By Walker Joyce
We live in the colony that’s been called the Crossroads of the American Revolution. Indeed, it was. Most of the major battles were fought here, and Washington spent more time in “the Jerseys,” as we were called back then, than in any other state.
As we approach our 250th anniversary, let’s review the significant events and engagements that gave birth to our nation:
--The Battle of Trenton. Better known as Washington Crossing the Delaware, his surprise attack on the Hessian mercenaries stationed in our future capital literally saved “the Cause,” as the war was called. The stakes couldn’t have been higher that Christmas of 1776. Our army was routed in New York, and only a fortuitous fog prevented its annihilation. The reduced ranks would completely disappear when enlistments ran out on New Year’s Day, and morale was almost non-existent. But Washington whipped the Germans, patriotism soared and the troops were replenished.
--The Battle of Monmouth. Emerging from Valley Forge, where Baron Von Steuben turned disparate militias into a standing army, this technical stalemate proved our men could go toe-to-toe with the redcoats. The action centered around the Monmouth County Courthouse, now the borough of Freehold. June 28th of 1778 was unusually hot and humid, probably over 100 degrees by noon, and both sides lost more men to heatstroke than to arms. This was also the clash that created the Molly Pitcher legend, when a woman taking water to the troops replaced her wounded husband, who was firing a cannon. Regarding the number of soldiers on the field, it was the largest battle of the war.
--Jockey Hollow. In 1779, Washington made his second winter encampment in Morristown. While he enjoyed relative comfort in the Ford Mansion, the men shivered in crude shacks built on the hillsides outside of the village. It was the worst winter of the century, not just the war, with 28 storms between the army’s arrival in January and March. This is where the Revolution was saved again within our borders. Despite the brutal weather, a near famine, a mutiny and the British only a few miles away in Manhattan, our men endured. Washington’s stoic leadership made the difference, as his personal spy ring fooled the enemy by concealing the desperate nature of our situation. He also put down the brief rebellion with a combination of capital punishment and a last-minute pardon.
Other significant Jersey chapters include Benedict Arnold’s court-martial, which began his journey to treason, Alexander Hamilton’s romance with his future wife (both of which also occurred in Morristown, our most fabled city), and the Battles of Princeton and Springfield.
Not to mention the arrest of William Franklin, Ben’s son and our last royal governor, the emergence of two forgotten Founders, the Reverend John Witherspoon and Elias Boudinot, both of whom were prominent in the Continental Congress. The former was the congressional chaplain, and the latter was eventually elected the body’s president.
And let’s not forget the Pluckamin Academy, the training ground that was the precursor to West Point. In 1778, General Henry Knox, our first Secretary of War, founded it to drill recruits and artillery officers, repair and make new armaments and enhance the professionalism of our fledgling military. Sadly, but all too typical of our state’s shabby treatment of its history, no trace of the campus remains.
Yet for those who are paying attention, New Jersey’s rich legacy is intact.
