The Monmouth County Historical Association is proudd to announce the MSW Youth Leadership Award, in honor of Meg Sharp Walton and the leadership and good citizenship qualities she inspires. MSW Make History NOW Youth Leadership Award Qualities to Encourage and Celebrate History is not just something we look back on; it is in the making every day by those all around us. The archives of the Monmouth County Historical Association hold the stories not only of those whose names we all recognize - George Washington, Abigail Adams, Bruce Springsteen, Booker T. Washington, and many more - but of countless everyday people who made history locally and beyond. Most had no idea that they would be remembered over centuries for the same qualities we admire today - honesty, good judgment, leadership in the face of adversity or challenges, inclusivity, forward-thinking vision, problem-solving, and the ability to rise to the top through personal achievement and hard work. These are the qualities MCHA is looking to reward in our Monmouth County K-12 students with the Meg Sharp Walton Make History Now award. $100 and a certificate of recognition, to be recorded in the MCHA archives, will be awarded annually to a Monmouth County student who demonstrates one or more of the qualities aforementioned in a way that made a positive impact on our community or even just a single person. Whether it is standing up for what is right, making a positive change, or taking on a challenge or cause you believe in, there are countless ways to make history. Please check out website for our nomination form. Our honoree will be selected each August. Keep your eyes out for our future leaders and outstanding citizens - MCHA wants to know about them! MSW Make History Now Nomination Form In 500 words or less for each question, answer the following in a separate MS Word or Google document and upload the document through the form. Please do not forget to fill out the form fields before submitting. If you have any difficulty, please email us. We will be taking submissions through April 1st of 2025, with the announcement of the winner in May. You will be contacted if your nominee is selected! 1. How has this student demonstrated one or a combination of the following qualities: a. Honesty b. Good judgment c. Leadership in the face of adversity or challenges d. Inclusivity e. Forward-thinking vision f. Problem-solving g. Ability to rise to the top through personal achievement and hard work 2. What was the impact of these qualities on the community, or the person/persons affected? Your Name Name of Nominee Upload File Upload supported file (Max 15MB) Your Email Nominee's School and Town SUBMIT Thanks for submitting! Want to Support this Fund? Click HERE and check the box that says "I would like to dedicate this donation." Check "In honor of" and place "MSW Award" in the notes field. Thank you for your generosity and support! Meg Sharp Walton is the Executive Director of the Monmouth County Historical Commission, and a museum professional for over 20 years. The qualities that Meg has demonstrated to the history community and those who have worked with her have inspired this award!

The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > Joseph Murray Killed While Tending His Fields by Michael Adelberg Militiaman Joseph Murray was killed in his field outside of his farmhouse by a small Loyalist raiding party. Murray’s vulnerable location and anti-Loyalist track record made him an obvious target. - June 1780 - Joseph Murray was born in Ireland and came to America in 1767. He married Rebecca Morris and settled on a small, 43-acre farm in eastern Middletown Township, in between the Raritan Bay and the Navesink River. The location would prove important a decade later because it left the Murray farmstead vulnerable to Loyalist attack from two directions, and gave would-be attackers two potential escape routes. A Steadfast Supporter of the Revolution Murray was an early and faithful supporter of the American Revolution. In January 1775, he was among 35 men—including several future militia officers—who voluntarily mustered under David Forman in what may have been Monmouth County’s first militia company loyal to the county’s Committee of Correspondence and state’s Provincial Congress (and not its Royal Governor). While many of the privates in Forman’s company transitioned into officer positions as the county militia took shape, Murray remained a private. This is likely a reflection of his small estate rather than a lack of zeal. There is no reason to think that Murray was anything but steadfast in his support for the Revolution despite many of his neighbors hedging their bets and maintaining friendly contacts with Loyalists. In March 1778, Murray testified before the New Jersey Supreme Court against Joseph Leonard, the former Monmouth County Clerk , for "joining the Army of the King of Britain" a year earlier. Four other people testified against Leonard and four more testified in support of Leonard. The jury chose to convict Leonard "without going into the jury box." A year later, Murray filed a trespass charge against George Taylor, the former colonel of the county militia who turned Loyalist and raised a Loyalist militia . Taylor led several small raids into Monmouth County 1777. Taylor had apparently crossed Murray’s land on one of these raids and Murray decided to file charges against Taylor long after the fact. If Murray did not previously have influential Loyalist enemies at the start of the war, he did now. According to antiquarian sources, Murray was captured by Loyalists in 1779 and jailed in New York. But he escaped and rejoined the militia in January 1780. He took a horse from Edward Taylor (the disaffected father of George Taylor, still living in Middletown) and under his captain, William Schenck, arrested disaffected men (for reasons not stated). The Killing of Joseph Murray On June 7, 1780, Murray was given leave from his officers to return home. He went home, hitched a horse (perhaps Taylor’s horse) to his plow, and started plowing his fields. There, a three-man Loyalist party killed him. Garrett Hendrickson, Murray’s Lieutenant, stated that Murray, "after being home for a few hours, he was killed by three refugees, near his barn, and left a wife and four small children." Antiquarian sources add that Murray rarely slept at his house due to the danger, but went home to plant his fields before it was too late in the season. He was warned by his neighbors about the danger, and brought a musket into the field with him, but leaned the gun against his fence. Murray was rushed by the raiders as he turned his plow and was furthest from his gun. He was shot by the Loyalists but the wounded Murray then engaged the attackers. Murray was then bayoneted until he fell and died. The raiders were pursued by Murray’s neighbors but not caught. David Forman, Murray’s old commanding officer, wrote of his death in a letter to Governor William Livingston on June 9: "Joseph Murray was murdered by a party of Refugees while he was at his harrow in his corn field.” Forman argued that in light of “numerous distresses” (including Murray’s killing and a Loyalist raid against Middletown), Livingston needed “to exert yourself in establishing such a guard as will tend to restore, in some measure, the security to the County." Forman, writing from Freehold, took the opportunity to tell Livingston that he would not answer Livingston’s statewide alarm for marching men to Springfield to repel the British attack (other Monmouth County senior officers also ignored the alarm). "We are this minute to march from this village [Freehold to Middletown] & shall not have a single man for its [Springfield’s] defence." Murray’s wife, Rebecca, stayed on the family farm with her four