#americanwarofindependence

[whencyclopedia]

Battle of Fort Washington

The Battle of Fort Washington (16 November 1776) took place during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) as part of the British effort to seize control of Manhattan Island. It saw a British and Hessian force capture Fort Washington, near the northern end of Manhattan at modern-day Washington Heights, in one of the worst American defeats of the war.

Fort Washington was constructed in the summer of 1776 as part of General George Washington's plan to defend Manhattan from the British. When the Continental Army was eventually pushed out of Manhattan during the New York and New Jersey Campaign (July 1776 to January 1777), Washington left a garrison of troops behind in the fort to maintain a toehold on the island. On 16 November 1776, the fort came under attack by the British army under General William Howe, with the main assault being led by the Hessians, professional German mercenaries fighting for the British. After the Americans were pushed back from their outer defenses, they capitulated, surrendering Fort Washington and its garrison of 2,800 men, who became prisoners; three-quarters of these prisoners would die aboard the infamous British prison ships anchored off Brooklyn. The Battle of Fort Washington was a costly American defeat that deprived the Continental Army of men and supplies at a time when it was running dangerously low on both.

Construction of the Fort

On 13 April 1776, General George Washington arrived in Manhattan at the head of his 19,000-man Continental Army. He had long feared that New York City would be the next target of the British; its capture would allow the British unimpeded access to the Hudson River, which could allow them to sail an army into the American interior. Washington decided to construct a series of fortifications near the hamlet of Brooklyn on Long Island, anticipating that the British would have to take Long Island before advancing to New York City, which was at the time entirely confined to the upper part of Manhattan Island.

Should the defense of Long Island fail, Washington desired to fortify the Hudson itself to impede British progress up the river. In June, Washington sent General Nathanael Greene, one of his most trusted subordinates, to scout for potential positions to build a fort. After surveying the terrain, Greene settled on a hill at the highest part of Manhattan, near the island's northernmost point; in Greene's opinion, the position would be easy to defend if fortified properly. Washington gave his approval, agreeing that the spot was the key to the Hudson's defense, and a Pennsylvania regiment immediately got to work constructing the fort, under General Greene's supervision. By the end of July, the fort was finished and was named Fort Washington.

Greene also oversaw the construction of a secondary fortification on the opposite side of the river, atop the New Jersey Palisades; originally named Fort Constitution, the New Jersey fort was eventually renamed to Fort Lee in honor of Washington's second-in-command, General Charles Lee. With Fort Washington guarding the east side of the Hudson and Fort Lee on the west, it seemed the strategically valuable river might be safe from British control, the idea being that both forts could unleash a devastating crossfire bombardment on any British ship that attempted to sail up the river. To prevent British ships from simply racing past the forts, the Americans sunk hulks of ships loaded with boulders in the middle of the Hudson, creating a barrier that would block the British vessels and make them more vulnerable to the forts' cannons. This type of barrier is known as a chevaux de frise.

As for the design of Fort Washington itself, it was a pentagon-shaped earthwork fortification covering four acres of land, its walls made of rock and piled up dirt. An imposing spectacle sitting on a 250-foot-high (76 m) hill, the fort was not as secure as it may have seemed. It had no barracks for the men, had no ditches and palisades for additional defense, and, crucially, it had no water supply; though the garrison could haul water up from below, the fort's lack of water storage would be disastrous in the event of a siege. General Greene, who became temporarily incapacitated by illness during Fort Washington's construction, did not notice these critical defects.

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[minifiga]

Just as the grenadiers near completion, an order from Perry Miniatures arrives! I'll leave it as a surprise, for those that don't know the Perry catalogue numbering 😂 Stay tuned.

[whencyclopedia]

Colonel Tye

Colonel Tye (c. 1753-1780) was an African-American Loyalist leader who commanded one of the most effective guerilla forces of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Born into slavery, he escaped in 1775 and joined the British cause, leading a Loyalist militia known as the Black Brigade on raids against Patriot militias. He died in September 1780 of wounds sustained during a raid.

