Read the Book about Historian Al Frazza's creation of this Revolutionary War New Jersey website! Click Here for Details.

Morristown, New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites
This website, its text and photographs are © 2009 - 2024 AL Frazza. All rights reserved.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY

Revolutionary War New Jersey
SITE OF JACOB ARNOLD'S TAVERN
WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS, JANUARY 6 - MAY 28, 1777
(First Winter Encampment in Morristown)
Jacob Arnold's Tavern
Historic Sites in Morristown, NJ

Jacob Arnold Tavern Site
20 North Park Pl.
Across from the Green, in front of Charles Schwab
Map / Directions to the Jacob Arnold Tavern Site

Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

George Washington and the Continental (American) Army suffered defeats during most of the year 1776, culminating in a retreat in November from Fort Lee across New Jersey. Finally the tide was turned after the famous Christmas night 1776 crossing of the Delaware River, and the American victory at the first Battle of Trenton. This was followed the next week by more American victories at the Second Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton. After the victory at Princeton on January 3, 1777, Washington and his army headed to Morristown.

In that era, armies did not generally fight in the winter, and would take up winter quarters. Morristown was chosen as the location for this season's winter quarters. Upon arriving in Morristown on January 6, Washington made his headquarters at the tavern of Jacob Arnold, which was located at this site. Several other buildings and churches in Morristown were utilized by General Washington's army during the 1777 encampment. Most of these were situated around the Green (see next entry). [1] The main body of soldiers is believed to have encamped in Lowantica Valley (also spelled Loantica or Lowantaka), which was located between what are now Woodland Ave and Spring Valley Rd, near Lowantaka Brook Reservation.[2]  Washington kept his headquarters here for almost 3 months, spending his last full day here on May 28. He then departed for Middlebrook.[3]

The tavern's owner Jacob Arnold served in the Revolutionary War as a captain of his own troop of light horse cavalry in the Morris County militia, and also as paymaster. He later served as the sheriff of Morris County. Jacob Arnold survived the war by over half a century, dying at the age of 77 in 1827. He is buried in the Morristown Presbyterian Church Cemetery. (See entry lower on this page). [4]

The Arnold Tavern stood at this location until 1886. By that time, there were two stores on the first floor: Adams & Fairchild Grocers, and P.H. Hoffman & Son Clothiers. The second floor was used as apartments. In 1886 the building was purchased by Julia Keese Nelson Colles, a Morristown author and historian. Colles had the building moved to Mt. Kemble Avenue with the intent of remodeling it into a larger building that would be used as a hotel. This did not occur, and with some remodeling and expansion the building became the first location of All Souls Hospital. The building was razed in 1918 after it had been badly damaged by a fire. [5]


General Washington and his army would return again to Morristown in the winter of 1779/1780 for their second, and more famous, Morristown winter encampment. (The 1779/1780 encampment is described in the entries for Ford Mansion and Jockey Hollow lower on this page.)

Revolutionary War New Jersey
THE GREEN
The Green - Morristown, New Jersey
The Alliance Statue Group

Patriot's Farewell
The Green

Morristown in the Revolutionary War
Baptist Church on the Green

The Green
West, North, East, and South Park Pl.
Map / Directions to the Morristown Green
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

Morristown Green website

The Green has been at the center of Morristown for over two and a half centuries. [6]  When General Washington took his headquarters at the Jacob Arnold tavern during the 1777 winter encampment, the Green became a hub of military activities. Various buildings around it were used as officers' headquarters, army hospitals, and a military store house. The Green is filled with many markers to this historic past. There are historic plaques situated throughout the park which describe buildings and churches that stood around the Green at the time of the Revolutionary War, and the history of the Green itself.  Opposite the Arnold Tavern site on the North Park Place side of the park, is a monument to mark the site of the courthouse and jail that stood here at the time of the Revolutionary War.

There are two beautiful pieces of Revolutionary War related sculpture in the Green. One is a group of life-size statues of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette.  The statue group is called The Alliance, and it represents the moment of Lafayette informing Washington and Hamilton on May 10, 1780, in Morristown, that the French were coming to support the American cause. [7] The Alliance was created by StudioEIS of Brooklyn, and was dedicated in 2007.

The other is a sculpture called Patriots Farewell that sits atop a fountain on the West Park Place side of the park. It depicts a militiaman saying farewell to his wife and son, accompanied by their horse and dog. A plaque on the fountain describes the sculpture as "A monument to the New Jersey militia and their families whose sacrifices created a strong and enduring nation." The group was sculptured by Robert St. Croix in 2001 and sits on a fountain designed by R.R. Deskovick. [8]

Even with all of the historical markers in the Green, it still retains a neighborhood park feel. It is a great place to visit during a day of local sightseeing.

Revolutionary War New Jersey
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY
Presbyterian Church of Morristown NJ
Morristown in the Revolutionary War

Peter Dickerson Grave
Revolutionary War Soldiers Grave

Morristown Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
57 East Park Pl.
Map / Directions to the Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

Morristown Presbyterian Church Website

The current Presbyterian Church located here was constructed in 1893-1894. It stands at the location of two previous church buildings. The original structure, which was built in 1738 - 1740, stood here at the time of the Revolutionary War. During the 1777 Morristown winter encampment, while General Washington was headquartered across the Green at Arnold Tavern, this church was used as a hospital for soldiers suffering from small pox. Many of the soldiers who died of smallpox are buried in the church cemetery. [9]

The cemetery contains the graves of many Revolutionary War soldiers, and locals with Revolutionary War connections. There are a number of plaques and markers throughout the cemetery to help locate and describe some of the notable graves, including: [10]

Colonel Jacob Arnold
Owner of Arnold's Tavern,
Washington's 1777 Headquarters

December 14, 1749 - March 1, 1827
Captain, Light Horse Cavalry
Morris County East Battalion

John Canfield (or Campfield)
1755 - September 25, 1845
Private, 2nd Regiment NJ Militia

Silas Condict
1738 - 1801
(Note that the 1825 death date on
Member of the Provincial Congress, N.J.
Drafted the first constitution of N.J.

Col. William DeHart
December 1746 - June 16, 1801
Major, 1st Battalion, New Jersey 
Lieut. Colonel, 2nd Regiment, Continental Army

Peter Dickerson
1724 - May 10, 1780
Captain, 3rd New Jersey Regiment
Member of First Provincial Congress NJ
Owner of Dickerson Tavern

John Doughty
1754 - September 10, 1826

Colonel Jacob Ford, Sr.      
April 13, 1704 - January 19, 1777
Prominent Land-Holder and Iron Manufacturer
Member of New Jersey House of Assembly Judge of Morris County Court
Ardent Promoter of Independence

Colonel Jacob Ford, Jr.
February 19, 1738 - January 10, 1777
Colonel, Eastern Battalion, NJ Militia 1776-77
Owner of Ford Mansion
Built Gun Powder Mill in 1776
Buried with Military Honors

Jonathan Ford
November 9, 1733 - July 12, 1817

Theodosia Ford
September 13, 1741 - Died August 31, 1824
Widow of Colonel Jacob Ford, Jr.
Hosted General Washington at Ford Mansion during Winter 1779-80 Morristown encampment

Joshua Guerin
Died April 11, 1808, Aged 70
Sergeant, Morris County Militia
House is at entrance to Jockey Hollow

John Gwinnup
1749 - January 15, 1777
NJ Militia

Timothy Johnes Jr.
September 27, 1748 - October 13, 1818
Surgeon, Morris County Eastern Battalion

Jacob Johnson
1750 or 1751 - April 25, 1780
Private, Morris County Militia
In Arnold's Light Horse Cavalry

Joseph Lewis
1748 - 1814
Paymaster, NJ Militia

John Lindsley
1728 - September 10, 1784
Captain, Morris County Militia

Major Joseph Lindsley
1736 - 1822

John Mills
February, 1746 - September 24, 1837

Timothy Mills
Died March 4, 1803, Age 84
House is on Mills St -

John Oliver
April 22, 1758 - September 22, 1831
Capt. Morris County Militia Eastern Battalion

Samuel Oliver
Died August 16, 1811, Age 78
Capt. Morris County Militia Eastern Battalion

Ebenezer Stiles
1726 - 1814
Not a soldier, but his house in nearby Morris Plains quartered lighthorsemen in 1780

The church's website contains a list of an additional 71 Revolutionary War soldiers who are known to be buried here, but whose grave locations are unknown. This list can be found here.