children. While she was able to weather the war without further incident, it appears that the family suffered a drop in wealth. According to township tax lists, the family owned six horses and cows in 1778 but only three in 1784. In 1788, new depositions were taken about Murray’s death—this time to determine if Rebecca was eligible for a half-pay military pension. Murray’s militia-mate and neighbor, Thomas Hill, among the first to find Murray’s body after the killing, testified that: [He] went home with the said Murray and after a short time was going to a neighbor's, a short distance [away], when the deponent heard the report of a gun at the sd Murray's and in a short time after was alarmed with the news that the sd Murray was killed by three refugees, deponent sd he went immediately back when he saw Murray lay dead with his wound [still] bleeding, who had shot & bayonetted in several places. Rebecca Murray was awarded the pension. The killing of a middling farmer by a few unnamed Loyalists was a small event that did not merit newspaper coverage. But, put in context, Murray’s killing is an excellent case study of what the Revolutionary War was becoming in Monmouth County. Murray’s killing was not random: he was a known enemy of prominent Loyalists and Murray had recently taken actions that likely re-enflamed Loyalist antipathies toward him. His location near both the Raritan Bay and Navesink River made him an easy target. Murray’s modest estate sealed his fate—a wealthier man with Murray’s service record for would have been a militia officer. He would have been valuable in a prisoner exchange or commanded a ransom. To the revenge-minded Loyalists who went after Murray—taking him was riskier and less satisfying than killing him. Related Historic Site : Murray Farmstead at Poricy Park Sources : New York Historical Society, John E. Stillwell Papers, Box: 1730-79, folder: 1770-9; Monmouth County Archives, Loose Common Pleas, box: Common Pleas 1776-1777, folder: 1778; Edwin Salter, Old Times in Old Monmouth (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970) p 304; Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p208; The Monmouth Connection, July 1998, p40-1; Monmouth Democrat, "A Hero of Middletown, New Jersey", November 14, 1895; David Forman to William Livingston, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 3, p 423. Francis Pingeon, Blacks in the Revolutionary Era (Newark: New Jersey Historical Society, 1975) p22. Monmouth County Historical Association, J. Amory Haskell Coll., folder 3, Document A; Depositions, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #10639; Michael Adelberg, Biographical File, unpublished at the Monmouth County Historical Association. Previous Next

The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > Violence Again Mars Monmouth County Elections by Michael Adelberg By 1781, David Forman had bullied voters and officials at two prior elections. The group that he led, the Retaliators, again interrupted the 1781 elections. The New Jersey Legislature did not intervene. - October 1781 - In October 1777, David Forman, at the time a general in the New Jersey militia and commander of a regiment of Continental troops, came to the county election with a party of armed men. He “harangued” the crowd and denounced the incumbent county legislators. Voters favoring the incumbents were driven away without voting and a slate of Forman allies were elected. Afterward, the New Jersey legislature investigated the affair, voided the election, and ordered a new one. Forman’s allies were turned out of office in the re-run election. In October 1780, David Forman returned to the county election with a gang of armed men. Allied election judges refused to hold the polls open a second day, long enough for militiamen serving on the shore to come to Freehold and vote. When an incumbent legislator, James Mott, protested the disenfranchisement of men protecting their county, Forman beat Mott in front of the crowd. The legislature again investigated the election, but the Forman-allied new delegates provided enough votes in the closely-divided Assembly to preserve the election. Monmouth County’s 1781 Election On October 10, 1781, elections were held across New Jersey for the legislature and county sheriff. In Monmouth County, the election judges recorded the election of Thomas Henderson, Nathaniel Scudder and John Covenhoven to the Assembly and Elisha Lawrence (cousin of the Loyalist of the same name) to the Legislative Council. All four were from inland Freehold or Upper Freehold Townships. No elected delegate was from the county’s four shore townships—Middletown, Shrewsbury, Dover and Stafford—despite over 60 percent of the county population residing in these townships. It is likely that militiamen serving on the shore were unable to vote in large numbers. Henderson and Scudder were active participants in the Association for Retaliation , a vigilante society devoted to eye-for-an-retaliation for every misdeed committed against a member of the society. Covenhoven was the co-founder of the Monmouth County Whig Society —which was devoted to preserving the value of currency and conducting itself legally. He and Lawrence were, presumably, not allied with the extra-legal actions of the Retaliators. As respected elder-statesmen, they likely enjoyed the deference of county voters. The next month, three Identical Monmouth County petitions were sent to the New Jersey Legislature, signed by 83 men. The petitioners expressed concern about both the election and the actions of the Retaliators. They wrote: While the enemy is yet formidable & almost at our door, there is tyranny set up against us, equally dangerous to liberty with that which we are fighting against; a set of men of the title of a Committee of Retaliation has formed a combination to trample all law underfoot that clashes with their measures, & under the pretense of retaliating for crimes committed and injuries done by the Refugees to any of the Associators. The petitioners then discussed the Retaliators sending out armed parties to practice vigilantism: Some they have imprisoned, from some they have taken goods & from others money; & when those injured have attempted to right themselves by law, they have been abused, their lives threatened & some unmercifully beaten by those persons who have taken their property; officers of justice have been prevented from doing their duty & threatened for attempting it. Specific Retaliator actions are discussed in the next article. The petitioners then discussed Retaliator misconduct at the recent election: At the late election, when a number of men (some in arms) appeared in a hostile manner, threatening all such persons at they called Tories and [ London] Traders , if they should vote; A writing was put up at the Court House to the same effect; several persons were inhumanly beaten, some of them after they had voted, and some of them drove away who were legally entitled to vote, and went away without voting, not thinking themselves safe, as they did not confine their abuse to people they judged disaffected, but beat and abused several… and at the close of the election, one of the inspectors was attacked going down the stairs, and most barbarously beaten. The petitioners concluded that the Retaliators were “corrupting the morals of the people & encouraging many others to plunder for their own gain, and committing other crimes with impunity.” They requested “speedy and effectual relief against so dangerous a Combination.” While David Forman was not specifically named in the petitions, there can be no doubt that, as the Chairman of the Retaliators, he played a role in the election day violence. Timing doomed the anti-Retaliator petitions. On October 15, as the petitioners were gathering