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Cornwallis’s Pyrrhic victory over Nathaniel Green in the North Carolina countryside on 15th March 1781

1st Maryland Regiment at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Frederick Coffay Yohn

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Cowpens

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Yorktown

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Battle: Guilford Courthouse

War: American Revolutionary War

Major-General Nathaniel Greene: Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

Date of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse: 15^th March 1781

Place of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse: North Carolina in the United States of America.

Combatants at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse: British against the Americans.

Generals at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse: Major-General Lord Cornwallis against Major-General Nathaniel Greene.

Size of the armies at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse: Around 1,900 British troops against 4,400 Americans troops.

Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse:   The British infantry wore red coats, with bearskin caps for grenadiers, tricorne hats for battalion companies and caps for the light infantry. The Highland Scots troops wore the kilt and feather bonnet.

Major-General Lord Cornwallis: Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

The two regiments of British light dragoons serving in America, the 16^th and 17^th, arrived in America wearing red coats and crested leather helmets. As the war progressed, the light dragoons abandoned their red coats for green.

Tarleton’s legion wore a uniform of green.  The mounted men wore light dragoon helmets.

The American troops dressed as best they could. Increasingly, as the war progressed, infantry regiments of the Continental Army took to wearing mostly blue or brown uniform coats.  The American militia continued in rough clothing.

The infantry of both sides were armed with muskets. The British and German infantry carried bayonets.  The Highland Scots troops carried broadswords as an additional weapon.

During the winter of 1777/8 in Valley Forge, Steuben insisted that the American Continental troops be issued with bayonets, whose use Steuben’s training dealt with, so that they could meet the British and German infantry on an equal footing in hand to hand fighting.  This took time to implement in full.

Grenadiers of the Coldstream Guards: Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

Many men in the Pennsylvania and Virginia militia regiments carried rifled weapons, as did other backwoodsmen.  Washington and Steuben were against the use of rifles, as they took longer to load than a smooth bore musket.  In battles such as Cowpens, the accuracy of the American rifles over a long range was an important asset.

Winner of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse: The British won a Pyrrhic victory.

British Regiments at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse:
1 troop of the 17^th Light Dragoons (incorporated in Tarleton’s Legion), 2 composite battalions of Foot Guards (comprising men from the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Foot Guards), 23^rd Royal Welch Fusiliers, 33^rd Foot, 71^st Fraser’s Highlanders (disbanded at the end of the war), Bose’s Hessian Regiment, Light Infantry, Royal Artillery and Tarleton’s Light Dragoons.

American Regiments at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse:
1^st and 5^th Maryland Regiments, Delaware Infantry, 4^th and 5^th Virginia Regiments, Lee’s Legion, Light Infantry, North Carolina Militia, Virginia Militia, Lieutenant-Colonel William Washington’s Light Dragoons and 2 companies of artillery with 4 six pounder guns.

Map of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War: map by John Fawkes

Account of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse:
After two years of the toughest of campaigning in South and North Carolina, Major-General Lord Cornwallis pursued Major-General Nathaniel Greene’s American army, with the intention of defeating him, before launching the final and ill-fated British invasion of Virginia.

After a headlong march, in which he constantly kept ahead of the British force, Greene halted to give battle at Guilford in North Carolina. Greene formed his American army up at the Courthouse.

Light Company man 1st Foot Guards: Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

Cornwallis rushed to attack the Americans on the morning of 15^th March 1781, his troops hungry and tired after the many days marching on short rations.

The British advanced up the road leading to Guilford in column of march, through thickly wooded country leading to an area cleared for grazing, a half-mile short of Guilford Courthouse. Beyond this cleared area, the woods continued until the road reached the Courthouse, where there was another large cleared area.

American Continental soldier: Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

The Americans were formed across the northern edge of the first clearing and into the woods on each side. This first line comprised the North Carolina militia, Washington’s Legion, Lee’s Legion, and Campbell’s riflemen. Lee’s and Washington’s cavalry took the flanks. While there were initially two guns in this first line, they were withdrawn as the battle began.

Three hundred and fifty yards further back, in the woods, was a second line of Virginia Militia and, at a similar distance to the rear, at the Courthouse, was the third American line of two more guns and Greene’s Continental Infantry.

On the advice of Daniel Morgan, Greene placed parties of riflemen behind the North Carolina militia with orders to shoot any militiaman who left his post before he had given the two discharges required of him.

The Americans opened fire as the British appeared at the southern edge of the first clearing.

Cornwallis formed his first line with Bose’s Regiment and the 71^st Highlanders on the right, commanded by Major-General Leslie, and the 23^rd and 33^rd Regiments, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Webster of the 33^rd, on the left.

1st Continental Regiment at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

The British second line comprised the two battalions of Foot Guards, the Light Infantry and the Grenadiers, commanded by Brigadier O’Hara of the Coldstream Guards. Tarleton’s Light Dragoons formed the final reserve.

Light Dragoon: Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

The British line advanced across the cleared area, under heavy musket fire which caused significant casualties. Once they were across the fencing with which the grazing was divided, the British Foot charged and the American militia, having delivered the two volleys ordered, hurried away into the woods.

The British were still under fire from the American troops in the woods on their flanks. The British first line split to deal with this threat and the grenadiers and one battalion of Foot Guards moved into the centre to fill the gap.

The British infantry now attacked the second line of Virginians, who had been reinforced by Washington’s and Lee’s men and some of the North Carolina militia.

Webster pushed hard at the right flank of the American second line and forced it back. His men then attacked the Continental troops in the third line. The American Continentals delivered a heavy fire, followed by a charge, which repelled Webster’s 33rd and O’Hara’s Jaegers and the Foot Guards.

Following the charge, the Continental regiments returned to their positions. The British left flank was reinforced by the 23^rd and the 71^st, returning from the woods on the British left, and the attack was renewed. The American infantry gave ground, but Washington’s dragoons charged the Foot Guards in the rear and an American counter attack led to a savage and confused melee.

Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

At this crisis in the battle, Cornwallis ordered his three guns to fire grape shot into the struggling mass. American and Briton were struck down indiscriminately by this fire, but the American assault was repelled. To hurry the Americans on their way, Tarleton charged the American right flank.

Greene withdrew from the battlefield, leaving his guns to the British.  There was no pursuit.

Cornwallis was left on the field, but his army was in a sad state. He had suffered heavy casualties, which could not be replaced. He had no supplies and it began to rain heavily. Webster, on whom Cornwallis relied, had been killed and O’Hara was wounded.

Battlefield of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

Casualties at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse:
British casualties were 550 dead and wounded. The Foot Guards lost 11 officers out of 19 and 200 soldiers out of 450.
The American casualties were 250 killed, wounded and captured. In addition, the North Carolina militia did not return to Greene’s army after leaving the field, dispersing to their homes.

Follow-up to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse:
Following the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Cornwallis began his move into Virginia, which led finally to Yorktown and the British Army’s surrender.

Liberty Oak: Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

Traditions and anecdotes from the Battle of Guilford Courthouse:

• On the night before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, General Nathaniel Greene and his troops camped around a tree that became known as the ‘Liberty Oak’.
• Daniel Morgan was yet another soldier of the American Revolutionary War who cut his teeth with General Edward Braddock in 1755. Morgan was a cousin of Daniel Boone and was one of Braddock’s teamsters in the doomed campaign against Fort Duquesne.
• A monument was erected near the battlefield to mark where ‘Bugler Boy’ Gillies, Colonel ‘Light Horse Harry’ Lee’s trumpeter was caught and killed by Tarleton’s Legion.
  

  British Foot Guards drummer and soldier: Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15th March 1781 in the American Revolutionary War

References:

History of the British Army by Sir John Fortescue

The War of the Revolution by Christopher Ward

The American Revolution by Brendan Morrissey

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Cowpens

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Yorktown

To the American Revolutionary War index

The savage ‘All American’ battle on 7^th October 1780, where the only Englishman present was the loyalist commander, Major Patrick Ferguson

Major Patrick Ferguson falls shot at the Battle of King’s Mountain on 7th October 1780 in the American Revolutionary War

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Camden

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Cowpens

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Battle: King’s Mountain

War: American Revolutionary War

Date of the Battle of King’s Mountain: 7^th October 1780

Place of the Battle of King’s Mountain: South Carolina, United States of America.

Combatants at the Battle of King’s Mountain: 

Tory or Loyalist Americans against Whig or Patriot American Revolutionaries.

Patrick Ferguson as captain of the light company of the 70th Regiment of Foot: Battle of King’s Mountain on 7th October 1780 in the American Revolutionary War

Commanders at the Battle of King’s Mountain: 

The British officer Major Patrick Ferguson commanded the loyalists. There were several officers of the same rank in the American force: Colonels Shelby, Campbell, McDowell, Sevier, Williams, Lacey, Cleveland, Hambright and Winston.

Size of the armies at the Battle of King’s Mountain:

Numbers are uncertain, but there seem to have been around 1,000 on each side.

Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of King’s Mountain: 

The soldiers in these opposing forces were “irregulars” and, as such, dressed as they felt inclined. The many Revolutionaries from the frontier areas would have dressed as for a hunting expedition.

The Tory militia was issued with muskets and bayonets and may have worn red uniform coats, but probably wore civilian garb. The Revolutionaries brought with them their hunting weapons, in many cases small bore rifled muskets made by the German gunsmiths of Pennsylvania, which they used with devastating effect on the Tories.

Winner of the Battle of King’s Mountain: Resoundingly the American Revolutionaries. The loyalist force was annihilated.

Map of the Battle of King’s Mountain on 7th October 1780 in the American Revolutionary War: map by John Fawkes

Account of the Battle of King’s Mountain:

In September 1780, Major-General Lord Cornwallis, after beating Major-General Gates and the American Revolutionary army at the Battle of Camden in South Carolina, advanced north with the intention of invading North Carolina and Virginia.

Major Ferguson occupied an outpost well to the west of the main British army, with a small force of his own riflemen and a larger band of Tory militia. The militia on each side remained consistently unreliable in battle during the war. The one area in which the Tory militia excelled was in plundering their enemies. Ferguson built for himself an unenviable reputation for ferocity against the rebels.

Battle of King’s Mountain on 7th October 1780 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Frederick Coffay Yohn

A substantial American Revolutionary force gathered against Ferguson; the “over mountain men” from Watauga and men from South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Many of these men were armed with rifled muskets, which they carried all the time and used with considerable skill.

Ferguson retreated before this concentration, sending to Cornwallis for support.

The American force caught up with Ferguson, encamped on the steep and wooded King’s Mountain, on 7^th October 1780.

The Revolutionaries surrounded the Tories on the top of the mountain and a straight battle between bayonet and rifle ensued. The Revolutionaries attacked with the battle cry of ‘Tarleton quarter’.  The Tory militiamen, attempting to drive back the assaulting Revolutionaries at the point of the bayonet, were shot down or driven back, until the survivors were huddled in a group on the summit.

Ferguson suppressed all attempts to surrender, until he was shot from his horse and killed. The Tories threw down their weapons, but the Revolutionaries continued to shoot, despite the efforts of their officers to bring about an end to the carnage. The battle reflected the savagery of the war in the southern colonies. Finally, all the Tories were killed, wounded or captured. Only a party that had been out foraging escaped to warn Cornwallis of the disaster.

