DOCSLIB.ORG

The Galloping Hessian of the Hollow: the Search for Early American Identity Through Foreign Mercenaries ______

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

THE GALLOPING HESSIAN OF THE HOLLOW: THE SEARCH FOR EARLY AMERICAN IDENTITY THROUGH FOREIGN MERCENARIES ___________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Fullerton ___________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History ___________________________________ By Mark R Malebranche II Thesis Committee Approval: Professor Jessica Stern, Chair Professor Benjamin Cawthra, Department of History Professor Allison Varzally, Department of History Spring, 2016 ABSTRACT The subject of an American national identity has been a source of debate for centuries. Some argue it had naturally evolved by the time of the American Revolution while others argue there was no cohesive “American” people at the time of the war. By looking at the ways in which the American colonists interpreted the presence of the Hessian soldiers contracted by the British government during the struggle, this conversation can be continued in a new and unique way. The Hessians themselves have often been ignored by the historical record, though studying these men reveals that at the time of the American Revolution, the colonists remained divided and were rather a collection of different peoples. I approach this study by looking primarily at the wartime press of New York and Pennsylvania, put in context with the events of the Revolution, along with some of the early American historians (Mercy Otis Warren, David Ramsay, John Marshall, and Washington Irving) writing in the decades following the Treaty of Paris. Differences and similarities in the ways they discussed the Hessian involvement during the American Revolution reveal a lack of cohesive identity during and in the decades following the war. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. v Introduction IN THE BOSOM OF ONE OF THOSE SPACIOUS COVES ...................................... 1 An American Legend ............................................................................................ 1 Objects of Superstitious Awe: The Hessians ........................................................ 5 What is American: The Quandary of National Identity ........................................ 10 The Path to Sleepy Hollow .................................................................................... 18 Chapter 1. THE DIALATING POWERS OF AN ANACONDA .......................................... 25 The Press of New York ......................................................................................... 25 The Object of Whimsical Persecution ................................................................... 31 A Mixture of Respect and Superstition ................................................................. 43 Reflections on the Empire State ............................................................................ 47 2. FULL OF METTLE AND MISCHIEF ................................................................. 50 The Pennsylvania Record ...................................................................................... 50 Local Tales and Superstitions ................................................................................ 58 That Witching Hour ............................................................................................... 65 A Labyrinth of Whims and Caprices ..................................................................... 79 Reflections on the Keystone State ......................................................................... 82 3. THE SLEEPY HOLLOW BOYS: AMERICA’S FIRST HISTORIANS ............. 85 Small Shrewdness and Simple Credulity .............................................................. 86 Administering Justice with Discrimination: Four Views of the Hessian .............. 92 The Moody and Dogged Silence: Conniving Underlings or Noble Warriors ....... 96 A Rather Lonely but Pleasant Situation: Prisoners of War ................................... 108 Spirited Away by Supernatural Means: The Lasting Legend of the Hessians ...... 115 If I Can but Reach that Bridge ............................................................................... 120 iii Conclusion THE TRANQUIL SOLITUDES OF SLEEPY HOLLOW ............................................ 123 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ 131 A. RESOLUTION FROM THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS – AUGUST 14, 1776 ......................................................................................... 131 B. RESOLUTION FROM THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS – AUGUST 27, 1776 ......................................................................................... 132 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................... 133 iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS “Survival can be summed up in three words – never give up. That's the heart of it really. Just keep trying.” – Bear Grylls1 First and foremost, I would like to thank my wife, Kelly, for her endless support. It has taken me seven years to finish my M.A. To say it has been a difficult process would be an understatement, but I could not have done it without her. Since 2009 I have faced financial challenges, stalled career options due in part to the economic depression (yes, it is a depression), and coming to terms with my own alcoholism (and, fortunately, my subsequent recovery). Through it all she has been there for me and for our family. My wife has helped me to keep focused and keep positive. During the last seven years there has also been a lot of good in my life that I am grateful for. I have welcomed two perfect children into this world and have been able to see them grow and develop their own unique personalities. There is nothing more satisfying than having not one, but two, little people in your life whose day becomes immediately brighter with something as simple as you entering the room. It is truly humbling to know that these children, with their own special ways of experiencing the world around them, would not exist without you. It is nothing short of miraculous. To paraphrase Homer J. Simpson, they are my single greatest accomplishments and they have done it all themselves. 1 http://www.buddytv.com/articles/man-vs-wild/man-vs-wild-season-3-debuts-to-21816.aspx v Through this all, the work towards my M.A. has been incredibly rewarding. I have faced heavy criticism with comments like “just face it, you’re never going to finish” and “you’ve spent how long on your degree?! How much money have you wasted on that thing?” They do not see it, but they have completely missed the point. It has not been about money or just finishing it already. It has been a personal journey in which I have grown immensely. I would like to thank Dr. Jessica Stern and Dr. Benjamin Cawthra for inspiring and encouraging me over the years. They have both pushed me to be a better historian. I would also like to thank Dr. Allison Varzally for stepping into my thesis committee at the last minute and Dr. Volker Janssen for always helping his students to look beyond the facts to see the “so what.” Finally, thank you to my parents and my in- laws for their continued love and support. This thesis is not so much mine as it is the combined effort of everyone who has encouraged me along the way. vi 1 INTRODUCTION IN THE BOSOM OF ONE OF THOSE SPACIOUS COVES An American Legend Within American society there exist several classic Halloween stories and franchises that children and adults alike look forward to every fall. Slasher movies, zombie flicks, and vampire stories are among the most popular in this second decade of the twenty-first century. As trends come and go, however, one Halloween story has stood the test of time in America and is continually re-imagined with each passing year: Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” This short story is not only one of the United States’ first true Halloween legends, but it is also a part of one of the nation’s first strong pieces of literature. Countless Americans continue to revel in reading, watching, or listening to one of the many incarnations of Irving’s enduring legend because the story has the same elements popular in thrillers across time and space. More than just a simple ghost story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” penetrates the core of psychological terror by touching on what can happen when one allows their imagination to run away with them. Perhaps one of the strongest appeals it that we never find out what actually happened to Ichabod, but are left only to assume. He either left Sleepy Hollow following his run in with the Headless Horseman or else he truly was spirited away. Regardless of his personal fate, 2 Irving’s tale ends with events of that evening entering the pantheon of Sleepy Hollow lore. Just as Crane became a part of the local legend among those living in Irving’s Sleepy Hollow, so too did he enter into popular American culture. The story of Ichabod Crane and his run in with the Headless Horseman has been reinvented many times since its original inception.2 This tale has obviously stood the test of time, but what has been lost over the decades is that “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” more than a simple ghost story, also criticized American society.3 The story is a criticism
Recommended publications
  • February 2012 Newsletter

