New Jersey Privateers operated in close proximity to NY which was the headquarters and main supply artery for the British. New Jersey was not only the 'Crossroads of the American Revolution', it was the 'Coastal Gauntlet of the American Revolution'. The story of New Jersey's privateers during the Revolutionary War is a dramatic vignette of American communities in turmoil. New Jersey was strongly divided on the war. While government leadership supported the Patriot cause, local loyalties were not that simple. A brutal civil war was fought along the coast and in the pinelands. Religious, political and family connections combined with an entrepreneurial spirit and personal retaliation to create chaos on the Jersey Shore. Little Egg harbor served both Patriot privateers unloading at Chestnut Neck and Loyalists privateers convening on Clamtown. Members of the prominent Quaker community maintained 'neutral' business dealings with both
Battles, Massacres, Skirmishes and Vendettas
Explore some of the event links below and decide for yourself...Who is the hero and who is the villian?
To the Forks An account of the attack on Chestnut Neck, the destruction of the town, local saltworks and homesteads, and the attempt to reach the Forks of the Mullica by land which was foiled by Pulaski's Troops.
Massacre at Barnegat What do iron works, investment capital and supplies for the Continental Army have in common?
Battle at Cedar Bridge Col. Shreve and his men battle Loyalist Privateer and refugee bandit John Bacon, his crew and local residents in the last land skirmish of the Revolutionary War.
An early battle off Cape May Read about exploding ships and mayhem in this early naval battle.
Hessian Soldiers Captured
Benedict Arnold's Court Marshall
Marriner's Raids on NY
The court case of the Sally and John
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