Early Life & Escape from Slavery

The man who would become Colonel Tye was born into slavery as Titus, on a farm in Monmouth County, New Jersey, c. 1753. Titus was one of four male slaves owned by John Corlies, a farmer whose land was nestled along the Navesink River, near the town of Shrewsbury. Corlies was, at least ostensibly, a Quaker, although he did not seem to possess many of the qualities valued by the Society of Friends. He did not share the Quaker belief in pacifism and was frequently reprimanded by others in the movement for drinking, cursing, and brawling. More concerning, however, was Corlies' reputation as a cruel slaveowner. He was known to beat Titus and his other slaves for the slightest of infractions, which disturbed many of his fellow Quakers, who found the practice of slavery to be abhorrent.

Indeed, in 1758, the Quakers of New Jersey and Pennsylvania passed an edict with the intention of gradually abolishing slavery within their own ranks. Quaker slaveowners were expected to voluntarily emancipate their slaves upon the slave's 21st birthday (considered the age of adulthood in 18th-century America). Slaves under the age of 21 were to be provided with education in the Quaker ideology and were to be taught how to read and write so that they could be as self-sufficient as possible upon their release. Corlies proved neglectful in these duties; he did not provide his slaves with education and failed to emancipate Titus upon his 21st birthday around 1774. In the autumn of 1775, Corlies was visited by a delegation of New Jersey Quakers, who urged the wayward slaveowner to educate and free his slaves or risk expulsion from the Quaker movement. Corlies, a quick-tempered man, was only angered by the ultimatum and doubled down on his behavior; the Quakers left the Corlies farm after having been told that Corlies "has not seen it his duty to give their freedom" (Hodges, 91).

Titus had undoubtedly observed the visit of the Quaker delegation and was aware as to why they had come. He also would have known that most other 21-year-old slaves with Quaker masters had already been freed, a fact that would have further hardened his heart against his own harsh master. By this point, the excited fervor that underscored the American Revolution (1765-1789) had seeped its way into Monmouth County; as New Jersey Patriots loudly pontificated about American liberty and freedom from the slavery of Great Britain, the people who were actually enslaved in the county wondered what all this meant for them. At night, groups of Monmouth County slaves would sneak off their masters' properties and hold meetings, where they discussed if their own personal freedoms might fit within the broader Patriot movement; as if in answer, the town of Shrewsbury authorized the arrests of all "slaves, Mulattos, and Negroes found off their masters' premises" after dark (Hodges, 94).

It was around this time, November 1775, that Titus made his escape from his master's farm. Shortly thereafter, John Corlies put out an advertisement offering a reward for the return of Titus, who Corlies described as being:

About 21 years of age, not very black, near six foot high, had on a gray homespun coat, brown breeches, blue and white stockings and took with him a wallet drawn up at one end with a string in which was a quantity of clothes (Hodges, 92).

So, with only a bag full of clothes to his name, Titus evaded the slave catchers and moved south toward Norfolk, Virginia. There, he expected to find his freedom; but it was the British, not the liberty-loving Patriots, who he expected would give it to him.

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[whencyclopedia]

Colonel Tye

Colonel Tye (c. 1753-1780) was an African-American Loyalist leader who commanded one of the most effective guerilla forces of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Born into slavery, he escaped in 1775 and joined the British cause, leading a Loyalist militia known as the Black Brigade on raids against Patriot militias. He died in September 1780 of wounds sustained during a raid.

Early Life & Escape from Slavery

The man who would become Colonel Tye was born into slavery as Titus, on a farm in Monmouth County, New Jersey, c. 1753. Titus was one of four male slaves owned by John Corlies, a farmer whose land was nestled along the Navesink River, near the town of Shrewsbury. Corlies was, at least ostensibly, a Quaker, although he did not seem to possess many of the qualities valued by the Society of Friends. He did not share the Quaker belief in pacifism and was frequently reprimanded by others in the movement for drinking, cursing, and brawling. More concerning, however, was Corlies' reputation as a cruel slaveowner. He was known to beat Titus and his other slaves for the slightest of infractions, which disturbed many of his fellow Quakers, who found the practice of slavery to be abhorrent.

