Monday evening thoughts
Posting has been slow today … mainly because after last weeks ‘week from hell’ today has seen your humble correspondent, not going to work, not reading his emails & instead spending a little bit of time here, before doing some gamekeepering duties around the farm in preparation for the commencement of pheasant hostilities in a little over two weeks.
As for various bits of comment over the last few days about the lack of American content (& especially American War of Independence content) in the On This Day section… I do try. The either section is normally cobbled together from various sources, normally late at night. If there is a similar American military source that I can use – please let me know.
There colonials, happy now?? & now please stop pouring tea into the harbour, you are upsetting the environmental lobby
Given that wild boar are are now to be found in ever increasing numbers in the UK, Tricky wonders if your humble corrspondent is properly tooled up?? Tsk tsk - I can assure you that I am
Comments
"on this day":
October 1781
3 October: About four miles from Glouster, Virginia, a foraging party
under Tarleton was attacked by a French cavalry force. Both sides lost
about two dozen casualities. A larger French force and Virginia Militia
followed and then began a formal siege of Glouster Point, on the opposite
shore of the York River from Yorktown, helping to block Cornwallis
from escaping overland.
14 October: American and French detachments took Redoubts 9 and
10 in the British defenses of Yorktown by assault, tightening the ring
around Cornwallis.
16-17 October: Cornwallis’ effort to ferry his forces across the York
River to Gloucester Point was frustrated by storm.
19 October: The British force numbering about 10,000 under
Cornwallis surrendered to about 11,000 American and 9,000 French soldiers
and sailors at Yorktown, Virginia. Before the surrender, formal
siege operations had pushed allied artillery into close-in positions that
made the British position in Yorktown untenable. British casualities during
the siegtotaled 600, American and French 400.
25 October: A British force of 700, including 130 Indians, ravaged
the Mohawk Valley to within 12 miles of Schenectady, New York. After
a counter-attack by patriot militia at Johnstown, the British withdrew up
the river. The Patriots lost 35 and the enemy 65 or so.
30 October: After the encounter at Johnstown, the patriot militia took
up pursuit of the British now withdrawing toward St Lawrence Valley,
New York. Among the relative few casualities was the famous Loyalist
and Indian leader, Walter Butler. This was the last action of any significance
in the border warfare in New York.
30 October: General Benjamin Lincoln was appointed Secretary at
War in the new Confederation government. He served in this position
until November 1783.
Posted by: Stuart K Jarman | October 10, 2006 6:10 AM
Is this true.
I had an ancestor serving in the VA militia and wondered where they were. Gloucster eh?
Let me know.
Thank
Posted by: Brian | June 29, 2007 7:07 AM