The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 10

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards
Number of Pages: 1220

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In the Haddonfield budget of legend aud history are many narratives that serve to illustrate the Revolutionary epoch. A Scotch regiment which was encamped about the cen- tre of the town in the winter of 1777-78 made many friends by soldierly conduct. The boys of the village soon ingratiated them- selves into the good graces of the men and exchanged some game for powder. They were subjects of much curiosity because of wearing the full Highland uniform.

Robert Blackwell, D.D., an Episcopal clergyman, who became a chaplain in the American army at the opening of the strug- gle and remained until the end, was a resi- dent of Haddonfield ; his house stood on the east side of Main Street and opposite Tanner Street.

Mrs. Annie Howell, the daughter of Mrs. Abigail Blackwood and widow of Colonel Joshua L. Howell, of Fancy Hill, Gloucester County, was a child in Haddonfield during the war and retained vivid recollections of Lafayette and Pulaski. The former took frequent notice of her, and she never forgot him as an affable, courtly French gentleman. The jewelry he wore was her special admira- tion, and when in her old age she spoke of him she never omitted to mention this fea- ture of his dress. She would describe Pu- laski in his dragoon uniform, wearing a tightly-fitting green jacket and buckskin breeches, mounted on a superb charger and displaying his wonderful horsemanship to the admiring soldiers.

EVACUATION OF PHILADELPHIA AND RETREAT OF THE BRITISH .- All the sur- rounding country was overrun in June, 1778, when the British evacuated Philadelphia, crossed the Delaware at Gloucester and

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marched to New York. They were four days and nights passing through Haddon- field, by reason of the munitions of war and plunder with which they were loaded down. Their wagon-trains seemed to stretch out in- terminably. Bakeries, laundries, hospitals and smith-shops were on wheels, as well as boats, bridges, magazines and medicine-chests. With occasional field work, the troops had lounged the winter through in Philadelphia ; they had stolen everything they could carry on leaving there and along the line of march, and were consequently weighted with lug- gage. Judge Clement has preserved the me- mories of the sufferings of the New Jersey people caused by them. They brought with them a host of camp followers, debased wo- men, who would enter private houses, carry off such things as they might select, and if inter- fered with, would insult the owners by wicked conduct and obscene language. They were outside of military control, and the offi- cers would not interfere with them. To save what they might, the residents drove their cattle to secret places, buried valuables and household adornments in the ground and hid their provisions. The lax discipline of the British, however, was an eventual advantage to the Americans, for it contributed to the victory which Washington gained over them at Monmouth on June 28th.

The Haddonfield farmers formed a league for the protection of their horses and cattle. In a low, swampy piece of timber land, about two miles east of the village, and familiarly known as "Charleston," now part of the farm of George C. Kay, Esq., several acres were surrounded with a strong, high fence, and there the stock was secluded whenever in danger. Once the league's secret was be- trayed by Jacob Wine, a man in their em- ploy, and the British seized every animal within the stockade, but in being removed the horses were stampeded and fled into the forests near Ellisburg, whence the owners subsequently rescued them.

SOME OF OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY'S HEROES. - The most prominent military characters of the county of Gloucester at the commencement of the War of the Revolu- tion, were Colonels Joseph Ellis, Josiah Hillman, Joseph Hugg and Robert Brown, Major William Ellis, Captains Samuel Hugg, John Stokes and John Davis.

Colonel Ellis had'commanded a company in Canada in the French and Indian War, but on the opening of the issue between the mother-country and the colonies he resigned the commission he held of the King and was made a colonel in the Gloucester militia. He was in the battle of Monmouth and sev- eral other engagements, in all of which he fought bravely.

Colonel Hillman was esteemed a good offi- cer and saw much hard service.

Colonel Hugg was appointed commissary of purchase for West Jersey at an early stage of the war, and in that capacity did much for the cause. He was in the battles of Germantown, Shorthills and Monmouth ; and when the British crossed from Philadel- phia to New York he was detailed to drive away the stock along their line of march, in performing which duty he had many narrow escapes from the enemy's light horse.

Colonel Brown lived at Swedesboro', and his regiment was chiefly employed in pre- venting the enemy from landing from their ships and restraining the excursions of the refugees from Billingsport.

