The Greatest Story About the Revolution You Haven't Heard
December
1776
The
Battles of Petticoat Bridge and Iron Works Hill
The
story of The American Revolution has been told and retold many times over the
past 235 years. In High School every student learns about the big battles.
Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Trenton and Yorktown, all indelibly etched
in the minds of patriotic Americans. This is the story of a battle most people
have never heard of before. It is possibly the most important battle of the
entire six year struggle. When all seemed lost in the first five months after
the Declaration of Independence was signed, the fate of the new country was in
the hands of six hundred men from New Jersey and a mysterious widow from a
small mill town. This is the story of The Battle of Iron Works Hill.
Thomas
Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence wrote of King George III; “He is
at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the
works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of
cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally
unworthy the head of a civilized nation.”[Jefferson]. In the first weeks of
July 1776 Congress was already aware of the army of German soldier’s in route
to American shores. George III would pay the German princess handsomely for the
services of their troops.
These Hessians, as they were called, were
professional soldiers in Germany. Many of them were veterans of the Seven Years
War. Jefferson was correct, within six weeks the Hessians were on Staten Island
New York. Within twelve weeks they would push Washington out of New York
altogether. And within five months of the signing of the declaration of
independence The Hessians and British would push Washington across the state of
New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. The Capitol of Philadelphia would be in a
panic.
When
the Hessians arrived in Staten Island in August of 1776 they were allowed a week
to regain their legs after a long transatlantic voyage. They came with a
reputation for brutality, and fierceness. Some of the men were second sons of
minor nobility back in Germany, and others were impressed into service to meet
the quota of the army. All of them were professional soldiers well drilled and
anxious to show their superiority over the fledgling Americans. The Hessian
leaders were also some of the best on the European continent. They were
schooled in the best academies and they had personal reputations to uphold.
By the third week in August the British army
had occupied long island, and on August 27th they were ready for a
full battle. The Hessians and British were under the overall command of Sir.
William Howe. The Combined British and Hessian force drove the Americans across
long island and completely routed the Americans at Brooklyn Heights. By
September 1st the Americans were evacuated to Manhattan.
3
In October the Americans were again defeated
at the battle of White Plains. The last remaining Americans in New York were
garrisoned at the northern tip of Manhattan Island in a fortification dubbed
Fort Washington. On November 15, General William Howe sent a messenger asking
for the surrender of the fort warning “they would be put to death if they
resisted”. The next day Hessian and British troops took the fort by force and
many of the Americans were given no quarter by the angry Germans who finally
took the fort with heavy casualties among their ranks. Washington could only
look on in horror, from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River.
4
From Fort Lee Washington’s army moved to Newark then to New Brunswick, Princeton, and finally Trenton. The British and Germans nipping at their heals the entire 70 miles, and pillaging and plundering all along the way. By December 8th Washington had his entire force of 3000 soldiers safely across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. The Howe Brothers were happy with the results of the campaign. In less than twelve weeks they had brought two rebel colonies back under the control of the crown and were poised to take the enemy capital of Philadelphia when the weather turned warm. For now, the troops would take to winter quarters spread across New Jersey and wait for spring.
From Fort Lee Washington’s army moved to Newark then to New Brunswick, Princeton, and finally Trenton. The British and Germans nipping at their heals the entire 70 miles, and pillaging and plundering all along the way. By December 8th Washington had his entire force of 3000 soldiers safely across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. The Howe Brothers were happy with the results of the campaign. In less than twelve weeks they had brought two rebel colonies back under the control of the crown and were poised to take the enemy capital of Philadelphia when the weather turned warm. For now, the troops would take to winter quarters spread across New Jersey and wait for spring.
Leading
the vanguard of troops chasing Washington was Colonel Carl Von Donop. Von Donop
was in charge of the garrisons in Trenton, Bordentown, and Burlington. His
orders for provisioning his troops were very specific; first they were to take
a census: “Order the farmers to give the exact lists of their cattle, grain,
and forage out of which you will please to form magazines for subsisting the
troops.”[Fisher p173] In just a few weeks crossing New Jersey the German troops
under Colonel Von Donop amassed a treasure of “several hundred wagons and
carriages with plundered goods. [Fisher p175]
5
Von Donop chose Bordentown as his base of command. He sent Colonel Rall with 1500 men seven miles north to garrison Trenton, and Colonel Sterling’s Forty-Second Highland regiment with the Hessian block Battalion to Burlington. Almost immediately there were logistical problems.
Von Donop chose Bordentown as his base of command. He sent Colonel Rall with 1500 men seven miles north to garrison Trenton, and Colonel Sterling’s Forty-Second Highland regiment with the Hessian block Battalion to Burlington. Almost immediately there were logistical problems.
