The Forage War was a
partisan campaign consisting of numerous small skirmishes that took place in
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 ...
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 ...
between January and March 1777, following the battles of
Trenton and
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
. After both British and
Continental Army troops entered their winter quarters in early January,
Continental Army regulars and militia companies from New Jersey and
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, ...
engaged in numerous scouting and harassing operations against the British and German troops quartered in New Jersey.
The British troops wanted to have fresh provisions to consume, and also required fresh forage for their draft animals and horses. General
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
ordered the systematic removal of such supplies from areas easily accessible to the British, and companies of American militia and troops harassed British and German forays to acquire such provisions. While many of these operations were small, in some cases they became quite elaborate, involving more than 1,000 troops. The American operations were so successful that British casualties in New Jersey (including those of the battles at Trenton and Princeton) exceeded those of the entire
campaign for New York.
Background
In August 1776 the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
army began a campaign to gain control over
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, which was defended by
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
's
Continental Army. Over the next two months, General
William Howe quickly gained control of New York, pushing Washington into
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 ...
. He then chased Washington south toward
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. Washington retreated across the
Delaware River into
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, ...
, taking with him all the boats for miles in each direction. Howe then ordered his army into winter quarters, establishing a chain of outposts across New Jersey, from the Hudson River through
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
to
Trenton and
Bordentown on the Delaware River. The occupation of New Jersey by British and German troops caused friction with the local communities and led to a rise in
Patriot
A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism.
Patriot may also refer to:
Political and military groups United States
* Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution
* Patriot m ...
militia enlistments. As early as mid-December, these militia companies were harassing British patrols, leading to incidents like
Geary's ambush, in which a
dragoon leader was killed, and increasing the level of tension in the British and German quarters.
On the night of December 25–26, 1776, Washington
crossed the Delaware and
surprised the Trenton outpost the following morning, December 26. Over the next two weeks, he went on to win two further battles at
Assunpink Creek
Assunpink Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in western New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garde ...
and
Battle of Princeton, leading the British to retreat to northern New Jersey. This period, from December 25, 1776, through January 3, 1777, has become known as the
Ten Crucial Days
As the location of many major battles, New Jersey was pivotal in the American Revolution and the ultimate victory of the American colonists. This important role earned it the title of ''Crossroads of the American Revolution''.
Not all of the pop ...
.
Disposition of the armies
![NewJerseyForageWar2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/NewJerseyForageWar2.jpg)
General Washington established his headquarters at
Morristown, separated from the coast by the
Watchung Mountains
The Watchung Mountains (once called the Blue Hills) are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States. The name is derived from the American Native Lena ...
, a series of low ridges. He established forward outposts to the east and south of these ridges that served not only as a defensive bulwark against potential British incursions across the hills, but also as launch points for raids. Over the course of January and February, Washington's Continental Army shrank to about 2,500 regulars after Washington's incentives for many men to overstay their enlistment periods ran out. A large number of militia from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania bolstered these forces, and played a significant role that winter.
The British army was initially deployed from posts as far north as
Hackensack to New Brunswick. The garrison, numbering about 10,000, was concentrated between New Brunswick and
Amboy, with a sizable contingent farther north, from
Elizabethtown to
Paulus Hook
Paulus Hook is a community on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.[Philemon Dickinson
Philemon Dickinson (April 5, 1739February 4, 1809) was an American lawyer and politician from Trenton, New Jersey. As a brigadier general of the New Jersey militia, he was one of the most effective militia officers of the American Revolutionary ...]
mustered 450 militia and drove off a British foraging expedition in the
Battle of Millstone on January 20. Washington gave his commanders wide latitude in how to act, issuing commands that they were to be "constantly harassing the enemy", and that they should be aggressive in their tactics. These early successes depended in part on successful intelligence; one British commander reported being met with force "notwithstanding the Orders were given, but a few hours before the Troops moved." Even supply convoys bringing provisions from outside the state to the large garrison at New Brunswick were not immune to the American attacks, where the
Raritan River
Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.
