Battles of the American Revolution

The Battle of Trenton (Dec. 26, 1776) was a crucial early victory for the American forces in the American Revolution. On Christmas night 1776, Gen. George Washington and about 2,500 Continental soldiers crossed the ice-clogged Delaware River from Pennsylvania; early the next morning they surprised Hessian mercenaries in the British service encamped at Trenton, N.J.

Washington Crossing the Delaware

By four in the morning there were nine long miles to cover before wintry dawn. There was no smoking or talking or halting or straggling -- surprise was essential on the road that led to sleeping Trenton and its garrison of tough German professionals.

Soaked muskets became useless, but Washington ordered: "Tell General Sullivan to use the bayonet. I am resolved to take Trenton." And for once, bayonets were available. Ice formed on the roads. Men fell in a clatter of equipment, were pried to their feet, and went stumbling on. Overhead the eastern sky began to pale. The columns broke into what a soldier later called a "long trot."

The hundred-odd scattered houses of Trenton lay silent under the storm, and ice glinted on picket fences, orchards, and the hulking stone barracks built to house Royal troops during the old French wars.

On high ground at present Princeton Avenue, Washington appeared with his staff, and threw in Lord Stirling's brigade, spearheaded by George Weedon's 3rd Virginia. Americans under Captain William Washington and Lt. James Monroe cut down the gunners about two Hessian fieldpieces. Arthur St. Claire's brigade was in, and John Stark, leading its right element, "dealt death wherever he found resistance and broke down all opposition before him."

As their firearms dried out, riflemen took aim and muskets began to pop all along the line. Colonel Johann Raul, Commanding Officer of the Hessian troops, still dazed from his holiday celebrations, raged up and down King and Queen streets, bravely trying to rally his men. Then he was down, mortally wounded. Sullivan swung his whole command up from the river to meet St. Claire crashing down from the north, and the remnants of the Trenton garrison downed arms in a dripping, winrty orchard.

The whole affair had lasted less than three-quarters of an hour.

American casualties were light, but the Hessian commander was mortally wounded in the ensuing battle, and more than 900 of his men were captured. Washington also came away with badly needed arms and stores. After their earlier defeats in New York, the Trenton victory restored the Americans' flagging morale.

Washington Triumphant at Trenton

Picture Credits: Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art (top); Union League of Philadelphia (bottom).
Bibliography: Bill, Alfred Hoyt, The Campaign of Princeton, 1776-1777 (1948; repr. 1975); Ketchum, Richard M., The Winter Soldiers (1973) and The American Heritage History of The American Revolution (1971); Smith, Samuel S., The Battle of Trenton (1965).

The Battle of Monmouth was an indecisive engagement in the American Revolution fought on June 28, 1778, near Monmouth Courthouse (now Freehold), N.J. The American army of about 13,000 men, including 2,000 Jersey militia, was led by George Washington, who took a personal hand in the fighting, while the British, numbering some 10,000 troops, were commanded by Sir Henry Clinton. The British evacuated Philadelphia on June 18 and Clinton set out for New York by land across New Jersey, with Washington, having broken camp at Valley Forge, in pursuit. As Clinton paused to rest at Monmouth Courthouse, Gen. Charles Lee led an advance force of 5,400 men against the British rear guard. But due to Lee's bungling tactics the Americans soon fell into confusion and began a disorderly retreat.

Washington now came on the scene, sharply upbraided Lee, and rallied the troops. The Americans proceeded to repulse two British attacks in heavy hand-to-hand combat. By sundown, the intense heat of the day had taken its toll on both sides, and the British slipped away under cover of darkness. American casualties totaled 69 killed, 161 wounded, and 37 dead of sunstroke. The British reported 147 killed and 170 wounded. Lee was court-martialed for disobeying orders. During the battle, the heroism of the wife of one of the American soldiers who assisted the American forces gave rise to the legend of Molly Pitcher.

It was the last major conflict in the North and the war's biggest one-day battle.

Monmouth Battlefield State Park was opened to visitors in 1977.

Bibliography: Blacksby, A. D., Washington and the American Revolution (1986); Smith, Samuel S., The Battle of Monmouth (1964); Stryker, William S., The Battle of Monmouth (1927; repr. 1970); Thayer, Theodore, The Making of a Scapegoat: Washington and Lee at Monmouth (1976); Wood, W., Battles of the Revolutionary War, 1775-1781 (1990).

