History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 19

Author: Snell, James P; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1170

USA > New Jersey > Somerset County > History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 19
USA > New Jersey > Hunterdon County > History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 19

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"I am your ob't aod hnm. ser't

"WILL : LIVINGSTON.

" HIS EXCELLENCY JOHN HANCOCK,

" Pres't of Congress."

The request of the Council of Safety and the Gov- ernor was acceded to, and it was ordered to remove Penn and Chew from Hunterdon County to the State of Massachusetts. Following are given extracts from the Minutes of the Council of Safety having reference to their removal :

" MONDAY, 24th November, 1777.

" The Council met at Princeton. . . . Agreed That the officer who is to conduct John Penn & Benjamin Chew to Wooster [ Worcester, Mass.] be directed to purchase in some of the New England States, for the use of this State, 20,000 Flints."

* The Governor's letter and the resolution of the council, ahove quoted, imply that Toryism was more rampant in Hunterdon than in other por- tions of the State. But it is proper to remark that, while it is undoubt- edly true that there existed among the inhabitants of Hunterdon ororo disaffection than was found among those of any other county (with per- haps the exception of Monmouth), yet there were among its people a very great number who maintained sentiments of the most unadulterated and exalted patriotism throughout the entire Revolutionary struggle, and that it was excelled by no county In New Jersey In the number and gal- lautry of the troops which it sent to the field.

+ N. J. Rev. Corr., pp. 101, 102.

" WEDNESDAY, 26th Novr.

"The Council met at Princetoo. . .. Agreed : That there be ad- vanced to Col Chamberlain for purchasing 20,000 Flints in New England, and for defraying his expenses to Wooster in the Massachusetts Bay, whither he is to conduct Mesra Penn & Chew, the sum of £200."

That Col. Chamberlain made purchase of the flints as directed is shown by the following extract from the Minutes of the council,-viz. :

" MARCH 17, 1778.

"The Council met at Trenton. . .. Agreed that Col Hathaway receive from Mr Ogdeo at Boontown the 20,000 flinte sent or to he sent into this State by Mr Archibald Mercer from Boston (first paying to Ogden at Boontown for the cartage), & to be accountable for them when properly called upon."

During the fall and winter of 1777 the Council of Safety held two sessions at different places in what is now the county of Hunterdon,-viz., at Pittstown, where it convened on the 16th of October and re- mained in session from day to day until the 24th, guarded by a detachment of soldiers under Lieut. Henry Young, ¿ and at Ringo's from the 26th of De- cember to the 1st of January, 1778, when it adjourned to meet at Springfield.

When the news of the surrender of Burgoyne with his entire army reached Paris, on the 4th of December, 1777, and was at once transmitted to Versailles, the king informed the American commissioners, through M. Gerard, one of his secretaries of state, that the in- dependence of the United States would be acknowl- edged by France, and that the treaty of alliance and commerce between the two countries would be concluded. In accordance with the assurance given by the monarch, that treaty was finally ratified on the 6th of February, 1778, but it was not until the 1st of the following May that the glad intelligence reached Gen. Washington in his squalid winter quarters at Valley Forge. On the 7th of that month it was offi- cially announced in general orders by the commander- in-chief to the army amid great rejoicings, which were followed by religious observances in the several commands. "Washington, with his lady and suite, Lord Stirling and his lady, with other general officers and ladies, attended the religious services of the Jersey brigade [Maxwell's], when the Rev. Mr. Hunter delivered a discourse. Afterwards all the officers of the army assembled and partook of a col- lation provided by the commander-in-chief. When he took his leave there was universal huzzaing : ' Long live General Washington "' The hnzzas con- tinued until the general had proceeded a quarter of a mile, and a thousand hats were tossed in the air. Washington with his retinue turned round and huz- zacd several times."? This event marked the coming of almost the first ray of hope which pierced the gloom of Valley Forge, and it was not long after- wards that the campaign commenced which ended in glory and victory on the field of Monmouth.

# Minutes of the Council, pp. 147-254. ¿ Lossing, vol. ii. p. 346.

HUNTERDON AND SOMERSET COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION.