The
Pennsylvania Navy had control of the Delaware River as far north as the Trenton
falls and the presence of British troops in Burlington made it a target of the
gun boats. Burlington was a loyalist strong hold so the navy didn’t mind
bombarding the city if there were enemy troops there. Sterling removed to Black
Horse (modern day Columbus) and quartered his troops across the country side,
as Black horse was too small to accommodate his entire force.
VonDonop
was having the same problem at Bordentown. He decided to quarter his troops in
civilian houses at strategic points. By mid-December the troops had settled
into the mundane routine of garrison duty. In a few days however, their lives
would be far from mundane, as the people in New Jersey began to organize
against the foreign invaders.
While
the Germans and British started to settle into winter quarters there was a
spontaneous uprising from north western New Jersey that threatened the right
flank of the army. Small raiding parties sometimes a hundred strong started
harassing the Germans in their outlying posts. Over the next couple of weeks
the Germans would be poked and prodded by the American Guerillas. Colonel Rall,
ordered his men to sleep on their arms dressed for battle at all times. This
almost constant harassment by the locals frayed the nerves of the Germans in
Trenton, and was an ideal tool to soften them up for Washington’s attack.
6
In Philadelphia, an attack appeared eminent. Congress was considering a move to Lancaster to avoid capture by the British, and the citizens were in a panic at the idea of British and German occupation. Israel Putnam was in charge of defending the capitol, and he needed to gather intelligence As well as check the advance of the British and Germans.
In Philadelphia, an attack appeared eminent. Congress was considering a move to Lancaster to avoid capture by the British, and the citizens were in a panic at the idea of British and German occupation. Israel Putnam was in charge of defending the capitol, and he needed to gather intelligence As well as check the advance of the British and Germans.
He
sent Colonel Samuel Griffin with 100 riflemen from Virginia into southern New
Jersey to organize a resistance to the enemy forces now in Burlington County.
It is not clear where all the men came from, but Colonel Richard Somers’
Gloucester County Militia made up the bulk of this force. Griffin with his 100
Virginians and 500 men from Southern New Jersey were about to pull off one of
the greatest military exploits of the war. Griffin crossed the Delaware at
Coopers Ferry and marched his men to Haddonfield. From Haddonfield Griffin
moved to Mount Holly where he began to entrench on a hill on the south side of
the Rancocas Creek. [Shinn 58] Griffin was setting a trap, but it was still
unclear how he would get the mice to bite.
Captain Johann Ewald who was a company
commander under Von Donop kept a journal of his time in America fighting the
rebels. He drew maps based on personal reconnaissance, and gives us a unique
look from the side of the Germans and British. He says on December 13, “I
learned General Mifflin had crossed the Delaware with 1000 men and had taken
his position at Mount Holly.”[Ewald 31] While he got the name and rank of the
commanding officer, as well as the amount of troops wrong, he did recognize
this new threat on the left flank of the army. On the 19th of
December General Von Donop organized a reconnaissance en force to determine the
situation on the army’s left flank.
7
When
he arrived in Mount Holly he was told Colonel Griffin was seven miles away in
Eayrestown with 2000 troops. That was enough information for Colonel Von Donop
so he returned to Bordentown. In the afternoon, on the 22nd of
December there were two almost simultaneous attacks on two German outposts
outside of Black Horse. A detachment from Burlington attacked Ewald at the
Bunting House west of Black Horse while Griffin from Mount Holly attacked an
outpost guarding Petticoat Bridge. Neither attack amounted to much but Von
Donop now had a reason to move.
Ewald writes “Colonel Von Donop ordered me not
to return to Bunting house but to choose post in front of Black Horse.”[Ewald
37] At 5:30 on the morning of December 23rd Von Donop set out from
Black Horse with 2000 German and English soldiers to destroy the Americans. “In
the wood behind Slabtown (Jacksonville, Springfield Twp.) we ran into an enemy
party which took new position at a Quaker church lying on a hill at the end of
the wood behind which the entire enemy corps was deployed.”[Eweld, 38] It is
three miles from Jacksonville to Mount Holly on a strait level road. According
to Captain Eweld’s map of the area, the northern part of Mount Holly was
heavily wooded at this time. The hill he refers to is the 162’ Mount Holly
Mount or simply “The Mount”. The Mount dominates the flat ground leading from
the town in all directions. The town itself sits in a bowl surrounded by high
ground on all sides with a river (Rancocas Creek) and mill race cutting the
town into sections. For a time the town was called Bridgeton because of all the
bridges it took to cross the two water ways as they snaked their way through
8
8
The
Quaker church he mentions is gone now but a cemetery marks where it stood on
Wood Lane less than 600 yards from the base of the Mount. Colonel Von Donop
deployed his 2000 men in line of battle along Wood Lane and attacked the Mount
enveloping the hill from east north and west. The Americans soon evacuated the
northern face of the Mount, but fought a spirited retreat through the town,
sometimes using houses and out buildings to cover their retreat. The Colonial Soldiers set up their cannon
near the bridge over the mill race on the road to the iron works, where they
fought bravely before retiring to the safety of the heights of Iron Works Hill.