Ferguson’s Light Infantry: Battle of King’s Mountain on 7th October 1780 in the American Revolutionary War

Casualties at the Battle of King’s Mountain: 

The Tories suffered 300 dead and wounded and some 700 captured. The Revolutionaries suffered 90 casualties, killed and wounded.

Follow-up to the Battle of King’s Mountain: 

The defeat forced Cornwallis to abandon his plans to invade North Carolina, instead he retreated south.

Anecdotes and traditions from the Battle of King’s Mountain: 

• This was a battle between Americans, the only Britain present being Major Patrick Ferguson. It would be hard to envisage a more savage encounter. King’s Mountain would be an apter candidate for the title of “massacre” than the Battle of Paoli. Following the Battle of King’s Mountain, the American Revolutionaries tried and hanged ten Tory prisoners for offences of pillaging.
• The American cry of ‘Tarleton quarter’, was a reference to the way the British Colonel Banastre Tarleton conducted his operations, that is without mercy. ‘Tarleton quarter’ meant ‘No prisoners’.
• The ‘over mountain men’ came from the frontier settlements to the west of the Appalachian Mountains. Their communities had a long history of conflict with the British authorities, who attempted to restrict colonist settlement in the areas beyond the mountains occupied by the Cherokee Indians.  Once the American Revolutionary War broke out the ‘over mountain men’ were natural revolutionaries.
  

  Mechanism of Ferguson’s rifle: Battle of King’s Mountain on 7th October 1780 in the American Revolutionary War

• Patrick Ferguson, a Scottish gentleman, began his active military career as an officer in the Royal Scots Greys, fighting in Europe during the Seven Years War. After the war, Ferguson transferred to the 70^th Regiment and served in the West Indies, where he bought a sugar plantation for his family.  On his return to England, Ferguson took command of the regiment’s new light company.  In 1775, Ferguson began the design of the Ferguson rifle, taken up by the East India Company and the British Army.  In 1777, Ferguson raised and trained a corps of light infantry, which he took to America in May 1777.  The corps fought in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  Ferguson was severely wounded in the arm at the Battle of Brandywine.  On his partial recovery, Ferguson served on the Hudson River and finally at Charleston and in South Carolina, leading loyalist militia, before meeting his death at the Battle of King’s Mountain.

References for the Battle of King’s Mountain:

History of the British Army by Sir John Fortescue

The War of the Revolution by Christopher Ward

The American Revolution by Brendan Morrissey

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Camden

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Cowpens

To the American Revolutionary War index

Major-General Sir William Howe’s outflanking of General Washington’s position on 11^th September 1777 in the British advance to take Philadelphia

General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by John Vanderlyn

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Bennington

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Freeman’s Farm

To the American Revolutionary War index

General Washington rallying American troops at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Battle: Brandywine Creek

War: American Revolution

Date of the Battle of Brandywine Creek: 11th September 1777

Place of the Battle of Brandywine Creek: Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia.

Combatants at the Battle of Brandywine Creek: British and Hessian troops against the American Continental Army and Militia.

Major-General Sir William Howe: British, British commander at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Generals at the Battle of Brandywine Creek: Major-General Sir William Howe and General George Washington.

Size of the armies at the Battle of Brandywine Creek: Around 6,000 British and Hessians against 8,000 Americans.

Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of Brandywine Creek: 

The British wore red coats, with bearskin caps for the grenadiers, tricorne hats for the battalion companies and caps for the light infantry. The Highland Scots troops wore the kilt and feather bonnet.

The two regiments of light dragoons serving in America, the 16th and 17th, wore red coats and crested leather helmets.

The Hessian infantry wore blue coats and retained the Prussian style grenadier mitre cap with brass front plate.

The Americans dressed as best they could. Increasingly as the war progressed infantry regiments of the Continental Army mostly took to wearing blue uniform coats.  The American militia continued in rough clothing.

Soldier and Officer of the 27th Regiment of Foot: Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Both sides were armed with muskets. The British and German infantry carried bayonets, which were in short supply among the American troops.  The Highland Scots troops carried broadswords.  Many men in the Pennsylvania regiments carried rifled weapons, as did other backwoodsmen.  Both sides were supported by artillery.

Winner of the Battle of Brandywine Creek: The British and Hessians were left occupying the battlefield, after driving the Americans from their position on Brandywine Creek.

British Regiments at the Battle of Brandywine Creek: 
16th Light Dragoons
Two Composite battalions each of grenadiers, light infantry and Foot Guards (1st, 2nd and 3rd Guards)
4^th, 5^th, 10^th, 15^th, 17^th, 23^rd (Royal Welsh Fusiliers), 27^th, 28^th, 33^rd, 37^th, 40^th, 44^th, 46^th, 49^th, 55^th, 64^th Regiments of Foot and three battalions of Fraser’s Highlanders or 71^st Foot.

British Light Dragoon: Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

American Units at the Battle of Brandywine Creek: 
Wayne’s Pennsylvania Brigade, Weeden’s Virginia Brigade, Muhlenburg’s Virginia Brigade, Proctor’s Artillery, Delaware Regiment, Hazen’s Canadian Regiment, Maxwell’s Light Infantry, Colonel Bland’s 1st Dragoons, Pennsylvania Militia, De Borre’s Brigade, Stephen’s Division and Stirling’s Division

Background to the Battle of Brandywine Creek:
The British plan for 1777 was that Major-General Burgoyne would bring his army, comprising British, Hessian, Brunswick and Canadian troops with a strong contingent of Native Americans and Loyalist Americans, south by Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, while Major-General Sir William Howe made his way north up the Hudson River to meet him.

Howe and his senior officers decided that it would be a more effective use of the British New York based army to move it by sea to the Chesapeake Bay and capture the colonist’s capital, Philadelphia.

American battery firing on British Foot Guards as the British begin their attack on General Sullivan’s Division at the Birmingham Friends Meeting House: Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Lord Cantelupe who was present at the battle as an officer of the Coldstream Guards

Howe wrote to Burgoyne informing him of this change of plan.  Burgoyne’s army was left to fight its way south on its own, with disastrous consequences for the British cause.

American troops advancing at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Major-General Sir William Howe’s British and Hessian army was transported by the Royal Navy to Chesapeake Bay and began its march towards Philadelphia.

General George Washington marched his army of American Continental Regiments and Colonial Militia south to Wilmington and attempted to delay the capture of Philadelphia, falling back before the British and Hessian army.

Map of the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: map by John Fawkes

Account of the Battle of Brandywine Creek:
On 9th September 1777, Washington’s army took position along the east bank of the Brandywine Creek at Chad’s Ford (now Chadds Ford).

Chad’s Ford: Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Brandywine Creek flowed through undulating countryside and heavily wooded hills, with steep cliffs along its banks in places. Below Chad’s Ford, the creek became narrower and faster so as to be unfordable.

American 2nd Canadian Continental Regiment: Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

The route to Philadelphia crossed Brandywine Creek at Chad’s Ford, the most southern of a series of fords.  Above Chad’s Ford, other fords crossed the creek up to the point where it divided into east and west branches.

Washington expected Howe’s army to march from Kennett Square, in the West, up to Chad’s Ford and carry out a frontal assault.

Pennsylvania Militia were posted to the left of the Chad’s Ford position, where little threat was perceived. Washington positioned Wayne’s Pennsylvania Continentals, with Weedon’s and Mulenburg’s brigades, in the centre opposite Chad’s Ford, under the command of Major-General Nathaniel Greene.

Major-General John Sullivan commanded on the right of the American army, posting forces under Colonel Moses Hazen at the distant Wistar’s and Buffington’s Fords. Light infantry and piquets were posted to the West of Brandywine Creek, to give warning of the British advance.

During the morning of 11^th September 1777, Major-General Howe’s army arrived at Kennett Meeting House to the West of Chad’s Ford.  There his army divided. The Hessian, Lieutenant-General Knyphausen, led a powerful force on down the road towards Chad’s Ford.

Jeffrey’s Ford: Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

At around noon on 11th September, Knyphausen’s force reached the Brandywine Creek at Chad’s Ford.  His troops comprised Major Patrick Ferguson’s Riflemen and the Queen’s Rangers, followed by two British brigades (4th, 5th, 23rd, 49th, 10th, 27th, 28th, 40th Foot and three battalions of Fraser’s 71st Highlanders) and a Hessian brigade, also a squadron of 16th Light Dragoons and guns.

Knyphausen’s battalions took positions along the hills on the west bank and he began to cannonade the Americans across the river.

In the meantime, the second British column, under Major-General Howe and Major General Lord Cornwallis, marched north from the Kennett Meeting House, to cross the Brandywine Creek some miles upstream of the Chad’s Ford position.

Howe and Cornwallis continued north, until they reached a crossing point that the Americans were not occupying.  This proved to be a ford on the West Branch of Brandywine Creek and Jeffrey’s Ford on the East Branch.  After crossing both branches of the Brandywine Creek, the British turned south, marched through Sconneltown and reached the Birmingham Meeting House, behind Hazen’s troops and threatening the right rear of Washington’s main army.

British Foot Guards resting during the advance to outflank General Washington’s American Army at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

The final stage of Howe’s and Cornwallis’ advance would be to pass Washington’s right flank and cut his army off from Philadelphia.

Birmingham Meeting House: Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Washington appears to have been advised of the British encircling movement by Hazen’s distant troops, but to have discounted the warning for some hours. Washington and his staff were convinced that the main attack was to be a frontal assault over Chad’s Ford. It was not until early afternoon that he was finally persuaded that the main British movement was to his right rear. During that time, he began an assault across the ford, but withdrew it.

On the alarm being given, Sullivan marched his right wing of the American army to the North-East and, joining the retreating Hazen, formed his troops on a hill at the Birmingham Meeting House. Howe’s regiments formed three columns and attacked the Americans.

British 46th Foot attacking at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Finally convinced of his mistake by the sound of heavy firing, Washington dispatched Greene with the American reserve to support Sullivan. By that time the British attack had driven Sullivan’s troops off the hill and Greene and Sullivan were retreating from the field.

At Chad’s Ford, Knyphausen launched an assault across the river, led by the 4th and 5th Foot. A contingent of British Foot Guards and grenadiers from Howe’s force emerged from the forest, where it had been temporarily lost, and attacked the right flank of Washington’s troops at the ford. The Americans were driven from their positions.

American troops at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Frederick Coffay Yohn

The battle ended with the American army withdrawing up the road to Philadelphia in considerable confusion. Nightfall saved the Americans from greater loss.

The British encamped on the battlefield.

Camp of the 16th Light Dragoons the night after the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Lord Cantelupe, present at the battle as an officer of the Coldstream Guards

Casualties at the Battle of Brandywine Creek: 

The British suffered casualties of 550 killed and wounded.

The Americans suffered casualties of around 1,000 killed, wounded and captured and lost 11 guns, 2 of which had been taken at the Battle of Trenton.

Follow-up to the Battle of Brandywine Creek: Brandywine hastened the loss of Philadelphia to the British. Washington was intending only to delay the British advance rather than halt it.

Brandywine is not considered a decisive battle, particularly in the light of the disaster about to engulf Burgoyne’s British and German Army on the Hudson River.

