Battle of Iron Works Hill

In December 1776, after significant victories over the Americans, the British army, resting upon its laurels, went into winter quarters in New York and New Jersey. The British wrongly assumed that Washington’s forces in Pennsylvania were also in winter quarters.

On December 17th, General Washington ordered 600 of his forces, mostly untrained men and boys from nearby towns augmented by two companies of Virginia soldiers, to cross the Delaware River and march via Moorestown to Mount Holly, New Jersey.  At Mount Holly the rebels set up a few “3-pounder” artillery pieces on Iron Works Hill, causing the Hessian commanders at Black Horse and Bordentown to believe they were being opposed by 3,000 men. By Christmas Eve, Washington’s plan had lured 2,000 Hessians to the The Mount in Mount Holly, to engage the supposed “thousands” of rebel forces occupying Iron Works Hill. Then at nighttime, while the Hessians were making merry, indulging in the confiscated contents of a local brewery, the Americans stealthily evacuated their positions and marched to Moorestown. On December 26, Washington’s army was able to wax victorious at the Battle of Trenton, capturing 1,000 prisoners. Part of that victory by the Americans is attributed to Washington’s plan a week earlier at the Battle of Iron Works Hill.

I am sorry to report that the photograph that was here of the reenactment of the Battle of Iron Works Hill in Mount Holly, New Jersey that took place on 13 December 2008, has been removed from Flickr’s public viewing.

Graves at Old Tennent Church

The lovely Old Tennent Church sits atop a hill in the middle of its cemetery in Tennent or Manalapan, New Jersey. The original Presbyterian congregation was organized about 1692, and met in a log structure. The third structure, seen here, was built in 1751, and was twenty-seven years old at the time of the Battle of Monmouth. On Sunday, June 28, 1778, General George Washington, with about six thousand men, passed by the Old Tennent Church. That morning Washington had been at Englishtown where, from the sound of cannons firing, he understood that his advance forces under General Lee were battling the British. One hundred yards beyond the church door Washington met the first straggler who told him that Lee had retreated from the British. A few yards more and the General came upon Lee himself in retreat. Washington sternly rebuked his General, hastened forward, and rallied the retreating Continentals. The renewed battle continued until evening when the British were driven back. During the night to Washington’s surprise, the British retired. This victory by the rebels, snatched from the jaws of defeat, gave new hope and courage to the American colonials.

The church was used as a field hospital during the Battle of Monmouth, when wounded soldiers were carried to the church where members of the congregation tended them. The battle was so near that walls of the church are riddled with holes from cannonballs. The pews still bear scars of the surgeon’s saw and bloodstains of the wounded and dying. Those Revolutionary War soldiers who died at the hospital are buried in the cemetery, along with British soldiers. There are antique cannons on the grounds. An active congregation continues worshipping at the Old Tennent Church.

The image, When You Think About It, The Revolution Wasn’t That Long Ago., is subject to copyright by Sister72. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, an administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

The Real George Washington

National Geographic Channel is launching the first annual Expedition Week starting November 16 through November 23, featuring seven straight nights of exciting programs that take you from the ancient pyramids to the depths of the ocean and from lost cities to the outer space.

The Real George Washington  Wednesday, November 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT

Ring, Ring Those Bells!

“The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.” ~~George Washington

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” ~~The Constitution of the United States

Everyone in America is requested to ring bells at 4:00 p.m. EST in all time zones on Wednesday, the 17th of September 2008, in commemoration of Constitution Week, September 17-23, 2008.

“To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to the human race.” ~~Calvin Coolidge

“Our safety, our liberty, depends upon preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate. The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” ~~Abraham Lincoln

Here is a template to print for those who want to make a written commitment to read and study the Constitution during Constitution Week 2008: Constitution Proclamation.

Here is the Constitution at the National Archives.

The image, Freedom Bell at Union Station, is subject to copyright by dbking. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, an administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool. The bronze bell in the picture is known as the “Freedom Bell” or the “Children’s Bell” and stands in front of Union Station in Washington, DC. It is a larger than life replica of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Founding Father of Canada

The American Revolution and General Benedict Arnold birthed another nation to be, — Canada.

