Thomas Callihan - One More piece of History

If you remember, Thomas Callihan deserted on Apr 5, 1778 after leaving Valley Forge and marching to New Jersey, more specifically Haddonfield, per orders from George Washington.  His commanding officer was Colonel Israel Shreve.   Based on others in his regiment being taken prisoner on that day, I speculated that Thomas deserted because of a raid by the British. A quick google search for "2nd New Jersey Regiment Revolutionary War" turned this up on Wikipedia and several other sources:

"Through the spring of 1778, on detached duty and in cooperation with the Jersey Militia, the 2nd New Jersey gathered forage and supplies, and skirmished with the British and Loyalists for two months."

April 5th was, in fact, an important day in the history of the 2nd New Jersey.  The account continues:

"On 4 and 5 April 1778, British forces repulsed Major Richard Howell and his troops from Billingsport, New Jersey. British troops attacked Swedesboro and marched on towards Haddonfield. Col. Israel Shreve evacuated from Haddonfield about 2 am Sunday morning, 5 April, and speed marched his troops to Mount Holly. Haddonfield was attacked, two Quaker houses were burned, and American rider Miles Sage was stabbed multiple times by British (but survived). British troops proceeded to Cooper's Ferry (present site of the New Jersey access of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge). A pitched battle ensued, with about 50 American troops (most of whom were part of Shreve's Regiment),led by Major William Ellis (Gloucester Militia). Orders had been given by Shreve (and sent by Miles Sage) to vacate upon the ignition of an alarm cannon. The cannon was never fired, and Ellis refused to retreat across the Cooper Creek Bridge. Many men were wounded, killed or captured. The British were furious about the lost opportunity to capture Shreve at Haddonfield but elated about the capture of the American picket at Cooper's Ferry (including a set of spy glasses given by Washington to spy upon the Philadelphia shore). Washington was furious at Shreve and never forgave him."

The Haddonfield skirmish of April 5, 1778 was recently reenacted.

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All original content, images, commentary, etc. copyright © by Joy Denison 2015-2016.  All rights reserved. All writings, poems, speeches, essays, images, scans, likenesses, etc. by Adam Ickes (b 1845) as well as personal histories, images, and all other content by all persons referenced and discussed within the pages and posts in this blog may not be copied, shared, or reproduced in any way without expressed permission by the owner unless included here from other referenced sources or are historical records already considered to be in the public domain.