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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Upper Merion Township near King of Prussia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

A Pointed Defense

 
 
A Pointed Defense Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, March 20, 2010
1. A Pointed Defense Marker
Inscription. On the attack, this would be your perspective: advancing uphill, passing through sharp obstructions, only to face artillery and supporting infantry mounted in the redan. Brigade huts would be across the road, just behind the defenses.

These fortifications must have impressed enemy spies. The British commander, Sir William Howe, wrote home to Lord George Germain that the American positions were “too strong to attack with a clear chance of success.

Abatis
In the winter of 1778 the abatis would have been a tangled mass of cut trees, with sharpened branches facing toward the enemy.

In the actual encampment, the bristling fence was far more extensive, protecting the entire ¾ mile Inner Line.

Redan
The redan is a small, detached earthwork built forward of the main defenses – to strengthen the line or to cover a vulnerable area.
 
Erected by National Park Service.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Revolutionary. A significant historical year for this entry is 1778.
 
Location. 40° 5.933′ N, 75° 26.874′ W. Marker is near King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, in Montgomery County. It is in Upper Merion Township. Marker is on Historic Trace Road, on the right when traveling
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south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: King of Prussia PA 19406, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. “Crowded and Very Sickly” (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Huntington’s Brigade (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Huntington’s Brigade (approx. 0.2 miles away); Schoolhouse (approx. 0.2 miles away); Innerline Defense (approx. ¼ mile away); Site of the Marquee (approx. ¼ mile away); The Camp’s Road System (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Grand Parade (approx. 0.3 miles away).
 
More about this marker. Soldiers and artillery in a redan, protected by abatis, appears on the background of the marker.
 
Also see . . .  Valley Forge National Historical Park. National Park Service website. (Submitted on March 22, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.) 
 
Marker on the Historic Trace Road image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, March 20, 2010
2. Marker on the Historic Trace Road
Redan in Valley Forge image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, March 20, 2010
3. Redan in Valley Forge
This photo, taken from in front of the marker, shows the redan that was protected by abatis during the 1777-78 winter encampment.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 22, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 693 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on March 22, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.

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Mar. 19, 2024