NEW JERSEY IN THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
A Bibliography of Historical Fiction
ORAL S. COAD
NEW JERSEY IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
New Brunswick Historical Club
care of Special Collections Department
:41exander Library, Rutgers University
New Brunswick, N. 1. 08903
New Jersey in the
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
A Bibliography
of Historical Fiction, from 1784
BY
ORAL S. COAD
Second Edition
SLIGHTLY REVISED AND EXTENDED TO
1975
Edited by Donald A. Sinclair
Published for the Bicentennial by the
NEW BRUNSWICK HISTORICAL CLUB
New Brunswick, N. J., 198o
Printed in Letterpress
by
JKG PRINTING, INC.
Edison, N. J.
1980
About the Compiler
DR. COAD'S DEATH, on August 26, 1976, several months after he
had turned over to the editor his completed manuscript, makes this
a posthumous work. While it is regrettable that he cannot enjoy the
publication in its finished form, this revised edition of his New Jersey
in the Revolution serves as a kind of capstone for a distinguished
scholarly career.
Oral Sumner Coad was born in Iowa on December 27, 1887, graduated from Knox College (19o9) and received his M.A. and Ph.D.
degrees from Columbia University, in 1911 and 1917 respectively. After
teaching for twelve years at Ohio Wesleyan University and Columbia,
in 1923 he joined the English faculty of the New Jersey College for
Women, now Douglass College of Rutgers University. He continued
there until his retirement in 1958, an exemplary teacher and (from
1927) head of the English Department.
He was the author of William Dunlap: a Study of His Life and
Works and of His Place in Contemporary Culture (1917, reprinted
1962) and a number of journal articles. With Edwin Mims he coauthored The American Stage (1929), part of the Yale University
Press "Pageant of America" series.
Over a period of time the Rutgers University Library Journal
published a number of Dr. Coad's articles, among them the following:
"Whitman vs. Parton" (194o) ; "The First Century of the New
Brunswick Stage" ( 1 94 1-43) ; "James McHenry: a Minor American
Poet" (11945); "A Pleasant Land to See" (1962-63) ; "The Masonic Hall
Opera House [New Brunswick]" (1965) ; " Songs America Used to
Sing" (1968) ; " Some Traveler's-Eye Views of the Jerseyman."
Retirement frequently marks the end of a productive career. For
Oral Coad, at the age of seventy, it was another beginning. He turned
to new research, largely on New Jersey historical topics, from which
developed a succession of articles and two separate publications: New
Jersey in the Revolution (1964) and New Jersey in Travelers' Accounts ... a Descriptive Bibliography (1972)•
Several of his articles appeared in Proceedings of the New Jersey
Historical Society, now called Nqv Jersey History: "The Barnegat
Pirates in Fact and Fiction" (1963) ; "Pine Barrens and Robber Barons"
(1964) ; "William Dunlap: New Jersey Artist" (1965) ; and "Jersey
Gothic" (1966) .
Oral Coad had many personal virtues which—in deference to one
of them, namely modesty—we have no intention of itemizing. More
acceptable to him perhaps would be the spirit in which this publication is offered by the New Brunswick Historical Club—as a tribute
to a worthy friend.
[6]
Introduction to the 1964 Edition
JUST WHY so little first-rate fiction should have been written about
the Revolutionary War is not easy to explain. Color and adventure,
drama and vital significance were certainly there in abundance, but
major authors have been less inspired by the war for establishing the
Union than by the war for preserving it. And on any level of achievement the fiction of the Civil War is probably more voluminous than
that of the Revolution.
This generalization does not apply, however, to the state of New
Jersey. As a literary theme the War for Independence is far more conspicuous than any other phase of Jersey's history for the obvious
reason that the immediacy and intensity of that long cycle of events
were brought home to the people of the state with a menacing force
never experienced before or after. In some sense this was "our" war,
not only because certain crucial battles—turning points of the struggle
—were fought here, but because violent strife, public and private,
erupted in one section or other of the state from the beginning to the
end of the conflict. It has been said that "nearly ioo battles, large and
small, were staged on New Jersey soil," and in addition numberless
were the bitter neighborhood feuds and outbursts of destruction that
punctuated the seven years of hostility. New Jersey has rightly been
called "the Cockpit of the Revolution."
