THE BA T TLE S I N THE JER SEYS

THE SI G NI F I CA NCE OF EA CH

momma of th e N ew J cm Socx c ty of the Sons of th e A men can ev ol uti on

Pn b lub cd b y

May 1 9 1 6

T HE BA TTLES IN THE jERSEYS A N D T H E SlG N l FlCA N CE O F EA CH

NE characte ristic of the Ame rican Revolution is that the question at issue touched the bedrock o f human f rights as af ected by civil government . an I t was not a war for trade , or fo r nex a ti on m i nali en , or for race do inance ; it was fo r a a ll ble rights belonging to peoples , in all lands ,

throughout all times . Our Revolution stands pre' eminent also in the magn itude and permanency o f its resul ts both here

- and abroad . It established a world power here ; abroad it was a strong factor in the French r Revolution . i t reacted favo rably on the gove n G ment o f reat B ritain . and it involved the separa

tion of South Ame ric a from Eu ropean control . W 1 776 And hat is more . the influences started in are still at wo rk ; they have brought blessings on W l the human race in the past , they i l bring even s greate r blessing in the futu re . The war opened wi th splendid outbu rsts at Lexington and Bunker Hill ; but both sides ent renched at Boston and the result was a long a deadlock ending in compromise , the B ritish being allowed to sail away to Hali fax unmolest ed e provid d they le ft the city of Boston unha rmed . It i s the way o f the Anglo ' S axon to get into a war fi rst and then m ake hi s preparation a fter

. 1 7 7 5 i wards From Ap ril . , to the follow ng us Aug t , both parties were mustering thei r resou rces and planning military and fi nancial measures on a large scale . These were months of earnest preparation , but as the hour for decisive conflict drew near , the superiority of our foes was i very evident in men , sh ps , arms , ammunition , and K ’ other military supplies . It was ing George s aim and hope to stamp out the rebellion in the fall 1 6 of 77 . The opposing commanders were Will iam Howe and George Washington . They had faced each other at B oston ; they were now to face each other ' in New Y ork and New Jersey . Howe had hi Y o men , and Was ngton had New rk City and Philadelphia were the p ri' es fought for . The campaign opened with the landing of Howe a 1 776 on Staten Isl nd in July , , and closed with the arrival of Washi ngton at Morristow n in the following January ; the military movements and battles during that interval , approximately five months , should always be viewed as one campaign , as a single series o f operations . The surprise at

Trenton was not an isolated exploit , neither was

the dash on Princeton , and never should they be so treated ; they were the master strokes of ' ictory at the end o f a long succession o f heartbreaking

defeats . What a list of disastrous events for the Ameri can cause was crowded into the interval from 27th 25th August to December , a period o f one hundred and twenty days ' The leader of the Ameri cans was becoming known as a man of

defeats and retreats . Oh , the danger of it , the

- danger of it , that the psychology of a new born nation in the agony of its despai r might demand

a change o f leaders . THE CON TE ST IN NE W Y OR K

Washi ngton had men at B rooklyn . Howe , having trans ferred troops to Long Island , tu rned the Ameri can left flank and inflicted a loss o f men . Lord Sti rling o f New Jersey was one of the Ame rican offi cers who won laurels on - m that ill starred field . The Continental ar y was nh withdrawn secretly to the lower end o f Ma attan , ’ under cover o f darkness and a morn ing s fog . Again Howe tu rn ed the A meri can left by land ’ ’ i n K g at ipp s B ay , throwing Washington s vet era ns into pani c and flight and c ausing a retreat to Harlem Heights . Repeating the same strategy , Howe threatened to turn the American left by extending hi s lines northward along the B ronx r hi s i iver , aim being to entrap the Amer cans on

Manhattan island . This movement forced Wash i n t on g to make a rapid retreat to Whi te Plain s . Here again Howe st ruck the left wing o f the Americans and drove i t from Chatterton Hill at a the in t the ay net . Retu rn ing t M anh t po o f b o m o tan , Howe dealt the A eri can cause another stag i ge ring blow by captu ring Fort Wash ngton . THE RE TREA T THROU GH THE J ERSEY S Washington crossed the Hudson at Peekskill with men and hurried to Hackensack . Y Howe , having secured New ork City , struck at once fo r Philadelphia by throwi ng men across the Hudson near Y onkers . Then began ' the famous retreat across the Jerseys . These ’ ' are the times that tried men s soul s . Washington abandoned Fort Lee , reached Newark on Novem 23 rd ' ber , passed through Eli abethtown on the 28th 29th and reached New B runswick on the , i o . w th men , of whom ver were sick

