Special Episode: Discussion with Dr. Ronald S. Gibbs on Medicine and the American Revolution
Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic.
Dr. Gibbs' Novel: The Long Shot: The Secret History of 1776 (2020).
Dr. Gibbs' Website https://ronaldsgibbs.com
On October 4, 1777 the Continental Army attacks the main British Army at Germantown, several days after the British occupied Philadelphia.
General Washington attempts a complex four pronged assault on the British camp. The attack falls part as units get lost in the heavy fog and the attackers turn their focus on taking a stone house on the edge of the battlefield.
This gives British forces time to rally and chase the Americans from the field.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: Harris, Michael C. Germantown: A Military History of the Battle for Philadelphia, October 4, 1777, Savas Beatie, 2020.
Online Recommendation of the Week: Lambdin, Alfred C. “Battle of Germantown.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 1, no. 4, 1877, pp. 368–403. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20084306
Also: FounderOfTheDay.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ3Gi2ZE_1piyX4aZ83cLbg
As General Burgoyne's British army faces off against General Gates' Continentals near Saratoga, Colonel John Brown leads an attack on the British rear at Fort Ticonderoga. The Continentals fail to capture the fort, but take 300 prisoners and thrown the British supply lines into disarray.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: Don Troiani's Campaign to Saratoga - 1777: The Turning Point of the Revolutionary War in Paintings, Artifacts, and Historical Narrative, 2019
by Eric H. Schnitzer & Don Troiani.
Online Recommendation of the Week: Howe, Archibald Murray, Colonel John Brown of Pittsfield Massachusetts, Boston: W. B. Clarke company, 1908. https://archive.org/details/coloneljohnbrow00howegoog
The British army under General Burgoyne finds itself increasingly isolated. On the American side, General Gates replaces General Schuyler as commander of the northern army. Gate's picks a fight with General Arnold while setting up defenses to take on the British.
The British assault at Freeman's Farm forces the Americans to pull back to their defensive lines in heights, but also leaves the British army weaker and unsure of its ability to break the American lines.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: The Battle of Saratoga, by Rupert Furneaux
Online Recommendation of the Week: The March to Saratoga, by Harrison Bird https://archive.org/details/marchtosaratogag008320mbp
As the British Army plans its final assault on Philadelphia, the continentals leave an army in the British rear to harass them. This army, led by General Anthony Wayne, took a position near Paoli Tavern. A British force led by General Charles Grey attacked the continentals at night, using bayonets to dispatch the enemy silently. Most of the Continentals fled into the dark woods.
Following the destruction of the army in their rear, the British crossed the Schuylkill river and took possession of Philadelphia.
Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic.
Book Recommendation of the Week: Battle of Paoli, by Thomas J. McGuire (2006).
Online Recommendation of the Week: Futhey, J. Smith “The Massacre of Paoli” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 1, no. 3, 1877, pp. 285–319: https://archive.org/details/jstor-20084293
Following the American loss at Brandywine, Congress reevaluates its officers. At the same time, Gen. Washington prepares to rally for the next confrontation.
The Continentals and British advance on each other near White Horse Tavern. As they prepare for a major battle, a terrible rain storm floods the field and damages most of the gunpowder. General Washington uses the opportunity to pull back across the Schuylkill river for a final defense of Philadelphia.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: The Philadelphia Campaign 1777-1778, by Stephen R. Taaffe.
Online Recommendation of the Week: Ecelbarger, Gary “Aggressive Minded Gamblers: Washington, Howe, and the Days between Battles, September 12-16, 1777, Journal of the American Revolution, March 10, 2020: https://allthingsliberty.com/2020/03/aggressive-minded-gamblers-washington-howe-and-the-days-between-battles-september-12-16-1777
General Washington sets his defenses along Brandywine Creek, hoping to prevent General Howe's advance on Philadelphia.
Howe sent his Hessians under General von Knyphausen against the Continental lines. At the same time Howe marched his regulars further north where he crossed the creek and marched against the Continental right flank.
The Continentals put up a good fight against the British assault before being forced to retreat. A rearguard action by Nathanael Green allowed the Continental army to make its escape.
Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic.
Book Recommendation of the Week: Harris, Michael C. Brandywine: A Military History of the Battle that Lost Philadelphia but Saved America, September 11, 1777
Online Recommendation of the Week: Some account of the British army, under the command of General Howe; and of the battle of Brandywine, on the memorable September 11th, 1777, and the adventures of that day, by Joseph Townsend. https://archive.org/details/someaccountofbri00town
The British Fleet deploys an army of over 15,000 British and Hessian soldiers at Head of Elk, Maryland. It takes the army several days to unload and to recover from the long journey. The Americans move to Wilmington Delaware as they scouted out the enemy. The armies clash several days later at Cooch's Bridge before the British move into Pennsylvania.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: The British Invasion of Delaware, Aug-Sep 1777, by Gerald J. Kauffman and Michael R. Gallagher
Online Recommendation of the Week: Proceedings at the unveiling of the monument at Cooch's Bridge, Historical Society of Delaware https://archive.org/details/proceedingsatunv00wilm
Over the summer of 1777, native tribes along the western frontier attack American settlements. In August, they attack Fort Henry in Virginia. After a sustained attack, the garrison receives reinforcements and forces the attackers to abandon the siege.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: Year of the Hangman: George Washington's Campaign Against the Iroquois, by Glenn Williams
Online Recommendation of the Week: History of the early settlement and Indian wars of Western Virginia https://archive.org/details/historyofearlyse00deha, by Wills De Haas
German troops under Col. Friedrich Baum are defeated by the militia raised by General John Stark near Bennington. Later that same day, Stark's forces defeat a relief column under the command of Col. Von Breymann.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: The Battle of Bennington: Soldiers & Civilians, by Michael P. Gabriel.
Online Recommendation of the Week: The Battle of Bennington, by Henry Davis Hall: https://archive.org/details/battleofbenningt00hall