Wounding of the Marquis de Lafayette at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Charles Henry Jeans

Anecdotes from the Battle of Brandywine Creek:

Light Company Man 4th King’s Own Royal Regiment of Foot: Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

• During the course of the Battle of Brandywine, the British officer, Major Patrick Ferguson, was lying in undergrowth with his company of light infantrymen, armed with Ferguson breech loading rifles, when two mounted American officers came into sight. Ferguson’s men asked if they should shoot them.  Ferguson took the view, widely held in the British and other European armies, that to ‘snipe’ individual officers amounted to murder and ordered his men not to fire on the two officers.  After the battle, Ferguson learnt that the two American officers were probably General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette.
• The Battle of Brandywine is a striking example of outmanoeuvring a river position by the expedient of marching an outflanking force along the river, until it finds an undefended crossing point, crossing the river there, and marching back behind the position under attack, while the opposition is ‘fixed’ by a demonstrating force, sufficiently large and vigorous to  deceive the defending general into believing that it is the main attack.
• During the Battle of Brandywine, the British 15^th Regiment of Foot ran out of ball ammunition. The soldiers continued fighting by ‘snapping’ their muskets, or firing with a charge of black powder, to give the impression they were still able to shoot, while more ball was brought up. The regiment took the nickname of ‘the Snappers’.  The standard issue for British troops armed with the ‘Brown Bess’ musket was 24 rounds.  These rounds were quickly fired in heavy fighting.  Systems for re-supplying infantry were haphazard and many regiments, both British and American, found themselves without ammunition during the course of a battle.
• ‘Spring up’ was the command for the British Light Infantry to stand up from the prone firing position. The 10^th Regiment of Foot acquired the nickname ‘the Springers’ from this command.
• 

  Marquis de Lafayette wounded at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

  The Marquis of Lafayette, a French nobleman, went to America at the age of 19 years at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. Lafayette was a close associate and staff officer to General George Washington. Lafayette, wounded at the Battle of Brandywine Creek fighting with Sullivan, became a symbol of French assistance to the Americans, and fought through the Revolutionary War, playing an important part at the Battle of Yorktown, which brought the war to an end.

References for the Battle of Brandywine Creek:

History of the British Army by Sir John Fortescue

The War of the Revolution by Christopher Ward

The American Revolution by Brendan Morrissey

The Philadelphia Campaign Volume I Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia by Thomas J. McGuire

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Bennington

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Freeman’s Farm

To the American Revolutionary War index

The battle fought on 16^th August 1777 that did much to raise the morale of the American colonists and made Brigadier Stark an American hero

Brigadier-General John Stark at the Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Frederick Coffay Yohn

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Hubbardton

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Brandywine Creek

To the American Revolutionary War index

Brigadier John Stark at the Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Alonzo Chapell

War: American Revolutionary War

Date of the Battle of Bennington: 16th August 1777.

Place of the Battle of Bennington: New York State on the road east of the Hudson River towards Vermont.

Combatants at the Battle of Bennington: Germans, British, Canadians, Indians and loyalist Americans from Major-General John Burgoyne’s British Army against American Colonists, largely New England militia.

Commanders at the Battle of Bennington: Colonels Baum and Breyman commanded the Germans. Brigadier John Stark commanded the Americans troops.

Size of the armies at the Battle of Bennington:
Baum’s force numbered 650. Stark lead around 2,000 Americans. Breyman came up with 600 men. Baum and Breyman each had two 3-pounder guns.

German Grenadiers: Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of Bennington:  The British wore red coats, with bearskin caps for the grenadiers, tricorne hats for the battalion companies and caps for the light infantry.

The German infantry wore blue coats and retained the Prussian style grenadier mitre cap with brass front plate.

The Americans dressed as best they could. Increasingly as the war progressed regular infantry regiments of the Continental Army wore blue uniform coats, but the militia continued in rough clothing.

The British and German troops were armed with muskets and bayonets.  The Americans carried muskets, largely without bayonets.  The Pennsylvania regiments and other men of the woods carried long, small calibre, rifled weapons. cannons, mostly of small calibre.

German prisoners pass the attacking American column at the Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Charles Henry Granger

Winner of the Battle of Bennington: Resoundingly, the Americans.

Background to the Battle of Bennington:
By August 1777, Major-General John Burgoyne’s army of British, German and Canadian troops was forcing its way south from Canada, down Lake Champlain, and on to Fort Edward on the Hudson River.

General Schuyler lay with the American Army to the south of the Mohawk River junction on the Hudson, covering the New York State capital, Albany. The rebel colonists’ affairs in the North seemed at a low ebb, after the abject abandoning of Fort Ticonderoga and the hurried retreat south.

American Militiaman: Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Brunswick Dragoon Officer: Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

But Burgoyne’s circumstances were far from promising. His army struggled through the heavy forest from Ticonderoga, building a road to carry the artillery and carts. The Americans systematically wasted the country, leaving Burgoyne’s army short of supplies and reliable transport. Burgoyne’s troops had so few horses that the Brunswick dragoons were still on foot. The difficulties proved yet another reminder of the problems of campaigning in the vast forests of North America, experienced by every British general since General Braddock in 1755.

The final blow was a letter from General Howe at New York, informing Burgoyne that the main British Army was leaving to invade Pennsylvania, rather than advancing up the Hudson River to meet him, as envisaged in the original plan for Burgoyne’s campaign devised by Lord Germaine, the minister in London.

Burgoyne directed Colonel Baum to take a force to Manchester in Vermont, to the East of Fort Edward, to find horses for his dragoons and for the army’s transport, to collect supplies of food and to overawe the area’s rebellious colonists.

At the last moment, Baum’s objective was changed to the town of Bennington, based on reports of supplies being available there.

Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

The retreat of the American Continental Army from Fort Ticonderoga and the advance of the British Army was causing considerable alarm in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Distrusting the aristocratic New Yorker, General Schuyler, who with General St Clair was suspected of treachery in giving up Fort Ticonderoga, the New Hampshire Council formed a militia brigade commanded by Brigadier John Stark.

Hessian troops on the march: Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Stark, a veteran of the French and Indian War and the New Jersey campaign, was highly regarded in the region and colonists flocked to join his force. His brigade lay in camp at Bennington. Warner’s Green Mountain Boys, licking their wounds after the Battle of Hubbardton, were at Manchester.

As the German officer Colonel Baum advanced on Bennington, his Indians ravaged the countryside. After a skirmish with a small force under Colonel Gregg, Baum advanced to the Walloomsac River outside Bennington.

From there, Baum sent a dispatch to Burgoyne, saying he intended to give battle to the Americans at Bennington. It became clear to Baum that he was substantially outnumbered by Stark’s force. Baum sent further more urgent messages to Burgoyne, requesting support, and Burgoyne ordered Colonel Breyman with his regiment to march to Baum’s assistance.

Map of the Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: map by John Fawkes

Account of the Battle of Bennington:
The battle took place on 16th August 1777, before Breyman’s slow moving column came up.

Baum’s force lay in positions around the bridge over the Walloomsac River. Some of his troops were in hastily prepared fortification on the south side of the river, while others were on the north side. The main position was a redoubt built by the Brunswick dragoons and British riflemen, on a hill half a mile back from the bridge.

For much of 16^th August, movement for both sides was held up by heavy rain. In mid-afternoon, the Americans began their assault on the dragoon redoubt; Colonel Nichols and Colonel Herrick attacking from the rear and flank.

Brigadier John Stark leads the New Hampshire Militia at the Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

On hearing the firing, the American Colonel Hobart attacked the Tory militia entrenched on the near side of the river and Brigadier Stark assaulted the main advanced body of German and British troops.

All of Baum’s positions collapsed, most of the soldiers and Indians escaping into the woods, other than the dragoon redoubt, which became the focus of heavy fighting. Finally lack of ammunition forced a severely wounded Baum and the remnants of his dragoons to surrender. His force had been annihilated.

Sometime later, Breyman’s column approached the area. Stark, with Warner’s newly arrived troops, attacked the Germans and, after an initial setback, forced them to retreat.  The pursuing Americans subjected the German troops to a continuous galling fire until night fell.

British and German prisoners after the Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Casualties at the Battle of Bennington:
The German force suffered 900 casualties, killed, wounded and captured. The Americans suffered 70 casualties. The Americans captured the four guns and many small arms.

Brigadier John Stark leads the New Hampshire Militia at the Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Follow-up to the Battle of Bennington:
Prior to the battle, a serious clash was impending between Congress and the New Hampshire Council, over Stark’s refusal to comply with the instructions issued by Schuyler, to bring his brigade into the army on the Hudson. Following the battle Stark was appointed brigadier in the Continental Army.

Bennington was a major battle in establishing the ability of the Americans to hold their own against regular European troops. It also made Stark one of the leading soldiers of the Revolution.

As with every one of the American victories, the Battle of Bennington did much to revive the colonists’ flagging morale and raise the standing of the American cause in the eyes of major European powers such as France and Spain, whose intervention in the war became increasingly likely.

The Battle of Bennington caused major casualties to Burgoyne’s army that could not be replaced.

Statue of Brigadier John Stark on the Bennington Battle Memorial: Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Anecdotes and traditions from the Battle of Bennington:

• The Battle of Bennington is celebrated in Vermont as ‘Battle Day’ annually on 16th August.
• Brigadier John Stark, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was the American commander at the Battle of Bennington.  In 1752, Stark, while hunting, was captured by Abenaki Indians who made him run the gauntlet.  Stark grabbed a club and attacked the Indians who were so impressed by his courage that he was adopted into the tribe, although later ransomed.   Stark fought through the French and Indian War as an officer in Roger’s Rangers.  With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Stark became colonel in the New Hampshire Militia.  Stark fought at the Battles of Bunker Hill, Trenton and Princeton, before returning to New Hampshire to raise more men for the Continental Army and leading the Americans at the Battle of Bennington.  There are statues to John Stark on the Bennington Battle Memorial and in Stark Park, Manchester, New Hampshire.

References for the Battle of Bennington:

History of the British Army by Sir John Fortescue

The War of the Revolution by Christopher Ward

The American Revolution by Brendan Morrissey

Saratoga by Richard Ketchum

Battle of Bennington on 16th August 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Granma Moses

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Hubbardton

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Brandywine Creek

To the American Revolutionary War index

The sequel on 3^rd January 1777 to the successful Battle of Trenton: the two battles began the resurgence of the fortunes of the American Colonists in the Revolutionary War

The Charge of the British 17th Foot at the Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Trenton

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Ticonderoga 1777

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General Washington’s charge at the Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Battle: Princeton

War: American Revolutionary War

Date of the Battle of Princeton: 3^rd January  1777

Place of the Battle of Princeton: Princeton in New Jersey, United States of America

Combatants at the Battle of Princeton: Americans against the British

General George Washington at the Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Charles Willson Peale

Generals at the Battle of Princeton: General George Washington against Major General Lord Cornwallis

Size of the armies at the Battle of Princeton: 7,000 Americans against 8,000 British and Hessians, of whom 1,200 British troops were principally engaged.

Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of Princeton: 

The British wore red coats, with bearskin caps for the grenadiers, tricorne hats for the battalion companies and caps for the light infantry. The Highland Scots troops wore the kilt and feather bonnet.

The two regiments of light dragoons serving in America, the 16th and 17th, wore red coats and crested leather helmets.