It is all the more regrettable, therefore, that so few books of conspicuous literary value have commemorated these stirring times, but,
as already indicated, New Jersey does not differ markedly from the
rest of the thirteen original colonies in that respect. A merit that does
become apparent as one considers the bibliography here offered is the
thoroughness with which the authors, taken collectively, have covered
the ground. To no one's surprise, the most famous occurrences—the
Crossing of the Delaware, the Battle of Trenton, and the Battle of
Monmouth—reappear again and again. In fact it seems that no author
omits these three immortal New Jersey events if he can possibly find
*Floyd W. Parsons, ed., New jersey: Life, Industries and Resources of a Great State
(Newark, 1928), p. 9.
171
an excuse for squeezing them in. But it is gratifying to discover that a
large array of minor episodes in almost every portion. of the state,
which most textbooks of American history find no room for, are also
incorporated. To cite a few examples: the depredations of New York
Cowboys in North Jersey, the aggression of Dutch Tories in the Hackensack Valley, the Battle of Teaneck Ridge, the smuggling of goods
by unpatriotic Jerseymen to the Tories on Staten Island, Washington's holding operation in the Watchung Mountains, the ruthless activities of the Pine Robbers, the flocking of outlaws to "RefugeeTown" on Sandy Hook, the mutiny of the New Jersey Line, the
British attack on Tams River and the salt works, the tea-burning at
Greenwich, the raid at Chestnut Neck, the cattle raids in. South Jersey, the Battle of the Kegs on the Delaware, the frequently hostile
treatment of the patriot army by the civilians—these and many other
often disregarded aspects of the war give this body of literature a certain appeal and value.
Equally inclusive is the roster of historical figures the writers assemble, from gentle Tempe Wick to fighting Molly Pitcher, from
swashbuckling Adam Huyler to tragic Joshua Huddy, from "Bloody
John" Bacon to genial Henry Knox, from inexplicable Charles Lee to
incomparable George Washington. Inevitably it is Washington who
dominates this body of fiction, and of course he is presented in a
variety of lights. Usually he is a noble, aloof, almost supernatural
presence hovering over the scene, a presence so godlike that some
authors cannot make free to call him by his name; to them he is never
anything less remote than "the General." Other novelists show him
beset on occasion by an indecision that arouses the troops to restlessness and impatient questioning. Gratifyingly often an attempt is made
to humanize him, but nearly always he is depicted as a high-minded,
generous-hearted man who towers over other men by his sheer moral
greatness.
As for the common soldier of the state, he is by no means always
glorified. At times, to be sure, he is impossibly brave and gallant, almost akin to the Three Musketeers; but in other delineations he is
dirty, crude, immoral, even cowardly. At first more a mob than an
[81
army, the troops are seen to respond to discipline until they become
an effective fighting force. In fact one of the more realistic portrayers
of the Continental Army makes the welcome assertion that the sturdy
core of a few thousand regulars who clung to Washington in his worst
times consisted almost entirely of Pennsylvania and Jersey men.
The composite picture conjured up by the reading of multiplied
dozens of novels touching on the Revolution in New Jersey—and verified by the historical record—is of an amateurish, almost impromptu
war marked by terrible inadequacy of equipment, military training,
and psychological preparation. It was a confused war of seemingly
aimless advances and retreats, of frightful suffering and long days of
despair, a war in which the patriot cause for years teetered on a razor's
edge, but in which that cause ultimately triumphed for the reason
that the human spirit at its best is unbreakable—and that spirit was
in Washington and Mercer and Knox and Lafayette and thousands of
common soldiers, many of whom claimed New Jersey as their home.
Within the moderate literary dimensions our authors represent,
the books on the ensuing list vary markedly in quality. Many of them
were written for juvenile readers on the defensible theory that historical knowledge and patriotism can best be instilled in the young by
the medium of the adventure story. In some instances the adventure
plot is mainly a scant framework on which to drape history; in others
the historical events are a shadowy setting whose chief function is to
motivate a full tale of fictitious derring-do. But in nearly all cases the
teen-age characters, male or female, tend to follow a stereotyped pattern of immeasurable patriotism and resourcefulness (often vitally
helpful to Washington), and in their bright lexicons there is no such
word as fear.
Commonplace though most of this teen-age fiction is, some of the
writers have the virtue of combining information with readableness.