History
Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided t ...
and the roads from Perth Amboy offered opportunities for sniping and raiding. Their difficulties led British commanders to change tactics, attempting to lure these militia units into traps involving larger numbers of British regulars.
But even this was not entirely successful, as wily militia and Continental commanders including Continental Army General
William Maxwell used superior knowledge of the geography to set even more elaborate traps. In one encounter in late February, British Colonel
Charles Mawhood
Lt. Col. Charles Mawhood (23 December 1729 – 29 August 1780) was a British army officer during the 18th century, most noted for his command during the Battle of Princeton.
Military career
His military service began with purchase of a corn ...
, thinking he had flanked a party of New Jersey militia, suddenly found his advance force flanked by another, larger force. As they were driven back toward Amboy, more and more Americans appeared, ultimately inflicting about 100 casualties. The elite grenadiers of the
42nd Foot
The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disband ...
, part of Mawhood's vanguard, were badly mauled in the encounter. A British force of 2,000 was repulsed by Maxwell in another well-organized attack a few weeks later.
The ongoing tensions took their toll on the beleaguered British.
Johann Ewald, captain of a company of German
jägers (essentially
light infantry
Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
) who were often on the front lines, observed that "the men have to stay dressed day and night ... the horses constantly saddled", and that "the army would have been gradually destroyed through this foraging".
[Fischer, p. 358] Some forage was provided from New York, but it was never sufficient for the army's needs.
[ As a consequence, the British were forced to provide many supplies from Europe, at great cost and risk to the ]Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
.
Selected Actions
Elizabethtown
A regiment of Waldeck infantry, a few companies of the 71st Foot
The 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, raised in 1777. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry in 1881.
History ...
and a troop of British light dragoons were stationed at Elizabethtown, New Jersey Elizabeth Township, also called Elizabethtown, was a township that existed in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, from 1664 until 1855.
The area was initially part of the Elizabethtown Tract, purchased from the Lenape on October 28, 16 ...
in the winter of 1776–1777. On 5 January 1777, a British cavalry patrol was ambushed by militia near the town. One trooper was killed and a second was wounded. The next day, about 50 Waldeck infantry emerged from the town with a small escort of light dragoons with instructions to clear the country. Led by Captain Georg von Haacke, the strong patrol was attacked near Springfield by New Jersey militia. In Elizabethtown, the soldiers heard distant gunfire. Hours later the bedraggled British horsemen came back without the foot soldiers. Eight or 10 of the Waldeckers were shot down and the entire party captured by the militia. Ordered to pull back to Amboy, the garrison hurriedly left on 7 January. As the troops evacuated Elizabethtown, the militia attacked the rear guard. In the confused retreat, the Americans captured 100 soldiers, the baggage trains of two regiments, and food supplies.
Chatham, Connecticut Farms and Bonhamtown
On 10 January 1777, Colonel Charles Scott's Virginia Continentals captured 70 Highlanders together with their wagons at Chatham, New Jersey
"The Chathams" is a term used in reference to shared services for two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey, United States – Chatham Borough and Chatham Township. The two are separate municipalities. The first, a town that w ...
.[Fischer (2004), p. 352, p. 416] Scott's brigade was composed of the 4th, 5th
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
and 6th Virginia Regiment
The 6th Virginia Regiment was raised on December 28, 1775, at Williamsburg, Virginia, for service with the Continental Army. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, ...
s. At Connecticut Farms on 15 January, 300 New Jersey militia commanded by Colonel Oliver Spencer attacked 100 German foragers. The Americans killed one enemy soldier and captured 70 more. The following day, 350 Americans set upon a large body of British foragers at Bonhamtown, New Jersey
Bonhamtown is a section of Edison Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.
The area was named after Nicholas Bonham, a freeholder from the 17th century. Along with New Dover, New Durham, and Stelton it is one of the older his ...
