Cooch's Bridge is a historic district located at
Old Baltimore Pike,
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
,
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
, and is the site of the 1777 Battle of Cooch's Bridge. While there are several modern bridges near the site of the battle, the original bridge was in poor shape in 1777, and did not survive the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
.
Battle of Cooch's Bridge
Fought on September 3, 1777, the Battle of Cooch's Bridge has two principal distinctions. It was the only battle of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
fought on Delaware soil, and marked the first time that the
Stars and Stripes was flown in battle.
The battle was fought between British and
Hessian troops under Generals
Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
,
Howe
Howe may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Howe (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Howe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo (1788–1845), Irish peer and colonial governor
Titles
* Earl Howe, two titles, an ext ...
, and
Knyphausen and the Colonial troops under
General Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the ...
.
The engagement began August 30, about two miles (3 km) south of the bridge. The Americans harried the lead forces of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
using guerrilla techniques learned from the
Native Americans. However, the roughly 700 Colonials were greatly outmanned and outgunned, and were driven back by the advancing British.
By September 3, the Colonials had dropped back to Cooch's Bridge. A handpicked regiment of 100 marksmen under General William Maxwell laid an ambush in the surrounding cover. Over the ensuing battle, several British and
Hessian charges were repelled, but the Americans soon depleted their ammunition and called a retreat.
The property was taken by the British and several buildings were burned. General Cornwallis used the Cooch house as his headquarters for the next week as the British regrouped. American casualties numbered around 30.
Shortly after General Howe moved his troops out. On September 11 he defeated the Colonials in the
Battle of Brandywine and subsequently captured the Colonial capital of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
.
Signage
There are two sets of monuments/signs:
* in the Pencader Heritage Museum parking lot:
* across the railroad tracks on Dayett Mills Road, just south of the Old Baltimore Pike:
See also
*
*
References
External links
*http://www.classbrain.com/artmonument/publish/coochs_bridge_battlefield_history.shtml
*https://web.archive.org/web/20050907131301/http://www.revolutionaryday.com/usroute202/coochs/default.htm
{{National Register of Historic Places in Delaware
Buildings and structures in Newark, Delaware
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware
Bridges in New Castle County, Delaware
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware
National Register of Historic Places in New Castle County, Delaware