The British Invasion Of Delaware Aug Sep 1777

In 1777, Congress labeled Quakers who would not take up arms in support of the War of Independence as “the most Dangerous Enemies America knows” and ordered Pennsylvania and Delaware to apprehend them. In response, Keystone State officials sent twenty men—seventeen of whom were Quakers—into exile, banishing them to Virginia, where they were held for a year. Prisoners of Congress reconstructs this moment in American history through the experiences of four families: the Drinkers, the Fishers, the Pembertons, and the Gilpins. Identifying them as the new nation’s first political prisoners, Norman E. Donoghue II relates how the Quakers, once the preeminent power in Pennsylvania and an integral constituency of the colonies and early republic, came to be reviled by patriots who saw refusal to fight the English as borderline sedition. Surprising, vital, and vividly told, this narrative of political and literal warfare waged by the United States against a pacifist religious group during the Revolutionary War era sheds new light on an essential aspect of American history. It will appeal to anyone interested in learning more about the nation’s founding.

The Occupation of Wilmington tells the story of the British army occupation of Wilmington Delaware immediately after the Battle of Brandywine. This battle was the largest battle of the American revolution with over 32,000 troops engaged on September 11, 1777. Although a great victory for General William Howe, his army sustained significant losses in killed and wounded. Over 400 British and Hessian soldiers needed extended hospital care. In order to tend to the wounded, the British seized Wilmington and turned the town into a large field hospital. Eventually, the British committed three regiments to the occupation. These soldiers outnumbered the local population by over two to one. The Royal Navy sailed up the Delaware river to Wilmington in order to embark wounded soldiers and transport Continental prisoners taken at the Battle of Brandywine. This little known story uncovers the extent of British losses at Brandywine, the failure of the Delaware militia to protect Wilmington and the effects of a wartime occupation on the population of a town that just preferred to be left alone.

"Brandywine Creek calmly meanders through the Pennsylvania countryside today, but on September 11, 1777, it served as the scenic backdrop for the largest battle of the American Revolution, one that encompassed more troops over more land than any combat fought on American soil until the Civil War. Long overshadowed by the stunning American victory at Saratoga, the complex British campaign that defeated George WashingtonÕs colonial army and led to the capture of the capital city of Philadelphia was one of the most important military events of the war. Michael C. HarrisÕs impressive Brandywine: A Military History of the Battle that Lost Philadelphia but Saved America, September 11, 1777, is the first full-length study of this pivotal engagement in many years. General Sir William Howe launched his campaign in late July 1777, when he loaded his army of 16,500 British and Hessian soldiers aboard a 265-ship armada in New York and set sail. Six difficult weeks later HoweÕs expedition landed near Elkton, Maryland, and moved north into Pennsylvania. WashingtonÕs rebel army harassed HoweÕs men at several locations including a minor but violent skirmish at CoochÕs Bridge in Delaware on September 3. Another week of hit-and-run tactics followed until Howe was within three miles of ChadsÕs Ford on Brandywine Creek, behind which Washington had posted his army in strategic blocking positions along a six-mile front. The young colonial capital of Philadelphia was just 25 miles farther east. Obscured by darkness and a heavy morning fog, General Howe initiated his plan of attack at 5:00 a.m. on September 11, pushing against the American center at ChadsÕs Ford with part of his army while the bulk of his command swung around WashingtonÕs exposed right flank to deliver his coup de main, destroy the colonials, and march on Philadelphia. Warned of HoweÕs flanking attack just in time, American generals turned their divisions to face the threat. The bitter fighting on Birmingham Hill drove the Americans from the field, but their heroic defensive stand saved WashingtonÕs army from destruction and proved that the nascent Continental foot soldiers could stand toe-to-toe with their foe. Although fighting would follow, Philadelphia fell to HoweÕs legions on September 26. HarrisÕs Brandywine is the first complete study to merge the strategic, political, and tactical history of this complex operation and important set-piece battle into a single compelling account. More than a decade in the making, his sweeping prose relies almost exclusively upon original archival research and his personal knowledge of the terrain. Enhanced with original maps, illustrations, and modern photos, and told largely through the words of those who fought there, Brandywine will take its place as one of the most important military studies of the American Revolution ever written."

How did colonies, territories, and land purchases shape the United States of America? What differences—and similarities—are there between the states? What does each state bring to the union? From sea to shining sea, The Handy State-by-State Answer Book: Faces, Places, and Famous Dates for All Fifty States explores the history, growth, politics, people, and more of each of the 50 states. It is a resource for learning about the events and personalities that influenced and affected each state, its history, government, cities, and culture. It is a convenient place to look for state facts and trivia. In addition to the state motto, nickname, and when it entered the union, The Handy State-by-State Answer Book answers intriguing questions about the people, places, and events that lend a unique character to each state's boundaries, government, and places of interest, such as: How important were the Beach Boys to the making of California’s culture? Are the Hawaiians still in charge of their state and its economy? Why was it so easy for the Pilgrims and the Puritans to take over eastern Massachusetts? Who were the first inhabitants of what is now South Dakota? Does it ever stop raining on the Washington coast?

Heralded across the country in newspapers ranging from The New York Times Book Review and The Baltimore Sun to The Minneapolis Star Tribune and The Denver Post, and in magazines as diverse as Chicago and Library Journal, the Haunted America series has attracted widespread acclaim as a virtual spectral travelogue through the byways and highways of North America. Haunted Heritage: A Definitive Collection of American Ghost Stories, the latest volume in the series. Continues its recounting of supernatural explorations, collecting a comprehensive compendium of ghostly tales, not penned by fictioneers such as Poe and King, but passed on by word of mouth and preserved by memory as actual windows on our nation's haunted past. The authors have compiled an astounding collection of American ghost stories. Based on interviews with eyewitnesses, unearthed ancient archives, overheard tales, and actual paranormal visitations and explorations. From the "Haunts of Ivy," a survey of university ghosts, to an overview of spectral lights, from revolutionary spirits in New England to beyond the grave occurrences in the Badlands, Haunted Heritage is the ghost story collection for all of North America. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Military method, weaponry, and communication technology receive detailed treatment, in the text and in the maps.".