Liveblogging the American Revolution: October 18, 1776: Battle of Pell's Point
In which some more of my ancestors, fighting for Colonel John Glover's Marblehead Mariners, save George Washington from being encircled and annihilated by Howe:
On October 18, [Howe] landed 4,000 men at Pelham, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Throgs Neck. Inland were 750 men of a brigade under the command of Col. John Glover. Glover positioned his troops behind a series of stone walls, and attacked the British advance units. As the British overran each position, the American troops fell back and reorganized behind the next wall. After several such attacks, the British broke off and the Americans retreated. The battle delayed British movements long enough for Washington to move the main army to White Plains, avoiding being surrounded on Manhattan. After losing to the British in a battle at White Plains, and losing Fort Washington, Washington retreated across New Jersey to Pennsylvania.
By October 17, the Continental Army was on its way to White Plains, leaving behind 2,000 men to garrison Fort Washington. At dawn, the British began to land on the shore, Clinton's advance guard of 4,000 British light infantry and Hessian jägers landing first. Inland, opposing them, was a brigade of some 750 men under the command of John Glover. Glover was on the top of a hill with a telescope when he noticed the British ships. Glover sent an officer, Major William Lee, to report to Charles Lee, Washington's second in command, and ask for orders. However, Lee did not give any orders and in the absence of orders Glover chose to attack.
Glover turned out his brigade, which consisted of the 14th, 13th, 3rd and the 26th Continental Regiments. Glover left the 150 men of the 14th Continentals behind in reserve. Glover had not closed half the distance when he ran into approximately 30 skirmishers. Glover ordered a Captain and his 40 man company forward as an advance guard to hold the British in check while Glover organized the rest of the force. Glover prepared an ambush by placing the main body in staggered positions behind the stone walls that lined either side of the laneway that led from the beachhead to the interior. Glover instructed each of the regiments to hold their position as long as they could and then to fall back to a position in the rear while the next unit took up the fighting. Glover then rode up to take command of the advance guard. The advance guard and the British began to engage each other, both side taking casualties. After a little while the British were reinforced, and Glover ordered a retreat, which was done without confusion. The British troops began to advance at the retreating Americans, however, the 200 troops of the 13th Continentals that Glover had stationed behind the stone wall stood up and fired at the British when there were only 30 yards away. The ambush worked, and the column of British troops took heavy losses and fell back to the main body of the invading army.
The British waited a half an hour before attacking again. This time when they attacked, they attacked with all 4,000 men and seven cannon. The British bombarded the American position behind the stone wall as their infantry advanced. The cannon fire was ineffective and when the British were 50 yards away the Americans fired a volley which stopped the British infantry. The British returned fire and musket and rifle fire ensued for twenty minutes, the British supported by cannon, at which point the lead American regiment fell back under cover of the next reserve regiment. The 3rd Continental Regiment was stationed behind the stone wall on the opposite side of the road. The British attacked the position of the 3rd Continentals and an engagement ensued. Both sides kept up constant fire, the Americans breaking the British lines several times. However, after 17 volleys, the British numbers began to overwhelm the Americans and Glover ordered a withdrawal to another stone wall on the crest of a hill while the next regiment in line, the 26th Continentals, engaged the British.
A reconnaissance party of 30 men was sent out from behind the third stone wall to see if the British would try and flank the American position. The party ran into the British, who had continued to advance, and they fell back to the stone wall. The Americans behind the wall fired one volley before Glover gave the order to retreat. The Americans retreated across a bridge over the Hutchinson stream, their retreat covered by the 150 men of the 14th Continentals who engaged in an artillery duel with the British. Howe camped on a hill on the opposite side of the stream but made no attempt to cross the stream. The next day, Glover and his force retreated to the town of Yonkers. American casualties were 8 killed and 13 wounded. British and Hessian casualties are not known. Howe's official dispatch listed British casualties as 3 killed and 20 wounded, although the report did not include Hessian casualties....
With the British advance delayed, the main American army under Washington was able to safely evacuate from Harlem on the island of Manhattan to White Plains. Howe slowly moved his army through New Rochelle and Scarsdale...
