Humphrey Tribble (talk | contribs) →Setting: clarified origin of road's name Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
Humphrey Tribble (talk | contribs) →Battle: The light battalion was made up of the light companies detached from other regiments. Similarly the grenadier battalion was made up of the grenadier companies detached from other regiments. The light and grenadier companies of a British regiment were their best soldiers, and specialized as light infantry and assault troops respectively. The light and grenadier battalions probably included a detached company of the 52nd regiment of foot. Hence, some soldiers of the 52nd were likely... Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
||
Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
==Battle== |
==Battle== |
||
Around 11 o'clock on the night of September 27, 1778,<ref name="dotar1">{{cite web | title = Skirmish Near Tappan | publisher = Rivington's Royal Gazette | date = 3 October 1778 | url = http://www.historycarper.com/?p=3631 | accessdate = 2013-01-18}}</ref> [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] Major-General [[Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey|Charles Grey]] mobilized the 2nd Battalion of Light Infantry, the 2nd Battalion of Grenadiers, as well as the 33rd and 64th regiments.<ref name="dotar1" /> Between one and three o'clock in the morning, six companies of [[light infantry]] under Major Turner Straubenzie and six companies of light infantry under Major John Maitland approached a collection of 3 farm houses and six barns occupied by 116 men of the 3rd Light Dragoons. (This unit of Virginia cavalry is variously referred to as "Lady Washington's Horse" and "Mrs. Washington’s Guards".<ref name="dotar1" />) Maitland's detachment was used to cut off the night patrol, while Straubenzee's troops used their [[bayonet]]s to maintain the element of surprise as they went from house to house.<ref name="dotar1" /> |
Around 11 o'clock on the night of September 27, 1778,<ref name="dotar1">{{cite web | title = Skirmish Near Tappan | publisher = Rivington's Royal Gazette | date = 3 October 1778 | url = http://www.historycarper.com/?p=3631 | accessdate = 2013-01-18}}</ref> [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] Major-General [[Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey|Charles Grey]] mobilized the 2nd Battalion of Light Infantry (which probably included some soldiers from the 52nd Regiment.), the 2nd Battalion of Grenadiers, as well as the 33rd and 64th regiments.<ref name="dotar1" /> Between one and three o'clock in the morning, six companies of [[light infantry]] under Major Turner Straubenzie and six companies of light infantry under Major John Maitland approached a collection of 3 farm houses and six barns occupied by 116 men of the 3rd Light Dragoons. (This unit of Virginia cavalry is variously referred to as "Lady Washington's Horse" and "Mrs. Washington’s Guards".<ref name="dotar1" />) Maitland's detachment was used to cut off the night patrol, while Straubenzee's troops used their [[bayonet]]s to maintain the element of surprise as they went from house to house.<ref name="dotar1" /> |
||
Deaths in the US regiment were two officers and nine men killed in the action, and another four later died of their wounds. The total loss for the Continentals was 69 killed, wounded, or captured. Colonel Baylor, Major Alexander Clough, and two other officers attempted to escape by climbing up a chimney.<ref name="dotar1" /> Baylor was wounded and captured — he died in 1784 from complications of the wounds incurred in the attack. Clough was mortally wounded in the attack. One of the other officers was killed and several others captured.<ref name="dotar1" /> |
Deaths in the US regiment were two officers and nine men killed in the action, and another four later died of their wounds. The total loss for the Continentals was 69 killed, wounded, or captured. Colonel Baylor, Major Alexander Clough, and two other officers attempted to escape by climbing up a chimney.<ref name="dotar1" /> Baylor was wounded and captured — he died in 1784 from complications of the wounds incurred in the attack. Clough was mortally wounded in the attack. One of the other officers was killed and several others captured.<ref name="dotar1" /> |
Revision as of 12:47, 6 November 2021
Baylor Massacre | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
County Historical Site in 2012 | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Great Britain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
George Baylor (POW) |
Charles Grey John Maitland Turner Straubenzee | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
12 officers 104 enlisted | 650 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
15 killed 54 wounded or captured | 1 |
The "Baylor Massacre" (also "Skirmish Near Tappan", "Rebel Post Near Old Tapan", "Tappan Massacre", and "Raid on Old Tappan") was British attack on September 27, 1778, which surprised the 3rd Regiment of Continental Light Dragoons under the command of Colonel George Baylor during the American Revolutionary War. It occurred in the present-day town of River Vale, New Jersey. The Continentals lost 69 soldiers killed, wounded, or captured. One British soldier was killed.