The Americans dressed as best they could. Increasingly as the war progressed infantry regiments of the Continental Army wore blue uniform coats, but the militia continued in rough clothing.

Both sides were armed with muskets. The British infantry carried bayonets, which were in short supply among the American troops.  The Highland Scots troops carried broadswords.  Many men of the Pennsylvania regiments carried rifled weapons.  Both sides were supported by artillery.

Winner of the Battle of Princeton:
The Americans outmanoeuvred the British and escaped Cornwallis’s encircling move.

The troops of Colonel Mawhood’s two British regiments, the 17^th and 55^th Foot, must be considered the heroes of the battle.

British Regiments at the Battle of Princeton: 
The only regiments actively engaged in the battle were: the 16^th Light Dragoons, 17^th Foot, 40^th Foot and 55^th Foot.

Map of the Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: map by John Fawkes

Account of the Battle of Princeton:
Following the surprise of the Hessians under Colonel Rahl at the Battle of Trenton on 25^th December 1776, on the next day, General Washington withdrew to the west bank of the Delaware River. He intended to return within a few days to attempt a recovery of New Jersey from the British. Meanwhile, hearing of the Trenton success, the American officer Brigadier Cadwalader crossed the river to the east bank where he found his force to be unsupported.

American troops attacking at the Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Frederick Coffay Yohn

Between 29^th and 31^st December 1776, Washington brought his troops back across the river into Trenton. He there received information that Lord Cornwallis and Major General Grant were at Princeton with 8,000 British troops and artillery and about to advance upon him. Washington’s force numbered 1,500 soldiers. Cadwalader was south of Trenton with 2,100 Americans, while at Bordenton, General Mifflin waited with 1,600 Pennsylvania militia.

Washington faced the curious crisis that arose on several occasions during the war, that many of his soldiers were about to become “time expired”. That is their period of enlistment lapsed at midnight on 31^st December 1776. With some frantic bargaining, many of these men were persuaded to stay for a further six weeks.

George Washington leading the American attack at the Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Alonzo Chapell

Washington’s army was formed of two groups; recently embodied militia, well dressed and fed, but almost devoid of training or experience, and Continental Army soldiers, experienced and hardy, but almost destitute and exhausted.

On 2^nd January 1777, Lord Cornwallis advanced with his British troops from Princeton towards Trenton, leaving Lieutenant Colonel Mawhood with the 17^th, 40^th, and 55^th Foot at Princeton, and General Leslie with the 2^nd Brigade at Maidenhead on the Trenton road. Cornwallis’s force comprised 5,500 troops and twenty-eight guns up to the size of 12 pounder.

The American troops in position to the south-west of Maidenhead on the Trenton road were Fermoy’s brigade, Colonel Hand’s Pennsylvania riflemen, a German battalion, Scott’s Virginia Continentals and two guns.

Death of Brigadier Hugh Mercer at the Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by John Trumbull

The weather was wet and the roads muddy. Cornwallis advanced, driving the Americans back to Trenton. Resisting strongly, the American troops were forced through the town to their positions on the south bank of the Assunpink River. Attempts were made that evening by the British to cross the creek and force the American lines, but in the face of stiff resistance the crossing was postponed to the morning.

Following a council of war held on the evening of 2^nd January 1777, General Washington resolved to move before his army was attacked and overwhelmed the next day. In the middle of the night, the Americans left fires burning and marched off to the east and then to the north towards Princeton.

British Officer and Grenadiers: Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Light infantry led the American column, followed by Brigadier Hugh Mercer’s brigade. The road was a new one and led through dense woods curving round the river and to the North. As the troops marched a cold wind set in, freezing the muddy roads and aiding movement.

As the Americans approached the Princeton road, a rumour passed along the column that the Hessians were attacking. Some of the inexperienced militia turned and fled south. Soon afterwards, the column split, with Mercer’s and Cadwalader’s men turning west towards Trenton in case Cornwallis’s regiments came up, the rest continuing towards Princeton.

At dawn that day, a British force set out from Princeton to march to Maidenhead and join General Leslie, comprising the 17th Foot, the 55th Foot and a troop of the 16th Light Dragoons, all commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mawhood. In the early morning mist the British mistook Mercer’s Americans for Hessians and then for a small party of Americans they assumed must be fleeing from Cornwallis. Realising his error, Mawhood attempted to position his force in an orchard and a fierce fight developed around the orchard against the Americans who had already occupied it. Each side brought two cannon into action.

After an exchange of volleys, Mawhood ordered his men to charge and the Americans, largely lacking bayonets, fell back. Mercer attempted to rally his brigade, but was struck down and mortally wounded with several of his officers.

Seeing Cadwalader’s men coming up, Mawhood fell back to the support of his guns and with their discharges of grape shot dispersed the advancing Americans.

General George Washington rallying the American troops at the Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by William Tylee Ranney

General Washington rode up and attempted to rally the survivors of the two brigades, but without success. That is until support arrived from Sullivan’s division: Rhode Island Continentals, Pennsylvania Riflemen and the 7th Virginia Continentals. The Americans renewed the attack on Mawhood’s hard pressed troops.

George Washington after the Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Charles Willson Peale

The two guns that had accompanied Mercer had not retreated and were still in action. Sullivan’s division came up and the fire on the British foot was redoubled. Assailed by overwhelming numbers, Mawhood ordered his men to charge.  The 17th and 55th Foot broke through with the bayonet and, covered by the light dragoons, fought their way down the road towards Maidenhead.

Some of the 55th fell back in the other direction, towards Princeton where they joined the 40th. Most of these two regiments hurried away north towards New Brunswick, but several soldiers took refuge in the Nassau Hall in Princeton, where they later surrendered to Captain Alexander Hamilton, 194 in number.

Washington pursued Mawhood down the Trenton road, until he found himself confronted by the returning troops of Cornwallis’s main force. Washington turned and marched hurriedly for Princeton, leaving the two British guns that had been taken on the field. Cornwallis’s advance was swift and the Americans were forced to march on from Princeton, without securing the extensive supplies the British had stored in the town. The American army marched up the New Brunswick road, but turned off to Morristown. The British continued to New Brunswick, now their only position in New Jersey.

Casualties at the Battle of Princeton:
Casualties were not heavy. The British lost only 40 dead, 58 wounded and 187 missing. The Americans lost a number of able officers: General Mercer, Colonel Haslet and several others. They also lost 40 soldiers killed and wounded.

The soldiers captured briefly by Captain Alexander Hamilton were left in Princeton.

Statue of Hugh Mercer at Fredericksburg, Virginia: Battle of Princeton 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

Follow-up to the Battle of Princeton:
The effect of the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton was to clear most of New Jersey of British troops. The battles impressed upon the European powers that the Americans were able to confront the British Army and the decisive intervention of France and Spain in the Revolutionary War came a step closer.

General George Washington showed himself to be a leader of resource and decision.

Anecdotes and traditions from the Battle of Princeton:

• Hugh Mercer, killed leading his brigade at the Battle of Princeton, arrived in America as a fugitive from the Jacobite Army of 1745, having acted as a medical officer at the Battle of Culloden. Mercer served as a British officer in the French and Indian War, becoming a friend of George Washington.  After that war, Mercer settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and resumed medical practice.  With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Mercer was appointed brigadier in the Continental Army and fought at the battles in New York.  It is possible that Mercer proposed to Washington the daring attack on Rahl’s Hessians at Trenton on 25^th December 1776.  At the Battle of Princeton, Mercer’s horse was killed.  The British troops called on Mercer to surrender and when he continued to resist he was bayoneted. John Trumbull painted a picture entitled ‘Death of Hugh Mercer at the Battle of Princeton’ (see above).  In Charles Willson Peale’s picture of George Washington at the Battle of Princeton (see above), the mortally wounded Brigadier Hugh Mercer lies in the background.
  

  General George Washington arriving in Morristown, New Jersey, after the Battle of Princeton on 3rd January 1777 in the American Revolutionary War

  A statue in Fredericksburg commemorates Hugh Mercer.

• John Trumbull’s picture ‘the Death of Hugh Mercer at the Battle of Princeton’ (see above) also shows the mortal wounding of a British officer, Captain William Leslie of the 17^th Foot, on the right of the picture. William Leslie was the son of the Earl of Leven and a friend of George Washington’s surgeon at the Battle of Princeton, Benjamin Rush.  Washington caused Leslie to be buried with full military honours at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Pluckemin, New Jersey.
• Also shown in John Trumbull’s picture is the death of an American officer, Captain Daniel Neil, on the left of the picture bayoneted against a cannon. General Washington appears in the centre background of the picture, with Benjamin Rush behind him.  Rush was a signatory to the Declaration of Independence.

References for the Battle of Princeton:

• History of the British Army by Sir John Fortescue
• The War of the Revolution by Christopher Ward
• The American Revolution by Brendan Morrissey

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Trenton

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Ticonderoga 1777

To the American Revolutionary War index

George Washington’s iconic victory on 26^th December 1776 over Colonel Rahl’s Hessian troops after crossing the frozen Delaware River; the battle that re-invigorated the American Revolution

Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Fort Washington

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Princeton

To the American Revolutionary War index

Battle: Trenton

War: American Revolution

George Washington at the Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War

Date of the Battle of Trenton: 26th December 1776

George Washington before the Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by John Trumbull

Place of the Battle of Trenton: Trenton, New Jersey, on the Delaware River in the United States of America

Combatants at the Battle of Trenton: Americans against Hessians and British troops

Generals at the Battle of Trenton: General George Washington against the Hessian Colonel Rahl.

Size of the armies at the Battle of Trenton:
2,400 American troops with 18 guns against 1,400 Hessians with 6 light guns.  A troop of the British 16th Light Dragoons left Trenton at the onset of the fighting.

Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of Trenton:  The two regiments of British light dragoons that served in America, the 16th and 17th, wore red coats and leather crested helmets.

The Hessian infantry wore blue coats and retained the Prussian style grenadier mitre cap with brass front plate.

The Americans dressed as best they could. Increasingly as the war progressed regular infantry regiments of the Continental Army wore blue uniform coats, but the militia continued in rough clothing.

Both sides were armed with muskets, bayonets and cannon, mostly of small calibre. The Pennsylvania regiments and other men of the woods carried long, small calibre, rifled weapons.

Hessian troops arriving in America; Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War

Hessian troops: Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War

Hessian Troops at the Battle of Trenton:  The British Government was unable to recruit sufficient British troops to fight the American Revolutionary War.  There was considerable sympathy in Britain for the cause of the American Colonists and many considered the American Revolutionary War to be a proxy civil war between the privileged British establishment and the ordinary British citizen.

To make up the shortfall in troops, the British Government turned to its resort from previous wars of paying subsidies to German princelings to provide the troops it needed.  The primary source of German troops was Hesse-Kassel, hence the frequent use of ‘Hessians’ to describe any German troops in British pay in the Revolutionary War.

The deployment of German troops provided the Americans with a useful propaganda tool.

In fact, the Hessian troops were largely well-disciplined, and often better behaved than British troops.  Many settled in the United States once the war was over.

George Washington after crossing the Delaware River: Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War

Winner at the Battle of Trenton: The battle was a resounding actual and moral victory for Washington and his American troops.

