Volume 9, Number 2 Chapter Meetings October 2018 Officers For

Volume 9, Number 2 October 2018 Welcome to this issue of your Colorado River SAR Officers for 2018 Chapter, Red, White and Blue Newsletter. This Newsletter is an official publication of the Colorado I hope all members will consider whether they could River SAR Chapter, AZ SAR. help our Chapter by serving as one of our Officers for 2018. We hope you enjoy this Newsletter and the updates and information it provides. While many members may not always be able to attend every meeting, there are things to be done that support our Chapter and Ray and I cannot do it all! Chapter Meetings Please consider providing some assistance! Next Chapter Meeting November 10th At our September meeting it was agreed to hold Campaigns and Battles of the meeting every other month as has been our practice American Revolution for the past year! (1775-1783) Location for our next meeting is to be determined later and you will be notified once location is decided Our series on Battles of the American Revolution by email! continues with this issue’s installment – hope you enjoy! Battles of Forts Mercer and Mifflin (Also known as the Siege of Philadelphia) (Philadelphia Campaign) October - December 1777 At the beginning of this siege the weather was Fort Mifflin was erected on Mud Island, near the pleasant and fair, but winter weather soon followed. center of the river and basin three-quarters of a mile This contested area consisted of a broad basin four east of Province Island. Fort Mercer was erected on miles below the least of Philadelphia where the the eastern shore of the river one mile east of Fort Schuylkill River empties into the Delaware River. Mifflin. The American also placed numerous The Delaware River forms a natural boundary obstacles in the main river channel east of Mud and between Pennsylvania on the western shore and New Hog Islands. Jersey on the eastern shore. For the British after defeating the American army at This basin measures two miles east to west and the Germantown on 4 Oct 1777, General Howe had Delaware River empties form north to south. The decided to focus his efforts on clearing American basin is separated into two narrow channels by a soldiers from the Delaware River basin. series of small islands (Hog, Mud, Billings, and League Islands) in the middle of the river. The once pristine Philadelphia was transformed into a giant military barracks for the British army of The eastern side of the basin contains several small occupation. Tory allies, prostitutes, and myriad islands (including Province Island) and its shores are opportunistic camp followers added to the extremely marshy. Banks of red clay dominate the burdensome task required of the British officers to western shore and the terrain is much firmer there meet both the needs of the army and the city. than on the eastern side. Howe decided to pull his men stationed in Germantown into Philadelphia to help reduce the burdensome logistics and free up soldiers to clear out the enemy from Fort Mercer and Mifflin. As long as the British fleet could not traverse the Delaware River, Howe faced difficultly supplying his army. On 11 Oct, British engineers had established a bridge across the Schuylkill River at Webb’s Ferry three miles below Philadelphia and emplaced siege batteries on the marshy terrain of Province Island. Upon completion the batteries opened fire on Fort Mifflin and American vessels on the Delaware River. Over the next three weeks the British bombarded American defensive positions guarding the river entrance to Philadelphia while the Americans launched a series of their own small raids against the British artillery. General Howe became impatient as the weeks passed, and ice began to form on the river and chilling news also arrived from Saratoga, NY reporting the surrender of General Burgoyne’s army. For the American after retreating from the Germantown disaster, General Washington focused on trying to reorganize his army and bolstering the forts protecting the entrance to Philadelphia. Washington dispatched several regiments to join the British and American artillerists spent the next five- inadequately manned positions at Fort Mifflin and weeks pummeling one another, while both sides Mercer. These forts were situated four miles below attempted small-scale night raids against the other, Philadelphia in a strategic bend in the Delaware through neither achiever notable success. River. On 22 Oct 1777, General Howe launched a full-scale Fort Mifflin was a large 28-gun log palisade maritime and land assault against Fort Mercer. constructed on Mud Island in the center to the river. It was manned by 350 soldiers under Lieutenant The day before this attack Colonel von Donop led a Colonel Smith. 