    February 2012 Newsletter

    The Friends & Neighbors of Putnam Memorial State Park “Connecticut’s Valley Forge” February 2012 NewsLetter Bethel/Redding CT “An Army Marches On Its Stomach” … In the January/February 2012 issue of the Patriots of the American Revolution Magazine, respected military historian Douglas Cubbison authored a wonderful article about the Baker General of the Continental Army, Christopher Ludwick. Ludwick was a Hessian and became a baker. He migrated to America and began a very successful baking career in Philadelphia. With the approach of the war of independence Ludwick became involved in the Patriot cause. He was a member of the Philadelphia Committee of Correspondence. He, as a successful businessman and Patriot donated both time and money to the local militia. After the war began, he was particularly interested in trying to convince German prisoners of war (Hessians), as well as active duty Hessian troops, to come over to the American side. By the spring of 1777, according to Cubbison’s article, it was apparent that the American Commissary system responsible for feeding the Continental Army was in disarray. Congress offered Ludwick an appointment as superintendent of bakers and as director of baking in the Army of the United States; Baker General of the Continental Army. From that day forth the quality and quantity of bread for the troops in the army was considerably improved. Ludwick remained in this post for the remainder of the war. We will return to Ludwig momentarily, but to sum up his objectives for the army … there were two important military leaders in the eighteenth century that were attributed as saying.
  • 'Deprived of Their Liberty'

    'Deprived of Their Liberty'

