William Alexander was born on December 25, 1726 in the city of New York to well-known lawyer James Alexander and his wife Mary. Mary and James had emigrated from Scotland in 1716. When they married, Mary was already a widow with six children and she and James had seven more. William was the second son of Mary and James, but when his older brother died in 1731, William became the male heir to the Alexander clan. [Read more…] about Major General William Alexander, Lord Stirling: A Short Biography
Battle of Germantown
Black Bombardier Ned Hector at Brandywine
In February of 1777, with the American colonies engaged in a seemingly hopeless war with the world’s foremost military power, Edward “Ned” Hector enlisted in a state militia unit known as Proctor’s Third Pennsylvania Artillery, where he was assigned duties as a bombardier, one of the three rear positions on the cannon.
This fact, in and of itself, would not seem significant, but Ned Hector was African American, one of perhaps 5,000 African Americans who fought with the Continental Army in the War for Independence. [Read more…] about Black Bombardier Ned Hector at Brandywine