Map of the Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War: map by John Fawkes

Account of the Battle of Trenton:
After being driven out of New York by the British and forced to retreat to the West bank of the Delaware during the late summer of 1776, the American cause was at a low ebb. In the harsh winter, Washington was faced with the annual crisis of the expiry of the Continental Army’s period of enlistment. He resolved to attack the Hessian position at Trenton at the extreme southern end of the over-extended British line along the Delaware, before his army dispersed.

George Washington leading his troops to the attack at the Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Frederick Coffay Yohn

Washington’s plan was to cross the Delaware River at three points; the first by a force commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Cadwallader, with a Rhode Island regiment, some Pennsylvanians, Delaware militia and two guns; a second force under Brigadier Ewing of militia; and the third commanded by himself, which would cross the river above Trenton and attack the Hessian garrison in the town. Washington had, as his subordinates, Major Generals Nathaniel Greene and John Sullivan.

Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Charles McBarron

In his force, Washington led some 2,400 men from Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.

Washington’s force paraded in the afternoon of 25^th December 1776 and set off for the Delaware River, where they embarked in a flotilla of the characteristic Delaware River boats.

It was a cold, dark night and the river was running with flowing ice. At about 11pm, a heavy snow and sleet storm broke. Washington’s force did not reach the east bank until around 3am on 26^th December 1776. His soldiers were badly clothed and many did not have shoes.

After landing in New Jersey, Washington’s men marched to Trenton, some of the men leaving traces of blood on the snow.

Hessian troops: Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War

The German garrison comprised the regiments of Rahl, Knyphausen and Lossberg, with Hessian jaegers and a troop of the British 16th Light Dragoons.

The Hessian commander, Colonel Rahl, had been ordered to construct defence works around the town, but had not troubled to do so. On the night before the attack, Rahl was at dinner when he was brought information that the Americans were approaching. He ignored the message which was found in his pocket after his death.

The main American force under Washington entered Trenton from the north-west. Sullivan marched around the town and attacked from the south. The rest of the American force took a position to the north-east cutting off the Hessians’ retreat.

The Hessians attempted to form in the town, but were under artillery fire and attack from front and rear.  The Americans occupied the houses and shot down the German gunners and foot soldiers in the streets.

Surrender of Colonel Rahl to General George Washington at the Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by John Trumbull

Colonel Rahl was fatally wounded. His troops retreated to an orchard in the south-east of the town, where they surrendered.

Ewing and Cadwallader failed to make the river crossing and took no part in the attack.

Casualties at the Battle of Trenton: The Americans suffered 4 wounded casualties. It is said that in addition 2 American soldiers froze to death. The Hessians suffered 20 killed and around 100 wounded. 1,000 were captured.

Captain William Washington and Lieutenant James Monroe were wounded in the battle, the only American officer casualties.

Captured Hessian troops paraded through Philadelphia after the Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War

Follow-up to the Battle of Trenton: After the Battle of Trenton, the captured Hessian troops were paraded through the streets of Philadelphia.

The effect of the battle of Trenton was out of all proportion to the numbers involved and the casualties. The American effort across the colonies was galvanized and the psychological dominance achieved by the British in the preceding year was overturned.

George Washington crossing the Delaware River at the Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Emanuel Leutze

The British commander-in-chief Lieutenant General William Howe was stunned to hear that a strong German contingent had been surprised in such a manner and put up so little resistance.

Washington’s constant problem was to maintain the enthusiasm of his army for the war, particularly with the system of one year recruitment, and Trenton proved a much-needed encouragement.

Anecdotes and traditions from the Battle of Trenton:

• 

  General George Washington with Captain Alexander Hamilton at their first meeting: Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Alonzo Chapell

  Washington’s army crossing the Delaware in the freezing conditions before the Battle of Trenton, on the night of 25^th December 1776, has become an important national image for the United States as shown in Emmanuel Leutze’s picture.

• Present at the battle were: two other future presidents, James Madison and James Monroe, the future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Marshall and Aaron Burr. One of the American artillery sections was commanded by Captain Alexander Hamilton.

References for the Battle of Trenton:

History of the British Army by Sir John Fortescue

The War of the Revolution by Christopher Ward

The American Revolution by Brendan Morrissey

George Washington takes the surrender of Colonel Rahl: Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Fort Washington

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Princeton

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The unsuccessful American invasion of Canada and attack on Quebec on 31^st December 1775

Death of General Richard Montgomery in the attack on Quebec on 31st December 1775 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by John Trumbull

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Bunker Hill

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Sullivan’s Island

To the American Revolutionary War index

Major-General Richard Montgomery: Battle of Quebec on 31st December 1775 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Alonzo Chapell

Battle: Quebec 1775

War: American Revolution

Date of the Battle of Quebec 1775: 31^st December 1775

Place of the Battle of Quebec 1775: Quebec in Canada.

Combatants at the Battle of Quebec 1775: American troops attacked a force comprised of British recruits and French Canadian militia and volunteers.

Generals at the Battle of Quebec 1775: The Governor of Canada, Guy Carleton, and Colonel Allen Maclean commanded the British forces.

Major General Benedict Arnold and Brigadier Richard Montgomery commanded the American troops. Montgomery was a half pay British officer.

Size of the armies at the Battle of Quebec 1775: There were round 1,200 troops on each side.

Guy Carleton, British Governor of Canada: Battle of Quebec on 31st December 1775 in the American Revolutionary War

Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of Quebec 1775: Each side wore whatever clothing was available to them, other than the small party of British recruits who may have been in uniform. Weapons were muskets and bayonets. The British had the benefit of the heavy guns on the city’s fortifications.

Winner of the Battle of Quebec 1775: The British and French-Canadian garrison drove off the American attack and ended the threat to the British control of Canada.

British Regiments at the Battle of Quebec 1775: It is unknown which regiments were represented in the garrison.

Map of the Battle of Quebec on 31st December 1775 in the American Revolutionary War: map by John Fawkes

Account of the Battle of Quebec 1775:  While General Washington, with the American Continental Army, was blockading the British garrison in Boston, Brigadier Montgomery led an American attack up the Lake Champlain route into Canada and General Arnold took his American force across country through Maine. The purpose of the invasion of Canada was to bring the French-Canadian population into the war on the American side, to take control of the sea route from Britain to the St Lawrence River and to drive the British out of Canada.

American colonists under Major-General Benedict Arnold advancing through Maine: Battle of Quebec on 31st December 1775 in the American Revolutionary War

The Americans captured Fort St John and Montreal. In late October 1775, Arnold arrived on Point Levis across the St Lawrence from Quebec, having lost a substantial part of his force on the punishing journey from New England.

American troops advancing into Canada: Battle of Quebec on 31st December 1775 in the American Revolutionary War

Fighting at Montreal in September 1775: Battle of Quebec on 31st December 1775 in the American Revolutionary War

The Americans under Arnold underestimated the distances they would be forced to travel and ran out of supplies.  They were forced to eat their shoes and equipment and many died.The British officer, Colonel Maclean, hearing of Arnold’s march on Quebec, force marched his recruits from Sorel to Quebec, being joined later by Carleton.

On 13th November 1775, Arnold took his force across the St Lawrence to the north bank, climbed onto the Plains of Abraham, and summoned the garrison to surrender or come out and fight. The garrison did neither. Arnold launched a night attack that was beaten back.

On 31st December 1775, with the addition of Montgomery’s troops, and in a snowstorm, Arnold launched night attacks at either end of the city.

Street fighting between the British and French-Canadians and the American attackers: Battle of Quebec on 31st December 1775 in the American Revolutionary War

Arnold led the assault along the north-east side of Quebec, while Montgomery’s troops attacked along the southern shore.

Marinus Willet, lieutenant-colonel of the 3rd New York Regiment: Battle of Quebec on 31st December 1775 in the American Revolutionary War

The garrison was alerted by premature feint attacks on other parts of the city perimeter. Montgomery’s assault was repelled with heavy grapeshot from the cannon on the city walls and Montgomery was killed.

Arnold’s attack penetrated the city wall but he was wounded. Maclean arrived from dealing with Montgomery’s assault and led a counter attack. The American troops who had penetrated the walls were captured and the assault was driven off.

Casualties at the Battle of Quebec 1775: British and Canadian losses were 20. The American losses were around 500.

Follow-up to the Battle of Quebec 1775: Following the battle, the Americans withdrew from Canada and no further serious attempt to bring the Canadian population into the war on the American side was made.

Governor Guy Carleton pursued the retreating Americans down the Lake Champlain route forcing the Americans to abandon their ships and boats and continue south overland.

Anecdotes from the Battle of Quebec 1775: 

•  Major-General Richard Montgomery, killed during the American attack on Quebec on 31^st December 1775, was a half-pay British officer. Montgomery first went to America in 1757, as an officer in the British 17^th  He fought at the Siege of Louisburg in 1758. In 1762, Montgomery, with the 17^th Foot, took part in the attack on Fort Moro during the capture of Havana.  On the return of the 17^th Foot to New York, Montgomery served in the War of Pontiac’s Conspiracy in 1764.  After the war, Montgomery went to England with his regiment.  In 1772, Montgomery left the British army and returned to New York Colony, intending to farm, and married.  On the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, Montgomery was appointed brigadier in the new American Continental Army and placed in command of the attack on British Canada.  By the time of his death in the attack on Quebec on 31^st December 1775, Montgomery had been promoted major-general in the American Continental Army. The death of General Montgomery was the subject of one of John Trumbull’s paintings of the American Revolutionary War (see above).
  

  Benedict Arnold’s attack at the Battle of Quebec on 31st December 1775 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Frederick Coffay Yohn

• Major-General Benedict Arnold was a fiery military leader, inspirational in action but unreliable in character. Arnold led his troops on the difficult journey across the Maine back-country, running out of supplies on the way.  His attack on Quebec was beaten back after the death of Montgomery and the release of MacDonald’s British troops to join the garrison fighting Arnold’s force.  After playing a major role in the defeat of the British General Burgoyne at Saratoga, Arnold was appointed the military commander in Philadelphia.  Arnold there married a loyalist woman and began corresponding with the British.  In 1780, Arnold was appointed to command the fortified post at West Point.  Arnold’s treachery in intending to deliver the post was discovered and he fled to the British.  His British contact, Major Andre, was hanged as a spy.  After the Revolutionary War, Arnold lived in England, Canada and the West Indies.  He was heavily criticised by British officers for his treachery during the American Revolutionary War and is reputed to have fought two duels in England.
• One of Montgomery’s officers in the attack on Quebec was Daniel Morgan.  Morgan was captured by the British.  On his exchange, Morgan found he had been promoted colonel.  He was required to re-raise his regiment of Virginian riflemen.  Morgan went on to command the American army at the highly successful Battle of Cowpens.

References for the Battle of Quebec 1775:

• History of the British Army by Sir John Fortescue
• The War of the Revolution by Christopher Ward

The previous battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Bunker Hill

The next battle of the American Revolutionary War is the Battle of Sullivan’s Island

To the American Revolutionary War index

Battles of the War of the American Revolution 1775 to 1783:

First Shots fired at Lexington on 19th April 1775 in the American Revolutionary War

10. Podcast: Introduction to the American War of the Revolution, 1775–1783: John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.

John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.

Introduction (below):

Battle of Lexington and Concord: The opening shots of the American Revolutionary War on 19^th April 1775, that ‘echoed around the world’.