2,000-man Hessian infantry force across the Delaware River at Philadelphia and marched his men One-mile ease of Fort Mifflin on the New Jersey south along the New Jersey shore. Just outside the shore was Fort Mercer, a smaller stronghold manned fort, von Donop split his command into two separate by 400 soldiers under Colonel Greene. Fort Mercer columns and attacked simultaneously from the north was armed with 14-guns aimed through embrasures. and south. This fort supported For Mifflin and guarder the main river channel, which passed between the two forts In the river south of the fort, meanwhile, British ships and was strewn with obstacles (chevaux-de-frise of the line Augusta and Merlin opened fire on Fort interconnected with piles and chains). Washington Mercer and battled a dozen small Patriot vessels. sent French engineer Captain Mauduit du Plessis to improve these defenses, and his skills proved The defenders in Fort Mercer and on the naval invaluable. vessels beat back the combined British land-water assault after about thirty minutes. This narrow channel on the Delaware River filled with a host of natural and man-made obstacles made Pummeled by artillery and musket fire, the Hessians it doubly dangerous for British warships to operate reached the shadows of the walls before falling back upstream towards Philadelphia. in disorder. This brave but obvious effort cost them 400 killed, wounded, and captured. Among the To maximize his defenses, Washington had sent mortally injured was Colonel von Donop, who Commodore Hazelwood with additional sailors. lingered for three days before expiring. Hazelwood commanded an ad-hoc mix of Continental and Pennsylvania sailing ships. The surviving Hessians mad their escape back to Philadelphia. Neither Augusta nor Merlin was as His little “mosquito navy” consisted of 48 boats, fortunate; the former was destroyed by artillery fire, most of which were small single-masted lightly while the latter was so crippled is was scuttled by its armed vessels, which were no match for the British own crew. navy, with the only warship worthy of the name and capable of waging a real sea battle, the 32-gun frigate Rebuffed in efforts to capture Fort Mercer, the British Delaware, was lost on 27 Sep when it was accidently turned their attention to Fort Mifflin. On 10 Nov grounded and lost to the British near Philadelphia. 1777, they initiated a six-day bombardment of the larger bastion, forcing the American manning it to Hazelwood’s flotilla was stationed north of Fort flee to the protection of Fort Mercer. Mercer, where it provided maritime patrols to prevent British excursions from molesting the forts and Emboldened by this success General Howe decided traversing the channel toward the city. to dispatch General Cornwallis with 5,000 so0ldiers to launch another assault against For Mercer. On 11 Oct 1777, the British established artillery positions on the west bank of the Delaware River This time the British moved south along the opposite Fort Mifflin at Province Island. Pennsylvania side of the river and crossed below Fort Mercer. Cornwallis coordinated as assault with the British fleet, and together the combined arms moved northward from Billingsport, NJ. With little hope of defending against such overwhelming odds, Colonel Greene and Commodore Hazelwood destroyed the battered American forts and scuttled the remining ships! On 20 Nov 1777, the quasi-American siege of Typical terrain in Park Philadelphia was lifted! Despite the 22 Oct American victory at For Mercer, the loos of the campaign and lifting of the threat against Philadelphia soured the mood of the American Army, while at the same time the moral of the British army was bolstered. The oncoming harsh winter months would prevent other large-scale warfare for several months, Howe would maintain his headquarters in Philadelphia, while Washington moved his army west and established a winter camp at Valley Forge, PA. Source: A Guide to the Battles of the American This is the home of James and Ann Whitall located in Revolution by Savas and Dameron. park which is open seasonally for tours NEXT: Battle of Whitemarsh (Edge Hill) (Philadelphia Campaign), December 5-7, 1777. Battles of Fort Mercer and Fort Mifflin Historical Parks Fort Mercer The location of the former Fort Mercer is in Red Bank Battlefield Park, located at 100 Hessian Avenue, National Park, NJ. Fort Mercer and the battlefield were location on the James and Ann Whitall had a 400-acre plantation at Red Bank along the Delaware River! Historical Monument located in Park Fort Mifflin Chapter Member Birthdays The location of Fort Mifflin is south of Philadelphia, October 2018 PA, on Mud Island at 1 Fort Mifflin Road, th Philadelphia. PA. Fort Mifflin is National Historic Michael Boop 12 Landmark. Morgan Cole – 27th November 2018 None Calendar of Upcoming Events October 1st Chapter Newsletter Mailed Walls and Entrance October 8th Columbus Day October 31st Halloween November 4th Daylight Savings Time Ends November 10th Chapter Meeting November 11th Interior Courtyard Veterans Day November 22d Thanksgiving December 1st Chapter Newsletter Mailed Visitors Center You might want to visit these parks the next time you are in Philadelphia or New Jersey area.

Load more