Combatants American Revolutionaries, France, Dutch Republic, Spain, American Indians Kingdom of Great Britain, German mercenaries, Loyalists, American Indians Commanders George Washington, Comte de Rochambeau, Nathanael Greene, Bernardo de Gálvez Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Cornwallis (more commanders) The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the... October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ... Year 1777 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... Illustration depicting uniforms and weapons used during the 1779 to 1783 period of the American Revolution by showing four soldiers standing in an informal group General George Washington, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775. ... John Hazelwood (1726-1 March 1800) was an officer in the Continental Navy. ... Combatants United States Great Britain Commanders George Washington William Howe Henry Clinton The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British initiative in the American Revolutionary War. ... Combatants United States Britain Commanders George Washington William Howe Strength 11,000 17,000 Casualties 250 killed 750 wounded 400 captured 89 killed 487 wounded The Battle of Brandywine was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 11, 1777, near Chadds Ford on Brandywine Creek in Delaware... The Paoli Massacre is the name given to an incident during the American Revolutionary War. ... Combatants Continental Army Great Britain Commanders George Washington William Howe Strength 11,700 8,000 Casualties 152 killed 521 wounded 400 captured 71 killed 450 wounded 14 missing The Battle of Germantown was a battle in the American Revolutionary War fought on October 4, 1777. ... Combatants Continental Army Colonial militia Great Britain German mercenaries Commanders George Washington William Howe Charles Cornwallis W. von Knyphausen Strength 11,000 14,000 Casualties 90 killed or wounded 32 captured 60 killed or wounded Map of the Battle of White Marsh The Battle of White Marsh was a battle... Combatants Pennsylvania militia Great Britain Commanders John Lacey Charles Cornwallis Strength Unknown Unknown Casualties Unknown Unknown The Battle of Matsons Ford was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought December 11, 1777 in the area surrounding Matsons Ford (present-day Conshohocken and West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania). ... Recreation of a cabin in which soldiers would have lived at Valley Forge Valley Forge was the site of the camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War. ... Combatants Patriot militia Britain Hessian Army Commanders John Lacey William Howe Strength ? ? Casualties None None The Battle of Crooked Billet was a battle of the American Revolutionary War and was fought on May 1, 1778. ... This article should belong in one or more categories. ... Combatants United States Great Britain Commanders George Washington Henry Clinton Strength 13,462 13,059 Casualties 152 killed 300 wounded Total 452 190 killed 390 wounded 576 captured Total 1,156 The Battle of Monmouth was an American Revolutionary War battle fought in New Jersey on June 28, 1778, that...

Background

After the capture of Philadelphia on September 26, 1777 and of the failure of the American surprise attack against the British camp at the Battle of Germantown on October 4, the Americans tried to deny the British use of the city by blockading it from re-supply on the Delaware River with two constructed forts that commanded the river. The first was Fort Mercer on the New Jersey side of the river at Red Bank. The other was Fort Mifflin on Mud Island in the river on the Pennsylvania side of the river. So long as the Americans held both forts, the British army in Philadelphia could not communicate with the outside world or be re-supplied. In addition to the forts, the Americans possessed a small flotilla of Continental Navy ships on the Delaware supplemented by the Pennsylvania State Navy, all under the command of Commodore John Hazelwood. Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Cradle of Liberty, the City That Loves You Back, the Quaker City, The Birthplace of America Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1777 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Continental Army Great Britain Commanders George Washington William Howe Strength 11,700 8,000 Casualties 152 killed 521 wounded 400 captured 71 killed 450 wounded 14 missing The Battle of Germantown was a battle in the American Revolutionary War fought on October 4, 1777. ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The Delaware River is a river on the Atlantic coast of the United States. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... Fort Mifflin is located in the southern portion of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, near the Philadelphia Airport. ... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... John Hazelwood (1726-1 March 1800) was an officer in the Continental Navy. ...

On October 19, General Sir William Howe, the commander of the British army, evacuated his camp at Germantown and pulled his forces inside the city of Philadelphia, and sent a part of his forces to capture the two American force denying him use of the Delaware River. Earlier, Howe sent a group of men to Webb's Ferry on the mouth of the Schuylkill River and across to fortify artillery guns on the marshy Providence Island across from Mud Island where Fort Mifflin was located to construct artillery batteries to bombard the island. The first bombardment of Fort Mifflin was on October 11, which was merely a desultory attack which convinced the British to expand and improve their batteries. October 19 is the 292nd day of the year (293rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Germantown is the name of some places in the United States of America: Germantown, Connecticut Germantown, Illinois Germantown, Indiana (two places) in Rush County in Shelby County Germantown, Iowa Germantown, Kentucky Germantown, Maryland (four places) in Anne Arundel County in Baltimore County in Montgomery County in Worcester County Germantown, New... The Schuylkill River, pronounced SKOO-kull (IPA: ), is a river in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Meanwhile, 2,000 Hessian troops under the command of Colonel Karl von Donop, landed at Cooper's Ferry on the New Jersey side of the Delaware and made plans to attack Fort Mercer, located on the high ground at Red Bank.