From the summer of 1776 the strategic initiative was taken by the British, who believed that the real core of the insurrection was in the northern tier of colonies, especially in New England. To bring the war to an end in 1776, British planners sent reinforcements to Maj. Gen. Guy Carleton, governor of Quebec, who had already defeated Arnold and Montgomery. Carleton should push the Americans from their remaining toeholds in Canada and pursue them down the Lake Champlain-Hudson River trough, which might be a means of cutting the colonies in half.

Simultaneously, a much larger army headed by Maj. Gen. William Howe, who had replaced Gage as supreme commander, should capture New York City and its splendid harbor, a strategic base from which it could advance up the Hudson, unite with Carleton, and overrun New England. But Carleton, after driving his opponents back, was delayed by problems of supply and the difficulties of wilderness campaigning. Then, near Valcour Island on Lake Champlain, his naval complement was checkmated by a tiny American fleet hastily assembled by Benedict Arnold. Time was always of the essence in fall campaigning, and the lateness of the season now prompted Carleton to return to Canada for the winter.

Howe's chances of completing his part of the two-pronged offensive seemed more promising than Carleton's. Howe launched his campaign with the largest force he or any other British general had at his disposal during the war: 32,000 soldiers, together with 400 transports and 73 warships under his brother, Vice Admiral Richard, Earl Howe, with whom he shared the American supreme command. From a military viewpoint, Washington should not have attempted to retain New York City, with its hard-to-defend islands, rivers, bays, and inlets, although Congress saw strong psychological reasons for holding a major city whose loss might dispirit patriots everywhere. As it was, Washington suffered a defeat on Long Island (Aug. 27, 1776). Fortunately for him, Howe did not attempt to follow up his victory quickly. The explanation may be that the Howe brothers, who were also peace commissioners, hoped to convince the Americans to lay down their arms, apparently in the belief that leniency might encourage the rebels to do so. If that was their theory, it failed.

Washington fought a series of rearguard actions with Howe on Manhattan Island, with the result that it took the sluggish Howe from August to November to clear his opponents from New York City and the surrounding area. Howe, like Carleton, never made his move along the Hudson, but contented himself with pursuing the retreating Washington across New Jersey until the Americans managed to escape over the Delaware River into Pennsylvania (Dec. 7, 1776)

Author: Don Higginbotham - Permission given by the author.
Bibliography: Alden, John R., A History of the American Revolution (1969); Bailyn, Bernard, Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1967); Bemis, Samuel Flagg, The Diplomacy of the American Revolution (1957; repr. 1983); Dupuy, Richard E., The American Revolution, a Global War (1977); Higginbotham, Don, War of American Independence (1971); Langguth, A. J., Patriots (1988); Morgan, Edmund S., Birth of the Republic, 2d ed. (1977); Morris, Richard B., The American Revolution: A Short History (1979) and The Forging of the Union 1781-1789 (1987); Shy, John, A People Numerous and Armed (1976); Stokesbury, James L., A Short History of the American Revolution (1991); Tuchman, Barbara, The First Salute (1988); Wood, Gordon, Creation of the American Republic (1969).

The Battle of the Brandywine, fought on Sept. 11, 1777 along Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania, 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Philadelphia, was a victory for the British during the American Revolution. Intending to capture Philadelphia, Gen. William Howe landed on Chesapeake Bay with 15,000 men and moved north toward the city. George Washington met him at Brandywine Creek, near Chadds Ford, Pa., with an army of 11,000. Howe successfully used a flanking movement to drive the Americans from the field, but Washington managed to withdraw most of his troops safely.

Early in 1777, British military leaders discussed how to cut New England off from the other colonies. It was decided that Gen. John Burgoyne was to march on Albany, N. Y., while Gen. William Howe advanced on Philadelphia. On July 23, 1777, Howe sailed from New York with more than 15,000 troops, arriving at Head of Elk on Chesapeake Bay on August 25. Gen. George Washington quickly marched 11,000 men to challenge Howe, and the two armies converged at Chad's (Chadd's) Ford, Pa., on Brandywine Creek.

Gen. Nathanael Greene commanded the American center. To his left was the Pennsylvania militia under Gen. John Armstrong, and on the right were three divisions under Gen. John Sullivan. While Gen. Wilhelm von Knyphausen feinted an attack against the American center, Gen. Charles Cornwallis led the remaining British forces northward. Quietly crossing the Brandywine above its forks, Cornwallis suddenly fell on Sullivan's troops from the rear.