Not the least of these is Everett T. Tomlinson, author of an amazing
number of boys' novels based on American history. The Boys of Old
Monmouth and In the Hands of the Redcoats illustrate as well as any,
*Hoa+ard Fast, Citizen Tom Paine, p. 193.
[9a
perhaps, his care for historical accuracy and his respect for his young
readers, to whom he refuses to condescend. Another prolific writer,
Edward S. Ellis, is favorably represented on our list by Patriot and
Tory, a spirited piece of story-telling. Among fairly recent examples
Kensil Bell's Jersey Rebel achieves both authenticity and liveliness,
and Lorna Beers in The Crystal Cornerstone is always vivid and sometimes even moving.
The works of adult fiction range from the feeble to the distinctly
competent. Near the latter category should be placed a navel, now
hard to come by, that has received less attention than it deserves—
Kate Ayles f ord by Charles J. Peterson. Though a highly improbable
romance, it is marked by vigorous description and sustained narrative
interest. The adventure element is as exciting as that of a typical novel
by William Gilmore Simms, and the prose is more readable. Paul
Leicester Ford's Janice Meredith, a better known romance than Peterson's, provides a sharp picture of many aspects of the Revolution in
New Jersey, with less idealizing than one would expect. Charles Flood
in Monmouth has written an engaging wartime love-story that ends
with a series of rapidly shifting vignettes which stirringly convey the
kaleidoscopic drama of battle. In the final chapters of Conceived in
Liberty Howard Fast creates an unforgettable sense of the mad confusion, the terror, the agony, and the heroism of the Monmouth conflict; and in all of his Revolutionary novels he combines a realistic approach with a sympathetic attitude, particularly toward the enlisted
men, thereby making the war more nearly a part of one's own experience than do most writers. A similar response is called out by Charles
Mercer's Enough Good Men. Here the Revolution comes alive by the
human imperfections of the soldiers who are fighting it, imperfections
that enough good men by their tough wills transcended to achieve the
seemingly impossible on the desperate battlefields of Trenton and
Monmouth.
Among the listed books are a few representatives of the so-called
revisionist school,* whose purpose is to deflate the familiar image of
"See Helen E. Haines, What's in
a
Novel (New York, 1942), p. 121.
[10]
the Revolutionary patriots. Something of this element is naturally to
be found in the work of the English writers, G. A. Henty and Robert
Graves, but the most ruthless iconoclasm comes from Kenneth Roberts, American author of Oliver Wiswell. Yet these novelists, for whatever reason, belittle New Jersey's record only in passing and devote
themselves mainly to other theatres of war. In several other instances,
some of them already noted, an honest attempt at realism, not properly to be called debunking, is made. This approach one welcomes as
a relief from the dominant tendency to idealize. But by and large the
following items certify that a substantial number of fiction writers,
both inside and outside of the state, have felt impelled to demonstrate
to the reading public the vital part New Jersey has played in the making of the American nation.
One point which seems to emerge from the bibliography is that
the production of books concerned with our theme was very meagre
during the first hundred years after the beginning of the Revolution,
and that the fourth quarter of the nineteenth century saw a sudden
efflorescence of such literature, which has continued to the present
time. Various explanations might be offered, such as the steady growth
of a reading public in the United States. Perhaps the centennial celebrations of 1876 and, even more, the War with Spain and the two
World Wars gave Americans a national awareness and pride that have
directed increasing attention to our historical origins. At any rate this
catalogue appears to show that the last twenty-five years have contributed more fiction dealing with the War for Independence in general
and with New Jersey's involvement in particular than has any preceding quarter century. In this tercentenary year one looks toward subsequent developments with interest and hope.
The list submitted herewith for the use of the general reader contains both novels and short stories. In many instances the entries deal
wholly or largely with New Jersey, but numerous works have been
admitted in which that state has only a minor role or, on occasion, in
which New Jersey soldiers are not fighting in their home state at all.
Yet all these compositions are included for the reason that their allusions, even if brief, bear testimony through historical fiction to New
[II]
Jersey's dramatic participation in the Revolutionary War.
In compiling this catalogue I have used mainly the Rutgers University Library, the Library of Congress (by inter-library loan
through the courtesy of the Reference Department of the Rutgers
University Library), the New Brunswick Free Public Library, the
New York Public Library, and the Princeton University Library.
