Author Archives: Eric J. Wittenberg
The Battle of Groton Heights, September 6, 1781: The Fort Griswold Massacre
Part Three Click here for parts one and two. With British soldiers pouring into the fort, Colonel Ledyard ordered a ceasefire, and prepared to surrender Fort Griswold to the victorious British. However, the British disregarded the ceasefire and continuing pouring … Continue reading
Part Two: The Battle of Groton Heights, September 6, 1781: The Fort Griswold Massacre
For Part One, click here. Lt. Col. Edmund Eyre’s battalion of 800 Regulars and Loyalists landed on the east bank of the Thames River, facing tangled woodlands and swamps. The New Jersey Loyalists, in fact, had so much difficulty moving … Continue reading
The Battle of Groton Heights, September 6, 1781: The Fort Griswold Massacre
Part One After turning coat, Benedict Arnold received a commission as a brigadier general in the British army as part of the deal that he made in order to betray his country. In August 1781, George Washington decided to shift … Continue reading
Defense in Depth as a Revolutionary War Battlefield Tactic
Part 4 (click here for first three parts) As we have seen, two untrained, amateur, but very effective soldiers perfected the concept of the defense in depth during the campaigns of 1781. Morgan was the first to experiment with the … Continue reading
Defense in Depth as a Revolutionary War Battlefield Tactic
Part Three (click here for first two installments) Determined to avenge his embarrassing defeat at Cowpens, Lt. Gen. Charles Lord Cornwallis set his army out in a determined pursuit of the American army. Knowing that he was too weak to … Continue reading
Part 2: The Defense in Depth as a Revolutionary War Battlefield Tactic
For part one, click here. Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan, the “Old Wagoner,” as he was known, commanded a light infantry corps assigned to Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene’s southern army. Morgan met with Greene in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 3, … Continue reading
The Defense in Depth as a Revolutionary Battlefield Tactic
Part One of Four As a general statement, most people don’t think of the Revolutionary War as a testing ground for battlefield tactics. That assumption would not be correct. In fact, the Revolutionary War proved beyond doubt that traditional European … Continue reading
Hessian Camp, Reading, Pennsylvania: A Childhood Mystery Solved
I grew up in a suburb of Reading, Pennsylvania. Reading is the county seat of Berks County, and is located about sixty miles northwest of Philadelphia. Reading is an old town; Richard and Thomas Penn, the sons of William Penn, … Continue reading
Lord Dunmore’s War: The Opening of the American Revolution
PART FOUR OF FOUR Visiting the Point Pleasant Battlefield Today, little of the Point Pleasant battlefield remains. A small park, of about four acres, at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers is the only preserved portion of the … Continue reading
Lord Dunmore’s War: The Opening of the American Revolution
PART THREE OF FOUR The Historic Significance of Lord Dunmore’s War After defeating Cornstalk, Lewis and his command crossed the Ohio River and advanced to within eight miles of the Shawnee villages at Pickaway Plains (near present-day Circleville, Ohio) on … Continue reading