Major Ellis was taken prisoner early in the war, and kept for a long time upon Long Island.

Captain Samuel Hugg and Frederick Fre- linghuysen were appointed by an act of the Legislature to command the first two com- panies of artillery raised in New Jersey- Captain Hugg in the Western and Captain Frelinghuysen in the Eastern Division. The former soon raised his company, and in it were a number of young men of fortune and the first families in the State, the Westcoats,

HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Elmers, Seeleys and others, men who after- wards occupied distinguished posts in the local and national governments. This com- pany was at the battles of Trenton and Princeton. When the " Roebuck," (44) was engaged in protecting the operations against the chevaux-de-frise at Billingsport, Captain Hugg's artillerists threw up a small breast- work on the Jersey shore and fought here during a whole day ; but unfortunately their first sergeant, William Ellis, was killed by a cannon-ball, which took off both his legs above the knees. This Ellis was an English- man and had been for several years a recruit- ing officer for the British service in Phila- delphia. He joined the American cause early-like his namesake, was a very brave man-and died much regretted by his com- panions-in-arms.

Captain Stokes commanded a company of mere boys, made up from some of the best families in Gloucester County. These fellows were at the battle of Monmouth, but Colonel Hillman sent them to the rear to gnard the baggage. Stokes was often heard to say afterward that he "never saw so mad a set of youngsters " as these were on being as- signed to so safe a post. They cried with rage at being stationed there after having marched so far to see what fighting was.

Among those who enlisted in the service from the Haddonfield region were John Stafford, James B. Cooper and John Mapes. Because of Stafford's stalwart figure and erect military bearing, he was selected as one of Washington's body-gnard, but at the battle of Germantown was so badly wounded by a shot in the thigh that he was retired from active service. Cooper and Mapes fought in Harry Lee's Light Dragoons, and, after the war, the former commanded several merchant-ships sailing out of Philadelphia. When hostilities with Great Britain began, in 1812, he accepted a commission in the United States navy, and rose to the rank of post-captain. "Mapes," we are told by

Judge Clement, " settled a few miles from the place and took much pleasure in con- versing about the 'Old War,' as he called it. He was a genial, pleasant man ; wore a broad-brimmed hat, with his long clay pipe twisted in the band, never passing an oppor- tunity for using it. His familiar salutation of ' My darling fellow,' whenever he met a friend, is still remembered by the people, whether it was at a public gathering or by his own fireside. Not having much of this world's goods, and living to a ripe old age, the pension allotted him by Congress was the means of making him comfortable in his latter days."

CAPTAIN JAMES B. COOPER was the only child of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Hopwell) Cooper, and was born at Coopers Point, Cam- den. Although of Quaker ancestors and edu- cated in the faith and belief of that Society, yet in his youth being frequently the observant of military excitement, he early in life coveted the desire to become a soldier. The home of his parents was for a time the rendezvous of either American or British troops, and as a boy he became familiar with many stirring events of that period. His father's commands nor his mother's persna- sions and tender solicitnde, would not deter him from joining the partisan corps of Colonel Henry Lee, of the American Army and al- though under age, he managed to get the consent of the commander to follow his fortunes during the stormy times of that eventful war. With others of the neighborhood about, he was mounted and soon became expert in the diffi- cult drill of a cavalryman and a favorite with his companions. He saw much active service, was at the capture of Stony Point and Paulus Hook, in New York, was at the battle of Guilford Court-House and Eutaw Springs, in South Carolina, assisted in the storming of Forts Watson, Mott and Granby, in the last-named State, and was present at the engagements before Galpin and Augusta, in Georgia. He was selected by Colonel Lee

arthrojury

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as the bearer of dispatches to the commander- in-chief, and was entrusted with a flag of truce to the British military authorities, which, under the circumstances, was a delicate and important duty. Many incidents of that event, as related by himself, and to which he was an eye-witness, are now forgotten. He lived long enough, however, after the war to see his country prosperous and her institu- tions command the respect of the nations of the world.

