Category Archives: battles

“Gate’s Defeat”: The Battle of Camden

1779 was a relatively uneventful year for the Revolutionary War.  The British became tired of the stalemate, so in an attempt to finish the war, they refocused their attention to the south.  The southern Continental Army was shattered after the … Continue reading

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The Midnight Attack on Stony Point

While each campaign year of the Revolutionary War had its own purpose and series of events, the main focus of the campaign of 1779 was to maintain the vital lines of communication between the Eastern and Southern states. George Washington … Continue reading

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“The misfortune which ensued”: The defeat at Germantown

On the morning of October 4, 1777, Continental troops encountered British forces, led by Lord William Howe, encamped at Germantown, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia’s outskirts. George Washington believed that he had surprise on his side. [1] He had ordered his multiple divisions to march twenty … Continue reading

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British “masters of the field”: The disaster at Brandywine

On the night of September 10, 1777, many of the soldiers and commanding officers of the Continental Army sat around their campfires and listened to an ominous sermon that would predict the events of the following day. Chaplain Jeremias (or Joab) Trout … Continue reading

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A Short Fight on Hobkirk’s Hill: Surprise, Blame, and Defeat

At 10 or 11 o’clock in the morning of April 25, 1781, one and half miles from Camden, South Carolina, British troops advanced on Continental Army soldiers, commanded by Major General Nathaniel Greene, who were having their breakfast. The Continentals, camped on a … Continue reading

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A Fine Fox Chase: The Battle of Princeton

At the beginning of 1777 the Americans were in an unfamiliar position; they were on the offensive. In the week after capturing Trenton they had successfully parried the attacks of General Cornwallis, but a more serious engagement was inevitable before … Continue reading

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The Crossing and the Capture

“For heaven’s sake, keep this to yourself,” George Washington wrote to Colonel Joseph Reed, laying out his plan to capture Trenton. “Christmas day at night, one hour before day, is the time fixed upon for our attempt on Trenton.”[1] The first … Continue reading

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The Road to Trenton

December was a desperate month for the Revolutionary cause, which badly needed a victory to turn the tide of losses. Expiring enlistments were steadily chipping away at the size of the Continental Army, and the British established a winter camp … Continue reading

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“A Cursed Affair”: The Loss of Fort Washington

“But alas! we must no longer think of holds and fortresses on the North River. There are, I hear, various opinions respecting the taking [of] fort Washington, some think that it was too easily surrendered, others say our men behaved well and that it … Continue reading

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The Battle of White Plains

On October 28, 1776, the Continental Army had marched north of Manhattan, withdrawing  to the hills of the village of White Plains. Since the Battle of Brooklyn, General Howe had been pursuing the Continental Army in an attempt to encircle … Continue reading

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