    'DEPRIVED OF THEIR LIBERTY': ENEMY PRISONERS AND THE CULTURE OF WAR IN REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA, 1775-1783 by Trenton Cole Jones A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland June, 2014 © 2014 Trenton Cole Jones All Rights Reserved Abstract Deprived of Their Liberty explores Americans' changing conceptions of legitimate wartime violence by analyzing how the revolutionaries treated their captured enemies, and by asking what their treatment can tell us about the American Revolution more broadly. I suggest that at the commencement of conflict, the revolutionary leadership sought to contain the violence of war according to the prevailing customs of warfare in Europe. These rules of war—or to phrase it differently, the cultural norms of war— emphasized restricting the violence of war to the battlefield and treating enemy prisoners humanely. Only six years later, however, captured British soldiers and seamen, as well as civilian loyalists, languished on board noisome prison ships in Massachusetts and New York, in the lead mines of Connecticut, the jails of Pennsylvania, and the camps of Virginia and Maryland, where they were deprived of their liberty and often their lives by the very government purporting to defend those inalienable rights. My dissertation explores this curious, and heretofore largely unrecognized, transformation in the revolutionaries' conduct of war by looking at the experience of captivity in American hands. Throughout the dissertation, I suggest three principal factors to account for the escalation of violence during the war. From the onset of hostilities, the revolutionaries encountered an obstinate enemy that denied them the status of legitimate combatants, labeling them as rebels and traitors.
  • The American Revolution and the German Bürgertum's Reassessment of America Virginia Sasser Delacey Old Dominion University

    The American Revolution and the German Bürgertum's Reassessment of America Virginia Sasser Delacey Old Dominion University

    Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Institute for the Humanities Theses Institute for the Humanities Winter 2004 Johann August Weppen's Der Hessische Officer in Amerika and David Christoph Seybold's Reizenstein: The American Revolution and the German Bürgertum's Reassessment of America Virginia Sasser DeLacey Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/humanities_etds Part of the European History Commons, German Literature Commons, International Relations Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation DeLacey, Virginia S.. "Johann August Weppen's Der Hessische Officern i Amerika and David Christoph Seybold's Reizenstein: The American Revolution and the German Bürgertum's Reassessment of America" (2004). Master of Arts (MA), thesis, Humanities, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/k7es-1t13 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/humanities_etds/18 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Institute for the Humanities at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Institute for the Humanities Theses by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JOHANN AUGUST WEPPEN'S DER HESSISCHE OFFICIER IN AMER/KA AND DAVID CHRISTOPH SEYBOLD'S REIZENSTEIN: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE GERMAN BURGERTUM'S REASSESSMENT OF AMERICA by Virginia Sasser DeLacey B.A. May 1979, Duke University B.S. December 1985, University of Maryland A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS HUMANITIES OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY December 2004 Approved by: Jeffrey H. Richards (Director) Jane T.
  • Guide to the Battles of Trenton and Princeton

    Guide to the Battles of Trenton and Princeton

    Hidden Trenton Guide to the Battles of Trenton and Princeton Nine Days that Changed the World December 26, 1776 to January 3, 1777 A self-guided tour of the places and events that shaped the battles and changed the history of America Go to http://HiddenTrenton.com/BattleTour for links to online resources Updated 2017 Copyright © 2011, 2017 all rights reserved. The pdf file of this document may be distributed for non- commercial purposes over the Internet in its original, complete, and unaltered form. Schools and other non-profit educational institutions may print and redistribute sections of this document for classroom use without royalty. All of the illustrations in this document are either original creations, or believed by the author to be in the public domain. If you believe that you are the copyright holder of any image in this document, please con- tact the author via email at [email protected]. Forward I grew up in NJ, and the state’s 1964 Tricentennial cel- Recently, John Hatch, my friend and business partner, ebration made a powerful impression on me as a curious organized a “Tour of the Battle of Trenton” as a silent 4th grader. Leutez’ heroic portrait of Washington Cross- auction item for Trenton’s Passage Theatre. He used ing the Delaware was one of the iconic images of that Fischer’s book to research many of the stops, augmenting celebration. My only memory of a class trip to the park his own deep expertise concerning many of the places a year or two later, is peering up at the mural of Wash- they visited as one of the state’s top restoration architects.
  • French and Hessian Impressions: Foreign Soldiers' Views of America During the Revolution

