By mid-November of 1776, the reality of their rebellion against the King George III was beginning to slap the Colonists in the face…hard. The excitement of July 2nd’s Declaration of Independence had, in the ensuing months, been replaced a new truth. A sobering, more immediate truth, stronger than the flush of breaking from the Crown. The [...]
Archive for the ‘The Revolution (1775-1783)’ Category
General Washington Loses Fort Washington
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1776, Fort Lee, Fort Washington, General George Washington, New York, Thomas Paine on November 16 | 2 Comments »
Colonies Create First Confederacy
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1777, Articles of Confederation, Lee Resolution, Second Continental Congress on November 15 | Leave a Comment »
We’ll keep it brief this evening…
Barely one week had gone by since the Second Continental Congress had passed the Lee Resolution, which declared the 13 Colonies to be independent from the British Crown, and there was a bustle of activity. Some members of the Congress had returned home, needing to sell the idea of independence to [...]
An Act of Rigid Justice
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1780, Alexander Hamilton, Benedict Arnold, General George Washington, Major John Andre, Yoast Mabie's Tavern on October 2 | Leave a Comment »
In their 25-year relationship, George Washington and Alexander Hamilton didn’t disagree on very many things. But the differences they had were pronounced. Over time, we’ll look at a couple of them. Today, we’ll look at one.
The disposition of Major John André.
If you recall, André had been found with plans to the fort at West Point which [...]
Benedict Arnold’s British Defect
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1780, Benedict Arnold, HMS Vulture, Major John Andre, Peggy Shippen, Treason on September 25 | 1 Comment »
On September 25, 1780, Benedict Arnold was in a bad state. But truthfully, being on the wrong side of right was nothing new to the General.
Arnold had enjoyed a pretty lavish lifestyle among Philadelphians, a choice which saddled the General with a sizeable debt. He began looking for ways to supplement his income, and found [...]
Major John André: Behind Bars in the Bar
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1780, Benedict Arnold, Major John Andre, New York, Treason, West Point on September 23 | Leave a Comment »
The trip out here to Colorado was really good. A snafu at the car rental place meant we lost about 3 hours of sleep Tuesday night, but gained a brand-new 2010 Caravan Town and Country for our trouble. The dash lighting is ugly, though the interior lighting is super-cool. It was pretty comfortable, but didn’t have enough [...]
Fire has New York City Citizens Seeing Red
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1776, Fire, General George Washington, New York City on September 21 | Leave a Comment »
It seems like every major city has, at some point, a major fire to go with it. London had one, Chicago had one, and Washington, D.C. had one. San Francisco had one, but that that more to do with the big earthquake that preceded it. Still, fire is fire, and when it rages uncontrolled, it’s [...]
Continental Army Not (Chadds) Ford Tough
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged General George Washington, 1777, General William Howe, Philadelphia, Battle of Brandywine Creek, Chadds Ford, Brandywine Creek on September 11 | 1 Comment »
The trip from Cooch’s Bridge in northern Delaware to Chadds Ford spans but 30 miles, give or take. But in 1777, General Washington certainly wished that distance had at least one more zero at the end. He needed space between himself and the British army coming at him.
The loss of Cooch’s Bridge the week before, [...]
The Battle of the Chesapeake
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1781, Battle of the Chesapeake, Chesapeake Bay, Sir Thomas Graves, Yorktown on September 5 | Leave a Comment »
The Battle of the Chesapeake was an incredibly important naval engagement late in the American Revolution. But it wasn’t the battle itself that was so important, as it essentially was a draw.
When we think of modern-day naval battles, we envision long-range standoff platforms like Aegis-class cruisers acting as vanguards for massive aircraft carriers that project [...]
Despite Loss, a Banner Day at Cooch’s Bridge
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1777, Battle of Cooch's Bridge, Delaware, General William Maxwell, Hessians on September 3 | Leave a Comment »
I’m doing a little finalization work on the project car I have and, while it’s not terribly difficult work, I’m a relative novice. So I’m taking my time, which means it takes a long time to get each step accomplished. But it’s going reasonably well…well enough that, with continued success, it may get done this [...]
The Very Model of a Modern Major General
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1777, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, General George Washington, Marquis de LaFayette, Second Continental Congress on July 31 | Leave a Comment »
The Marquis de Lafayette may not have been a Colonist, but it didn’t take him long to become something of a celebrity in the Colonies. His arrival in South Carolina was a story of heroism, daring escape, and swashbuckling action on the high seas.