Lord Stirling , whose division of men formed Am i the er can rearguard , left Princeton December 7th and crossed from Trenton to the west bank

8 1 6 . H ead uar of the Delaware on December , 77 q ew town ters were established at N , Pa . The retreat through the Jerseys was not a

flight ; the movement was deliberate and orderly . The various retreats on Manh attan and in its vicinity were punctuated by five or si x battles ; but the retreat across New Jersey from Jersey at l s City to Trenton was attended by no b t e . Why hi ' r no was t s New Jersey , it is t ue , has moun tains lying across thi s path and therefore no strong l ine of fort s could be built to resist the invaders ; bu t rivers present excellent lines of defense and New Jersey had two good rivers for i that purpose , the Passaic and the Rar tan . Why did not Washi ngton make a stand at each of these ' Why did he let slip such good opportuni ' ties He might , at least , have interposed long x s delays and e acted heavy toll . Washington had troops . He had ordered Charles L ee to bring Continentals from

Pee kski ll and j oi n him at once . Lee deliberately loitered on hi s way and kept hi s whereabouts con ceal ed l , paying not the s ightest attention to Wash ’ i ngton s repeated commands . He was prompted by an unholy ambition to supplant Washington as - i n- i commander ch ef . No stand could be made at the Jersey rivers because the two sections o f the Ameri can a rmy were not u ni ted ; Washington was in front o f the British , that is , on the west ; and

Lee was on thei r right flank , that is , on the north . It was tragedy then but it makes one smile now i to think how it all ended , how th s schemer slept one night at a tavern outside hi s own lines and was taken prisoner the next mo rn ing by a troop o f light dragoons and hurried away half- dressed r t to the B i tish headquar ers at New B runswick .

John Sullivan , who was next in command , made a swi ft march to Phi ll ipsbu rg and j o ined Washing ’ w 0 0 ton ith Lee s t r ps at Newtown . C harles Lee was utterly wi thout principle . Let i t be clearly un derstood concerning thi s man that there was not an hou r du ring any day o r night a fter he put on the Continental unifo rm when he was no t a potential traito r , when he would not have sold out to the B ritish for gold . THE B A TTL E OF TRE N TON Washington showed skill and forethought in his arrangements to prevent the B ritish from gaining a foothold in Pennsylvania ; he divided the western bank of the river into sections and placed an officer with a detachment of troops in charge o f each section ; he collected all the river craft and kept them under careful guard concealed in the

mouths of creeks and behind islands . Those boats hm and those detac ents , originally intended for

defense , were the very best means possible for coming back to New Jersey when Washington

seized the initiative . He had the boats to come

in , and the various regiments were already sta ti one - d at the proper cros sing places . The B ritish troop s had been placed in winter quarters at widely separated points ; Grant was at

New B runswick , Rall at T renton , and Donop at B ordentown ; moreover these offi cers seem to have assumed that the war was over and hence became

very careless . Washington was quick to perceive

and grasp the opportunity . It must not be forgotten that Washi ngton’ s plan was a large one ; he expected to have his officers attack Lawrenceville and Black Horse and Bordentown on the very same morning that he

surprised B all at Trenton . Cadwallader crossed

the river , but was compelled to return by the violence o f the storm ; Ewing failed even to cross . It was shrewd to let the strok e fall on the Hessians at a moment when their enj oyment o f unfitted Christmas night had them for fighting . ’ M cConke s The crossing was made at y ferry , nine

m iles above Trenton . The work of transportation ’ was slow and difficult , and it was four o clock in the mo rning when Washi n gton took up hi s march

for Trenton with men . The right was led

by Stark and St . Clai r ; the left was led by Wash i n ton l g himse f , and with him were Greene , Mercer ,

