Today in American Revolutionary War History

November 12th 1775 : Abigail Adams writes a letter to John Adams, revealing the anger many felt towards Great Britain at the rejection of the Olive Branch Petition sent to the King:

The intelegance you will receive before this reaches you, will I should think make a plain path, tho a dangerous one for you. I could not join to day in the petitions of our worthy parson, for a reconciliation betwen our, no longer parent State, but tyrant State, and these Colonies.—Let us seperate, they are unworthy to be our Breathren. Let us renounce them and instead of suplications as formorly for their prosperity and happiness, Let us beseach the almighty to blast their counsels and bring to Nought all their devices.







You can read this letter in its entirety here.

November 18th 1776 : After the Battle of Fort Washington, General Howe renamed the fort in honor of the Hessian troops. Fort Washington became Fort Kuyphausen; named after Wilhelm von Innhausen und Knyphausen, the commander of the Hessian Auxiliaries for the British.

 An example of Hessian uniforms - Lossberg Regiment.





November 19th 1794 : Jay's Treaty is signed.

This treaty negotiated by John Jay - the First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court - to finally put an end to several years of conflict between the United States and Britain.  Though the Treaty of Paris in 1783 called for peace and the independence of America, several British forts outside of the American's land claims were cause for contention between the nations.  While Britain was also at this time at War with France, the British navy was harassing American merchant vessels at sea and often impressing their crews into forced service. 

In Jay's Treaty, the British agreed to abandon the forts in the Ohio River Valley by June 1796. They opened up limited trade to the Americans in the West Indies and in India. They agreed to establishing commissions to deal with boundary issues with Canada, reparations for captured merchant vessels and remuneration for Loyalist losses.  Many Americans, including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, opposed Jay's Treaty as it made America allies with Britain in lieu of France (who had been an invaluable ally during the American Revolution). 






November 20th-22nd 1777 :  American forces at Fort Mercer, New Jersey, evacuate as the British fleet prepares to begin a naval bombardment. The Delaware River is now open to the British as far as Philadelphia.


On the 20th, American Colonel Christopher Greene decided to abandon Fort Mercer in the wake of a British attack rather let the entire garrison be captured by the British. Philadelphia had fallen to the British on September 26th, and General Howe had been trying to take Fort Mercer and the rebuilt Fort Mifflin with their protective line of chevaux de frise obstacles across the Delaware River in order to receive supplies via the river.  The initial move to take the forts began on Oct 22nd in the Battle of Red Bank.  The forts' defenders would hold the British off until November 21st, when the first British troops entered the abandoned Fort Mercer.  The Americans had blown up the fort's magazine the day before, leaving nothing to be scavenged by the British.  While the forts fell and George Washington's plan to starve the British out of then capital city Philadelphia had failed, the fort defenders bought valuable time for Washington.  As was requisite for the era, the harsh winter months approached and the armies activity slacked resulting in Howe being forced to  leave Washington alone until spring.  Washington and the Continental Army camped at Valley Forge, a mere 20 miles away (about a day's march).







November 21st 1775 : Paul Revere bears a letter from the Continental Congress to Oswald Eve, seeking help with building a new gunpowder mill in Massachusetts.  Oswald Eve was the owner of the only gunpowder mill in the colonies at the time, and upon reading the contents of the letter asking for details about how to manufacture gunpowder and outfit a new mill, Eve decides that he isn't sure whether he want to help his competition.  Paul Revere is allowed to tour the mill, though Eve avoids giving any information away about the manufacturing process.  Already an accomplished gold and silver smith, as well as a metallurgist and chemist, Revere works out the methods being used during his tour of Eve's mill and is able to reproduce the process in the new gunpowder mill built in Canton, Massachusetts.  This mill would produces tons of gunpowder needed by the Continental Army during the war.

A intact gunpowder mill from 1816




November 22nd 1776 :  In order to expedite enlistments for the new army on January 1st, Congress sent Washington a supply of blank commissions to issue at headquarters.


November 23rd 1780 : Americans raid Coram (Smith Point), Long Island, New York
.  A force of 300 Continentals from Connecticut, commanded by Major Benjamin Tallmadge (who would later be known for his secret role in the Culper Spy Ring), captures the fort without encountering any resistance. He burns over 300 tons of hay and is later praised by Congress for this action.



A miniature of Benjamin Tallmadge





November 24th 1778 : North Carolinians fend off the British in the Battle of Midway Church.  As part of a British "Southern Strategy", General Augustine Prevost, commander of British forces in British East Florida organized the first British invasion of Georgia in November, with plans to attack Fort Morris, and earthen works fort at Sunbury, Georgia.  As they were moving towards their target, Prevost's army units split up as they traversed the rebel hotbed surrounding Midway Church. 

On November 24th, Lt. Colonel Mark Prevost (the general's brother) was confronted by 100 soldiers under the command of Continental Army Colonel John White and Major James Jackson - though Prevost's 700 professional soldiers vastly outnumbered the untrained Continentals, the Americans formed a line at Midway Church.  The other half of the British force, led by Lt. Colonel L. V. Fuser, had not been in contact with Lt. Col. Prevost for the duration of their march - fearing repercussions in a patriot-sympathetic territory, Prevost reconsidered his position and withdrew.

Midway Church, rebuilt in 1792 after being burned by the British.

Lol. I already missed writing about the Battle of Princeton yesterday, but I did write a blog post about General Hugh Mercer, who was mortally wounded at the battle. @the Duchess might be interested to know that Mercer was a Presbyterian from Aberdeenshire who inexplicably joined Bonnie Prince Charlie's army as a medic and was present at Culloden.

historycourses.com/hugh-mercer-the-jacobite-patriot/

Indeed. I find green is always an interesting colour back in that period and the infantry hat reminds me a bit of what the Austrians wore back then. I wasn't however able to find any info on their halfmoon badge. Any idea what's the origin and meaning of that?