Author: David Price

John Haslet and the Delaware Regiment Revisited
By Categories: John Haslet's World

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This continues the thread from my last several posts, which each included a link to an interview about one of my books with Randolph G. (Randy) Flood, host of the The Real American Revolution Multimedia Center and Consortium for Civic Education.

For anyone who’s interested, here’s a link to a video recording of the final segment in this series—a discussion about John Haslet’s World.

BTW, the above image is of a private in Haslet’s Delaware Regiment in 1776, created by Charles M. Lefferts, c.1910, for his study of uniforms in the Revolution and published by the New York Historical Society in 1926.

USPS puts its Stamp on the 250th
By Categories: General

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The United States Postal Service has just unveiled a new Forever Stamp to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress, which convened at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, and you can read about it here.

Letting Another Chat Out of the Bag
By Categories: New York Campaign

Reminder: If you’re reading this in your email, you have to go to dpauthor.com and click on the Speaking of Which tab in order to view the actual blog post with the featured image.

This is another in a series of posts focusing on recent interviews about my books with Randolph G. (Randy) Flood, who hosts The Real American Revolution Multimedia Center and Consortium for Civic Education.

For anyone who’s interested, here’s a link to a video recording of my third interview with Randy, this one on August 21 about The Battle of Harlem Heights, 1776. This was my fourth book and is part of the Westholme Small Battles series. (BTW the 248th anniversary of this event—depicted above by Alonzo Chappel—occurs in less than two weeks, on September 16.)

Randy and I will be having one more exchange, this one about John Haslet’s World, very soon. I’ll provide a link to that video when it becomes available.

Listen Up (if you want to)
By Categories: Ten Crucial Days

Reminder: If you’re reading this in your email, you have to go to dpauthor.com and click on the Speaking of Which tab in order to view the actual blog post with the featured image.

As you may recall, my last post included a link to an interview I had about my second book, The Road to Assunpink Creek, with Randolph G. (Randy) Flood, who hosts The Real American Revolution Multimedia Center and Consortium for Civic Education.

For anyone who’s interested, here’s a link to a video recording of my interview with Randy about my next book, Winning the Ten Crucial Days. This interview actually preceded the above, but the video required a few edits that delayed its availability until now.

If you’d like to read more about the new book (including reviewer comments), and/or are thinking about preordering, you can do so at Brookline Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble—or, if you want to support a historic site (sure, you do), the Fort Plain Museum.

Enjoy the rest of your summer – stay safe and healthy.

That’s Creek to Me
By Categories: The Road to Assunpink Creek

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For anyone who’s interested, a video recording of my recent interview with Randolph G. Flood, Host of The Real American Revolution Multimedia Center and Consortium for Civic Education, which focused on the significance of the Battle of Assunpink Creek (or Second Battle of Trenton), is available here.

72. So on and so Fourth . . .
By Categories: Declaration of Independence

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The following is from George Washington’s General Orders of July 9, 1776 to his troops announcing the Declaration of Independence, which were issued as the rebel army in New York City awaited an expected assault by the forces of the British crown gathering on Staten Island:

The Honorable the Continental Congress, impelled by the dictates of duty, policy and necessity, having been pleased to dissolve the connection which subsisted between this Country, and Great Britain, and to declare the United Colonies of North America, free and independent STATES: The several brigades are to be drawn up this evening on their respective Parades, at six OClock, when the Declaration of Congress, shewing the grounds & reasons of this measure, is to be read with an audible voice.

The General hopes this important Event will serve as an incentive to every officer, and soldier, to act with Fidelity and Courage, as knowing that now the peace and safety of his Country depends (under God) solely on the success of our arms: And that he is now in the service of a State, possessed of sufficient power to reward his merit, and advance him to the highest Honors of a free Country…

On that same day in New York City, a mob, inspired by Congress’s declaration, toppled the equestrian statue of King George III on Bowling Green. Its lead contents would be repurposed, according to Lieutenant Isaac Bangs of Massachusetts, “to be run up into Musquet Balls for the use of the Yankies.” The fact that the unruly crowd utilized a number of enslaved persons to dismantle the statue—acting in the cause of the colonists’ cherished liberty against a detested symbol of the English monarchy—vividly illustrates the stark contradiction that existed between their revolution in support of self-determination and the chattel slavery that constituted America’s most iniquitous institution.

On July 6, Colonel John Haslet of the Delaware Continental Regiment wrote his friend and political ally Caesar Rodney, a member of Congress who had voted for independence, to offer his endorsement of the Revolutionary edict: “I congratulate you, Sir, on the Important Day, which restores to Every American his Birthright—a day which Every Freeman will record with Gratitude, & the Millions of Posterity read with Rapture.”