When the American Revolution broke out in 1775, General Washington sent two armies headed by two great American generals to save Quebec City from the British and to conquer British Canada. In the early morning hours of New Year’s Eve, 1775, Generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold marched to Quebec and launched a dramatic nighttime assault.

 

Tragically General Montgomery was killed in battle. Although Benedict Arnold was severely wounded, his tenacious troops fought their way into Quebec City where they scaled the barricade that defended the lower town. Behind the barricade, British regulars and French and English militia met them to battle, and successfully defend their city from the Americans.

 

Today in Canada, Canadian students barely study the American Revolution, as Canadian educators consider it to be an event in the land of their behemoth Southerly neighbor. Yet, if Generals Washington, Montgomery and Arnold had succeeded, Canada as it is today, would not exist. Undoubtedly, the British lands would have been conquered and become part of the new nation of the United States. Instead, those lands became populated by Loyalist refugees from the new United States, where they created the provinces of Upper Canada (Ontario) and New Brunswick. Almost one hundred years later, in 1867, the British colonies that Benedict Arnold had failed to capture, came together to form the Dominion of Canada.

 

Hence, in a round-about way, American patriot turned traitor, General Benedict Arnold, by his failure at conquest, may in fact be, the “Founding Father of Canada.” 

Learn More: The American Revolution

The image, IMG_0697.JPG, is subject to copyright by danielpennypacker. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus

Many of the military officers of the American Revolution patterned their service on the life of this ancient legendary Roman, Cincinnatus, of 458 BC, who left his farm at the call of his country during a war emergency. At the ending of the Revolutionary War, the Society of the Cincinnati was formed by many of these first American “citizen soldiers” with General George Washington as the society’s first president. The Ohio city of Cincinnati was named in honor of the Society by its founder who was a member of the prestigious organization.

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The image, Cincinnati – Sawyer Point: Cincinnatus Statue, is subject to copyright by wallyg. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

America’s First and Greatest Hero

“First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

George WASHINGTON (1732 – 1799) was born on February 22, 1732, at “Popes Creek”, a home that his father had built in the 1720s in Westmoreland County, Virginia. In 1770, “Popes Creek” was renamed “Wakefield”, and on Christmas Day of 1779, Washington’s birthplace burned to the ground, leaving only the crushed oyster shell foundation remaining. George Washington was raised there and in Fairfax and King George Counties, Virginia.

• The Most ‘Interesting’ Photographs About George Washington at “The Revolution Flickred”
• The Most ‘Relevant’ Photographs About George Washington at “The Revolution Flickred”
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  A ‘Flickr’ George Washington Slide Show

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The image, Wakefield Historical Marker, is subject to copyright by jeffq. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

Mount Rushmore Carving

George Washington, America’s first and greatest president, is one of four American presidents carved into the granite at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota.

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The image, George W., is subject to copyright by bridgepix. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

The Washington Tomb

Tomb Entrance, Mount Vernon, Virginia

George Washington died in his bedroom at Mount Vernon on December 14th, 1799. His will directed that he be buried on the grounds of his beloved estate where he had selected a site for a new brick tomb to replace the original burial vault which was badly weathered and succumbing to the elements. However, the new tomb was not completed until more than thirty years later. It was in 1831, that the earthly remains of George and Martha were removed there. Every day from April through October a wreath laying ceremony is performed at 10 am and 2 pm in tribute to America’s greatest leader.

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The image, Washington Tomb, is subject to copyright by barneykin. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

Washington’s Obelisk

A grateful nation remembered a great patriot, warrior and president, George Washington of Mount Vernon, Virginia, by erecting this great obelisk to his memory in their nation’s capital. George Washington’s birthday once was celebrated in this land with great fanfare on February 22nd. Today George Washington’s birthday seems to have been forgotten or remembered only as “Presidents’ Day”, while men of lesser importance to our nation’s birth are accorded a day unto themselves.

However, not everyone has forgotten the greatness of the man Washington. At his old plantation home on the Potomac River, General George Washington will be receiving birthday greetings in person, as he did so graciously in olden times. MountVernon.org

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The image, Midnight Obelisk – The Washington Monument, is subject to copyright by Stuck in Customs. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.