John Schenck (sometimes written ''Schanck'') (1750–1823) was a captain in the New Jersey Militia during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Background

Schenck was born in the now-defunct Amwell Township,

Hunterdon County, New Jersey Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

who had moved into New Jersey in the 1690s. In 1770, Schenck married Aida Sutphen (1754–1818), daughter of Aert Sutphen (1718–1798) and Jannetje Van Mater (1724-aft. 1798), whose ancestors were also part of the New Amsterdam Dutch settlement. When Schenck died on his farm in Amwell Township, he left a sizeable estate. He is buried in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, in what is now Raritan Township, along with his wife, parents and many of his children. His marker reads "In memory of Captain John Schenck, who departed this life August 22, 1823, aged 73 years, 2 months and 27 days."

Military service

Amwell Militia monument, Raritan Township, NJ

In 1775, Schenck was one of the first residents of Hunterdon County to volunteer to serve as a

Minuteman Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

in the months following the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...

. He first served as a lieutenant and then was elected a captain of what was to become a company of the 3rd Regiment Hunterdon Militia. In eight years of service with the Militia, Captain Schenck fought in most of the major battles of the War in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He was at the battles of

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

, Battle of Trenton, Trenton, the Second Battle of Trenton (where he took command of another 3rd Regiment company after its lieutenants deserted and its captain fell sick), Battle of Princeton, Princeton (where a cannonball took away a tree branch he had stooped to pass under), Battle of Bound Brook, Bound Brook and Battle of Germantown, Germantown.

Ambush of Geary

Captain Schenck is best remembered by the residents of Hunterdon County for a small skirmish (the Ambush of Geary, as it is called locally) that took place there on December 14, 1776. Arriving home on leave from Washington's army across the Delaware, Schenck was informed by a cousin that a scouting party of British dragoons were in the area. Schenck quickly assembled a party of irregulars from family members and neighbors and set an ambush for the British as they returned from their mission. Schenck and his party successfully took the dragoons by surprise and with their first volley killed the troop's officer, Cornet Francis Geary (British Army officer), Francis Geary.

References

External links

The ambush of Geary's Dragoons.From Fact to Fantasy The British 16th Light Dragoons and the Raid on Flemington, New Jersey, December 14, 1776. By Gilbert Riddle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schenck, John 1750 births 1823 deaths People from Hunterdon County, New Jersey New Jersey militiamen in the American Revolution People of colonial New Jersey Burials in New Jersey