USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 1 > Part 27
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"Two memorials, the one from the County Committee of Safety of that County, respecting certain disaffected persons in said County, and requesting that this Congress would take some decisive order therein, were read, and ordered a second reading.
"Congress received a letter from Colonel cester, who is hereby commanded to keep said Taylor of Monmouth, dated ten o'clock in the persons in close and safe confinement until this forenoon of this day, informing that nineteen Congress, or Committee of Safety, shall take sail of the enemy's fleet lies at the Hook, and further order therein : And you are also to forty-five in sight; read and filed. Ordered, apprehend Anthony Woodward, junior, Joseph That the President write to the Continental
Congress, enclosing a copy of the above letter, and requesting a supply of powder.
"Tuesday, July 2 .- Resolved, That in the opinion of this Congress, the militia of Mon- mouth County ought, for the present, to remain as by the late ordinance of this Congress were required to form their proportion of the New
" Henry Waddell, Esq., captain of a grenadier company in the militia of Monmouth, having, by petition, prayed that this Congress would ac- cept a resignation of his commission, assigning for reason that he was so frequently afflicted with the gout that he was rendered incapable of doing the duty of an officer; Ordered, that his resignation be accepted.
"July 4th .- Whereas, this Congress has been given to understand that divers persons in the exigencies of this Colony, and fully coin- ' the County of Monmouth, have embodied them- cide with the resolve of the Honourable Conti- selves in opposition to the measures of Con- mental Congress of the 15th of May last ; read, | gress ; and are informed that numbers have ex- and ordered a second reading. pressed their willingness to return to their duty . "Saturday, June 29 .- A petition from the upon assurances of pardon, alledging that they
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have been seduced and misled by the false and malicious reports of others ; It is therefore de- clared, That all such persons as shall without delay return peaceably to their homes, and con- form to the orders of Congress, shall be treated with lenity and indulgence ; and upon their good behaviour, shall be restored to the favour of their country; provided that none such as shall appear to have been the leaders and principals in those disorders, who to their other guilt have added that of seducing the weak and unwary shall yet be treated' according to their demerits.
"Trenton, Friday, July 5, 1776 .- Ordered, that Colonel Joseph Borden do provide wagons, and every other necessary, to accommodate the rifle battalion of Pennsylvania, consisting of five hundred men under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Broadhead, in their march to Monmouth County, the place of their desti- 'nation.
"July 5 .- Ordered, That the President do take the parole of honour of Mr. John Law- rence, of Monmouth County, not to depart the house of Mr. Renssellier Williams; and, if Mr. Lawrence should refuse to give the same, that the President order him to be confined under such guard as he may deem necessary.
" Tuesday, July 9 .- Colonel Breese having resigned his commission of Colonel of the third battalion of militia in the County of Mon- mouth, assigning for reason the great backward- ness of the people ; himself so indifferently at- tended on field days, and so few ready to turn out, hiding themselves and deserting their houses, when called upon to defend the shore; Or- dered, That his resignation be accepted. Or- dered, That Daniel Hendrickson; Esq., be Colonel of the third battalion of foot militia in the County of Monmouth.
" Tuesday, July 23 .- Whereas, the Honour- able Continental Congress have resolved, 'That it be earnestly recommended to the Convention of New Jersey to cause all the stock on the sea coast, which they shall apprehend to be in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, to be immediately removed and driven back into the country to a place of safety.' And whereas, this Convention deem it necessary that . the above resolution should be carried into im- after some time spent therein,
mediate effect, particularly in the County of Monmouth, which is at present most exposed to depredations, It is therefore unanimously resolred and directed, That the County Committee of Monmouth proceed, without delay, to remove all the stock on their coast which may be in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy back into the country, to a place or places of safety.
"Convention being informed that Colonel Hendrickson, of Monmouth, was at the door and desired admittance, Ordered that he attend.
"Colonel Hendrickson informed Convention that the Monmouth coast was exposed extremely to the incursions and depredations of the enemy, and requested that a guard might be stationed along the same, and maintained at the publick expence. He further informed Convention that some of his negro slaves had run off, and were on board the enemy's fleet ; that he had reason to believe he could recover the said slaves if he were permitted to send a flag, and requesting that, thro' the interference of this House, he might have such permission.
