Morristown National Historical Park, a Military Capital of the American RevolutionWeig, Melvin J.
History
Morristown National Historical Park, a Military Capital of the American Revolution
Weig, Melvin J.
Morristown National Historical Park (N.J.); New Jersey -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
Immediately southwest of the campsite occupied by the 2d Maryland
Brigade in 1779-80 (No. 14), on the same side of the Jockey Hollow Road,
stands the Bettin Oak. Near the base of this old tree is the traditional
grave of Capt. Adam Bettin, who was killed on New Year’s Night 1781,
during the mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line, then encamped nearby under
command of Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne (pp. 27-28). Defensive works for the
protection of Wayne’s camp were erected on Fort Hill, which rises to the
eastward of this point. Nothing is left of these fortifications today.
NO. 16. NEW JERSEY BRIGADE CAMP, 1781-82.
About 1,200 feet southwest of the point where the Tempe Wick and Jockey
Hollow Roads meet is the traditional campsite occupied in 1781-82 by the
New Jersey Brigade under Brig. Gen. Elias Dayton (p. 29). In this
brigade at that time were the 1st and 2d New Jersey Regiments, with a
combined total enlistment, in April 1782, of around 700 men. The
official uniform of these troops was blue, faced with buff; the buttons
and linings, white.
NO. 17. WICK HOUSE, ST. CLAIR’S QUARTERS, 1779-80.
[Illustration: _The Wick House, built about 1750, and occupied as
quarters by Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair in the winter of 1779-80._]
On the north side of the Tempe Wick Road, about 325 feet west of its
intersection with the Jockey Hollow Road, is the Wick House, which
served in 1779-80 as quarters for Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair, then
commander of the Pennsylvania Line encamped in Jockey Hollow
(Nos. 20-21). The building was erected about 1750 by Henry Wick, a
fairly prosperous farmer who had come to Morris County from Long Island
a few years before. Tempe Wick, his youngest daughter, is said to have
concealed her riding horse in a bedroom of the house, in January 1781,
in order to prevent its seizure by the Pennsylvania mutineers
(pp. 27-28). The interior of the building was furnished with period
pieces following its restoration by the National Park Service in 1935.
Efforts have also been made to recreate, as far as possible, the
colonial atmosphere of the farm itself, as reflected in the nearby
garden, barnyard, orchard, and open fields.
[Illustration: _A corner of the kitchen in the Wick House._]
[Illustration: _The Wick House garden._]
NO. 18. ARMY BURYING GROUND, 1779-80.
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.
[Illustration: _Army Burying Ground in Jockey Hollow._]
NO. 19. RECONSTRUCTED ARMY HOSPITAL HUT, 1779-80.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account