Melvin J. Weig

“ Washington’s immediate reasons for bringing his troops to Morristown were that it appeared to be the place “best calculated of any in this Quarter, to accomodate and refresh them,” and that he knew not how to obtain covering for the men elsewhere. He must have been impressed also with the demonstrated loyalty of Morris County to the patriot cause, even in those dreary, anxious weeks of late 1776 when its militia helped considerably to stave off attempted enemy incursions directly westward from the vicinity of New York. ”

“ Both enemy troops and horses grew sickly from want of fresh food, and many of them died before spring. In New York itself, where Sir William Howe kept headquarters, all kinds of provisions became “extremely dear” in price. Firewood was equally scarce in city and camp.
Thus, by enterprise and daring expedients, Washington greatly discomfited the British Army, reduced still further its waning influence in New Jersey, and simultaneously maintained his own small force in action, preventing the men’s minds from yielding to despondence. ”

“ During two critical winters of the Revolutionary War, 1777 and 1779-80, the rolling countryside in and around Morristown, N. J., sheltered the main encampments of the American Continental Army and served as the headquarters of its famed Commander in Chief, George Washington. Patriot troops were also quartered in this vicinity on many other occasions. Here Washington reorganized his weary and depleted forces almost within sight of strong British lines at New York. ”

“ Tired of pleading, the men at last resorted to mutiny. On the evening of New Year’s Day 1781, almost the whole Pennsylvania Line turned out by pre-arrangement, seized the artillery and ammunition, and prepared to leave the camp. Capt. Adam Bettin was killed, and two other officers wounded, in vain attempts to restore order. Wayne himself, popular though he was with both rank and file, could not persuade the mutineers to lay down their arms. At 11 o’clock that night they marched off toward Philadelphia with the announced intention of carrying their case direct to Congress. ”

“ But Cornwallis, in Trenton, had heard the cannon sounding at Princeton that morning of January 3, and, just as the Americans were leaving the town, the van of the British Army came in sight. By that time the patriot forces were nearly exhausted, many of the men having been without any rest for 2 nights and a day. The 600 or 800 fresh troops required for a successful assault on New Brunswick were not at hand. Washington held a hurried conference with his officers, who advised against attempting too much. ”

“ While the main body of American troops was quartered in Jockey Hollow, certain parts of it, varying in strength from about 200 men to as high as 2,000, were stationed at Princeton, New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Rahway, Westfield, Springfield, Paramus, and similar outposts in New Jersey. Washington changed the most important of these detachments once a fortnight at first, but toward the spring of 1780 some units remained “on the Lines” for much longer periods. Thus Morristown served again as the vital center of a defensive-offensive web for the northern New Jersey and southern New York areas. ”

“ Never again during the Revolutionary War was there to be another major invasion of New Jersey.
While this second Battle of Springfield was in progress, Washington moved the main body of the Continental Army “back towards Morris Town five or six miles,” where he would be in a better position to defend 27 the stores remaining there in case the British attack should carry that far. Then, on June 25, with definite assurance that the enemy had retired to Staten Island, he put all the troops under marching orders for the Hudson Highlands. The second encampment at Morristown was ended. ”

“ Hardly had the Pennsylvania Mutiny subsided when, on January 20, the New Jersey troops at Pompton also rose in revolt. Although this second insurrection was a comparatively mild affair, Washington took no chances with it. Five hundred men under command of Maj. Gen. Robert Howe were sent to restore order, and early in the morning of January 27, these forces surrounded the camp at Pompton and forced the mutineers to parade without arms. ”

“ In addition to all this, the village was nearly equidistant from Newark, Perth Amboy, and New Brunswick, the main British posts in New Jersey, so that any enemy movement could be met by an American counterblow, either from Washington’s own outposts or from the center of his defensive-offensive web at Morristown itself. ”

