The British Army will revisit the same roads and homes that it first
witnessed more than two hundred years ago during
the American Revolution. This time though, the British Army is composed of men and women from the region who re-enact
history and there will be no house burning this time around.
As part of the state-wide Road to Monmouth Heritage Campaign,
both American and British routes to the site of the largest battle of the American Revolution will be remembered and honoured
in the week from June 21 to June 27. The heritage campaign covers five counties and fifty municipalities, from the Delaware
River to the Atlantic, and to the Raritan River and Bergen County.
Billed as the British Occupation of Burlington County,
the events offer an opportunity for families to share together with an evening filled with history as a family outing.
On
June 22, British and Hessian troops will once again occupy the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield. As the British Army
of 20,000 men rendezvoused in the town on June 19, 1778, the entire community became an armed camp and the historic Indian
King Tavern was taken over. Hours are from 1 to 4 p.m. at this
State owned historic site. For additional information
on the Tavern, please visit
http://www.levins.com/tavern.html. or the New Jersey State Park Service's website and link to Indian King.
As the Hessian soldiers assigned to the British
Army moved out of Haddonfield on June 19, 1778 they skirmished constantly with the New Jersey militia. These citizen
soldiers of our state were assigned to tear down bridges, fill in wells, fell trees across the British line of march and harass
the enemy. One of the officers of the Cumberland County militia was wounded and captured just
east of Haddonfield.
Captain Jonathan Beesley was severely wounded and brought to General Clinton's headquarters in then Evesham Township, now
present-day Mount Laurel. Located at 1645 Hainesport-Mt. Laurel Road, the historic building is currently owned by George
and Jill Heck.
On June 23 the British will once again take over the house, and Captain Beesley will breathe again.
Mr. Heck will portray Beesley, who refused to yield any information to Clinton and the other British officers. When
Beesley died of his wounds, he was buried at the property with full military honours by the enemy. Mr. Heck has agreed
to portray the living Captain Beesley, but has not
yet committed to portraying the expired Captain, nor re-enact the burial
in the present-day front yard! For more information about contacting the Heck's please email MonmouthB@aol.com.
The
evening of history continues with the British occupation of the Mt.
Laurel Friends Meeting House one mile north of the
Clinton Headquarters House. Located at the intersection of Moorestown-Mt. Laurel Road and Hainesport-Mt. Laurel
Road, this 18th century Meeting House is directly across the street from
Mt. Laurel State Park. The site will be
open during the afternoon and evening of June 23, and British soldiers will encamp on the lawn, just as they did in 1778.
The major difference between then and now is that in 1778, there was torrential rain, and the reenactors are hoping not to
repeat the original climate conditions.
The county seat of Burlington will be taken over by the onward moving British
Army. In 1778 all considered traitors to the British Crown. On June 24th, Crown Forces on their way to the
Battle of Monmouth will occupy parts of Mount Holly from noon to 8 p.m. Reenactors portraying British Grenadiers,
Hessian Jaegers and American Colonials and Militia present living history at the
Historic Prison, Shinn House, and the
Friends Meeting House on High Street.
Tours of Mount Holly Friends Meeting run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Meeting was
occupied during this time 225 years ago and used as a commissary to provide meat and food to the Royal forces and their German
allies.
Tours of Historic Burlington County Prison from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Built in 1810, this is the oldest remaining
county prison in the United States. The Shinn House will also be open. The concluding program that evening
is a roundtable discussion at the Mount Holly Library from 8 to 9 p.m. where historians will review the effects of the Crown
Forces' occupation on the general public, the farmers, and the townspeople of Mount Holly and area. This series is a
a Project of Main Street Mount Holly and Burlington County Parks and Recreation Department
- Mount Holly Township
-
Mount Holly Friends
- Mount Holly Historical Society
- Mount Holly Library Association
- Mount Holly Downtown Business
Association
- Burlington County Cultural Heritage Commission
In conjunction with
Call 609.914.0811 -or- email:
MountHolly03@aol.com
for more information
on the Occupation, as well as
Main Street programs and membership.
On June 25, Mansfield
Township and the historic site of Black Horse Tavern will once again bear witness to the British occupation, and will include
a living history encampment, small skirmish and the remembrance of the execution of Corporal Fisher. Beginning at 4
p.m., the encampment opens at the Mansfield Township Community Park where the re-enactment begins at 6 p.m. At 7:30,
the
Township Committee will issue a special proclamation in honour of the community's role in the American Revolution.
