Relics of 1777 Battle of Red Bank going on display
On Oct. 22, 1777, hundreds of Hessian troops marched on a smaller cohort of colonial soldiers, intent on taking control of Fort Mercer, an outpost on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. The Hessians attacked on foot from two directions; in the river, six British ships had the fort blockaded.
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On Oct. 22, 1777, hundreds of Hessian troops marched on a smaller cohort of colonial soldiers, intent on taking control of Fort Mercer, an outpost on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. The Hessians attacked on foot from two directions; in the river, six British ships had the fort blockaded.
But the Americans took the Battle of Red Bank decisively. Soldiers fought valiantly on land while small American gunboats took on the British ships. The victory was a much-needed boost of morale for the colonial soldiers.
Over the course of the battle, two British ships ran aground while trying to avoid metal-tipped spikes the colonials had placed underwater to pierce the ships' wooden hulls. Hoping the ship would not be seized, the British themselves set fire to the Merlin. The Americans took care of the Augusta.
When the Augusta exploded on Oct. 23, American soldiers headed down to salvage its weapons. They dragged several cannons, some weighing more than 800 pounds, up the steep bank of the Delaware. These would replace some of the artillery lost in the battle, including a cannon that famously exploded during the fight and killed a dozen men.
This weekend, a fragment of one of those cannons will resurface at Red Bank Battlefield Park, now a historical site. The artifact had sat just two feet underground for more than 200 years until archaeologists dug it up in September. Now, it will be put on permanent display in the park.
The discovery came out of the first systematic survey of the battlefield area, a two-year project funded by a $46,200 grant from the National Park Service, which in 2014 allocated $1.3 million to fund preservation at various battlefields.
Along with the cannon fragment, archaeologists found a handful of personal items of soldiers, including a shoe buckle, a picture frame, and a fragment of a Mary Magdalene medal, which likely belonged to a recently converted Catholic Hessian soldier.
An initial public viewing of the artifacts is scheduled for Sunday from noon until 4 p.m. at the Whitall House at Red Bank Battlefield Park. In August, after the excavation project officially wraps up, all items will be put on permanent display there.
Jennifer Janofsky, the curator of Whitall House, said the discoveries of the soldiers' personal belongings far exceeded expectations.
"It's fascinating to think: Who used this piece of history?" she said.
Gloucester County Freeholder Frank DiMarco, liaison to the Department of Parks and Land Preservation, said the discoveries are a triumph, adding that he hopes they will remind sightseers of the crucial role New Jersey played in the American Revolution.
Red Bank "was a very pivotal battle - they say it turned the war around," DiMarco said. "We're just trying to tell people it's right here."
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