1777
In London, Parliament was finalizing the Treason Act of 1777 (formally known as the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act). This act specifically targeted the “Rebellion in America,” allowing the British government to detain individuals suspected of high treason or piracy (privateering) without trial. By suspending habeas corpus for the colonists, the British Crown officially moved away from treating the Americans as wayward subjects and began treating them as enemy combatants and "pirates."
On February 10, New Jersey remained the primary “active” theater of the war, as the Continental Army at Morristown and the British at New Brunswick continued their winter stalemate through a series of violent local clashes known as the Forage War. Following the major American victories at Trenton and Princeton, the British were effectively bottled up in a small corridor between New Brunswick and Perth Amboy. On this day, British foraging parties were under constant threat. Every time a British unit left their camp to find hay for horses or firewood for soldiers, they were met by New Jersey Militia and Continental riflemen hiding in the woods and behind stone walls. These daily skirmishes in Middlesex County were so effective that British horses began to die of starvation, and the Redcoats were forced to rely almost entirely on salted provisions shipped from England, leading to outbreaks of scurvy.
While his troops were fighting in the Middlesex woods, George Washington was facing a personal crisis at his headquarters in Morristown. In early February 1777, Washington became dangerously ill with what was described as an abscess of the tonsils or a heavy pulmonary infection. On and around February 10, his condition was so grave that his staff, including Alexander Hamilton, feared he might not survive. This led to a panicked realization that the Revolution had no clear line of succession if the Commander-in-Chief were to die.
1779
In the Southern backcountry of Georgia, a small but notable engagement occurred at Carr’s Fort. Patriot forces under Colonel Andrew Pickens and Colonel John Dooly besieged a group of Loyalists holed up in the fort. While the Patriots had to lift the siege to face an approaching larger force, the action delayed Loyalist movements and eventually led to the pivotal Battle of Kettle Creek just a few days later (February 14), which broke British control over the Georgia interior.
1781
General Nathanael Greene and his Continental Army were in the midst of one of the most brilliant strategic retreats in military history. On this day, they were moving rapidly through North Carolina toward the Dan River. Greene's goal was to reach Virginia to secure reinforcements and supplies, while keeping his army just out of reach of Lord Cornwallis. Cornwallis, having burned his own supply wagons to move faster, was growing increasingly desperate to catch Greene and force a decisive battle. This “Race” eventually exhausted the British forces, setting the stage for their ultimate defeat at Yorktown.