signatures, Nathaniel Scudder was killed in a skirmish with Loyalist raiders. He was the only man to serve in the Continental Congress to die in combat, and there was an outpouring of sympathy in favor of Scudder. The New Jersey Legislature ordered a new election for Scudder’s replacement without acknowledging the election protests or petitions. On November 29, Thomas Seabrook—a Middletown militia officer who relocated to Freehold after Loyalist raiders attacked his home and bayoneted his son —was elected to replace Scudder. Seabrook was also a Retaliator. The author’s prior research demonstrates that the Retaliators continued to operate without an effective check on their vigilantism into 1783; violence and controversy would mar the county election again in 1785 Related Historic Site : New Jersey State Museum Sources : The Library Company, New Jersey Votes of the Assembly, October 23-26, 1781, p 3-8; Larry Gerlach, New Jersey in the American Revolution 1763-1783 A Documentary History (Trenton: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1975) pp. 397-9. New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #10948 and 11036, and Collective Series, Revolutionary War, document #114; Michael Adelberg, Biographical File, unpublished, Monmouth County Historical Association; “A Combination to Trample All Law Underfoot”: The Association for Retaliation and the American Revolution in Monmouth County, New Jersey” , New Jersey History , vol. 115, n. 3, 1997, pp. 3-36. Previous Next

The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > The Freehold-Middletown Loyalist Insurrection by Michael Adelberg British amnesty proclamations like this one were circulated across New Jersey in December 1776. New Jersians received a pardon for repenting for rebelling and accepting British protection. - December 1776 - In late November 1776, Colonel David Forman led his regiment of Flying Camp into Freehold and Middletown townships to expose and subdue a Loyalist association led by William Taylor. The campaign was successful, capturing roughly one hundred Loyalists. They were sent to Philadelphia and far-off Frederick, Maryland . The enlistments of Forman’s men expired on December 1 and the regiment immediately dissolved. This coincided with the British invasion of New Jersey and a Loyalist insurrection that immediately turned the tables on Forman. According to a Supreme Court indictment, two disaffected Freehold residents, Robert James and Edmund Harris, led a gang in a riot at David Forman’s farm on December 1. James and Harris, "with force and arms, to wit, guns, bayonets and swords… did break and enter" Forman’s house and farm. They took from him: one mare, one gelding, a plow, 4 1/2 barrels of pork, 4 gammons, salt meat, 800 lbs. of flours, 100 bushels of oats, 8 bushels of buckwheat, one chaise wagon, 2 looking glasses, 5 dozen pots, 18 knives and forks, 3 brass kettles, kitchen andirons, blankets and rugs. But it was on December 3 that the Freehold-Middletown Loyalist insurrection actually began. Samuel Mount, a militiaman, recalled that this way the day that "Monmouth was overrun by the British and Refugees & the militia were compelled to lay down their arms.” That same day, Mount left Monmouth County and “joined Genl. Washington's Army." This was likely motivated by a need to escape what became known as the “Tory Ascendancy.” Other militiamen corroborate Mount's account: John Reid recalled “the British and Tories gained the ascendancy and they were obliged to lay down their arms.” John Davison recalled, “the Tories obtaining the ascendancy in their hands, the militia of said county disbanded.” Also on December 3, Sheriff Asher Holmes emptied out the county prison at Freehold, sending most of the prisoners under guard to Easton, Pennsylvania. Five captured sailors, who requested a hearing before Governor William Livingston, were allowed to go on parole to Trenton. A few days earlier, the newly-elected County Clerk, Kenneth Anderson, demanded that former County Clerk, Joseph Leonard, turn over the county’s records to him. But Leonard "refused to give over an order of delivery of sd records.” Anderson wrote the New Jersey Legislature that “he cannot with posterity execute sd office unless the records & c. are lodged with him.” The county government at Freehold ceased operating. By December 9, Loyalists felt secure talking about the downfall of the Continental movement in Freehold, the county seat and the most strongly Whig village in the county. On that day, according to a Supreme Court indictment, Jonathan Bowne “with a loud voice” said: I would rather a thousand times serve the British troops than the rebels, and if I was an able-bodied man, I would go over and drive their wagons... When the British troops come through, they will be offended and will plunder us, but if we keep our grain, they will know that we have not furnished the rebels, and then we shall get hard money. By mid-month, John Taylor, Monmouth County’s sheriff in the 1760s and the father of William Taylor, who led a prior Loyalist association, began administering British loyalty oaths from his home in Middletown. Meanwhile, some Freehold Loyalists, including Edmund Harris on December 16, travelled to the British camp at Raritan Landing to take the British Loyalty oath directly from Lt. Colonel Elisha Lawrence of the New Jersey Volunteers (comprised of Monmouth County Loyalists), who was camped there. Two days later, a Loyalist gang led by Thomas Parker and “diverse other persons” confiscated property from the homes of John Covert and Samuel Parent. From Covert, they “did break open and enter, one gun belonging to Alexander Dodd... did take & carry away the said gun.” From Parent, they took “one gun belonging to Samuel Burke in said dwelling house, did take & carry away.” Two days after that, on December 18, William Grandin of Freehold Township led six other Loyalists in confiscating property from two Whigs. From Tunis Vanderveer they “did break open & enter, and one sword, one gun, and gun-powder and shot... did take and carry away." At the house of Timothy Lloyd they "did break open & enter and a certain black horse... did take and lead away, and other wrongs.” A few days later, Grandin, with a gang of sixteen men, re-visited David Forman’s house. There they “did break open and enter, and sundry tables, chairs, pots and other household goods & furniture belonging to the said David Forman did take and carry away.” Another Loyalist gang with Joseph Covenhoven, Isaac Covenhoven, Edmund Harris, and four others went to the house of John Craig on December 18 where they “did break open and enter one chest containing gun powder and balls belonging the township of Shrewsbury... and did take it and carry away.” On December 20, this gang went to the home of John Schenck of Freehold where they “did break open & enter one pipe of Madeira wine belonging to David Forman, Esq., in the said dwelling house.” On December 20, with the Loyalists in control of Freehold and Middletown, the brothers, John Lloyd (Freehold) and Thomas Lloyd (Middletown) started recruiting for the British. According to Supreme Court indictments, John Lloyd “a person of a turbulent mind & seditious disposition… intending to disunite the good subjects of this State… had discourse with a certain Joseph Morford, David Drum and Solomon Ketchum...