Battle of Bunker Hill: The British ‘Pyrrhic Victory’ on 17^th June 1775 in the opening weeks of the American Revolutionary War.

Battle of Quebec 1775: The unsuccessful American invasion of Canada and attack on Quebec on 31^st December 1775.

Battle of Sullivan’s Island:  The successful defence of Fort Sullivan on 28^th June 1776 by Charleston’s recruit artillerymen against a powerful Royal Navy squadron.

Battle of Long Island: The disastrous defeat of the Americans on 27^th August 1776 leading to the loss of New York and the retreat to the Delaware River.

Battle of Harlem Heights:  The skirmish on 16^th September 1776 in northern New York island that restored the confidence of the American troops.

Battle of White Plains: The battle on 28^th October 1776, leading to the American withdrawal to the Delaware River and the capture of Fort Washington by the British.

Battle of Fort Washington: The battle on 16^th November 1776 that saw the American army forced off Manhattan Island and compelled to retreat to the Delaware River.

Battle of Trenton:  George Washington’s iconic victory on 26^th December 1776 over Colonel Rahl’s Hessian troops after crossing the frozen Delaware River; the battle that re-invigorated the American Revolution.

Battle of Princeton:  The sequel on 3^rd January 1777 to the successful Battle of Trenton: the two battles began the resurgence of the fortunes of the American Colonists in the Revolutionary War.

Battle of Ticonderoga 1777: The humiliating American abandonment of Fort Ticonderoga on 6^th July 1777 to General Burgoyne’s British army.

Battle of Hubbardton:  The hard-fought battle on 7^th July 1777 in the forest south-east of Fort Ticonderoga.

Battle of Bennington: The battle fought on 16^th August 1777 that did much to raise the morale of the American colonists and made Brigadier Stark an American hero.

Battle of Brandywine Creek:  Major-General Sir William Howe’s outflanking of General Washington’s position on 11^th September 1777 in the British advance to take Philadelphia.

Battle of Freeman’s Farm: The Battle fought on 19^th September 1777 General Burgoyne had to win decisively but failed to do so.

Battle of Paoli:  The surprise night attack on 20^th/21^st September 1777 by the British on the camp of General ‘Mad Anthony’ Wayne’s Pennsylvanians: also known as the ‘Paoli Massacre’.

Battle of Germantown: General George Washington’s unsuccessful attempt on 4^th October 1777 to retake Philadelphia; the battle that helped convince the French and Spanish the American cause was worth supporting with military and naval intervention against Britain.

Battle of Saratoga:  The surrender of General Burgoyne’s British Army to the American Colonists on 17^th October 1777, bringing France and Spain into the war.

Battle of Monmouth:  The battle fought on 28^th June 1778 by the American Continental Army against the British, after the 1777/8 winter spent training under Steuben.

Siege of Savannah:  The unsuccessful attempt by the Americans and the French to re-take Savannah, Georgia, on 9^th October 1779.

Siege of Charleston:  The siege and capture of Charleston, capital of South Carolina, by the British on 12^th May 1780.

Battle of Camden:  The British victory on 16^th August 1780 over General Horatio Gates in North Carolina.

Battle of King’s Mountain: The savage ‘All American’ battle on 7^th October 1780, where the only Englishman present was the loyalist commander, Major Patrick Ferguson.

Battle of Cowpens: Daniel Morgan’s victory over the notorious Tarleton on 17^th January 1781.

Battle of Guilford Courthouse: Cornwallis’s Pyrrhic victory over Nathaniel Green in the North Carolina countryside on 15^th March 1781.

Battle of Yorktown: General George Washington’s resounding victory and the surrender of Lord Cornwallis’s British army on 19th October 1781; the end for Britain in the American Colonies.

Siege of Gibraltar: The siege of Gibraltar, between 8^th July 1779 and 2^nd February 1783, whose defence under General Eliott so inspired Great Britain at a time of defeat in the American Revolutionary War: Podcast of The Great Siege of Gibraltar.

Battle of Cape St Vincent 1780:  ‘The Moonlight Battle’: Admiral Sir George Rodney’s decisive naval victory on 16^th January 1780 over a Spanish Fleet, that enabled Rodney to re-supply Gibraltar.

Map of the American Colonies at the outbreak of war in 1775

George Washington: picture by Jean Béraud

Introduction:

On the outbreak of the war, the American colonies were, from North to South; New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut (making up New England), New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

The principal cities were Boston in Massachusetts, New York, Philadelphia, the colonial capital of Pennsylvania, and Charleston, the capital of South Carolina.

10. Podcast: Introduction to the American War of the Revolution, 1775–1783: John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.

To the North of the colonies, lay the British province of Canada, with its mainly French speaking population, and to the West the hinterland of the American landmass.

The American colonies differed widely. The New England colonies were established and settled largely by English Presbyterians and comprised small close knit farming communities, with fishing and trading centres along the coast. The populations were inward looking and intolerant of outsiders.

The signing of the Declaration of Independence 4th July 1776 : Picture by John Trumbull

Boston was a busy port, reputed to be one of the wealthiest in the English speaking world.

New York contained a polyglot population of Dutch, Swedes and English. Upstate New York contained large estates. The Hudson River, a main communications artery, was the centre of considerable trading activity. The large state area contained a substantial Indian presence from the Iroquois Six Nations confederation, particularly the Mohawks.

Pennsylvania, established by the Quaker Penn family, had been hamstrung in the early part of the 18th Century by the stranglehold the Quakers maintained on government. The population, particularly in the West of the colony, was largely German and Scotch-Irish with little commitment to the British Crown. The colony was a prosperous community of small farmers. In the East lay Philadelphia, the largest city in the American colonies and the first capital of the United States.

Massachusetts militia, ‘the Minutemen’, turning out to oppose the British march to Concord on 19th April 1775 at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War

Virginia and the southern colonies were different in character. Tobacco growing along the ‘Tideway’ coastline was the backbone of the Virginian economy. Ships from England collected the tobacco and delivered, in exchange, goods that enabled the most successful planters to maintain the lavish lifestyle of English country gentlemen. More than fifty per cent of the colony’s population comprised African slaves. In the remote western regions of the colony, colonists cut farmsteads from the forests and maintained a precarious existence, in the face of resistance from the native American tribes.

The Carolinas and Georgia, the most recently established colonies, were similar in character and outlook to Virginia.

The relationship between the American colonies and the British Crown was complex and turbulent. In each colony, the Royal Governor had historically been at odds with the Assembly of elected leading colonials, usually over taxation. Pennsylvania, where the Penn family exempted themselves from financial contribution to the running of the colony, was an example of the almost unworkable system that had grown up.

King George III and the Prince of Wales reviewing troops: picture by Sir William Beechey

The main element that kept the colonies and the British Crown in uneasy alliance was the threat from France, with its powerful base along the St Lawrence seaway in Canada and along the western borders of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The long and agonising French and Indian War between 1755 and 1762 saw the French forced out of Canada, with Britain assuming government of the French population, and the American colonies released from the threat of French invasion and dominance.

The Seven Years War, fought in Europe, India and the West Indies, left Britain with considerable debt. The British government considered the American colonies should contribute to the reduction of that debt and many of the measures that brought about the Revolutionary War were to that end.

Following the French and Indian War, a substantial British garrison remained in America. 18th Century armies were not easy guests, particularly with their practices of enforced and fraudulent recruitment. The redcoats became as unpopular in the towns and villages of New England as they were in ‘Old’ England. The relationship between the royal troops and their provincial colleagues in the war against the French had been far from easy. The royal officers tended to be contemptuous of the professionalism of the provincials and the colonies resented the loss of life in battles like Ticonderoga, brought about by the incompetence of royal officers. A dispute that simmered throughout the French and Indian War arose from the ranking of provincial officers beneath royal officers. George Washington found this particularly galling.

Waterfront of Philadelphia in 1775

General Braddock’s disastrous defeat in July 1755 in Western Pennsylvania was a major blow for the prestige of the British Crown. The withdrawal of Colonel Dunbar with the survivors of Braddock’s regular troops to Philadelphia in the summer of 1755, leaving Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Western New York to be ravaged by Indian raiding parties, encouraged by the French, led many in the colonies to question the worth of the link with Britain and to look to their own colonial governments to fill the vacuum left by the royal forces.

The corruption that underlaid the Braddock expedition (see Braddock 1,  Braddock 2 and Braddock 11) must have been all too apparent to those involved in it and affected by it.

Braddock’s campaign was a looming portent for the future of the colonies. Many of the participants went on to take major parts in the Revolutionary War: George Washington, Gage, Gates, Mercer, Lee and several others.

Signing the oath of loyalty

The War:
In 1775, Major General Gage (a veteran of Braddock’s campaign) was the Commander-in-Chief in Boston. He commanded eleven battalions of foot in Boston, one in New York and six others spread through North America; 7,000 men in all.

Capture of Major André and the revelation of Benedict Arnold’s treachery

Gage knew war was coming. Magistrates loyal to the British Crown were being displaced in many parts of New England. In February 1775, a Provincial Congress met in Cambridge and took over the government of Massachusetts, other than Boston itself. The colonial militia was arming and drilling. Gage called for substantial re-inforcements from Britain.

The British army of the time was not an efficient institution. Following the French and Indian War, Parliament reduced the number of regiments.

10. Podcast: Introduction to the American War of the Revolution, 1775–1783: John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.

Recruiting was always a problem, particularly for the regiments in America. There was no formal military education for officers and efficiency varied widely between regiments. In peace time there was little training and, in a garrison like Boston, where the surrounding countryside was hostile, the opportunities for field days, even if the officers were inclined to conduct them, were limited.

‘Boston Massacre’: British troops confront and fire on a crowd in Boston on 5th March 1770: American Revolutionary War

Execution of Major André by the Americans for negotiating the treachery of Benedict Arnold

If the British infantry had been moderately competent and led with a modicum of professionalism, the attack on the position at Breed’s Hill, in the Battle of Bunker Hill, would have been successful within minutes. The illustration of the battle, showing superbly turned out redcoats in serried ranks is misleading. The failure of the British artillery to take the correct calibre of ammunition into the battle is a better indicator of the army’s efficiency.

The competence of both sides improved out of recognition as the war progressed. The crossing of the Delaware in mid-winter at the Battle of Trenton by the American troops, many without shoes, and the resistance of the 40th Foot in Chew’s House at the Battle of Germantown are examples of inspiring conduct in battle on each side.

Concord:

The war began with the attempt by Gage to seize the armaments held by Congress at Concord and the exchange of shots at Lexington.

Following the success of the running fight that saw the British hurrying back to Boston, the New England militia invested the city, building entrenchments along the west bank of the bay.

Battle of Bunker Hill on 17th June 1775 in the American Revolutionary War: picture by Richard Simkin

In June 1775 American forces occupied Breed’s Hill on the Charlestown peninsular opposite Boston and built a redoubt. On 17th June 1775 the British landed and after the bloody Battle of Bunker Hill drove the Americans back to the mainland.

The siege of Boston continued, with the British situation deteriorating, until 17th March 1776 when the force, now commanded by General Howe, evacuated Boston and sailed for Halifax in Nova Scotia, leaving Boston to the American Congressional Army commanded by General George Washington.

