Tag: Lord Stirling

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The Resignation Revolution

The threat of resigning one’s military commission under protest is almost a matter of tradition. If your leaders made a decision you did not think was in the best interest of either yourself or your comrades, you offered up your resignation. It was a matter of honor. Should your resignation be received, you found yourself […]

by Stuart Hatfield
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The Battle of Mamaroneck

The Battle of Mamaroneck, known to some as the “Skirmish of Heathcote Hill,” was one of the most obscure military engagements of the Revolution but noteworthy for being the first time in the war that organized infantry units composed entirely of Americans—including Continental Army soldiers—encountered each other. To that extent, it might be regarded as […]

by David Price
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Terrain and Tactics: Detailed Perspectives From William Howe’s War Plan of 1776

The objective of the 1776 British campaign was straightforward: capture New York and crush the American rebellion. The plan was the brainchild of British commander-in-chief Gen. William Howe and the Secretary of State for the American Department George Germain. Howe had every reason to think he would make quick work of it. His invasion was […]

by Ronald S. Gibbs, Courtney Spikes, and Thomas Paper
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When War Came to the Thompson-Neely Farmstead

Gen. George Washington did not sleep here but many of his soldiers did—that is, on the grounds or nearby. The historic site known today as the Thompson-Neely house and farmstead is located in upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and is a featured attraction of Washington Crossing Historic Park (WCHP). In fact, it is the historic focal […]

by David Price
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Blue Mountain Valley and the Rise of Lord Stirling

“A Most Dreadful Voyage” was how the captain of British supply ship Blue Mountain Valley described his mission to North America in the fall and winter of 1775–1776. The ship’s young Scottish captain, James Dempster, was an experienced merchant sailor with voyages to China, India, and the West Indies.[1] The mission Dempster embarked on when Blue […]

by Eric Wiser
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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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Scotland and the American Revolution

Reading Thomas Fleming’s fascinating article on “Celts in the American Revolution,” one is struck by the extent to which Scotland and the Scots informed and supported American independence.  From the presence of Scots in congress, to the influence of common sense moral philosophy (Paine’s phrase was not coincidental), to the still-debated influence of the 1320 […]

by Matthew P. Dziennik
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Top 10 Continental Army Generals

In addition to George Washington, during the course of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress commissioned seventy-seven other men as general officers, with four — Seth Pomeroy, John Whetcomb, John Cadwalader, and Joseph Reed — declining the honor.  In fact, Cadwalader declined twice, much to Washington’s regret. These seventy-three men served as Washington’s chief lieutenants, […]

by William M. Welsch