James Monroe and Lo rd S tirli ng . A sto rm o f sleet beat upon them and wet their ' G ' h muskets . Tell you r eneral , said Was ington u ’ ' to S llivan s messenger , to use the bayonet and

penetrate into the town . The town must be taken . ' I am resolved to take it . Both columns struck ’ ’ the enemy s pickets at eight o clock ; entering the ha town from opposite directions , the Americans d a l r thei r foemen between two fires . R l was mo tally ’ s a c wounded . A n p h s regi ment was driven into an

r . o rchard , where they threw down their a ms ’ K ny p hausen s regiment endeavored to make a

stand on the other side of the orchard , but when

Lord Sti rling led hi s brigade agains t them , they indi cat ed thei r desire to su rrender by hoisting th eir hats on thei r bayonets , and Lieutenant

Colonel Francis Scheffer , then senior officer , sur hi s rendered sword to Lord Stirling . l And now , what were the resu ts o f the battle of Trenton ' It is the merest commonplace to say that it was

the tu rn o f the tide . Hope sprang up in hearts

that long had ached with the anguish o f despai r . The picturesque featu res o f the movement have ’ become i ngrained i n the world s imagination ; we

s ee the quiet p reparation , the crisp frost , the

c rowded boats , the high wind , the swi ft current , h ill - the floating ice , the ex austed boatmen , the clad soldiers with their faces bent to the storm , and the i silent n ght march . We see the sentinels driven in , the Continentals advancing at qui ck step through Of i the empty streets , the confusion the bew ldered Hessians and the fall o f their ill - starred com mander . The value of thi s victory was not li mited to the capture of a thousand Hessian prisoners and to the shatteri ng of the popular superstition o f their supposed invin cibility . This victory wrought a marvelous effect on the heart of every patriot n throughout the entire cou try . all ni And after is said , the greatest sig ficance I i of the surprise at Trenton count to be th s , that it saved George Washington to the Continental army and to the American people . The most decisive event in Washington ’ s public career was his crossing of the Delaware . It convinced the

American people that he was the right man .

MON U M E N T OF CA N N ON B A L LS

COL LECT ED A N D ER ECT ED ON B A T T L E F I E LD or PR I N CET ON

he encamped for the night , the pickets of the two i armies being with n hailing distance of each other . Cornwallis was wise in not continuing his attack that night , but he was very foolish in not station ing strong guards on every road leading out of the

American camp . Washington was too prudent to await a pitched battle on the next day . It was impossible to cross a back into Pennsylvani ; moreover , such a move ment would have destroyed all the moral resul ts hi s o f victory at Trenton . He might have retreated down the Jersey side of the Delaware , a e but he h d in mind a far better plan . He resolv d ni hi to decamp in the ght and , slipping around be nd l Cornwa lis , to threaten the B ritish quarters at

Princeton and New B runswick . Provi dence favored his plan by sending the cold to make the roads hard and firm . He ordered some of the guards to keep throwing up breast works , he ordered others to keep the fires burning . He started his baggage train southward to Bur u lingto .

By daylight he was approachi ng Pri nceton . Thi s masterpiece of strategy was a fit compani on to the surprise of the Hessians at Trenton .

1 2

THE BATTLE OF PRI NCETON Three regiments of B ri tish infantry spent the 2nd ni ght o f January at Princeton , with orders to go on to Trenton the next mo rning .

There were two bridges over Stony Brook , one ’ south o f Friends Meeting- house and the other t ’ l 1 7 north o f it at Wo r h s mi l . The th foot was leaving Princeton along the upper road ; the Con ti nental army was approaching Princeton along the lower road ; each crossed the brook at its own bridge at about the same moment ; neither knew ’ of the o ther s presence . hi s hi s Washington halted troops , reformed lines and gave fi nal words o f advice to hi s Officers . His thought ful ness led hi mto believe that the B ritish wo uld soon be using the upper bridge ei ther when pursu in g him from Trenton or when escaping from hi mout o f Princeton . There was a l a road , c l ed the Quaker road , from one bridge n n to the o ther , ru ning along the eastern ba k of

the stream . He coul d have taken hi s whole army U p this Quaker road and then have entered Prince

ton by the upper road , bu t he decided to save t ime i n by march g straight forward to Nassau Hall , l fol owing a private road across the fields . S o he sent Hugh Mercer wi th about 3 7 5 men

u ' l p stream to destroy the bridge at the mi l . As l hI aw hood the regu ars under , a fter crossing the ’ M ill ette s ll bridge , came to the top o f hi , they

saw Mercer and Mercer saw them , across the

stream from each other . M a w hood hu rri ed back ac ross the bridge and rn d tu e to meet Mercer , but did not keep in the Quaker road ; he crowded up into a field to gain higher ground and thus keep Mercer near the ’ water s edge below him . B ut Mercer , too , sought the same high ground and reached it first . The