After the close of the war he adopted a sea-faring life, and soon rose to the command of some of the best ships that sailed out of Philadelphia. Upon the opening of the War of 1812, he accepted the position of sailing- master in the navy, but was promoted to the rank of lieutenant for valuable services. At one time he had charge of the gun-boats on the New Jersey coast, placed there to prevent the depredations of the English cruisers. This was a dangerous position, for his vessels, although good sailors, were deficient in the weight of their guns. He had a wary and bold enemy to contend with, which required all his ingenuity to avoid, yet keep watch of their movements so as to inform his superiors in command of a larger craft.

He saw some service after this war, and in 1834 took charge of the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia, where he remained several years. After that duty he returned to Had- donfield, and there lived in the enjoyment of a ripe old age, surrounded by his family and many friends. During this time he was advanced to the rank of post-captain as a compliment for his service through two wars of the nation. He died February 5, 1854, in the ninety-third year of his age, and his remains lie in the Friends' grave-yard at Haddonfield, without any monument to show his last resting-place.

Chews Landing, at the head of naviga- tion on Timber Creek, got its name from the family of a steadfast patriot, Aaron Chew, who, while enjoying a furlough from the

army, was chased into the old tavern on the hill by British cavalry. They fired several volleys into the building, where the bullet- holes may yet be seen, and Chew was made prisoner as he fled. Confined in a prison- ship in New York, he was one of the many Gloucester men who endured extreme torture in those filthy, dark and crowded hulks.

ATTEMPT TO STEAL THE RECORDS OF CONTINENTAL CONGRESS .- James Moody's attempt to steal the records of the Continen- tal Congress is an episode of the war which culminated at Camden. He was a Tory and a lieutenant in Skinner's brigade of the British army, and had made himself famous for his daring and his intense hatred of the patriots long before he undertook the adven- ture which proved so signal a failure. One Ad- dison, an Englishman by birth, but who had become a thorough American in feeling, was employed, in a clerical capacity, by Charles Thomson, secretary of the Conti- nental Congress. Having been captured by the British and imprisoned in New York, he proposed to Major Beckwith, aide-de- camp to the Hessian general Knyphausen, that if he was released or exchanged, he would steal the secret documents of Congress and place them in the custody of the agent whom Knyphausen might designate. Beck- with fell into the trap set by the cunning Englishman, and enlisted Moody, who had on several occasions captured the dispatches of Washington and other American com- manders, and was entirely familiar with the country. Moody was equally hood winked, and leagued with himself his brother and an- other Tory named Marr. Addison was set free and left New York for Philadelphia. Moody and his aids followed him, and, on November 7, 1781, they met Moody on the Camden side of the Delaware. What fol- lowed is told by the Tory himself in a little pamphlet which he wrote. When old and poor he sought refuge in England and be- sought the British government for assistance :

HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

" Lieutenant Moody kept a little back, at such a distance as not to have his person distinguished, yet so as to be within hearing of the conversation that passed. His brother and Marr, on going up to Addison, found him apparently full of confi- dence and in high spirits, and everything seemed to promise success. He told them that their plot was perfectly ripe for execution, that he had se- cured the means of admission into the most pri- vate recesses of the State-House, so that he should be able the next evening to deliver to them the papers they were in quest of. Soon after they crossed the river to Philadelphia, and it is probable that on the passage Addison was for the first time informed that their friend was Lieutenant Moody. Whether it was this discovery that put it first into his head, or whether he had all along intended it and had already taken the necessary previous steps, the lieutenant cannot certainly say, but he assures himself that every generous-minded man will be shocked when he reads that this per- fidious wretch had either sold or was about to sell them to the Congress.

" As the precise time in which they should be able to execute their plan could not be ascertained, it was agreed that Lieutenant Moody should re- main at the ferry-house opposite to Philadelphia till they returned. On going into the house, he told the mistress of it by a convenient equivoca- tion that he was an officer of the Jersey brigade, as he really was, though of that Jersey brigade which was in the King's service. The woman un- derstood him as speaking of a rebel corps, which was also called the Jersey brigade. To avoid notice, he pretended to be indisposed, and going up-stairs, he threw himself upon a bed and here continued to keep his room, but always awake and always on the watch. Next morning about eleven o'clock he saw a man walk hastily up to the house and overheard him telling some person at the door that ' there was the devil to pay in Philadel- phia, that there had been a plot to break into the State-House, but that one of the party had be- trayed the others, that two were already taken, and that a party of soldiers had just crossed the river with him to seize their leader, who was said to be hereabouts.' The lieutenant felt himself to be too nearly interested in this intelligence any longer to keep up the appearance of a sick man, and seiz- ing his pistols, he instantly ran down-stairs and made his escape.

