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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003
Right on this road to RED BANK BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL PARK, 2 miles.
Here, on the high bank at the edge of Delaware River, stood Fort Mercer, hastily
built in the fall of 1777 to prevent the British fleet from joining the land forces
that had occupied Philadelphia. Before the earthworks had been completed by 400
Rhode Island volunteers, a surprise attack was made from the rear by 2,000 Hessian
troops. Under Col. Christopher Green, Americans, many of them Negroes in rags
held their fire until the Hessian battalions swept up to the base of the ramparts;
then they unleashed a hail of musketballs and grapeshot at such close range that
wadding was driven into the faces and breasts of the attackers. With 400 dead and
wounded, the Hessians fell back, reformed their lines and charged again. They
were again repulsed and their commander, Count Donop, was captured, mortally
wounded. As the "rented" soldier lay dying he said, "I die a victim of my ambition
and the avarice of my sovereign." Meanwhile, American guns mounted on barges
were hurling shots into the British fleet. Although the battle at Fort Mercer lasted
barely half an hour, the naval engagement was continued the next day, October
Two British vessels, the 64-gun Augusta and the 18-gun Merlin, took fire and blew
up. Fort Mifflin on the Pennsylvania side held out against the British fleet until
November 11, but it was finally pounded to pieces. Washington, unable to spare
enough men for its defense, later abandoned Fort Mercer. Some of the old trenches
have been reconstructed, and around a STATE MONUMENT are three cannon, long
buried and finally discovered with a radio detector.
The only building nearby is the old stone and brick WHITALL HOUSE (adm. 25¢;
resident custodian), maintained by the Daughters of the American Revolution in
honor of a Quaker dame whose nonchalance during the battle set an all-time record
for even the calm folk of Gloucester County. Ann Whitall was busy with her spinning in an upstairs chamber when the battle began. Balls whistled past the gables;
finally, one shot blasted its way through the wall and hurtled across the room into
the opposite wall. The Quaker lady picked up her spinning wheel and went to the
cellar, continuing her work until the battle ended and wounded men were brought
to her house. While she bound up the wounds of Hessian soldiers, she scolded them
for coming to America to butcher the Colonists. The house is excellently preserved,
and in one of the two rooms containing Colonial furnishings is Mrs. Whitall's spinning wheel. Near the Whitall house is a PICNIC GROVE, with the usual accommodations.
The highway passes through level valley lands, utilized to a large extent
for asparagus growing. Rows of cedar trees mark farm lanes and boundaries. Several tidal creeks are crossed.
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