In mid-1777, British General William Howe embarked on a plan to regain control of Britain's rebellious Thirteen Colonies by capturing Philadelphia, the city where the Continental Congress met. He successfully captured the city in September 1777, and then, after consolidating his command of the city by repulsing an attack from General George Washington's Continental Army at Germantown in October, sought to gain control of the Delaware River as far north as the city, on which his army depended for supplies.
After a Hessian assault on Fort Mercer, one of the principal defenses on the New Jersey side of the river, was repulsed in the Battle of Red Bank, Howe sent part of his army across the Delaware to Gloucester, New Jersey under the command of Lord Cornwallis to take Fort Mercer. Washington reacted to this by detaching forces under General Nathanael Greene across the Delaware just north of Gloucester.
Greene was accompanied by the Marquis de Lafayette, a young French officer who had accompanied Washington at the Battle of Brandywine. Lafayette had been wounded in the foot in that battle, and, while it was not fully healed, he was eager to join the action. Greene ordered Lafayette out on a reconnaissance mission to determine the location and strength of Cornwallis' army.
Battle
Lafayette led 350 men toward the British position. He carefully scouted the British camp, at times personally coming within firing range of British sentries. He then led his men in a surprise attack on a forward picket of jägers. The 400 Hessians were caught completely unprepared, and began a disorganized fighting retreat toward the main British camp, with Lafayette and his men giving chase. Cornwallis sent some grenadiers to provide covering fire as the Germans retreated, and Lafayette withdrew under cover of darkness, returning to Greene.[1]
Aftermath
Lafayette's reconnaissance was a success. He suffered only one killed and five wounded, against 60 casualties on the British side. Word of the operation was instrumental in a decision by Congress to award him a commission as a major general in the Continental Army.[2]
Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. Revised ed. New York: McKay, 1974. ISBN0-8117-0578-1.
Johann Conrad Döhla, A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution
Bayard Tuckerman, Life of General Lafayette
Harlow Unger, Lafayette
March 03, 2023
battle, gloucester, 1777, 1775, naval, skirmish, near, gloucester, massachusetts, battle, gloucester, 1775, 1781, action, gloucester, point, virginia, siege, yorktown, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline. For the 1775 naval skirmish near Gloucester Massachusetts see Battle of Gloucester 1775 For the 1781 action at Gloucester Point Virginia see Siege of Yorktown This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations August 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Battle of GloucesterPart of the American Revolutionary WarDateNovember 25 1777LocationGloucester City New JerseyCoordinates 39 52 19 N 75 11 19 W 39 87206 N 75 18871 W 39 87206 75 18871ResultAmerican victoryBelligerents United States Great Britain Hesse KasselCommanders and leadersMarquis de Lafayette Armand de La Rouerie Colonel Richard ButlerLord CornwallisStrength350 regulars and militia350 jagersCasualties and losses1 killed5 wounded20 killed20 wounded20 captured The Battle of Gloucester was a skirmish fought between November 25 1777 and the early morning of November 26 1777 during the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War It was the first battlefield command for the Marquis de Lafayette Contents 1 Background 2 Battle 3 Aftermath 4 References 5 External linksBackground EditMain article Philadelphia campaign In mid 1777 British General William Howe embarked on a plan to regain control of Britain s rebellious Thirteen Colonies by capturing Philadelphia the city where the Continental Congress met He successfully captured the city in September 1777 and then after consolidating his command of the city by repulsing an attack from General George Washington s Continental Army at Germantown in October sought to gain control of the Delaware River as far north as the city on which his army depended for supplies After a Hessian assault on Fort Mercer one of the principal defenses on the New Jersey side of the river was repulsed in the Battle of Red Bank Howe sent part of his army across the Delaware to Gloucester New Jersey under the command of Lord Cornwallis to take Fort Mercer Washington reacted to this by detaching forces under General Nathanael Greene across the Delaware just north of Gloucester Greene was accompanied by the Marquis de Lafayette a young French officer who had accompanied Washington at the Battle of Brandywine Lafayette had been wounded in the foot in that battle and while it was not fully healed he was eager to join the action Greene ordered Lafayette out on a reconnaissance mission to determine the location and strength of Cornwallis army Battle EditLafayette led 350 men toward the British position He carefully scouted the British camp at times personally coming within firing range of British sentries He then led his men in a surprise attack on a forward picket of jagers The 400 Hessians were caught completely unprepared and began a disorganized fighting retreat toward the main British camp with Lafayette and his men giving chase Cornwallis sent some grenadiers to provide covering fire as the Germans retreated and Lafayette withdrew under cover of darkness returning to Greene 1 Aftermath EditLafayette s reconnaissance was a success He suffered only one killed and five wounded against 60 casualties on the British side Word of the operation was instrumental in a decision by Congress to award him a commission as a major general in the Continental Army 2 References Edit Unger p 54 Tuckerman pp 50 51External links EditBoatner Mark Mayo III Encyclopedia of the American Revolution Revised ed New York McKay 1974 ISBN 0 8117 0578 1 Johann Conrad Dohla A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution Bayard Tuckerman Life of General Lafayette Harlow Unger Lafayette Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Gloucester 1777 amp oldid 1092829853, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