Attempts had been made to put the British Army on some sort of war footing, but with limited success. The only new regiment raised was Fraser’s 71st Highlanders, comprising two battalions. Five existing regiments of foot were sent to America and five more with the 16th Light Dragoons were preparing to embark.

British Army recruiting sergeant at work

While the siege of Boston was in progress in 1775, Brigadier Montgomery, an inspiring officer with service in the British Army, with the mercurial Brigadier Benedict Arnold, led an audacious and nearly successful American attack on Canada. Only the vigour and resourcefulness of the Governor, Guy Carleton, ensured that the assaults on Quebec on the night of New Year’s Eve 1775 were repelled, with the death of Montgomery.

In May 1776 Major General Lord Cornwallis arrived off Charleston and with Major General Clinton attempted to take the capital of South Carolina, but without success. In July 1776 the British force sailed north, rejoining Howe on Staten Island, off New York.

Spirit of ’76: picture by Archibald M. Willard

In August 1776 Howe began his inexorable advance against the Americans, fighting the battles of Long Island, Harlem Heights, White Plains and capturing Fort Washington and Fort Lee. General Washington fell back from position to position until by the end of the year he lay to the West of the Delaware River. The Americans were at a low ebb, the confidence of the troops severely shaken.

There was however an underlying dynamic to the war. Each British victory could only, at best, put off the inevitable. A single American triumph and sometimes even a failure reversed the impact of a string of British successes.

General Israel Putnam called from his plough to the service of his country: an image reminiscent of the incident in classical history; Cincinnatus summoned from his ploughing to be Dictator of Rome, against the threat from the Aequians

British recruiting poster: American Revolutionary War

American Continental recruiting poster: American Revolutionary War

Such a triumph was the Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 when General Washington launched a surprise attack across the Delaware and captured a substantial Hessian force under Colonel Rahl. At the news of Rahl’s defeat and death General Lord Cornwallis turned back from his return to England to cope with the reverse. The American war effort was galvanised.

In 1777 the British Government approved General Howe’s plan for an attack on Philadelphia. In addition Lord Germaine, the British minister directing the war, ordered Major General Burgoyne to lead an attack from Canada down the Crown Point-Ticonderoga route to the Hudson and into New York. At a stroke Germaine ensured that the British achieved the feat that had eluded George Washington; the mass mobilisation of the New England militia.

Burgoyne, with the assistance of able officers such as Brigadier Simon Fraser and Colonel St Leger, in August 1777 moved south against the increasing quagmire of local resistance until, running out of supplies, he was forced to surrender at the Battle of Saratoga on 17th October 1777.

10. Podcast: Introduction to the American War of the Revolution, 1775–1783: John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.

The American commander was Major General Horatio Gates, another veteran of Braddock’s, but the true inspiration for the American success was Benedict Arnold.

Major General Steuben training the American Regiments of Foot at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777/1778: picture by E.A. Abbey

Meanwhile further south General Howe landed at Wilmington in August 1777 and advanced against General Washington. Following the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 the British took Philadelphia and Washington settled in for the winter in Valley Forge to the North of the city, making his last effort of the year in the attack at the Battle of Germantown.

George Washington at Valley Forge Winter 1777/8: picture by Frederick Coffay Yohn

It was in Philadelphia that the British received the news of the capture of Burgoyne’s army. The Battle of Trenton caused the first crack. The Battle of Saratoga began the splintering. France, licking her wounds after her territorial losses in the Seven Years War, and Spain, keen to renew the attempt to recover Gibraltar, actively planned to join the war against Britain. The creaking British war machine was incapable of replacing the losses from Burgoyne’s capitulation.

In March 1778 Major General Clinton succeeded Howe as British commander in America. On 8th July 1778 the French Toulon Fleet arrived off the Delaware River.

George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette at Valley Forge

By the end of 1778 Clinton held New York, watched by General Washington from the main land, neither side feeling sufficiently strong to take the offensive. During the course of the year heavy fighting had taken place in Georgia, leaving the British with the advantage. But the war was not to be decided in the far south.

British Officer 1775: American Revolutionary War

In the early months of 1780 General Cornwallis arrived before Charleston to begin the reconquest of South Carolina. This began the terrible fighting that took place through 1780 and 1781, with battles at Camden, King’s Mountain, Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton establishing his reputation in the ruthless struggle.

In the North, in November 1780, Benedict Arnold changed sides, escaping to the British lines, but leaving Clinton’s adjutant, Major André, in American hands to be hanged as a spy.

In February 1781 Cornwallis moved into North Carolina, shadowed by Major General Nathaniel Greene. In May 1781 Clinton moved into Virginia. The British strategy had lost all apparent direction.

By July 1781 Cornwallis was in Yorktown, which in August he began to fortify. American and French forces force marched to confront him, General Washington marching south from New York. The French fleet gathered off the York River. The British fleet under Admiral Graves had sailed further south.

On 19th October 1781 Cornwallis capitulated to General Washington and the French commander, de Rochambeau. The war was over and the American colonies had won their independence.

Baron Friedrich von Steuben: American Revolutionary War: picture by Alonso Chapell

Steuben’s retraining of Washington’s Army at Valley Forge, Winter 1777/1778.

Throughout the Revolutionary War Congress was plagued by adventurers from Europe, arriving with written introductions from the American representatives in Paris, fantastic claims of prior rank and experience and demands for senior appointments in the American Army. A few were worthy of the demands they made.

One was Steuben. Steuben claimed to have been a baron and to have held high command in the Prussian Army. It seems more likely he served in a non-commissioned rank and rose to be a junior officer during the Seven Years War.

Steuben arrived at Valley Forge in February 1778 speaking only German and French. General Washington invited Steuben to devise a training system for the American regiments of foot. The essence of military manoeuvre was foot drill and weapon handling, both arts at which the Prussian service excelled.

10. Podcast: Introduction to the American War of the Revolution, 1775–1783: John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.

The American Army was sorely in need of instruction in battle drill. Many units could only move about in single file. A regiment of 500 men in single file takes up 1,500 yards of road or more. A similar regiment in column of fours takes up 400 yards.

In the course of the Seven Years War in Europe, the Prussian Army suffered so many casualties that the training of new recruits became an essential skill for junior officers, even when on operations. There could be no better trainer of soldiers than an experienced and competent Prussian officer.

Baron Friedrich von Steuben: American Revolutionary War: picture by Peale

It is part of the patriotic mythology of the American Revolution that the American colonists were fighting the best army in Europe in the British Army. This was not the case. The British Army was decades behind the Prussian Army in the education of its officers and the training of its soldiers. In the smarter British regiments, excessive military zeal was considered ungentlemanly. So far as possible in such regiments, duty matters were left to the sergeants and corporals. The new American Army inherited much of the British attitude. Steuben changed this. In the Prussian tradition, Steuben required the officers to drill the soldiers. In this way, the officers learned their military trade, while the companies and regiments welded into effective military units.

Steuben began his new appointment by forming a demonstration battalion, with men taken from all the regiments in the army. Steuben taught them battle drill and they went away and taught their regiments. Whenever Steuben held a parade, other soldiers gathered to watch.

Benedict Arnold going aboard the British sloop Vulture after deserting his post at West Point in 1780

Steuben insisted that every soldier be issued with a standard musket and bayonet. He taught them to load and fire in battle conditions and to use the bayonet as an effective offensive weapon. Steuben reduced his instructions to a set of written orders. These orders were translated into English and written out in longhand so that every regiment had a copy.

Steuben appreciated the material he had to work with. He commented that no European army would have held together in the conditions of destitution at Valley Forge. His training sessions were punctuated with outbursts of swearing in German at some mistake, followed by loud laughter on the part of everyone. Steuben appreciated that his instructions did not have to be enforced with the whip as in a European army.

Steuben had only a few months to complete his work. In June 1778, Clinton began his withdrawal from Philadelphia, and Washington marched out to intercept him, with a transformed army. The results were seen in the hard fighting at the Battle of Monmouth.

King George III: picture by Sir William Beechey

The British Army in the Revolutionary War:

The British army in North America suffered from a number of incapacitating weaknesses: it’s small size, the lack of a workable recruitment system, once the New England hinterland was closed to it, the professional incapacity of many of its officers, the lack of proper training, the lack of an organised supply system and the inadequate number of cavalry and artillery.

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, the British Regular Army comprised 2 Troops of Horse Guards, 5 Regiments of Horse, 3 Regiments of Dragoon Guards, 14 Regiments of Dragoons, 3 Regiments of Light Dragoons, 3 Regiments of Foot Guards and 70 Regiments of Foot. The Royal Artillery was a separate institution formed into field companies in time of war.

The Regiment was the permanent unit structure, commanded by its colonel with two further field officers; a lieutenant colonel and a major. By the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, regiments were commanded in the field by the lieutenant colonel.

The English establishment for a mounted regiment was 6 or 8 troops, each comprising a captain, a lieutenant, a cornet, 3 corporals, a trumpeter and some 30 private men. A dragoon troop comprised an additional 3 sergeants and a drummer rather than a trumpeter.

British First Foot Guards mounting guard at St James’s Palace 1778

The English establishment for an infantry regiment was 10 companies: the two flank companies, grenadier and light, and 8 line companies, each comprising a captain, a lieutenant, an ensign, 3 sergeants, 3 corporals, 3 drummers and 70 to 100 private soldiers. At full war strength a regiment varied from 700 to 1,000 men.

Regiments, other than the Horse and Foot Guards, moved from place to place, billeted on civilian households while in Britain and Ireland, or in barracks when in garrison in Gibraltar or Minorca. A few regiments were posted to India.

The Army used the Irish Establishment to store regiments in cadre form with greatly reduced establishments.

Each regiment conducted its own recruiting, sending out parties from its quarters. When a regiment was required to move overseas, its manpower would be made up with drafts of men from other regiments. While the regiment was overseas, recruiting parties were sent back to Britain.

British Army Recruits in 1775; a satirical view

Private soldiers in regiments of horse and dragoons were armed with a sword and a musket. Infantry soldiers were armed with a musket and a bayonet. The musket was muzzle loading with a flintlock mechanism at the butt end of the barrel. The soldier’s normal battle supply was 24 cartridges. Each cartridge contained a single discharge of gun powder and a spherical lead ball. When loading the soldier ripped open the paper cartridge with his teeth and poured a small quantity of powder into the firing pan. He poured the remainder of the charge into the muzzle of the musket, followed by the cartridge paper as a wad, and poked the charge to the bottom of the barrel with the ramrod carried in a cradle under the musket barrel. The soldier put the musket ball into the barrel so that it rolled, or he pushed it with the ramrod, to the bottom of the barrel, on top of the charge of gunpowder. The soldier cocked the flintlock mechanism, aimed the weapon and pulled the trigger. This caused the flintlock to strike, lighting the powder in the firing pan, which in turn ignited the charge in the barrel via a small hole in the side of the barrel. The musket discharged the ball, with a flash, a considerable quantity of smoke and a roar.
A well trained soldier could make 2 or 3 discharges in a minute.

British Regiment of Foot

A major feature of every battle of the period was the pall of gun powder smoke generated by the cannon and musket fire. As the battle progressed the weapons became befouled and increasingly difficult to load and fire efficiently.