The creek here is 20 yds. wide and is unfordable. The iron works bridge, was the only crossing
for five miles. Iron Works Hill is only 50 feet high but it is steep as it
rises from the creek. The hill is part of a long ridge that parallels the creek
from Hainsport to Smithville. It is likely that Griffin kept most of his six
hundred men spread out along this ridge in the entrenchments that were dug just
days earlier. By spreading his men out he could avoid mass casualties from the
British guns on the summit of the mount. Griffin lured his prey exactly to
where he wanted him. He knew he didn’t have the fire power; he only had 3 Three
pound cannons, or the man power, 600 men, to hold the enemy for long. He could
spread his guns, as well as his men, across the ridge in order to limit the
damage to his line by the cannons of the British and Germans, but if they
pressed the situation and attacked his earth works he could not stop them.
After a long day of marching and fighting the two sides settled into their
entrenchments and started lobbing shells and solid shot at each other. The
cannonade lasted until dark, but VonDonop would not press the issue today. He
would wait until morning, when he would attack the bridge and destroy Griffin
and his patriots.
9
At
dawn on December 24th the
Americans were gone. Legend says they spiked their cannons and marched off
through the woods on a night march towards Moorestown. Stories of American
canons in the Rancocas Creek are plentiful, but as of 2019 none have been
recovered. Griffin new the hill was untenable with just 600 men. By the time
Ewald caught up with them at Long Bridge he reports “it (the bridge) was
ruined. Presently a few shots came from the other side where the Americans were
hidden in several houses, through which a Scotsman was killed.”[Ewald 39] And
with that Griffin and his 600 men melted away into the countryside of
Burlington County and out of the annals of history.
Griffin had indeed pulled off a tremendous
feat. He had engaged a force more than three times his own, drawn them into
battle more than twelve miles from their base and had not lost a man. Von Donop
was now 18 miles from Trenton, a full day’s march. Washington however, would
not be ready to attack for three more days. If Von Donop acted right away he
could be back in Bordentown, just 8 miles from Trenton before sunset on
Christmas Eve. But Von Donop was in no hurry. He decided to stay in Mount Holly
two more days. The deserted houses of the town were full of wine and the
Germans were in a mood to celebrate.
Captain
Ewald says in his journal on the 23rd of December “The entire corps
took up quarters in the town, and I received mine at the exit to Philadelphia.
Because of its position, this town is a very excellent trading place and
inhabited by many wealthy people.”[Ewald 39] Colonel Von Donop was about to
make one of the biggest mistakes of his military career. He decided to take up
quarters in what was undoubtedly one of the nicest houses in the village. Three
days later on the 26th we start to understand the situation in Mount
Holly a little better. Ewald Writes, “Early on the 26th Captain
Lorey and I roamed over different roads in the country to collect horses and
slaughter cattle; For the colonel, who was extremely devoted to the fair sex,
had found in his quarters the exceedingly beautiful young widow of a doctor.”
For two days Von Donop chased Griffins army, but for three days he chased the
doctor’s widow. We have no way of knowing who this widow was. We do know she
did a tremendous service to her country by keeping Von Donop busy until
Washington attacked and routed 1500 Germans in Trenton. Her identity remains
unknown to historians but some legends say it was Betsy Ross who had relatives
in South Jersey.
On the afternoon of the 26th Ewald
writes “The Colonel notified us that General Washington had suddenly attacked
the three regiments under Colonel Rall at Trenton, and he was awaiting our
report at any minute. At the same moment, the second messenger of doom arrived,
confirming the report and adding that all had been taken prisoner. Washington,
it would be said had turned the tide of the war and saved the fledgling country
from utter destruction.
The
English historian Trevelyan said in his book The American Revolution and quoted here by Shinn, “It may be
doubted whether so small a number of men ever employed so short a space of time
with greater or more lasting results upon the history of the world.” Trevelyan
was talking about Washington and his troops in Trenton, but further examination
of the facts show the real heroes in those bleak days of December were indeed
the 600 men with Griffin and The doctor’s widow. In fact, it may not be an
overstatement to say, these people helped secure a legacy of freedom that has
inspired democracies the world over.