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Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing) 6 0 Browse Search
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Browsing named entities in Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing). You can also browse the collection for Edward Matthews or search for Edward Matthews in all documents.

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Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Matthews, Edward 1729-1805 (search)
Matthews, Edward 1729-1805 Military officer; born in England in 1729. In 1746 he was an ensign in the Coldstream Guards, and before he came to America, in 1776, was a colonel and aide-de-camp to the King. He commanded a brigade of the Guards, with the rank of brigadier-general, in the attack on Fort Washington. In May, 1779, General Clinton sent 2,000 men from New York, under General Matthews, to plunder the coast of Virginia. He entered the Elizabeth River on transports, escorted by a squadron of armed vessels under Sir George Collier, on May 9. They plundered and spread desolation on both sides of the river to Norfolk. They seized that city, tablished a navy-yard. So sudden and powerful was the attack, that very little resistance was made by Fort Nelson, below Portsmouth, or by the Virginia militia. Matthews carried away or destroyed a vast amount of tobacco and other property, estimated, in the aggregate, at $2,000,000. Afterwards he assisted in the capture of Verpl