Revolutionary War New Jersey
EVERGREEN CEMETERY
Evergreen Cemetery, Morristown NJ
Morristown in the Revolutionary War

Evergreen Cemetery
Smallpox Solders Graves in Morristown

Evergreen Cemetery
Entrance on Martin Luther King Blvd., near Hazel St.
Map / Directions to Evergreen Cemetery
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

The Baptist Church that once stood on the Green, was used as a hospital for soldiers with small pox during the 1777 encampment. Between 200 - 300 of the soldiers who died of smallpox were buried in a mass grave in the Baptist Church's cemetery. In 1892, the Baptist Church moved from its original location at the Green, into its current building at 51 Washington St. At that time, three or four wooden boxes of surviving remains of the mass grave were moved and re-interred at Evergreen Cemetery in two unmarked graves.  Over a century later, in 1996, this memorial stone was dedicated to these soldiers (and other church members whose graves were moved here). [11]  This memorial is located in Section J of the cemetery. A historical plaque about the original Baptist Church and its use during the Revolutionary War can be found in the Green across from where it stood. (Pictured in The Green entry above.)

There are several other Revolutionary War related graves in the cemetery, including: [12]

John Clearman
1765 - 1857
Drummer Boy
Grave located in Section F

Rev. Timothy Johns
May 24, 1717 - Sep. 15, 1794
Reverend of Morristown Presbyterian Church when it was used as a
hospital for troops during the 1777 Morristown winter encampment
Grave located in Section L

Captain Richard Stites
November 8, 1747 - September 16, 1776
Grave located in Section K

Temperance "Tempe" Wick
(Last name spelled Wickham on grave monument)
Oct. 30, 1758 Apr. 26, 1822
Of the Wick family whose house was used a headquarters
by Major General Arthur St. Clair in the 1779-1780
Grave located in Section L

Revolutionary War New Jersey
THE UPPER REDOUBT
"Fort Nonsense"
The Upper Redoubt - Morristown NJ
The Upper Redoubt, known as Fort Nonsense

Fort Nonsense
Off Chestnut St.
Map / Directions to Fort Nonsense
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

During the winter 1777 Morristown encampment, this was the site of the Upper Redoubt, on top of what was then called Kinney's Hill. (A redoubt is an enclosed defensive fort, usually constructed from earthworks.) On May 14, 1777, as winter turned to spring, Washington ordered the construction of a Guard House here. In his General Orders for the day, he stated that "The Quarter Master General, is... to have a Guard-house, in the upper Redoubt, on the hill adjoining this place, erected with dispatch, and sufficient to contain 30 Men — This building to be slight, and attended with little expence [sic]." [13]

Two weeks later, on May 28, Washington's last full day in Morristown in 1777, he wrote several letters and orders. One of his final things written during the 1777 Morristown encampment was to Lieutenant Colonel Jeremiah Olney. In it, he refers to the Upper Redoubt, the Guard House, and the "The Hill" on which they sat. These orders make clear that Washington had a serious reason for the structures built here: [14]

To LIEUTENANT COLONEL JEREMIAH OLNEY

Morris Town, May 28, 1777.
Sir: Your detachment is to remain at Morris Town till further orders, with which, and the Militia now here, you are to Guard the Stores of different kinds, in the most effectual manner you are able.

Endeavour, as far as it is in your power, to 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.

The Guard House in the upper Redoubt, should be immediately finished, and if you are not able to Mount a guard in it, at present, you should nevertheless, make it the Quarters of a trusty Sergeant and select party of Men, otherwise, if the Enemy, or their Tory Assistants, should have any designs upon the Town, or the Public Stores in it, their first attempt will be to seize the height and turn our own Works against us.

While none of the original structure survives, an outline of the original fortifications (based on archeological evidence) is marked out in stones. There are a number of historical plaques here to explain the events connected to the area. There are several picnic benches here as well. The view is spectacular.

The name "Fort Nonsense" applied to the Upper Redoubt appears to have no basis in actual Revolutionary War era history. Apparently a story arose circa the early 1800's that Washington only had these fortifications built as a way of keeping his troops busy, and therefore the fort was a work of "nonsense." Historians and writers of that time period had an unfortunate habit of simply making stories up. The idea that Washington had the Upper Redoubt built simply as a make-work task flies in the face of Washington's own General Orders at the time it was built. His own words at the time show that he had a serious purpose in their construction: that it would be used to as a safeguard against the enemy taking control of the high ground in case of attack. This was clearly not "nonsense". Unfortunately, the name stuck, and it is now used as the official name for this part of the Morristown National Park. [15]

Revolutionary War New Jersey
GENERAL WASHINGTON EQUESTRIAN STATUE
Washington Statue in Morristown NJ
George Washington Equestrian Statue

General Washington Equestrian Statue
Morris Ave., between Valley View Dr. and Washington Ave.
Across from Ford Mansion
Map / Directions to the General Washington Statue
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

This magnificent bronze equestrian statue of General Washington was cast in Florence, Italy. It was dedicated on October 19, 1928, the 147th anniversary of the British surrender at Yorktown. The sculptor was Frederick George Richard Roth of Brooklyn, who specialized in sculptures involving animals. Several of his pieces can be found in New York City's Central Park, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  [16]

Across the street from this statue stands the Ford Mansion, where Washington headquartered in the winter of 1779-1780. 

New Book is Available about the creation of this Revolutionary War New Jersey website! Click Here for Details.

Revolutionary War New Jersey
FORD MANSION - WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS DECEMBER 1, 1779 - JUNE 23, 1780
(Second Winter Encampment in Morristown)
and
WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS MUSEUM
Ford Mansion in Morristown

Ford Mansion - Washington's Headquarters Dec 1, 1779 - June 23, 1780

Washington Headquarters Museum

Washington's Headquarters Museum


Ford Mansion & Washington's Headquarters Museum
230 Morris Ave.
Map / Directions to the Ford Mansion
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

Part of Morristown National Historic Park

For information about visiting Ford Mansion, including operating hours, see the park website www.nps.gov/morr

Ford Mansion was used as General Washington's Headquarters from December 1, 1779- June 23, 1780, during the second winter encampment in Morristown. At the time, between ten and twelve thousand of Washington's soldiers camped several miles away in Jockey Hollow. The winter was an unbelievably brutal one, and conditions were very bad for the soldiers at Jockey Hollow.(See Jockey Hollow entry lower on this page.)

The house was built in 1774 by Jacob Ford Jr., a member of a prominent and successful Morristown family, who had built their fortune in the iron business. He served as a Colonel in the NJ Militia during the Revolutionary War. He also built a powder mill for manufacturing gun powder for the army in 1776. (See Jacob Ford Jr. Powder Mill Site entry lower on this page.) Jacob Jr. died 1777, and was buried with military honors.