"Ordered, That Oake Wikoff, Esq., be Lieu- tenant-Colonel, Denice Denice, Esq., First Ma- jor, and Hendrick Van Brunt, Esq., to be Second Major of the third battalion of the foot militia in the County of Monmouth.
"Saturday, July 27 .- Ordered, That Captain John Cook, of Monmouth, be directed to take to his assistance as many of the militia as he shall find necessary, and apprehend any persons whom he has reason to suspect of enlisting or being enlisted for the British army, and to take them before the County Committee of Mon- mouth, who are required to commit or discharge such accused persons, as they shall find necessary.
" Monday, July 29 .- Jacob Wardell, Joseph Wardell and Peter Wardell, persons appre- hended by a detachment of the Monmouth militia, on account of furnishing the enemy with provisions, were brought before the House, and witnesses examined in support of the charge ; Ordered, That the determination there- of be deferred till to-morrow.
"Tuesday, July 30 .- Convention resumed the consideration of the charge against Jacob War- dell, Joseph Wardell, and Peter Wardell ; and,
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"Ordered, That Jacob Wardell be committed to the custody of the Sheriff of Monmouth, to be by him safely kept until discharged by this Convention, or delivered by due course of law.
" Ordered, That Joseph Wardell and Peter Wardell be discharged on giving bond, each with security in the sum of five hundred pounds for their future good behaviour, and for their appearance when called upon by the Con- vention or future Legislature of this State. The County Committee of Monmouth are directed to take the said bond, and to judge of the se- curity.
" Ordered, That Jacob Wardell pay twenty- eight Pounds seven Shillings and eleven Pence, Proclamation money, being the expense of ap- prehending and bringing him before this Con- vention, and conducting him to the Sheriff of Monmouth.
" August 1 .- Resolved, That it be recom- mended to the County Committee of Mon- mouth, and to the several Township Committees and Colonels of the battalions in the said County, that they assist Captain Wikoff by fur- nishing him with arms for his levies in General Heard's brigade, as far as they may be able, to expedite the equipment of the said levies. It is further recommended to the said Committees and Colonels that Captain Wikoff be furnished with such of the arms and accoutrements taken from non-associators, etc., within their bounds, as may be fit for service, he giving sufficient vouchers on receiving the said arms.
" August 2 .- Guisebert Guisebertson, Captain of a company in the second battalion of foot militia in the County of Monmouth, having re- signed his commission for reasons mentioned in his letter ; Ordered, That his resignation be accepted.
" The petition of sundry persons in the sec- ond battalion of Monmouth ; read the second time, and referred to the same Committee.
"The memorial of Captain Hankinson, of Monmouth, setting forth that he had raised a company of minute-men to continue in service for the space of two months, agreeable to the directions of the late Committee of Safety ; that the said company had been called to the Hook on the arrival of General Howe ; and praying that
the said company may be paid for such service ; an account of which accompanied the aforesaid memorial ; read, and referred to the Committee of Accounts."
On the 17th of July the Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence by the adoption of this resolution,-viz. :
" Whereas, The Honorable Continental Congress have declared the United Colonies Free and Inde- pendent States: We, the Deputies of New Jersey in Provincial Congress assembled, do resolve and declare that we will support the freedom and independence of the said States with our lives and fortunes, and with the whole force of New Jersey."
And on the following day it was by the same body
" Resolved, That this House from henceforth, instead of the style and title of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, do adopt and assume the style and title of the Convention of the State of New Jersey.".
On the same day (July 18th) an ordinance was passed defining the crime of treason against the State of New Jersey, and making it punish- able " in like manner as by the ancient laws of this State,"-that is, by the infliction of the per- alty of death.
The old colonial Legislature of New Jersey had held its sessions and (nominally) exercised its functions in 1775 until the 6th of December in that year, when Governor Franklin pro- rogued the House, and this proved to be its dis- solution. The Governor, who was notoriously inimical to the American cause, issued his proc- lamation in the following May, calling a session on June 20th, but this was met by prompt ac- tion on the part of the Provincial Congress, which, on the 14th of June,
" Resolved, That in the opinion of this Congress the Proclamation of William Franklin, late Governor of New Jersey, bearing date on the thirtieth day of May last, in the name of the King of Great Britain, ap- pointing a meeting of the General Assembly to be held on the twentieth day of this instant June, ought not to be obeyed."
