The first of what will become a series of pages to provide additional information about the various sites that 4th Coy frequents has been posted as a link on the schedule page. www.brigadeofguards.org/colonial-williamsburg is intended to describe Colonial Williamsburg and helpful information for visiting 4th Coy when we’re at the site. Since this is a work in progress, please provide any feedback on this post.
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General Henry Clinton ended the siege at Charleston, South Carolina, by accepting the surrender of General Benjamin Lincoln on this date in 1780. General Clinton had left New York with a force of approximately 10,000 British regulars and Hessians in the winter with the objective of seizing the port of Charlestown (as it was known until 1783) and encouraging Loyalist citizens of South Carolina to actively support the Crown. The siege itself began in early April, and the city was completely surrounded by late April. Lt Col Banister Tarleton reported of the defenses –
Over 5000 American troops surrendered to the Crown forces. This surrender represented the largest number of American troops to surrender to a foreign army until the surrender at Bataan over 150 years later.
A good reference for the battle can be found at My Revolutionary War website, which includes the map that helps put much of the account in perspective. Another interesting site with a wealth of primary sources online. It includes an order of battle for both the Continental and Crown sides. The Guards did not take part in this action as they were still located in the northern colonies and would not arrive in the southern colonies until October of 1780, five months in the future. One outcome of the siege is that General Clinton returned to New York, leaving a portion of his command in the Southern Colonies under the leadership of Lord Cornwallis, his second-in-command during the siege. A second is that the campaign began the bitter partisan war in the souther colonies, with little mercy being shown on either side. An update to our previous post, the Jerusalem Mills event webpage has been updated to announce the cancellation. No real additional information available at this time, but it does provide confirmation that the event planners are attempting to reschedule for later in the year. Breaking news! The event scheduled for May 16-17 at Jerusalem Mills has been cancelled due to the excessive rain over the last couple of weeks. Reports from the site are telling us that the parking areas, the rebel camping area, and part of the Crown Forces camp are literally under water, with no chance of the site drying out before next weekend. While I don’t see a problem with the Continentals sleeping in the mud (it does keep the ground soft…), the event organizers decided to pull the plug on the event early to prevent attendees from traveling hundreds of miles to get to an event that’s cancelled due to weather. A positive in this bad news is that the event organizers are looking at alternate dates later this year to reschedule. More information will be posted as they come available. The photo gallery has been updated to include photos from the event at Mount Vernon on April 25 and 26. Also, the April/May edition of The Gazette has been published and is now available on-line. Hope our readers enjoy both, and if you would like to leave any comments, feel free to use this post. Tomorrow’s event at the Carlyle House in Old Town Alexandria has been cancelled due to the forecast of rain. Unfortunately, the site is not well equipped to handle an in-door set up, so 4th Coy and the organizers of the event at Carlyle House mutually agreed that the best course of action is to cancel the event. We are still scheduled to be at the site on 13 June, so hopefully the weather cooperates next month. If you were looking forward to meeting 4th Coy tomorrow, there is another local opportunity in two weeks. The next big event is at Jerusalem Mills, just north of Baltimore, where 4th Coy will be joining hundreds of fellow Crown Forces reenactors to face the Continental forces on the field of battle. The event’s website has additional information and directions. For those of you living in the Northern Virginia area, one of the premier events of the year will be taking place less than two hours away…be sure to check it out! This past weekend, Ford Motor Company was at Mount Vernon for the start of their attempt to drive a Ford Fusion hybrid for a thousand miles on a single tank of gas. Apparently, the plan was to start at Mount Vernon and drive up and down the George Washington Parkway, day and night, until the car ran out of gas. A quick internet search shows that the team was successful and far exceeded their goal. But the real story is in the pictures. To ensure a little star power, they employed NASCAR driver Carl Edwards and, to their complete and utter delight (I’m sure), a couple of willing 4th Coy Guardsmen. We have sunk to a new low… Additional photos from Day 2 of Mount Vernon are now available on the Coy’s flickr site. The day was essentially a repeat of the first day, only with more heat and a bit fewer tourists…probably a cause and effect relationship. But the landing went even smoother than the first day, with the Navy managing to row the boats to shore even faster. 4th Coy has to thank the 76th for extending the invitation to participate in their event. The 76th is one of the “younger” units in the hobby, but has quickly more than proven themselves. Also would like to thank the officers and men of HMS Otter. For many of our members, this was their first experience as an actual landing party. And finally, we have to thank our two new recruits for falling in with the company on Saturday. Always good to see new faces interested in the hobby and willing to give an event a try. If you’re interested in more information about joining 4th Coy, follow the recruiting link on the right side of this page. The first pictures from Day 1 of Mount Vernon are now available on the Coy’s flickr site. There are some great shots at the mansion and the company on the water in the skiffs. The photo gallery on our webpage will be updated in the next couple of days. There were a ton of people at Mount Vernon, taking advantage of the nice weather. There was a ton of interaction with the public, most of whom were trying to figure out what the redcoats were doing at Mount Vernon. The demonstration of the landing and negotiations with Lund Washington went very smoothly. Most of 4th Coy found themselves in one of three small boats manned by the British Navy from HMS Otter. Looking forward to a repeat tomorrow! Anyone in the Washington area that hasn’t been to Mount Vernon in a while, tomorrow would be a great time to go. The landing demonstration will be at 1 in the afternoon. Members, if there are any additional photos that you have to share, please feel free to upload the photos to the site. If you need the instructions, contact TJ. Or, if you find other photos from the events on-line, include the link in the comments section. War returned to Virginia in the spring of 1781. An expeditionary force under Gen. Benedict Arnold occupied the city of Portsmouth at the confluence of the James River and the Chesapeake Bay in January. Richmond was taken with almost no organized opposition and later burned, the Westham cannon foundry was destroyed and the Virginia militia was defeated at Petersburg, a major logistical hub for American troops in the South. Additional re-inforcementsarrived in March, allowing Gen. Arnold to expand his operations and raids began in the Potomac River basin in April. British troops and privateers ranged as far north as the port city of Alexandria and threatened the holdings of several Founding Fathers who had homes or plantations on the Potomac. Mt. Vernon was spared only after Lund Washington essentially ransomed the estate by provisioning the British troops and allowing nearly 20 slaves to be liberated. For this weekend, 4th Coy will be setting up a small camp at Mount Vernon near the Pioneer Farm close to the river wharf. As a raiding party, we will pack light, but will have tent equipment set up. 4th Coy will be there when the gates open at 8:00, with the landing and recreation of the ransoming of Mount Vernon schedule for 1:00 both afternoons. This will mark the first appearance of 4th Coy at Mount Vernon, so be sure to visit this historic site for another historic first! |
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