Tag: Delaware

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The Indelible Caesar Rodney

In 1923, the State of Delaware erected a statue to one its most famous sons in Wilmington, Delaware. The statue to Caesar Rodney showed him on his now famous ride to break the tie between the members of Delaware’s delegation to the Second Continental Congress. Rodney’s eighty-mile ride from Dover to Philadelphia to cast a […]

by T. H. Leighty
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The Marquis de Lafayette in Delaware

The last surviving major general of the American Revolution was French aristocrat Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, the marquis de Lafayette. Invited by President James Monroe to help usher in America’s fiftieth anniversary, Lafayette came, accompanied by his son, Georges Washington de Lafayette, and Secretary Auguste Levasseur. In 1824 and 1825, these […]

by Kim Burdick
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The Delcastle Cannonball

Several years ago, I set out to understand the movements of the British army through Delaware and into Pennsylvania in early September 1777. It was a small piece of the Philadelphia campaign of Gen, Sir William Howe, who led a combined army of about 16,000 that landed on Elk Neck on August 25 and captured […]

by Walter A. Chiquoine
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This Week on Dispatches: Kim Burdick on Cooch’s Bridge, Delaware’s Only Revolutionary War Battle

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews public historian and JAR contributor Kim Burdick on Cooch’s Bridge, an early action in the Philadelphia campaign and the only Revolutionary War battle to be fought in the state of Delaware. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, […]

by Editors
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This Week on Dispatches: William H. J. Manthorpe, Jr. on the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse and Historical Accuracy

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews William Manthorpe, a former naval intelligence officer, government senior executive, and professor who specializes on the naval history of Delaware, on unraveling the legend of who burned the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse during the American Revolution. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of […]

by Editors
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Delaware’s Colonel John Haslet (1727–1777)

Born in Straw Dungiven, County Londonderry, Ireland,[1] thirty-year-old John Haslet was the young, widowed minister of Ballykelly Presbyterian Church. Arriving in America in 1757, he became a captain in the Pennsylvania militia and participated in the November 26, 1758 action at Fort Duquesne. Twenty years later, he would be killed at the Battle of Princeton. Russ […]

by Kim Burdick
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Elite Regiment, Delinquent Behavior

Its list of battle honors nearly constitutes a history of the Revolution itself. During seven years of service, the Delaware Regiment earned a staggering combat record at the most legendary engagements of the war, including Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk’s Hill, Ninety-Six, and Eutaw Springs.[1] They were […]

by Joshua Shepherd
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A Quaker Struggles With the War

A Quaker miller named Daniel Byrnes (1730-1797) began appearing in New Castle County, Delaware land records in 1760, buying and selling land bordering the south side of Wilmington’s Brandywine River.[1] That year, Byrnes and William Moore built a mill with an overshot wheel “across the Brandywine near French Street” and fellow Quaker, William Marshall built […]

by Kim Burdick
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Guiding Washington to Trenton

Washington’s desperate situation in December 1776 and the critical victories at Trenton and Princeton have been described often and in great detail. His lack of support from the New Jersey militia is often highlighted, along with the fact that the few militiamen who turned out did not cross to Trenton on Christmas night due to […]

by Larry Kidder
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Caesar Rodney: An American Character

Signers of the Declaration of Independence are treated with particular reverence in American historical memory. Caesar Rodney, Delaware’s delegate to the Second Continental Congress, is no exception. He is remembered not just for his signature, but also his vote for independence and the mad dash he made to Philadelphia in time to cast it.  His […]

by Janice Hume
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Christmas Night 1776: How Did They Cross?

The famous painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 is permanently etched in many minds.  It graces the covers of countless books and magazines often with great attention paid to the subsequent Battle of Trenton. But just how did Washington’s army cross the river? The collector’s print edition of Journal […]

by Editors