Battle of Fort Washington in the American Revolution

Battle of Fort Washington in the American Revolution The Battle of Fort Washington was fought on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolution (1775-1783). Having defeated the British at the Siege of Boston in March 1776, General George Washington moved his army south to New York City. Laying out defenses for the city in conjunction with Brigadier General Nathanael Greene and Colonel Henry Knox, he selected a site on the north end of Manhattan for a fort. Located near the highest point on the island, work began on Fort Washington under the guidance of Colonel Rufus Putnam. Constructed of earth, the fort lacked a surrounding ditch as American forces did not have sufficient powder for blasting out the rocky soil around the site. A five-sided structure with bastions, Fort Washington, along with Fort Lee on the opposite bank of the Hudson, was intended to command the river and prevent British warships from moving north. To further defend the fort, three lines of defenses were laid out to the south. While the first two were completed, construction on the third lagged. Supporting works and batteries were constructed on Jeffreys Hook, Laurel Hill, and on a hill overlooking Spuyten Duyvil Creek to the north. Work continued as Washingtons army was defeated at the Battle of Long Island in late August. American Commanders Colonel Robert Magaw3,000 men British Commanders General William HoweGeneral Wilhelm von Kynphausen8,000 men To Hold or Retreat Landing on Manhattan in September, British forces compelled Washington to abandon New York City and retreat north. Occupying a strong position, he won a victory at Harlem Heights on September 16. Unwilling to directly attack the American lines, General William Howe elected to move his army north to Throgs Neck and then on to Pells Point. With the British in his rear, Washington crossed over from Manhattan with the bulk of his army lest it be trapped on the island. Clashing with Howe at White Plains on October 28, he was again forced to fall back. Halting at Dobbs Ferry, Washington elected to split his army with Major General Charles Lee remaining on the east bank of the Hudson and Major General William Heath directed to take men to the Hudson Highlands. Washington then moved with 2,000 men to Fort Lee. Due to its isolated position in Manhattan, he wished to evacuate Colonel Robert Magaws 3,000-man garrison at Fort Washington but was convinced to retain the fort by Greene and Putnam. Returning to Manhattan, Howe began making plans to assault the fort. On November 15, he dispatched Lieutenant Colonel James Patterson with a message demanding Magaws surrender. The British Plan To take the fort, Howe intended to strike from three directions while feinting from a fourth. While General Wilhelm von Kynphausens Hessians were to attack from the north, Lord Hugh Percy was to advance from the south with a mixed force of British and Hessian troops. These movements would be supported by Major General Lord Charles Cornwallis and Brigadier General Edward Mathew attacking across the Harlem River from the northeast. The feint would come from the east, where the 42nd Regiment of Foot (Highlanders) would cross the Harlem River behind the American lines. The Attack Begins Pushing forward on November 16, Knyphausens men were ferried across during the night. Their advance had to be stopped as Mathews men were delayed due to the tide. Opening fire on the American lines with artillery, the Hessians were supported by the frigate HMS Pearl (32 guns) which worked to silence the American guns. To the south, Percys artillery also joined the fray. Around noon, the Hessian advanced resumed as Mathew and Cornwallis men landed to the east under heavy fire. While the British secured a foothold on Laurel Hill, Colonel Johann Ralls Hessians took the hill by Spuyten Duyvil Creek. Having gained a position on Manhattan, the Hessians pushed south towards Fort Washington. Their advance was soon halted by heavy fire from Lieutenant Colonel Moses Rawlings Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment. To the south, Percy approached the first American line which was held by Lieutenant Colonel Lambert Cadwaladers men. Halting, he awaited a sign that the 42nd had landed before pushing forward. As the 42nd came ashore, Cadwalader began sending men to oppose it. Hearing the musket fire, Percy attacked and soon began to overwhelm the defenders. The American Collapse Having crossed to view the fighting, Washington, Greene, and Brigadier General Hugh Mercer elected to return to Fort Lee. Under pressure on two fronts, Cadwaladers men soon were forced to abandon the second line of defenses and began retreating to Fort Washington. To the north, Rawlings men were gradually pushed back by the Hessians before being overrun after hand-to-hand fighting. With the situation rapidly deteriorating, Washington dispatched Captain John Gooch with a message requesting Magaw to hold out until nightfall. He hoped that the garrison could be evacuated after dark. As Howes forces tightened the noose around Fort Washington, Knyphausen had Rall demand Magaws surrender. Sending an officer to treat with Cadwalader, Rall gave Magaw thirty minutes to surrender the fort. While Magaw discussed the situation with his officers, Gooch arrived with Washingtons message. Though Magaw attempted to stall, he was forced to capitulate and the American flag was lowered at 4:00 PM. Unwilling to be taken a prisoner, Gooch jumped over the forts wall and tumbled down to the shore. He was able to locate a boat and escaped to Fort Lee. The Aftermath In taking Fort Washington, Howe suffered 84 killed and 374 wounded. American losses numbered 59 killed, 96 wounded, and 2,838 captured. Of those soldiers taken prisoner, only around 800 survived their captivity to be exchanged the following year. Three days after the fall of Fort Washington, American troops were forced to abandon Fort Lee. Retreating across New Jersey, the remains of Washingtons army finally halted after crossing the Delaware River. Regrouping, he attacked across the river on December 26 and defeated Rall at Trenton. This victory was followed up on January 3, 1777, when American troops won the Battle of Princeton.