Not surprisingly, Ambrose Serle had a somewhat different take on this congressional action. Writing in his journal on July 13, the private secretary to Admiral Richard, Lord Howe—who would command His Majesty’s fleet in the impending 1776 New York campaign—opined as follows:

The Congress have at length thought it convenient to throw off the Mask. Their Declaration of the 4th of July, while it avows their Right to Independence, is founded upon such Reasons only, as prove that Independence to have been their Object from the Beginning. A more impudent, false and atrocious Proclamation was never fabricated by the Hands of Man. Hitherto, they had thrown all the Blame and Insult upon the Parliament and ministry: Now, they have the Audacity to calumniate the King and People of Great Britain. ‘Tis impossible to read this Paper, without Horror at the daring Hypocrisy of these Men, who call GOD to witness the uprightness of their Proceedings, nor without Indignation at the low and scurrilous Pretences by wch they attempt to justify themselves. Surely, Providence will honor its own Truth and Justice upon this Occasion, and, as they have made an appeal to it for Success, reward them after their own Deservings.

Gee, I sure wish he didn’t sugarcoat it like that. I want to know what he really thought.

Best wishes for an enjoyable Fourth.

71. From the Revolution to D-Day
By Categories: American Revolution

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On this much-touted (and deservedly so) 80th anniversary of the Normandy beach landings that profoundly shaped the outcome of World War II, I recall a passage from my second book, The Road to Assunpink Creek, that alludes to the exploits of the Continental Army during its legendary winter campaign of 1776-77—specifically the resistance led by Colonel Edward Hand against a much larger enemy force on January 2, 1777—and that I think speaks to the emotions attendant to this occasion:

The democratic impulse behind the efforts of Edward Hand and his men reflected a desire to be free of arbitrary governmental authority and to enjoy the prerogatives of political and economic self-determination that have since the Republic’s founding been gradually extended to more and more Americans. That motivation has been frequently and notably expressed in many ways and by many individuals since the Revolution but was perhaps never more succinctly articulated than it was by a more recent military hero who rose from the nation’s heartland, Dwight Eisenhower, when he was asked to comment on the events of D-Day—the invasion of German-occupied France on June 6, 1944 that he commanded under the code name, Operation Overlord.
During an interview on Omaha Beach for a special CBS television program marking the 20th anniversary of that engagement, the old soldier spoke against the backdrop of the English Channel, which the American, British, and Canadian troops of the Allied Expeditionary Force had traversed on that June day—the most celebrated nautical undertaking by American infantry since Christmas night 1776. From there they stormed the French beaches during the most decisive battle of the Second World War and went on to liberate western Europe from the tyranny of Nazi rule. Looking out at the history-laden waterway, America’s 34th president reflected with a compelling simplicity on the force of an aroused democracy: “It just shows what free men will do rather than be slaves.”

Obviously, no moral equivalence exists between Britain’s colonial policy towards its North American colonies in the 1770s and the atrocities that characterized Nazi governance, but we are reminded once again how the impulse to attain human freedom—however perceived by those striving for it and however relative the challenge it may face at any given time and place—spans generation after generation, and presumably always will.

Let’s Talk
By Categories: Ten Crucial Days

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Actually, I’m the one flapping lips—but you’re cordially invited to listen in here to a recording of my first public remarks about the book that I’m anticipating Brookline Books will release early next year, Winning the Ten Crucial Days.

This is a talk I gave last night at the First Presbyterian Church in Titusville, NJ (Hopewell Township), as part of Hopewell Valley Heritage Week, in an event sponsored by the Washington Crossing Park Association of New Jersey and the D & R Greenway Land Trust. The other speaker (following yours truly) is Dr. Richard Veit, a registered professional archeologist as well as Associate Dean of the Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences and professor of anthropology at Monmouth University.

AND let the record reflect that Dr. Veit and myself are both Drew U. alumni, although he graduated a decade after me. (There’s nothing like that to make you feel ancient.)

Miscellany
By Categories: Uncategorized

Hello All –

This isn’t so much a blog post as an update on current activity that may be of interest to some subscribers.

I’ve had to postpone several in-person events and curtail my customary appearances at Washington Crossing Historic Park (WCHP) due to what I assume, i.e., hope will be a short-term physical issue, while trying to do a limited amount of face-to-face engagement and find opportunities to pound the keyboard.

Two recent blog posts on this site have morphed into articles for other platforms:

Defining Victory in the Revolution has insinuated itself into the WCHP blog.