In the charge, the cavalrymen relied upon their swords and the infantrymen on their bayonets.
During the Seven Years War (the French and Indian War) 1755 to 1762, the Regiments fighting the French in Germany were formed into brigades with staff and supply structures. With the end of the war the brigades were dismantled.

British Grenadier Attack: death of Major Pearson by John Singleton Copley

The colonel was paid a sum to maintain his regiment in all respects, except weapons which were issued centrally. Soldiers and officers were expected to feed themselves from their pay, forming messes to pool their resources in buying and cooking food. A similar system applied in all European Armies. When an army on campaign pitched camp, the locals would gather and sell their produce to the soldiers. A thriving market was a feature of every military camp.

British officer: American Revolutionary War: picture by John Trotter

This system did not work in North America. Large areas of the country were sparsely populated and it was unrealistic to rely on local supply. General Braddock on arriving at Fort Cumberland in Western Maryland in April 1755 was incensed to find there was no market  (Braddock’s defeat Part 7). He assumed his men were intercepting the country folk and preventing them from coming into the camp. He found it hard to grasp that there were no country folk in the hundreds of miles of forest inhabited only by Indians and a few enterprising colonists. Every new British commander had to learn the same lesson. Burgoyne’s failure to do so, in spite of his experience in North American, led in part to his defeat and surrender at Saratoga in October 1777.

On the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, most of the British troops in the American colonies were billeted in Boston. There was no cavalry, few field guns and no field supply system.

The British Army possessed no standard training system for officers or soldiers. The regiments varied greatly in competence and reliability, depending on the professional commitment of their officers, particularly the lieutenant colonel and major.

Several infantry regiments held high reputations in the Revolutionary War; the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers, the 33rd Regiment and, on their arrival in America, the composite battalions of Foot Guards (formed from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Foot Guards).

10. Podcast: Introduction to the American War of the Revolution, 1775–1783: John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.

During the Revolutionary War, the British Army adopted the Seven Years War practice of forming light and grenadier companies into single battalions, the companies spending much of the time away from their parent regiments.

Americans pulling down the statue of King George III on Bowling Green in New York City in 1776: American Revolutionary War

Two cavalry regiments joined the British army in America in the early stages of the war, the 16th Queen’s Light Dragoons and the 17th Light Dragoons. The light dragoon regiments were raised during the Seven Year War and particularly distinguished themselves in the fighting against the French in Germany (see the Battle of Emsdorf for the 15th) and in Portugal and Spain. Light dragoons were “cutting edge” military units for the British Army and attracted the best and most professional cavalry officers. Both General Burgoyne and Colonel Banastre Tarleton were light dragoon officers.

The shortage of cavalry in the Revolutionary War was a major drawback for the British. A strong cavalry presence at battles like Long Island and Brandywine could have enabled the British to encircle the Americans and prevent their retreat. It is possible that a strong cavalry force would have captured Washington’s army entirely during the march south through New Jersey in 1776.

‘Evacuation Day’: the British leave Boston: American Revolutionary War

The pervasive problem for all the British regiments was recruitment. Regiments lived on the road taking everything with them. There was no depot system. Consequently the regiments posted across the Atlantic to America had no easy way to recruit replacements for casualties. There was a certain amount of recruitment in the colonies, but many loyalists prepared to fight for the British Crown preferred to join locally recruited units, rather than commit themselves to a lifetime of military service in the royal regiments.

The unpopularity of the American War in Britain was another inhibitor on recruitment into the army. Once the war widened to include France and Spain, more readily identified by the British population as enemies, recruitment into the army increased. Until that point was reached the British Government was compelled to rely heavily on mercenary regiments recruited from North German principalities, which took prominent parts at battles such as Trenton and Hubbardton.

British Regiments suffered a haemorrhage of desertion, with soldiers changing sides, sometimes for promotion or even a commission in the American Continental Army. The regiments that remained in America for the duration of the war dwindled away, although boosted at times by the arrival of drafts from regiments based in Britain.

In spite of these handicaps, several British regiments showed themselves to be formidable fighting units. The American War provided the British Army with a wealth of experience that bore fruit in the Napoleonic Wars, with the formation of the light infantry and rifle regiments that performed so well in Portugal and Spain. The 60th Rifles was, of course, the Old Royal American Regiment that provided the backbone for the British Armies in the French and Indian War.

With the entry of France and Spain into the war on the side of the American colonies, Britain was forced to withdraw regiments from America to defend the West Indies.  Troops were retained in Britain in case of a French invasion.  Newly raised regiments went to Gibraltar and other areas of the Mediterranean, instead of reinforcing the army in the American colonies. Increasingly, American armies outnumbered their British opposition.

American prisoners held on board ship by the British during the American Revolutionary War

For the British establishment and people, the American Revolutionary War was a humiliating disgrace. King George III, in despair at the loss of  ‘his colonies‘, determined to give up the throne of Britain and retire to Hanover.  He drafted several instruments of abdication but, in the end, signed none of them.

The soldiers, who fought hard for six years to maintain the British Crown in America, returned home to find themselves ignored. Victories like Long Island and Brandywine do not appear as battle honours on any regimental colours.

The End of the Revolutionary War:

The end of the war was formally negotiated in the Treaty of Paris during the summer of 1783.

While the negotiations began with the United States of America, France, Spain and the Netherlands on one side and Britain on the other, the United States’ representatives, Benjamin Franklin, John Hay, Henry Laurens and John Adams quickly realised they could obtain a better deal by negotiating directly with Britain.  This is what happened.

Article 1 of the Treaty established the United States of America as a sovereign state.

The treaty was signed in Paris on 3^rd September 1783 and ratified by Congress on 14^th January 1784.

The War of the Revolution was finally over and the United States of America established as an independent country.

George Washington: American Revolutionary War: picture by Rembrandt Peale

American Days commemorating the American Revolutionary War:

The primary day is Independence Day held on 4th July.  Other days are or were: Evacuation Day (Suffolk County/Boston, Massachusetts on 17th March), Bunker Hill Day (Suffolk County/Boston, Massachusetts on 17th June), von Steuben Day (New York and other cities with German populations in mid-September), Evacuation Day (New York on 25th November-no longer observed), Great Jubilee Day (Connecticut on 26th May-no longer observed), Bennington Battle Day (Vermont on 16th August), Carolina Day (South Carolina on 28th June), Founder’s Day (USA on 28th November), Halifax Day (North Carolina on 12th April), Massacre Day (Boston on 5th March-no longer observed), Powder House Day (New Haven, Connecticut on 22nd April), Yorktown Day (Yorktown, Virginia on 19th October), Patriots Day (Massachusetts and Wisconsin initially on 19th April and now 3rd Monday in April), General Pulaski Memorial Day (New York City on 11th October), Casimir Pulaski Day (Illinois and other states on 1st Monday of March).

George Washington enters New York on ‘Evacuation Day’, 25th November 1783, after the departure of the British: American Revolutionary War: picture by Edmund Restein

10. Podcast: Introduction to the American War of the Revolution, 1775–1783: John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.

Battles of the War of the American Revolution 1775 to 1783:

Introduction (above):

Battle of Lexington and Concord: The opening shots of the American Revolutionary War on 19^th April 1775, that ‘echoed around the world’.

Battle of Bunker Hill: The British ‘Pyrrhic Victory’ on 17^th June 1775 in the opening weeks of the American Revolutionary War.

Battle of Quebec 1775: The unsuccessful American invasion of Canada and attack on Quebec on 31^st December 1775.

Battle of Sullivan’s Island:  The successful defence of Fort Sullivan on 28^th June 1776 by Charleston’s recruit artillerymen against a powerful Royal Navy squadron.

Battle of Long Island: The disastrous defeat of the Americans on 27^th August 1776 leading to the loss of New York and the retreat to the Delaware River.

Battle of Harlem Heights:  The skirmish on 16^th September 1776 in northern New York island that restored the confidence of the American troops.

Battle of White Plains: The battle on 28^th October 1776, leading to the American withdrawal to the Delaware River and the capture of Fort Washington by the British.

Battle of Fort Washington: The battle on 16^th November 1776 that saw the American army forced off Manhattan Island and compelled to retreat to the Delaware River.

Battle of Trenton:  George Washington’s iconic victory on 26^th December 1776 over Colonel Rahl’s Hessian troops after crossing the frozen Delaware River; the battle that re-invigorated the American Revolution.

Battle of Princeton:  The sequel on 3^rd January 1777 to the successful Battle of Trenton: the two battles began the resurgence of the fortunes of the American Colonists in the Revolutionary War.

Battle of Ticonderoga 1777: The humiliating American abandonment of Fort Ticonderoga on 6^th July 1777 to General Burgoyne’s British army.

Battle of Hubbardton:  The hard-fought battle on 7^th July 1777 in the forest south-east of Fort Ticonderoga.

Battle of Bennington: The battle fought on 16^th August 1777 that did much to raise the morale of the American colonists and made Brigadier Stark an American hero.

Battle of Brandywine Creek:  Major-General Sir William Howe’s outflanking of General Washington’s position on 11^th September 1777 in the British advance to take Philadelphia.

Battle of Freeman’s Farm: The Battle fought on 19^th September 1777 General Burgoyne had to win decisively but failed to do so.

Battle of Paoli:  The surprise night attack on 20^th/21^st September 1777 by the British on the camp of General ‘Mad Anthony’ Wayne’s Pennsylvanians: also known as the ‘Paoli Massacre’.

Battle of Germantown: General George Washington’s unsuccessful attempt on 4^th October 1777 to retake Philadelphia; the battle that helped convince the French and Spanish the American cause was worth supporting with military and naval intervention against Britain.

Battle of Saratoga:  The surrender of General Burgoyne’s British Army to the American Colonists on 17^th October 1777, bringing France and Spain into the war.

Battle of Monmouth:  The battle fought on 28^th June 1778 by the American Continental Army against the British, after the 1777/8 winter spent training under Steuben.

Siege of Savannah:  The unsuccessful attempt by the Americans and the French to re-take Savannah, Georgia, on 9^th October 1779.

Siege of Charleston:  The siege and capture of Charleston, capital of South Carolina, by the British on 12^th May 1780.

Battle of Camden:  The British victory on 16^th August 1780 over General Horatio Gates in North Carolina.

Battle of King’s Mountain: The savage ‘All American’ battle on 7^th October 1780, where the only Englishman present was the loyalist commander, Major Patrick Ferguson.

Battle of Cowpens: Daniel Morgan’s victory over the notorious Tarleton on 17^th January 1781.

Battle of Guilford Courthouse: Cornwallis’s Pyrrhic victory over Nathaniel Green in the North Carolina countryside on 15^th March 1781.

Battle of Yorktown: General George Washington’s resounding victory and the surrender of Lord Cornwallis’s British army on 19th October 1781; the end for Britain in the American Colonies.

Siege of Gibraltar: The siege of Gibraltar, between 1779 and 1783, whose defence under General Eliott so inspired Great Britain at a time of defeat in the American Revolutionary War.

Battle of Cape St Vincent 1780:  ‘The Moonlight Battle’: Admiral Sir George Rodney’s decisive naval victory on 16^th January 1780 over a Spanish Fleet, that enabled Rodney to re-supply Gibraltar.

10. Podcast: Introduction to the American War of the Revolution, 1775–1783: John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.