Indeed, in 1758, the Quakers of New Jersey and Pennsylvania passed an edict with the intention of gradually abolishing slavery within their own ranks. Quaker slaveowners were expected to voluntarily emancipate their slaves upon the slave's 21st birthday (considered the age of adulthood in 18th-century America). Slaves under the age of 21 were to be provided with education in the Quaker ideology and were to be taught how to read and write so that they could be as self-sufficient as possible upon their release. Corlies proved neglectful in these duties; he did not provide his slaves with education and failed to emancipate Titus upon his 21st birthday around 1774. In the autumn of 1775, Corlies was visited by a delegation of New Jersey Quakers, who urged the wayward slaveowner to educate and free his slaves or risk expulsion from the Quaker movement. Corlies, a quick-tempered man, was only angered by the ultimatum and doubled down on his behavior; the Quakers left the Corlies farm after having been told that Corlies "has not seen it his duty to give their freedom" (Hodges, 91).

Titus had undoubtedly observed the visit of the Quaker delegation and was aware as to why they had come. He also would have known that most other 21-year-old slaves with Quaker masters had already been freed, a fact that would have further hardened his heart against his own harsh master. By this point, the excited fervor that underscored the American Revolution (1765-1789) had seeped its way into Monmouth County; as New Jersey Patriots loudly pontificated about American liberty and freedom from the slavery of Great Britain, the people who were actually enslaved in the county wondered what all this meant for them. At night, groups of Monmouth County slaves would sneak off their masters' properties and hold meetings, where they discussed if their own personal freedoms might fit within the broader Patriot movement; as if in answer, the town of Shrewsbury authorized the arrests of all "slaves, Mulattos, and Negroes found off their masters' premises" after dark (Hodges, 94).

It was around this time, November 1775, that Titus made his escape from his master's farm. Shortly thereafter, John Corlies put out an advertisement offering a reward for the return of Titus, who Corlies described as being:

About 21 years of age, not very black, near six foot high, had on a gray homespun coat, brown breeches, blue and white stockings and took with him a wallet drawn up at one end with a string in which was a quantity of clothes (Hodges, 92).

So, with only a bag full of clothes to his name, Titus evaded the slave catchers and moved south toward Norfolk, Virginia. There, he expected to find his freedom; but it was the British, not the liberty-loving Patriots, who he expected would give it to him.

Continue reading...

[whencyclopedia]

American Revolution

The American Revolution (1765-1789) was a period of political upheaval in the Thirteen Colonies of British North America. Initially a protest over parliamentary taxes, it blossomed into a rebellion and led, ultimately, to the birth of the United States. Rooted in the ideas of the Enlightenment, the Revolution played an important role in the emergence of modern Western democracies.

Origins: Parliament & the American Identity

In February 1763, the Seven Years' War – or the French and Indian War as the North American theater was called – came to an end. As part of the peace agreement, the vanquished Kingdom of France ceded its colony of New France (Canada) as well as all its colonial territory east of the Mississippi River to its victorious rival, Great Britain. While this left Britain as the dominant colonial power in North America, this newfound supremacy came at a cost, namely a massive war debt. To offset the debt, the British Parliament decided to levy new taxes on the Thirteen Colonies along the eastern seaboard of North America. Much of the war had been fought defending these colonies, after all, and Parliament decided that the colonists should help shoulder the empire's financial burden.

Prior to this decision, Parliament had adhered to an unofficial policy of 'salutary neglect' when dealing with the American colonies. This meant that, despite their royal governors, the colonies were largely left to manage their own affairs, with colonial legislatures overseeing governance and taxation. The influence of these legislatures often equaled if not eclipsed the power of the colony's royally appointed governor. Due to differing foundational and developmental circumstances, each colony maintained its own identity – the Puritan society of New England, the Dutch origins of New York, and the tobacco economy of Virginia, for example, all influenced the formation of their colonial identities. Despite viewing themselves as separate from one another, the colonies were loosely bound by their shared ties to Britain and had united in common defense multiple times during the last century of colonial wars.