When Washington learned that his right wing was in danger, he sent Greene and two brigades from the center to aid Sullivan. Greene's splendid stand saved the Americans from possible disaster. The American army, though badly battered, was still intact. Howe's capture of Philadelphia proved of no strategic value, but as a result were able to occupy Philadelphia during the winter of 1777.

Bibliography: Canby, H. S., The Brandywine, 2d ed. (1977); Smith, S. S., The Battle of Brandywine (1976).

The Battle of Cowpens was an American victory during the American Revolution. On Jan. 17, 1781, Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan, with about 1,000 men, met a British force of 1,100 under Col. Banastre Tarleton at the Cow Pens, north of present Spartanburg, S.C.

Gen. Nathanael Greene, on assuming command of the Continental army in the South, where the British under Lord Cornwallis were making substantial gains, decided to take the offensive. To move against Cornwallis' flanks, he divided his army, sending one detachment southeast and another southwest. From Charlotte, N. C., Morgan marched 58 miles (93 km) southwest and camped by the Pacolet River on Dec. 25, 1780, with about 1,690 men. Cornwallis sent Tarleton with about 1,040 men to engage Morgan.

Morgan took a position near Hannah's Cowpens between the Pacolet River and Thickety Creek. He placed his main force on two hills. In front of them he deployed a line of riflemen and a line of 300 militia. On the morning of January 17, Tarleton attacked. He pushed back the two front lines but suffered losses. While the patriot militia withdrew by a prearranged route, the British, sensing victory, charged the American line on the first hill. They were routed by the Maryland and Delaware Continentals.

Tarleton escaped, but at least 600 of his men were killed, wounded, or captured. Morgan had won a momentous victory with minor losses. The British campaign in the South was seriously affected. A portion of the field is now the Cowpens National Battlefield Site.

Author: Paul C. Bowers, Jr., Ohio State University

The Battle of Long Island, an engagement of the American Revolution, fought on Aug. 27–30, 1776. After the British abandoned Boston on March 17, 1776, General Washington moved his army to New York City, believing it to be the next point of attack. On August 22, the British transported an army of 32,000 from Staten Island across the Narrows to Long Island. Washington knew that to defend New York, he must hold Brooklyn, just across the East River on Long Island. Accordingly, he moved some 7,000 men to increase the Brooklyn forces to about 19,000.

The Americans hurriedly built fortifications on Brooklyn Heights and established an outer defensive position behind a long ridge running eastward from Gowanus Bay at the western end of Long Island. Unfortunately, Israel Putnam, the local commander, failed to provide any defense for his eastern flank at Jamaica Pass.

On August 27 the British attacked the American right in a holding attack, while a large body made an end-run through the undefended Jamaica Pass. Despite brave fighting on the American right, the entire defense collapsed in utter confusion. The Americans, with a loss of 1,012 against 392 for the British, fell back to the entrenched positions on Brooklyn Heights.

Fortunately for Washington, Howe did not attempt to follow up his victory quickly. The explanation may be that the Howe brothers, who were also peace commissioners, hoped to convince the Americans to lay down their arms, apparently in the belief that leniency might encourage the rebels to do so. If that was their theory, it failed.

Washington recognized the futility of further resistance on Long Island. On the stormy night of August 29–30, through a combination of good luck and good management, he moved the entire American force across to the New York shore with the loss of only three stragglers.

Washington fought a series of rearguard actions with Howe on Manhattan Island, with the result that it took the sluggish Howe from August to November to clear his opponents from New York City and the surrounding area. Howe, like Carleton, never made his move along the Hudson, but contented himself with pursuing the retreating Washington across New Jersey until the Americans managed to escape over the Delaware River into Pennsylvania (Dec. 7, 1776).

Authors: Edward P. Hamilton, Director, Fort Ticonderoga; Ronald W. McGranahan (contributing).

Ticonderoga, a stone fort between Lake Champlain and Lake George in what is now northern New York State, was an object of contention during the French and Indian War of 1754-63 and the American Revolution. The French built it in 1755 as an outpost of Fort Saint Frederic (Crown Point) and named it Carillon. In 1758 the marquis de Montcalm repulsed a British assault led by Maj. Gen. James Abercrombie in one of the bloodiest battles of the colonial wars. Jeffrey Amherst succeeded in taking it from the French the following year.

At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys seized (May 1775) Ticonderoga from the British. Gen. John Burgoyne recaptured it in 1777, but the British abandoned it later in the year. Restored in the early 20th century, it stands today as a historic monument.

Author: Don Higginbotham - Permission Given By The Author
Bibliography: Hamilton, E. P., Fort Ticonderoga: Key to a Continent (1964).

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