    French and Hessian Impressions: Foreign Soldiers' Views of America During the Revolution

    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2003 French and Hessian Impressions: Foreign Soldiers' Views of America during the Revolution Cosby Williams Hall College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Military History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Hall, Cosby Williams, "French and Hessian Impressions: Foreign Soldiers' Views of America during the Revolution" (2003). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539626414. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-a7k2-6k04 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FRENCH AND HESSIAN IMPRESSIONS: FOREIGN SOLDIERS’ VIEWS OF AMERICA DURING THE REVOLUTION A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Cosby Hall 2003 a p p r o v a l s h e e t This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts CosbyHall Approved, September 2003 _____________AicUM James Axtell i Ronald Hoffman^ •h im m > Ronald S chechter TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements iv Abstract V Introduction 2 Chapter 1: Hessian Impressions 4 Chapter 2: French Sentiments 41 Conclusion 113 Bibliography 116 Vita 121 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writer wishes to express his sincere appreciation to Professor James Axtell, under whose guidance this paper was written, for his advice, editing, and wisdom during this project.
  • The Impact of Weather on Armies During the American War of Independence, 1775-1781 Jonathan T

    The Impact of Weather on Armies During the American War of Independence, 1775-1781 Jonathan T

    Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 The Force of Nature: The Impact of Weather on Armies during the American War of Independence, 1775-1781 Jonathan T. Engel Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES THE FORCE OF NATURE: THE IMPACT OF WEATHER ON ARMIES DURING THE AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, 1775-1781 By JONATHAN T. ENGEL A Thesis submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011 The members of the committee approve the thesis of Jonathan T. Engel defended on March 18, 2011. __________________________________ Sally Hadden Professor Directing Thesis __________________________________ Kristine Harper Committee Member __________________________________ James Jones Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii This thesis is dedicated to the glory of God, who made the world and all things in it, and whose word calms storms. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Colonies may fight for political independence, but no human being can be truly independent, and I have benefitted tremendously from the support and aid of many people. My advisor, Professor Sally Hadden, has helped me understand the mysteries of graduate school, guided me through the process of earning an M.A., and offered valuable feedback as I worked on this project. I likewise thank Professors Kristine Harper and James Jones for serving on my committee and sharing their comments and insights.
  • View Introduction for the Diary Days

    View Introduction for the Diary Days

    INTRODUCTION TO “DAYS” Prelude—December 14-25,1776: The bulk of the Continental Army under George ​ Washington is encamped on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, where it is regrouping from a disastrous New York campaign against the British and Hessian forces and a long retreat across New Jersey. In New Jersey, Continental soldiers and militiamen engage Hessian troops in the area of Mount Holly while other militia units continually harass the Hessian brigade occupying Trenton. Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis inspires the weary ​ ​ Continentals to fight on. Approximate temperature at beginning the crossing 29° ​ ​ Day 1—December 25, 1776: A Continental Army force of 2,400 soldiers (organized ​ ​ ​ into seven brigades) crosses the Delaware River to New Jersey and marches almost ​ 10 miles to Trenton in a raging blizzard to assault the 1,500 Hessian troops occupying the town. Temperatures at dawn 33°, 35° by the afternoon. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Day 2—December 26, 1776: First Battle of Trenton - The Continental Army ​ defeats the Hessians at Trenton to win its first significant victory of the war, then returns to Pennsylvania with its prisoners and captured arms, ammunition, horses, and wagons. Temperature remains around 32° all day. ​ ​ ​ Days 3 and 4—December 27-28, 1776: Washington and his generals decide to cross ​ the Delaware back to New Jersey and join up with Pennsylvania and New England militia who have already crossed over from Pennsylvania and discovered that Hessian forces in the area near Trenton (in Bordentown and Burlington) have withdrawn. It snows up to six inches in the morning 28°, drops into ​ ​ ​ the 20’s that night Days 5 and 6—December 29-30, 1776: The Continental Army crosses the river (for the fourth time that month) and returns to Trenton, where Washington’s troops combine with militia to form a consolidated force of 6,000 soldiers that entrenches itself below the Assunpink Creek.
  • Battle of Trenton (From Britishbattles.Com - No Attribution)