“ Five thousand British and German troops accordingly crossed over from Staten Island to Elizabethtown Point on June 6, and the next morning began advancing 26 toward Morristown. The first shock of their attack was met by the New Jersey Brigade, then guarding the American outposts; but as heavy fighting progressed, local militia came out in swarms to assist in opposing the invader. During the action, which lasted all day, the enemy burned Connecticut Farms. By nightfall, Knyphausen had come to within a half mile of Springfield. ”

“ Each brigade camped in the Jockey Hollow neighborhood occupied a sloping, well-drained hillside area about 320 yards long and 100 yards in depth, including a parade ground 40 yards deep in front. Above the parade were the soldiers’ huts, eight in a row and three or four rows deep for each regiment; beyond those the huts occupied by the captains and subalterns; and higher still the field officers’ huts. Camp streets of varying widths separated the hut rows. This arrangement is clearly shown in a contemporary sketch of the Stark’s Brigade Camp. ”

“ Ebenezer Huntington, of Webb’s Regiment, wrote that “the men have suffer’d much without shoes and stockings, and working half leg deep in snow.” In spite of 15 these handicaps, however, nearly all the private soldiers had moved into their huts around Christmastime, though some of the officers’ quarters, which were left till last, remained unfinished until mid-February. A young Connecticut schoolmaster who visited the camp near the end of December described it as a “Log-house city,” where his own troops and those of other States dwelt among the hills “in tabernacles like Israel of old.” ”

“ Here came Lafayette with welcome news of the second French expedition sent to aid the Americans. And here was developed, in the face of bitter cold, hunger, hardship, and disease, the Nation’s will to independence and freedom. Thus for a time this small New Jersey village became the military capital of the United States, the testing ground of a great people in its heroic fight for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The First Winter Encampment in Morris County SITUATION: JANUARY 1777. ”

“ Made uneasy by these and other British movements, Washington decided that the time had come to leave Morristown. On May 28, therefore, leaving behind a small detachment to guard what military stores were still in the village, he accordingly moved the Continental Army to Middlebrook Valley, behind the first Watchung Mountain a short distance north of Bound Brook, and only 8 miles from New Brunswick. This was a natural position from which the Americans could both defy attack and threaten any overland expedition the enemy might make. ”

“ Members of the park staff are on duty to receive and assist visitors at the Ford Mansion, the historical museum, and the Wick House. Descriptive folders and other information may be obtained at all three of these points without charge; sales publications may be purchased at the historical museum only. Personal guide service is not normally available, but educational and other organized groups are given special attention when arrangements are made in advance with the superintendent, and as staff limitations permit. ”

“ This war was a stern business; men who enlisted as privates in the Continental Army were not supposed to be looking for amusement.
The officers were somewhat more fortunate. Most of the generals obtained furloughs and went home to their families for part of the winter. Others could escape the tedium of camp life occasionally at least. ”

“ How the name “Fort Nonsense” came into being is unknown. It does not appear in any available written record before 1833, nor has anyone yet authenticated the oft-repeated story that the Commander in Chief’s reason for constructing this work was merely to keep the American troops occupied and out of mischief. Washington’s real intention is disclosed by an order of May 28, 1777, issued as the Continental Army moved to Middlebrook (p. 11) . In this he directed Lt. Col. Jeremiah Olney to remain behind at Morristown, and with his detachment “and the Militia now here ... ”

“ The first step toward the establishment of Morristown National Historical Park was taken in 1873, when the Washington Association of 43 New Jersey was formed to preserve the Ford Mansion “through future generations as a memorial of George Washington.” Among the first of its kind in America, this organization continues active today. ”

“ On the south side of the Cemetery-Wick House Road, at the point where it joins the Grand Parade Road, is the traditional site of the Continental Army Burying Ground in Jockey Hollow. Here are said to lie the remains of between 100 and 150 American soldiers who failed to survive the terrible winter of 1779-80. ”

“ The Ford Mansion, shelter for Delaware troops in 1777 and occupied as Washington’s headquarters during the terrible winter of 1779-80.
THE NEW BASE OF AMERICAN OPERATIONS.
A letter dated May 12, 1777, described the Morristown of that day as “a very Clever little village, situated in a most beautiful vally at the foot of 5 mountains.” Farming was the mainstay of its people, some 250 in number and largely of New England stock, but nearby ironworks were already enriching a few families and employing more and more laborers. ”