The Battle

Von Donop, who had two regiments defeated and captured nearly a year earlier at the Battle of Trenton, was eager to avenge what he considered to be a humiliation during the battle. He quoted to his men: "Either the fort will be called Fort Donop, or I shall have fallen." Von Donop divided his army into two groups totaling 1,200 men, to make a two-pronged attack against the fort on the morning of October 22. Von Donop and Hessian grenadier Lieutenant Colonel von Linsing were to attack the southern part of the fort, while Colonel Friedrich Ludwig von Minnigerode's grenadiers and Lieutenant Colonel Werner von Mirbach's infantry were to attack the northern and eastern approaches. With six British man-of-war warships to support the attack, Von Donop was convinced the fort would be in his hands by nightfall. After a cannonade by the Hessian artillery, Linsing moved against the nine-foot high southern parapet and his men were cut down my devastating cannon and musket fire and were forced to retreat. On the north, Minnigerode's grenadiers managed to scale the ramparts of an abandoned section of the fort. But when they moved on they were confronted by a tangled mass of trees with pointed ends called an abates protecting the main wall of the fort. With little proper tools, they were soon spotted trying to claw their was through the barricade and were also fired upon by the Americans waiting for them on the other side of the abates. Suffering heavy casualties, the Hessians began to retreat, making a camp for themselves in the nearby village of Haddonfield. During the battle, Von Donop was mortally wounded during the southern attack, and died from his wounds three days later in a farmhouse at Woodbury Creek. Combatants Continental Army a Hessian Brigade Commanders George Washington Johann Rall† Strength 6,000 1,400 Casualties 5 dead 2 wounded 23 dead, 92 wounded 913 captured This article is about the Battle of Trenton which took place on December 26, 1776. ... October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ...

To make matters worse for the British and Hessians, the six British man-of-war ships were engaged by smaller American gunboats. During the engagement, two of the ships, the 64-gun man-of-war Augusta and the sloop-of-war Merlin ran aground on a shoal trying to avoid a series of underwater obstacles called chevaux-de-frise which were large wooden spears weighted down on the bottom of the river by heavy crates filled with rocks to pierce the underside hulls of intruding British warships. The next morning, unable to drag the Merlin off the shoal and not wanting to get the ship fall into American hands, the British set fire to the ship, while the Augusta was set on fire by American batteries from Fort Mifflin and the next day, it exploded. The cheval de frise (plural: chevaux de frise) was a Mediaeval defensive obstacle consisting of a portable frame (sometimes just a simple log) covered with many long iron or wooden spikes or even actual spears. ...

Aftermath

The Hessian army reported casualties at 377 killed and wounded with 20 missing or captured, while the Americans reported their losses as 14 killed and 27 wounded. Frustrated by the failure to capture Fort Mercer, Howe ordered the Hessian regiment to be withdrawn from New Jersey while he made plans to attack Fort Mifflin by a massive artillery bombardment. By early November the British artillery batteries on Providence Island were complete and with a number of warships to support the batteries. On November 10, 1777, the British opened up a full-scale bombardment of Fort Mifflin which lasted for five days. Six British warships, with two small floating batteries, called the Vigilant and Fury also joined the bombardment to rake Fort Mifflin at close-range. After five days, on November 15, the commanding officer of Fort Mifflin, Major Thayer, with 250 reported casualties among his 400 men and with ammunition running low, abandoned the fort that evening, leaving the American flag flying, and evacuating his men for Fort Mercer. The next morning a small party of British troops landed unopposed at the deserted Fort Mifflin, hauled down the American flag and place the British Union Jack flag atop the ruined fort. The bombardment of Fort Mifflin cost the British only a reported 13 sailors and troops killed with 24 wounded, with some damage done to some of their warships and land batteries. Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... Year 1777 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ...

Howe then sent Lord Cornwallis with 5,000 men to attack Fort Mercer again by landing them at a ferry at Billing sport to the south. Rather than let the garrison be captured by an overwhelming British assault, Colonel Christopher Greene decided to abandon the fort on November 20, leaving the British to occupy it the following day. November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

George Washington's scheme of starving the British out of Philadelphia had failed with the loss of the two forts. His only hope now was to force the British out of Philadelphia into another major land battle to attack his camp at nearby Whitemarsh. Although Howe did sortie from the city to launch a feint at the American camp in early December, he felt the American position was too strong and retired to Philadelphia for the rest of the winter. Washington then moved his army to outside the town of Valley Forge for the winter to renew the campaign against the British in the spring. George Washington (February 22, 1732–December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and was later elected the first President of the United States. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Recreation of a cabin in which soldiers would have lived at Valley Forge Valley Forge was the site of the camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War. ...

References and further reading

• A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution; author: Craig L. Symonds; The National & Aviation Publishing Company of America, Inc. 1986. ISBN 0-933852-53-3

• The Delaware Bay and River Defenses of Philadelphia, 1775-1777; author: John W. Jackson; 1977;