User:Mgcarneypstcc


 * Lives In Loudon, TN


 * Student at Pellissippi State

British Foray

The opening fire came between 2 and 2:30 pm from the British grenadiers. Poor’s men held their fire, and the terrain made the British shooting largely ineffective. When Major Acland led the British grenadiers in a bayonet charge, the Americans finally began shooting at close range. Acland fell, shot in both legs, and many of the grenadiers also went down. Their column was a total rout, and Poor’s men advanced to take Acland and Williams prisoner and capture their artillery. On the American left, things were also not going well for the British. Morgan’s men swept aside the Canadians and Native Americans to engage Fraser’s regulars. Although slightly outnumbered, Morgan managed to break up several British attempts to move west. While General Fraser was mortally wounded in this phase of the battle, a frequently told story claiming it to be the work of Timothy Murphy, one of Morgan’s men, appears to be a 19th-century fabrication. Although Murphy could have shot Fraser, new ballistics information shows that a round ball could not travel a quarter mile as the initial testimony states. The fall of Fraser and the arrival of Ten Broeck’s large militia brigade (which roughly equaled the entire British reconnaissance force in size). Broke the British will, and they began a disorganized retreat toward their entrenchments. Burgoyne was also very nearly killed by one of Morgan’s marksmen; three shots hit his horse, hat, and waistcoat.

Aftermath

While African Americans and Native Americans were not included in the American victory, Women appeared and played several roles: As pitiful victims (Jane McCrea was killed by Burgoyne’s army) or brave heroines (Catherine Schuyler burned her wheat crops to prevent British forces from using it)

In response to Burgoyne’s surrender, Congress declared December 18, 1777, as a national day “for solemn Thanksgiving and praise”; it was the nation’s first official observance of a holiday with that name.