On the 11th of May, Sir Henry Clinton took com- mand of the British army in Philadelphia as successor of Gen. Howe. His instructions from England were to evacuate Philadelphia, and this he determined on doing on the 23d of May,* it being his in- tention to proceed with the troops by water to New York. But, as he considered the probability that the fleet might be delayed by head-winds, thus enabling Washington to reach New York before him, he changed his plan, and decided to move his army to that city by land across the State of New Jersey. In pursuance of that plan he evacuated Philadelphia be- fore daylight in the morning of the 18th of June, and by ten o'clock in the forenoon his entire army had crossed the Delaware and landed at Gloucester Point. In the evening of the same day his forces encamped at and near Haddonfield, on the south side of Cooper's ('reek, five miles southeast of Camden. From that place they moved on the following morning, march- ing up the Delaware, and nearly parallel with it. They moved in three divisions,-one by way of Mount Holly, Que through Columbus, and one by Borden- town. This last division, when near the mouth of Crosswiek's Creek, was attacked by three regiments of New Jersey militia, under Col. Frederick Freling- huysen, Col. Van Dyke, and Col. Webster. It was but a skirmish, resulting in a loss to the British of four killed and a greater number wounded. They then moved to Crosswick's, where they were again attacked by the militia while they were attempting to repair the bridge over the stream. This they finally succeeded in doing, and moved on towards Allentown. Maxwell's Jersey brigade had been detached from the main body of the American army, and was now co- operating with the forces of Gen. Philemon Dickin- son to obstruct and harass the British columns as much as possible, but they were too weak to interfere with their march otherwise than by destroying bridges and obstructing roads before them. Clinton did not attempt to move rapidly, but seemed rather to invite an attack. On the 24th of June his column reached Imlaytown.

Washington had suspected the design of the Brit- ish commander to move his forces by land to New York, but it was not until Clinton's army was safely across the Delaware that he became certain that such would be the movement. As soon as positive intel- ligence of the evaenation reached him he sent Arnold with a small force to occupy Philadelphia, and in the afternoon of the 18th (the same day on which the British crossed into New Jersey), six brigades, com- prising the divisions of Greene and Wayne, forming a corps which was under command of Gen. Lee, t moved

towards the Delaware in pursuit. Passing through Doylestown, Lee reached the river at Coryell's Ferry, and crossed into New Jersey at that point in the night of the 20th. On the same night Washington, who followed with the remainder of the forces, encamped at Doylestown, and, resuming the march on the fol- lowing day, crossed at Coryell's on the 22d .; From Coryell's the army moved over the highlands to Hope- well, where Washington remained during the 23d. At that point he detached six hundred ritlemen, under Morgan, to annoy the right flank of the enemy, while Maxwell and Dickinson were engaged in the same duty on his left. Lee's column had moved by a more southern route, by way of Pennington, and thence to Princeton. Washington's column, moving from Hope- well, also passed Princeton, and the entire forces con- centrated at Kingston. It had been the intention of the British general to move to the Raritan and embark his troops at New Brunswick or Amboy, but when he found Washington almost in his front at Kingston, he turned to the right, taking the road leading to Free- hold and Sandy Hook.

Of the battle and victory of Monmouth, which re- sulted from the movements above mentioned, it is not intended to give a detailed description, for it is a mat- ter of general history, and as such well known to all readers. On the morning of June 28th the British army, under Clinton, occupied a strong position near Monmouth Court-house, and Gen. Washington was approaching it. When within some six miles of Clin- ton he learned that the latter had abandoned his po- sition and was moving towards the coast. On re- cript of this intelligence he ordered the army to move on with rapidity, and sent directions to Lec, who had the advance with about five thousand men, to use all possible speed to come up with the enemy, and on doing so to attack him "unless there are very powerful reasons to the contrary," assuring him, at the same time, that the main body would come up as rapidly as possible to his support. Washington then pressed on with the rear division of the army, but after marching some five miles learned, to his surprise and alarm, that Lee, having only delivered a single volley into the ranks of the enemy, was al- ready retreating with precipitation directly ou the rear division, thereby causing imminent danger of a general panie among the forces. Putting spurs to his horse, the general-in-chief hastened towards the scene of disorder, and, meeting Lee, he sternly and severely

: Washington wruto to the American Congress as follows :

" HEADQUARTERS NFAR CONTRE'S, June 22, 1775.