This action had the desired effect ; the colonial Legislature never reassembled. On the 16th of June the Congress
" Resolved, That in the opinion of this Congress the said William Franklin, Esquire, by such proclama-
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
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tion, has acted in direct contempt and violation of the resolve of the Continental Congress of the fifteenth of May last. That in the opinion of this Congress the said William Franklin, Esquire, has discovered him- self to be an enemy to the liberties of this country ; and that measures ought to be immediately taken for securing the person of the said William Franklin, Esquire."
On the same day, orders were issued to Colo- nel Nathaniel Heard, of the First Battalion of Middlesex militia, to wait on the Governor, to . offer him a parole, by which he was to agree to remain quietly at Princeton, Bordentown or on his farm at Rancocas (whichever he might elect), and, in case of his refusal to sign this parole, to arrest him. On the 17th, Colonel Heard and Major Deare proceeded to Amboy, waited on the Governor, offered him the parole, and, upon his refusal to sign it, surrounded his house with a guard of sixty men to hold him prisoner until further orders were received from Congress. The orders came to remove the Governor to Burlington, and he was accordingly taken there. Upon examination he was adjudged a violent enemy to his country and a dangerous person, and he was then placed in custody of Lieutenant- Colonel Bowes Read to await orders from the Continental Congress. On the 25th of June orders were received to send him, under guard, to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, who was requested, in case of Franklin's refusal to sign a parole, to treat him as a prisoner, agrecably to the resolutions of Congress applying to such cases. He was accordingly sent to Connecticut, placed in custody of Governor Trumbull, and never returned to this State. This was the end of the civil authority of King George in New Jersey.
The constitution adopted on the 2d of July, 1776, vested the government of the State in a Governor,' Legislative Council and General Assembly, the members of the Council and As- sembly to be chosen for the first time on the second Tuesday in the following August, and afterwards, annually, on the second Tuesday in October. The members elected in 1776, in con-
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formity to these provisions, met in October of that year, and organized as the first Legislature of New Jersey under the State constitution, suc- ceeding to the powers and functions of the Pro- vincial Congress and the Convention of the State of New Jersey, and continuing to exercise those powers as a permanent body.
Although New Jersey had been actively en- gaged in military preparations from the time when the warlike news from Lexington sped across her hills and streams, it was not until . the winter and spring of 1776-the time when Washington sent his warning that the British commander in Boston was probably contemplat- ing the movement of his forces to New York- that the people of this province began to realize the immediate danger of actual invasion, and that the lapse of a few weeks might whiten their valleys and highlands with the tents of a hostile army.
It has already been mentioned that when the designs of General Howe became apparent, the battalion of New Jersey Continental troops un- der Lord Stirling was moved from Elizabeth- town to New York, and that a regiment of min- ute-men under Colonel Charles Stewart was or- dered to march " with all possible expedition " to the same place, but was prevented from doing so by lack of the necessary arms. On the 1st of March, 1776, the Continental Congress com- missioned Lord Stirling a brigadier-general, and immediately afterwards he assumed command of all the troops at New York, General Lee hav- ing been ordered to other duty. On the 20th of March the force under Stirling's command 2 comprised his own New Jersey battalion (about five hundred men, sick and well), five hundred minute-men from Dutchess and Westchester Counties, N. Y., about two hundred New Jersey militia,3 and two Connecticut regiments, under Colonels Ward and Waterbury, numbering in the aggregate about one thousand men, whose
" The constitution provided that the Governor should be elected annually by the Council and Assembly in joint ballot.
2 In the evening of the 20th the command was assumed by Lord Stirling's senior, Brigadier-General Thompson, who had then just arrived from Philadelphia. A few days later, however, he was ordered to Canada, and the com- mand again devolved on Lord Stirling.
3 Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society, vol. ii. pp. 151, 152.
