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Montville, New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites
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REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN MONTVILLE, NEW JERSEY

Revolutionary War New Jersey
HENRY DOREMUS HOUSE
Doremus House
Henry Doremus House

Henry Doremus House
490 Main Rd. (Rte. 202)
Map / Directions to the Henry Doremus House

On June 23, 1780, the Battle of Springfield was fought in Union County. It was the last large Revolutionary War battle fought in the northern states. [1] After the battle, General George Washington and the Continental (American) Army headed to Whippany, where they remained until the evening of June 25 when they travelled to this area, and Washington made his headquarters at the Henry Doremus house. Washington stayed at the house until June 27, with members of his military staff, including Colonel Alexander Hamilton. [2]

Fourteen months later, on August 27, 1781, French troops under General Rochambeau marched past the Doremus House en route to the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia. Although the historic sign in front of the house states that they rested in the orchard, this most likely did not occur. Rochambeau's troops rested that night when they reached Whippany, about seven miles to the south. Rochambeau's French troops fought on the side of the Americans at the Battle of Yorktown on October 19, 1781. It was the final major battle of the Revolutionary War.  Rochambeau's troops marched past the Henry Doremus House again when they marched back from Virginia the following year. [3]

Revolutionary War New Jersey

Source Notes:

1. ^ Information about the Battle of Springfield and accompanying source notes can be found on the Springfield page of this website.

National Register of Historic Places, New Jersey Register of Historic Places, Morris County Heritage Commission sign

2. ^ A number of Washington's letters from these days are marked as being sent from Pequannock. At the time, this area was part of Pequannock Township. Montville was formed from a portion of Pequannock Township in 1867, eighty-four years after the end of the Revolutionary War.

The following George Washington letters of June 26, 1780 are available to be read on the Founders Online / National Archives website:

““From George Washington to Brigadier General William Maxwell, 26 June 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-26-02-0419. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 26, 13 May–4 July 1780, ed. William M. Ferraro. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018, pp. 568–569.].

“From George Washington to Brigadier General Henry Knox, 26 June 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-26-02-0418. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 26, 13 May–4 July 1780, ed. William M. Ferraro. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018, pp. 567–568.]

“From George Washington to Jean-Baptiste de Gouvion, June 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-11536. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version]


See the following sources related to the formation of Montville from Pequannock in 1867:

John F. Snyder, The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968 (Trenton: Bureau of Geology and Topography, 1969) Pages 194 and 196
Available as a PDF on the State of New Jersey website here. (Note that although the information is on pages numbered 185 and 187 of the document, it is on pages 111-112 of the PDF file.)

Journal of the Twenty-Ninth Senate of the State of New Jersey (Newark: NJ, Frank W. Potter, 1873) Pages 780-781
Assembly Bill No. 224, "An act to divide the township of Pequannock," April 11, 1867
Available to be read at Google Books here

John C. Fitzpatrick, George Washington's Accounts of Expenses While Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, 1775-1783: Reproduced in Facsimile, with Annotations (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company: 1917) Page 66
States that on June 25, 1780, ""Mrs. Doremus, at Pequan[n]ock, was paid $40, presumably for the use of her dwelling."
Available to be read at Google Books here

3. ^ Robert A. Selig, Ph. D., The Washington - Rochambeau Revolutionary Route in the State of New Jersey, 1781 - 1783 / An Historical and Architectural Survey, Volume II (New Jersey Historic Trust, Department of Community Affairs, State of New Jersey, 2006) Pages 397-398 (Note that although the information is on pages numbered 397-398 of the document, it is on pages 179-180 of the PDF file.)
Available as a PDF here

• See the Whippany page of this website for more information and accompanying source notes about Rochambeau's troops resting at Whippany on August 27-28, 1781