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Abductions in the American Revolution

Author: Christian McBurney

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2016-05-05

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 1476663645

The tactic of kidnapping enemy leaders, used in the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, dates to the American Revolution. George Washington called such efforts "honorable" and supported attempts to kidnap the British commander-in-chief (twice), Benedict Arnold (after he turned traitor) and Prince William Henry (a future king of Great Britain). Washington in turn was targeted at his Morristown winter headquarters by British dragoons who crossed the frozen Hudson River. New Jersey Governor William Livingston performed a patriotic service by going to considerable lengths to avoid being abducted by the Loyalist raider James Moody. Sometimes these operations succeeded, as with the spectacular captures of Major General Charles Lee, Major General Richard Prescott, Brigadier General Gold Selleck Silliman, and North Carolina's governor Thomas Burke. Sometimes they barely failed, as with the violent attempt by British secret service operatives against Major General Philip Schuyler and the mission by British dragoons against Thomas Jefferson. Some of the abducted, such as signer of the Declaration of Independence Richard Stockton and Delaware's governor John McKinly, suffered damage to their reputations. The kidnapper risked all--if caught, he could be hanged. This book covers more than thirty major attempted and successful abductions of military and civilian leaders from 1775 to 1783, from Maine to Georgia, and including two in Great Britain.

Abductions in the American Revolution

Author: Christian McBurney

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2016-05-16

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 1476624291

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Morristown

Author: William Hazelgrove

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-10-01

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1493063456

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In the fall of 1779 George Washington took his 10,000 men into winter camp at Morristown, New Jersey after six long years of fighting. It would be a brutal winter of suffering, depression, starvation, betrayal, mutiny, treason and an attempt to kidnap George Washington by the British. By the spring only 8,000 men would be left in Morristown with less than two thirds fit for service. Books have cemented Valley Forge as one with Omaha Beach, the Death March of Bataan, and Washington crossing the Delaware. But the winter of Valley Forge was mild in comparison to other winters. Temperatures did not plummet to unheard levels and snowfall was normal. And the men were not starving on the scale that would later follow at Morristown. The winter of 1779 to 1780 was the worst in a century and would mark Washington’s darkest hour where he contemplated the army coming apart from lack of food and, money, six years of war, desertions, mutiny, the threat of a devastating attack by the British, and incredibly, a plot to kidnap him. And yet Morristown would mark a turning point. After a long winter of suffering, he was joined by Lafayette in May who promised Washington a second fleet of French support, leading to the final defeat of the British in 1783.

Kidnapping the Enemy

Author: Christian M. McBurney

Publisher:

Published: 2024-08-23

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781594164385

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The Daring Raid to Kidnap a British General in Order to Gain Freedom for the Highest Ranking Continental Officer Captured During the American Revolution On the night of December 12, 1776, while on a reconnaissance mission in New Jersey, Lieutenant Colonel William Harcourt and Cornet Banastre Tarleton of the British dragoons learned from Loyalist informers that Major General Charles Lee, the second-in-command in the Continental army behind only George Washington, was staying at a tavern at nearby Basking Ridge. Gaining valuable information as they rode, by threatening captured American soldiers with death if Lee's whereabouts was not revealed, Harcourt and Tarleton, surrounded the tavern, and after a short but violent struggle, captured him. The dragoons returned through a hostile country by a different route, arriving safely at their British post at New Brunswick with their quarry in hand. With Lee's capture, the British were confident the rebellion would soon be over. Stung by Lee's kidnapping, the Americans decided to respond with their own special operation, perhaps the most outstanding one of the war. On the dark night of July 10, 1777, Lieutenant Colonel William Barton led a handpicked party in whaleboats across Narragansett Bay--carefully avoiding British navy ships--to Newport, Rhode Island. Although the town was occupied by more than 3,000 enemy soldiers, after landing Barton led his men up a hidden path and stealthily hurried to a farmhouse where General Richard Prescott had taken to spending nights. Surrounding the house, they forced open the doors and seized the sleeping Prescott, as well as his aidede- camp and a sentry, and then quickly returned to their waiting boats. Despite British artillerymen firing rockets and cannon to alert the British vessels in the bay, the bold band of Americans reached the mainland safely. Not only had Barton kidnapped a British major general who could be exchanged for Lee, he had removed from action a man who had gained a reputation for his harsh treatment of American Patriots. In Kidnapping the Enemy: The Special Operations to Capture Generals Charles Lee and Richard Prescott, Christian M. McBurney relates the full story of each of these remarkable raids, the subsequent exchange of the two generals, and the impact of these kidnappings on the Revolutionary War. He then follows the subsequent careers of the major players, including Lee, Barton, Prescott, and Tarleton. The author completes his narrative with descriptions of other attempts to kidnap high-ranking military officers and government officials during the war, including ones organized by and against George Washington. The low success rate of these operations makes the raids that captured Lee and Prescott even more impressive.