Other libraries have also been consulted. The majority of the books,
or at least a representative selection, should be found in any sizable
public library in the state.
The date after each title is that of its first appearance. Many of
the books have been reissued, some of them more than once, but I
have made no effort to record the various editions. Any available edition should serve the purposes of the average reader.
I am fully aware that the bibliography can lay no claim to completeness. A very few titles have come to my attention which are pretty
clearly relevant to the subject but of which I have been unable to
locate copies. These,, of course, have been omitted from the list. But
there must be a good many obscure novels and stories—and some ,obvious ones—that I have overlooked, and information concerning them
would be most welcome.
A Note on the Second Edition
An unexpected offer to reissue the bibliography as a Bicentennial item
has provided an opportunity to add titles that have appeared since the
first issue and also those pre-dating 1965 that I have come upon subsequently. In preparing this edition I have consulted numerous novels
and short stories, in thirty-five of which I found references to New
Jersey's part in the war of sufficient weight to justify, as it seemed to
me, their inclusion "here, and they are distributed through the list in
their proper alphabetical places.
It is a pleasure to thank the New Brunswick Historical Club for
its good offices and to acknowledge the support of Mr. Donald A.
Sinclair of the Alexander Library, Rutgers University, who did much
toward making this bibliography possible in both editions.
[I21
Bibliography
ALTSHELER, JOSEPH ALEXANDER. In Hostile Red: A Romance
of the Monmouth Campaign. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.,
1897. 34oP-
1
Centers on two brave and dashing American soldiers who impersonate British
officers. Largely confined to Pennsylvania, but the final pages depict the Battle
of Monmouth, especially from the point of view of the common soldier. General
Lee characterized as a traitor.
ATHERTON, GERTRUDE. The Conqueror: Being the True and
Romantic Story of Alexander Hamilton. New York and London:
2
Macmillan Co., 1902. 546p.
A fictionalized biography which incorporates such details of the Revolution in
New Jersey as Hamilton's part in the retreat across the state, the Crossing of the
Delaware, the battles of Trenton and Princeton, his residence at Washington's
headquarters at Morristown, and his participation in the Battle of Monmouth.
Lee and Lafayette much in evidence here. Washington denounces Lee at Monmouth with profanity that is "Washingtonian in its grandeur."
BACHELLER, IRVING. In the Days of Poor Richard. Indianapolis:
3
The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1922. 414P.
Covers the period from 1768 to 1787. Features Franklin and other major figures, with scenes in America, England, and France, and with an incidental love
story. At the outset of the war two of the characters, under Franklin's instructions, cross the Pine Barrens with eight horses and two wagons loaded with
gunpowder. They are held up by a band of Tory refugees and deprived of all
their money. The American army reported to have captured 1,000 of the enemy
at Trenton and 300 at Princeton and to have "reclaimed New Jersey" by these
victories. At Morristown in 1777 Washington outwits the British, convincing
them that his 3,000 troops there actually number 12,000; so the little army is
safe for the winter.
. The Master of Chaos. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company,
1931.
4
326p.
The fictional hero a young and valiant Bostonian. Washington, the historical
hero, masters chaos in numerous situations, including the battles of Trenton
and Princeton (Chapter 12). After the latter he persuades many whose term of
enlistment has expired to continue in the army. The people of New Jersey at
high pitch of indignation against the enemy over outrages.
1131
New Jersey in the
15-91
BARKER, SHIRLEY. Fire and the Hammer: A Tale of Love and
Violence. New York: Crown Publishers, 1 953. 339P- 5
The action, largely in Bucks County, dominated by the Doans, an actual gang
of Quaker brigands (Cowboys), who make raids in New Jersey as well as
Pennsylvania. The Crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton recounted quite fully and graphically as experienced by two characters of the novel.
The famous unread note to the Hessian Colonel Rall is here sent by a Doan. The
Doans represented as responsible for the burning of Connecticut Farms, and
one of them murders the Reverend James Caldwell's wife.
BARNES, JAMES. For King or Country: A Story of the American
Revolution. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1896. 269p. 6
Centers on two mine-owning families in North Jersey, one patriot, the other
Tory (loyalist). The patriot family manufactures cannon and ammunition and
the great chain used by the Americans to block the Hudson. The two boy
heroes have a part in the Crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Princeton.
