"The course of the Delaware river...with several forts raised by the rebels," published by William Faden, 1779. Even though the British occupied Philadelphia in late September, the Royal Navy was not able to bring supplies up the Delaware because of fortifications built by the Americans. The main ones were Fort Mifflin on Mud Island, Fort Mercer at Red Bank on the New Jersey side, and "stockadoes" further down the river. A flotilla of small American boats added to the defense.To gain river access, the Royal Navy attacked the defenses, often firing their cannon point blank into the fortifications, and ultimately achieved surrender of the last one, Fort Mifflin, on November 16th, 1777.
Leventhal Library
