#OTD 1777: With the help of a Loyalist spy who provided a secret password and led them to the camp, British forces launched a surprise attack on General "Mad" Anthony Wayne's encampment near Philadelphia and killed or wounded nearly 200 men. #PaoliMassacre #RevWar
20 Sep 1777 Freeman’s Farm, NY. British Commander Gen John Burgoyne is talked out of renewing his attack on Gen Horatio Gates’s forces by Gen Simon Fraser, whose men were severely mauled & exhausted. Gates uses the respite to bolster his defenses. #RevWar #History #AmRev
20 Sep 1776 NYC A great fire erupts along the North River on the night of 20-21 September. The mysterious fire destroyed almost 25% of the city’s buildings. The British blamed rebels for the arson, but the origin is still a mystery. #RevWar #History #AmRev
20 Sep 1776 Congress modifies Articles of War to address problems of discipline, administration, and organization within the Continental Army. #RevWar #History #AmRev
19 Sep 1782 London. Anxious to get out of the dead-end war before France & Spain cause more damage, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Sherburne (William Petty) authorizes his agents in Paris to negotiate with the US as one sovereign entity. #RevWar #History #AmRev
#OTD 1777: The #BattleOfSaratoga began on the farmland of British loyalist John Freeman. At the end of the battle, the Redcoats gained control of the field, they suffered 600 casualties, twice as many as the Americans. ushistory.org/US/11g.asp #RevWar #BattleOfFreemansFarm
19 Sep 1777 Ushant, France. Capt John Bazely’s 10-gun cutter, HMS Ale,rt captures the 16-gun brig Lexington under Capt Henry Johnson when it runs short on munitions. Americans lost 18 killed & wounded & 77 captured. #RevWar #History #AmRev
19 Sep 1775 Gen Richard Montgomery sends a force to the Richelieu R. to prevent HMS Royal Savage from sailing into Lake Champlain and begins to besiege Saint Johns, Quebec. #RevWar #History #AmRev
19 Sep 1775 Peyton Randolph, former (and first) president of Continental Congress, dies at the age of 54. The Virginia lawyer and political leader worked tirelessly for the American cause, fighting debilitating illness, which ultimately caused his death. #RevWar #History #AmRev
