Resources
There are, when one begins to look, a great many resources that provide information on the events that are covered by this web site. Part of the enjoyment that many of us derive from the study of history is piecing together what actually happened from sometimes conflicting sources, and I have listed here those that I consulted that seem potentially of interest to others. Where they can be accessed online, I include the web addresses. Where there are not links, the books can be purchased online using the information provided. I have not included on this list websites that promote or explain areas or events, but links to such websites are in some cases embedded in the narratives on this site.
I particularly commend to those interested in this subject sources that provide the observations of people who were direct participants in the events that occurred: the diaries of Colonel Israel Angell and of Jeremiah Greenman, officer and enlisted man in the same Rhode Island regiment, the memoir of Joseph Plumb Martin, written when he was 70 about his life as a teenage enlisted man in a Connecticut regiment, and the letters available on line to and from General Washington that were sent during the events in question. One can perhaps be suspicious that even diary entries of memorable events may have been embellished somewhat, but the coincidence that two men in the same regiment recorded an event makes it seem highly likely to have occurred. Thus, for example, we know from diary entries of both Angell and Greenman that, on October 11 and 12, 1777, on the way to fight the battles described here, the Second Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Army stopped and washed its clothes.
The Martin memoir, written by a somewhat grumpy 70-year-old about his life as an often starving young teenage soldier, is a jewel. Its recollections could be questioned just because of the passage of time before they were written down, but they seem to track events, and memories of surviving the bombardment of Fort Mifflin likely would be impressed on any man. While I have provided the online link for this book, it can be read more easily in the relatively inexpensive paperback editions available.
For those who enjoy historical fiction, I discovered that one of my favorite authors wrote a novel that covers the events in the Philadelphia area during the period of the battle for the river forts. He deviated a little from the facts about the forts for narrative purposes but it is a good read and I cannot miss the chance to recommend Redcoat (1987), by Bernard Cornwell.
These are the resources that I have consulted and referenced in this site:
“The Israel Angell Diary, 1 October 1777-28 February 1778,” Rhode Island History, Volume 58, Number 4 (2000), http://www.rihs.org/assetts/files/publications/2000_Nov.pdf
Catts, W.P., Selig, R., et al., “IT IS PAINFUL FOR ME TO LOSE SO MANY GOOD PEOPLE” Report of an Archeological Survey at Red Bank Battlefield Park (Fort Mercer), National Park, Gloucester County, New Jersey (2017), https://www.gloucestercountynj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/959/Red-Bank-Battlefield-Archeology-Report-PDF?bidId=
Chastellux, F., Travels in North-America: in the years 1780-81-82 (1828), https://www.loc.gov/item/02006665/
Dorwat, J. M., Fort Mifflin of Philadelphia: An Illustrated History (1998)
Green, S.L., FREEBORN MEN OF COLOR: THE FRANCK BROTHERS IN REVOLUTIONARY NORTH AMERICA, 1755-1820 (2011), https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1300735596&disposition=inline
Greenman, J., Diary of a Common Soldier in the American Revolution, 1775-1783: An Annotated Edition of the Military Journal of Jeremiah Greenman, edited by Bray, R. and Bushnell, P. (1978).
Huth, H., von Donop, C., et al., “Letters from a Hessian Mercenary,” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 62, No. 4 (Oct., 1938), pp. 488-501, https://www.jstor.org/stable/20087145
Jackson, J.W., The Pennsylvania Navy, 1775-1781: The defense of the Delaware (1974).
Martin, J.P., The Adventures of a Revolutionary Soldier (1830), https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Adventures_Of_A_Revolutionary_Soldier
Popek, D.M., They “… fought bravely, but were unfortunate: ” The True Story of Rhode Island’s “Black Regiment” and the Failure of Segregation in Rhode Island’s Continental Line, 1777-1783 (2015), https://books.google.com/books?id=HMnyCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP107&lpg=PP107&dq=fort+mifflin+connecticut+8th+continental&source=bl&ots=1uk5PMlK7i&sig=ACfU3U1HY_IMfM5udou_kro0Eq7iCQ1_7A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwirtdz5jLHzAhWRFVkFHf54DGwQ6AF6BAgfEAM#v=onepage&q&f=false
Schenawolf, H., “Battle for the Delaware river in the American Revolution: Courageous Determination,” Revolutionary War Journal (October 14, 2020), https://www.revolutionarywarjournal.com/battle-for-the-delaware-river-in-the-american-revolution-courageous-determination/
Schenawolf, H., “Battle of Red Bank, October 22, 1777. Incredible American Victory Against Overwhelming Odds,” Revolutionary War Journal (August 21, 2013), http://www.revolutionarywarjournal.com/battle-of-red-bank/
“Washington Papers,” National Archives, Founders Project, https://founders.archives.gov/search/Project%3A%22Washington%20Papers%22