"Sin,- I have the honour to Inform you that I am now in Joney, and that the troops are passing the river at Coryel's, and are mostly over .... AN won as we have cleaned the arms and can get matters in trin, we pro- gros moving towards Princeton, In order to avall ourselves of any favor- aldr occasions that may present themselves of attacking or annoying the enemy.

" I have the honour to be, etc.,

"G. W."

* Egle's " History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" My'n (1. 183) the council of war was helt ou the 24th.

+ Gen. Charles Lee, who was captured, as already noticed, at linsking Ridge, In December, 1776, by the British under Cal. Harcourt, was ex- changed in May, 1778, for Gon. Prescott. Ho jolned the army nt Valley Forge, and was rejustated in his old position as second in commutnl under Washington.

HUNTERDON AND SOMERSET COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

reprimanded him* for his shameful conduct and or- dered him instantly to turn back. He then dashed among the flying troops and succeeded in rallying them, and induced them to re-form and face the en- emy. This occurred between twelve and one o'clock in the day, and it was the turning-point in the con- flict. Other troops soon came up; Greene and Stir- ling and "Mad Anthony" Wayne interposed their divisions and became fiercely engaged ; and during the remaining hours of that hot and sultry Sabbath afternoon the battle raged at intervals with great fury and with varying success, but in general favoring the Americans, until darkness closed over Monmouth Plain and ended the strife. The wearied soldiers of Washington and Clinton rested on their arms, appa- rently waiting for the light of a new day to recom- mence the struggle. But at about midnight the Brit- ish columns moved away in the darkness, so silently that their flight was not detected by the Americans until hours afterwards. "With silent steps column after column left the camp and hurried towards Sandy Hook. So secret was the movement, and so deep the sleep of the patriots, that the troops of Gen. Poor, lying close by the enemy, were ignorant of their de- parture until at dawn they saw the deserted camp of the enemy. They had been gone more than three hours. Washington, considering the distance they had gained, the fatigue of his men, the extreme heat of the weather, and the deep sandy country, with but little water, deemed pursuit fruitless, and Sir Henry Clinton escaped. ... The British army reached Sandy Hook on the 30th, where Lord Howe's fleet, having come round from the Delaware, was in readi- ness to convey them to New York."t

The battle of Monmouth was one of the most se- verely contested of the conflicts of the Revolution, and in its result has always been regarded as a victory; for the American arms. This view is sustained by the fact that the British army stole away in the darkness,

* Lee answered Washington in a defiant manner, and after the battle used very disrespectful language to him in two letters (dated June 29th and 30th). For this disrespect to the commander-in-chief, as also on two other charges,-viz., " Disobedience of orders in not attacking the enemy on the 28th of June, agreeably to repeated instructions," and " Misbe- havior before the enemy on the same day, by making an unnecessary, disorderly, and shameful retreat,"-he was tried by a court-martial con- vened on the 4th of July at New Brunswick. It consisted of Maj .- Gen. Lord Stirling (who was the president), four brigadiers, and eight colonels. On the 8th of August their decision was rendered, finding him guilty on all the charges, and sentencing him to be suspended from any and all command in any of the armies of the United States for the term of twelve months. This finding was approved by Congress, and thereupon Gen. Lee left the army and removed to l'hiladelphia, where he died four years afterwards, never being again called into service.

f Lossing.

# That Washington so regarded it is shown by the following extract from his general order dated at Freehold on the morning after the battle : " The commander-in-chief congratulates the army on the victory obtained over the arms of His Britannic Majesty, and thanks most sincerely the gallant officers and men who distinguished themselves upon this occasion, and such others as, by their good order and coolness, gave the happiest presage of what milght have been expected had they come to action."

leaving Washington master of the field. Lossing remarkså that the result might have been a complete defeat for the British, and probably a surrender of their army, if Washington had brought into the battle the corps of riflemen under the redoubtable Morgan. " For hours the latter was at Richmond Mills, three miles below Monmouth, awaiting orders, in an agony of desire to engage in the battle, for he was within sound of its fearful tumult. To and fro he strode, uncertain what course to pursue, and, like a hound in the leash, panting to be away to action. . . . It appears probable that had he fallen on the British rear with his fresh troops at the close of the day, Sir Henry Clinton and his army might have shared the fate of the British at Saratoga."

