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lepreuxchevalier · 1 year

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Some illustrations of pike-and-shotte infantry and gunpowder-based, siege artillery that I have officially designed for “Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” or “House Biermann of The Margraviate of Brannenborg,” the newest of the four secular, hereditary “Kurfürsten Des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit” or “Prince-Electors of The Empire of Mankind Proper.” Both these artworks and their associated “faction iconography” were officially designed for a low-fantasy setting of my original conception with technology and material culture roughly equivalent to European History during the compounded advents of The Italian Renaissance, The Protestant Reformation, and The Discovery of America. Where formations of heavily armoured and mounted, aristocratic and noble knights in either suits of full plate armour or heavy coats of chainmail fight alongside professional armies of pikemen and matchlock musketeers. Where medieval-style stone castles are gradually being outsourced in favour of both lavish country estates and devoted military fortifications, or “bastions,” due to the technological advancements being made in gunpowder-based, siege artillery. And Where fledgling nation-states in the form of both kingdoms and empires look beyond the great oceans and the frontiers of “The Known World” in search of exotic riches and virgin lands. In context to the canon lore of my “homebrew” medieval fantasy world, “Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” or “House Biermann of The Margraviate of Brannenborg” is the newest of the four secular, hereditary “Prince-Electors” or “Kurfürsten” within The Imperial College of “Das Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit” or “The Empire of Mankind Secundus.” “Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” or “The Margraviate of Brannenborg” is loosely inspired by “The Mark Brandenburg” or “The Electorate of Brandenburg” within “The Holy Roman Empire” during the Medieval and the Early Modern periods of European history. “Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” is at once the newest, and the most reluctant, constituent member state of, and territorial addition to The Empire of Mankind Proper, or “Das Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit.” As well as the newest secular, hereditary “electoral principality” or “Kurfürstentum” within The Empire of Mankind since the official appointment of Markgraf Friedrich II Von Biermann to The Imperial College during The Electoral Reforms of Emperor Vespasian VII as the 96th Emperor-Elect of The Empire of Mankind Secundus. Over 150 years prior to the contemporary events of my medieval fantasy setting, the lands of “Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” was originally part of “The Former Kingdom of The Midlands” under “The Late House Bartholemew” before the untimely extinction of the legitimate, male bloodline of their dynastic household and the subsequent collapse of their hereditary state. As the territorial part of The Former Kingdom of The Midlands most heavily afflicted by the wholesale peasant uprisings agitated by the religious indoctrination and the systematic, mass conversion of the local populace by the hut shamans hailing from “Erdøk,” or “The Great Forest” directly east of The Empire of Mankind Proper. The illegitimate son and the heir apparent to the last King of The Midlands born to House Bartholemew originally pawned, and then permanently transferred the future lands of “Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” to “The Imperial Household,” the direct descendants of Prinz Heinrich von Nymphenburg as The First Crowned Imperator of The Empire of Mankind Secundus, as well as the hereditary, dynastic, “great house” of “Imperial Princeps” or “Imperial Magnates” for “Der Reichstaat” or “The Imperial Demesne,” in order to fund his equally desperate and futile war effort against the recalcitrant great houses of feudal aristocracy and nobility in The Former Kingdom of The Midlands. Who had universally rejected his lawful and legitimate succession to The Former Kingdom of The Midlands due to his birth as an illegitimate issue to the last King of The Midlands from The Late House Bartholemew. Due to it’s polar, geographic distance and territorial dislocation from “Der Reichstaat” or “The Imperial Demesne” as the hereditary, dynastic lands of “The Imperial Household” or “Der Kaiserliche Haushalt,” as well as it’s constant affliction by the wholesale peasant uprisings agitated by both the religious indoctrination and the systematic, mass conversion efforts of the local populace by the hut shamans indigenous to “Erdøk” or “The Great Forest.” Friedrich Biermann, one of the most seasoned, battle-hardened generals within “The Imperial Army” mostly levied, and later conscripted from the hereditary, dynastic lands of “The Imperial Household” seated at “Nymphenburg.” As well as one of the few commoners within the recorded history of The Imperial Army to be promoted to an office of military command by sheer virtue of merit, was officially awarded hereditary, dynastic enfeoffment over “The Southern Imperial March” or “Die Sudetenmark” for his years of meritorious service as a domestic, household general in service to The Imperial Army. As the local populace of The Southern Imperial March or “Die Sudetenmark” were longtime apostates from The Conservative Church of The New Gods who would never acknowledge the newly enfeoffed and anointed “Friedrich Von Biermann” as their liege lord and princeps. Friedrich Von Biermann as “Der Markgraf Der Sudetenmark” officially petitioned to Archpatriarch Cassadorian XIV seated at The Holy Sept of Romulus to prosecute an “errantry war” or a “great crusade” against the religious apostates of Die Sudetenmark, who were largely religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of “Erdøk” or “The Great Forest.” Manfred Von Lichtenstein, Bishop-Prince of Garyalburg, one of the three ecclesiastical, invested, “prince-electors” or “Kurfürsten” of The Empire of Mankind Proper and Archpatrichal Legate to Cassadorian XIV for this new “Albic Crusade,” officially preached and prosecuted “The Albic Crusade” at a holy synod of Bishop-Princes and Grand Abbots at Die Universität Wörtzburch in Das Herzogtum Solingen, one of the leading centres of church-sanctioned, academic research on both The Canon Theology of The New Gods, as well as Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Civil Law and Jurisprudence north of The Olympian Mountain Valley. In addition to the retinues of crusading, aristocratic and noble knights and the peasant levies hailing from the multitude, or the plethora of minor “Austere” or “Northern Imperial” states as well as the constituent states of “The Borderlands Confederacy” directly south of “Der Reichstaat” or “Nymphenburg.” This “Albic Crusade” was generally only heeded by a minority of the baronial magnates from Das Herzogtum Solingen as the native, electoral principality of Markgraf Friedrich Von Biermann’s birth and origin before his formal enlistment into The Imperial