[and] did maliciously, unlawfully and seditiously ask the said Morford, Drum and Ketchum to enlist as soldiers in the service of the King." Thomas Lloyed went to the house of John Smock, the Lt. Colonel of the Middletown militia, and demanded his horses. When Smock refused, Lloyd threatened, "if you do not share some of your horses it will be worse for you." Meanwhile, Thomas Kearney, a wealthy merchant from Middletown Point (present-day Matawan), actively supported the insurrection. According to William Sands, Kearney “abused Mr. Burrowes [County Committee Chair, John Burrowes] with abusive language and called him a rebel.” Kearney also said: The Congress were a damned set of rebels, that they did not aim at the liberty of the state, but only to aggrandize themselves, that they wanted to become great Dukes, Earls, Lords & Demigods. The people of the state were deluded and infatuated, that they were also aiming to establish a Presbyterian government. Kearney claimed that if he were not so old, he would join the New Jersey Volunteers as a Captain "and enlist all those refugees who have gone from Cheesequake, Matawan & Conkaskunk to Staten Island... He ordered his sons never to make peace, but to shoot them [rebels] whenever they found them.” Finally, Kearney said “General Howe should give orders to cut & slash without distinction of age or sect, that he would never conquer the damned rebels until he killed all the damned rebels." Sands was taken by Kearney’s Loyalists to the British camp at Perth Amboy. Sands was told he would be hanged if he did not enlist in the New Jersey Volunteers. Sands saw Kearney and two other Middletown Loyalists on Staten Island “where they had brought over three quarters of a stall-fed bull, together with a good deal of poultry, potatoes, & c.” Sands accused Kearney of running an illegal trading ring "concerned with supplying the Enemy on Staten Island with various kinds of fresh provisions.” And, Kearney “keeps signals to hoist to inform any of the refugees that should be going over whether any of our guards or light horse are near." Sands detailed another trading incident: “William Henry came over from Staten Island to said Thomas Kearney's armed with two pistols, brought with him from New York newspapers of the 13 of March." In return, Kearney gave Henry "a number of turkeys, ducks and fowls.” Thomas Kearney also concealed two Loyalists, Shore Stevenson and Gershom Stillwell “in his store house & there treated them with as much cyder as they could drink.” He then “provided them with a boat in which they went to Staten Island." And he hosted the notorious Chrineyonce Van Mater who played a key role in the capture of Richard Stockton and John Covenhoven. Meanwhile, Chrineyonce’s brother, Daniel Van Mater, led a gang of six men to the home of Tunis Vanderveer on December 22. Van Mater, according to Vanderveer, took him “prisoner on purpose of having him exchanged for his brother, John Van Mater, who was prisoner." One of David Forman’s soldiers, Daniel Dey, also recalled being taken by the Loyalists in December: “I was a prisoner for the time of about five weeks, with the British & Tories bearing rule at the time in the State of New Jersey and particularly at Monmouth." On December 23 and 24, a number of Loyalty oaths were administered in Middletown by John Taylor and James Grover, a former committeeman, who was now Justice of the Peace in the embryonic Loyalist government. At least one Middletown resident, Solomon Ketchum, recalled “taking protections from the British Colonel Morris [John Morris], a British officer being then in Monmouth." Morris was in Shrewsbury at this time. During the insurrection, David Forman was plundered twice; by Christmas he was in Maryland, where he started recruiting for a new “Additional Regiment” of the Continental Army that would exist to defend the county. Militia officers John Craig, Tunis Vanderveer, and John Schenck suffered property confiscations. Two Freehold Whigs leaders, John Covenhoven and Tunis Vanderveer were captured. Others cozied up to the ascendant Loyalists. Peter Talman, while jailed in Philadelphia on December 15, recalled seeing committeeman, Dr. Nathaniel Scudder, “obtained the releasement” of a “Mr. Taylor” from the Continental prison In Philadelphia. For this, he earned Taylor’s promise to “use his utmost influence to protect Mr. Scudder from insult and injury.” Talman quipped, “Doctor Scudder, you have two strings to your boe [sic].” Surviving records do not document all of the actions of the insurrectionists. After the war, Richard McKnight, a Loyalist, recalled seizing cattle from neighbors and bringing them to the British, but there is no supporting documentation of cattle confiscations in Freehold. Benjamin Covenhoven claimed that he had two muskets taken during the insurrection, but no record of this confiscation exists. The Loyalist insurrection collapsed in early January and the militia revived. John Reid recalled that “after the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, they resumed their arms.” Garrett Wikoff recalled that: "The militia of the county were commanded to lay down their arms (the British and Tories having obtained the ascendancy), but they resumed them again after the enemy were routed at Princeton." When the insurrection crumbled, Colonel David Forman, twice victimized, quickly arrested John Taylor. In April 1777, Forman deposed that: “January last, John Taylor of the Township of Middletown was taken prisoner as Commissioner under Lord Howe.” Taylor confessed to “putting up advertisements to assemble the militia of Monmouth County under arms to support the crown.” And further, “Taylor ever had conceived himself a citizen of Great Britain, that he had freely taken oaths of allegiance to the King & always should himself be bound by that oath." Taylor and Grover were brought before the New Jersey Council of Safety, forced to post bonds for future good behavior, and then released. Taylor, though now retired from public life, would face harassment throughout the war. At least four of the Freehold-Middletown insurrectionists were caught and jailed. In November 5, 1777, Edmund Harris, Thomas Clark, John Grover, and William Crowell wrote Governor William Livingston from jail in Freehold: Your petitioners are now prisoners in the gaol in the County of Monmouth in close confinement on different charges, as by the copy of our Mittimus does appear - Your petitioners were in hopes of relief long before now, in expectation of a Court of General gaol of Delivery, but as we in our expectations have been disappointed as yet, and as we have not yet any account of a court thro' this fall, and our constitutions very much broke with sickness by close confinement, and our families suffering; We therefore pray that we may be admitted bail, as we are ready & willing to comply with such penalties as your Excellency may see fit to admit to bail. Harris would remain in jail into 1778. The fate of the others is unknown. The defeat of the insurrectionists in Upper Freehold and Shrewsbury (down the shore to Toms River) did not rid those parts of the county of significant disaffected populations. Internal disturbances would continue to bubble up in Upper Freehold, Shrewsbury, Dover and Stafford townships. However, Freehold and Middletown townships were mostly purged of active Loyalists. While Middletown would be rocked by Loyalist raids, its disaffected population was in exile or cowed at home. Inland Freehold Township, far safer than Middletown, would become the center of a radical Whig movement that morphed into an active vigilante organization known as the Retaliators . Related Historic Site : Burrowes Mansion Sources : David Forman v Robert James and Edmund Harris, New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #13046*; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Samuel Mount; Asher Holmes to William Livingston, New Jersey State Archives, William Livingston Papers, reel 6, December 3, 1777; Kenneth Anderson to New Jersey Legislature, New Jersey State Archives, Bureau of Archives and History, Manuscript Collection, Manuscripts, box 14, #27; State vs. Jonathan Bowne New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #33977; Edmund