The Kentucky Kidnappings and Death March

Author: Russell Mahan

Publisher:

Published: 2020-09

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781735644608

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In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, Kentucky was invaded by 200 British and Canadian soldiers and 800 Native American warriors. They surrounded and compelled to surrender two small American settlements called Ruddell's Fort and Martin's Station. The people there were simply farmers with families. At Ruddell's Fort British Captain Henry Bird promised that settlers would be protected from the Indians and remain in the custody of the English. As soon as the gates opened in surrender, the Indians rushed in, killing some settlers and brutally seizing the rest as slaves, adoptees and prisoners. Every man, woman and child was claimed.All of the families from Ruddell's Fort and Martin's Station, amounting to about 400 people, were kidnapped by the British and Indians and forced on a 500-mile death march to the British stronghold at Fort Detroit. Short on food and driven at a relentless pace, the prisoners endured a reign of terror the entire journey. Family members were separated, not knowing what became of each other. Young and old who slowed the column were killed. Babies were thrown into the fire and to the wayside. Women drowned and were tomahawked. Shocked and dazed by the experience, the American settlers were held as prisoners of war for two and a half years. They were finally welcomed home by General George Washington at army headquarters in Newburgh, New York.This true story is told through the experience of the Mahan family, which traveled the Wilderness Road from Virginia to Martin's Station in an optimistic search for a new life. Instead they found death and imprisonment. All known names of the captives are listed in the book.

George Washington's Nemesis

Author: Christian McBurney

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2019-12-20

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 1611214661

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This biography attempts to set the record straight for a misunderstood military figure from the American Revolution. Historians and biographers of Charles Lee have treated him as either an enemy of George Washington or a defender of American liberty. Neither approach is accurate; objectivity is required to fully understand the war’s most complicated general. In George Washington’s Nemesis, author Christian McBurney uses original documents (some newly discovered) to combine two dramatic stories to create one balanced view of one of the Revolutionary War’s most fascinating personalities. General Lee, second in command in the Continental Army led by George Washington, was captured by the British in December, 1776. While imprisoned, he gave his captors a plan on how to defeat Washington’s army as quickly as possible. This extraordinary act of treason was not discovered during his lifetime. Less well known is that throughout his sixteen months of captivity and even after his release, Lee continued communicating with the enemy, offering to help negotiate an end to the rebellion. After Lee rejoined the Continental Army, he was given command of many of its best troops together with orders from Washington to attack British general Henry Clinton’s column near Monmouth, New Jersey. But things did not go as planned for Lee, leading to his court-martial for not attacking and for retreating in the face of the enemy. McBruney argues the evidence clearly shows Lee was unfairly convicted and had, in fact, done something beneficial. But Lee had insulted Washington, which made the matter a political contest between the army’s two top generals—only one of whom could prevail.