The New Jersey troops in the commands of Lord Stirling and Gens. Dickinson and Maxwell (in which were found nearly all the soldiers from Somerset and Hunterdon Counties) behaved most gallantly at Mon- mouth. Dickinson (who was in command of the Jer- sey militia, including the battalion of Col. Freling- huysen) displayed the greatest bravery. He and the troops under him were commended by Gen. Wash- ington in his general order, of the day after the battle, in these words :

"Gen. Dickinson and the militia of this State are also thanked for their nobleness in opposing the enemy on their march from Phila- delphia, and for the aid which they have given in embarrassing and impeding their motions so as to allow the Continental troops to come up with them."

Maxwell commanded the Jersey Brigade of Conti- nentals, which behaved with great gallantry during the battle, and performed excellent service in annoy- ing the enemy in his retreat to Sandy Hook, this bri- gade, with Morgan's corps of riflemen, being sent for- ward on this last-named duty on the morning of the 29th when the enemy's absence was discovered.

The departure of Clinton's army from Sandy Hook left New Jersey free from the presence of armed ene- mies upon her soil, and the militiamen of the State were then allowed to return to their homes, to re- main until some other exigency should require them to be again called to the field. The army of Wash- ington was moved from Monmonth to and across the Hudson River, and took position in Westchester Co., N. Y., awaiting developments as to the intentions of the British commander, who was quartered in New York City. The headquarters of Washington were at White Plains, from which point he narrowly watched Gen. Clinton, suspecting it to be the design of the latter to move into the New England States. “Sir Henry gave currency to the reports that such were his intentions until Washington moved his headquarters to Fredericksburg, near the Connecticut line, and turned his attention decidedly to the protection of the eastern coast. Clinton then sent foraging-parties into

¿ " Field-Book of the Revolution," vol. ii. p. 364.

HUNTERDON AND SOMERSET COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION.

New Jersey, and ravaged the whole country from the Hudson to the Raritan and beyond."*

Finally, being convinced that the enemy had no designs on New England, Washington resolved to place his army in winter quarters at different points and in the most advantageous positions. This was done in December, 1778. The dispositions were made as follows : Five brigades were cantoned on the east side of the Hudson; one brigade at West Point; one at Smith's Cove, near Haverstraw; one at Elizabeth- town ; and seven brigades at and in the vicinity of Middlebrook, Somerset Co. ; the reserve artillery was quartered at Pluckamin. What has usually been termed the " camp at Middlebrook" was composed of three distinct cantonments. On the south side of the Raritan River, west of the Millstone road, and south of the residence of the late John Garretson, was located the encampment of the First, Second, and Seventeenth Regiments of Pennsylvania troops, form- ing the division of Gen. Anthony Wayne. A smaller cantonment was established along the hillside east of the gorge in which Chimney Rock stands. It is not clear as to who were the occupants of this encamp- ment. One account states that they were nearly or quite all officers of the several brigades, but this is improbable. The largest body of troops, in which was included the division of Gen. Greene, occupied a camping-ground on the northeast slope of Mount Pleasant, on lands of Derick Van Veghten, between Chimney Rock and the site of the present village of Somerville. The ground on which the encampment was located was then covered with a very heavy growth of timber, which is probably the reason why it was selected, for the forest would furnish fire-wood and logs for the erection of huts for the soldiers, while such part of it as was not felled for these purposes would form a very desirable protection against the winter winds.

For nearly two months after the arrival of the army at this place the soldiers had only tents to shelter them, but they were soon set at work building cabins, which does not appear to have been accomplished by them with as much rapidity as similar work was done by the armies in the recent war of the Rebellion. for it was not until February that they were completed and occupied, as appears by the following extract from Thatcher's "Military Journal,"-viz. :