Harris, Loyalty Oath, New Jersey State Archives, Bureau of Archives and History, Manuscript Collection, Manuscripts, box 35, #5; State v Thomas Parker, New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #37486; State v William Grandin, New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, # 35504; State v Joseph Covenhoven, New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #34540; State v Isaac Covenhoven, New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #34537; State vs. Edmund Harris, New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, # 35904; State v John Lloyd, New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #36681; State vs. Thomas Lloyd, New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #36682; Depositions of Tunis Vanderveer and William Sands, New Jersey State Archives, Bureau of Archives of History, Council of Safety, box 1, document #18 and 20; Loyalty Oaths, New Jersey State Archives, Bureau of Archives and History, Manuscript Collection, Manuscripts, box 36, #59-61; New Jersey State Archives, Bureau of Archives and History, Council of Safety, William Sands; State vs. James Grover of Middletown, New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #35493; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Daniel Dey of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#15489356 ; Deposition of Peter Talman, Monmouth County Historical Association, Cherry Hall Papers, box 5, folder 9; George Washington to Israel Putnam, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw060334)); Society, 1980), p 534; Benjamin Covenhoven claim, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #5915; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Joseph Van Cleave; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, John Reid of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/# 14359840; Veteran's Pension Application of John Davison of Monmouth Co: 12/76, -- National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, John Davison of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#16223098 ; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - George Taylor; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Garret Wikoff of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/# NJ 28142503; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Solomon Ketchum of NY, www.fold3.com/image/#25013139 ; David Forman, deposition, New Jersey State Archives, Bureau of Archives of History, Council of Safety, box 1, document #17; Petition of Edmund Harris, Thomas Clark, John Grover, William Crowell, New Jersey State Archives, William Livingston Papers, reel 6, November 5, 1777. 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The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > The Fall of John Morris and His Loyalist Battalion by Michael Adelberg - September 1779 - In late 1776, the 2nd Battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers was raised from the Monmouth Shore by John Morris of Manasquan, who was commissioned its Lt. Colonel. After successful recruiting in early 1777, it became the strongest of the original five Loyalist battalions raised from New Jersey. It was the only one selected to join the British Army in the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 and the only one to participate in the Battle of Monmouth . But the march through its home county was hard on the battalion; it lost about 10 percent of its active men during the campaign (killed, captured, or deserted). Morris grew ill and spent most of 1778 away from his men; a court martial trial revealed that Morris tolerated a deserter living with his men, Jacob Wood, because he supplied him with fresh fish. In late 1778, when the British Army invaded the South, the 2nd Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers was not selected to accompany them. It stayed on Staten Island with other battalions of New Jersey Volunteers. (In addition, the New Jersey Volunteers rotated companies to serve as guards at Sandy Hook.) A September 1779 return of the battalion shows that Morris was still in command but the battalion had only 223 enlisted men—half of whom were unable to fight (31 sick; 40 prisoners; six absent on leave; six deserted; two were out “recruiting”; and 31 were serving as officer waiters, wagoner's, shoemakers, or tailors. By February 1780, the size of the battalion dropped further. It had consolidated from eight to six undersized companies. In addition to Morris, the battalion had two majors, five captains., eight lieutenants., two ensigns, one chaplain, one adjutant, one quartermaster, and one surgeon. The enlisted ranks had shrunk to thirteen Sergeants, eight corporals, five drummers, and 123 privates. The largest company had only 26 privates, half the amount of a full company. Morris was away from his men again; he was listed as “in New York.” Most interesting, a Lieutenant, a sergeant, a corporal, and ten privates were listed as "with the expedition." This is almost certainly a reference to these 13 men being pulled out of the regiment to serve under Major Patrick Ferguson in the Carolina Campaign . The Fall of Lt. Colonel John Morris Lt. Colonel Morris drifted further into disrepute. According to historian Alfred Jones, on August 13, 1780, he "was cashiered for making false returns and drawing provisions for more men than the effective strength of his battalion, but was shortly afterward reinstated.” After that, Morris was apparently coaxed into retirement with a half-pay pension due to sickness. Just a few months later, on October 1, Morris, still in New York City, petitioned for restoration of his full salary: I am much hurt that after losing everything I have upon earth in the service. I should now, by those I supported as Provincials or others I know not of, be reduced to half pay, but add to this that I am a cripple. Nothing but the support of my wife & children could induce me to be troublesome in my situation. The 2nd Battalion was consolidated into a battalion from North Jersey and lost its Monmouth County character as new recruits came in from other places. The disarray of the battalion continued. In August 1781, still on Staten Island, Colonel Joseph Lee wrote Lt. Colonel Isaac Allen, commanding New Jersey Loyalists in South Carolina, "the 2nd Batt of N. Jersey Volunteers is not drafted, owing to the barrack master having not got all the wood from Lloyd's Neck, I shall do everything I can to get some of those men." John Morris remained mired in controversy. He faced court martial in 1781 for maintaining friendly relations with rebels. William Smith, Chief Justice of the Loyalist civil government in New York, was sympathetic to Morris. The case was outside his jurisdiction, but Smith noted that the prosecution "brought two witnesses against Col Morris -- a Doctor Fetter and a Hannah W -- they had neither anything to say respecting his disloyalty but what they had heard while in the country.” Smith concluded of their testimony that “the hearsay amounted to nothing but that Morris was called or esteemed by some of the rebels as their friend.” Morris was acquitted, “The Council were unanimously of the opinion that the accusation was false." Morris stayed in New York through the end of the war. His reputation was partially restored, but he was retired from public service and, by his own statement, he was “crippled.” Twice in March 1782, he advocated for the wives of men who had served under him. On March 20, he attested to the good character of Jane Milligan, a widow of a Loyalist soldier and now a refugee in New York City. Morris wrote that "she was obliged to leave her house and she has a son in the King's service” and was worthy of support. He also wrote on behalf of a Mrs. Lewis, also a Loyalist refugee