Continuing
with the Road to Monmouth and the British Occupation of Burlington County, Crosswicks Village is the setting for events on
June 26. From 5 to 6 p.m., British soldiers will attempt to repeat history at the bridge over Crosswicks Creek.
Troops will form south of the village, and move through the town skirmishing with New Jersey militia. Using the cover
of the Crosswicks
Meeting House, the British will force the Americans back across the bridge and Job Clevenger of the Burlington
County militia will gallantly try to destroy the bridge, but will meet the same fate of death in combat as in 1778.
The skirmish marks the beginning of a community celebration to take place in the evening.
Finally, on Friday morning,
June 27, the British will actually march into
Allentown, New Jersey. Beginning at 10 a.m., troops and members of
the public will participate in a march for history from North Crosswicks into Allentown. The assembly point is the Middleton
Estate and the march continues along the Old York Road, where a skirmish will take place in the Allentown area. At noon,
participating
troops will conclude and then proceed to Monmouth Battlefield State Park, where the largest 225th Anniversary event for 2003
will take place on June 28 - 29.
The entire Road to Monmouth Heritage Campaign includes an event on July 4 along the
Raritan River and on July 5 at Marlpit Hall in Middletown and the Sandy Hook Light House. On July 12 and 13, the conclusion
of the heritage campaign occurs at the Hermitage in Ho-Ho-Kus, Bergen County with the court martial of Major General Charles
Lee.
Press Release from Mansfield Township, 2003
Press Release: Black Horse (Columbus, NJ)
In 1778, Columbus and the surrounding neighborhood was known as Black Horse, named after a well-known tavern which stood
at the site of the present-day Olde Columbus Inn. It was here, during the hot summer of 1778, that British, Hessian and Loyalist
soldiers, representing greatest army of the greatest empire, visited for a short while as it made its way to the New Jersey
coast.
In the Spring of 1778, the American Revolution became a global war. The entry of France into the conflict as an ally of
the young United States, forced England to revise its military strategy. Fearing entrapment by the French Navy at Philadelphia,
the British were forced to evacuate their army to New York City. The question for the British was how to move twenty thousand
men in a column that stretched for twelve miles from the Delaware to the Hudson. For General Washington, the question was
which route would the British Army take, and how could he attack it.
On June 18, the British had crossed over from Philadelphia to New Jersey as it made its way to New York City. Passing through
Haddonfield, Mt. Laurel and Mt. Holly, the British moved slowly. On June 21, it left Mt. Holly and traveled through Jacksonville,
along the Petticoat Bridge Road and into Black Horse where it encamped on June 22. The encampment stretched from where the
Homestead development now stands, through the village and west along the Mt. Pleasant Road. General Clinton made his headquarters
at the Black Horse Tavern.
Perhaps the most poignant event that occured during that time was the execution of a young British deserter at a point
just west of Columbus. Corporal John Fisher of the 28th Regiment had been courtmartialled in Philadelphia in March, 1778 for
assaulting a young girl. The court released him because his officers had insisted that he was a good lad. Sometime after that,
Fisher deserted the British Army and made his way to New Jersey. On June 19, 1778 he was part of a militia company that was
skirmishing with the British near Evesham. Desparately wounded in that fight, he was captured and his identity discovered.
On June 21 at Mt. Holly, he was once again put on trial. Here he was found guilty of both desertion and taking up arms with
the enemy. Nothing could save Fisher from his fate.
The courtmartial passed sentence that he would be hung on the high road between 4 a.m. and noon the next day. Soldiers
wrote in their diaries and journals of the spectacle. All reported that Fisher had been severely beaten and then hanged from
a tree. The site of the execution tree is still remembered by local residents, as the story of this young man has been handed
down over the generations.
All of these events will be remembered on June 25 in Columbus. On that day, the Road to Monmouth Heritage Campaign makes
its way to Mansfield Township and Columbus as the route of the British Army is commemorated from Camden County to Sandy Hook.
Reenactors will set up a living history encampment at 4 p.m. at the Mansfield Township Community Park and a small skirmish
will be staged at 6 p.m. At 7:30, the Township Committee will pass a special Resolution honoring the Revolutionary War history
of the community.
