REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN SANDYSTON, NEW JERSEY

Mettler Cemetery
Old Mine Rd.
Map / Directions to the Mettler Cemetery

This small cemetery on Old Mine Road contains the graves of at least 2 Revolutionary War soldiers. This a family owned cemetery that has been owned by the Mettler family for decades. The 2 graves are marked with Revolutionary War plaques. The names on these graves are: [1]
        Even Bevans - Served out of Morris County as a drummer boy, until he was old enough to carry a gun
        Jacob Emery - Served out of Morris County

Mettler Cemetery is located on the roadside on Old Mine Road behind a chain link fence. 

Minisink / Westbrook Cemetery
Old Mine Road
Map / Directions to Old Mine Road

In an article by Patte H. Frato, President of the Sandyston Township Historical Society explained the history of this cemetery. From this article, I quote the following excerpts that pertain to its Revolutionary War significance:

"Anthony Westbrook was the first of the family to settle here and is noted for the building of what was known as Fort Westbrook... Anthony Westbrook served in the Revolutionary War and was a soldier in the nearby Battle of the Minisink. He was captured by Brandt's Indians and Tories and was taken to Canada as a prisoner, later to be traded for prisoners here in the US. Anthony returned to Canada and settled there with his family....
Battle of Conneshaugh monument in the cemetery which was placed by John J. VanSickle, President of the Sussex County Historical Society in 1913. In researching the battle, I found that many of our local Sussex County sons served in the Revolution from the Sussex Militia, 3rd Battalion, under Col. John Rosencrans. Col. Rosencrans was a resident of Walpack, NJ. So many of our local boys served against Brant's Indians and Tories during the ending years of the Revolution...
The Battle of Conneshaugh took place on a rainy April morning of 1780. The battle took place just across the Delaware River at Raymondskill, PA. Soldiers from the Sussex Branch of the NJ Militia, along with soldiers from the PA Militia, took battle and in the end 14 soldiers were killed. These soldiers were carried back across the Delaware, carried up a narrow sandy path to the Minisink Burial Ground. 14 soldiers buried with cedar post crosses, yet today not one sign is left as a credit to the lives of those brave men. Only a memorial dedicated to the men lost in that battle of 1780." [2]

Patte H. Frato goes on to explain how she did the necessary research to successfully apply to the Veterans Administration in Washington, DC, for a military gravestone for Capt. Peter Westbrook, who was one of the 14 soldiers killed in the Battle of Conneshaugh. Thanks to her efforts, a military gravestone was erected to Capt. Westbrook at a ceremony on July 18, 2010.

The full text of Patte H. Frato's article can be found here, in the The Sandyston Journal, the newsletter of the Sandyston Township Historical Society, which also includes photos from the ceremony.

Hainesville Cemetery
Cemetery Rd.
Map / Directions to Hainesville Cemetery

The Hainesville Cemetery contains a gravestone for Revolutionary War soldier Private Timothy Shay, (October 26, 1756 - July 18, 1837). There is also a stone for his son David, who fought in the War of 1812.  These modern stones were dedicated in 2008. These stones were granted by the Department of Veterans Affairs since their original stones were no longer standing. An article about the dedication ceremony can be found here, in the The Sandyston Journal, the newsletter of the Sandyston Township Historical Society. [3]

There is another Revolutionary War solider grave near the front of the cemetery, that of Benjamin Depue who served in the out of New York State. The gravestone is unreadable at this time. Patte Frato of the Sandyston Township Historical Society has applied for a new gravestone from the Veterans Administration. Benjamin Depue and Timothy Shay were two early Sandyston settlers after the Revolutionary War, and they each gave a section of their lands to form this cemetery in 1812. [4]