His youth, good looks, royal upbringing, wealth, and penchant for finery warmed [...]
Earth, Wind, and (No) Fire Aid in Stony Point Victory
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1779, Battle of Stony Point, Corps of Light Infantry, General Anthony Wayne, Hudson River, New York, Stony Point on July 16 | Leave a Comment »
The Battle of Stony Point is probably one of the more unconventional engagements of the American Revolution. But before discussing the uniqueness of the battle, let’s have a little background.
Stony Point, in New York, is located on the Hudson River, just a few miles south of West Point Military Academy. Sir Henry Clinton, leading the [...]
Blessed Be the Tie That Doesn’t Bind
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1776, Declaration of Independence, John Dickinson, President John Adams, Robert Morris, Second Continental Congress on July 2 | 1 Comment »
John Adams, a prominent Massachusetts lawyer, liked to mince words. A seasoned orator often accused of being overly enamored with the sound of his own voice, Adams didn’t address a lot of topics that weren’t worth talking about for a long time. Ok…actually he did. In later years, his penchant for pontification (coupled with his [...]
British Bloodied Badly at Bunker Hill
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged Boston, 1775, General William Howe, Battle of Bunker Hill, General William Prescott, Breed's Hill, Bunker Hill, Charlestown Peninsula on June 17 | Leave a Comment »
For many Americans Colonists, the time for “words with the homeland” was over. By the time June of 1775 rolled around, clashes with British soldiers in Massachusetts had already left Colonial blood pooled on the ground. It was now time to fight. A Continental Army had just been formed and, on the 15th of June, George [...]
Goin’ to Carolina in My Mind
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1777, Continental Army, Marquis de LaFayette, Silas Deane, South Carolina on June 13 | Leave a Comment »
Today’s History Lesson is likely to be brief. Well, as brief as a name like Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier will allow. Every time I wrote the name Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, it’d be like adding another paragraph to the piece. So I’ll just use his title and, once I [...]
A Meeting of the Minds, Act 2
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1775, First Continental Congress, Philadelphia, Second Continental Congress on May 10 | Leave a Comment »
The sound of the gavel that ended the First Continental Congress in October of 1774 was still ringing through the streets of Philadelphia when it was replaced by gunfire in the streets of Lexington and Concord the following April. The push for independence was gaining momentum among the people and, as the opposition to “overseas oversight” [...]
Richmond, Virginia: Up in Smoke
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1781, Benedict Arnold, President Thomas Jefferson, Richmond, Traitor, Virginia, West Point on January 5 | Leave a Comment »
I imagine that referring to Richmond as a fire hazard might be a bit of a stretch, but it certainly has been true in the past. One of those times, near the end of the Civil War, was discussed by my good friend Michael a while back.
But there was another time that Richmond burned, so let’s visit [...]
Defend Savannah? But Howe?
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1778, General Robert Howe, Georgia, Hessians, Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell, Savannah on December 29 | Leave a Comment »
On December 29, 1778, the city of Savannah, Georgia fell to the British. Under the command of Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell, roughly 3,000 men (British regulars, Hessian conscripts, and some colonial Loyalists) had set sail from New York in late November, landing near Savannah just before Christmas.
The move south marked a change in strategy for [...]
General Washington’s Aquatic Christmas
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1776, Delaware River, General George Washington, Hessians, Trenton on December 25 | Leave a Comment »
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours has been very good. My wife gave me one of those shiatsu back massage pad thingys, and it’s great. I’m thinking I’ll probably take it to the office…or I may never leave the house again. Since we’re all (or at least some of us are) filled [...]
Valley Forge: On the Anvil
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1777, General George Washington, General Horatio Gates, General William Howe, Pennslyvania, Valley Forge on December 19 | Leave a Comment »
Valley Forge. The name is instantly recognizable. The images we conjure are probably pretty similar, because we all know at least part of the story surrounding this most famous of places. They are images of suffering, intense hunger, disease, cold, and death. We see soldiers, feet wrapped in rags and their bodies shrouded in tattered uniforms or torn blankets, huddled [...]
Americans Overtax the British at Yorktown
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1781, French Navy, General Charles Cornwallis, General George Washington, Yorktown on October 19 | Leave a Comment »
The Siege of Yorktown had begun in late September of 1781. General Charles Cornwallis, having first arrived earlier in the year with a handful of troops, now held charge of a garrison numbering more than 7,000 soldiers. Located in southeastern Virginia, Yorktown sat (and still sits) at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay just northwest of [...]