" February [1779.]-Having continued to live under cover of canvas tents most of the winter, we have suffered severely from exposure to cold and storms. Our soldiers have been employed six or eight works in constructing log hints, which at length are completed ; and both oth- cere and soldiers are now under comfortable covering for the remainder of the winter. Log houses are constructed with the trunks of troom cut Into various lengths, according to the size intended, and are firmly con- nected by notches ent at their extremities in the manner of dovetailing. The varaneles between the logs are filled in with plastering consisting of mud and clay. The roof is formed of similar places of timber and covered with hown alalw. The chimney, situated at one end of the house, la made of similar but smaller thulors, and both the Inner and outer sides are covered with clay plaster to defend the wood against the

fre. The door and windows are formed by sawing awny a part of the logy of a proper size, and move on wooden hinges. In this manner have our soldiers without nails, and aluust without tools except the axe nud saw, provided for their officers and for themselves convenient and com- fortable quarters with little or no expense to the public. The huta are arranged in straight lines, forming a regular, uniform, compact village. The officers' huts are situated in front of the line, according to their rank, the kitchens in the rear, and the whole is similar in form to a tent encampment. The ground, for a considerable distance, in front of the soliliers' line of huts is cleared of wood, stumps, and rubbish, and is every morning swept clean for the purpose of a parade-ground and roll- call of the respective regiments. The officers' huta are in general dl- vided into two apartments, and are occupied by three or four officers, who compone ono mess. Those for the soldiers have but one room, and contain ten or twelve men, with their calans placed one above the other against the walls and filled with straw, and one blanket for each man. I now occupy a hut with our field-officers, Col. Gilson, Livut .- Col. Brent, and Baj. Meriweather."

" In Washington Valley," says Dr. Messler, "just cast of the road as it rises up from the gorge below to the level of the surrounding country, artillery was placed, and a fort erected a few hundred yards to the northwest, to defend their position from any attack by way of the opening of the valley at Pluckamin. The remains of this earthwork are still visible in some degree. There was also along the old Raritan road, east of the road which erosses the old bridge over the Raritan River, a number of mechanic-shops, where repairing of ambulances, shoeing of horses, and such other operations as are necessary in connection with an army and a military encampment were done. These shops, as well as the camp-ground on Mount Pleasant, were on the land of Derick Van Veghten, and of course he suffered more damage in his property than any other individual in the vicinity. His wood- land was cut down for builling the huts; it was used for fuel, and for any other objects connected with the comfort of the troops; but he bore the damage like a patriot. That he ever received any compensation is nowhere affirmed in any document, or even in any traditions coming down to us from the remembrances of these times. . . The old Abraham Staats house, just below Bound Brook, on the east side of the turn- pike and near the river, in which Baron Steuben had his winter quarters in 1778-79, stands yet in a com- fortable state of preservation. Here that noble Prus- sian, whose love of liberty induced him to give the aid of his personal influence to our almost fainting enuse, slept and thought and planned during those long winter nights when hope had hardly yet dawned upon the struggling efforts for American liberty."

During the time that the army remained at Middle- brook, tion, Washington and his lady occupied apart- ments which had been especially fitted up for their use in the then unfinished house of Caleb Miller, which is still standing and in good repair in the west part of the village of Somerville, near the place where the railroad crosses the road leading to Raritan vil- lage. The room occupied at that time by the com- mander-in-chief now remains in precisely the same condition in which it was when he left it. It was from this house that all his orders and dispatches dated

* Tawessing.

HUNTERDON AND SOMERSET COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

"Headquarters, Middlebrook" were issued during the winter and spring of 1778-79, and it was also in this house that he conceived and matured the plans for the expedition which, under command of Gen. Sulli- van, moved from Easton, Pa., by way of Tioga Point, into the country of the Six Nations in 1779, and in- flicted summary punishment on those tribes for their share in the atrocities of Wyoming and Cherry Valley. One of the orders issued by the commander-in-chief from these headquarters, and bearing date Feb. 6, 1779, was as follows :

"The commander-in-chief approves the order issued by Major-Gen. Lord Stirling* during his command at the camp, and thanks him for the endenvor to preserve order aod discipline, and the property of the farm- ers in the vicinity of the camp. He doubts not but the officers of every rank, from a just sense of the importance of securing to others the bless- ings they themselves are contending for, will use their utmost vigilance to maintain those privileges and prevent abuses, and nothing can redound more to their personal honor and the reputation of their respective corps. " ALEXANDER SCAMMIL,

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History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 19

Author: Snell, James P; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1170

Author: Snell, James P; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1170