Washington stayed at this house during the 1779-1780 Morristown winter encampment, as the guest of Jacob Ford Jr.'s widow Theodosia. Theodosia and her four children stayed in several rooms on the first floor, while Washington and his military "family" used the rest of the house.  A large room on the first floor was used as the War Room. Washington's aides-de-camp (military assistants/secretaries), including Alexander Hamilton, slept upstairs. Theodosia lived until 1824, and is buried near Jacob Jr. at the Morristown Presbyterian Church Cemetery, along with other members of the extended Ford family. (See Morristown Presbyterian Church Cemetery entry above on the page)

George Washington's wife Martha came to visit him during every winter of the war. This was at a time when traveling overland over great distances was both dangerous and uncomfortable. Martha traveled from the Washington's home in Virginia to stay with the General in Morristown. She arrived at the Ford Mansion on December 31, 1777. George and Martha stayed in the main chamber on the second floor. [17]

The Washington Headquarter Museum is located behind the Ford Mansion. The Museum's collection includes items from the Revolutionary War era, and items owned by or associated with George Washington. An original Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington is on display. A theater room shows the 20 minute film Morristown: Where America Survived, throughout the day. This documentary, narrated by Edward Herrmann, provides an overview to the Morristown encampment, and so is a good starting point before exploring Ford Mansion and Jockey Hollow. There is also a book and gift shop.

The Museum building was designed by John Russel Pope, who also designed such notable Washington D.C. structures as the Jefferson Memorial, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Archives Building. The design pays homage in some of its architectural details to George Washington's Virginia home Mount Vernon. These include the cupola, the two faux chimneys, and the triangular pediment over the main entrance.  [18]


The Ford Mansion and Washington Headquarters Museum is one of the best Revolutionary War historic sites to visit in New Jersey. Together with the Jockey Hollow area of the Morristown Historic Park, it provides an informative and interesting look into the experiences of Washington, his officers, and the soldiers during the brutal winter of 1779-1780.  There is enough to do and see to make a day out of it, and it has enough to engage both someone who is new to their interest in history, as well as someone more knowledgeable.

Revolutionary War New Jersey
WASHINGTON'S LIFE GUARD CAMP SITE MONUMENT
Washington's Life Guard Monument
Morristown in the Revolutionary War

Washington's Life Guard Camp Monument
Morris Ave. and Washington Ave.
Across from Ford Mansion
Map / Directions to the site of the Life Guard Camp
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

During the 1779/1780 winter encampment, while Washington headquartered at Ford Mansion, General Washington's Life Guard encamped nearby at this site, which is marked with this boulder monument. The Life Guard consisted of about 150 men who served as Washington's personal body guards. They were also entrusted to protect his "baggage, papers and other matters of great public import." [19]  Washington, who was always concerned with appearances, was particular of the men who served in the Life Guard. These men wore uniforms of blue coats with white facings, white waistcoats and breeches, and black stockings and half-gaiters. They wore round hats with blue and white feathers.[20] The men were chosen to meet Washington's specific orders regarding their appearance, including their height. This can be seen in Washington's General Orders for March 11, 1776, when he first established the Life Guard: [21]

"The General being desirous of selecting a particular number of men, as a Guard for himself, and baggage, The Colonel, or commanding Officer, of each of the established Regiments, (the Artillery and Riffle-men excepted) will furnish him with four, that the number wanted may be chosen out of them. His Excellency depends upon the Colonels for good Men, such as they can recommend for their sobriety, honesty, and good behaviour; he wishes them to be from five feet, eight Inches high, to five feet, ten Inches; handsomely and well made, and as there is nothing in his eyes more desireable [sic], than Cleanliness in a Soldier, he desires that particular attention may be made, in the choice of such men, as are neat, and spruce. They are all to be at Head Quarters to morrow precisely at twelve, at noon, when the Number wanted will be fixed upon. The General neither wants men with uniforms, or arms, nor does he desire any man to be sent to him, that is not perfectly willing, and desirous, of being of this guard. They should be drill’d men."

In April 1777, during the first Morristown encampment, Washington reformed the Life Guard, this time looking for an even more uniform height, as he was now looking for men between 5' 9" and 5' 10". He specified that they be, "sober, young, active, and well made" who "possess the pride of appearing clean and soldierlike." [22]

Revolutionary War New Jersey
Revolutionary War New Jersey
Revolutionary War New Jersey
JOCKEY HOLLOW ENCAMPMENT AREA
Jockey Hollow - Morristown NJ

Jockey Hollow Encampment Area
Jockey Hollow Rd.
Morristown National Historical Park
Map / Directions to the Jockey Hollow Encampment Site
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

Part of Morristown National Historic Park
For information about visiting Jockey Hollow, including operating hours, see the park website www.nps.gov/morr.

Jockey Hollow was used as a campsite by ten to twelve thousand soldiers during the winter of 1779-80, while Washington was headquartered at Ford Mansion.

The winter of 1779-80 was a brutal one. The soldiers experienced great hardship, hunger, and cold. Twenty eight separate snow storms fell during the winter. The season was so continuously cold that, for the only time in recorded history, the waters around New York City froze over, and were closed to shipping for weeks at a time. [23] In the midst of these extreme weather conditions, the soldiers had to build their own huts, and endure a serious shortage of food.


Joseph Plumb Martin, who was a private at the time, told the story of this winter decades later in his book. Martin described how he and his fellow ill-clad, tired and hungry soldiers had to, "march many a weary mile in winter, through cold and snow, to seek a situation in some (to us, unknown) wood to build us habitations to starve and suffer in. I do not know how the hearers of this recital may feel, but I know how I felt at the time and I know how I yet feel at the recollection of it; but there was no remedy, we must go through it, and we did go through it, and I am yet alive."[24]

Martin goes on to describe the conditions the men suffered through that winter, in chilling detail: [25]

"The winter of 1779 and '80 was very severe; it has been denominated 'the hard winter,' and hard it was to the army in particular, in more respects than one. The period of the Revolution has repeatedly been styled 'the times that tried men's souls.' I often found that those times not only tried men's souls, but their bodies too; I know they did mine, and that effectually."

"...At one time it snowed the greater part of four days successively, and there fell nearly as many feet deep of snow, and here was the keystone of the arch of starvation. We were absolutely, literally starved. I do solemnly declare that I did not put a single morsel of victuals into my mouth for four days and as many nights, except a little black birch bark which I gnawed off a stick of wood, if that can be called victuals. I saw several men roast their old shoes and eat them, and I was afterwards informed by one of the officers' waiters, that some of the officers killed and ate a favorite little dog that belonged to one of them. If this was not "suffering" I request to be informed what can pass under that name. If "suffering" like this did not "try men's souls," I confess that I do not know what could. The fourth day, just at dark, we obtained a half pound of lean fresh beef and a gill of wheat for each man; whether we had any salt to season so delicious a morsel I have forgotten, but I am sure we had no bread, except the wheat, but I will assure the reader that we had the best of sauce: that is, we had keen appetites."

There are many buildings and historic markers around Jockey Hollow, to explain the events that occurred here. There are also many miles of hiking trails throughout the park as well. (Click here for a PDF file of a map of the hiking trails). Several of the more notable features of the park are described in the next four entries.

Revolutionary War New Jersey
Jockey Hollow Visitor Center
Jockey Hollow Visitor Center
Jockey Hollow Visitor Center
Inside Jockey Hollow Encampment Area
Morristown National Historical Park

For information about operating hours, see the park website www.nps.gov/morr.

The Visitor Center offers a starting point to exploring Jockey Hollow. A small theater inside the Visitors Center shows a 20 minute film about the 1779-1780 winter encampment Morristown: Where America Survived, throughout the day.  Narrated by Edward Herrmann, his short film provides a background to the encampment story, and so it is good to watch it before walking or driving through the park.

The Visitor Center's other main attraction is a replica of the inside of a soldier's hut. The exhibit gives an idea of what it was like for the men who lived twelve per hut during the encampment.

There is also a book and gift shop, park brochures/maps, and restrooms.