, killing 21 enemy soldiers and wounding 30 or 40 more. American casualties are not given in any of these actions.[
]
Millstone and Woodbridge
At the Battle of Millstone, Brigadier General Philemon Dickinson
Philemon Dickinson (April 5, 1739February 4, 1809) was an American lawyer and politician from Trenton, New Jersey. As a brigadier general of the New Jersey militia, he was one of the most effective militia officers of the American Revolutionary ...
of the New Jersey militia scored a brilliant success. On 20 January 1777 near Van Nest's Mill, 400 militia and 50 Pennsylvania riflemen crossed an icy stream and fought a pitched battle with 500 British regulars and three cannons. The British lost 25 casualties, 12 prisoners, 43 wagons, 104 horses, 115 cattle and about 60 sheep. The Americans admitted losses of four or five men. Afterward, the British refused to believe that they had been beaten by militia. On 23 January two British regiments were waylaid by Brigadier General William Maxwell near Woodbridge. The 200 New Jersey Continentals inflicted losses of seven killed and 12 wounded while only suffering two men wounded.
Drake's Farm
On 1 February 1777, Brigadier General Sir William Erskine, 1st Baronet
Lieutenant-General Sir William Erskine, 1st Baronet (1728 – 19 March 1795) was a British Army commander and the 1st Baronet of the Erskine of Torrie creation.
Background
Erskine was the son of Colonel the Honourable William Erskine of Torr ...
set up a clever trap. He sent a party of foragers to Drake's Farm near Metuchen
Metuchen ( ) is a suburban Borough (New Jersey), borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is a commuter town of New York City, located in the heart of the Raritan River, Raritan Valley reg ...
. When Scott's 5th Virginia tried to gobble up the small party, Erskine rushed his large force into action. Battalions of grenadiers, light infantry, 42nd Foot
The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disband ...
and Hessians appeared, supported by eight artillery pieces. Instead of fleeing, the Virginians launched a vicious attack which momentarily broke a grenadier battalion. Under intense cannon fire, the American attack was stopped, but the soldiers fought tenaciously until the British fell back toward Brunswick. The Americans admitted 30 to 40 casualties while claiming to have killed 36 British and wounding 100 more. The action was marred by an ugly incident when Lieutenant William Kelly and six other wounded Americans were abandoned during a tactical withdrawal. The frustrated British fell upon the seven helpless men with bayonets and musket butts and slaughtered them all. When the Americans recovered the mangled bodies they were infuriated. Brigadier General Adam Stephen
Adam Stephen ( – 16 July 1791) was a Scottish-born American doctor and military officer who helped found what became Martinsburg, West Virginia. He emigrated to North America, where he served in the Province of Virginia's militia under Georg ...
exchanged a series of irate letters with Erskine, who denied all responsibility for the incident.
Quibbletown
On February 8, 1777, General Cornwallis, with six British generals commanding a force of twelve battalions, about 2,000 troops, planned to attack the American militia, led by Colonel Charles Scott and the 5th Virginia Regiment
The 5th Virginia Regiment was raised on December 28, 1775, at Richmond, Virginia, for service with the U.S. Continental Army. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Ba ...
, and Continentals led by Brigadier General Nathaniel Warner at Quibbletown, New Jersey, now New Market. However, the Americans refused to directly engage this foraging party, but attacked the flanks and rear as the British retreated to New Brunswick. Historian Fischer writes: "The British commanders were outgeneraled in the field." Hessian Captain Johann von Ewald described the events in his diary and notes that "Since the army would have been gradually destroyed through this foraging, from here on the forage was procured from New York". Other skirmishes occurred in this area on February 20, March 8, and April 4.
Spanktown
On 23 February 1777, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood
Lt. Col. Charles Mawhood (23 December 1729 – 29 August 1780) was a British army officer during the 18th century, most noted for his command during the Battle of Princeton.
Military career
His military service began with purchase of a corn ...
was sent with a reinforced brigade to destroy any rebel forces he could catch. He set out with a battalion each of light infantry and grenadiers, plus the 3rd Brigade. The latter formation consisted of the 10th Foot, 37th Foot
The 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in Ireland in February 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot to become the Hampshire R ...
