The Battle of Quinton's Bridge was a minor

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

of 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

fought on March 18, 1778, during the British occupation of Philadelphia. New Jersey militia companies defending a bridge across

Alloway Creek Alloway 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 Salem County, New Jersey in the United States. The name is a derivat ...

Salem County, New Jersey Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River, and it has the eastern terminus of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaw ...

, were lured into a trap by British Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood and suffered significant casualties.

Background

In late 1777, British forces under the command of General William Howe occupied

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the seat of the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

, and viewed by Howe as the capital of the rebellious

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

. The occupation was not an easy one, as the surrounding countryside swarmed with

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

and

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

militia companies as part of a campaign by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

against British supply lines. The winter of 1777–1778 was particularly harsh for the Americans, but both sides regularly sent out significant forces to

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

for their own side and to interfere with the foraging operations of the other side. On February 19, with the Continental Army in desperate need of provisions, Brigadier General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...

led a force across the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

south of Philadelphia on a foraging expedition through southern

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. General Howe responded by sending a force of about 4,000 men to harass Wayne. However, Wayne moved rapidly northward, gathering provisions, forcing residents to move supplies he could not take away from easy British reach, and occasionally skirmishing with the chasing British.Bodle, p. 216 Howe sent another force in March under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood to forage and also to try to force Wayne into battle. On March 17, Mawhood led a mixed force of 1,200 men, consisting of British regulars and

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

companies of New Jersey Volunteers and

John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...

Queen's Rangers The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalists fighting in the American Revolution, Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War that specialized in cavalry tactics, clo ...

, across the

into

.Carpenter, p. 196 General Wayne, alert to British movements, had largely completed his work and was in Burlington, preparing to return to Valley Forge.

in Salem County formed a natural line of defense, and the local militia, after learning of the British movement, established strong defensive positions at the two crossings nearest the Delaware, Quinton's Bridge and Hancock's Bridge, to prevent the British from crossing. Mawhood led his force to Salem, where they were met by some local Loyalists who told them that Colonel Benjamin Holme, along with 300 militia, was at Quinton's Bridge, only three miles (4.8 km) to the southeast. Holme had established his position on the north side of the bridge, and had taken up the bridge's planking to prevent its easy use.

Battle

Before dawn on March 18, Mawhood moved several detachments of men into position on the side of the creek opposite the American forces. He then displayed a portion of his force moving away from the bridge, as if to retreat. As soon as the Americans saw this movement, Captain William Smith replaced the planks and gave chase with 200 of the 300 men guarding the bridge. This force followed the British further along the road, eventually making contact with another group of soldiers that had been posted behind a rail fence. The remainder of the British force was nearby, posted in a house by the fence. When Smith and his men were attacked, the soldiers posted in the house slipped out and ran to the Americans' rear, cutting off any retreat to the bridge. They then forced Smith's force to attempt another crossing of the creek. At this point the main body of British soldiers arrived at the bridge and attempted to cross over to the American position. They were stopped by Colonel Elijah Hand and his militia, who arrived with two guns in time to stop a complete annihilation of the American force. In the event, the Americans lost between 30 and 40 men in the engagement, most to

drowning Drowning is a type of Asphyxia, suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incidents. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where othe ...

Aftermath

Although the force at Quinton's Bridge had taken significant casualties, Hand and his men stayed to reinforce the position. Mawhood attempted to force the militia to retire the next day, but they were well-positioned and could not be dislodged. Mawhood then detached Major Simcoe and his rangers to attack the position at Hancock's Bridge. Simcoe and his men returned to the Delaware, and maneuvered downstream to reach the south side of the creek. From there they marched, according to Simcoe's account through difficult terrain, to the southern end of Hancock's Bridge. There they completely surprised 20 to 30 men stationed in the house of local judge William Hancock, putting them all to the bayonet. Although they had not intended to kill Hancock, Simcoe's intelligence had reported that Hancock had abandoned the house when it was occupied by the militia; in fact he had returned home the evening before, and was among those slain. Mawhood then sent a letter to Hand, warning him that if the militia did not put down their arms, he would "attack the militia wearing arms, burn their houses, and reduce them, their unfortunate wives, and their children to beggary and distress." Hand refused to surrender, writing in his response that " ur threat to burn and destroy, induces me to imagine that I am reading the orders of a barbarous

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

, and not of a gentleman, brave, generous, and polished." Wayne's expedition through southern New Jersey heightened tensions between General Washington and New Jersey officials, since the state had largely been left to its own defenses during the winter. The British response to Wayne's movements led New Jersey officials to demand a Continental Army presence in the region. One week after Wayne's departure, Washington sent a small detachment of Continentals into southern New Jersey, but it was wholly ineffective at preventing the crumbling of southern New Jersey militia organizations.Bodle, pp. 217–218

Notes

References

* *
''Historical collections of New Jersey, past and present'', Volume 1
(contains a version of Simcoe's sketch of the affair)

Background

Battle

Aftermath

Notes

References

Further reading