Battle of Cooch's Bridge - (R/T) (2019)

http://www.pencaderheritage.org/

Notes: Be sure to sign up and register online here if you plan on attending this weekend as well as email me (a simple reply to this email - info@1stDelawareRegiment.org works) too since I need to know the following:

 

1. When are you arriving?  Do you need anything?  Clothing?  Accouterments?  Any borrowed or regiment muskets MUST be cleaned prior to and after each usage.  Actually goes for all muskets really.

2. For Military – soldiers and musicians – are you participating in the battle?  

3. When are you leaving?

4. Which meals are you going to be at and want to be fed by the Regiment?  Friday evening – dinner, Saturday – breakfast, lunch (this is a cold lunch), dinner, Sunday – brunch (everything left over and then some).  This will then allow us to properly setup an appropriate meal plan for the weekend.

5. Are there any duties you wish to volunteer for?  Cooking, camp guard duty, patrols/skirmish, water duty, firewood duty, etc.  If you don’t volunteer you will be assigned a task within our encampment – no worries a lot of this is common sense.  If everyone does a little that makes it easy for all.  You WILL be well fed and hydrated!

6. Are you staying overnight and need a tent?  If so – we do have additional tents – I just need to know in advance to properly prepare for this event.  

7. If attending on Friday – would you like to participate in a school program?  So far we have Mary Torbey and I doing this on Friday.   

From the Event Organizers:

Situation:  Sept 1777 

 

Impressions should be geared towards the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 as much as possible.  For us - Delaware  Local Militia.

Please note that we are only doing this as an invite only event for now.  We are this year going to be at the Pencader Heritage Museum location which is just next to Cooch’s Bridge and the historic Cooch house.  We want up to 100+ or so participants this year and look to grow it next year where we may be moving to Glasgow – A New Castle County Park – which is right down the street but much larger location where we will be able to have separate encampments and a running ambuscade scenario.  

 

This year though – we want to keep it simple and straight forward.  Our biggest enticement to have you come is we will offer to feed you throughout the weekend.  

 

For all units – we will feed you if you so desire.  We will also have a special celebration for you all on Saturday night.  Yes – with beverages!

 

Tours of Cooch House – We will look to see if tours will be available for the Cooch House too in the evenings. 

 

Encampment – the encampment will be one main street with the Crown on one side and American on other side.  

 

The main day is – as usual – Saturday – with Sunday as a backup to Saturday in case of weather only now.  Friday is strictly travel and setup day.  

 

John Foskey and I as well as the rest of the 1st Delaware Regiment are looking forward to this event and we hope you are too!  We wish to be the wonderful host here and hope you all can make it.  We have been the recipients of your hospitality and wish to return the favor.

 

As you will see with the schedule we will have demos going on AND look to do an ambuscade scenario if at all possible each day.  It will be something like Whitemarsh since we don’t have a lot of room but again that may change in the near future if we move to a nearby park that is 100 times larger.  

 

Here are the units/components for each side we want to emphasize with this event:

 

US Forces:

1. American Continental Light Infantry

2. American Militia (Mid-Atlantic & Southern Militia)

 

Crown Forces:

1. British Light Infantry

2. Hessian Jagers

3. Ansbach Jagers

 

Again – this is the first time this is being done by us and in conjunction with the Pencader Heritage Museum.  

Battle of Cooch’s Bridge Event – Schedule & Information – 2019

September 6th – 8th , 2019 – By Invitation Only Event

Site Location and Address: Pencader Heritage Museum

2029 Sunset Lake Road (Route 72, South of Old Baltimore Pike) Newark, Delaware 19702

Background/History of Event:

The Battle of Cooch’s Bridge (aka Battle of Iron Hill) was a rather small but fierce engagement on September 3rd to begin the Philadelphia campaign in early September 1777. It is of only one of two land battles that occurred in the State of Delaware (the other is the Battle of Brandywine where the left flank of the Americans went well into what is now Delaware based upon recent research). About two thousand men total were involved and 20-30 casualties occurred on each side as a result of this engagement. With a newly formed Light Infantry Corps made up of soldiers from numerous Continental Army units led by Brigadier General William Maxwell, as well as Delaware and Virginia militia were present on the American side and formed an ambuscade for about a mile with 100 men every 1/10th of a mile – falling back each time to then eventually the area of Cooch’s Bridge/Iron Hill. British Light Infantry and German units (Hessian and Ansbach Jagers) were the bulk of the Crown Forces that day with artillery and dragoons in the vicinity too. It is unclear whether the Stars and Stripes was first flown in battle here. For British General Howe - the direct route from Head of Elk to Philadelphia was through Delaware – Wilmington, DE – then through Chester, PA and up into Philadelphia. General Washington looked to fortify this route – primarily Wilmington – but General Howe ended up maneuvering to the left and up to Kennett Square where the two armies fully clashed on September 11th at the Battle of the Brandywine.

Schedule:

Friday:

Noon to 10pm – Units Arrive – Encampment Setup

Not open to public – reenactors only onsite this day

6pm – Dinner for Reenactors / Welcome Celebration hosted by 1st Delaware Regiment

10pm – Quiet Time

Saturday:

Prior to 9am – Units Arrive and Setup of Encampment / Vehicles Out of Encampment Area

9am – Breakfast

10am-4pm – Encampment & Museum Open to Public

10am – Fife and Drums – National Anthem

10am – 11am – Ceremony / Honoring those that Fought & Died Here

11:30am – Noon – Infantry Demonstration

Noon – Fife and Drums – Roast Beef – Lunch

1pm – Speaker - James Stone - Delaware Militia

2pm – Speaker – Bob Selig, PhD. - W3R & Delaware

3pm - Speaker Panel - Women in the Revolution

3:30pm – Infantry Demo or Ambuscade Skirmish (with all participants)

4pm – Fife and Drums - Tattoo – Encampment & Museum Closes to the Public

4:15pm – Blanket Sales near Museum

5pm – Dinner

6:30pm-9pm - Lafeyette's Birthday Celebration at Hale-Byrnes House

10pm – Quiet Time

Sunday:

Prior to 9am – Vehicles Out of Encampment Area (If applicable)

Additional Information:

Fire Wood - Fire wood will be provided and will be onsite.

Water – Water will be available onsite from the museum external location.

Portapotties - Extra Large Portapotties will be onsite and available 24 hours. Indoor restroom is also available during museum hours.

Registered as Attending:

1. Chris Mlynarczyk – Military - Soldier - All weekend - All meals
2. John Foskey – Military - Soldier - Saturday and Sunday - All meals - Militia Commander
3. Jeff Gibson - Military - Soldier
4. Adam Fahringer - Military - Soldier
5. Terry Dunham - Military - Soldier
6. John Osborn - Military - Soldier
7. Robert Allen - Military - Soldier
8. Chris Theibault - Military - Soldier
9. Kevin O'Malley - Military - Soldier
10. Ralph Denlinger - Military - Soldier - Gunsmith Demo/Display
11. Tom DeMott - Military - Soldier - Gunsmith Demo/Display
12. Blaise Glowiak - Military - Soldier
13. Henry Lewicki - Military - Soldier
14. James Stone - Military - Soldier
15. Fane Wheeler - Military - Soldier
16. Mark Colona - Military - Soldier Recruit
17. Tyrus Van Dyke - Military - Soldier Recruit
18. Nicholas Moore - Military - Soldier Recruit
19. Ann Cooper - Military - Musician - Fifer
20. Marty Ersts - Military - Musician - Fifer
21. Ed Connelly - MIlitary - Musician - Drummer
22. Anthony Gambacorta - Military - Musician - Drummer
23. Alicia Gibson - Civilian + 2 kids
24. Linzi Hamilton - Civilian - Camp Cook - Cooking Demos in Camp Kitchen
25. Heloise Osborn - Civilian
26. Lynn Allen - Civilian
27. Jenna Dean - Civilian + 2 kids
28. Marsha Bell - Civilian - Button Display/Demo
29. Jim Atkins - Civilian - Horn Display/Demo
30. Mary Atkins - Civilian

Other Units Attending:

1. 1st Maryland (~10)
2. 1st Continental (~5)
3. Grayson's Additional (2)
4. 9th Pennsylvania (5)
5. Rhode Island (1)
6. West Jersey Artillery (10)