Daily Fuel How quiet leadership makes a louder impact

Daily Fuel How quiet leadership makes a louder impact The desire for power is a common one, but once you obtain it, the real test begins. Both the public and private sectors are full of leaders more focused on their own personal brand than the impact they are making. Former Bush Administration official and Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah explains what separates the best leaders from the show horses, but his message can apply to even the smallest of jobs. [Source: Daily Fuel]

Inflation returns to Euro zone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Inflation returns to Euro zone - Essay Example One of the main indicators of the inflation pressure is the producer prices. The reason is that unless these prices are absorbed by retailers using profit margins which then translate to consumer prices. Thus, other the bond buying program that had been introduced by European Central Bank in March, other measures undertaken to boost the economy of Euro zone is cutting down main interest rate and the deposit rate. However, it is still too early to stay in the comfort zone about this issue. It is still early to indicate the trajectory of the future policy since inflation will continue depending on the prices of oil. This is considering the weak euro area growth. Firstly, the dynamics of the oil prices continue to drive much of the inflation in 2015 mostly in the short term. In addition, despite the rise in May’s core inflation, more of the general momentum of inflation is likely to remain muted against an overall of still domestic demand of the euro area together with the capac ity in the labor market. Considering that most of the policy maker (Morris 1) spent most of 2014 fearing the worsening of deflation, then the worry is that if the prices are entrenched, then the consumers and other businesses are likely to delay their purchases. Thus, there are unlikely dips into the level of deflation with oil prices diluting the risks of deflation. The overall weakness of the euro and the improved economic activity of the euro zone are other important factors in diluting the risk of deflation.

How its made Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How its made - Essay Example 23-29, 2005). Sandpaper first came out in the 13th century, invented by the Chinese when strong and tough materials of that age, such as shell pieces, seeds, and sand adhered to parchment rolls through natural gum obtained from the trees. In those days, people also made use of natural rough surfaces such as fish skin with scales to achieve results similar to that of sandpaper. However, the first invention, which looked much more like today’s sandpaper came out as glass paper, formed through pieces of glass and sand combined together on paper. By 1716, coated paper came forward in Paris, but the original invention of sandpaper goes back into 1834 in United States by Isaac Fischer, Jr., of  Springfield, Vermont. Its grade further improved when it took over another property of also being waterproof in 1916, changing from sandpaper to Wetrodry, which helped improve the grade quality without acting as a seal upon automotive paint refinishing. The most peculiar use of sandpaper is its application as a musical instrument by Leroy Anderson in his famous  Sandpaper Ballet (Capotosto, pp. 73, 1991). Sandpaper, no matter with its name specifically refers to surface of paper and sand, in reality denies the presence of both the materials, but is completely made of other organic or synthetic minerals and adhesives. There are many materials other than the simple usage of sand and paper, in the development of this multi functioning piece of paper, which give it its unique qualities. Most significantly, the abrading materials, which give it the aggressive wiping ability comes through the combination of many materials. These include flint, garnet (for wood work), emery (substance used for cleaning metal surfaces), aluminum oxide (giving the paper its metal oxide property), silicon carbide (only used in very fine grits),

Intercultural aspect of conflict resolution Essay Example for Free

Intercultural aspect of conflict resolution Essay During the first day of the workshop, I did not completely understand the real meaning of culture. I did not even have a single definition for the term culture. Many questions came into my mind such as, â€Å"What is culture? What are the factors that create culture? What is the scope of culture? Does culture improve itself or not? Although, I started the inquiry on the concept of culture without certain answers for these questions, I had figured them out step by step during that day. I started to find answers for most of the questions that I faced. I finally understood what culture was and why different people with different cultures had different behaviors. By understanding the factors that influenced culture, I started to learn its importance to the parties who got involved in particular conflicts. Throughout that day, I comprehended why people with different cultures got involved in particular conflicts and what were their objectives. I started to give answers for these queries. They might need someone whom they can air their grievances or opinions with. Moreover, they might only wish that others would respect their culture as it was. In the role play, I learned that listening skill was very helpful in making the parties who were involved in the conflict feel better. Also, they should be given the chance to continue telling their stories without any interruption. I had also learned that I could be able to interact with them simply through body language such as moving my head up and down which tells, â€Å"I understand you. Keep going.† Furthermore, these skills would give me the chance to get as much information as possible and understand the parties’ cultures. Personally, I think that having much understanding of other cultures using the skills mentioned earlier would help me adapt with their behaviors and become more flexible when dealing with them.   Culture’s factors such as religion, climate and geography play very significant roles in parties’ behavior. These explain why different countries have different cultures. Finally, all ideas and skills that I had learned during the first day of the workshop let me pay a close attention on understanding other cultures, respecting their beliefs and values as I want other people do the same thing when they cross my culture. I would try to use these ideas and skills in my daily life – simply by listening to other people and respecting them.