Albigence Waldo: Surgeon, Soldier, Diarist, Poet appeared in the Journal of the American Revolution this week.

I’m looking forward to giving the inaugural guided tour of the 2024 season for the Princeton Battlefield Society on May 19 from 1—2:30 pm. More information and registration are available here.

As part of Hopewell Valley Heritage Week 2024, I’m scheduled to speak on May 21 at the First Presbyterian Church of Titusville, 48 River Drive, Titusville, NJ 08560 (Hopewell Township). This event is cosponsored by the Washington Crossing Park Association of New Jersey and the D & R Greenway Land Trust. The talk, which will be the first (and hopefully not the last) based on my forthcoming book, is entitled: “Winning the Ten Crucial Days: A Thematic Interpretation.” In addition, Dr. Richard Veit, a registered professional archeologist and professor of anthropology at Monmouth University, will discuss his findings in regard to the site where over 10,000 Continental troops encamped in Hopewell from June 23 to 25, 1778, prior to the Battle of Monmouth. The event runs from 7—8:30 pm. More information is available here.

Best to all.

 

 

70. A Proper Cropper
By Categories: Winter Encampments

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Some 246 years ago this week, Lieutenant Colonel John Cropper of the 11th Virginia Regiment, then 23 years of age, wrote to his wife Margaret (Peggy) in Accomac County, Virginia, from the Continental Army’s encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Peggy and their infant daughter Sarah were living on the north bank of Folly Creek on family land called Bowman’s Folly, on Virginia’s eastern shore. Cropper had been commissioned a captain in the 9th Virginia when the war began, and in 1777 as a major in the 7th Virginia. In September, he was wounded at the battle of Brandywine, and in 1778 General Lafayette appointed him lieutenant colonel in command of the 11th Virginia.

The Letter

Cropper’s missive to “My Dear Peggy” was written on May 10, 1778. It begins with an explanation of why he had been unable to come home “agreeable to the times promised in my last two letters,” owing to the fact that he had promised “at the time of getting leave, to stay until an officer of my rank should come, to care of General Woodford’s brigade, which I have commanded since his absence, ’till within these few days” that occurred.

The main part of the letter conveys sentiments that one might expect from a soldier long and far away from his family:

I beg you’ll have patience to go thro’ my absence with the same virtue and heroism, you have done. I think it too ridiculous to endeavor to convince you of my persevering in the same love I left you with, for I am sure my angel could never doubt my sincerity—I now anticipate the pleasure I shall shortly have in the company of my little daughter, and its mamma, how I will caress & fondle upon the sweet infant; but no more of that, the thoughts only make me unhappy, at the distance of 250 miles.

My most fervent prayer is that this may meet you & the dear daughter in the enjoyment of health, peace & prosperity—my esteem to our good sister, our mother & all other friends. I am, dear Peggy, yours until time shall be no more,

The colonel also reported on the troops’ celebratory activity, four days before he put pen to paper, in commemoration of the newly minted alliance with France:

The 6th instant was a day of rejoicing with our army, in which all the artillery & musketry of our army was discharged, and the three following toasts drank & huzza’d—

Long live the King of France

Success to the friendly European powers

Success to the United States of America,

and many patriotic songs, the whole was upon the court of France’s declaring us independent.

Cropper enclosed with his letter “a pair of clasps for my little girl, and a newspaper,” along with “a plain gold ring” for Peggy, “an exact fellow to which I have on my finger.” He asked her to accept the ring, which bore the first letters of his name, “as a sincere pledge of my faith & constancy.”

Postscript

In June 1778, Colonel Cropper commanded his regiment at the battle of Monmouth. He took a six-month furlough from the army that fall and returned to Bowman’s Folly to recuperate and spend time with Peggy and Sarah. The family survived a raid on their home in February 1779 by British soldiers from a nearby ship, and later that year the colonel was wounded in a Chesapeake Bay engagement.

After the war, Cropper lived the life of a gentleman planter and politician, serving in the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate and as lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Regiment of the Virginia Militia. In 1815, Cropper was commissioned brigadier general with the 21st Brigade of Virginia Militia. He died on January 15, 1821, at age 66.

For anyone who missed out on reading blog post no. 68 (Defining Victory in the Revolution—March 26, 2024) or wants to revisit what is essentially the same narrative, you’ll find it here in an article just posted in the Washington Crossing Historic Park blog. Much of it is adapted from my forthcoming book, Winning the Ten Crucial Days: The Keys to Victory in George Washington’s Legendary Winter Campaign.