Siege of Fort Mifflin 1777
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 26 September 1777 – 16 November 1777 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1777 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 39.8749, -75.2132 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Fort Mifflin or the siege of Mud Island Fort, which took place from September 26 to November 16, 1777, saw British land batteries commanded by Captain John Montresor and a British naval squadron under Vice Admiral Lord Richard Howe attempt to capture an American fort in the Delaware River that was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith. The operation finally succeeded after Smith was wounded. His successor, Major Simeon Thayer, subsequently evacuated the fort on the night of November 15, enabling British troops to occupy the place the following morning.
After General Sir William Howe's British-Hessian army occupied Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 26, 1777, it became necessary to supply his troops. Fort Mifflin on Mud Island in the middle of the Delaware and Fort Mercer at Red Bank, New Jersey, together with river obstructions and a small flotilla under Commodore John Hazelwood prevented the Royal Navy from shipping provisions into the city. With Philadelphia effectively blockaded by the Americans, the Howe brothers were forced to lay siege to Fort Mifflin in order to clear the river.
A Hessian attempt to storm Fort Mercer failed with heavy losses on October 22 in the Battle of Red Bank. Two British warships which had run aground near Mud Island were destroyed the next day.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Fort Mifflin (revision 1371505208), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
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- Battle of the Rice Boats 1776
- Fortification of Dorchester Heights 1776
- Landing at Kip's Bay 1776
- Battle of Bennington 1777
- Battle of Bound Brook 1777
- Battle of Brandywine 1777
- Battle of Cooch's Bridge 1777
- Battle of Fort Anne 1777
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
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