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Two terms come up when describing roving bands of colonial plunderers who preyed on the residents of Westchester County, New York during the American Revolution: British marauders were called cowboys and patriotic pillagers were referred to as skinners. Though countless historical publications support this or claim that skinners were composed of both British and American …
At the start of the American Revolution, the county of Westchester was the richest and most populous of the rural counties of New York. By war’s end, most of the county, especially a twenty-mile-wide region labeled the neutral ground, would be totally devastated. Farms were abandoned and entire communities became ghost towns. Roads were vacant …
Colonel William Douglas (January 27, 1742- May 28, 1777) from North Branford, Connecticut was a successful merchant mariner and later farmer – honest, fair, hardworking, and successful in business. He was also a tragic figure, having invested and lost everything he had for the cause of liberty – his fortune, his family’s future, his health, …
During the Revolutionary War, and most likely before and after, officers and gentlemen were prime targets for thieves and blackguards, including drunk or disgruntled rank and file. This could occur either while walking the streets of cities and villages, or in camp or along secluded country roads. Snatching a fattened purse, or taking out their …
Great generals are scarce; there are few Morgans. General Nathanael Greene Bar-room brawler, drinker, gambler, and womanizer; six feet tall and built like a brick yard with tree trunk arms, Daniel Morgan (1736 – July 6, 1802) was an imposing figure in any time period. Yet beneath this rough frontage, was an honest and passionate figure …
Major Benjamin Whitcomb and Ranger leader in the American Revolution (b. July 2, 1737) was an incredible backwoods warrior who matched his abilities in frontier scouting and fighting with the best of them. He honed his skills at an early age, seventeen, fighting in the French & Indian War, campaigning throughout the northern reaches of …
General George Washington had arrived at Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 3, 1775 to take command of the Continental Army. He had his work cut out for him for he faced a force of unruly and undisciplined amateurs in its infancy. Up against the British army, the finest military machine of its time, this mob of …
Two hundred years ago, in 1818, a shocking claim by a distinguished veteran of the Battle of Bunker Hill rocked America. A popular patriot hero and legendary symbol of the battle was questioned – one whose characterization had defined America’s struggle for independence. The evidence was overwhelming; General Israel Putnam did not stand proud before …
An American army emerged from a militia system of self-protection. For decades these militias had been supplied and nourished by the British, only to turn on its mother country in an act of violent defiance. By 1776, patriots proved they could gather in mass and were willing to fight and die for a cause they …
In a normal life, Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs would have remained in obscurity, his name only appearing in town listings. A hatter’s son, he carried on the family tradition, filling the shoes of his father while leading a quiet, unnoticed, humble life in Middletown Connecticut. But he lived during tumultuous times and as such, made …
The Battle of Hubbardton was unique in that a proud, obstinate officer of the British army, General Simon Fraser, was confident that his highly trained and disciplined regular troops would easily defeat and capture a band of hapless rebels who called themselves Green Mountain Boys. On the morning of July 7, 1777, the proud Highlander …
July 5th, 1777, Fort Ticonderoga, New York, fell to British General Burgoyne’s forces, however the northern army, consisting largely of continental troops, disciplined and experienced fighters, was saved. But perhaps more importantly, New York and all of New England was ignited. There was no solid bastion left to thwart a British invasion from the north. …
When the British charged that hot day on August 16, 1780, the militia, two-thirds of the American army, threw aside their weapons and broke ranks, most never even firing a shot. But not all Americans turned and ran for their lives. The Continental soldiers left on the battlefield, now grossly outnumbered, stood firm. They did …
General William Tecumseh Sherman wrote, “…earthworks play an important part in war, because they enable a minor force to hold a superior one in check for a time, and time is a most valuable element in all wars.” Frederick the Great said, “Officers require different kinds of knowledge, but one of the principal is that …
On October 7, 1777, in the second and conclusive action of what has become the American Revolution’s Battle of Saratoga, one of England’s bravest and considered the most experienced officer of wilderness warfare fell mortally wounded. At the height of the battle, when American General Daniel Morgan’s riflemen, like a ‘hoard of wildmen,’ fell upon …