A friendly Indian somewhat prominent.
BEERS, LORNA DOONE. The Crystal Cornerstone. New York:
Harper, 1953. 218p. 7
Time: 1776. A Pennsylvania boy starts for Princeton College but, wanting to
be a hero, joins the Continental Army at Fort Lee. Here he finds a prevailing
attitude of hopelessness except for the influence of Tom Paine, who is one of
the officers. Story ends with the Crossing of the Delaware, quite vividly recounted, and the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. Washington's moral greatness emphasized.
BELL, KENSIL. Danger on the Jersey Shore. New York: Dodd,
Mead, 1959- 243P8
Emphasis on skirmishes, night attacks, and cattle raids in South Jersey. Ends
with Clinton's march across the state and the Battle of Monmouth, in which
Washington's heroism is highlighted. Several conjectural explanations of Lee's
conduct offered.
Jersey Rebel. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1951. 248p.
9
Most of the material "drawn directly from historical facts." Time: 1777. The
scene largely in Gloucester County near Little Timber Creek, and much of the
historical action deals with naval engagements on the Delaware, conspicuously
involving Fort Mercer. Here the Hessians meet a bloody defeat, in which their
leader, Count von Donop, is mortally wounded. Lafayette figures briefly but
bravely. The tea-burning at Greenwich reported. The hero, a farm boy, serves
[141
[ 10-1 3
American Revolution
as guide, spy, and general handyman for the patriot forces. Is in frequent danger
from a gang of Pine Robbers.
Secret Mission for Valley Forge. New York: Dodd, Mead,
10
1955.246p.
Adventures of the boy hero of jersey Rebel as he guides a raiding party sent
to South Jersey to round up beef cattle for starving soldiers at Valley Forge.
Based on actual correspondence of Washington and other officers. "Mad Anthony" Wayne is leader of the expedition. General Pulaski plays a minor part.
The British also raid Salem County and remove animals, bacon, hay, etc.
Wayne outwits the British and gets the cattle across the Delaware and into the
Valley Forge encampment. A Tory is chief villain.
BETZ, EVA (KELLY). Desperate Drums. Paterson: St. Anthony
11
Guild Press, 1951. 213P.
The third book in a series of four centering on two patriotic youths from
the Greenwich neighborhood. In this story they take part in the Crossing of
the Delaware and the battles of Trenton and Princeton, all briefly treated.
Minor military affairs in North Jersey also touched on. A Greenwich girl carries
money for the cause to Philadelphia and helps thwart smuggling of supplies by
the British.
. Freedom Drums. New York: Abelard Press, 1950. 172P.
12
The second novel in the Greenwich tetralogy. Time: the beginning of the
war. Among New Jersey events included are: the varied reception of the Declaration of Independence at Bridgeton, the molding of bullets from their pewterware by South Jersey women, conflicts between patriots and Tories in the
Newark area, military action at Paulus Hook (now Jersey City). A peddler
serves as a kind of spy for the rebels.
Victory Drums. Paterson: St. Anthony Guild Press, 1 955235P•
13
Last of the Greenwich tetralogy. Carries forward the careers of the young
heroes to Yorktown. Its main New Jersey episodes: the massacre by British at
Hancocks Bridge, the Battle of Monmouth, the winter of 1779-80 at Morristown,
the court martial of Benedict Arnold prior to his treason, the murder of Mrs.
James Caldwell at Connecticut Farms, the Battle of Springfield. All four of the
novels offer a somewhat detailed historical account strung on a slender thread
of story.
(15]
[
New Jersey in the
14_18 ]
. Young Eagles. New York: Declan X. McMullen Company,
14
1 947. 19oPThe first of the four Greenwich stories. Begins in 1774. The young heroes
outwit smugglers of supplies local patriots refuse to sell to His Majesty's representatives. Burning of British tea by Greenwich rebels disguised as Indians a
prominent episode. Cleavage between patriots and Tories of the region seen. In
the last chapter the two youths volunteer for service as American soldiers.
BOYCE, BURKE. Man from Mt. Vernon. New York: Harper, ig6i.
338P15
A fictionalized biography of Washington from 1775 to the end of the
Revolution, its purpose being to humanize him. Includes the Crossing of the
Delaware, the battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Monmouth, and the encampment at Morristown. Madness hinted at as a possible explanation of Lee's conduct at Monmouth.
