West River Skirmish of 1781: Difference between revisions
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On March 31, 1781, Anne Arundel County's only battle in the American Revolution was fought at Chalk Point, on the West River <ref name = "historyOfAACounty">A History of Anne Arundel County in Maryland. United States, Creative Media Partners, LLC, 2016. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Anne_Arundel_County_in_Mary/5wZJvgAACAAJ?hl=en</ref> <ref name = "tulipHill">Kelly, J. Reaney. “’Tulip Hill,’ Its History and Its People.” Maryland Historical Magazine, December 1965, pp. 349-403. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc5800/sc5881/000001/000000/000240/pdf/msa_sc_5881_1_240.pdf</ref> , when a party from the British ships <i>Monk</i> and <i>Hope</i> <ref name = "historyOfAACounty">A History of Anne Arundel County in Maryland. United States, Creative Media Partners, LLC, 2016. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Anne_Arundel_County_in_Mary/5wZJvgAACAAJ?hl=en</ref> <ref name = "tulipHill">Kelly, J. Reaney. “’Tulip Hill,’ Its History and Its People.” Maryland Historical Magazine, December 1965, pp. 349-403. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc5800/sc5881/000001/000000/000240/pdf/msa_sc_5881_1_240.pdf</ref> sailed up the West River to destroy the property of shipbuilder Stephen Steward <ref name = "historyOfAACounty">A History of Anne Arundel County in Maryland. United States, Creative Media Partners, LLC, 2016. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Anne_Arundel_County_in_Mary/5wZJvgAACAAJ?hl=en</ref>, as well as the shipyard he owned with his business partner Samuel Galloway <ref name = "chesapeakeBayInTheAmericanRevolution">Eller, Ernest M.. Chesapeake Bay in the American Revolution. United States, Tidewater Publishers, 1981.</ref>.
==Background==
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==Battle==
The British forces from <i>Monk</i> and <i>Hope</i> were led to the shipyard
The retreating Patriots fled to the house of a "Mr. Harrison" nearby and regrouped, preparing to stave off a secondary assault by the party from <i>Monk</i> and <i>Hope</i>, but the attack never came <ref name = "tulipHill">Kelly, J. Reaney. “’Tulip Hill,’ Its History and Its People.” Maryland Historical Magazine, December 1965, pp. 349-403. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc5800/sc5881/000001/000000/000240/pdf/msa_sc_5881_1_240.pdf</ref>.
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Revision as of 12:35, 20 July 2023
On March 31, 1781, Anne Arundel County's only battle in the American Revolution was fought at Chalk Point, on the West River [1] [2] , when a party from the British ships Monk and Hope [1] [2] sailed up the West River to destroy the property of shipbuilder Stephen Steward [1], as well as the shipyard he owned with his business partner Samuel Galloway [3].
Background
On March 21, 1781, the Maryland Council received a warning from Governor Thomas Jefferson of Virginia of British warships advancing up the Chesapeake Bay [4]. Shortly thereafter, Annapolis was blockaded by Monk and Hope [1] [2]. Monk had been originally named the USS George Washington before she had been captured by the British and renamed the HMS General Monk in 1780 [5] [6]. Hope had originally been an American privateer named Lady Washington until she was captured by the British [7].
Battle
The British forces from Monk and Hope were led to the shipyard operated by Steward and Galloway by an escaped man (formerly enslaved by Mr. Steward) [1] [2]. Local militia were taken by surprise as the British rounded the point instead of approaching from the front of the point as predicted [1]. When the Patriots challenged the British, the British attempted to pose as allies by replying that they were "Friends to Congress from Annapolis" [1] [2]. This attempt at deception was unsuccessful, as twenty of the Patriots opened fire with their small arms immediately thereafter, and the others ran away due to being outnumbered [1] [2]. The British fired a large volley in response [1] [2]. To the disadvantage of the Patriots who fired upon the British, the Patriots who fled took the remaining ammunition with them [1] [2].
The retreating Patriots fled to the house of a "Mr. Harrison" nearby and regrouped, preparing to stave off a secondary assault by the party from Monk and Hope, but the attack never came [2].
Damages
Mr. Steward's dwelling house, multiple store houses with shipbuilding materials, and a recently-completed 20-gun ship were destroyed in the clash [1] [2]. All records pertaining to Stephen Steward's partnership with Samuel Galloway were also destroyed [3].
Citations
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 A History of Anne Arundel County in Maryland. United States, Creative Media Partners, LLC, 2016. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Anne_Arundel_County_in_Mary/5wZJvgAACAAJ?hl=en
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Kelly, J. Reaney. “’Tulip Hill,’ Its History and Its People.” Maryland Historical Magazine, December 1965, pp. 349-403. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc5800/sc5881/000001/000000/000240/pdf/msa_sc_5881_1_240.pdf
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Eller, Ernest M.. Chesapeake Bay in the American Revolution. United States, Tidewater Publishers, 1981.
- ↑ Browne, William Hand, et al., editors. “Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, Volume XIV, 1780-1781." Google Books, 1927, https://books.google.com/books?id=EgMPAQAAIAAJ.
- ↑ Naval History and Heritage Command. “NH 56478 HMS GENERAL MONK.” Naval History and Heritage Command, Accessed 4 July 2023, https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-56000/NH-56478.html.
- ↑ ThreeDecks. “British sloop 'General Monk' (1780).” ThreeDecks, Accessed 4 July 2023, https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=4428.
- ↑ Sails Of Glory Anchorage. “Depictions of the ships behind the SoG-miniatures.” Sails of Glory Anchorage, Accessed 5 July 2023, https://www.sailsofglory.org/entry.php?37-Depictions-of-the-ships-behind-the-SoG-miniatures.