in New York. She had a son killed in service under Morris and another serving elsewhere in the British Army. After the war, Morris was one of hundreds of Loyalists who applied for compensation for their lost estates. Morris narrated his service, noting that he raised a Loyalist battalion in 1776 and administered Loyalty oaths during the Loyalist insurrection of December 1776-January 1777. Another Monmouth County Loyalist, Captain Samuel Leonard of the New Jersey Volunteers, testified on his behalf. Leonard noted that Morris’ estate was seized and Morris’ "wife and children were turned out of doors." His livestock were sold off, dropping from 20 head of cattle to 0 and 20 sheep to 3 by the middle of 17777. Morris referred to himself as "crippled" during the war. In 1776 and 1777, John Morris was, by most measures, the most consequential of Monmouth County’s Loyalist leaders. He commanded the strongest battalion of New Jersey Loyalists and his men developed strong London Trading ties along the Monmouth shore, from which his regiment was drawn. But Morris left his troops while they were in Philadelphia in the winter of 1777-1778 and, by the time he reunited with his men in July 1778, the war had changed him. He protested British military practices and indulged a deserter in exchange for a personal supply of fresh fish. His health was declining and he was permanently separated from his men. Morris survived court martial, but lived out the rest of the war in retirement with a half-pay pension. The 2nd Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers withered and lost its Monmouth County identity. A January 1782 muster roll shows further disarray. Battalions and companies continued to consolidate—some companies lacked captains and others were commanded by majors or colonels. Only a few dozen men from the original 2nd Battalion were still serving. Four of those original Monmouth County men were listed as recently captured or deserted: Sgt. Vincent White, captured, September 24, 1780, Robert Thomson, captured, September 24, 1780, Thomas Reynolds, captured, September 24, 1780, Isaac Robins, deserted, December 21, 1781. The American Revolution was a sad event for most Loyalists—certainly this was the case for John Morris and most of his men. Related Historic Site : Fraunces Tavern (New York) Sources : New Jersey Volunteers Troop Return, William Clements Library, Henry Clinton Papers, vol. 68; Morris’ location in New York is discussed in William S. Stryker, The New Jersey Volunteers in the Revolutionary War (Trenton: Naar, Day and Naar, 1887) p 30; New Jersey Volunteers Troops Return, NJ State Archives, Adjutant General's Loyalist Manuscripts, microfilm; Alfred Jones, “Letter of David Colden, Loyalist, 1783”, American Historical Review, October 1919, vol. 25, p80 n5; John Morris to ?, New York State Library, Special Collections; Joseph Lee to Isaac Allen, National Archives, Papers of the Continental Congress, reel 65, item 51, vol. 1, #595; William Smith, Historical Memoirs of William Smith: From 26 August 1778 to 12 November 1783 (New York: Arno, 1971) p 472-3; Return of New Jersey Volunteers, Library of Congress, MMC - Courtland Skinner, box 9; Jane Milligan’s Memorial, David Library of the American Revolution, Great Britain Public Records Office, British Headquarters Papers, #4272 and 4278; Mrs. Lewis Memorial, BF Stevens, Report on American Manuscripts in the Royal Institution of Great Britain (London: Mackie & Co, 1906) v2, p428; Peter W. Coldham, comp., American Loyalist Claims (Washington, D.C.: National Genealogical Society, 1980), pp. 357-8. Gregory Palmer, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution (Westport, Conn. and London, 1984) pp. 625-6. Rutgers University Library Special Collections, Great Britain Public Record Office, Loyalist Application Claims, D96, AO 13/19, reel 6. Previous Next

This upper elementary level resource will give students a look at the Colonial Era in Monmouth! Covenhoven House Life in Colonial Monmouth The Covenhovens were an average Dutch farming family until a large sum of money helped them build a grand house in 1752. The home - and its very special story - help us to understand life in Colonial America. Building America Creating a New World The Colonies Await European countries began exploring America in the early 1500s. In 1607, King James I of England established Jamestown , the first permanent colony in America. A colony is an area under the control of another country, usually one that is far away. The people who live there are known as colonists . Claiming land in this "New World" was a way for countries to control trade and expand their territory, which gave them more money and power. It became the goal of many European countries to claim land in America, but many found it hard to hold onto it. It was not easy to survive in a wild and faraway land, and even harder to protect land from other countries who wanted it also. The colonists slowly began to sail to America to make new lives for themselves, sparking the beginning of the Colonial Era. The Colonial Era of America's history lasted from 1607 until 1775, when the colonies began their fight for independence from the British. King James I of England, Scotland and Ireland Courtesy of Library of Congress NEXT > Native Americans The Lenni Lenape Lenape Chief Lappawinsoe Courtesy of the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia Images courtesy of Boston Public Library Native Americans: The Lenni Lenape Native Americans were the indigenous (in-dih-jen-us) people the colonists encountered when they arrived in America. Indigenous , like the word 'native,' means anything that comes from and has existed in a place for a very long time. The Native Americans lived in groups called tribes . They had their own languages and culture on American soil long before the European settlers came. The main Native American tribe in New Jersey were the Lenni Lenape (Leh-NEE Luh-NAH-pay). This means something like the"Original People" in the Lenape language, called Unami (Weh-NAH-mee). There are no more native speakers of the Unami language, but there are people working to learn it again so it can be spoken like it was hundreds of years ago. You can hear the way the language sounded and give it a try with this Lenape translator tool ! NEXT > The Covenhovens A Colonial Monmouth Family Family Life William and Elizabeth Covenhoven (CO-ven-HO-ven) were both born in America from Dutch ancestry, meaning their family came here from Holland. They were married in 1720 and settled in Freehold. They had a small farm and a large family...with ten children! Families were bigger at this time because it was important to have many hands to help work the farm, take care of each other, and do all the chores that life in the colonies required. Being so far from home, people tended to find comfort living in communities where they knew the culture and traditions. The Covenhovens lived in a Dutch community that spoke Dutch, wore traditional Dutch clothes, prepared Dutch foods, and built and decorated in the Dutch style. Many in the community went to the Dutch church to hear services in their own language. They were proud of their heritage and felt it It was important to maintain their culture in the New World. Covenhoven House, Freehold NJ NEXT > Meet the Locals Discover some of the people who lived in and visited the historic Covenhoven House! Click to Enter Freehold, 1778 Cockpit of the Revolution Monmouth: A Turning Point General path of British (red) and Continental (blue) paths in the days leading up to the battle New Jersey has been called the "Cockpit of the Revolution." Over 200 skirmishes , or small battles, took place in New Jersey. This is because it sat in the path between two very important places: New York, and