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
Along the east slope of Mount Kemble, on the west side of Mount Kemble
Avenue (U. S. Route 202), about five-sixths of a mile northwest of its
intersection with the Tempe Wick Road, is the campsite occupied in
1779-80 by Stark’s Brigade, named for its commanding officer, Brig. Gen.
John Stark. In this brigade were Webb’s and Sherburne’s Connecticut
Regiments, Jackson’s Massachusetts Regiment, and the 2d Rhode Island
Regiment, with a combined total enlistment, in December 1779, of 1,210
men. This site is privately owned and not accessible to park visitors.
The official uniform of both the Connecticut and Rhode Island troops was
blue, faced with white; the buttons and linings, white.
NO. 28. KNOX ARTILLERY CAMP, 1779-80.
One mile west of Morristown, along the main road to Mendham (New Jersey
Route 24), and at the base of a hill opposite the further end of Burnham
Park, is the site occupied in 1779-80 by the Light Artillery Park and
the Artillery Brigade of the Continental Army under Brig. Gen. Henry
Knox. In this brigade were the 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th Artillery Regiments.
Knox’s quarters were nearby on what is now Kahdena Road, at a place
called “Duchman’s.” The official artillery uniform was “Blue faced with
Scarlet, Scarlet Lining, Yellow buttons, Yellow bound hats, Coats edged
with narrow lace or tape and button holes bound with the same.”
_How To Reach the Park_
Only about 30 miles west of New York City, the park may be reached by
automobile from the east via New Jersey Route 24, from the south and
north via New Jersey Route 32 (U. S. Route 202), and from the west via
New Jersey Routes 6, 10, 5N, and 32. Regional bus lines serve Morristown
from main points in the metropolitan area. The town is also located on
the D. L. & W. Railroad, whose local trains stop at Morris Street, about
5 minutes’ walk from the Ford Mansion and the historical museum.
_Establishment and Administration_
The first step toward the establishment of Morristown National
Historical Park was taken in 1873, when the Washington Association of
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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