yet they still did not manage to do enough damage to remove either British unit completely from the battle.
I'm not going to jump in this to much,because I more interested in seeing the discussion between you and Gassendi.However,in regards to the Guards,Wahington's horse and the 1st Maryland I think they( the Guards) would have been completely wiped out if Cornwallis didn't use canister and fire it into the melee where the Americans took the brunt of it.It was the right decision and saved the day,but I'm saying this as a mitigating factor in the Guards survival.
Cheers
Christopher
Christopher,
The idea that Cornwallis deliberately fired on his own men has been seriously questioned recently; both Urban (
Fusiliers p.358) and Babits/Howard (
Long, Obstinate and Bloody pp.161-162) come to the conclusion that it almost certainly never happened - at least not in the way that is popularly portrayed. There is a good discussion of what probably happened here on RevList - the reply by Nancy Stewart is the relevant post in my opinion (and mirrors Babits/Howard), but the opening post is useful as it cites Urban's endnotes.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Revlist/message/104337
RtL
I thought the incident of Cornwallis ordering Mcleod to fire into the melee was a now de-bunked myth most recently explored in "Long, obstinate and Bloody".
According to the book the story first appears in Henry Lee's "Memoirs" despite that worthy not being anywhere near the scene. It also places O'Hara at McCleods battery arguing with Cornwallis about the order despite the fact he had just been shot and seriously wounded in the melee itself. And no actual participant ever recorded the incident taking place.
regards
Paul
Hi Ronan,
Looks like we both got back from SELWG at the same time and you beat me to the send button!
regards
Paul
Babits/Howard (Long, Obstinate and Bloody pp.161-162) come to the conclusion that it almost certainly never happened
Serves me right for commenting on this when I have the book on my night stand and haven't read it yet!Just finished Devil of Whooping and I was meaning to start this and assumed in regards to this situation not much had changed.Excuse me while I attempt to remove the foot from my mouth! :lol:
Thanks for pointing that out RTL and I need to pick up a copy of Fusiliers as well.I've heard this book brought up a few times on some of the discussions including this. :)
Another good book (if you haven't already got it) is Matthew Spring's With Zeal And With Bayonets Only - that, plus Fusiliers and Houlding's Fit For Service will give you a complete profile of the British Army in the AWI.
Thanks for the titles RTL. :)