Saving America's Battlefields: Battle of Brandywine

From the American Battlefield Trust September 2022 calendar.

BRANDYWINE, PENNSYLVANIA

187 acres saved.

Fought on September 11, 1777, the Battle of Brandywine pitted the Americans, led by George Washington and rising stars Nathaniel Greene and Marquis de Lafayette, against British forces under William Howe and Wilhem von Kynpausen.

A pivotal British victory, Brandywine cleared the way for the Redcoats to capture and occupy Philadelphia, forcing the Continental Congress to flee.

The Trust and its many partners have saved 187 acres of the Brandywine Battlefield, which is  located about 32 miles southwest of Philadelphia near Chadd's Ford, Pennsylvania.

--Cooter

Anne-Louis Toussard of the American Revolution

Last month and this month, I wrote quite a lot on this man in my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog.  I had never heard of him before and came across an article about a letter he had written describing the big hurricane that hit New Orleans in 1812, while he was the French consul there.

It turns out he was a major force in early American history, especially during the American Revolution, but also later in the young country's history.  He was one of the French who saved the fledgling country.  I probably should have written about him more in this blog.

Just a short summary of some of what he did:

A French artillerist who served  in the American Continental Army under Lafayette and was given a commission.    He wrote an artillery book which became the training basis of the American Army as well as the one who pushed for a school to train officers (that became West Point).

You can go click on the My Blogs section to the right of this to read more about him, especially if you're really into the American Revolution.

This man should be as well known as Lafayette, but sure isn't.

--Cooter

It Happened on July 31: Chris, Marq and Tommy

From the July 31, 2020, Chicago Tribune "On July 31..."

**  1498--  Christopher Columbus reached the island of Trinidad on his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere.  (Especially interesting in these days of rage when his statues are being attacked and removed.  He made a huge impact on world history regardless of where you stand on him.)

**  1777--  The Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was given the rank of major general in the American Continental Army.   That is very, very young.  But, without him and France, I don't think the colonies would have achieved their independence, and then all the leaders would have been branded as traitors and all sorts of bad things might have happened to them.)

**  1877--  Thomas Edison took out a patent leading to the development of the phonograph.  (And that development sure had a huge impact on my life.

--Cooter