Army based in “Der Reichstaat” or “Nymphenburg,” as well as their domestic, household retinues of aristocratic, noble knights and their feudal levies of men-at-arms. Knowing that the odds were still highly unfavourable towards Friedrich Von Biermann as the titular “Markgraf Der Sudetenmark” leading at the forefront of The Albic Crusade, despite it’s formal and official preaching and prosecution by Manfred Von Lichtenstein at The Holy Synod of Die Universität Wörtzburch as Bishop-Prince of Garyalburg and Archpatriarchal Legate to Cassadorian XIV. Maximillian IV as the 94th Emperor-Elect of The Empire of Mankind Secundus and the hereditary, dynastic, “Imperial Princeps” or “Imperial Magnate” for “Der Reichstaat” or “The Imperial Demesne” offered to permanently transfer to Friedrich Von Biermann fulltime command over a mighty host of professional, Imperial Army men-at-arms regiments and knightly retinues in return for acceding to an official “Imperial Act of Incorporation.” Where Friedrich Von Biermann and all his hereditary, dynastic successors as “Die Margrafen Der Sudetenmark” would both acknowledge the feudal, hereditary, “Imperial Princeps” or “Imperial Magnate” of “Der Reichstaat” or “The Imperial Demesne” and the dynastic patriarch of The Imperial Household as their liege lords and suzerains for “Die Sudetenmark,” unconditional to their formal election as the preferential candidates for the title of Emperor-Elect of Mankind. As well as subsequently incorporating Hohenbiermann’s hereditary lands of Die Sudetenmark as the newest, and perhaps most reluctant, constituent member state of, and territorial addition to The Empire of Mankind Proper. Bolstered with permanent, fulltime command over a mighty host of professional, Imperial Army men-at-arms regiments and knightly retinues hailing from “Der Reichstaat” or “The Imperial Demesne” in joint partnership with Bishop-Prince Manfred Von Lichtenstein as “Archpatriarchal Legate,” or the pontifical representative to the person of Cassadorian XIV as “The 269th Bishop of Romulus” and “The Head of The Conservative Church of The New Gods” for this “Albic Crusade” formally preached and prosecuted against the apostate, Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of “Erdøk.” The Albic Crusade had concluded in overwhelming triumph for both Markgraf Friedrich Von Biermann and the crusaders with the final conquest of the greatest Erdøki cultist stronghold of “Brenna.” With the stunning and the official conclusion of The Albic Crusade at The Siege of Brenna, The castletown of Brenna as the final and greatest site of Erdøki cultist resistance was formally consecrated by Bishop-Prince Manfred von Lichtenstein as The Archbishopric of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel. Where Manfred Von Lichtenstein was formally invested, with Archpatriarch Cassadorian XIV’s explicit blessing, the awesome and prestigious ecclesiastical office of Bishop-Patriarch of Brannenborg in order to facilitate the systematic, mass conversion of the apostate, Albic tribes autochthonous to Die Sudetenmark back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated in The Holy Sept of Romulus as the civilizational kernel, historic capital, and titular namesake of both The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and “The Empire of Mankind Primus.” Friedrich Von Biermann as the first and only “Markgraf der Sudetenmark” would thus subsequently rule from the newly consecrated Archbishopric of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel, or the former Erdøki castletown of “Brenna,” as his official seat of power. formally restyling himself as “Der erster und herrshend Markgraf von Brannenborg und Der Gründungschef von Hohenbiermann.” With the next two and a half decades spent as “Der erster und herrschend Markgraf von Brannenborg und Der Gründungschef von Hohenbiermann,” Friedrich I Von Biermann would award hereditary, dynastic enfeoffment to the most arable lands, titles, and estates that had not been previously claimed as the official property of The Conservative Church of The New Gods first and foremost to the conquering, crusading knights directly involved in The Albic Crusade, and secondly to the regimental colonels of the former Imperial Army men-at-arms regiments who had distinguished themselves with meritorious service, valour, and skill at arms. This new class of landed, hereditary, feudal aristocracy and nobility, or “junkers,” would come to “characterize,” or otherwise “engender” the entirety of the reign of Markgraf Friedrich I Von Biermann with a significant degree of military fortification in the form of stone castles and city walls in order to protect both themselves and their loyal subjects against the outrage and the predations of the apostate, Albic tribes, who had both stubbornly resisted, as well as deeply resented their forced, mass conversion back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods. These “great houses” of “junker” princeps and magnates, paying feudal homage to “Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg,” would collectively facilitate the gradual and effective resettlement of skilled, moneyed, and educated settlers and immigrants hailing from the “Austere” or “Northern Imperial” cultural and linguistic hemisphere of The Empire of Mankind Secundus. Most notably into the newly established castles and fortified cities established directly by Friedrich I Von Biermann as Der erster und herrschend Markgraf von Brannenborg und Der Gründungschef von Hohenbiermann, as well as any castles and fortified cities constructed under the princely, “great houses” of “junker” aristocracy and nobility paying feudal homage to Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg. The culturally and ethnically “Austere” or “Northern Imperial” settlers and immigrants settling within these newly established castles and fortified cities, as well as the most lucrative and arable rural estates of attached countryside, would form base of commercial, industrial, cultural, and scholastic life in the new “Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” in the form of the urban “burghers” or bourgeoisie, merchants, artisans, and professionals, as well as the rural “kollmers” or country gentlemen. The gradual and effective resettlement of culturally and ethnically “Austere” or “Northern Imperial” settlers and immigrants into the newly established castles and fortified cities of Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg and the rural estates of their attached countryside, as well as the systematic, mass conversion efforts with the subsequent and complimentary cultural assimilation of the autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes by the culturally and ethnically “Austere” or “Northern Imperial” Conservative clergy, with their traditional monopoly over knowledge, learning, and education in general, would characterize “The Sudsiedlung” in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg as the last, and undoubtably the most reluctant, constituent member state and territorial addition to be officially incorporated into The Empire of Mankind Secundus. “Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” alongside neighboring “Königreich Middenland” based uniquely beyond the southernmost frontiers of The Empire of Mankind Proper well over a century after the stunning and final conclusion of The Albic Crusade at The Siege of Brenna, would collectively form “Die Sudkreuzritterstaaten,” “Die Teutogenstaaten,” or “Die Sudentscheidenstaaten.” A “Teutogen” or “Southern Austere” cultural and linguistic bloc born of the complimentary events of “The Southern Crusades,” or the religious warfare and the territorial conquests of the lands of the apostate, Albic tribes religiously subscribed to druidic, cult worship of “Erdøk” or “The Great Bastion” across the easternmost frontiers of “Das Selbst Kaiserreich Der Menscheit” or “The Empire of Mankind Proper,” and “The Sudsiedlung,” or the gradual and effective resettlement of settlers and immigrants from the “Austere” or the “Northern Imperial” cultural and linguistic hemisphere of The Empire of Mankind Secundus with the synonymous, complimentary, and systematic, mass conversion and the thorough cultural assimilation of the apostate, Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of “Erdøk.” As implied by both it’s historic and it’s present strategic value as the last, and undoubtably the most reluctant, constituent member state of and territorial addition to The Empire of Mankind Secundus through Emperor Maximillian IV’s “Imperial Act of Incorporation” officially brokered with Markgraf Friedrich I Von Biermann in return for his military contributions in both manpower and resources against the apostate, Albic tribes indigenous to “Die Sudetenmark” during The Albic Crusade. “Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg,” since the historic reforming of “Die Sudetenmark” around the church-sanctioned consecration of The Basilica of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel over the site of the former Erdøki castletown of Brenna, has been deprecated by both nobles and plebeians alike throughout the entirety of The Empire of Mankind as “The Imperial Sandbox.” Such an epithet implying the generally meagre, base economic and industrial yield and value that has come to characterize Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg ever since Markgraf Friedrich I Von Biermann had finally asserted his de jure rule over the region with The Albic Crusade and the subsequent and complimentary “Sudsiedlung.” Long before the final collapse of The Former Kingdom of The Midlands beginning with the untimely extinction of the legitimate, male bloodline of The Late House Bartholemew. The lands of the future “Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” were already characterized by an overabundance of swamps, marshes, and thick, wild, impenetrable forests. What little economy, industry, material culture, and infrastructure that had previously existed within the region had largely been ecologically “reclaimed” by the Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of “Erdøk” or “The Great Forest.” With Friedrich I Von Biermann’s de jure assumption of power and authority over the region, any apostate, Albic tribes who had both violently and openly resisted their systematic, mass conversion back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods by the culturally and ethnically “Austere” or “Northern Imperial” clergy had faced systematic, mass genocide at the hands of both the fledgling, yet highly competent professional army of Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg, as well as the feudal, aristocratic levies of knightly retinues and men-at-arms regiments paying military service and direct homage to the princely, “great houses” of “junker” aristocracy and nobility. This equally stubborn and violent resistance put up by the Albic natives religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of Erdøk would subsequently and consequently result in a significant depopulation of their number in the region by either the professional, armed forces paying direct homage and military service to Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg, themselves, or the feudal, aristocratic levies of knightly, heavy cavalry and men-at-arms regiments paying direct homage and military service to the princely, “great houses” of “junker” aristocrats and nobles paying feudal homage to Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg as their liege lords and Imperial Princeps. Friedrich II Von Biermann as the second Markgraf von Brannenborg born to Hohenbiermann had only and finally achieved official appointment for Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg into The Imperial College as the newest of the four secular, hereditary “Kurfürsten Des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit” or “Prince-Electors of The Empire of Mankind Proper” as a reward for acceding to the obligatory call to arms by his unconditional feudal overlord and suzerain Vespasian VII against the official partisans of his political and military opposition for his lawful and legitimate election as the 96th Emperor-Elect of Mankind. Under the hereditary, dynastic rule of Albrecht Von Biermann as “Der herrshend Markgraf von Bannenborg,” “Der momentan Chef von Hohenbiermann,” and secular, hereditary “Kurfürst des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit” has the fortunes of Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg changed exponentially for the better. With the advent of the theological reforms to the religious establishment of, and the institutions of organized religion within The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus as the civilizational kernel, historic capital, and titular namesake of both The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and “The Empire of Mankind Primus” formally preached and published by Karl Von Luxembourg at Die Universität Wörtzburch as one of the leading centers of church-sanctioned, academic research on The Canon Theology of The New Gods and Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Civil Law and Jurisprudence north of The Olympian Mountain Valley, as well as the original site of the church-sanctioned preaching and prosecution of The Albic Crusade by Bishop-Prince Manfred Von Lichtenstein at The Holy Synod of Wörtzburch. Has Albrecht Von Biermann taken the opportunity to confiscate the lands, property, and treasuries of any ecclesiastical and the monastic clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods who had both openly resisted and protested against the formal renunciation of his spiritual ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus in order to enrich both the state coffers of “Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg,” as well as any aristocratic, noble, “great houses” of “junker” princeps and magnates in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg personally sympathetic to the theological reforms officially preached and published by Karl Von Luxembourg. Albrecht Von Biermann as “Der herrschend Markgraf von Brannnenborg,” “Der momentan Chef von Hohenbiermann,” and secular, hereditary “Kurfürst des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit” had formally decreed state legislation to officially renounce the old, Classical Romulan rite and