Tag: 1781

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The French Bread Connection

It was the letter that forced Washington to give up his dream of recapturing New York. Gen. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, encamped with his French army at Phillipsburg on the Hudson River, received it on August 14, 1781 and showed it immediately to Gen. George Washington, whose headquarters was nearby. Written on […]

by Tom Shachtman
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Le Plus Détaillée: The July 1781 Reconnaissance of New York

Continental Army general George Washington sat atop his horse ignoring the “smart skirmish” raging around him.[1] He could have joined his soldiers in attacking the Hessian troops “very much allarm’d” by the Americans’ “sudent appeerence before their works.” [2] Instead, Washington focused on the fortifications just beyond the Germans. The skirmish that occurred on July […]

by Joseph F. Stoltz III
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Unappreciated Allies: Choctaws, Creeks, and the Defense of British West Florida, 1781

Two months after Spain entered the American Revolutionary War on June 21, 1779, the governor of Spanish Louisiana, Don Bernardo de Galvez, launched an invasion of the British province of West Florida on August 27. The defenders, consisting of two British infantry regiments, a detachment of the Royal Artillery, two understrength provincial battalions, a regiment […]

by Jim Piecuch
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Yorktown National Battlefield: The Encampment Tour

Almost anyone that develops a passion for history can point to an event deep within themselves that spawned an imaginative interpretation of events, and out of that, perhaps a lifelong passion for a certain historical period. The battlefield at Yorktown, Virginia covering the 1781 siege, certainly excites the imagination as one treks through the British […]

by Jason Glasser
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Command and Control During the Yorktown Campaign

The definitions of joint command of land, maritime, air and other forces as practiced by the United States military today were unknown to those who practiced warfare in the eighteenth century. However, the concepts outlined in contemporary definitions were known to military practitioners during that period.[1] General Washington understood the importance of unifying his efforts […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
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The Groton Riots of 1781

On Tuesday, October 9, 1781, at 5:00 that afternoon, as an American flag unfurled over Grand Battery 13A at Yorktown, George Washington personally set light to an eighteen-pounder announcing to Charles Cornwallis that his end was not far off. As the hurtling ball spent itself, it left behind a wake of devastation killing the British […]

by Gary Shattuck
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Cavalry: Swords before Pistols

“…the sword is the most destructive and almost only necessary weapon a dragoon carries.”[1] So wrote Major Richard Call of the 3d Light Dragoons to Governor Thomas Jefferson in March of 1781.  At first glance it may seem odd that a light horseman would make such a statement given the wide use of firearms on […]

by Daniel Murphy
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Mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line

Dear Mr. History:  What happened with the famous mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line that occurred January, 1781?  Did the soldiers have legitimate grievances? What does such a mutiny say about the professionalism of the Continental Army?  Sincerely, Miffed About Mutinies Dear Miffed:  When the soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line mutinied most of them had not […]

by Michael Schellhammer
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The Whale-boat Men of Long Island Sound

When the Continental Congress first commissioned the use of private ships and boats of war in April 1776, they specified that each vessel’s commander had to deliver a bond payable to the president of the Congress before the privateering commission — called a letter of marque and reprisal — could be granted. These bonds were […]

by Jackson Kuhl
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Washington’s Deviation to Virginia

General Washington received the disappointing news on August 14, 1781. Comte De Grasse’s powerful French fleet of nearly thirty warships was not sailing for New York as Washington had long hoped, but was instead destined for the Chesapeake Bay. Washington’s plan for an allied attack on British held New York City depended heavily on the […]

by Michael Cecere
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Grading British General Benedict Arnold

Prior to September 1780, Benedict Arnold earned a great reputation among Patriots for his bold, brave actions at Quebec, Valcour and Saratoga.  In return for his treason, Arnold received commission as a General in the British army but the question remained unanswered as to whether he actually possessed the formal military command skills expected of […]

by Wayne Lynch
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Loyalist Leadership in the Revolutionary South

The historical debate concerning the Loyalists in the Revolutionary South has generally focused on matters such as the Loyalists’ numbers and motivations. While these are issues deserve study, one aspect of the Loyalists’ role in the southern campaign has received far less attention: that of leadership. The British government’s “Southern Strategy” depended to a great […]

by Jim Piecuch
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“Light Horse Harry” Lee and Pyle’s Massacre

On February 25, 1781, the Continental cavalry of Lieutenant Colonel Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee’s Legion and Brigadier Andrew Pickens’s militia encountered several hundred loyalists commanded by Colonel John Pyle at Holt’s Race Paths in North Carolina. Pretending that he was British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, and his Continentals the similarly clad troops of Tarleton’s […]

by Jim Piecuch
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Francis Marion at the Battle of Eutaw Springs

September 8, 1781 Francis Marion is best known for his leadership in the partisan war of 1780-1781, during which he and his volunteer militia harassed British troops and the Loyalist militia in South Carolina, first disrupting the British occupation of the state and later helping to clear royal forces from a considerable area. Once this […]

by Jim Piecuch
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Repercussions of the Battle of Camden

One of the most striking aspects of the Battle of Camden is the vast amount of material that was written about it. Officers and soldiers who fought in Revolutionary War battles always wrote something about their experiences, but in regard to the Battle of Camden, they wrote much more than they did about other battles: […]

by Jim Piecuch
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The Perfect Storm: Bernardo de Gálvez and the Gulf Coast Campaign

One of the genuine pleasures of research is the discovery of someone whose contributions are barely noticed in classroom histories, but without whom, events would have turned out dramatically differently. The Spanish Governor-General of Louisiana, Bernardo de Gálvez, is one such figure.  His energetic and often brilliant contributions to the American Revolution ensured that the […]

by Lars D. H. Hedbor
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Financial Hero?

The American Revolution was fought not only by soldiers, seamen and politicians; it was also fought by civilians. Some of these civilians bore arms; others provided supplies; still others such as Haym Salomon fought with their wits and their administrative skills.

by Hugh T. Harrington