So Many Brave Men: A History of the Battle at Minisink Ford

by Mark Hendrickson, Jon Inners, Peter Osborne

On July 22, 1779, one of the most lethal battles of the American Revolution, in terms of the ratio of participants to numbers killed, took place on a hill above Minisink Ford along the Delaware River north of Port Jervis, New York. The Battle at Minisink Ford, New York was a disaster for the American militia units. More than one third of the militiamen perished. This important work reveals primary sources about the battle that have not been seen in more than one hundred and fifty years. So Many Brave Men, the first major work written on the battle in thirty years, will encourage new interest in the battle, and the men who fought there. Many of the veterans of that catastrophe speak to us about that fateful day from the distance of more than 230 years. They also speak of their dedication to the cause of freedom and liberty. 828 Pages, 7" x 10" Indexed, Bibliography, 15 illustrations, 5 maps

828 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about a bloody incident in the Revolutionary War.

English-Mohawk Commander Joseph Brant with a veteran force of 100 English, Loyalists and Mohawks embarks on a raid into the Delaware Valley. A force of 150 militia outmarches him and ambushes him at the Minisink Ford. Outnumbered and surprised, Brant's raiders counterattack. Their greater experience and cohesion begin to tell. After hours of battle the American militia start to run out of ammunition and their positions are over run. One third of the patriot forces were killed, probably as many wounded, and the survivors flee, scattering into the woods. Brant's casualties numbered around 10. The patriot forces came from a few small towns and the huge number of deaths was devastating.

This books tells the story of the battle. It then presents primary sources including hundreds of records from the pension requests. While I have not read all of the pension cases; Some are quite interesting and informative. Mostly it is an old man trying to remember his military service of 50 years prior, or an aged widow desperately trying to remember what her deceased husband told her many years ago about his military service. Most of the Government paperwork demonstrating the soldier's actual service either never existed or is long gone. And the soldier's fellow servicemen are long since passed away or no longer remember either. And the modern day VA has nothing on the War Department's Pension Dept responsiveness. Correspondance on individual cases begins in the early 1830's and in some cases continues into the 1870's.

A lengthy but interesting book that provides a window into a long since passed America.

[Chris Kaufman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read this for a Master’s capstone project I am working on for Norwich University. I am from Sandyston, NJ, very close to Minisink (present-day Port Jervis). Reading about these brave men who fought makes me proud to be from here. This book was very well researched and written and chock full of primary source documents like pension applications. I look forward to hopefully attending a commemoration ceremony for the Battle of Minisink this July.