founding charter that it would "ever be open to youth of requisite qualifications from every quarter."Phillips had been married to Sarah Gilman, wealthy widow of Phillips' cousin, merchant Nathaniel Gilman, whose large fortune, bequeathed to Phillips, enabled him to endow the academy. The Gilman family donated to the academy much of the land on which it stands, including the initial 1793 grant by New Hampshire Governor John Taylor Gilman of the Yard, the oldest part of campus. In 1814, Nicholas Gilman, signer of the U. S. Constitution, left $1,000 to Exeter to teach "sacred music."The academy's first schoolhouse, the First Academy Building, was built on a site on Tan Lane in 1783, today stands not far from its original location. The building was dedicated on February 20, 1783, the same day that the school's first Preceptor, William Woodbridge, was chosen by John Phillips.
Exeter's Deed of Gift, written by John Phillips at the founding of the school, states that Exeter's mission is to instill in its students both goodness and knowledge: "Above all, it is expected that the attention of instructors to the disposition of the minds and morals of the youth under their charge will exceed every other care. On April 9, 1930, philanthropist and oil magnate Edward Harkness wrote to Exeter Principal Lewis Perry regarding how a substantial donation that Harkness would make to the Academy might be used to fund a new way of teaching and learning:What I have in mind is a classroom where students could sit around a table with a teacher who would talk with them and instruct them by a sort of tutorial or conference method, where each student would feel encouraged to speak up; this would be a real revolution in methods. The result was "Harkness teaching", in which a teacher and a group of students work together, exchanging ideas and information, similar to the Socratic method.
In November 1930, Harkness gave Exeter $5.8 million to support this initiative. Since the Academy's principal mode of instruction has been by discussion, "seminar style," around an oval table known as the Harkness table; this informality was for many decades reflected in the school's "unwritten code that there were no rules at the academy until you broke one." Expelled alumni include the writer and editor George Plimpton. Exeter participated in the Chinese Educational Mission, hosting seven students from Qing China, starting in 1879, they were sent to learn about western technology, attended Exeter among other schools to prepare for college. However, all students were recalled in 1881 due to mounting tensions between the United States and China, as well as growing realization that the students were becoming Americanized; the Academy became coeducational in 1970. Today the student body is half boys and half girls. In 1996, to reflect the Academy's coeducational status, a new gender-inclusive
Battles of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led a large invasion army southward from Canada in the Champlain Valley, hoping to meet a similar British force marching northward from New York City and another British force marching eastward from Lake Ontario, he fought two small battles to break out which took place 18 days apart on the same ground, 9 miles south of Saratoga, New York. They both failed. Burgoyne found himself trapped by superior American forces with no relief, so he retreated to Saratoga and surrendered his entire army there on October 17, his surrender, says historian Edmund Morgan, "was a great turning point of the war because it won for Americans the foreign assistance, the last element needed for victory."Burgoyne's strategy to divide New England from the southern colonies had started well but slowed due to logistical problems.
He won a small tactical victory over General Horatio Gates and the Continental Army in the September 19 Battle of Freeman's Farm at the cost of significant casualties. His gains were erased when he again attacked the Americans in the October 7 Battle of Bemis Heights and the Americans captured a portion of the British defenses. Burgoyne was therefore compelled to retreat, his army was surrounded by the much larger American force at Saratoga, forcing him to surrender on October 17. News of Burgoyne's surrender was instrumental in formally bringing France into the war as an American ally, although it had given supplies and guns, notably the de Valliere cannon which played an important role in Saratoga; this battle resulted in Spain joining France in the war against Britain. The battle on September 19 began when Burgoyne moved some of his troops in an attempt to flank the entrenched American position on Bemis Heights. Benedict Arnold placed significant forces in his way. Burgoyne did gain control of Freeman's Farm.
Skirmishing continued in the days following the battle, while Burgoyne waited in the hope that reinforcements would arrive from New York City. Patriot militia forces continued to arrive, swelling the size of the American army. Disputes within the American camp led Gates to strip Arnold of his command. British General Sir Henry Clinton moved up from New York City and attempted to divert American attention by capturing Forts Clinton and Montgomery in the Hudson River highlands on October 6, but his efforts were too late to help Burgoyne. Burgoyne attacked Bemis Heights again on October 7 after it became apparent that he would not receive relieving aid in time; this battle culminated in heavy fighting marked by Arnold's spirited rallying of the American troops. Burgoyne's forces were thrown back to the positions that they held before the September 19 battle, the Americans captured a portion of the entrenched British defenses; the American Revolutionary War was approaching the two-year point, the British changed their plans.
They decided to split the Thirteen Colonies and isolate New England from what they believed to be the more Loyalist middle and southern colonies. The British command devised a plan to divide the colonies with a three-way pincer movement in 1777; the western pincer under the command of Barry St. Leger was to progress from Ontario through western New York, following the Mohawk River, the southern pincer was to progress up the Hudson River valley from New York City; the northern pincer was to proceed southward from Montreal, the three forces were to meet in the vicinity of Albany, New York, severing New England from the other colonies. British General John Burgoyne moved south from the province of Quebec in June 1777 to gain control of the upper Hudson River valley, his campaign had become bogged down in difficulties following a victory at Fort Ticonderoga. Elements of the army had reached the upper Hudson as early as the end of July, but logistical and supply difficulties delayed the main army at Fort Edward.
One attempt to alleviate these difficulties failed when nearly 1,000 men were killed or captured at the August 16 Battle of Bennington. Furthermore, news reached Burgoyne on August 28 that St. Leger's expedition down the Mohawk River valley had turned back after the failed Siege of Fort Stanwix. General William Howe had taken his army from New York City by sea on a campaign to capture Philadelphia instead of moving north to meet Burgoyne. Most of Burgoyne's Indian support had fled following the loss at Bennington, his situation was becoming difficult, he needed to reach defensible winter quarters, requiring either retreat back to Ticonderoga or advance to Albany, he decided to advance. He deliberately cut communications to the north so that he would not need to maintain a chain of fortified outposts between his position and Ticonderoga, he decided to cross the Hudson River while he was in a strong position, he ordered Baron Riedesel, who commanded the rear of the army, to abandon outposts from Skenesboro south, had the army cross the Hudson just north of Saratoga between September 13 and 15.
The Continental Army had been in a slow retreat since Burgoyne's capture of Ticonderoga early in July, under the command of Major General Philip Schuyler, was encamped south of Stillwater, New York. On August 19, Major General Horatio Gates assumed command from Schuyler, whose political fortunes had fallen over the loss of Ticonderoga and the ensuing retreat. Gates and Schuyler were from different backgrou
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army Center of Military History website http://www.history.army.mil/books/RevWar/ss/gilman.htm.
