George Washington's Revenge: The 1777 New Jersey Campaign and How General Washington Turned Defeat into the Strategy That Won the Revolution

377 Pages·2022·5.042 MB·English

by  Arthur S. Lefkowitz

George Washington’s Revenge
Also by Arthur S. Lefkowitz
Colonel Hamilton and Colonel Burr
Eyewitness Images from the American Revolution
Benedict Arnold in the Company of Heroes
Benedict Arnold’s Army
George Washington’s Indispensable Men
Bushnell’s Submarine
(originally published as The American Turtle Submarine)
The Long Retreat
George Washington’s Revenge
The 1777 New Jersey Campaign and How General
Washington Turned Defeat into the Strategy That Won the
Revolution
Arthur S. Lefkowitz
Essex, Connecticut
Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania
An imprint of Globe Pequot, the trade division of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Blvd., Ste. 200
Lanham, MD 20706
www .rowman .com
Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
Copyright © 2022 by Arthur S. Lefkowitz
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission
from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Is Available
ISBN: 978-0-8117-7041-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN: 978-0-8117-7042-2 (electronic)
∞ ™

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/
NISO Z39.48-1992.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my friend, the late Samuel Steele Smith. Sam
owned a successful printing business, which gave him experience in book
production. When Sam retired he combined his knowledge of printing
with his interest in history to pursue a second career as the publisher of
the Philip Freneau Press. He was particularly interested in the American
Revolution and published fourteen books on the subject, some of which
he wrote or edited. The Philip Freneau Press closed following Sam’s
death in 1989. However, his titles continue to be cited in authoritative
books about the Revolutionary War. Sam Smith made a valuable
contribution to our understanding of the American Revolution, and
I am grateful to have this opportunity to acknowledge his work.
Sam was working on a book about the 1777 Middlebrook
Encampment prior to his death. He introduced me to the subject, and
I accompanied him on several outings to survey the sites occupied by
the Continental Army during the encampment. The narrative you
are about to read is based on my field trips with Sam Smith.

George Washington was not a revengeful person. But he was a fast
learner who barely survived 1776, the first full year of the American
Revolution. Washington learned from his mistakes and returned
in 1777 with new strategy and tactics that forced the British to
acknowledge him as a wily and elusive opponent.
—Dave R. Palmer, U.S. Army Lieutenant
General (Ret.), former superintendent of
the United States Military Academy at West
Point, and historian whose books include
The Way of the Fox: American Strategy
in the War for America, 1775–1783

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1 A Variety of Difficulties and Perplexities 11
2 Providence Has Heretofore Saved Us 63
3 Castled Among the Heights 97
4 Shabby, Ill Managed Occasions 125
5 Much Gratified by the Mischief They Had Done 147
6 A Great Empire and Little Minds 183
7 General Howe Has Lately Made a Very
Extraordinary Movement 203
8 Our Situation Is Truly Delicate and Perplexing 231
9 The Chesapeake Expedition, The Source of All Our
Misfortunes 255
Notes 277
Bibliography 333
Index 345
About the Author 361
ix