Washington’s Crossing and African American Prince Whipple: Fact and Fiction

Much has been written about Prince Whipple over the years (c. 1750 – 1796); mainly related to folk lore and romantic vignettes that gained prominence when Prince was incorrectly associated with two paintings depicting General George Washington crossing the Delaware River. Bare bones facts indicate that as a free child in Africa, Prince was caught …

Battle of Lenud’s Ferry: Tarleton’s Continuous Attack on American Cavalry

The Battle of Lenud’s Ferry, South Carolina, May 6, 1780, also known as Lanneau’s Ferry, was a sounding patriot loss and further blow to American cavalry in the south.  It was a continuation of the sudden and vicious attacks on patriot dragoons and militia by Banastre Tarleton’s Loyalist Legion of Dragoons and Mounted Infantry. At …

African American James Forten: Privateer, Businessman, Inventor, and Leading Abolitionist

African American James Forten (Sept. 2, 1766 – March 4, 1841) was born free, the grandson of a slave who had ‘freed himself.’  He and his older sister Abigail were the only two children of Thomas and Margaret Forten; second generation of freed parents. They lived in Philadelphia on Third Street near Walnut Street in …

African American Jordan Freeman Dies Defending Fort Griswold

Fort Griswold

The Battle of Fort Griswold, Groton, Connecticut, was fought on September 6, 1781, between Connecticut militia and British Regulars under turncoat traitor Benedict Arnold. Jordan Freeman, African American patriot, stood firm before the onslaught of enraged redcoats pouring over the fort’s walls. Just as British Major William Montgomery mounted the rampart, Jorden grabbed a 10-foot …

The Virginians’ 800-Mile March to Save Charleston

BY MARK MALOY FIRST POSTED ON EMERGING REVOLUTIONARY ERA ON APRIL 7, 2021 It is a pleasure to feature Mark Maloy;s scholarly work on Revolutionary War Journal. Mark is a historian currently working for the National Park Service in Virginia. He is the author of Victory or Death: The Battles of Trenton and Princeton, December 25, 1776 …

Battle of Moores Creek Bridge

In the predawn fog of February 27, 1776, battle-crazed Scots, like warrior clad berserks of old, shattered the night in a sudden roar. As many had done at Culloden, they charged with claymores (35-inch double-edged broadswords) and dirks. The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, 18 miles northwest of Wilmington, North Carolina, had begun. Scot Tories, …

Battle of Moncks Corner

On April 14, 1780, at 3 AM, Banastre Tarleton’s Partisan Legion, a loyalist mixture of dragoons and mounted infantry, thundered out of the dead of the night in a terrifying charge. Sabers slashed downward on startled Americans torn from their sleep. The surprise attack on mainly patriot light dragoons, both Continental troopers and South Carolina …

Battle of Waxhaws: Tarleton’s Quarter

At the Battle of Waxhaws, May 29, 1780, also labeled Buford’s Massacre,  Colonel Abraham Buford’s troops were defeated by Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s saber welding mounted Partisan Legion forces. A victory by Loyalist and British regulars, this action resulted in a brutal slaughter and horrendous injuries to most of the Continental soldiers; wounds that later …