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By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. “A thick cloud of darkness and gloom covered the land and despair was seen in almost every countenance…” an officer in the Continental Army, December, 1776. Another wrote, “…strong apprehensions are entertained that the British will soon …
By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. Fought on November 16, 1776 on the island of Manhattan, just north of New York City, the Battle of Fort Washington almost became the next to last chapter in what might have been a failed rebellion in …
By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. In the spring of 1776, Lt. General Charles Cornwallis sailed from England with his beloved 33rd Regiment of Foot, labeled England’s Immortals, and landed near Charleston, South Carolina. On June 28th, he took part in the year’s …
Colonel Moses Hazen demanded respect and total commitment from his men and he got it. He also expected them to fight like demons and so too, they never let him down. His regiment, a Foreign Legion of Canadians, Americans, Rangers, and hodgepodge of foreign fighters, for seven long years, suffered among the highest casualties of …
From the open broadside of hostilities in 1775 between the ‘rebel’ patriots in America and British forces, the newly appointed American Congress became obsessed to gain Quebec, the fourteenth colony, within their fold either by diplomatic means or by force. Americans convinced themselves that the Canadians held the same passions close to heart that spurred …
Colonel Mordecai Gist actively recruited some of the finest young men from good Maryland families to form a regiment which, like the famed Highlanders of the Black Watch, were to forge its own legend in a war of rebellion that gave birth to a new nation. In the very first contest of the American Revolution …
Mention cowboys and John Wayne slinging his saddle over his arm during a clip from the classic 1939 John Ford movie Stagecoach might come to mind. Cowboys are synonymous with rough and tumble ranchers, cowhands, and gunslingers of the old west, strutting up to the bar, slapping the dust off their chaps, and ordering a bottle …
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 …
Generations of Americans have recalled with pride these words that were supposedly spoken during the American Revolution. They conger stouthearted citizen soldiers standing firm before the power of oppression. Farmers and merchants answering the call to arms and grabbing their family muskets to defy what they believed to be an authoritarian government in a David …
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 …