Revolutionary War New Jersey
Wick House
Wick House

Wick House
Inside Jockey Hollow Encampment Area
Morristown National Historic Park

Open based on staffing availability. The park advises that you call 973-543-4030 on the day of your visit to Jockey Hollow, to confirm if the Wick House will be open that day.

The Wick house was built circa 1750 by Henry Wick, a wealthy farmer and the largest landowner in Morristown. He also owned surrounding farm area of 1,400 acres, which was mainly forest. The large number of trees made the area useful to the army, who needed logs to built their huts, and fire wood for heating and cooking. During the course of the encampment, over 600 acres of Wick property trees were cut down. Additional trees were also felled on a neighbor's property.

During the 1779 /1780 winter encampment, the Wick House was used as headquarters by Major General Arthur St. Clair, who commanded 2,000 Pennsylvania troops.


While the house may appear modest to modern eyes, it was actually more impressive than most of the other homes in the area at that time, which reflected the prosperity of the Wick family. It is built in what is known as the Cape Cod Style. [26]

The Wick House is open to the public on certain days (based on staffing availability) and is furnished in eighteenth-century style. When open, the house has a park ranger wearing a period costume in attendance. Next to the house, you will find the Wick House Garden, which features a selection of growing plants and herbs which were used during the 1700s.

"A Chippendale writing desk that belonged to Henry Wick (made circa 1770) is displayed at the Washington Headquarters Museum.

Revolutionary War New Jersey
Soldier Huts Recreations at the Pennsylvania Line
Soldier Huts

Soldiers Huts Recreations at the Pennsylvania Line
Inside Jockey Hollow Encampment Area
Morristown National Historic Park

During the 1779-1780 winter encampment, about 1000 - 1,200 huts were built here. The soldiers were required to build each hut to exact specifications. Each hut needed to be 14 feet wide, 15 - 16 feet long, and 6 and a half feet high.[27] Washington's orders specified that "any hut not exactly conformable to the plan, or the least out of line, shall be pulled down and built again agreeable to the model and in it's proper place." [28]

Twelve soldiers shared each hut, which had wooden bunks, a fireplace and chimney at one end, and a door in the front. Windows were added in the spring. Officer's huts were larger, with two fireplaces and chimneys, and held up to four officers. [29]

None of the original structures built by soldiers during the encampment survive. These modern recreations stand at the top of the hill at the Pennsylvania Line Encampment Site area of the park.


Revolutionary War New Jersey
Joshua Guerin House
Joshua Guerin House

Joshua Guerin House
Jockey Hollow Rd. and Sugarloaf Rd.
At the eastern side entrance to Jockey Hollow Encampment Area

The Guerin House is used by park staff,
and is not open to the public.

Near the Jockey Hollow Road entrance, stands the Joshua Guerin House.  Parts of the house stood here during the Jockey Hollow encampment, and soldiers occupied parts of blacksmith Joshua Guerin's land. [30] The Guerin House is now used by the Park Service and is not open to the public.

Joshua Guerin is buried at the Morristown Presbyterian Church Cemetery (see listing above on this page)


New Book is Available about the creation of this Revolutionary War New Jersey website! Click Here for Details.

Revolutionary War New Jersey
Revolutionary War New Jersey
Revolutionary War New Jersey
ARTILLERY PARK SITE
Artillery Park Site
Morristown Artillery Park Site

Artillery Park Site

Artillery Park Site
Mendham Ave. near Jones Dr.
Map / Directions to the Artillery Park Site
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

During the 1779/1780 Morristown winter encampment, the artillery brigade, under the command of General Henry Knox, encamped on this hillside.

The site is marked with a flag, a historic sign, and a boulder monument which reads, "The artillery under General Henry Knox and the artificers under Colonel Jeduthan Baldwin were encamped on this hillside during 1779-80. The soldiers were housed in huts. The guns were parked along this road. The horses were pastured in what is now Burnham Park." [31]  (See next entry for Horses Pasture in Burnham Park)


Revolutionary War New Jersey
HENRY KNOX ARTILLERY HORSES PASTURE SITE MONUMENT
Morristown, NJ
Burnham Park

Henry Knox Artillery Horses Pasture Site Monument
On the west side of Burnham Park
Burnham Pkwy.
Map / Directions to Burnham Park
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

While the artillery brigade were encamped on the nearby hillside described in the previous entry, they "used the field now covered by these ponds as pasture for the artillery horses." [32]

Revolutionary War New Jersey
THOMAS PAINE MONUMENT
Thomas Paine
Burnham Park

Thomas Paine Statue in Morristown, New Jersey

Thomas Paine Monument
On the southeast side of Burnham Park
Burnham Pkwy.
Map / Directions to Burnham Park
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

This striking statue of Thomas Paine stands across the park from the Henry Knox Artillery Horses Pasture Site Monument. 

Thomas Paine was the author of important pamphlets during the Revolutionary War. The first of these pamphlets, Common Sense, was published in early 1776, and helped move public opinion in the colonies towards independence.

In July 1776, Paine joined up with the American Army, and in September became an aide to General Nathanael Greene. During this time he also acted as a war correspondent, sending his eyewitness accounts to be published in the Pennsylvania Journal. In an account he wrote about a skirmish he witnessed on October 28, 1776, he noted in a memorable phrase that he was writing "with a wooden pen on a drumhead." [33]


Paine was with the American army at Fort Lee when they began their retreat across New Jersey. Traveling with the army as they retreated, he began writing the first of what would become a series of pamphlets titled The American Crisis (also known as The Crisis). Paine himself later wrote: [34]

"I began the first number of the Crisis beginning with the well-known expression, ('These are the times that try men's souls') at Newark, upon the retreat from Fort Lee, and continued writing it at every place we stopt at, and had it printed at Philadelphia the 19th of December [1776], six days before the taking the Hessians at Trenton, which, with the affair at Princeton, the week after, put an end to the black times."

The first American Crisis pamphlet  makes many mentions of New Jersey (referred to in the pamphlet as "The Jerseys"), notably Paine's experience with the American troops at Fort Lee, and the retreat across the state, noting events at Hackensack and Newark. He also makes mention of a grist mill in what is now Leonia.

This statue was dedicated July 4, 1950. Its sculptor was George J. Lober, [35] who lived most of his life in Keyport, NJ. [36] The statue depicts Paine writing on a drumhead, in reference to Paine's "with a wooden pen on a drumhead." A close look at the statue shows that it depicts the opening lines of The American Crisis on the paper draped over the drumhead. However, it should be noted that Paine's "with a wooden pen on a drumhead" quote was written in the article he wrote about an October 28, 1776 skirmish, and not about his writing of The American Crisis, which he began writing weeks later. Although the drumhead is often mentioned in connection with The American Crisis, Paine's own accounts of writing The American Crisis do not mention it.

This is one of two statues of Thomas Paine in New Jersey; the other is in Bordentown. Paine owned a house in Bordentown, and lived there periodically. The house still stands today.

Revolutionary War New Jersey
SCHUYLER-HAMILTON HOUSE
Also known as the Jabez Campfield House
Schuyler-Hamilton House
Morristown in the Revolutionary War

Schuyler-Hamilton House
5 Olyphant Pl.
Map / Directions to the Schuyler-Hamilton House
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

Click Here for information about tours and events

This house was built circa 1760. It was purchased in 1765 by a local doctor named Jabez Campfield. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a surgeon in Colonel Oliver Spencer's Fifth Battalion, Jersey Line. He lived here with his wife Sarah Ward for fifty-six years, until his death in 1821. [37]

During the 1779-1780 Morristown winter encampment, this house was used by army surgeon Dr. John Cochran and his wife Gertrude. [38] Their niece Elizabeth Schuyler (who was also called both "Eliza" and "Betsy") came to stay at the house during the winter. While here, she was reacquainted with Colonel Alexander Hamilton, whom she had met previously in 1777. Hamilton was serving at the time as one of General Washington's aides-de-camp, staying along with Washington at Ford Mansion, less than a half mile away from here. Hamilton became a regular visitor to Eliza at this house, and after a month's courtship, they had decided to marry. They wed at Eliza's family's home in Albany, NY, on December 14, 1780.