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term of service was then within a few days of its expiration. All of this force, except the neces- sary guards, was at that time employed in the erection of defensive works in and around New York and on Long Island, "assisted by about one thousand inhabitants of the city, who turned out on this occasion with great alacrity, the in- habitants and negroes taking their tour of duty regularly." The force was immediately after- wards augmented by two other regiments from Connecticut, under Colonels Dyar and Wil- liams.
For eight months following the time when General Washington assumed command 1 of the American forces his army lay in fortified camps encircling the British post in Boston, which place he was fully determined to occupy, though he preferred to do so by foreing the enemy to evacuate rather than to risk the chances of bat- tle. At first the British commander felt secure and confident of his ability to continue his occu- pation of the city, but in the winter of 1775-76 Washington discovered strong indications of an intention on the part of the enemy to withdraw, and he so notified the Continental Congress. He relaxed none of his vigilance, however, but pushed his military preparations with energy. The final movement which compelled the evac- uation was the occupation and fortifying of Dor- chester Heights during the night of the 4th and 5th of March. The morning of the 5th revealed to the astonished eyes of General Howe a for- midable line of earthworks upon the crest, with cannon mounted on the ramparts commanding his position ; and from that moment he resolved on an immediate evacuation of the city. On the 7th, Howe called a council of war, at which it was decided to evacuate the place without delay. He had threatened to burn the town if his army was molested in its departure, and the terrified inhabitants (largely composed of loyal- ists) waited upon him, imploring him to spare it. The result was a promise on the part of the British commander to leave the town unmolested if Washington would allow him to depart in
avoid bloodshed and the destruction of the place, tacitly consented; and so, on the morning of Sunday, March 17th, the British troops marched | to the wharves and, embarking, took their final departure. The fleet dropped down the bay to | Nantasket Roads, where it lay at anchor for ten days, and then put to sea.
Although it was announced that the British fleet, with Howe's army on board, was bound for Halifax, there to await reinforcements from England, General Washington suspected that its real destination was New York, and, leaving a sufficient force to occupy Boston, he put his army in motion for the former city, and arrived there in person on the 14th of April. He at once commenced active preparations for repel- ling the expected enemy by strengthening the defensive works already erected by Lee and Lord Stirling, by constructing additional forti- fications at several points, by a thorough reor- ganization of his forces and by laying before Congress the urgent necessity of providing re- inforcements.
On the 3d of June the Continental Congress resolved "That a flying camp be immediately established in the middle colonies, and that it consist of ten thousand men, . . . " to be made up of militia furnished by Pennsylvania, Mary- land and Delaware ; and on the same day " Re- solred, That thirteen thousand eight hundred militia be employed to reinforce the army at New York," of which number the quota assigned to New Jersey was three thousand three hun- dred men. On the 14th of June the Congress of New Jersey passed an ordinance directing that this number of men, in forty companies, to --- compose five battalions, all to form one brigade, to be " immediately got in readiness and marched to New York under the command of a brigadier- general," the battalions to be raised by volun- tary enlistment, to continue in service till the 1st of December following, unless sooner discharged. The quotas assigned to each of the counties, and the field-officers appointed to the command of the several battalions, were as follows :
One battalion to be made up of three com- Essex, and two companies from Burlington. Officers : Philip Van Cortland, Colonel ; David
quiet. The American general, not unwilling to panies from each of the counties of Bergen and
1 At Cambridge, July 12, 1775.
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
Brearly, Lieutenant-Colonel ; Richard Dey, Major.
One battalion of four companies from each of ' ' the counties of Middlesex and Monmouth. Of- ficers : Nathaniel Heard, Colonel; David For- man, Lieutenant-Colonel ; Thomas Henderson, Major.
One battalion of four companies each from . Morris and Sussex. Officers : Ephraim Mar- tin, Colonel ; John Munson, Lieutenant-Colo- . nel ; Cornelius Ludlow, Major.
One battalion composed of two companies from each of the counties of Burlington, Cum- berland, Gloucester and Salem. Officers : Silas Newcomb, Colonel ; Bowes Reed, Lieutenant- Colonel ; - , Major.
1
One battalion composed of three companies from Somerset and five companies from Hun- terdon County. Officers : Stephen Hunt, Col- onel ; Philip Johnston, Lieutenant-Colonel ; Joseph Phillips, Major. Dr. Cornelius Bald- win was appointed surgeon of this battalion.