“ The coffin was enclosed in a box of plank, and all the profusion of pomp and grandeur was deposited in the silent grave, in the common burying ground, near the church at Morristown. A guard is placed at the grave, lest our soldiers should be tempted to dig for hidden treasure. It is understood that the corpse is to be removed to Philadelphia.”
THE COMMITTEE AT HEADQUARTERS.
The “members of Congress” mentioned by Dr. Thacher as having attended Miralles’ funeral were undoubtedly Philip Schuyler, John Mathews, and Nathaniel Peabody, who had arrived in Morristown only the day before. ”

“ Many of the American troops reached Morristown during the first week of December, and the rest arrived before the end of that month. Estimates vary as to their total effective strength, but it was probably not under 10,000 men, nor over 12,000, at that particular time. Eight infantry brigades—Hand’s, New York, 1st and 2d Maryland, 1st and 2d Connecticut, and 1st and 2d Pennsylvania—took up compactly arranged positions in Jockey Hollow proper. ”

“ Sometimes officers were so deficient in clothing that they could not appear upon parade, much less enjoy visits with the ladies. Even Washington, at his headquarters in the Ford Mansion, often lacked necessities for his table, or experienced some other inconvenience. ”

“ December 1779 found the troops subsisting on “miserable fresh beef, without bread, salt, or vegetables.” When the big snows of midwinter blocked the roads, making it 18 totally impossible for supplies to get through, the army’s suffering for lack of provisions alone became almost more than human flesh and blood could bear. Early in January 1780, said the Commander in Chief, his men sometimes went “5 or Six days together without bread, at other times as many days without meat, and once or twice two or three days without either ... at one time the Soldiers eat every kind of horse food but Hay.” ”

“ Officers and men alike literally lived from hand to mouth all through the 1779-80 encampment period.
MONEY TROUBLES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES.
The cause of many difficulties faced by Washington that winter appears to have been the near chaotic state of American finances. Currency issued by Congress tumbled headlong in value, until in April-June 1780 it took $60 worth of “Continental” paper to equal $1 in coin. “Money is extreme scarce,” wrote General Greene on February 29, “and worth little when we get it. ”

“ Guard the Stores of different kinds ... Strengthen the Works already begun upon the Hill near this place, and erect such others as are necessary for the better defending of it, that it may become a safe retreat in case of Necessity. ”

“ Frequently, he shared the greatest hardships of his men, and from day to day worked unremittingly to improve 23 their lot along with his own. Nor must it be forgotten that, unlike a private, an officer was expected to support and clothe himself largely from his pay or private means, and that he paid for recreation out of his own pocket. ”

“ Immediately adjacent to the Army Burying Ground (No. 18) , visitors may see a log structure of the type used for hospital purposes while the Continental Army lay encamped in Jockey Hollow. This building was reconstructed by the National Park Service from a description and plans prepared by Dr. James Tilton, Hospital Physician in 1779-80, and later Physician and Surgeon General, United States Army. ”

“ MORRISTOWN NATIONAL·HISTORICAL·PARK FOOT TRAILS HORSE TRAILS MOTOR ROADS PARKING AREAS SUGAR LOAF ROAD ONE WAY OFFICERS’ HUT RANGER STATION (INFORMATION) JOCKEY HOLLOW ROAD PICNIC AREA HOSPITAL & BURYING GROUND WILD FLOWER TRAIL GLEN TRAIL PRIVATE BETTIN OAK WICK HOUSE-CEMETERY ROAD ONE WAY WICK HOUSE SOLDIERS’ HUT TEMPE WICK ROAD JERSEY CAMP TRAILS NO. 10. PICNIC AREA AND REST ROOMS.
Three-eighths of a mile southwest of the New York Brigade campsite (No. 9) , on the west side of the Jockey Hollow Road, area picnic area and rest rooms. Parking facilities are provided close to the road. ”