Alexander Hamilton continued to serve as an aide-de-camp to General Washington until early 1781. Half a year later, he fought at the Battle of Yorktown, the last major battle of the war, commanding a charge of three battalions on a British redoubt. After the war, he would go on to become the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury, under President Washington. His face is well known to most Americans because it has appeared on the ten dollar bill since 1928. [39] 

Hamilton was killed in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr in Weehawken on July 11, 1804. Eliza outlived her husband by half a century, dying at the age of 97 on November 9, 1854. She never remarried, and remained committed to preserving Alexander's legacy. They are buried next to each other at New York City's Trinity Church Cemetery. [40] 

Revolutionary War New Jersey
SITE OF DICKERSON TAVERN
Also Known as Norris Tavern
Norris Tavern
Dickerson Tavern, Morristown, NJ

Dickerson (Norris) Tavern Site
Spring St. and Martin Luther King Blvd.
Map / Directions to Norris Tavern Site

Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

During the 1779/1780 winter encampment, a court-martial of Major General Benedict Arnold was held at Dickerson Tavern (also known as Norris Tavern), which stood at this location. The court-martial took place December 23, 1779 - January 26, 1780, several months before Arnold's later treason, which made his name synonymous with traitor. The court-martial involved charges regarding Arnold's conduct shortly before and during the time when he had served as military commandant of Philadelphia in 1778. Arnold was found guilty of two of the four charges against him, and the court did "sentence him to receive a reprimand from his excellency the commander in chief [General Washington]." It is believed that the court-martial was one of a chain of events which Arnold resented, which motivated his later treason. [41]

Dickerson Tavern was owned by Peter Dickerson, who served as a Captain in the Revolutionary War, and as a member of the First Provincial Congress of New Jersey. He is buried in the cemetery of the Morristown Presbyterian Church (See Morristown Presbyterian Church listing above on this page). During the war, Dickerson leased the tavern to a man named Robert Norris, so it sometimes referred to as Norris Tavern. [42]

Dickerson Tavern survived until the early 20th century. It suffered major damage in a fire, and was later demolished. [43] A plaque on the current building here marks the site. [44]

Revolutionary War New Jersey
JACOB FORD JR. POWDER MILL SITE
Morristown in the Revolutionary War
Powder Mill Site

Powder Mill Site
On the Patriots' Path trail
Access the path from the parking lot at 25 Lindsley Dr. - the site is a short walk on the path from the parking lot
Map / Directions to the Powder Mill Site
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

Jacob Ford Jr., the owner of Ford Mansion where Washington headquartered, built a gunpowder mill near this site on the Whippany River in early 1776. £2000 was lent to him by the Provincial Congress of New Jersey "to erect a powder-mill for the making of gunpowder, an article so essentially necessary at the present time." The terms of the loan stated that Congress would "lend him £2000 of the public money for one year, without interest, on his giving satisfactory security for the same, to be repaid within the time of one year in good merchantable powder." [45]

Jacob died January 10, 1777, nearly three years before his widow and children would host Washington at the Ford Mansion. He is buried at the Morristown Presbyterian Church Cemetery. (See Morristown Presbyterian Church listing above on this page)

Revolutionary War New Jersey
TIMOTHY MILLS HOUSE
Timothy Mills House
Captain Timothy Mills

Timothy Mills House
27 Mills St.
Map / Directions to the Mills House
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

This house is a private residence.
Please respect the privacy and property of the owners.

Constructed in 1740, this is the oldest house in Morristown which stands on its original site. It was the home of farmer and tanner Timothy Mills, who served in the Morris County Militia during the Revolutionary War. His son John Mills, who was born in 1746 and so grew up in this house, also served in the Morris County Militia. Timothy and John are buried at the Morristown Presbyterian Church Cemetery, along with many other members of the Mills family. (See Morristown Presbyterian Church listing above on this page) [46]

Revolutionary War New Jersey
SANSAY HOUSE
Lafayette in Morristown, New Jersey
Sansay House

Sansay House
17 DeHart St.
Map / Directions to the Sansay House
Map / Directions to all Morristown Revolutionary War Sites

This house is a private residence.
Please respect the privacy and property of the owners.

Even though this house was built in 1807, twenty-four years after the end of the Revolutionary War, it has a Revolutionary War connection because of a ball held here in honor of General Lafayette in 1825.

General Lafayette was a French General who fought for the American side in the Revolutionary War. He developed close friendships with Washington, Hamilton, and other Revolutionary War figures. Decades after the end of the War, Lafayette made a return visit from France to the United States from August 16, 1824 - September 7, 1825. At that time, the United States consisted of only 24 states, and Lafayette visited all of them.

On July 14, 1825, Lafayette began his day in New York City, and then came to New Jersey. After visiting Hackensack, Paterson, Little Falls, Parsippany and Whippany, he arrived at Morristown around 6 p.m.. A newspaper article published five days later contained the following account: [47]

" 'The Nation's Guest' took his final leave of the citizens of New-York on Thursday morning last on his tour south, preparatory to his embarkation for his native country. He was escorted from his lodgings in Broadway to the Hoboken ferry by the military, where he crossed the North river and proceeded directly to Hackensack, where he was received with a thousand welcomes by the patriotic citizens of that village. After breakfast he continued his journey to Paterson, where after receiving the hospitalities of the citizens, and minutely examining and admiring this 'Manchester of America,' he [set] out for Morris-town, passing the Little Falls, Parsippany, and Whippany in his route, in each of which places the people were eager to hail and welcome the passing stranger. Though engaged to dine at Morris-town, he did not reach that place until about 6 o'clock in the afternoon. His reception here was of the most cordial character. The citizens were highly elated with the visit of one who had forty years ago done so much in aiding the acquirement of rational liberty and national independence. Nor was the General less gratified to see a thriving village and a smiling country as the product of the common exertion. He well recollected the little mount on which the village stands, and over which his feet had so often trod in the early years of manhood and of military glory. Time did not permit of his visiting the ground where the revolutionary army encamped during the hard winter of 1780. At Morris-town he lodged, and at 7 o'clock the next morning he was on his way to Newark, agreeable to special invitation."

Additional details about Lafayette's visit were published in 1895 by Morristown historian Julia Keese Colles: [48]

"The Morris Brigade under General Darcy was paraded on the Green and the firing of cannon and the ringing of church bells announced [Lafayette's] coming. General Doughty was Grand Marshal of the day and an eloquent address was made, in behalf of the town, by Hon. Lewis Condict. Lafayette dined at the Ogden House, the home of Charles H. Ogden, a large brick building [at the] corner of Market street and the Green... He attended a ball given in his honor at the Sansay House... and stayed over night with Mr. James Wood, in the white house, corner of South and Pine streets."
[Note that the two other houses mentioned are no longer standing]


The Sansay house was later owned by Civil War General Joseph Warren Revere, who was the grandson of Paul Revere. General Revere is buried at Holy Rood Cemetery at 61 Whippany Road in Morristown.

Other historic sites associated with Lafayette's 1824/1825 visit to America can be found in Elizabeth, Hackensack, Little Falls, Newark, Paramus Rahway, and Woodbridge.

Revolutionary War New Jersey

Source Notes:

1. ^ John T. Cunningham, The Uncertain Revolution - Washington & the Continental Army at Morristown (West Creek NJ: Cormorant Publishing, 2007) p. 18 - 44

Regarding the dating of Washington's arrival in Morristown to January 6, 1777:
Cunningham writes on page 23 of The Uncertain Revolution - Washington & the Continental Army at Morristown that Washington and his troops arrived in Morristown "just before sunset on January 6, 1777."