Americans knelt at the rail fence and fired . The

B ritish returned the volley , charged with the ’ bayonet and drove Mercer s men in headl ong flight . Here fell Mercer and here fell Neil and Fleming

and Haslet , while trying to rally their men . hi o o Was ngt n , out of sight on the lower r ad , heard the firing and led the Continentals to the ’ rescue , hurrying forward William Moulder s bat ter a y , with the Pennsylvania militi to support it , and directing Hitchcock to keep off any possible

aid from Princeton .

The regulars , elated by their succes s over Mercer and not yet seeing that they had entered

the lists against the whole American army , made i several magn ficent charges under a withering fire . Here occurred the noted incident of Washi ngton ’ s riding between the two lines and receiving a volley from each at the same moment ; he was reckl ess

that day , with him it was win o r die . It was now ’ M awhood s turn to give ground ; his regulars

broke and ran , some through the brook , others

across the bridge ; some were captured , some

escaped . This finished the first fight at the B attle of

Princeton . The action had lasted about thirty nl minutes ; it was u ooked for , spectacular , fast and

hard , and very fatal to American officers . It was

a swift and dramatic climax to their cold , lonely

march during that winter night . Washington had

1 4

THE BATTLE OF F ORT MERCER The Americans had bui lt two forts to prevent the enemy ’ s fleet fromsailing up the Delaware l river to Phi adelphia . These forts were close together and opposite the mouth of the Schuylki ll Mi flli n river , being on an island and Mercer being on a reach of the Jersey shore known to sailors as

Red B ank . Fort Mercer had a garrison of four hundred men under the command of Christopher

Greene . The British had reached Phi ladelphia by i march ng overland from Chesapeake bay . Their army being at Philadelphia and their fleet being

in Delaware bay , it was impossible for them to al low the Americans to retain control of the

stretch of river intervening . Howe sent Colonel Donop with Hessians di d to assault Fort Mercer , which they on the 22md 1 morning of October , 777 , with great bold

ness and vigor . The Americans administered to

their assailants a crushing defeat . The Hessians f 4 00 withdrew after su fering a loss of men , Donop

himself being mortally wounded . The American - five loss was only thirty . Howe subsequently captured Fort Miffli n and then sent such a heavy force against Fort Mercer that the Americans abandoned the fort and gave the B ritish an open

river to the sea .

THE BATTL E OF MONMOU TH Every one knows how the British t ri ed to reach i n l 1 776 r Philadelphia the fa l o f , but were tu ned l back at Trenton , and how they tried the next fal and u in were successf l , going ships to Chesapeake bay and marching overland ; how they won the battle o f B randywine and occupied the city all winter while the Cont i nentals su ffered and starved at ' al ley Forge . I t is no t so generall y known w hy the B ritish abandoned Phil adel phia and that whole region perm anently the next summer ; and thi s they di d o f their own accord , without a fight ; for they were not driven ou t by Washi ngton . Why this radi cal change o f poli cy ' What i s the secret of it ' The cause is no t evident i f we keep our vi ew fix ed narrowly on Phi ladelphi a and ' alley Forge ; v we must look abroad , we must sur ey the whole h t eater o f the war . The fundamental fac t was that the king was reaching the limit to the number of men whom he coul d persuade o r hi re to come to America and

fight fo r hi m. There were two reasons why the king’ s cabinet in London reversed its previous

. i policy In the fi rst pl ace , France and Spa n were l m he ping A eri ca , and therefore it was necessary to s trengthen the B ritish gar risons in Hali fax ,

i . Flo rida , the Bermudas and the West Ind es I n l the second place , the cabinet thought i t wou d be much easier to subdue the southern colonies by i i land ng a fo rce at Charleston , S . C . Th s is why the ki ng ordered Henry Clinton to evacuate Phil adel phi a and trans fer those t roops to New Y ork City . I t was no longer Washi ngton ’ s problem how to capture Phi ladelphi a ; his onl y problem was how to inflict the greatest damage possible on the retreat ing troops . 1 8th 1 778 Crossing to New Jersey on June , , o Clinton took up his march for Sandy Ho k , where he was to be met by transports ; Washi ngton left

