USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume I > Part 10
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De Hart, and Richard Smith. It was not a constitutional body ; many of its members had been chosen irregularly ; its authority was limited to the willingness of the people to respect and obey its suggestions and mandates. It was less a congress than a national committee, an advisory council of continental magnitude. A declaration of rights, mild but deeply sincere; an address to the King, disavowing a desire for inde- pendence ; another to the people of England, also to the people of Canada, were adopted. They approved of the policy of non-intercourse with Great Britain, and formed an association to carry it out. The forming of this association, which at first constituted the revolutionary machin- ery, was an act of great importance. Its object was to secure the redress of grievances by peaceful methods, by enforcing the non-importation and non-consumption agreement. To carry out this purpose, commit- tees were formed in every county or township of the colonies, who worked under guidance of the Committee of Correspondence. The local committees marked out for persecution every loyalist who refused to comply with the recommendation of Congress. It was not until the following year that the colonists formed associations pledged to oppose the aggressions of the King by force of arms. This Congress sat for fifty-one days, when it adjourned, after having made provision for another Congress to meet the following May, in case it was needed. The pro- ceedings of the Congress were very generally and heartily approved. The course pursued in Middlesex county was a type of what was done in other counties. The inhabitants met in public town and township meetings in their several localities during the fall and winter of 1774-75, and committees of observation were chosen as follows :
Woodbridge-Ebenezer Foster, Henry Freeman, Nathaniel Heard, Reuben Potter, William Smith, Jeremiah Manning, Matthew Baker, Charles Jackson, Samuel Force, John Pain, James Manning, John Heard, Daniel Moores, John Ross, Ellis Barron, William Cutter, Reuben Evans, James Randolph, Timothy Bloomfield, John Noe and John Conway.
Piscataway-John Gilman, Henry Sutton, John Langstaff, William Manning, Benjamin Manning, Jacob Martin, Charles Suydam, Jeremiah Field, Daniel Bray, Jacob Titsworth, Micajah Dunn, Melanethan Free- man and John Dunn.
South Amboy-Stephen Pangburn, John Lloyd, Luke Schenck, Mat- thew Rue, William Vance and Joseph Potter.
New Brunswick-Azariah Dunham, J. Schureman, John Dennis, John Lyle, Jr., Abraham Schuyler, George Hance, Jacobus Van Huys, John Slight, John Voorhees, Barent Stryker, William Williamson, Peter Farmer, Ferdinand Schureman, Abraham Buckalew and Jonathan Roeff.
South Brunswick-David Williamson, William Scudder, Isaac Van Dyck, John Wetherill, Jr., Abraham Terhune, Jacob Van Dyck, Charles Barclay.
Windsor-James Hebron, Samuel Minor, Jonathan Coombs, Andrew Davison, Isaac Rogers, Ezekiel Smith and Jonathan Baldwin.
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At a meeting of this general committee assembled at New Bruns- wick, January 16, 1775, James Neilson, William Oake, Ebenezer Foster, Azariah Dunham, John Wetherill, Jonathan Coombs, Stephen Pangburn, William Smith, Ebenezer Foster, Matthias Balker, Jacob Titsworth, John Dunn, David Williamson, Jonathan Baldwin and Jacob Schenck were appointed a Committee of Correspondence to confer with like committees in the several counties of the province.
In response to a call of the Committee on Correspondence, a Provincial Congress was held at New Brunswick, January 14, 1775, but little busi- ness of importance took place. The stage was set in the colonies, the chessmen placed upon the board, and the movement of the first pawn was awaiting the opening of actual hostilities. The first demonstration was to be made in Massachusetts. General Gage, then governor of that province, issued a proclamation offering full pardon to all the people except Samuel Adams and John Hancock, whom he was ordered to take and send to England for trial. These two patriots, fearing arrest, fled to Lexington. The British general, learning their hiding place, on the night of April 18 dispatched a body of eight hundred men to make the arrest and destroy the military stores collected by the Americans at Concord. The news of the approaching enemy spread throughout the country. and when the enemy reached the greensward of Lexington Common at sunrise the following morning, a body of forty minute-men, armed with their hunting guns, now to be used as weapons of defense, barred their passage. They were commanded by Captain John Parker, grandfather of the great New England preacher and abolitionist, Theo- dore Parker. His command to his men was, "Don't fire unless you are fired on ; but if they want war, it may as well begin here." The British met with feeble resistance and continued on to Concord, destroyed the little they found there, cut down the liberty pole, and burned the court- house. Hancock and Adams, having been notified in advance, of the coming of the enemy, escaped and quietly proceeded on their way to Philadelphia to attend the meeting of the Continental Congress to which they had been elected delegates.