Spies in Revolutionary Rhode Island

Author: Christian M McBurney

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2014-04-29

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 162585255X

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A history of espionage in Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War. Espionage played a vital role during the American Revolution in Rhode Island. The British and Americans each employed spies to discover the secrets, plans and positions of their enemy. Continental navy lieutenant John Trevett dressed as an ordinary sailor, grew out his beard and went from tavern to tavern in Newport gathering intelligence. Metcalf Bowler became a traitor on the order of Benedict Arnold, as he spied for the British while serving as a Patriot leader in Providence. Disguised as a peddler, Ann Bates spied for the British during the Rhode Island Campaign. When caught, one spy paid with his life, while others suffered in jail. Author Christian M. McBurney, for the first time, unravels the world of spies and covert operations in Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War. “McBurney tells a series of fascinating stories about the spies and their families, many of them prominent Newporters, in his book.” —The Newport Daily News “According to . . . McBurney, New York and Pennsylvania may have witnessed more spy activity in the Revolutionary War, but Rhode Island was not that far behind...”no theater of war produced such rich stories of spies and spying as Rhode Island.” That’s a pretty big brag for a state as small as ours, but McBurney does make his case very well. The fact that Newport was a major North American port at the time had a lot to do with that, but there are a few towns around the edges that turned up some surprising tales of intrigue and treason.” —Cranston Herald

Captured by Aliens?

Author: Nigel Watson

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2020-05-22

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 147664036X

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New Hampshire couple Betty and Barney Hill provided Americans with what is essentially the original alien abduction story. Since their story became public in the early 1960s, many thousands of Americans have likewise come forward with similar stories of traumatic experiences. Sometimes the abductee has little conscious recollection of these events, but through nightmares, dreams, flashbacks and hypnosis they eventually learn more. Sometimes the participants are bewildered. To get a better understanding of the opposing viewpoints of skeptic and believer, the Betty and Barney Hill case is used to examine the wider context of such encounters, their historical origins, media influences and the latest extraterrestrial, psychological, paranormal, conspiracy and sociological theories that surround them.

Dark Voyage

Author: Christian M. McBurney

Publisher:

Published: 2022-05-20

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9781594163821

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Dark Voyage: An American Privateer's War on Britain's African Slave Trade is the never-before-told story of the extraordinary 1778 voyage of the American ship Marlborough that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to attack the heart of the British slave trading empire in West Africa. Conceived and funded by prominent Rhode Island merchant John Brown, the 20-gun double-decked brig and its mission would have been forgotten were it not for the little-known primary source document, Journal of the Good Ship Marlborough, recognized by the author for its extraordinary importance to the history of slavery and the American Revolution.

The Kidnapping Club

Author: Jonathan Daniel Wells

Publisher: Bold Type Books

Published: 2020-10-20

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1645037118

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Winner of a 2020-2021 New York City Book Award In a rapidly changing New York, two forces battled for the city's soul: the pro-slavery New Yorkers who kept the illegal slave trade alive and well, and the abolitionists fighting for freedom. We often think of slavery as a southern phenomenon, far removed from the booming cities of the North. But even though slavery had been outlawed in Gotham by the 1830s, Black New Yorkers were not safe. Not only was the city built on the backs of slaves; it was essential in keeping slavery and the slave trade alive. In The Kidnapping Club, historian Jonathan Daniel Wells tells the story of the powerful network of judges, lawyers, and police officers who circumvented anti-slavery laws by sanctioning the kidnapping of free and fugitive African Americans. Nicknamed "The New York Kidnapping Club," the group had the tacit support of institutions from Wall Street to Tammany Hall whose wealth depended on the Southern slave and cotton trade. But a small cohort of abolitionists, including Black journalist David Ruggles, organized tirelessly for the rights of Black New Yorkers, often risking their lives in the process. Taking readers into the bustling streets and ports of America's great Northern metropolis, The Kidnapping Club is a dramatic account of the ties between slavery and capitalism, the deeply corrupt roots of policing, and the strength of Black activism.