Joseph Reed was appointed brigadier-general and assigned to the brigade formed of these five battalions, but for some cause which does not appear, he did not assume the command, and on the 21st of June the Congress "Ordered, That the President write to General Livingston and inform him that it is the desire of Congress that he would take the command of the militia destined for New York." He declined to ac- cept it, however, and on the 25th of the same month Colonel Nathaniel Heard, of Middlesex, was appointed brigadier-general and placed in command of the brigade, which, under him, was soon after marched to reinforce the army at New York. But on the 24th of July a letter ad- dressed by General Washington to the Conven- tion of New Jersey 1 was read before that body, informing them "that the brigade under Gen- eral Heard was far from being complete, and urging the necessity of raising and forwarding the new levies destined to reinforce the army at New York ;" whereupon it was by the Con- vention "Ordered, That a letter be written to General Washington informing that several
companies were on their way to join the bri- gade; and that this Convention will use its ut- most efforts to furnish its quota, and to give His Excellency such other aid as the weal of the United States may require and the condition of this State will admit."
When the British commander, General Howe, evacuated Boston, in March, 1776, he sailed with his forces to Halifax, as had been an- nounced, with the intention of awaiting there the arrival of reinforcements from England. But, as these did not arrive at or near the time when they were expected, he became wearied by the delay, and on the 10th of June set sail from that port with the troops of his command, bound for Sandy Hook, where a part of the force arrived on the 25th of the same month, and were soon followed by others, including the commanding general, who disembarked his army on Staten Island to await the arrival of the squadron from England, under command of his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, who en- tered the bay with part of his fleet on the 12th of July ; but it was not until the middle of August that the last of the reinforcements ar- rived.
The appearance of Howe's forces on Staten Island caused great consternation throughout New Jersey,2 particularly in the eastern portion
2 In the " Minutes of the Provincial Congress and Coun- cil of Safety," under date June, 1776, is found the follow- ing : "Congress received a letter from Colonel Taylor, of Monmouth, dated 10 o'clock in the forenoon of this day, informing that nineteen sail of the enemy's fleet [meaning the ships of General Howe from Halifax, and not the men-of- war under Admiral Howe] lies at the Hook, and forty-five in sight ; read and refiled. Ordered, That the President write to the Continental Congress inclosing a copy of the above letter, and requesting a supply of powder." And in the proceedings of the same day is the following : "Cer- tain advice being received of the arrival of General Howe at Sandy Hook : Ordered, That all officers who have enlisted men properly armed, under the late ordinance for raising three thousand three hundred men within this Colony, proceed immediately with such numbers as they have col- lected, or can collect, without delay to New York, assign- ing a due proportion of officers to the men, that they may be ready, and leaving other officers, as occasion may re- quire, to collect the remainder. All officers, paymasters, and others are required to be diligent in their respective Colony are most earnestly entreated now to exert them-
1 Minutes of the Provincial Congress and Council of | stations ; and all the friends of Liberty throughout the "Safety, 1775-76, page 518.
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MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION.
of the State, and this alarm was greatly in- creased and intensified when the bay and all the adjacent waters became black with the almost innumerable ships of the British fleet. The Tory element, too, which was by no means in- considerable in numbers, became at once ram- pant, and was especially aggressive in the county of Monmouth, as has already been noticed. With reference to the Tory bands in the county, the Provincial Congress, on the 26th of June, ordered that Colonel Charles Reed, with two com- panies of Burlington militia, proceed to capture them, taking also for the purpose all the militia of Monmouth County, if found neces- sary.
The troops of the "Flying Camp," com- posed of men from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware, and under command of General Hugh Mercer, were stationed at Perth Amboy,1 and at points north of that place, opposite the west shore of Staten Island. The nominal strength of this corps was ten thousand men, but it had never actually reached that figure, and now it had been materially reduced by de- tachments, amounting to two thousand men, sent to General Washington, at New York ; so that at this critical time, when this portion of the New Jersey frontier was peculiarly liable to invasion by the army of Howe, the guarding force became wholly insufficient. In view of this imminent danger, the Continental Congress
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