The news of the battle soon spread beyond the confines of New Eng- land. New Jersey, rejecting overtures of reconciliation, began to train her militia. The news reached Middlesex county, April 24, and on May 2 following, a meeting of the General Committee of Correspondence was held at New Brunswick, who directed their chairman to call a Provin- cial Congress to meet on May 23. In response to this call, the second convention of the province met at Trenton, under the title of the Pro- vincial Congress of New Jersey. There were eighty-seven delegates in attendance, Middlesex county being represented by Nathaniel Heard, William Smith, John Dunn, John Lloyd, Azariah Dunham, John Schure- men, John Wetherill, David Williamson, Jonathan Sergeant, Jonathan
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Baldwin and Jonathan Deare. The Congress, though it declared its allegiance to the rightful authority of His Sacred Majesty, George III., deemed its assembling was absolutely necessary for the security of the province. They did not hesitate, notwithstanding this seeming loyalty, to assume and exercise the functions of an independent and supreme governing and legislative body, regardless of the authority of the royal governor, and unrestrained by the check of any other power than the will of the people. They promptly gave assuring evidence of their voluntary subordination to the General Congress, and their disposition to cooperate with it in securing the general welfare. It was ordered that each county should have one vote. A committee was appointed to open correspondence with the recently organized Provincial Congress of New York. Articles of Association were adopted to be sent to the Committee of Observation and Correspondence, with instructions to them to secure the signatures of the freeholders and inhabitants to support and carry into execution the measures recommended by Continental and Provincial Congresses, and pledging themselves to support all existing magistrates and civil officers in the execution of their duties. The most decided revolutionary step taken was the adoption of a bill regulating the militia of the colony-that one or more companies of eighty men each should be formed in each township or corporation, of the inhabitants between the ages of sixteen and fifty years, capable of bearing arms; and an ordinance to raise £ 10,000 by taxation for the use of the province for the expenses of this militia. The tax was apportioned to the several counties the amount for Middlesex being £872 6s. 6d. The Congress also provided for a Committee of Safety of fourteen members, three of whom, with the president or vice-president, could convene Congress. The members of this committee from Middlesex county were Azariah Dun- ham, John Schureman, Jonathan Deare, Jonathan Baldwin and Nathaniel Heard.
The second session of the Provincial Congress was also held at Trenton, convening August 5, 1775, continuing until August 17, 1775. The object of the session was to prepare for the dreaded alternative, and to take efficient measures for the collection of the taxes levied at a former session ; to provide for the government of the province, and for the per- petuation of the Provincial Congress as the successor to and substitute for the overthrown royal governor and Colonial Legislature; to perfect the organization of the Friends of Liberty by the election of county and township committees of observation and correspondence; to perfect the bill for regulation of the militia. The only change in the Middlesex county delegation was the substitution of Lucas Schenck for David Wil- liamson. The first business which occupied the attention of the Congress was to provide for the tax already levied, which was required to be paid before September 10, 1775. Delinquents and those refusing to sign the
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articles of association were to be reported to the next Provincial Con- gress. An ordinance was adopted ordering a new election of deputies by those qualified to vote for representatives to the General Assembly to convene at Trenton on October 3, 1775.
Having thus provided for the perpetuation of the civil government of the colony, the Congress turned its attention to more effective organ- ization of the military strength of the province. It was thereby ordered that the militia should consist of twenty-three regiments, of which num- ber Middlesex county was to furnish two. Those inhabitants between the ages of sixteen and fifty that refused to enroll should be required to pay four shillings a month as an equivalent, and those signers of the enrollment list refusing to attend on mustering day were to be fined two shillings for each absence, not to exceed two fines a month. Each pri- vate soldier was to be equipped with good arms. Besides these twenty- three regiments of militia, four thousand able-bodied men were to be enlisted and enrolled to be known as "minute-men," and were to hold themselves in readiness to march at the shortest notice to any place where their assistance might be required in the province or any neigh- boring colony, these minute-men to be mustered into companies of sixty- four men. The quota for Middlesex county was six companies. The Congress appointed a Committee of Safety of eleven members, the Mid- dlesex county representatives being Azariah Dunham and John Dennis.