Pennsylvania. Lower New York was a British stronghold, containing valuable harbors for ships to bring constant fresh supplies, while Philadelphia was an American stronghold and the place where our Continental Congress met. The Continental Congress was a group of men, each one representing a colony, who gathered to discuss and make important decisions for the direction of our country. Some wanted independence from Britain, some did not. In the end, the vote was in favor of independence. The British took over Philadelphia, staying there from September of 1777 to June 18, 1778. On that day, they marched their army across New Jersey to Sandy Hook. They took the Burlington Path, which would lead them right through Freehold. Because their line of men was so long, it was impossible to do this secretly...the residents of Freehold knew they would be passing through in about a week's time. General Washington knew this as well, and decided to move the Continental Army in line with them, engaging them in skirmishes all along the way. The morning of June 28, 1778, the Continentals stopped the British in their tracks at Monmouth Courthouse, now present-day Freehold Borough. It was not going to a a skirmish that day, it was going to be a battle. British General Clinton received the news and quickly left Mrs. Covenhoven's house to join his men. Washington sent General Lee out to begin the fight, but Lee made a mistake in his attack - the confusion ended up in panicked retreat for his men. Washington showed up just in time to support the Continentals and stop them from running away from the fight. He was very angry with Clinton for allowing them to retreat, and embarrassed Clinton in front of the men before turning them all around. All who witnessed it said it was very unlike Washington to lose his temper that way. General Lee thought he was a better general than Washington, and was very annoyed to be spoken to that way. But he did as he was told, and the two armies met on the battlefield. Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth by Emanuele Leutze, MCHA collection New Jersey was in the middle of a heat wave. The temperature soared to nearly 100 degrees by the afternoon, and water was hard to come by. As the armies fought, men began to drop from heat exhaustion. More men died from the heat than from battle wounds! It was a difficult day for both sides. By nightfall, the battle was not yet over. The armies made camp for the night, but the Continentals were surprised to discover in the morning that the British had left the field. The armies lost about the same number of men, so it was called a tie. But it truly was a win for the Continentals - they stood up to the greatest army in the world, which ran away in the middle of the night! It made the Continentals proud, and gave them the confidence to continue on and win the war. Analyzing Artwork Taking a Closer Look Art is not only cool to look at, its a great learning tool as well! It is important to really focus on details to see what the artist is trying to tell us. Give it a try with the images below! 1 2 3 Many people know the famous painting Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze (LOYT-za). Leutze painted another iconic scene in 1857 called Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth . In this dramatic image, the viewer can see many different things happening across the canvas. Looking closely at a few details from the painting, tell what is happening in each scene using the details from the Battle of Monmouth section above. Fun Fact! General Washington preferred white horses so that his troops could easily see him on the battlefield, but the horse that carried him through much of the Revolution was a chestnut brown-colored horse named Nelson. An Unwelcome Visit Artist: Charlie Swerdlow, 2022 1. Look at the scene in An Unwelcome Visit . Does it depict a different time? How do you know? 2. Describe the setting and what appears to be happening. 2. What does the mood seem to be? 3. The two enslaved servants in the home with Mrs. Covenhoven are the young boy, Bross, and Nancy. They may have been mother and child. What might they have been thinking at this moment? 4. What do you think Mrs. Covenhoven was thinking when Clinton finally arrived at her door?

The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > Militia Respond to the Attack on Chestnut Neck by Michael Adelberg Militia from three New Jersey counties defended Egg Harbor in October 1778, including the Upper Freehold militia which marched 60 miles and protected the salt works at Barnegat from attack. - October 1778 - As discussed in prior articles, on October 5, 1778, a British flotilla with more than 1,000 men sailed into Little Egg Harbor (called Egg Harbor at the time). They sent a large raiding party up the Mullica River and razed the town of Chestnut Neck—New Jersey’s privateer boomtown . By October 8, the Chestnut Neck raiding party had returned to Egg Harbor and smaller parties were sent across the harbor, burning salt works and other buildings. Before dawn on October 15, a raiding party surprised Kasimir Pulaski’s Continentals and killed at least 50 men in a pre-dawn action that would become known as the Osborn Island Massacre . George Washington had sent two Continental Army units—Kasimir Pulaski’s Legion (220 cavalry and infantry) and Thomas Proctor’s Artillery Regiment (200 infantry with a handful of cannon)—to defend Egg Harbor. Militia from the counties bordering Egg Harbor—Gloucester, Burlington, and Monmouth—also mustered and rushed to the area. Collectively, these forces were formidable, but they arrived at different times, from different directions, and coordination between the units was problematic. The disparate American forces were less than the sum of their parts and the British routed the defenders at Chestnut Neck and Osborn Island. Blame needed to be assigned. The letters of Pulaski, the source materials used most often by historians, portray the New Jersey militia as unreliable, even cowardly. Below are just two of Pulaski’s harsh statements about the New Jersey militia: “Order the militia to be obedient, or take them away entirely, for they are so ill-inclined that they will only spoil our affairs.” “I expect no assistance from the militia, for they have abandoned me.” Historians writing of the mini-campaign at Egg Harbor have generally taken Pulaski’s accounts as fact. But Pulaski wrote these letters under great duress—just after the Osborn Island Massacre and while skirmishing with Loyalist irregulars who harassed his Legion throughout a difficult march north. Under the circumstances, Pulaski was likely to look badly on militia who were not shoulder-to-shoulder with his suffering men. Using other sources—particularly the accounts of the militiamen who defended Egg Harbor and nearby areas—it becomes apparent that the militia (at least the militia from Gloucester and Monmouth counties) was much more active in combatting the British-Loyalist raiding parties than Pulaski suggests. The activities of militia during the Egg Harbor campaign are discussed below. New Jersey Militia during the Egg Harbor Campaign By all accounts, the Gloucester County militia, specifically the 3rd Regiment under Colonel Richard Somers, did not heroically defend Chestnut Neck. They manned the earthen fort defending the town, but the fort was never completed and cannon were never put into the fort’s gun ports. When the British galleys came upriver and fired on the fort, the militia gave up the fort, and offered no credible resistance as the British burned the town and the eleven ships docked there. However, the raiding party, according to Captain Patrick Ferguson’s report, numbered 300 men with artillery. It is unlikely that the militia present at Chestnut