"He had not got a hundred yards from the house when he saw the soldiers enter it. A small piece of woods lay before him, in which he hoped, at least, to be out of sight, and he had sprung the fence in order to enter it. But it was already lined by a party of horse with a view of cutting off his retreat. Thus surrounded, all hopes of flight were in vain, and to seek for a hiding-place in a clear, open field seemed equally useless. With hardly a hope of escaping so much as a moment longer undiscovered, he threw himself flat on his face in a ditch, which yet seemed of all places the least calculated for concealment, for it was without weeds or shrubs and so shallow that a quail might be seen in it; . .. yet, as Providence ordered it, the improbability of the place proved the means of his security. He had lain there but a few minutes, when six of his pursuers passed within ten feet of him and very diligently examined a thickety part of the ditch that was but a few paces from him. With his pistols cocked, he kept his eye constantly upon them, determining that as soon as he saw himself to be discovered by any of them, he would instantly spring up and sell his life as dearly as might be, and, refusing to be taken alive, provoke, and if possible, force them to kill him. Once or twice he thought he saw one of the soldiers look at him, and he was on the point of shooting the man. . . From the ditch they went all around the ad- jacent field, and, as Lieutenant Moody sometimes a little raised up his head, he saw them frequently running their bayonets into some tall stacks of Indian corn fodder. This suggested to him an idea that if he could escape till night, a place they had already explored would be the securest place for him. When night came he got into one of those stacks. The wind was high, which prevented the rustling of the leaves of the fodder as he en- tered from being heard by the people who were passing close by him into the country in quest of him. His position in this retreat was very uncom- fortable, for he could neither sit nor lie down. In this erect posture, however, he remained two nights and two days without a morsel of food, for there was no corn on the stalks, and, which was in- finitely more intolerable, without drink. We must not relate, for reasons which may be easily imag- ined, what became of him immediately after his coming out of this uneasy prison, but we will ven- ture to inform the readers that on the fifth night after his elopement from the ferry-house he

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searched the banks of the Delaware until he had the good fortune to meet with a small boat. Into this he jumped and rowed a considerable way up the river. In due time he left his boat, and, re- lying on the aid of Loyalists, after many circui- tous marches, all in the night, and through path- less courses, in about five days he once more ar- rived at New York."

LOCAL PATRIOTISM .- The leading fami- lies in the Gloucester neighborhood are de- scribed by Judge Clement as being strongly imbued with the spirit of liberty, and no op- portunity was passed for giving information that would assist the Continental cause.

"To insure protection the enemy's pickets were kept on and along the King's road, which crossed Little Timber Creek at the Two Tuns tav- ern, kept by an old lady known as Aunty High Cap. The road extending southerly, passed close in front of the Browning homestead and over Big Timber Creek, where the old bridge formerly stood. Going southerly from the old tavern, it went near the former residence of Jonathan Atkinson and through Mount Ephraim toward Haddonfield. The section of country lying between this old road and the river was the scene of many encounters, num- berless reconnoissances and much strategy, and traditions are still remembered touching their pur- pose and success, while others are lost sight of and forgotten. All these grew out of the increasing vigilance of the people toward their common en- emy. Aunty High Cap's was the hostelry where the British officers inost did congregate, where military rank and discipline were laid aside, and where the feast of reason and flow of soul was most enjoyed."

At one of these revels an officer was killed by a rifle-shot fired by a man standing on the porch of the Atkinson residence, at least a mile distant, and many of the English believed that it was not accidental, but rather an un- welcome evidence of the expertness of New Jersey marksmen.