' alley Forge and started i n pursuit . The two lines would intersect at Monmouth Court House , 1 778 and this is why it came about that in , during 28th a Sunday, June , the longest day of the ye r , there was fought on the banks of W enrock creek in Monmouth county the longest battle of the

Revolutionary war . The marching began at five ’ o clock in the morning , the firing began soon after nl seven , and the contest closed o y with the going down of the sun . The features o f the day may be summari' ed thus ' Four insigni ficant skirmishes ; the retreat m i of Mon outh , by wh ch is meant the needles s and confused falling back of the Americans for two miles 'caused solely by Lee ’ s disobedience and neglect' Washi ngton ’ s formation of a temporary line of defense along the east bank of W enrock brook ; the incident of Molly Pitcher ; the hand to - hand struggle at the hedge- row for the body of Henry Monckton ; the Americans driven from their temporary line and forced back across the ’ brook ; the formation o f Washington s main line of defense on the west bank ; the advance o f the B ritish across the brook ; the attack on the Amer e ican left flank r pulsed by Lord Stirling , and the attack on the American right flank repulsed by

Greene .

1 8 m e Clinton wi thdrew about a ile , encamp d and rested his t roops and then stole away under cover o f darkness . As we watch the movements o f the Ameri can ' troops du ring that memorable day , we recogni e the invaluable service rendered to the Continental army by Baron Steuben whi le inspector ' general at ' alley Forge . It has been said that the geni us of Washin gton was o f such a type as to make him a sure w i nner i n in a long campaign , that he was a trifle slow comprehension and in the selection of the best measure out of several ; but Monmouth bears ample evidence to the fact that Washington rode on a strange field where con fusion reigned supreme and wrought a marv elous change without any del ay and without any mi stake . A nd thi s was not O f due to any erro r on the part his opponent , for Clin ton himsel f played the game that day li ke a n master from early dawn to mi d ight . ' n f And now , who was the vi cto r Opi ions di fer bec ause there a re different rul es for j udgi ng the contest . W hen the struggle is for the possession i l o f a field , he who keeps it wins ; by th s ru e Wash o i ngt n won . When one fights to get away and he l gets away , that one wins ; by this ru e Clinton won . When two parties fight agai nst each other in o rder to inflict damage , he who infli cts the greater damage wi ns ; thi s rule makes Monmouth a drawn battle , fo r the losses were practically equal .

But there is another rule and a better one , and it is the t rue test fo r Monmouth . How di d the offi cers and soldi ers who did the fighting regard the resul t ' The answer is unanimous ; the Amer i cans everywhere were j ubilant ; the moral effect on the army and on the public , at home and abroad , was strongly in favor of the Americans .

In confirmation of this , history shows that Mon mouth was the last great fight made i n the north ern states .

Mi N U T E M A N

20

THE OPERATIONS BEFORE SPRINGFIE LD

r The possession of Mo ri stown , with its camp and magazines , was essential to the Ameri can u 1 780 cause . During J ne , , the B ritish made two attempts to capture i t , operating from Staten i Island . The v llages along the way are Elizabeth n S ri n po rt , Elizabethtow , Connecticut Farms , p ' u l field and a xha l , and Chatham ; the first half of n the road is over level cou try , the last hal f is O among hill s and mountains . The real bj ective w o f the B ritish was Morri sto n . Sp ringfield is at the edge o f the foothi lls and constituted Morris ’ town s first line o f defense . B oth invasions broke down at that point ; each o f the B ritish command hi s ers , when brought face to face with real task at Springfield , where the first serious resistance l ff hi s r e wou d be o ered , changed mind , tu n d about and marched homeward . 6 th 1 780 The first invas ion was on June , ; the h u 23 rd ot er on J ne , seventeen days later ; the O pposing generals in the first were K ny phausen t n and Washing on , in the second Cli ton and G Nathaniel reene , a complete change in the per s on el n o f the comm anders . n To u derstand the si gnificance of these events , it i s necessary to answer thr ee questions . What sudden hopes had sprung up in the B ritish breast that induced them to make these attempts at this exac t time ' Why were two expeditions made so close together , fo r the same pu rp ose and over the same ground ' How came it about that different generals were in command ' T HE BATTLE OF ELI ' ABETHTOWN

r Cli nton , the British chief, was in South Ca o lina in the spring of 1 780 ; duri ng his absence he had left K nyp hausen in command at New Y ork

City .