liturgy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods originally formalized and decreed under the religious reforms traditionally attributed to The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Imperator of Mankind “Cassadorian the Great” in favour of “The Luxembourgian Reformation” with it’s theological emphasis on both the vernacular translations and the strict, universal interpretation of The Holy Canons of The New Gods by all social classes outside the ecclesiastical and monastic clergy and the feudal aristocracy and nobility. With Albrecht Von Biermann’s legislative decree to officially convert to The “Reformed” Faith of The New Gods based on the theological reforms officially preached and published by Karl Von Luxembourg at Die Universität Wörtzburch on behalf of both his dynastic household and his hereditary subjects, has Albrecht Von Biermann officially become both the second hereditary, dynastic ruler in both the recorded histories and the geographic expanse of “The Known World” after Friedrich I as “Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart” based uniquely beyond the southernmost frontiers of The Empire of Mankind Proper, as well as the first hereditary, dynastic, “Imperial Princeps” or “Imperial Magnate” to formally and officially annul his spiritual ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus as the historic capital, civilizational kernel, and titular namesake of both The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and “The Empire of Mankind Primus.” With Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg’s spiritual ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus formally annulled, has Albrecht Von Biermann finally assumed supreme authority over matters of religion in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg. And in the process making himself the effective and virtual “Supreme Head of The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg.” As a direct consequence of his formal assumption of supreme authority over matters of religion, as well as the formal renunciation of his spiritual ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus, has Albrecht Von Biermann effectively endowed himself with full control over the state investiture of new bishops and abbots for “The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg.” Including state investiture over the venerable and prestigious ecclesiastical office of “Bishop-Patriarch of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel” since it’s original establishment with the church-sanctioned consecration of The Basilica of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel over last and greatest Erdøki cultist stronghold of “Brenna” by Manfred Von Lichtenstein as it’s Seminal Bishop-Patriarch. In addition to his formal assumption of supreme authority over matters of religion in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg, as well as his systematic confiscation of the lands, property, and treasuries of any ecclesiastical and monastic clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods who had openly refused to submit before the formal renunciation of his spiritual ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus. Albrecht Von Biermann as “Der herrschend Markgraf von Brannenborg,” “Der momentan Chef von Hohenbiermann,” and secular, hereditary “Kurfürst des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit” has actively pursued an extraimperial personal union with “Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland” based uniquely beyond the southernmost frontiers of The Empire of Mankind Secundus. Using their shared background as the earliest religious converts to The “Reformed” Faith of The New Gods based on the theological reforms of Karl Von Luxembourg to the religious establishment of, and institutions of organized religion within The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated at The Holy Sept of Romulus as the historic capital, civilizational kernel, and titular namesake of both the Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and “The Empire of Mankind Primus.” As well as his paternal, dynastic ties to Friedrich I as “Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart” originally established through the marriage of the younger sister of his late father and predecessor Markgraf Friedrich-Albrecht Von Biermann to “Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart” shortly after the stunning and official conclusion of The Midlands Crusade with the climactic “Battle of The Godswoods” as “the pretext,” or otherwise “the rationale” for a prospective personal union. Has Albrecht Von Biermann actively pursued the agenda of merging Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg with Das Königreich Middenland into an extraimperial composite state united by their shared heritage as “Die Sudkreuzritterstaaten,” “Die Teutogenstaaten,” or “Die Sudentscheidenstaaten,” or cultures and states born of the subsequent and complimentary events of “The Southern Crusades” and “The Sudsiedlung.” As well as their shared background as the earliest religious converts to The “Reformed” Faith of The New Gods based on the theological treatises of Karl Von Luxembourg questioning both the spiritual and cultural legitimacy and moral infallibility of “The Bishop of Romulus” or “The Archpatriarch” as well as his spiritual, cultural, and moral power and authority as “The Last of The Classical Pontiffs,” or the sole, anointed representative to The Entire Canon Pantheon of The New Gods in the world. Within the subsequent “Treaties of Marienburg and Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel” officially brokered between the state-sanctioned, court representatives of “Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” and “Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland,” respectively. Has Albrecht Von Biermann as “Der herrschend Markgraf von Brannenborg,” “Der momentan chef von Hohenbiermann,” secular, hereditary “Kurfürst des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit,” and nephew to Friedrich I offered to establish mutual heredity between Hohenbiermann and Hohenrotbart for both Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg and Das Königreich Middenland, should either dynastic house officially grow extinct through the male bloodline. Friedrich I as “Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland,” “Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart,” and paternal uncle to Albrecht Von Biermann, in direct response to his nephew’s introductory proposition, elaborated upon the opening proposition. Only agreeing to the outlined terms under the conditions that Das Königreich Middenland never be incorporated into The Empire of Mankind Proper as both a constituent, member state and a territorial addition. As Imperial law had officially “restricted,” or otherwise “excluded” all constituent, member states outside “Hohenluxembourg Des Königreich Schönbrunn” and “the hereditary state” and “the dynastic house” of the Emperor-Elect, himself from endowing the reigning patriarch of their dynastic household with royal titles. That Albrecht Von Biermann and all of his prospective successors as “Die Markgrafen