06/17/2026
Enoch Anderson was commissioned a captain in the First Delaware Regiment in 1776 at the age of twenty-two. The young captain was stationed in Sussex County, Delaware to guard the coast from about 1500 British soldiers in five men-of-war. When he arrived, his veteran superior General John Dagworthy exclaimed, “Why this is but a beardless boy!”
Despite his youth, he fought in thirteen battles, including the Battle of Long Island where he was wounded in 1776. In 1819, Anderson wrote a series of letters to his nephew detailing his war service between 1776-1779.
At the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, he was in Major General John Sullivan’s division, which was beaten back by the British Brigade of Guards. When the battle began, Anderson compared the cannon ball fire and small arms sounds “like the rolling of a drum.” As he noticed the falling of wounded soldiers, he thought, “Well, I have no business here fighting in this place…[I can do no] good.” The British force was overwhelming, considering the Continental Army was “not more than one-half” of their enemy. Despite their being beaten back, not one despairing look or word was passed between the Continental men. According to Anderson, “We had our solacing words always ready for each other, ‘Come boys, we shall do better another time’ - sounded throughout our little army. Had any man suggested, merely hinted the idea of giving up - of relinquishing further opposition - he would have been knocked down, and if killed it would have been considered as no murder! Such was the spirit of the times, - such were the ideas of us “poor ragamuffins” - (as the British called us) - such were my views, your father’s, and thousands of others.”
Enoch Anderson retired from service in September 1778. You can learn more about his experience at Brandywine on August 1st at “Voices of Brandywine” with the Delaware Theater Company.
Image rights: Private of the Delaware Regiment, Continental Army, 1780 | 2010 | © Don Troiani All Rights Reserved 2025