. The Perilous Night. New York: The Viking Press, 1942. 56op.
The setting is the Highlands of the Hudson with some incidental allusions
to New Jersey. The victory at Trenton "a momentary fillip, but at best it was
only an outpost skirmish against wassailing homesick Hessians, and the army
retreated afterward." The Hessians said to , "steal everything they can lay their
hands on." A character reports the officers "danced the whole winter at Middlebrook. They had to, to keep warm." References to the terrible winter at Morristown and the mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line there.
BRICK, JOHN. The Rifleman. Garden City: Doubleday, 1 953. 349PNone of the action in New Jersey. In Chapter 11 a regiment of Jerseymen
on its way to the siege of Boston meets up with an American rifle company. The
smartly accoutered and well drilled regiment hurls derisive remarks at the unkempt, casual riflemen, who reply with tobacco juice. In the ensuing free-for-all
the supercilious Jerseymen get the worst of it.
. The Strong Men. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1959•
36op.
18
The setting chiefly Valley Forge. In Chapter 14 a detachment sent into
South Jersey to forage for food and information. Some of the many Tories here
found shipping food to Tories in Philadelphia. Climax of the action in the
Battle of Monmouth, dramatically recounted. The valuable service of the Jersey
militia prior to the battle, the council of war at Hopewell, and Lee's strange
conduct effectively presented. Wayne the particular hero.
[16]
[ 1 9-2 31
American Revolution
CANNON, LEGRAND, JR. Look to the. Mountain. New York: H.
19
Holt & Company, 1942.565p.
Scene: New Hampshire. In Part Three, Chapter 16, the people of that state,
hearing Washington is retreating across New Jersey and most of the army has
gone home, think the war about over. Learning of the 'Crossing and the Battle
of Trenton, they decide the army "did all right this time," for the victory
"kept the war going."
CARTER, RUSSELL GORDON. A Patriot Lad of Old Philadelphia.
20
Philadelphia: Penn Publishing Company, 1924- 224P.
Pennsylvania the principal scene of action. The Crossing of the Delaware
brought in indirectly, and a paragraph at the end given to the Battle of Monmouth.
. A Patriot Lad of Old Trenton. Philadelphia: Penn Publishing
21
Company, 1926. 224P.
Leads up to the Battle of Trenton. The Hessians stressed. John Honeyman,
the Jersey spy, plays a part in the story. Two Tories actively scheme against
the two boy heroes, whose small boat is the one in which Washington crosses
the Delaware—so this tale has it.
CAVANNA, BETTY. A Touch of Magic. Philadelphia: The West22
minster Press, 1961. 189P.
The story, laid in Philadelphia, is concerned with the historical Shippen
girls and their friends. Dr. Shippen about 1780 says: "all through New Jersey
there are hospitals still full of sick and wounded from the engagement at
Monmouth, not to mention the prisoners recently exchanged by the British.
Some of those lads are in really bad shape." He and one of the young heroines
visit a church turned into a hospital on the road leading to New Brunswick,
apparently in the Bordentown area. Here "one medical man and a handful of
local women for a hundred and fifty patients."
CHAMBERS, ROBERT WILLIAM. Love and the Lieutenant. New
York and London: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1935- 4O2P- 23
Action in northern New York. In Chapters 19-20, British officers express
disgust over the murder of Jane McCrae (or McCrea) in that area by Indian
allies, a tragedy that actually befell this New Jersey-born girl. The officers
fear this outrage will stimulate the recruiting of twenty regiments of rebels.
[171
[ 24-2 8]
New Jersey in the
. The Painted Minx. New York and London: D. Appleton &
Company, 1930- 307P.
24
A romance of the Revolution centering on an actress at the John Street
Theatre, New York. Major Andre reports to her briefly on the Battle of Monmouth, declaring that the Continentals fought as well as the British regulars,
thanks to Washington's leadership.
CLINARD, DOROTHY L., and NEW BY, DOROTHY D. The
Hidey Hole; The Mystery of the Old Winslow Homestead. New
25
York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 196o. 152p.
