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Introduction History Defined: Repeat lies enough times, they become facts. Authoritarian’s Creed This, the third of four articles on Captain Alexander Hamilton and his train of artillery while in New York and leading up to the Battle of White Plains asks two questions. The fourth article will examine a bridge supposedly constructed during the battle …
a Article 1 stated that Alexander Hamilton’s role during the Battle of White Plains had been fabricated and grossly exaggerated over the decades. The author of this three part series has traced this misinformation to Hamilton’s son who published several biographical texts; each one expanding on his father’s courage acts in combat. John Church Hamilton …
Perhaps, when describing the Battle of White Plains and participants, it is appropriate to use the romantic term historians and fictional writers ascribe to combat; the fog of war. In this case, as in most all conflicts, it has been cast over the facts that have been handed down to us over the decades. The …
We as a nation tend to picture confrontation as a battle between the forces of good and evil, righteous and immoral, virtuous and corrupt – enlightenment and the dark side. Whenever the word patriotism is mentioned, Americans immediately identify with and embrace the former. And if one were to question, or doubt such pure and …
The Battle of White Plains was fought on Oct. 28, 1776. The Americans had suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Long Island on August 27th, 1776, and a third of Washington’s army barely escaped from Brooklyn across the East River to New York City. General Washington and his army were forced to wait …
The Battle of Red Bank saw four hundred Americans defend Fort Mercer, New Jersey, against 2,000 Hessians resulting in the second most costly defeat for the British forces after the Battle of Bunker Hill. It was an incredible feat of gallantry and determination by Rhode Island ‘rebels’ who doggedly faced the Hessian attackers’ promise that …
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 …