South Jersey American Revolution History
With a history that spans thousands of millennia, the
mid-17th century arrival of European settlers seems like
only yesterday. Soon after their boats hit shore, the new
settlers constructed the Kings Highway which, a century
later, General Washington would travel during his retreat
from Philadelphia. Thankfully, the road has a new coating or
two of macadam, but the route still winds through the
historic towns of
Salem,
Swedesboro, Haddonfield
and Moorestown, where charming
Main Street shopping districts prosper.
As European settlers arrived, the Original People struggled
to survive in their native land. The Powhatan Renape Nation
miraculously survived disease and war and today, the tribe's
Native American culture is preserved at the
Rankokus Indian
Reservation, which features a Native
American Heritage Museum that celebrates the tribe's arts
and culture, a traditional village and special events,
including an annual arts festival that attracts visitors
from all over the East Coast.
South Jersey continued to grow and by 1676, the Concessions
and Agreements, the original laws of the region, were drawn
up in the
Surveyor General's office in the
City of Burlington.
Despite the pacifist beliefs of its growing Quaker
population, South Jersey became a hotbed of revolution. In
1777, the State Assembly gathered at the
Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield and publicly declared New Jersey to be a
state and not a colony of the Crown, further fueling the
call for war against the British.
Bordentown was home to a "Who's
Who" of 18th century rebels, including Thomas Paine, whose
fiery writings in "Common Sense," got a lot of people –
including Thomas Jefferson -- thinking about independence.
Paine's house survived the American Revolution and can still
be viewed today from the outside.
Not all Bordentown residents were interested in overthrowing
the government. Like most Quakers, the congregation who met
at the simple brick Old Friends Meeting House, built by the
town's original settlers in the 1740s, disapproved of
violence. The Quaker philosophy of simplicity is also
preserved today at the 1738
Smith-Cadbury Mansion in Moorestown, now serving as the town's historical society,
which has preserved generations of quilts, samplers, clocks
and other mementos of Quaker life.
But as the war dragged on, South Jersey bore the brunt of
ferocious battles. The British-led massacre at the
Hancock House in
Salem County was a tragic affair, and legend has it the
floor still bears traces of blood. From what is now
Washington's Crossing State Park, General Washington crossed the Delaware River and launched
a surprise attack on enemy troops encamped in Trenton,
commandeering the Old Barracks
for a field hospital for wounded soldiers.
Oliver
Cromwell, who joined Washington on that dangerous river
crossing, was one of 5,000 African-American soldiers who
joined in the fight against the British and the house where
he spent his final days, still stands in the
City of Burlington.
Meanwhile, Colonel Christopher Greene had his hands full at
the 44-acre
Red
Bank Battlefield, fighting a British and Hessian coalition three times the
size of the American troops. Despite the lopsided resources,
the Americans won, although not before taking over
Whitall
House, a
Quaker farmhouse, for use as a hospital.
Keeping the colonists equipped with ammunition kept the
workers in the Iron Works at historic
Batsto Village quite busy. With its
restored sawmill, general store, grist mill, workers
cottages and mansion, today's Village looks a lot like it
did when it was founded in 1766.
South Jersey was there at the nation's start and continues
to make history centuries later.
Pictured: Old Barracks Museum, Trenton
Courtesy NJ Commerce, Economic Growth & Tourism Commission
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