A contemporary story set in a pre-Revolutionary house at Growers Mill and
involving the mystery of a family treasure hidden by ancestors of the young
hero and heroine when the Hessians were coming. In the end the children
solve the mystery and the treasure is put to good use. One of the characters is a
retired mill worker, who tells the children about the history of Central Jersey
and its part in the Revolution, with emphasis on the battles of Trenton and
Princeton.
COBB, SYLVANUS. Karmel the Scout; or, The Rebel of the Jerseys:
A Story of the American Revolution. New York: Cassell & Com26
pany, 1888. 285p.
Mostly a highly melodramatic story with the Revolution as a vague background. The setting is the Perth Amboy-New Brunswick area, with some
stress on the evils created b~. the Tories of that region.
COMFORT, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. llrnold's Tempter. Boston:
C. M. Clark Publishing Co., 1908. 447p. 27
Nearly all the action in Philadelphia and New York. The British agent who
tempts Arnold makes a journey through New Jersey, stopping for the night
with a farmer in the Whippany River Valley, who is a good example of the
"virtues and hardihood of the Colonists." A naval engagement near Little
Egg Harbor reported in some detail.
[CONGAR, STEPHEN]. Herbert Wendall: A Tale of the Revolution. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1835. 2 viols. 28
Action in the neighborhood of Newark. Includes the Battle of Springfield.
The Revolution incidental to numerous loosely connected and improbable adventures. A pro-British outlaw, one of the central characters in the story, apparently based on the New York Cowboy, Claudius Smith.
[18]
American Revolution
[ 2 9-33
COOPER, JAMES FENIMORE. The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral
Ground. New York: Wiley & Halstead, 1821. 2 vols. 29
The story, with its setting in Westchester County, N.Y., centers on Harvey
Birch, who, pretending to be a loyalist, actually serves as an invaluable spy for
Washington. In Chapter 34 large bodies of French in New York and of Americans in New Jersey are threatening the British forces, who are thus prevented
from going to the aid of Cornwallis in Virginia. With the end of the war apparently drawing near, Washington bids an affecting farewell to Birch at an unspecified place "in the heart of the American troops, who held the Jerseys."
CRUMPTON, M. NATALINE. The Silver Buckle: A Story of the
Revolutionary Days. Philadelphia: Henry Altemus Company,
1899. 89P.
30
The Philadelphia heroine's two soldier lovers, one American, the other English, meet at the Battle of Monmouth. The American brings water to the dying
Englishman and is given a silver buckle to present to the loved one. In keeping
with the buckle's significance, the young Americans marry. The battle, the
"strangest" of the Revolution, treated briefly, with special mention of the
heat, the "jealous" Lee's retreat, and the preliminary council of war at Hopewell.
CUMMINS, MARIA SUSANNA. Haunted Hearts. Boston: J. E.
Tilton and Company, 1864. 554P•
31
A fictional treatment of an actual murder that occurred in Union County in
1931. In Chapter 1 the region described as the scene of many Revolutionary
skirmishes and much pillage and cruelty by the lawless British and Hessian
soldiery. An old tavern, conspicuous in the novel, alternately a place of defense
and of triumphant revelry during the war, both uses being equally destructive.
CURTIS, ALICE TURNER. A Little Maid of Monmouth. Philadel32
phia: Penn Publishing Co., 1925. 219P.
The eleven-year-old heroine captures a young British officer and gets an important message to Washington. Story culminates in the Battle of Monmouth
and includes the daring of Molly Pitcher and Lee's "traitorous" conduct. Washington glorified.
CURTIS, NEWTON MALLORY. The Marksmen of Monmouth:
A Tale of the Revolution. Troy: L. Willard, 1848. 127P•
33
This naive story tells of the mutual love, the thrilling adventures, and the
eventual marriage of a handsome young patriot and a violent Tory's beautiful
daughter, both of Monmouth County. The hero is captain of a corps of about
[j9]
New Jersey in the
134-36]
300 Marksmen of Monmouth (sharpshooters), who use long heavy rifles and
are "drilled to perfection." They are the terror of the British and acquit themselves with great bravery at Brandywine and Germantown. At the Battle of
Monmouth, when the field seems lost following Lee's retreat, the victory is
won by the Marksmen and troops from Pennsylvania, who make an irresistible
bayonet charge under the dauntless leadership of Anthony Wayne, with the
young hero by his side. Wayne, who loves the hero like a father and gives the
bride away at the wedding, is the principal historical figure in the novel. Washington is made to. exclaim that Wayne has won another laurel for his brow at
Monmouth.