This fits in well with Washington's correspondence of the time.
Washington wrote to Major-General Heath from Pluckemin (Bedminster) on January 5, 1777, stating, "I shall draw the force on the side of the North River together at Morristown, where I shall watch the motions of the enemy, and avail myself of every favorable circumstance."
On January 7, 1777, Washington wrote to the President of Congress from Morristown. 

From Pluckemin, it would be approximately a 15-20 mile march to Morristown. So it makes perfect sense that if the army set out from Pluckemin early on the 6th (the day after Washington's letter to Heath), they would arrive in Morristown late the same day.

Washington's letters to Heath and the President of Congress can be read in:
George Washington; Edited by Jared Sparks, The Writings of George Washington Volume 4 (Boston: Russel, Odiorne and Metcalf; and Hilliard, Gray, and Co., 1834) p. 263 - 265       
Available to be read at Google Books here

2. ^ Andrew M. Sherman Washington's Army in Lowantica Valley, Morris County, New Jersey Winter of 1776-1777 in American Historical Magazine (Volume III January, 1908 - November 1908) (New York: The Americana Society, 1908) p. 581 -596 (Details about the location of the encampment appear on pages 587-588)
Available to be read online here

3. ^ It is often written that Washington left Morristown for Middlebrook on May 28, 1777. However, I think it more likely that he spent his last full day at Arnold's Tavern on May 28, and then after spending the evening of the 28th there, left early for Middlebrook on the morning of the 29th.

Washington wrote a number of letters on May 28 which are marked "Headquarters, Morris Town", or simply "Morris Town." Washington then wrote a letter to Major General John Sullivan on May 29, 1777, which is marked "Headquarters, Morris Town." Other letters of Washington's from May 29, 1777 are marked "Headquarters Middle Brook"
This indicates that Washington started May 29, 1777 headquartered in Morristown, and arrived in Middlebrook the same day.

The letter to Major General John Sullivan can be found in:
John C. Fitzpatrick, Editor, The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799 / Volume 8 (May 1, 1777-July 31, 1777) (Washington: United States Printing Office, 1933) Page 136
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here

4. ^ Information about Jacob Arnold was drawn from:
· Markers and plaques in the
Morristown Presbyterian Church Cemetery
· Barbara Hoskins Men From Morris County New Jersey Who Served in the Revolutionary War (Morristown: The Friends of the Joint Free Public Library of Morristown and Morris Township, 1979) p. 12
· William S. Stryker, Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War  (Trenton: Wm. T. Nicholson & Co., 1872) p. 381 (Available to be read at Google Books here)
· Philip H. Hoffman, History of "The Arnold Tavern" Morristown, N.J. (Morristown: Chronicle Press, 1903)

Both Hoskins and Hoffman state that Jacob Arnold served as Sheriff. The Morris County Sheriff's Office website supports this in its list of people who have held the office of Morris County sheriff (There is a disagreement as to the years he was sheriff. Hoskins states that "In 1783 he was elected sheriff and served three terms." The Morris County Sheriff's Office website says he served from 1781-1783.)

  Jacob Arnold is referred to as "Colonel" in a number of places, including his tombstone. It appears pretty well established that he was a Captain of the light horse cavalry during the Revolutionary War. I was unable to establish at what time after this he attained the rank of Colonel.

5. ^ John T. Cunningham, The Uncertain Revolution - Washington & the Continental Army at Morristown (West Creek NJ: Cormorant Publishing, 2007) p. 321-322

Philip H. Hoffman, History of "The Arnold Tavern" Morristown, N.J. (Morristown: Chronicle Press, 1903)
This short book is notable in that its author was once one of the owners of the stores located here (P.H. Hoffman & Son, clothiers). He wrote the book in 1903, while the building still stood as All Soul's Hospital.

On page 3, Hoffman writes, "This 'Tavern' building stood on the same spot for about 150 years, and until 1886 when it was bought by Mrs. Julia Keese Colles, a patriotic lady of Morristown, as a genuine Revolutionary relic, and for its preservation, it was removed to another part of the town, where it now stands as the main portion of All Souls' Hospital, having been much changed in outward appearance and enlarged."

The change in appearance can be seen in the book, it contains a drawing of the original Tavern from the 1700s, and a photograph of the remodeled, expanded building as it looked as All Soul's Hospital in the early 1900s. The book contains other illustrations of historic Morristown structures which are no longer standing. Those interested can read the book online at the Internet Archive here.

For more information regarding Julia Keese Nelson Colles, See the page for the collection of her papers at the New Jersey Historical Society website, which also contains a Biographical Note about her.

Her one published book, Authors and Writers Associated with Morristown, can be read at the Project Gutenberg website here
Note that the book contains a section on "Historic Morristown," including brief information about Arnold Tavern.

6. ^ Although the Morris County Heritage Commission sign states "THE GREEN - 1715" (sign pictured in The Green entry), this is apparently a bit misleading. According to the book
Richard C. Simon, The Green - A History of the Morristown Green (Morristown; The Trustees of the Morristown Green Inc, 2004) p. 3 - 5,
the town of Morristown was founded around 1715, but the establishment and identification of this area as the Green occurred later. According to Simon, the area "began to take on the definition as a town center Green during the second half of the century. The reference to the area as the Green has been noted as early as the 1760s."

The book contains an entire chapter on the Green during the Revolutionary War, including the role of the courthouse and jail on the Green in the legal actions against local Tories. It is available for sale at The Morris County Historical Society's bookstore at Acorn Hall. There are also copies at the Morristown Library, and other libraries in Morris County.

7. ^ Plaque at the base of the sculpture group

8. ^ "A monument to the New Jersey militia..." quote, 2001 date, and information about the artists from a plaque on the back of the Patriots Farewell fountain.

9. ^ Church history information drawn from "The Presbyterian Church On The Green" historic plaque in the Green; from pages and PDFs within the History section of the church's website; and historic plaques and markers at the church

10. ^ Information was drawn from gravestones, several explanatory signs in the cemetery, and information in the Historic Graveyard section of the Presbyterian Church of Morristown website.

11. ^ Information drawn from:
· Kemper W. Chambers, The Evergreen Cemetery - A Walk Into The Past With Kemper Chambers (Morristown: 2007) p.30-31
·The Baptist Church On The Green / Revolutionary War Hospital & Burial Ground historic plaque at the Green
· The History of the First Baptist Church of Morristown page on the church's website

12. ^ Information drawn from gravestones and markers in Evergreen Cemetery, and from the book:
Kemper W. Chambers The Evergreen Cemetery - A Walk Into The Past With Kemper Chambers (Morristown: 2007)

13. ^ John C. Fitzpatrick, Editor, The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799 / Volume 8 (May 1, 1777-July 31, 1777) (Washington: United States Printing Office, 1933) Page 58
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here

14. ^ John C. Fitzpatrick, Editor, The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799 / Volume 8 (May 1, 1777-July 31, 1777) (Washington: United States Printing Office, 1933) Page 135
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here

15. ^ Various works mention that the "Fort Nonsense" story originated in the early 1800's, with the specific date of 1833 sometimes given. In John T. Cunningham's The Uncertain Revolution - Washington & the Continental Army at Morristown (West Creek NJ, Cormorant Publishing, 2007), he states on page 36, "The name Fort Nonsense was first used by a fanciful writer in 1833 and has never gone away."
I have not personally been able to track down any solid information about the 1833 story or its writer.

