West River Skirmish of 1781: Difference between revisions

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==Background==
==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 <ref name = "correspondenceJournal">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.</ref>. Shortly thereafter, Annapolis was blockaded by <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>. <i>Monk</i> had been originally named the <i>USS George Washington</i> before she had been captured by the British and renamed the <i>HMS General Monk</i>. <ref name = "monk">Naval History and Heritage Command. “NH 56478 HMS GENERAL MONK.” Naval History and Heritage Command, Accessed 4 July 2023,
On March 21, 1781, the Maryland Council received a warning from Governor Thomas Jefferson of Virginia of British warships advancing up the Chesapeake Bay <ref name = "correspondenceJournal">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.</ref>. Shortly thereafter, Annapolis was blockaded by <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>. <i>Monk</i> had been originally named the <i>USS George Washington</i> before she had been captured by the British and renamed the <i>HMS General Monk</i> <ref name = "monk">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. </ref>
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-56000/NH-56478.html. </ref>.


==Battle==
==Battle==

Revision as of 19:14, 4 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].

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 [3]. 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 [4].

Battle

The British forces from Monk and Hope were led to the shipyard Mr. Steward owned with his business partner, Samuel 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].


Citations

  1. ↑ 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. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 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. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ 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.
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