von Brannenborg” officially convert to The “Reformed” Faith of The New Gods by the time of their formal inheritance to Das Königreich Middenland from the then extinct, male bloodline of Hohenrotbart. So as to simultaneously protect and preserve the religious liberties of all subscribers to The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland, while also encouraging both the spread and the proliferation of The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg. And that Albrecht Von Biermann and all of his prospective successors as “Die Markgrafen von Brannenborg” officially serve as both regents and godfathers to Friedrich I’s infant son Kronprinz Friedrich-Albrecht Von Rotbart in the event and the occasion of his untimely passing. As Friedrich I as Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart had only and finally succeeded in producing a surviving male heir by his late 70′s. Albrecht Von Biermann, in response to his paternal uncle’s diplomatic elaborations, both sweetened and concluded the subsequent and complimentary “Treaties of Marienburg and Brannnenborg-An-Der-Havel.” Outlining within his ultimatum the final condition that Friedrich I and all of his prospective successors as “Die Könige von Middenland” officially hold the title of “Der Markgraf von Brannenborg” plurally with the title of “Der König von Middenland” upon inheriting Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg from the then extinct, male bloodline of Hohenbiermann. As opposed to incorporating Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg as a constituent province of Das Königreich Middenland uniquely situated within the southernmost frontiers of “Das Selbst Kaiserreich der Mensceit,” so as to simultaneously preserve and retain the awesome power, authority, and privilege traditionally associated with the title of secular, hereditary “Kurfürst des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit” that had been both traditionally, and synonymously tied with the hereditary, dynastic title of “Der Markgraf von Brannenborg” since The Electoral Reforms of Vespasian VII as the 96th and official Emperor-Elect of Mankind. With this diplomatic agenda of finally merging Das Königreich Middenland and Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg into an extraimperial composite state based on their shared heritage as “Die Sudkreuzritterstaaten,” “Die Teutogenstaaten,” or “Die Sudentscheidenstaaten” born of the subsequent and the complimentary events of “The Southern Crusades” and “The Sudsiedlung,” as well as their shared background as the earliest religious converts to the theological reforms of Karl Von Luxembourg to the religious establishment of, and institutions of organized religion within The Conservative Church of The New Gods. Albrecht Von Biermann actively pursues the dynastic ambition of acquiring hereditary, dynastic control over lands, armies, and wealth for his dynastic household that is virtually and effectively beyond the power, authority, influence, and jurisdiction of “Der Kaiserliche Haushalt” or “The Imperial Household” officially seated in “Der Reichstaat” or “The Imperial Demesne,” known colloquially as “Nymphenburg.” While also finally breaking away from his ancestral obligations of unconditional feudal homage to The Imperial Household seated at distant Nymphenburg in return for their historic military contributions in both manpower and resources officially granted to “Der erster und herrschend Markgraf Der Sudetenmark und Der Gründungschef von Hohenbiermann” for his church-sanctioned crusade against the apostate, Albic tribes indigenous to Die Sudetenmark that formed from the northernmost part of The Former Kingdom of The Midlands under The Late House Bartholemew. In terms of both the hereditary, dynastic military traditions of Hohenbiermann in particular, as well as the culturally ingrained, provincial, military traditions of Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg in general. Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg under the hereditary, dynastic rule of Die Markgrafen von Hohenbiermann arguably possesses the single, most competent, professional military of any constituent, member state within The Empire of Mankind Secundus. Despite it’s official status as the last, and arguably the most reluctant, constituent member state of, and territorial addition to The Empire of Mankind Proper. Linear descendants of the military traditions of the professional, Imperial Army men-at-arms regiments and knightly retinues permanently transferred to the fulltime military command and the direct supervision of Friedrich I Von Biermann in order to bolster his gradual and eventual pacification of the apostate, Albic tribes indigenous to “Die Sudetenmark” during, and in the wake of “The Albic Crusade.” And steeled by many decades of quasi-perpetual warfare against the apostate, Albic tribes who had both violently resisted and openly protested against their systematic persecution and the legislative marginalization of their religious liberties at the hands of a culturally and ethnically “Austere” or “Northern Imperial” Conservative clergy. Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg under the hereditary, dynastic rule of Die Markgrafen von Hohenbiermann possesses a highly formidable, professional, disciplined, and skilled-at-arms corps of elite pike-and-shotte infantry regiments. One whose professional quality and numeric quantity are both significantly disproportionate to the meagre, base economic and industrial yield and value of Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg. With the sudden, recalcitrant uprising of over half of the princely, “great houses” of “junker” aristocrats and nobles who had both openly resisted and violently protested against Albrecht Von Biermann’s legislative decree for his official conversion to The Luxembourgian Reformation on behalf of both his dynastic household and his hereditary subjects, as well as the subsequential and consequential annulment of his spiritual ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus. Most notably the formidable, provincial power and authority of the junker princeps and magnates of “Hohenlictenstein” as the hereditary, dynastic household of Bishop-Patriarch Manfred Von Lichtenstein as the church-sanctioned, Archpatriarchal Legate to the person of Cassadorian XIV for The Albic Crusade, as well as The Seminal Bishop-Patriarch of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel. Has Albrecht Von Biermann officially responded to the political, religious, and military opposition for his formal assumption of supreme authority over matters of religion as “The Supreme Head of The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg” by investing a significant portion of his state treasury into the latest technological advancements made in the novel design of gunpowder-based, siege artillery in order to effectively nullify the formal opposition of both the recalcitrant, princely, “great houses” of “junker” aristocracy and nobility, as well as any burgher and kollmer enclaves openly opposed and resistant to The Luxembourgian Reformation, by reducing their respective castles and fortified cities to ash and rubble.