The Provincial Congress up to this time had been purely provisional. Its deputies had not been elected in conformity with any law that had been enacted by a representative or authorized body, but were chosen on the informal call of self-constituted or spontaneous meetings or con- ventions. The preamble providing for a new election of deputies by the people now demanded a formal resort to the people as the source of power and authority, for choice of those who were to represent them. The Provincial Congress that assembled at Trenton, October 3, 1775. and continued its session until October 25 of that year, was composed of deputies elected by the people. Middlesex county had sent Azariah Dunham and John Dennis. This Congress was flooded with petitions on a multitude of subjects, from every county and from nearly every township. These petitions received due consideration, but the Congress was more materially engaged in scrutinizing the reports of the "associ- ation" and committees corresponding with the Continental Congress for the raising, organizing, and equipping and forwarding of troops; in examining the state of finances of the province, estimating the expendi- tures required for the maintenance of the militia, and carrying on the government. Their attention was largely occupied in deciding com- plaints denouncing loyalists and sympathizers with Great Britain. The amount required for the defense of the colony was estimated at £ 30,000, and proclamation money was ordered printed for that amount, to be paid
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out of a sinking fund to be derived from a tax levied annually in 1784, 1785 and 1786. Middlesex county's apportionment of the £ 10,000 tax was £827 6s. 9d. One of the most important matters connected with the pub- lic defense was a resolution of the Continental Congress recommending to the convention of New Jersey the raising of two battalions of eight companies, each consisting of sixty-eight privates, officered by one cap- tain, one lieutenant, one ensign, four sergeants and four corporals. The privates were to be enlisted for one year at £5 a month. These bat- talions became known as the Eastern and Western Battalions, and on November 10, 1775, six companies of the Eastern were ordered to gar- rison the fort in the Highlands on the Hudson; the remainder of the battalion on November 27, 1775, was ordered into barracks near New York, and were mustered into the Continental army at New York, December 26, 1775, under command of Lord Stirling.
The people of Middlesex county were familiar with the sight of British troops before the commencement of hostilities, the English hav- ing erected barracks at both New Brunswick and Perth Amboy. British troops were in New Jersey as early as 1758, and in December, 1759, a battalion of Royal Scotch over four hundred strong, was quartered at New Brunswick. The first regular garrison was probably composed of the 29th Regiment of Foot, who garrisoned Perth Amboy, New Bruns- wick, and other towns, for a considerable period, and became very popu- lar in the province. It was withdrawn in November, 1771, the next regular garrison being a part of the 60th Regiment, that sailed in Novem- ber, 1772, for Jamaica, and was succeeded by the 47th Regiment. These troops were called to New York in July, 1774, and partook of the dangers of Bunker Hill and Saratoga. The Barracks in Perth Amboy and New Brunswick were then taken possession of by the New Jersey provincial regiments.
The determined stand of the Americans at Bunker Hill, the accept- ance of the office of commander of the American forces by Washington, with the success of Ethan Allen at Ticonderoga, and the American vic- tories in the South, caused the British government to evolve new plans for the conquest of the colonies. The secret policy of the government was to gain possession of New York and the Hudson river, thereby open- ing up communication between Canada and New York, and expose Massachusetts and the eastern colonies to the inroads of the Indians in the pay of the government. The opening of the second year of the War for Independence found Washington waiting impatiently before Bos- ton. His successful fortification of Dorchester Heights led to the evacu- ation of that city and the embarkation of the English troops and royalists for Halifax, Nova Scotia, at 4 o'clock on the morning of March 17, 1776.
