Friday, August 2, 2013

Staten Island, July 1776

In preparation for a possible raid on British forces occupying Staten Island, New York, Scottish-born American General Hugh Mercer sent instructions to Major Thomas Knowlton.  Mercer wrote, "Should you be successful enough to take any British troops prisoners, secure them well and treat them with humanity."

You can read Mercer's July 18, 1776 letter to Knowlton at the American Archives website maintain by the Northern Illinois University Libraries.  Read more about Knowlton at the post, "January 8: Raid on Charlestown, Massachusetts."  Bad weather forced a cancellation of the Staten Island raid Mercer planned for the evening of July 18.  Please consult Mark V. Kwasny, Washington's Partisan War, 1775-1783 (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1996), page 63.

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