"As Long As I Have Served, I Have Not Yet Left A Battlefield In Such Deep Sorrow…": Archeology, History And The Material Remains Of Fort Mercer, Red Bank, New Jersey

Summary

Nearly a month after the Crown Forces captured Philadelphia, a Hessian Brigade under the command of Colonel von Donop crossed the Delaware River intent on clearing away the American defenses entrenched along its east bank. Captain Ewald was part of the expedition, and his jaegers supported the attack on Fort Mercer at Red Bank, New Jersey. The assault on the earthen fortification began in the late afternoon on October 22, 1777. The Hessian force suffered heavy casualties at the hands of a smaller American garrison and the attacked failed. Today, what remains of Fort Mercer is memorialized in Gloucester County as Red Bank Battlefield Park. Funded by the American Battlefield Protection Program an analysis of data gathered from excavation, ground penetrating radar and metal detecting combined with historic accounts provides an intimate look at the fiercely contested battle over the fort and the lives of the soldiers who fought it.          

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• "Not A Trade For One To Follow Who Has No Knowledge Of It": Captain Johann Ewald And The Historical Archaeology Of The 1777 Philadelphia Campaign   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 574