16. ^  · MorristownGreen.com, September 13, 2010, George Washington is about to get a makeover in Morristown
          · Cultural Landscape Report For Washington's Headquarters - National Park Service, Boston, Massachusetts, 2005, page 55
          · Statue of George Washington, Ford Mansion, 1928, Morristown, NJ  The North Jersey History & Genealogy Center - Photograph and Image Collection

  A gallery of bronze sculptures of Roth's at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (all of animal subjects) can be viewed here

17. ^  Information in this entry about the Ford Mansion, Washington's stay here, and the Ford Family was drawn from several sources, including:
· John T. Cunningham, The Uncertain Revolution - Washington & the Continental Army at Morristown (West Creek NJ: Cormorant Publishing, 2007)
· Morristown National Historical Park section on the website of the National Park Service / U.S. Department of the Interior
· Visits to the Ford Mansion/Washington Headquarters Museum

18. ^ Anne DeGraaf, with Eric Olsen, Jude Pfister, Join Rowe, and Thomas Winslow, Washington Headquarters Museum (Lawrenceburg IN: R. L. Ruehrwein, The Creative Company, 2007) Page 1-5
· This short booklet provides an informative look at the Museum's creation, construction and history. Written and researched by staff members of Morristown National Historic Park, it is a well written account with lots of great photographs. It is sold at the Museum's book store. It is recommended to anyone interested in more details about the history of the Museum.

19. ^ George Washington letter to Colonel Alexander Spotswood, April 30, 1777:
George Washington; Edited by Jared Sparks, The Writings of George Washington Volume 4 (Boston: Russel, Odiorne and Metcalf; and Hilliard, Gray, and Co. 1834) Page 407
Available to be read at Google Books here

20. ^ George Washington Parke Custis, Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington (Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, 1861) p. 256 - 257
Available to be read at Google Books here
· The author, George Washington Parke Custis, was the son of Martha Washington by her first marriage, and became the adopted son of George Washington.

21. ^ General Order March 11, 1776 - George Washington, John C. Fitzpatrick, Editor, The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745 - 1799 Volume 4 (Washington: United States Printing Office, 1931) Pages 387-388
Available to be read at Google Books here

22. ^ George Washington letter to Colonel Alexander Spotswood, April 30, 1777:
George Washington; Edited by Jared Sparks, The Writings of George Washington Volume 4 (Boston: Russel, Odiorne and Metcalf; and Hilliard, Gray, and Co., 1834) Page 407
Available to be read at Google Books here

23. ^ David M. Ludlum, Early American Winters 1604 - 1820 (Volume I) (Boston: American Meteorological Society, 1966) Pages 111 - 133

This book contains a wealth of information about the weather for the winter of 1779-1780. Based on contemporary sources, it has day-by-day weather records for not only Morristown, but also New York City, and towns in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. This book is long out of print, and it may be difficult to locate a copy. There are non-circulating reference copies of both volumes at the Morristown & Morris Township Library, which is where I found it.

The book's author David M. Ludlum was a weather historian from New Jersey (born in East Orange, died in Princeton). For more information about Ludlum's life, see the interesting obituary which appeared for him in The New York Times when he died in 1997.

24. ^ Joseph Plumb Martin, Edited by George F. Scheer, Private Yankee Doodle (Eastern National; 2012 Edition) Page 166

25. ^ Joseph Plumb Martin, Edited by George F. Scheer, Private Yankee Doodle (Eastern National; 2012 Edition) Page 170, 172

26. ^ Morristown National Historical Park section on the website of the National Park Service / U.S. Department of the Interior
and
Morristown National Historical Park brochure, National Park Service / U.S. Department of the Interior

27. ^ Melvin J. Weig, A Military Capital of the American Revolution (National Park Service Historical Handbook Series. No. 7) (Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, 1950, reprinted 1961)    Available to be read at the National Park Service website here
and
Russell Frank Weigley, Morristown - Official National Park Handbook (National Park Service Historical Handbook Series. No. 120) (National Park Service Division of Publications, 1985) p. 100    Available to be read at Google Books here

28. ^ Washington's General Orders - November 19, 1779, Washington, George, 1732-1799. The writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources (Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library)

Note that this General Order was written twelve days before Washington's arrival in Morristown for the encampment. Therefore these orders were given as preparation for the upcoming encampment. The full paragraph concerning the huts is as follows:

"Upon the arrival of the troops destined to quarter in Jersey, at the ground upon which they are to hut, the space allotted for each brigade will be pointed out by the Quarter Master General who will furnish a plan of the intended dimensions of the soldiers huts; in the construction of which it is expected, that a minute attention will be paid to the plan. As conveniency, health, and every good consequence will result from a perfect uniformity in the camp, the Commander in Chief takes this previous opportunity of assuring, that any hut not exactly conformable to the plan, or the least out of line, shall be pulled down and built again agreeable to the model and in it's proper place. The commanding officers of brigades will pay a strict attention to this order."

29. ^ Same as source note #26.

30. ^ Morristown National Historic Park sign in front of the Joshua Guerin House.

31. ^ Plaque erected by Tempe Wicke Society / Children of the American Revolution in 1932

32. ^ Text on the plaque of the General Knox artillery monument in Burnham Park.

33. ^ David Freeman Hawke, Paine (New York: Harper & Row 1974) p 59, and source note on page 414
 · According to Hawke's source note, this quote appeared in piece by Paine published in the Pennsylvania Journal on November 6, 1776, under dateline October 28, 1776.
 · Pennsylvania Journal on November 6, 1776, is also listed as a source for the drumhead story in:
David Hackett Fischer, Washington's Crossing (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004) page 505
 · At this time, I have not seen a copy of the original November 6, 1776, Pennsylvania Journal , and am basing my information on Hawke's and Fischer's source notes.

34. ^  Reply to Cheetham, August 21, 1807 Thomas Paine, The Political Writings of Thomas Paine Volume II (Boston, J. P. Mendum, Investigator Office, 1870) Page 493   
Available to be read at Google Books   here

It should be noted that while in this account Paine very specifically says he began writing the first American Crisis while stopped at Newark, "and continued writing it at every place we stopt at" as they continued the retreat across New Jersey, Paine himself wrote a different account which appears to contradict this. In a letter Paine sent to Henry Laurens on January 14, 1779, he enclosed "a short history of my conduct since I have been in America." Here Paine described the events in a manner which suggests that he wrote all of the first American Crisis after he arrived in Philadelphia. His entire paragraph dealing with the first American Crisis reads as follows:

"A few days after our army had crossed the Delaware on the 8th of December 1776, I came to Philadelphia on public service, and, seeing the deplorable and melancholy condition the people were in, afraid to speak and almost to think, the public presses stopt, and nothing in circulation but fears and falsehoods, I sat down, and in what I may call a passion of patriotism, wrote the first number of the Crisis.  It was published on the 19th of December, which was the very blackest of times, being before the taking of the Hessians at Trenton. I gave that piece to the printer gratis, and confined him to the price of two coppers, which was sufficient to defray his charge."
(The full letter and "short history" can be read in The Writings of Thomas Paine Vol. IV Edited by Moncure Daniel Conway (New York and London, G. P. Putnams's Sons 1896) p. 429 - 433. This paragraph just quoted appears near the bottom of page 432. Available to be online at Google Books here.)

Since Paine's two accounts appear to contradict each other in terms of where the writing began, it could be argued that it is impossible to know for certain which account is correct. However, I favor the "Reply To Cheetham" account which places the beginning of the writing in Newark. Paine's account in "Reply To Cheetham" appears to me to be more specific, and the Laurens letter account a simplified version. To the point, it appears more likely to me that Paine simplified the events in the Laurens letter, leaving out details. It seems to me much harder to explain why he would include incorrect details in the "Reply To Cheetham."