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revolutionarywarhistory · 1 year

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British "masters of the field" : The disaster at Brandywine

Illustration of the Battle of Brandywine, drawn by cartographer, engraver and illustrator Johann Martin Will (1727-1806) in 1777. Image is courtesy of the Library of Congress.

This post is reprinted from Academia.edu and my History Hermann WordPress blog. It was originally written in September 2016, one day after the anniversary of the battle, when I was a fellow at the Maryland State Archives for the Finding the Maryland 400 project. Enjoy!

On the night of September 10, 1777, many of the soldiers and commanding officers of the Continental Army sat around their campfires and listened to an ominous sermon that would predict the events of the following day. Chaplain Jeremias (or Joab) Trout declared that God was on their side and that

��we have met this evening perhaps for the last time…alike we have endured the cold and hunger, the contumely of the internal foe and the courage of foreign oppression…the sunlight…tomorrow…will glimmer on scenes of blood…Tomorrow morning we will go forth to battle…Many of us may fall tomorrow.” [1]

The following day, the Continentals would be badly defeated by the British and “scenes of blood” would indeed appear on the ground near Brandywine Creek.

In the previous month, a British flotilla consisting of 28 ships, loaded with over 12,000 troops, had sailed up the Chesapeake Bay. [2] They disembarked at the Head of Elk (now Elkton, Maryland) in July, under the command of Sir William Howe, and had one objective: to attack the American capital of Philadelphia. [3] Howe had planned to form a united front with John Burgoyne, but bad communication made this impossible. [4] At the same time, Burgoyne was preoccupied with fighting the Continental Army in Saratoga, where he ultimately surrendered later in the fall. With Howe’s redcoats, light dragoons, grenadiers, and artillerymen were Hessian soldiers fighting for the Crown. [5]

Opposing these forces were two sections of the Continental Army. The first was the main body of Continentals led by George Washington, consisting of light infantry, artillery, ordinary foot-soldiers, and militia from Pennsylvania and Maryland. The second was the Continental right wing commanded by John Sullivan, which consisted of infantry from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland. The latter was led by William Smallwood and included the First Maryland Regiment. Other Marylanders who participated in the battle included Walter Brooke Cox, Joseph Marbury, Daniel Rankins, Samuel Hamilton, John Toomy, John Brady, and Francis Reveley. While the British were nearby, the 15,000-man Continental Army fortified itself at Chadd’s Ford, sitting on Brandywine Creek in order to defend Philadelphia from British attack. [6]

A map by Johann Martin Will in early 1777, in the same set as the illustration of the battle at the beginning of this post, which shows British and Continental troop movements during the Battle of Brandywine.

The morning of September 11 was warm, still, and quiet in the Continental Army camp on the green and sloping area behind Brandywine Creek. [7] Civilians from surrounding towns who were favoring the Crown, the revolutionary cause, or were neutral watched the events that were about to unfold. [8]

Suddenly, at 8:00, the British, on the other side of the creek, began to bombard the Continental positions facing the creek complimented by Hessians firing their muskets. [9] However, these attacks were never meant as a direct assault on Continental lines. [10] Instead, the British wanted to cross the creek, which had few bridges, including one unguarded bridge called Jeffries’ Ford on Great Valley Road. As Howe engaged in a flanking maneuver, which he had used at the Battle of Brooklyn, the Marylanders would again find themselves on the front lines.

As the British continued their diversionary frontal attack on the Continental lines, thousands of them moved across the unguarded bridge that carried Great Valley Road over Brandywine Creek. Washington received reports about this British movement throughout the day but since these messages were inconsistent, he did not act on them until later. [11] At that point, he sent Sullivan’s wing, including Marylanders, to push back the advancing British flank. [12]

These Marylanders encountered seasoned Hessian troops who, when joined by British guards and grenadiers, attacked the Marylanders. Due to the precise and constant fire from Hessians and a British infantry charge with bayonets, the Marylanders fled in panic. [13] Lieutenant William Beatty of the Second Maryland Regiment, who would perish in the Battle of Hobkirk’s Hill, recounted this attack:

“…[in] the Middle of this Afternoon…a strong Body of the Enemy had Cross’d above our Army and were in full march to out-flank us; this Obliged our Right wing to Change their front…before this could be fully [executed]…the Enemy Appeared and made a very Brisk Attack which put the whole of our Right Wing to flight…this was not done without some Considerable loss on their side, as of the Right wing behaved Gallantly…the Attack was made on the Right, the British…made the fire…on all Quarters.” [14]

As a Marylanders endured a “severe cannonade” from the British, the main body of the Continental Army was in trouble. [15] Joseph Armstrong of Pennsylvania, a private in a Pennsylvania militia unit, described retreating after the British had crossed Brandywine Creek, and moved back even further, at 5:00, for eight or nine miles, with the British in hot pursuit. [16]

Despite the “heavy and well supported fire of small arms and artillery,” the Continentals could not stop the British and Hessian troops, who ultimately pushed the Americans into the nearby woods. [17] The British soldiers, exhausted and wearing wool, were able to push back the Continentals at 5:30 on that hot day. [18] As Washington would admit in his apologetic letter to the President of the Continental Congress, John Hancock, “…in this days engagement we have been obliged to leave the enemy masters of the field.” [19]

As the smoke cleared, the carnage was evident. Numerous Continentals were wounded, along with French military men such as the Marquis de Lafayette. [20] Despite Washington’s claim that “our loss of men is not…very considerable…[and] much less than the enemys,” about 200-300 were killed and 400 taken prisoner. [21] This would confirm Lieutenant Beatty’s claim that Continental losses included eight artillery pieces, “500 men killed, wounded and prisoners.” [22] In contrast, on the British side, fewer than a hundred were killed while as many as 500 were wounded. [23] Beatty’s assessment was that the British loss was “considerable” due to a “great deal of very heavy firing.” [24] Still, as victors, the British slept on the battlefield that night.

Not long after, the British engaged in a feint attack to draw away the Continental Army from Philadelphia and marched into the city without firing a shot, occupying it for the next ten months. [25] In the meantime, Congress fled to York, Pennsylvania, where it stayed until Philadelphia could be re-occupied in late June 1778.

In the months after the battle, the Continental Army chose who would be punished for the defeat. This went beyond John Adams’s response to the news of the battle: “…Is Philadelphia to be lost? If lost, is the cause lost? No–The cause is not lost but may be hurt.” [26] While Washington accepted no blame for the defeat, others were court-martialed. [27]

One man was strongly accused for the defeat: John Sullivan. While some, such as Charles Pickney, praised Sullivan for his “calmness and bravery” during the battle, a sentiment that numerous Maryland officers agreed with, others disagreed. [28] A member of Congress from North Carolina, Thomas Burke, claimed that Sullivan engaged in “evil conduct” leading to misfortune, and that Sullivan was “void of judgment and foresight.” [29] He said this as he attempted to remove Sullivan from his commanding position. Since Sullivan’s division mostly fled the battleground, even as some resisted British advances, and former Quaker Nathaniel Greene led a slow retreat, the blame of Sullivan is not a surprise. [30] Burke’s effort did not succeed since Maryland officers and soldiers admired Sullivan for his aggressive actions and bravery, winning him support. [31]

Another officer accused of misdeeds was a Marylander named William Courts, a veteran of the Battle of Brooklyn. He was accused of “cowardice at the Battle of Brandywine” and for talking to Major Peter Adams of the 7th Maryland Regiment with “impertinent, and abusive language” when Adams questioned Courts’ battlefield conduct. [32] Courts was ultimately acquitted, though he left the Army shortly afterwards. However, his case indicates that the Continental Army was looking for scapegoats for the defeat.

