The Red Bank Battlefield is located along the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

, Gloucester County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. It was the location of the Battle of Red Bank in 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 ...

on October 22, 1777.

Fort Mercer Fort Mercer was a earthen fort on the Delaware River on its New Jersey shore constructed by the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Built by Polish engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko under the command of George Washington, Fort M ...

and its sister,

Fort Mifflin Fort Mifflin, originally called Fort Island Battery and also known as Mud Island Fort, was commissioned in 1771 and sits on Mud Island (or Deep Water Island) on the Delaware River below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia International A ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, defended the river and prevented the British from using it for transportation. The forts successfully delayed the British, but in the end, they were both destroyed or abandoned. Today the site of the Battle of Red Bank still has the trenches and cannons used by the 100 American soldiers fighting against 2000 British and Hessian soldiers. The Whitall House is an original home that was there during the battle and was used as a field hospital. It is open for tours today. The site is a part of the Gloucester County Parks system called Red Bank Battlefield Park.

James and Ann Whitall House

The central feature of the park is the James and Ann Whitall House, located at the end of Hessian Avenue. It was built in 1748 by James Whitall Sr. and features

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

. The house was documented by the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS) in 1936. This brick and stone house just outside the works of Fort Mercer, served as a hospital for some of the men wounded in the fighting. The house suffered damage during the battle. With

Ann Cooper Whitall Ann Cooper Whitall (1716–1797) was a prominent Quaker woman in early America. Cooper' was born in Woodbury, New Jersey on April 23, 1716. She married James Whitall in 1739 at age 23.Burstyn, Joan N. (1990). ''Past and Promise: Lives of New Jer ...

had remained in the house during the fighting and tended to the wounded, earning her the epithet "Heroine of Red Bank."

Park features

Although much of the battlefield has eroded into the Delaware River, some portions of Fort Mercer (named after Brigadier General

Hugh Mercer Hugh Mercer (16 January 1726 – 12 January 1777) was a Scottish-born American military officer and physician who participated in the Seven Years' War and Revolutionary War. Born in Pitsligo, Scotland, he studied medicine in his home country ...

, killed at the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777.) remain. The prominent historical feature of the park is the remains of the ditch which surrounded the now-gone earthworks. Around these works and along the riverbank are several period cannons, including four raised from the wrecks of the British man-of-war and a British sloop, HMS ''Merlin''. The three American cannons facing the Whitall House were found in 1935 buried on the site. Nearer to the Whitall House, a preserved section of the ''

chevaux-de-frise The ''cheval de frise'' (plural: ''chevaux de frise'' , " Frisian horses") is a defensive obstacle, which existed in a number of forms and were employed in various applications. These included underwater constructions used to prevent the pas ...

'' river defenses of the Fort Mercer and Fort Mifflin system is displayed, along with various cannonballs recovered from the battlefield. Several monuments honor the combatants, including a memorial to the fallen Hessian leader, whose remains were buried on the grounds, and a -tall monument.

Recognition of African-Americans, enslaved people, and Native Americans who fought with the patriots

The 1st Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Varnum's Regiment, the 9th Continental Regiment, the Black Regiment, the Rhode Island Regiment, and Olney's Battalion) fought with the Americans. The regiment included free African-Americans, enslaved people, and Native Americans. Masters of the enslaved people were to be paid fair market value for their slave upon completion of the war, at which time the enslaved person would be freed. There is a historical marker at the battlefield that tells the story of the African American, enslaved people, and Native Americans who fought alongside the Americans with the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.

Notable burials

Carl von Donop Count Carl Emil Ulrich von Donop (January 1, 1732Wilhelm Gottlieb Levin von Donop: Des Obermarschalls und Drosten Wilhelm Gottlieb Levin von Donop zu Lüdershofen, Maspe Nachricht von dem Geschlecht der von Donop.' Paderborn 1796p. 21/ref> – O ...

(1732–1777), Hessian colonel who fought with the British and died at the battle. In June 2022 the remains of 13 Hessian soldiers were discovered in land purchased by Gloucester County in 2020 at the northern end of the historical park. They are being analyzed by the New Jersey State Police forensic lab.https://www.nj.com/news/2023/08/a-year-after-revolutionary-war-soldiers-from-1777-were-found-in-a-nj-field-questions-remain.html

Visiting

The park is open to visitors during daylight hours. The Whitall House may be visited during more limited hours. An annual reenactment of the battle takes place on the park grounds in October. In the early 1980s, a lifeguard was on duty and swimming was permitted in the Delaware River.

References

External links

*
Official Park site
* * Lanning, Michael Lee. ''African Americans in the Revolutionary War''. New York: Citadel Press, 2005 * * {{NRHP in Gloucester County, New Jersey Parks in Gloucester County, New Jersey National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Gloucester County, New Jersey County parks in New Jersey American Revolutionary War sites American Revolutionary War museums in New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places National Park, New Jersey Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Mass graves