Hempstead Town marks first bloodshed on LI during Revolutionary War The Woman Who Sneaked Into George Washington’s Army The R
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"The rebellious war now levied is become more general and is manifestly carried on for the purpose of establishing an independent empire. I need not dwell upon the fatal effects of the success of such a plan. The object is too important, the spirit of the British nation too high, the resources with which God hath blessed her too numerous to give up so many colonies which she has planted with great industry, nursed with great tenderness, encouraged with many commercial advantages, and protected and defended at much expense of blood and treasure.
It is now become the part of wisdom and (in its effects) of clemency, to put a speedy end to these disorders by the most decisive exertions. For this purpose, I have increased my naval establishment and greatly augmented my land forces, but in such a manner as may be the least burdensome to my kingdoms.
When the unhappy and deluded multitude against whom this force will be directed shall become sensible of their error, I shall be ready to receive the misled with tenderness and mercy."
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"Selections from the Diary of Private Joseph Plumb Martin
Joseph Plumb Martin was born in western Massachusetts in 1760. His father was a pastor who often got in trouble for speaking his mind too freely. At the age of seven, Joseph was sent to live with his affluent grandfather. When the war started in 1775 Martin chafed to enlist but he was too young. Many of Martin's friends had enlisted and Martin was quite susceptible to their peer pressure.
In June of 1776, at the age of 15, Martin, though wary of a long enlistment, decided "to take a priming before I took upon me the whole coat of paint for a soldier." Thus, much to the chagrin of his grandparents, Martin enlisted in for six months as a private in the Connecticut state troops. After serving at the Battles of Brooklyn and White Plains on the side of the Patriots, the farm boy decided not to reenlist in December 1776. But a long winter at home proved too dull for the teenage veteran. He enlisted again in 1777, this time in Washington's Continental army, and served for the duration of the war, seeing action at a number of major battles.
At the age of 70, the venerated veteran then living in Maine published A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Danger and Suffering of a Revolutionary Soldier, Interspersed with Anecdotes of Incidents that Occurred Within His Own Observation. The book, which did not sell particularly well, fell into obscurity until rediscovered in the 1960s when it was republished with the title Private Yankee Doodle.
The following excerpts detail Martin's activity at Fort Mifflin."
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"A failed plot to kidnap and kill Gen. George Washington led patriots to Hempstead Swamp in Lakeview to arrest loyalists and initiate the first bloodshed of the Revolutionary War on Long Island."
Town marks first bloodshed on LI in Revolutionary War
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"A rediscovered diary, now at the Museum of the American Revolution, sheds light on the life of Deborah Sampson, who fought in the Continental Army."
The Woman Who Sneaked Into George Washington’s Army
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"Samuel Swett wrote in his “History of Bunker Hill” that as the 2,300 British soldiers advanced: “The American marksmen are with difficulty restrained from firing. Putnam rode through the line, and ordered that no one should fire till they arrived within eight rods. … Powder was scarce and must not be wasted. They should ‘not fire at the enemy till they saw the whites of their eyes. …’ The same orders were reiterated by Prescott at the redoubt.”
When a stray musket ball from a British gun killed an American soldier, men began to run away. To stop the confusion, Colonel William Prescott climbed on top of the the wall of the fortification, stood upright and walked back and forth, rallying his men.
When British General Gage saw Prescott through his telescope, he asked a local loyalist if Prescott had enough courage to fight. The loyalist replied: “Prescott is an old soldier, he will fight as long as a drop of blood is in his veins.”
Historian George Bancroft wrote that at the redoubt in the center of battle: “No one appeared to have any command but Colonel Prescott. … His bravery could never be enough acknowledged and applauded.”
Providentially for Americans, the British brought the wrong size cannon balls – 12 lb. cannon balls – which did not fit their 6-lb. and 9-lb. cannons!"
Read more at The Revolutionary War's forgotten carnage - WND - WND
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"Revolutionary War soldier James Melvin feasted on a small bird and a squirrel after eating the last of his provisions the day before.
He walked for miles at a time (at one point he conquered 20 miles in a single day) through the woods at night, his legs buried by mud and snow.
Conditions were sometimes so harsh, the Concord native recalled, that he was unable to stop to eat or find adequate housing to rest, forcing him to shelter inside a barn instead.
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"1. It wasn’t actually that cold
Life and Death at Valley Forge - 10 Surprising Facts About the Revolutionary War's Darkest Winter - MilitaryHistoryNow.com
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After General Charles Cornwallis surrendered in 1781, some 26 ships were sunk or scuttled in the area now nationally recognized as the Yorktown Shipwrecks. Only about ten had been identified, until now.
The newly discovered ship has been buried by oyster shells, but last Wednesday a researcher from JRS Explorations found a metal object peeking out from the river bed that turned out to be an iron cannon. The find led the team to a wooden hull that they now believe may be the Shipwright, a British transport vessel that collided with another ship, then caught fire and sank."