Setting
On September 22, 1778, ordered Maj. Gen. Sir Charles Grey, Maj. Gen. Lord Cornwallis, and Brigadier General Edward Mathew to mobilize troops in an effort to provoke Gen. George Washington into a battle,[1] and as a diversion for a raid against a Patriot privateering base in southern New Jersey.[2] After learning that Col. George Baylor had secured quarters for his troops, twelve officers and 104 enlisted men,[2] in the barns of several farms on Over Kill Road—from Dutch "across the river", since renamed Rivervale Road—Cornwallis ordered Grey to pursue Baylor's troops.[3]
Battle
Around 11 o'clock on the night of September 27, 1778,[4] British Major-General Charles Grey mobilized the 2nd Battalion of Light Infantry (which probably included some soldiers from the 52nd Regiment.), the 2nd Battalion of Grenadiers, as well as the 33rd and 64th regiments.[4] Between one and three o'clock in the morning, six companies of light infantry under Major Turner Straubenzie and six companies of light infantry under Major John Maitland approached a collection of 3 farm houses and six barns occupied by 116 men of the 3rd Light Dragoons. (This unit of Virginia cavalry is variously referred to as "Lady Washington's Horse" and "Mrs. Washington’s Guards".[4]) Maitland's detachment was used to cut off the night patrol, while Straubenzee's troops used their bayonets to maintain the element of surprise as they went from house to house.[4]
Deaths in the US regiment were two officers and nine men killed in the action, and another four later died of their wounds. The total loss for the Continentals was 69 killed, wounded, or captured. Colonel Baylor, Major Alexander Clough, and two other officers attempted to escape by climbing up a chimney.[4] Baylor was wounded and captured — he died in 1784 from complications of the wounds incurred in the attack. Clough was mortally wounded in the attack. One of the other officers was killed and several others captured.[4]
After the attack, some of the injured were taken to the Reformed Church of Tappan in nearby Tappan, New York, which served as a prison and hospital.[5]
The 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot, which was nearing the end of its service in the American War, was also involved in this incident. The events were described as follows by General(then Captain Martin)Hunter: "While at New Bridge we heard of their being within twenty-five miles of our camp, and a plan was laid to surprise them. We set out after dark, mounted behind dragoons, and so perfectly secure did the enemy think themselves that not even a sentry was posted. Not a shot was fired, and the whole regiment of dragoons, except a few who were bayoneted, were taken prisoner".[6]
The raid for which this attack was a diversion also included an attack on American forces that has been described as a massacre. On October 15, British troops executed a surprise attack on forces under the command of Kazimierz Pułaski in which 25 to 30 men were killed in what is known as the Little Egg Harbor massacre.
Discovery of remains
In 1967, it was discovered that bodies of six of the dead were buried in three abandoned tanning vats. The vats were from Blauvelt's Tannery, which used to be on the site. The remains were identified by artifacts such as buttons and clothing remnants.[7] Facing suburban development, the burial site was made into a county park in 1972, dedicated on October 15. The remains were re-interred within the park at that time.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Nelson, Paul David (1996). Sir Charles Grey, First Earl Grey. London: Associated University Press. p. 66. ISBN 0-8386-3673-X.
- ^ a b Clayton, W. Woodford; William Nelson (1882). History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott & Co. pp. 57.
Knyphausen tappan 1778.
- ^ Lee, Francis Bazley (1902). New Jersey as a Colony and as a State. The Publishing Society of New Jersey. p. 316.
- ^ a b c d e f "Skirmish Near Tappan". Rivington's Royal Gazette. 3 October 1778. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
- ^ "Tappantown Historical Society". Archived from the original on 2006-04-10. Retrieved 2006-10-06.
- ^ Moorsom, William Scarth (1860). Historical Record of the 52nd Regiment
- ^ February 1968 report to the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders, "1778 – The Massacre of Baylor's Dragoons".
- ^ "Photos: Bergen County observes anniversary of Revolutionary War massacre". 25 September 2012.