General Washington, leaving a force for the protection of Boston, with his main body of troops marched to defend New York. Sir William
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Howe, finding his quarters at Halifax not comfortable, at the close of June arrived at Staten Island with a large body of troops to prevent intercourse between the eastern and middle States, thinking thereby to frustrate any common plan of operation. Washington had not felt him- self able to occupy this island, but deemed it expedient to form a camp in its immediate region, and selected Perth Amboy, placing General Hugh Mercer in command. Troops were in consequence marched towards Perth Amboy, one thousand strong, among the first being four hundred and fifty of the Middlesex militia, commanded by Major John Duyckinck. It was about this time that a British brig-of-war mounting twelve guns entered the harbor at Perth Amboy. The Americans that night procured from the town of Woodbridge an eighteen-pounder gun, placed it behind breastworks, and at dawn opened fire upon the vessel. Though the latter made brisk reply, her commander retired from the conflict, otherwise his ship would have been sunk.
The Committee of Safety met during the recess of the Provincial Congress, at Princeton, New Jersey, January 9, 1776, and established posts at proper distances to carry intelligence to the different parts of the colony. A man and horse was to be in readiness at Newark, Eliza- bethtown, Woodbridge, New Brunswick, Princeton and Trenton, who was to forward all expresses to and from the Continental Congress. This established the first express company in New Jersey.
The first election that gave the right of franchise to all male free- holders twenty-one years of age who had lived in the province one year, who was worth fifty pounds and had signed the articles of association, took place the fourth Monday in May, 1776. The deputies elected from Middlesex county were Moses Bloomfield, John Wetherill, John Dunn, Jonathan D. Sergeant and John Coombs. This congress or convention deposed Governor Franklin and ordered his arrest; it also received the Declaration of Independence, and declared that they would support the freedom and independence of the united colonies with their lives and fortunes and with the whole force of New Jersey.
General Washington and his army were at the Heights of Brooklyn, at York Island and Paulus Hook, where the new entrenched batteries of the Americans were located. The citizens of New York awaited the conflict between the opposing armies. The British force landed on Long Island August 26, gave battle and obtained a complete victory. This led to the occupation of New York City, September 15, 1776. The American forces continued to lose ground around New York, and though on the night of October 16, 1776, General Mercer passed over to Staten Island from Perth Amboy to capture a force of British Hessians stationed at Richmond, the enemy having been warned in advance, but little was accomplished.
In November, 1776, Washington's retreat through New Jersey com- menced. His headquarters were at Hackensack from 19th to 21st of
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November; at Acquackanonck on the 21st; at Newark, 23rd-27th; at New Brunswick, November 30th to December Ist; and at Trenton, December 3rd-12th ; the army crossing the Delaware the 7th. By this retreat New Jersey was left in the undisturbed possession of the enemy, the English taking possession of Perth Amboy, December 1, 1776. Wash- ington, however, having received reinforcements, crossed the Delaware on the night of December 25th, and by the battles of Trenton and Princeton reestablished the supremacy of the American arms south and west of New Brunswick, and went into winter quarters at Morristown.
This was the darkest hour of the War of the Revolution. No aid had been received from France. A portion of the people sympathizing with the invaders, the patriots were everywhere exposed to their bitter hatred, cupidity and treachery. Trade and industry were paralyzed, the hus- bandman only planted for the bare subsistence of his family. Precious metals had vanished from the land, paper money had little value, the means of the patriots were almost exhausted, and their hopes wellnigh extinguished. The numerous responses for volunteers for the army had left only old men and women and children at home; their houses and garners were gleaned of every superfluity and even of the necessities of life.
The British occupied New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, and their vicin- ity, including Six-Mile Run, Middlebrush, Piscataway, Woodbridge and Bonhamtown, from December 2, 1776, till June 22, 1777. It was during this occupation that the true character of the enemy was divulged. The soil was deluged with blood, they plundered friends and foes, suffered prisoners to perish for want of sustenance, violated the chastity of women, disfigured private dwellings and churches. There were also active hostilities, skirmishes being frequent, with varied results. The Jersey militia on January 5, 1777, attacked a regiment of British troops in the neighborhood of Spanktown (Rahway). The object of the attack was to secure possession of a thousand bushels of salt. The skirmish continued two hours, when the enemy being reinforced, the Americans retired from the conflict. The Sixth Virginia Regiment attacked a detachment of the enemy on its way to Perth Amboy from New Bruns- wick, causing a loss of sixty-five in killed and wounded, their commander, Colonel Preston, being killed, and his second in command being danger- ously wounded. The Americans sustained no loss in this engagement.
