Family History and Genealogy
Information about my ancestors in the Revolutionary War
January 3, 1777 – A second victory for Washington as his troops defeat the British at Princeton and drive them back toward New Brunswick. Washington then establishes winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey. During the harsh winter, Washington's army shrinks to about a thousand men as enlistments expire and deserters flee the hardships. By spring,…
Battle of Yorktown — The War's End September 1781 – October 19, 1781 MIRACULOUS CONVERGENCE "The first necessity [of the Yorktown campaign] was to arrange the meeting of French naval and American land forces on the Virginia coast at a specified time and place. The junction in Virginia had to be coordinated by two different…
LINEAGE [Wright, Continental Army, pp. 283-285] Authorized 21 August 1775 in the Virginia State Troops as the 2d Virginia Regiment Organized 21 October 1775 at Williamsburg to consist of seven companies Adopted 1 November 1775 into the Continental Army Reorganized 11 January 1776 to consist of ten companies Assigned 27 February 1776 to the Southern…
The British Strategy By 1778, British and American combatants in the north were stalemated, and a quick end to the Revolutionary War was doubtful. The British now rekindled a plan for putting down the rebellion by first controlling the southern colonies and then sweeping north to total victory. The strategy began well. Savannah was captured…
History In the summer of 1780, the Southern American colonies – and hopes of independence – seemed at the mercy of an invading British army. Believing the Southern colonies mostly loyal, the Royal army planned to conquer the South and recruit Loyalist militia (local volunteer soldiers) to help British regulars and British Provincial troops defeat…
RESEARCHER’S NOTES: Participation of Captain Samuel Martin in the Battle of King’s Mountain. During the latter part of August and the whole of September, Captain Martin was rarely at home, and then not remaining for more than two days at a time. About the last week of September be marched with his company by a…
On October 7, 1780, in the rolling hills of northern South Carolina, a small army of men under the command of a British officer, Major Patrick Ferguson, was overtaken and defeated by a group that had been assembled from the farms and fields of southwest Virginia, North Carolina and the area that would become Tennessee….
(1781) Despite the fact the Battle of Guilford Court House is a tactile draw, it remains a victory for the Americans as the British have been worn down so much that they will make a fateful retreat to Yorktown, Virginia. The tide of the war in the South has turned with Daniel Morgans' crushing defeat…
(1781) The Loyalist defeat at King's Mountain two month earlier had revived the Patriot effort for the war in the South. The Army had a new Southern Department commander in the Quaker Nathaniel Greene. Greene was determined to fight, but not at the expense of loosing more men. He made the decision that he would…
Chronology of Events Regular type= Crown victory. Bold type= Rebel victory.Italic type= non-confrontational event or non-decisive battle. {ln:Timeline 'Revolutionary War 1777-1783}a detailed timeline, with images Prelude to War 1760 to 1775 1760 King George III ascends to the throne of England. 1763 Treaty signed between England and France ending the French and Indian War. Canada…