September 16, 1776 A cold faceless wind swoops up from the Vye and sweeps over the heights. George Washington, supreme commander of the Continental Army, tugs at the stiff facings, pulling the flaps tighter around his neck. Lifting his head, he turns in the saddle and gazes south – out over the flicker of countless …
September 15th, 1776. A company of Connecticut farm boys sit behind one of the many redoubts dug into the upper slope of Harlem Heights. Behind them stretches the northern plateau of Manhattan Island extending to King’s Bridge and spanning the Bronx River and leading to Westchester County. One week earlier the boys had been busy …
October 18, 1776 Westchester County NY. Colonel John Glover Commanded American Forces. General William Howe commanded British and Hessian troops Though considered a defeat for the Americans, scholars attribute the Battle of Pelham (or Pells Point) for saving the Continental Army. British ships sailed up the Long Island Sound and landed troops in the rear of Washington’s …
Eighteenth century battles were fought on the field of honor. In Europe, it meant that each army lined up and pounded away at each other over a spacious, flat field. If there were fortifications, massive trenches were dug, inching cannon forward until close enough to reduce the walls to rubble and encourage surrender. Continuous broadsides …
Maryland Regiment at the Battle of Long Island Tuesday, August 27, 1776. Since dawn, four hundred young men from Maryland exchanged volley for volley with some of England’s finest troops. Colonists from influential families, the former Baltimore Independent Cadets were experiencing their baptism of fire. In company with soldiers from Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, they …
Throughout the American Revolution the British demonstrated a wonderful incapacity to evolve an over-all strategy to crush the rebellion. They first moved against New England, regarded as the prime instigator of sedition. When that move failed, [the British forces, with a fleet of Tories in tow, evacuated Boston to Halifax], they transferred their main operations …
As far as battles fought during the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Harlem Heights was considered a smallish affair. As far as victor, most historians consider the contest a draw based on the number of casualties and because all parties returned to their former lines. However, its impact on both sides was immediate and …
Participant in the Three Major Surrenders of the Revolutionary War Major General Benjamin Lincoln was present with Major General Gage when they accepted British General John Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga – an event that historians agree tilted the scale for the Americans in their path towards independence. Lincoln was the commander of American forces at …
Vehemently Anti-American Officer of the Revolutionary War Pompous, self-assured, dogmatic, obstinate, opinionated, these and more could adequately describe the obese Englishman who’s hatred and low opinion of the Americans’ ability to fight in the Revolutionary War probably did more to help the patriot cause than some of America’s generals. James Grant’s degrading, anti-American comments, while …
Revolutionary War Captain 2nd New York Theodosius participated in several major battles of the Revolutionary War. He fought in the Battle of Long Island, his unit, the 4th Battalion of New York, was among the last to leave the field. Shortly after the defeat on Long Island, his regiment was sent north and joined General …