The rest of the remaining Continental Army marched off in the cover of darkness, preventing a battle the following day. They camped at Chester, on the other side of the Schuylkill River, where they stayed throughout late September. [33] Twenty-four days after the battle on the Brandywine, the Continental Army attacked the British camp at Germantown but foggy conditions led to friendly fire, annulling any chance for victory. [34] While it was a defeat, the Battle of Germantown served the revolutionary cause by raising hopes for the United States in the minds of European nobility. [35] It may have also convinced Howe to resign from the British Army, as commander of British forces in North America, later that month.

In the following months, the Continental Army continued to fight around Philadelphia and New Jersey. After the battle at Germantown, the British laid siege to Fort Mifflin on Mud Island for over a month. They also engaged in an intensified siege on Fort Mercer at Red Bank, leading to its surrender in late October. In an attempt to assist Continental forces, a detachment of Maryland volunteers under Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith were sent to fight in the battle at Fort Mifflin. [36] By November, the Continentals abandoned Fort Mifflin and retired to Valley Forge. Still, this hard-fought defense of the Fort denied the British use of the Delaware River, foiling their plans to further defeat Continental forces.

As the war went on, the First Maryland Regiment would fight in the northern colonies until 1780 in battles at Monmouth (1778) and Stony Point (1779) before moving to the Southern states as part of Greene’s southern campaign. [37] They would come face-to-face with formidable British forces again in battles at Camden (1780), Cowpens (1781), Guilford Courthouse (1781), and Eutaw Springs (1781). In the end, what the Scottish economist Adam Smith wrote in 1776 held true in the Battle of Brandywine and until the end of the war: that Americans would not voluntarily agree with British imperial control and would die to free themselves from such control. [38]

– Burkely Hermann, Maryland Society of the Sons of American Revolution Research Fellow, 2016.

Notes

[1] Collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1 (Merrehew & Thompson, 1853), 70-72; Lydia Minturn Post, Personal Recollections of the American Revolution: A Private Journal (ed. Sidney Barclay, New York: Rudd & Carleton, 1859), 207-218; Virginia Biography, Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography Vol. V (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915), 658. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; George F. Scheer, and Hugh F. Rankin, Rebels and Redcoats: The American Revolution Through the Eyes of Those who Fought and Lived It (New York: De Capo Press, 1957, reprint in 1987), 234. Trout, who was also a Reverend, would not survive the battle. While some records reprint his name as “Joab Traut,” other sources indicate that his first name was actually Jeremias and that his last name is sometimes spelled Trout.

[2] Andrew O’Shaughnessy, The Men Who Lost America: British Command During the Revolutionary War and the Preservation of the Empire (London: One World Publications, 2013), 254; Ferling, 177; Letters from Gen. George Washington, Vol. 5, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_344144_0001, item number 152, p. 87; “A Further Extract from the Examination of Joseph Galloway, Esq; by a Committee of the British House of Commons,” Maryland Journal, December 7, 1779, Baltimore, Vol. VI, issue 324, page 1.

[3] Washington thrown back at Brandywine, Chronicle of America (ed. Daniel Clifton, Mount Kisco, NY: Chronicle Publications, 1988), 163; “The Examination of Joseph Galloway, Esq; before the House of Commons,” Maryland Journal, November 23, 1779, Baltimore, Vol. VI, issue 322, page 1. Joseph Galloway, a former member of the Contintental Congress who later became favorable to the British Crown, claimed that inhabitants supplied the British on the way to Brandywine.

[4] Stanley Weintraub, Iron Tears: America’s Battle for Freedom, Britain’s Quagmire: 1775-1783 (New York: Free Press, 2005), 115.

[5] Bethany Collins, “8 Fast Facts About Hessians,” Journal of the American Revolution, August 19, 2014. Accessed August 31, 2016. They were called Hessians since many of them came from the German state of Hesse-Kassel, and many of them were led by Baron Wilhelm Von Knyphausen.

[6] Chronicle of America, 163; Letters from Gen. George Washington, Vol. 5, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_344144_0001, item number 152, p. 33. Courtesy of Fold3.com; Letters from Gen. George Washington, Vol. 5, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_344144_0001, item number 152, p. 37. Courtesy of Fold3.com; Letters from Gen. George Washington, Vol. 5, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_344144_0001, item number 152, p. 41. Courtesy of Fold3.com; The Annual Register or a View of the History, Politics, and Literature, for the Year 1777 (4th Edition, London: J. Dosley, 1794, 127-8; Mark Andrew Tacyn, “’To the End:’ The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution” (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 137; The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783, American Military History (Washington D.C.: Center for Military History, 1989), 72-73.

[7] John E. Ferling, Setting the World Abaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 175-176; O’Shaughnessy, 107. O’Shaughnessy argues that the encampment at Chad’s Ford was an “excellent defensive position.”

[8] Thomas J. McGuire, The Philadelphia Campaign: Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia Vol. I (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2006), 172-173. Reportedly, some Quakers ignored the dueling armies and went about their daily business but others such as Joseph Townsend did watch the battle and worried about their fate if the British were to be victorious.

[9] Ferling, 175-176; “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” Maryland Historical Magazine June 1908. Vol. 3, no.2, 109. The British had endured two weeks of horrible weather conditions in their journey from Elkton.

[10] Tacyn, 138; Ferling, 175; O’Shaughnessy, 7, 226, 228.