    Battle of Trenton (From Britishbattles.Com - No Attribution)

    Battle of Trenton (from Britishbattles.com - no attribution) George Washington’s iconic victory on 26th December 1776 over Colonel Rahl’s Hessian troops after crossing the frozen Delaware River; the battle that re-invigorated the American Revolution Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War ] Place of the Battle of Trenton: Trenton, New Jersey, on the Delaware River in the United States of America Combatants at the Battle of Trenton: Americans against Hessians and British troops Generals at the Battle of Trenton: General George Washington against the Hessian Colonel Rahl. Size of the armies at the Battle of Trenton: 2,400 American troops with 18 guns against 1,400 Hessians with 6 light guns. A troop of the British 16th Light Dragoons left Trenton at the onset of the fighting. Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of Trenton: The two regiments of British light dragoons that served in America, the 16th and 17th, wore red coats and leather crested helmets. The Hessian infantry wore blue coats and retained the Prussian style grenadier miter cap with brass front plate. The Americans dressed as best they could. Increasingly as the war progressed regular infantry regiments of the Continental Army wore blue uniform coats, but the militia continued in rough clothing. Both sides were armed with muskets, bayonets and cannon, mostly of small caliber. The Pennsylvania regiments and other men of the woods carried long, small caliber, rifled weapons. Hessian troops: Battle of Trenton on 26th December 1776 in the American Revolutionary War Hessian Troops at the Battle of Trenton: The British Government was unable to recruit sufficient British troops to fight the American Revolutionary War.
  • Quartering, Disciplining, and Supplying the Army at Morristown

    Quartering, Disciplining, and Supplying the Army at Morristown

    537/ / ^ ? ? ? QUARTERING, DISCIPLINING ,AND SUPPLYING THE ARMY AT MORRISTOWN, 1T79-1780 FEBRUARY 23, 1970 1VDRR 5 Cop, 2 1 1 ’ QUARTERING, DISCIPLINING, AND SUPPLYING THE ARMY FEBRUARY 23, 1970 U.S. DEPARTMENT OE THE INTERIOR national park service WASHINGTON, D.C. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .................................................... i I. CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO THE MORRISTOWN ENCAMPMENT 1779-1780 .............................................. 1 II. QUARTERING OF THE ARMY AT MORRISTOWN,1779-1780 ......... 7 1. PREPARATION OF THE C A M P ............................. 7 2. COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH OF THE ARMY AT MORRISTOWN . 9 III. DAILY LIFE AT THE ENCAMPMENT............................... 32 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE ARMY OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.............................................. 32 2. ORGANIZATION OF THE CONTINENTAL A R M Y ................... 36 3. HEADQUARTERS: FORD MA NS IO N......................... 38 4. CONSTRUCTION OF THE C A M P ............................... 40 5. LIFE AT THE WINTER QUARTERS......................... 48 6. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AT THE MORRISTOWN ENCAMPMENT .... 64 7. A MILITARY ENCOUNTER WITH THE E N E M Y ................ 84 IV. DISCIPLINE OF THE TROOPS AT MORRISTOWN.................... 95 1. NATURE OF MILITARY DISCIPLINE ....................... 95 2. LAXITY IN DISCIPLINE IN THE CONTINENTAL AR M Y ............ 99 3. OFFENSES COMMITTED DURING THE ENCAMPMENT ........... 102 V. SUPPLY OF THE ARMY AT MORRISTOWN.......................... 136 1. SUPPLY CONDITIONS PRIOR TO THE MORRISTOWN
  • Military Immigration from German Lands 1776-1783

