"Villainy and maddness" : Washington's flying camp

"Villainy and maddness" : Washington's flying camp

Washington's flying camp

Baltimore : Genealogical Publisher Co., 2011.

115 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 28 cm.

973.344 B223 2011

(OCoLC)700421388

"The "flying camp" is a vaguely understood episode of the American Revolution. In May 1776 the Continental Congress authorized the formation of a force of 10,000 militia, conceived by General George Washington as a "mobile reserve" that would both defend the army's garrisons in the Middle States and spread alarm amongst the British. Most, but not all, of the putative organization was to come from the states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. In point of fact, the flying camp as an idea and actuality barely survived the year. In the wake of the New York and New Jersey campaigns of 1776 it became abundantly clear that what Washington needed was a reliable and substantial Continental Army, not short-term, undersubscribed militia haphazardly organized under the chimera of a "flying camp." Despite its unsustainability as a military concept, the officers and noncommissioned members of the various elements of the flying camp rendered important service to the nation in the campaigns of Long Island, Trenton, and Princeton, among others ..."--Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-113) and index.
L2022M50

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