The ocean side of Old Gloucester, that which is now comprised in Atlantic County, was the locality of some memorable Revolu- tionary incidents. Smugglers, whose object it

was to run goods, especially groceries and liquors, through the British lines and into Philadelphia, abounded along the coast, and undertook many intrepid operations. In light-draft vessels they stole up Mullica River to the forks of Egg Harbor, where the contraband stuff was placed upon wagons and hauled across the country, passing through Haddonfield on the way to a profitable mar- ket in the city. Almost every swamp along the route had its secret places of deposit, and the loyalty of the people to the American cause had much to do with making this kind of trade successful.

Egg Harbor was a station on the route of the refugees who were passing north and south during the war or following the move- ments of the British forces, with whom alone they were safe from their indignant country- men. They had innumerable encounters with the hardy sailors and fishermen along the shore, who were zealous Americans and ever ready to display their abomination of the ad- herents of royalty. The New Jersey State Gazette, which was published at Trenton, contains in its files the following record of events of that period on the Gloucester sea- front :

" March 31, 1779 .- In the late snow-storm the transport ship 'Mermaid,' of Whitehaven, England, with troops from Halifax bound to New York, was driven on shore and bilged at Egg Harhor. After being in this miserable situation from five o'clock on Monday morning until noon on Tuesday, a boat came off to their relief and saved only forty-two souls out of one hundred and eighty-seven."

" August 25, 1779 .- By a sailor from Egg Har- bor we are informed that on Wednesday last the schooner ' Mars,' Captain Taylor, fell in with a ves- sel mounting fourteen guns, which he boarded and took. She proved to be a British packet from Falmouth, England, to New York. Captain Tay- lor took the mail and prisoners, forty-five in num- ber; but on Saturday last fell in with a fleet of twenty-three sail, under convoy of a large ship and frigate, when the latter gave chase to the frigate

HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

and retook her. Captain Taylor got safe into Egg Harbor."

"September 11, 1782 .- Last week Captain Doug- lass, with some of the militia of Gloucester Coun- ty, attacked a refugee boat at Egg Harbor, with eighteen refugees on board, of whom fourteen were shot or drowned ; the rest made their escape."

"December 18, 1782 .- Captain Jackson, of the 'Greyhound,' on the evening of Sunday, last week, with much address within the Hook the schooner 'Dolphin ' and sloop 'Diamond,' bound from New York to Halifax, and brought them both into Egg Harbor. These vessels were both condemned to the claimants, and the amount of sales amounted to £10,500."

Thus privateering, fighting, smuggling and saving the lives of the shipwrecked enemy combined to furnish exciting employment and perilous adventure to the dwellers by the seaboard. In 1781-82 they were pestered with parties of Cornwallis' troops, who had escaped from the Virginia cantonment in which they were confined after his surrender at Yorktown, and were making their way to New York. Captain John Davis was posted with a company at Egg Harbor to look out for the fugitives, and got wind of a party of twenty-one, who were concealed in the woods and waiting for a vessel to take them off. He ambushed nineteen men near where they were to emhark, and when they appeared on the shore, he killed or recaptured every one of them after a hand-to-hand fight.

Mickle obtained from some of the survi- vors of the war another incident of Davis' expedition, which he thus relates,-

"On one occasion his (Davis') lieutenant, Ben- jamin Bates, with Richard Powell, a private, called at a house where Davis had been informed that two refugee officers were lodging. Bates got to the house before any of the family had risen, ex- cept two girls, who were making a fire in the kitchen. He inquired if there were any persons in the house beside the family, and was answered, ' None except two men from up in the country.' He bade the girls show him where they were, which they did. In passing through a room separating the kitchen from the bed-room, he saw two pistols

lying on a table. Knocking at the door, he was refused admittance, but finding him determined to enter, the two refugees finally let him in. They refused to tell their names, but were afterwards found to be William Giberson and Henry Lane, refugee lieutenants, the former a notorious rascal who had committed many outrages and killed one or two Americans in cold blood. On their way to the quarters of Davis' company, Giberson called Bates' attention to something he pretended to see at a distance, and while Bates was looking in that direction Giberson started in another, and, being a very fast runner, although Bates fired his musket at him, he managed to escape.

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The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 10

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards Number of Pages: 1220

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards
Number of Pages: 1220