At the same time, the American colonists considered themselves Britons, and proudly so. After the Glorious Revolution of 1689, and the constitutional reforms that went with it, the British were viewed as the freest people in the world; they were guaranteed a right to representative government (Parliament) as well as the right to self-taxation. The colonists believed that these 'rights of Englishmen' extended to them, as befitting of their English blood and allegiance to the English king; indeed, many of these rights were echoed in the colonies' own charters. The idea that Parliament could directly tax the colonies, therefore, went against this notion; since no Americans were represented in Parliament, Parliament had no constitutional authority to tax them (i.e. taxation without representation). Parliament, of course, disagreed, arguing that the Americans were virtually represented, as was the case with the thousands of Englishmen who owned no property and could not vote. It was this fundamental disagreement over the Americans' rights and liberties – expressed in the guise of taxation – that lay at the heart of the American Revolution and the birth of the United States.

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[whencyclopedia]

Battle of Cowpens

The Battle of Cowpens (17 January 1781) was a decisive battle in the southern theater of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). It saw a detachment of Continental soldiers and Patriot militia under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat a British force under Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton. The battle helped lead to the end of British domination in the American South.

Background

On 2 December 1780, Major General Nathanael Greene rode into the American military camp at Charlotte, North Carolina. A 38-year-old Quaker from Rhode Island, Greene had been entrusted by General George Washington to take charge of the remnants of the Southern Department of the Continental Army after its disastrous defeat at the Battle of Camden (16 August 1780). What Greene found at Charlotte was less an army than a rugged gathering of 1,400 disheartened men. The troops were undersupplied, underfed, and lacked clothing. Several men sat huddled around the campfires practically naked, with only rags or blankets to protect them from the elements. Many of the soldiers stirred themselves only to plunder the surrounding countryside for food, and the officers had grown jaded enough not to care. It was a ghastly display of dejection that must have reminded Greene of the state of the main army at Valley Forge three winters before.

It was not hard to see why the army was in such a depressed state. The Americans had suffered nothing but defeat since the British had first invaded the American South in late 1778. Having grown frustrated with their unsatisfactory military campaigns in the North, the British had shifted their focus to the South, which was rumored to be replete with Loyalists as well as the source of much of the United States' commercial wealth. The capture of the South, it was believed, would not only cut the United States in two but also cripple its ability to keep fighting. The British implemented their so-called 'southern strategy' in December 1778 by seizing Savannah, Georgia; the following year, a Franco-American attempt to retake the city failed, and Georgia became the first state to fall back under British control. In May 1780, the British won the Siege of Charleston, taking the largest and most important city in the entire South. Under the command of Lord Charles Cornwallis, the British then set about pacifying the rest of South Carolina. This sparked a bloody regional civil war, as the state's Patriot and Loyalist militias brutalized one another in the South Carolina backcountry. The southern Continental Army, under General Horatio Gates, had tried to retake the state but had been decisively defeated at Camden.

Now, as Greene took over command of the depleted army from Gates, he realized the monumental task that rested upon his shoulders. Should he fail, there would be nothing to prevent Cornwallis from conquering North Carolina and Virginia, completing the British 'southern strategy'. Greene was a cautious commander who pursued a 'Fabian strategy'. That is, he tried to avoid fighting any pitched battle that he was not sure he could win, instead wearing the enemy down through attrition and guerilla fighting, striking only when he spotted vulnerability. The Patriot militias already operating in South Carolina could serve this purpose well; Greene hoped that they could keep the British distracted long enough for him to whip his army into shape and maybe find new recruits. However, he would need someone he could rely on to go down into South Carolina and keep the militias supplied and organized. As it happened, Greene already had just the man in mind.

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[winterravenstudio]

Been thinking about writing up my PhD as a grahic novel for a long time. This is a quick computer sketch of the Battle of Ushant (1778). It was the first major sea battle between the French and British navies during the American War of Independence. -------- #rebels #historydrawings #seabattle #1778 #americanwarofindependence #revolutionarywar #artoftheday #mangastudio #clipstudio #animalspirit #anthropomorphic #navy #graphicnovel #comics #dogsatsea

[silversun1851]

April 19th, 1775, the American minute men along with town militia clash with British regulars in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts which ignites the American War Revolutionary War. #americanhistory #americanwarofindependence #patriotsday #documentaryphoto #documentaryphotograph #documentaryphotography #editorialphotography (at Lexington, Massachusetts)