Dragoon Diary: The History of the Third Continental Light Dragoons - Softcover

Maurer, C.F. William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1420831453 ISBN 13: 9781420831450

Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2005

Synopsis

The Bergen Record reported that the remains of a Revolutionary War cavalry unit were unearthed in River Vale, NJ. This was the Third Continental Light Dragoons, nicknamed, Mrs. Washington's Body Guard. The accompanying text read ...provided bayonet practice for the British in Old Tappan, NY. This has come down to us as the Baylor Massacre of September 28, 1778. Who were the officers and men of the Third Dragoons? Did they play more of a part in the American Revolution than provide bayonet practice? How did, and how could, a massacre take place? A military unit must have a history. Was the massacre the end of the dragoons? What was a Virginia unit doing in Bergen County, New Jersey in the first place? How could a cavalry unit be so surprised and then massacred with almost no shots fired in return? This is not a conventional history, in that there is little attempt to re-write history. History writes itself from letters, diaries, public records and newsprint.

About this title

From the Author:

This is not a conventional battle or war history. My thought was to make this history into a diary of the day by day happenings of the men, unit, history and even the horses from the inception of the unit at Trenton, to the Massacre in Old Tappan, to the successful battles in the South and then pass Yorktown to the desertion by some to return to their homes. This is not a conventional history in that there is little attempt to re-write history. This book writes itself from letters, diaries, public records and newspapers. When the missing remains of the archaelogical dig were personally discovered by the author, the story of the unit's history begged to be told. The "Appendix" covers possible conclusions based on the main text.

About the Author:

Bill Maurer has been working in historic site preservation and research for almost twenty years. He has a BA in History from the Virginia Military Institute, an MAH from Manhattanville College, and is a graduate of the Museum Studies program at NYU. Bill served as a Company Commander at Fort Knox and his last assignment in the Reserves was as the Operations Officer for a Special Forces Group (Abn). He was the curator and director of three historic house sites in the NY area, and serves on several preservation and historic boards. He is a retired Park Ranger from the Statue of Liberty National Monument/Ellis Island in New York harbor.

About this edition

• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1420831453
• ISBN 13: 9781420831450
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 572