Battle of Short Hills
E882438
The Battle of Short Hills was a 1777 engagement of the American Revolutionary War in New Jersey, where General George Washington’s Continental forces clashed with British troops under General William Howe in a series of maneuvers rather than a single pitched battle.
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
battle
ⓘ
engagement of the American Revolutionary War ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
Battle of Metuchen Meetinghouse
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Battle of Scotch Plains NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| belligerent |
Great Britain
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
United States of America ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| campaign | Philadelphia campaign (planning phase) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| casualtiesSide1 | around 100 killed, wounded, or captured ⓘ |
| casualtiesSide2 | around 70 killed, wounded, or captured ⓘ |
| chronology | occurred after the winter at Morristown and before the British move by sea to the Chesapeake ⓘ |
| combatant |
British Army
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Continental Army NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| commander |
George Washington
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
William Howe NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| conflict | American Revolutionary War ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| date | 1777-06-26 ⓘ |
| followedBy | British shift of operations toward Philadelphia ⓘ |
| geographicalFeature | Short Hills area of central New Jersey NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| involves |
American light infantry under Brigadier General William Maxwell
ⓘ
Hessian troops fighting for the British ⓘ |
| location |
Middlesex County, New Jersey
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
New Jersey NERFINISHED ⓘ near Metuchen, New Jersey ⓘ near Scotch Plains, New Jersey ⓘ |
| notableFor |
British failure to bring Washington to a decisive battle
ⓘ
intense skirmishing and rear-guard actions ⓘ |
| objectiveSide1 | to shadow British movements while avoiding decisive battle ⓘ |
| objectiveSide2 |
to draw George Washington’s army into a general engagement
ⓘ
to outflank and crush the main Continental Army ⓘ |
| partOf | New York and New Jersey campaign NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precededBy | British evacuation of New Jersey posts in early June 1777 ⓘ |
| region | Middlebrook area of New Jersey NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedCommander | Charles Cornwallis NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedEvent | Middlebrook encampment NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| result |
British victory
ⓘ
strategic success for the Americans in avoiding encirclement ⓘ |
| significance |
demonstrated Washington’s ability to avoid entrapment by a larger force
ⓘ
helped preserve the Continental Army for later campaigns ⓘ |
| strategicContext | part of Howe’s 1777 campaign planning against Philadelphia ⓘ |
| strengthSide1 | approximately 2,500 Continental troops engaged ⓘ |
| strengthSide2 | approximately 12,000 British and Hessian troops in the overall operation ⓘ |
| tactics |
series of maneuvers rather than a single pitched battle
ⓘ
use of light infantry and skirmishers ⓘ |
| year | 1777 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.