Neck that day was even half that size, and they lacked cannon. The Gloucester militia had to give up the town. One of the Gloucester County militiamen, Samuel Denike, recalled his service during the attack on Chestnut Neck and the following week. Denike recalled that, after losing Chestnut Neck, his militia company was "attached to and under the command of Col. Proctor, with the artillery.” They returned to Chestnut Neck after Ferguson’s raiders withdrew and went downriver to Egg Harbor. Denike’s company apparently skirmished with a raiding party a few days after Chestnut Neck was attacked. Denike recalled facing a raiding party near his father’s house on Egg Harbor: “The British had come into Egg Harbor and burnt the village in which all of my father's property was discharged, here we had a smart action and prevented their proceeding further into the country." Most interesting is Denike’s account of coming to the aid of Pulaski’s Legion on October 15, when it was massacred by a British-Loyalist raiding party under Captain Ferguson: We then marched to Tuckerton, here was met by the British and Refugees with whom we had a severe battle, we lost twelve men killed in our company, and Col. Sweetman was either killed or died a prisoner, as he never returned. In this action, Pulaski's Horse [cavalry] was engaged and severely cut up, as was the militia. I saved myself with twenty-five of my company by throwing myself into a swamp. The rest that were not killed were taken prisoner. The willingness of the Gloucester militia to travel ten miles north and sustain considerable losses was not mentioned by Pulaski in his reports of the Osborn Island Massacre. It is probable that the Gloucester militia arrived too late to assist Pulaski, and they probably battled Ferguson’s raiders as the raiders were withdrawing to their boats. Ferguson makes a passing reference to meeting resistance on his retreat, though he clearly was unimpressed by it. He concluded that his men were able to board their boats “at our leisure.” Norman Goos, who studied the 3rd Regiment of the Gloucester County Militia during the American Revolution, noted that the militia regiment incurred considerable losses in Tuckerton and elsewhere during the war. He wrote, “at a minimum, 8 were killed, 11 were wounded and 10 became prisoners-of-war” during the Revolution. Goos documents that at least one was wounded and two captured in skirmishing after the razing of Chestnut Neck. Monmouth County militia also mustered and marched to the Egg Harbor area. Major Richard Howell, stationed in Shrewsbury, noted that on October 8, “Col. Samuel Forman march'd with a reinforcement of 300 to join Genl. Pulaski." This was the Upper Freehold militia commanded by Colonel Forman. They marched across the county to Toms River and then south to Egg Harbor—60 miles in total. It appears that Forman arrived too late to help Pulaski at Osborn Island. One of the late-arriving militiamen, Walter Kerr, recalled that he volunteered “and marched down to Manahawkin in the southern end of the county of Monmouth in consequence of the slaughter of a body of militia at Egg Harbor by the British troops and Tories." It is interesting that Kerr recalled the deaths of Gloucester militia (referenced above) but not Pulaski’s men. Pulaski was initially impressed by the Upper Freehold militia, calling them “good Whigs” in one of his letters. Local militia from the shore townships of Dover and Stafford under the command of Lt. Colonel Elisha Lawrence (cousin of the Loyalist Lt. Colonel of the same name ) arrived before Forman. One of those shore militiamen, Aaron Bennett, recalled his service: He was out under Col Lawrence with the militia when three British vessels entered Egg Harbor inlet and landed their Tories at Chestnut Neck in Egg Harbor town... and remained for two or three days burning their buildings, etc. They were finally driven off by the militia under Col. Lawrence. Bennett was clearly exaggerating when he suggested that Monmouth militia drove Ferguson’s raiding party away from Chestnut Neck, but his account suggests that the militia engaged the enemy—likely marching close, taking shots, and pulling back when counter-attacked. Bennett was not in any battles during his time at Egg Harbor. He "was sent with an armed boat into the bay to watch the movements of the enemy in an armed boat and therefore had no part in the skirmishes.” But his mention of “the skirmishes” demonstrates that other Monmouth militia were skirmishing with raiding parties. A third Monmouth militiaman, John G. Holmes, recalled that "the enemy came over to destroy our salt works - was taken with James Reed & [William] Gaskin & David Gaskin & others not recollected to Barnegat.” Here the militia deployed to protect a large salt works that David Forman, a colonel in the Continental Army, was building in order to supply the army with salt. Holmes noted that his militia company successfully protected those salt works: The enemy destroyed the salt works at Egg Harbor & other places... we lay at Barnegat for four weeks, the enemy landed in small parties & burnt some houses but could not effect a landing to burn the salt works. The Monmouth and Gloucester militias did not provide Pulaski with the help he wanted, and they did not prevent the larger British-Loyalist parties from doing great damage during the Egg Harbor mini-campaign. But the militia did limit the ability of smaller raiding parties to act with impunity. The Gloucester County militia marched ten miles, going outside their own besieged county, and then suffered considerable losses battling Ferguson’s raiders. The Monmouth militia marched 60 miles and then engaged in days of skirmishing that limited the activity of smaller raiding parties. It successfully protected the salt works at Barnegat. The Gloucester and Monmouth militias, within the realm of realistic expectations, conducted themselves reasonably well during the Egg Harbor campaign. It is unclear if the Burlington County militia was comparably active. Related Historic Site : Stafford Township Historical Society Sources : Franklin Kemp, A Nest of Rebel Pirates (Egg Harbor, NJ: Batsto Citizens Committee, 1966) pp 124-5; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Aaron Bennett, www.fold3.com/image/#12676787 ; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Aaron Bennett of New Jersey; Norman Goos, A Very Large British Military Investment for Very Little Practical Profit, (Port Republic, NJ: Col. Richard Somers Chapter, New Jersey Society - Sons of the American Revolution); John C. Dann, The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980) pp 121-2, 126-7; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Walter Kerr of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#24017268; Private Correspondence: Jack Fulmer, Veteran's Pension Application of Samuel Denike of New Jersey; National Archives, Revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - John G.Holmes. Previous Next

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These pieces from our collection will give you a more in-depth sense of the time in which the inhabitants of Marlpit Hall lived. Click the images to be directed to our world-class eMuseum, where you can read the curatorial remarks about each object. Grisaille Painted Kast, ca. 1720 Hanging Cupboard, 1722 Dressing Table, ca. 1730 - 1760 Alderman's Staff, ca. 1834 Tall Case Clock, ca. 1802 - 1810 Marlpit Hall - Taylor Homestead Henry Thomas Gulick, 1952 Sampler Hannah Dorset Taylor, 1811 Edward Taylor, ca. 1830 Photos from the Archives Mary Holmes Taylor III, c. 1865 Last direct descendant of Edward Taylor at Marlpit Hall Marlpit Hall, c. 1900 Former quarters of the enslaved at Marlpit Hall, 2020

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