Eleanor Roosevelt Essay -- biography biographies bio

I. Introduction William Jay Jacobs, the author of â€Å"Eleanor Roosevelt†, was born in 1933. He has written many biographies of people like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, ad Eleanor Roosevelt. Jacobs especially admired Eleanor Roosevelt. He described her as a â€Å"woman of courage† who was able to â€Å"turn her pain into strength†. Jacobs says that by this biography and others, he is able to â€Å"reach a very special audience: young people searching for role models, trying to understand themselves†. Jacobs has written many biographies of different people because he hopes that his young readers can draw inspiration from â€Å"the great reservoirs of recorded history† The element of â€Å"Eleanor Roosevelt† is biography. The author, William Jay Jacobs, used primary sources to write about another person’s life, making it a biography. Jacobs also used third-person point of view. He used words like â€Å"she† and â€Å"her† indicating that it was someone else who was telling the story. If Eleanor were writing it, then the story would have contained words like â€Å"I† and â€Å"me†. This would have shown that the story is an autobiography since Eleanor was writing about herself† The story also displays the element of biography when the author’s purpose of the story was to inform the reader about the true account of the subject’s life. The topic of this story is self-esteem and dignity. In the American Heritage Dictionary, self-esteem is described as â€Å"confidence, self-respect to oneself† and dignity is defined as â€Å"the quality or state of being worthy of esteem or respect†. To me, having self-esteem and dignity means to be proud of yourself and your abilities. This relates to â€Å"Eleanor Roosevelt† because Eleanor learned that when she became more proud and confi... ...n better told if it was Eleanor who was writing the story. She would have described her thoughts and feelings more accurately if she was the writer of the story. I would highly recommend this story to all middle-school age students. Eleanor Roosevelt is a good role model for all students to follow. From Eleanor, students can learn many things such as compassion, determination, and perseverance. Students can learn to work hard for their goals even if obstacles are in their way. Eleanor Roosevelt also teaches compassion when she worked hard at the war effort and said special words to each of the wounded soldiers. In this way, Eleanor brought comfort to the battle-hardened men. Students can also learn the most important theme throughout the story: â€Å"Even with all the pain ad misery in the world, you can turn then into strength and achieve your goals.

Individual autonomy and social structure Essay

In â€Å"Individual Autonomy and Social Structure†, Dorothy Lee discusses how in today’s society, it is â€Å"difficult to implement human dignity in the everyday details of living.† (pg.5, Lee) However, Lee discusses how by analysing different cultures and how they deal with similar situations, it is possible to come up with a solution for this society. The key social problem Lee addresses is the conflict between personal autonomy and the social structure. Personal autonomy is the ability one person has to determine their own actions and path. However, in the American social structure that Lee describes, American society believes that â€Å"the implication of personal autonomy may lead to lawlessness and chaos† (Lee). This would disrupt the Western social structure that is already in place, however, Lee points to many examples in the text, one of them being the Wintu Indians that show that structure makes autonomy possible and groups of autonomy make social structure. Lee refers to the Wintu Indians language, specifically the way the Wintu Indians speak to each other and refer to each other. In her research, Lee notices that the Wintu Indians way of referring to family members does not put them at a higher or lower level, but rather an equal level, which signifies respect. For example, if someone has a sister, they would not say â€Å"I have a sister†, instead, they would say â€Å"I am sistered†. Lee also notes that this respect is shown towards everyone. The Wintu Indians do not â€Å"permit† each other to do things, rather, when a child asks â€Å"Can I?†, they are not asking permission, but they are asking if it is a good idea. The way the Wintu Indians speak to each other shows that they are all in fact on the same level with each other. No one is above another – there is no hierarchy. The way they speak also shows that each individual is given the same respect, a child and an adult, a father and son, even a member of the village and the chief, are all respected the same. This is important as respect for a personal individual is the key for harmonization. In this chapter, Lee has shown that â€Å"law and limits and personal autonomy can coexist effectively† (Lee) by drawing examples from other cultures and their social structure. The key solution Lee