There was a skirmish at Piscataway between seven hundred Amer- icans and about one thousand British. The latter were at first defeated, but returned and renewed the conflict, obliging the Americans to retire. The foraging and scouting parties of the Americans cut off all com- munication between Perth Amboy and New Brunswick excepting by the Raritan river. Lord Cornwallis' headquarters were at New Bruns- wick, and his detachment becoming short of provisions, a fleet of boats
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coming up the Raritan with the needed supplies, four or five of them were sunk, the others were obliged to return to New York, by the oper- ation of a battery of six thirty-two pounders placed in position on a bluff overlooking the river by the vigilant provincials. General Howe subse- quently attempted to open communication on March 8, in the neighbor- hood of Bonhamtown, but failed, narrowly escaping capture, and New Brunswick continued shut up until late in March. There were several skirmishes between the opposing armies near Bonhamtown. On the night of April 15, a detachment of Americans under Captain Alexander Pater- son, of the Pennsylvania 12th Regiment, attacked the picket guard of the enemy, capturing it entire, twenty-five in number. On May 10 there was a skirmish at Piscataway between portions of Colonels Cork's and Hendrick's regiments and the 7Ist Regiment of Scotch Regulars. The latter was forced to retire, but a reinforcement arriving from Bonham- town, the Highlanders were reinstated, although with considerable loss.
The British did nothing against Washington. Towards the end of May, 1777, he advanced upon New Brunswick, from which place General Howe marched June 14th to take the field against him. The first division under Lord Cornwallis advanced to Hillsborough; the second, com- manded by General De Hiester, marched to Middlebrush, with a view of drawing on an action if the enemy should remove from the mountains toward the Delaware. The Americans, however, retained their position, and General Howe decided to withdraw the British army from New Jersey, returning his troops to the camp at New Brunswick. On June 22 the road was taken for Perth Amboy, intending to cross to Staten Island from thence to embark for New York. The British army crossed over to Staten Island, the rearguard passing Perth Amboy at two o'clock on the afternoon of June 30, without the least appearance of an enemy. This movement was a matter of great perplexity to Washington ; Bur- goyne was in command of a large force in Canada, advancing upon Ticonderoga; in New York, preparations were under way for a sea expedition against either New England or Philadelphia to create a diver- sion in favor of Burgoyne. Washington moved his forces slowly, think- ing the real intention of all these measures was that the British might attempt to ascend the Hudson river, endeavoring to form a junction with Burgoyne. The British fleet went to sea, and Washington prepared to guard Philadelphia. The battles of Brandywine and Germantown decided the issue; the British occupied Philadelphia, and Washington and his army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge.
The two momentous events in the history of the American cause for independence were the massacre at Wyoming, and the surrender of Burgoyne. Thus at the close of 1777, by the first the patriots had gained the sympathy of foreign nations, who were dumbfounded and disgusted by the use of depraved Indians bought by English gold to murder and
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scalp not only men of fighting age, but defenseless men, women and children. In the latter event, Americans had displayed to the world their fearless courage, the ability of their commanders and soldiers to meet experienced troops and obtain a victory, when the odds were to their disadvantage. These two events were to bring to the American cause not only the gold and soldiers of France, but the cooperation of the entire civilized world outside of their inveterate enemies.
The opening of 1778 found the British army in the east, quartered in Philadelphia, New York and Rhode Island, totaling about 33,000 men, while Washington had only about 15,000 to 20,000 men. Sir Henry Clinton, then in supreme command of the British forces, decided in June, 1778, to evacuate Philadelphia, and remove his army to New York. Pro- ceeding leisurely through Haddonfield and Mount Holly, he reached Crosswicks and Allentown, June 24th, having in seven days marched less than forty miles. This slow progress was looked upon by the Amer- icans as if Sir Henry desired an engagement, but it was undoubtedly due for the protection of his wagon train, which was twelve miles long. Washington, leaving Valley Forge, encamped on high grounds at Hope- well on June 23.
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