, 38th Foot and 52nd Foot, recently transferred from the Rhode Island garrison. Near Spanktown (now Rahway
Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...
), Mawhood found a group of militia herding some livestock covered by a larger body of Americans waiting on a nearby hill. The British officer sent the grenadier company of the 42nd Foot on a wide flanking maneuver. Just as the grenadiers prepared to launch their assault, they were fired on from ambush and routed with the loss of 26 men. At this moment, Maxwell sent his superior force forward to envelop Mawhood's force. The American force included the 1st, 2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...
, 3rd and 4th New Jersey Regiments, the 1st and 8th Pennsylvania Regiment
The 8th Pennsylvania Regiment or Mackay's Battalion was an American infantry unit that became part of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized for frontier defense in July 1776, the eight-company unit was originall ...
s, and the German Battalion
The "German Battalion" (also known as the "German Regiment" or 8th Maryland) was an infantry formation of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized in May 1776 as an extra Continental regiment, the battaltion rec ...
. Mawhood's surprised men were hounded all the way back to Amboy, which they reached at 8:00 PM. The Americans lost 5 killed and 9 wounded, and claimed to have inflicted 100 casualties. Mawhood admitted losing 69 killed and wounded and 6 missing.
Casualty estimates
Historian David Hackett Fischer
David Hackett Fischer (born December 2, 1935) is University Professor of History Emeritus at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have covered topics ranging from large macroeconomic and cultural trends ('' Albion's Seed,'' ''The Great Wave' ...
compiled a list that he describes as "incomplete", consisting of 58 actions that occurred between January 4 and March 21, 1777. The documented British and German casualties numbered more than 900; a number of the events do not include any casualty reports. Combined with their losses at Trenton and Princeton, the British lost more men in New Jersey than they did during the campaign for New York City. Fischer does not estimate American casualties, and other historians (e.g. Ketchum and Mitnick) have not compiled any casualty estimates.[Fischer, p. 359] Fischer notes that relatively few official reports of American (either militia or Continental Army) unit strengths for this time period have survived.
Ending
The 1777 military campaigns began to take shape in April. General Charles Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
punctuated the winter skirmishes with an attack on the Continental Army outpost at Bound Brook on April 13. In the Battle of Bound Brook, he very nearly captured its commander, Benjamin Lincoln
Benjamin Lincoln (January 24, 1733 ( O.S. January 13, 1733) – May 9, 1810) was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln was involved in three major surrenders ...
. Outnumbering the Americans 2,000 to 500, the British scattered the militia but met stubborn resistance from the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment
The 8th Pennsylvania Regiment or Mackay's Battalion was an American infantry unit that became part of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized for frontier defense in July 1776, the eight-company unit was originall ...
. The British captured three 3-pound guns and 20 or 30 men and killed six Americans, but the bulk of Lincoln's force got away. General Washington moved his army from its winter quarters at Morristown to a more forward position at Middlebrook in late May to better react to British moves. As General Howe prepared his Philadelphia campaign
The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British effort in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, which was then the seat of the Second Continental Congress. British General William Howe, after failing to dra ...
, he first moved a large portion of his army to Somerset Court House in mid-June, apparently in an attempt to draw Washington from the Middlebrook position. When this failed, Howe withdrew his army back to Perth Amboy, and embarked it on ships bound for the Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
. Northern and coastal New Jersey continued to be the site of skirmishing and raiding by the British forces that occupied New York City for the rest of the war.[See e.g. Karels or Mitnick for further details on the role of northern New Jersey in the war.]
See also
* American Revolutionary War §British New York counter-offensive. The 'Forage War' placed in overall sequence and strategic context.
The Battle of Drake's Farm
Notes
References
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{{good article
Campaigns of the American Revolutionary War
Conflicts in 1777
Battles involving the United States
Battles involving Great Britain
Guerrilla wars
New Jersey in the American Revolution
1777 in New Jersey