Our troops at Morristown were starving, and 2 a mutiny broke out on May 5th . Spies having Y K carried the news immediately to New ork , uyp hausen was quick to see the possibilities of the i ill situation . He pr nted handb s encouraging treason and had them distributed withi n the

American lines . He resolved to hurry toward

Morristown with men , being in high hopes that he would be welcomed by deserters and that whole companies woul d throw down their arm s. But he reckoned without his host ; there was some thi ng about the American soldier that a European mercenary never coul d understand . The expedition started from Staten I sland and pass ed through Eli' abethport at daybreak . Maj or- General Sterling 'not to be confused with ’ - New Jersey s hero , Maj or General Lord Stirling' was riding at the head of the British column through Elizabethtown when a minuteman fired a shot whi ch struck Sterling in the thi gh and inflicted a mortal wound . The militia under Elias Dayton were very i active , falling back but offer ng a resistance of K n hause increasing vigor . yp n was bitterly di sap pointed ; he halted half a mi le from Springfield and called a council of war . He s aw William M ax well ’ s brigade ready to dispute his passage over ll the Rahway river , and on the hi s beyond he s aw

ff the Continental army . Thi s was something di er encamped and made no attempt to force the

l n . i Ameri can i es It was a dark and rainy n ght , made i ll - omened by the boom O f alarm guns and a h by the bl ze o f signal fires on the distant ills .

The B ri tish retreat began before dayli ght . The church and parsonage and other dwell ings at n Con ecticut Farms were burned , and Hannah e Ogden , the wife o f Chaplain James Caldw ll , was murdered . K nyp ha usen had been alert and p rudent ; he was p romp t to seize the possibili ty o f aid from the i mutineers , and on reach ng Springfield and seeing s the si tuation , he was wise in not pushing matter to the issue . THE BATTLE OF SPRINGFIELD

lli ' Henry Clinton , having won bri ant ictories in

on 1 7 . the south , arrived at Staten Island June th

He , too , looked longingly at Morristown ; he, too , cherished the hope of reaping some material advantage from the mutinous spirit that w as smoldering among the American troops . a en B ut he was craftier than K nyph us . Per haps it was the presence of Washi ngton that over awed the mutineers , and perhaps the mutineers were held in check by the presence of certain loyal regiments . It would be a shrewd trick if he could in some way entice Washington with a portion of his troop s away from Morristown ; under such con di ti ons Clinton hoped that a second invasion might be more successful than the first . Thi s is why a second invasion followed so the quickly , and why commanding officers were different . Clinton placed hi s men on ships and made believe he was going to s ail up the Hudson to attack hi . i n s West Point Washington , suspense and hi s uncertainty , thought it best to take a part of army and occupy some station further to the north so as to be in a position to defend West Point if that post should be threatened . He left Greene in charge and on June 2 l st marched eleven mi les toward Pompton . This was a wise move provided

Greene had troops enough to protect Morristown . hi s Clinton immediately started invasion , setting out from Staten Island with men , aecom ani ed p by cavalry and artillery . His plan o f attack on Springfield was excellent ; the left wing

24

CONCLU SION

Here we must stop ; we have spoken o f the

Retreat through the Jerseys , of Trenton , Assan n pi k and Princeton , of Fort Mercer , Monmouth, Eli ' abethtown and Springfield ; gladl y woul d we

tell o f other b attles , how Lord Stirling and Corn walli s fought hard near W estfield ; how Colonel Baylor was surp rised in Bergen county and Count

Pulaski near Little Egg Harbor, and how Joshua Huddy fought at Toms River block- house ; but enough has been given to show how rich this state

is in fields whereon men have died for their country , fields which will be sources of patriotic inspiration all through generations .

B D 1 3 s a ,