Paoli Massacre?

Question

Aight, i need the most info possible on the paoli massacre for school,
thanks bye

Answer 1

The Paoli Massacre


General George Washington was smarting after his defeat at the Battle of Brandywine. He decided to send the majority of his army to Reading to resupply. However, he left behind a regiment of troops under the command of General 'Mad' Anthony Wayne to attack the British supply lines1.

Wayne and his men camped in Paoli, Pennsylvania, which was rather near to Wayne's boyhood home. When the British got wind of this small force of 1500 rebels, General William Howe immediately decided to take action. Howe ordered General Sir Charles 'No Flint' Grey to attack the Rebels on night on 21 September, 1777.

Grey wanted his attack to be a complete surprise, and he ordered his men to empty their muskets. Then he took the added precaution of removing the flints. His plan was to use bayonets only in the assault on the American encampment.

The force of 5000 British were guided to the camp by Tory spies. They were given the password to get into the midst of the Americans quickly before being discovered. The Redcoats attacked just after midnight. They quickly overwhelmed the American outposts guarding the camp. Then they descended upon the sleeping Colonials, stabbing them as they slept and setting fire to the camp.

When Wayne tried to rally his men and get them to open fire, their muzzle flashes drew the attention of the British who charged with bayonets and quickly broke any organised resistance.

Wayne was eventually able to extricate his men from the slaughter and managed to save his four cannon. He retreated toward present-day West Chester where he met a local militia force and was able to join forces and prepare a defence in case the British pursued.

When it was all over, 53 Americans were killed and more than 100 were wounded. Figures for the dead are often quoted in the hundreds2.

Wayne was subject to a formal review of his actions by a committee of three officers who found that he erred in tactics on that night. Enraged, he demanded and received a full court martial, and he was acquitted.

The so-called 'Paoli Massacre' became a rallying cry of American troops for the rest of the war - even after Wayne committed similar a sneak attack at night with bayonets against Royal forces at Stony Point, New York.

1 This type of operation is usually the domain of the cavalry, but for some reason Washington decided to use foot soldiers.
2 Possibly as propaganda to make the British appear as blood-thirsty villains who attacked sleeping soldiers at night with cold steel and fire.

Paoli Massacre, 20-21 September 1777
Massacre during the American War of Independence, and one of the less glorious moments in the career of Anthony Wayne. On 23 July 1777 The British under General Howe had sailed from New York to attempt the capture of Philadelphia, then the American capital. On 25 August they had landed at Head of Elk, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, putting them within fifty miles of Philadelphia. Washington with the main Continental army moved to defend the city, determined not to suffer a repeat of the debacle before New York in the previous year. He first attempted to defend the Brandywine Creek, but on 11 September Howe forced his way across the river (battle of Brandywine). Another attempt at battle five days later (battle of the Clouds) was aborted by heavy rain. In the aftermath of this second battle, Washington was forced to temporarily pull back to reequip his army. General Anthony Wayne was left with a force of Continentals to harass the British left.

Howe reacted by sending three battalions under Major-General Charles 'No Flint' Grey to remove the threat. He earned his nickname at this battle, by ordering his troops to remove the flints from their muskets, to remove the danger that any of his men might fire and give away their position. Wayne's force was in camp on the night of 20-21 September, possibly with an early morning march in mind themselves, but just after midnight the British were able to inflict their own surprise. Wayne had failed to post an adequate guard, and the surprise was near-total. The British troops stormed into the sleeping American camp, causing absolute chaos. The musket was a slow weapon to load and fire, and the bayonet-armed British troops were able to inflict very heavy loses on the Americans while themselves suffering very little. Over four hundred Americans were killed, wounded or captured, while the British suffered only eight killed out of a total of twenty casualties. This was a major British victory - the Americans suffered half as many casualties as at Brandywine, a full-scale battle, and at Paoli all of their losses came from the precious Continentals. Wayne himself escaped carrying with him a profound respect for the bayonet. Concerned by the massacre, Washington's manoeuvres became more cautious, and Howe was able to cross the Schuylkill on 22 September. On 26 September 1777, the British captured Philadelphia.