    Military Immigration from German Lands 1776-1783

    MILITARY IMMIGRATION FROM GERMAN LANDS 1776-1783 s the last German emigrants were on by Colonel William Faucitt, the British officer their way to Philadelphia and in charge of inspecting foreign units.1 When A Baltimore in 1775, the transport of German princes later concluded treaties to another type of Germans was under discus- make entire regiments available, such sion in London. Once the British govern- private military business were no longer ment had resolved to use force against the needed. Besides some former officers, American rebels, it became clear to military looking desperately for income from such as well as political leaders that the British business, at times turned out to be less than army was too small to subdue the rebellious trustworthy. Ex-major Heinrich Emmanuel colonists. Various schemes were considered. Lutterloh, whose earlier plans to find settlers In view of the considerable number of for East Florida and Nova Scotia had not German settlers in several of the colonies, materialized, reportedly had permission proposals were made to hire Russian troops. from Count Johann Ludwig of Wittgenstein Major General Henry Clinton endorsed this to recruit men for British service but he project: "We must be reinforced, not with suddenly vanished, leaving debts behind Germans (I fear they will desert)," but with amounting to 7,292 gulden.2 Russians whom he called "my friends" and Despite some apprehensions, the since they had "no language but their own: British had begun early in 1775 to look for they cannot desert." However, according to auxiliary troops from German principalities. the report of the British envoy in Berlin, Indeed, offers had come from the count of attempts to obtain 20,000 men from Hanau in August and from the duke of Empress Catherine failed, in part because Braunschweig-Luneburg in September 1775 Frederick II of Prussia intervened.
  • Presentation on Ethan Allen

    Presentation on Ethan Allen

    PRESENTATION ON ETHAN ALLEN By Paul A. Chase, Member (Primary) Colonel William Grayson Chapter, Prince William County Virginia (Secondary) Colonel James Wood II Chapter Northwest Virginia. [email protected] Ethan Allen is rightfully called the “Founder of Vermont”. There is a minority who believe he tried to betray the American Cause in his later years. This presentation will show that is not the case and although he had his faults, he was a true American Patriot. He was born January 31, 1738 in Litchfield Connecticut the oldest of seven siblings. His father was a moderately successful farmer and land speculator. His family came to first settle in Massachusetts in 1632. In 1740 his family moved from Litchfield to Cornwall, CT a major mining area. In 1756 Ethan and his eighteen year old cousin served as Connecticut militiamen fighting for the British in the French and Indian War. His unit’s assignment was to seize Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point. His service in the French and Indian War was without incident. He did not get to see combat but his service ignited an ardor to serve in the military. He got to travel to the New Hampshire Grants the territory east of Lake Champlain from New York to the western border of New Hampshire on the Connecticut River. From his early youth he showed signs of brilliance. He was a voracious reader. He started pre-Yale studies with a tutor and showed excellence in algebra, geometry, and accounting, the “Classics” and Greek and Latin. Tragically, his father suddenly died at age 40 leaving Ethan to keep the house and raise his seven siblings which ended any prospects of going to Yale.
  • Glossary Military & Technological

    Glossary Military & Technological

    148 Glossary Military & Technological Terms, People & Places Military Terminology Abbatis: A barrier of cut tries with sharpened branches toward the enemy. Enfilade: A volley of gunfire directed along a line from end to end. Fascine: Bundles of branches used to fill ditches and swamps. Fleche: A projecting, arrow or V-shaped outwork in a fortification. Gabions: Wicker Baskets filled with dirt and rock used to build forts. Gun Emplacement: A military installation consisting of a prepared position for sitting a weapon. Parapet: A protective wall or earth defense along the top of a trench or other place of concealment for troops. Rampart: A tall, thick stone or dirt wall that is built around a castle, town, etc., to protect it from attacks. Redoubt: A temporary or supplementary fortification, typically square or polygonal, without flanking defenses. Revetment: A barricade of earth or sandbags set up to provide protection from blast, protecting a rampart, wall, etc. Technological Terms Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR): A geophysical technique used to collect and record information about the earth’s subsurface, by using radar pulses to map underlying archaeological features without disturbing the soil. MATLAB: Engineering software produced by MathWorks in Cambridge, MA, used to solve engineering and scientific problems. It integrates computation, visualization, and programming in an easy-to-use environment where problems and solutions are expressed in familiar mathematical notation. Reynolds number: A dimensionless number that gives a measure of the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces for given flow conditions. The Reynolds number is an important parameter that describes whether flow conditions lead to laminar or turbulent flow.