On the other hand, it could also be argued that when Paine wrote his "Reply To Cheetham" he was responding to Cheetham's claim that Paine "in the times that tried souls stuck very correctly to his pen in a safe retreat never handled a musket offensively." Therefore Paine would have had reason to stress his own time spent sharing the hardships and experiences of the army, and therefore had reason to mention his time at Newark (where he would have been sharing the hardships of the army), rather than at Philadelphia. However I see this as a reason for Paine to emphasize Newark, rather than make up something that had not occurred.

It could also be argued that some of the text of the first American Crisis is certainly written from the point of view of having already arrived in Philadelphia, and refers to the stop at Newark in the past tense. (i.e. "We staid [sic] four days at Newark") However, even if we can take this as proof that the writing was completed and/or edited by Paine in Philadelphia, it does not rule out that Paine began writing the American Crisis at Newark, and then wrote some more of it while retreating across New Jersey.

A final argument that could be made against my conclusion is that the "Reply To Cheetham" account was written two decades after the fact, while the Laurens letter account was written only two years after the fact.  However, if Paine had indeed written the famous opening of the American Crisis (which he himself points out as "the well-known expression") at Newark, I think it is reasonable to believe that the moment of creation of the line might be clear in his mind, even two decades later.

With these factors in mind, my own conclusion is that Paine began writing some of what became the first American Crisis while in Newark and during the rest of the New Jersey retreat, and completed it at Philadelphia.

35. ^  Inscription on the back of the Thomas Paine monument states that July 4, 1950, was the dedication date, and Lober was the sculptor.

36. ^ Jack Jeandron, Keyport: From Plantation to Center of Commerce and Industry (Making of America Series) (Charleston SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2003) p. 138                 Available to be read at Google Books here
This book states that Lober was born in Chicago in 1892, moved to Keyport in 1905, and was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Keyport when he died in 1961.

37. ^ Schuyler-Hamilton House page on the website of the Morristown, NJ Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (Who own and operate the house)
Campfield's service in Colonel Oliver Spencer's Fifth Battalion, Jersey Line, drawn from:
D.A.R. Genealogical Research System. Jabez Campfield is Ancestor # A018800 ( Also provides his birth/date info: 12/24/1737 -   5/20/1821)
   and
William S. Stryker, Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War  (Trenton: Wm. T. Nicholson & Co., 1872) p. 56 (Available to be read at Google Books here)

38. ^ For those interested in details about Cochran, the U.S. Army Medical Department / Office of Medical History website has a biography of him that focuses on his time with the army during the Revolutionary War.

39. ^ Hamilton first appearing on the $10 bill in 1928 was drawn from:
Currency Notes Bureau of Engraving and Printing - Available as a PDF on the website of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, U.S. Department of the Treasury here

40. ^ Much of the information in this entry was drawn from Ron Chernow's book, Alexander Hamilton (New York: The Penguin Group, 2004). The book's prologue, The Oldest Revolutionary War Widow (p. 1 - 6), and Chapter Seven, The Lovesick Colonel   (p. 126 - 153) in particular were used for information about the relationship of Alexander and Eliza.
Those wishing to know more about the Alexander/Betsey relationship, and Hamilton's life in general, are recommended to this book. I highly recommend the book's prologue, The Oldest Revolutionary War Widow, which depicts Eliza in her nineties, almost five decades after Alexander's death. It is a moving portrait of Eliza in the early 1850's, and makes one consider the incredible scope of her life and experience: She had been at the 1779-1780 Morristown winter encampment, and married one of the leading figures of the Revolutionary War era. She then lived until 1854, less than a decade before the Civil War. To put this into perspective, consider that Washington had died in 1799, Benjamin Franklin in 1790, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in 1826.

41. ^ Proceedings of a General Court Martial for the Trial of Major General Arnold with and Introduction, Notes and Index (New York: Privately Printed, 1865) (Quoted text appears on page 145)        Available to be read at the Internet Archive here
· John T. Cunningham. The Uncertain Revolution - Washington & the Continental Army at Morristown (West Creek NJ: Cormorant Publishing, 2007) p. 202-215

· Arnold did receive a reprimand from Washington. Instead of reprimanding Arnold in person, Washington issued the reprimand as part of his General Orders for April 6, 1780 (while still at Morristown). The Orders included the verdict of the court, followed by Washington's reprimand:

"The Commander in Chief would have been much happier in an occasion of bestowing commendations on an officer who has rendered such distinguished services to his Country as Major General Arnold; but in the present case a sense of duty and a regard to candor oblige him to declare, that he considers his conduct in the instance of the permit as peculiarly reprehensible, both in a civil and military view, and in the affair of the waggons as 'Imprudent and improper'."
George Washington; Edited by Jared Sparks The Writings of George Washington Volume 18 (Boston: Russel, Odiorne and Metcalf; and Hilliard, Gray, and Co., 1837) p. 222 - 225.       Available to be read at Google Books here

42. ^ William S. Stryker, Editor, Archives of the State of New Jersey, Second Series, Vol. I (Documents Relating to the Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey) (Trenton: John L. Murphy Publishing Company, 1901) page 123

43. ^ John T. Cunningham, The Uncertain Revolution - Washington & the Continental Army at Morristown (West Creek NJ: Cormorant Publishing, 2007) p. 204

44. ^ Washington's General Orders for both December 21, and December 22, 1779 specify the location of the court martial as "Norris's Tavern." Both Orders are quoted in Proceedings of a General Court Martial for the Trial of Major General Arnold with and Introduction, Notes and Index (New York: Privately Printed, 1865) p.3. Available to be read at the Internet Archive here
· The plaque on the building identifying this as the site of Norris Tavern is a Town of Morristown plaque.

45. ^ Information about the £2000 loan, and the quotes from the agreement were drawn from an article titled Washington at Morristown During the Winters of 1776-77 & 1779-80, which appeared in Harper's New Monthly Magazine in February, 1859. The relevant part of the article states: 

"Early in 1776, as I learn from a manuscript in the New Jersey Historical Society, the younger Ford agreed with the Provincial Congress of New Jersey 'to erect a powder-mill for the making of gunpowder, and article so essentially necessary at the present time.' The Congress agreed to 'lend him £2000 of the public money for one year, without interest, on his giving satisfactory security for the same, to be repaid within the time of one year in good merchantable powder," the first installment of "one ton of good merchantable gunpowder to be paid, 'on the 1st of July next, and one ton per month thereafter till the sum of £2000 be paid'."

The article gives no further information about the "manuscript in the New Jersey Historical Society" that the quotes were taken from. At this time, I have not personally seen this manuscript.

This article was published in a collection:
Henry Mills Alden, Frederick Lewis Allen, Lee Foster Hartman, Thomas Bucklin Wells, Editors, Harper's New Monthly Magazine Volume XVIII / December, 1858, to May 1859 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1859) pages 289-309
Available to be read at Google Books here

46. ^ Information about the house, and Timothy and John Mills was drawn from the Morris County Heritage Commission sign at the house, from gravestones and markers in the Morristown Presbyterian Church Cemetery, and from the Historic Graveyard section of the Presbyterian Church of Morristown website.

47. ^ "Gen. La Fayette.'The Nation's Guest'...," Sentinel of Freedom, and New-Jersey Advertiser [Newark] July 19, 1825; No. 42, Vol. XXIX, Page 3
 ▸ I would like to thank Rebecca Grabie of the New York Historical Society's Patricia D. Klingenstein Library for taking the time to locate a copy of this newspaper and send me photos of it.

48. ^ Julia Keese Colles, Authors and Writers Associated with Morristown (Morristown: Vogt Bros., 1895) pages 41-42
Available to be read at Google Books here
   ~ Colles was a Morristown author and historian. As noted in the Jacob Arnold Tavern Site entry on this page, and its Source Notes, Colles is known for having purchased the Arnold Tavern building and having it moved to Mt. Kemble Ave. Colles writes that she based her account of Lafayette's visit in part on her own communication with Morristown citizens who had witnessed events of the day.