[11] “II: From Lieutenant Colonel James Ross, 11 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “III: To Colonel Theodorick Bland, 11 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “IV: From Major General John Sullivan, 11 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “V: From Colonel Theodorick Bland, 11 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “VII: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hanson Harrison to John Hancock, 11 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Hancock, 13 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Brigadier General Anthony Wayne, 19 September 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; Scheer, and Rankin, 235.

[12] Tacyn, 138-9; Scheer, and Rankin, 236; McGuire, 184-185, 167, 171, 186, 193, 196, 241.

[13] The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783, American Military History (Washington D.C.: Center for Military History, 1989), 72-73; Tacyn, 139; David Ross, The Hessian Jagerkorps in New York and Pennsylvania, 1776-1777, Journal of the American Revolution, May 14, 2015. Accessed August 31, 2016. The British and Hessians advanced with minimal casualties.

[14] “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” 109-110; Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution Archives of Maryland Online Vol. 18, 189, 310, 344, 345, 363, 379, 388, 519. William Beatty would become a captain in April 1778 in the Seventh Maryland Regiment, then in the First Maryland Regiment in early 1781.

[15] Letters from Gen. George Washington, Vol. 5, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_344144_0001, item number 152, p. 49. Courtesy of Fold3.com.

[16] Pension of Jacob Armstrong, Revolutionary War Pensions, National Archives, NARA M804, Record Group 15, pension number S.22090, roll 0075. Courtesy of Fold3.com; “VII: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hanson Harrison to John Hancock, 11 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016. Jacob served as a substitute for his father, Simon Armstrong.

[17] The Annual Register, 128-129.

[18] Ferling, 176.

[19] Weintraub, 118; “VIII: To John Hancock, 11 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; Letters from Gen. George Washington, Vol. 5, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_344144_0001, item number 152, p. 53-53a; “VIII: To John Hancock, 11 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016. This letter was published by order of Congress.

[20] Tacyn, 140; The Annual Register, 129-130; Letters from Gen. George Washington, Vol. 5, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_344144_0001, item number 152, p. 53-53a; “VIII: To John Hancock, 11 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; Letters from Gen. George Washington, Vol. 5, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_344144_0001, item number 152, p. 287. Courtesy of Fold3.com; “To George Washington from Brigadier General William Woodford, 2 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, 1781-1784 Archives of Maryland Online Vol. 48, 458; Scheer, and Rankin, 240.

[21] Ferling, 177; O’Shaughnessy, 109; Washington thrown back at Brandywine, Chronicle of America, 163; Letters from Gen. George Washington, Vol. 5, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_344144_0001, item number 152, p. 53-53a; “VIII: To John Hancock, 11 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; Petitions Address to Congress, 1775-189, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_419789_0001, item number 42, p. 159. Courtesy of Fold3.com; Pension of Jacob Ritter (prisoner after battle), Revolutionary War Pensions, National Archives, NARA M804, Record Group 15, pension number S.9080, roll 2052. Courtesy of Fold3.com; John Dwight Kilbourne, A Short History of the Maryland Line in the Continental Army (Baltimore: Society of Cincinnati of Maryland, 1992), 14; Howard H. Peckham, The War for Independence: A Military History (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 68-70; Scheer, and Rankin, 239. Washington’s letter was later published by order of Congress.

[22] “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” 110.

[23] O’Shaughnessy, 109; The Annual Register, 129-130; “To George Washington from Major John Clark, Jr., 12 November 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; Peckham, 70; Scheer, and Rankin, 239.

[24] “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” 110; Peckham, 70; McGuire, 209. Claims by Continentals that there were many British casualties may have been explained by British tactics.

[25] “A Further Extract from the Examination of Joseph Galloway, Esq; by a Committee of the British House of Commons”; “The Examination of Joseph Galloway, Esq; before the House of Commons”; Weintraub, 115; Tacyn, 143; Trevelyan, 249, 275; O’Shaughnessy, 110.

[26] John Adams diary 28, 6 February – 21 November 1777 [electronic edition], entries for September 16, Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society

[27] “A Further Extract from the Examination of Joseph Galloway, Esq; by a Committee of the British House of Commons” ; “General Orders, 19 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “General Orders, 25 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “General Orders, 3 January 1778,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[28] Tacyn, 142; Letters from General Officers, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, NARA M247, Record Group 360, roll pcc_4345518_0001, item number 100, p. 69. Courtesy of Fold3.com.

[29] Tacyn, 141.

[30] Tacyn, 140-141.

[31] Tacyn, 143.

[32] “General Orders, 19 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[33] Pension of Jacob Armstrong; Weintraub, 116-117; O’Shaughnessy, 109; “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” 110; Kilbourne, 14.

[34] Pension of Jacob Armstrong; The Annual Register, 129-130; Sir George Otto Trevelyan, The American Revolution: Saratoga and Brandywine, Valley Forge, England and France at War, Vol. 4 (London: Longmans Greens Co., 1920), 275; O’Shaughnessy, 110; Ross, “The Hessian Jagerkorps in New York and Pennsylvania, 1776-1777,” Journal of the American Revolution, May 14, 2015. Accessed August 31, 2016; “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” 110-111; Kilbourne, 17, 19. As Beatty recounts, Marylanders were joined by the Maryland militia and were still part of General Sullivan’s division.

[35] Trevelyan, 249; O’Shaughnessy, 111; Christopher Hibbert, George III: A Personal History (New York: Basic Books, 1998), 154-155.

[36] “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” 110; Kilbourne, 14.

[37] Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, April 1, 1778 through October 26, 1779 Archives of Maryland Online Vol. 21, 118; Kilbourne, 21-22, 24-27, 29-30, 31, 33.

[38] Adam Smith, Chapter VII: Of Colonies, Part Third: Of the advantages which Europe has derived from the Discovery of America, and from that of a passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (ed. Edward Canman, New York: The Modern Library, reprint 1937, originally printed in 1776), 587- 588.

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