DAVIS, BURKE. Yorktown. New York: Rinehart, 1952. 306p. 34
Though centered outside of New Jersey the plot is incidentally concerned
with the winter at Morristown (one character says that in comparison "Valley
Forge was a May Day's outing") and the mutiny of the Pennsylvania. Line,
demanding pay, food, and the righting of wrongs. Despite General Wayne's
efforts to prevent it, the men march to Princeton accompanied by their female
camp-followers amid the despair of the civilians. The mutineers, whom the
author presents realistically, gain their objectives. Later Clinton, recalling the
Battle of Monmouth, marvels he had not been "skinned" by the rebels.
DENISON, MARY ANDREWS. Captain Molly; or, The Fight at
Trenton, Christmas, 1776. A Story of the Revolution. New York:
Beadle and Company, 1865.. (Beadle's Dime Novels, No. 88.) 99p.
The Crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton briefly reported.
Chiefly concerned with the adventures of two heroines and their patriot lovers,
one of whom Molly rescues from death as an alleged spy. At the Hessians'
Christmas party Molly receives and destroys the note informing Rall of the
impending attack. After the battle, Washington and the dying Rall, who , is
honorably in love with the other heroine, witness the nuptials of the two girls.
DESMOND, ALICE CURTIS. Alexander Hamilton's Wife: A Romance of the Hudson. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1952.
36
273PA fictionalized biography. Word comes from New Brunswick at Christmas
time, 1776, that Washington's soldiers are retreating across New Jersey ragged,
cold, half-starved, with bugs in what little food they have. A reference to Hamilton's having fought at Princeton. The winter of 1780 at Morristown busy and
exciting socially for the heroine, who becomes engaged to Hamilton.
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137-41 ]
DORIAN, EDITH M. High Water Cargo. New York, etc.: Whittlesey House, 1950. 216p.
37
A tale of New Brunswick in the 1850's. In Chapter 4 the boy hero listens in
on reminiscences of his elders concerning Adam Huyler and his daring deeds
as a privateer. So serious a menace was he to the British that they outfitted an
expedition against him. One character says: "That man was a navy all by
himself."
DUNCAN, JOHN M. Twelve Days 'til Trenton. New York: Whit38
desey House, 1 958. 155PIs concerned with the events culminating in the Crossing of the Delaware
and the Battle of Trenton. The men of Marblehead, who took the boats across,.
and John Honeyman, Washington's Jersey spy, are prominent.
ELLIS, EDWARD SYLVESTER. Patriot and Tory. Boston: D. Estes
& Company, 1904- 31Ip.
39
The, main characters are two youthful Monmouth County brothers, one a
patriot, the other a loyalist (Tory), whose adventures are vitally associated with
the Revolution. The Pine Robbers much in evidence. Considerable space given
to the Battle of Monmouth, with a chapter devoted to Molly Pitcher. Lee's
retreat and Washington's profane anger emphasized.
EMERY, ANNE. A Spy of Old Philadelphia. New York, etc.: Rand
McNally & Company, 1958. 208p.
40
The teen-age spy, after numerous .adventures in Philadelphia, gets- word to
Washington at Valley Forge that the British are in New Jersey headed. for
Sandy Hook. After the Battle of Monmouth Washington writes praising the
boy for helping to make victory possible.
AN EX-PENSION AGENT. See MORFORD, HENRY.
FAST, HOWARD MELVIN. "The Bookman." In Patrick Henry
and the Frigate's Keel and Other Stories of a Young Nation.
41
New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1941. 253PThe book-peddler really a British sympathizer who spies on the New Jersey
Line under the command of General Anthony Wayne at a place not indicated
in the story. These soldiers, about 2000, always cold, being short of clothing and
blankets and with hardly any shoes. In camp are constantly drilled and paraded
to . make them forget they are starving. Washington, coming for a conference
with Wayne, described as "a tall, tired-looking person in a uniform patched all
over."
12I]
New jersey in the
[42-461
. Citizen Tom Paine. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1 943•
42
341PBrings out Paine's influence, especially in New Jersey, as an inspiriter of both
civilians and soldiers. His impact felt particularly by the garrison retreating
from Fort Lee to New Brunswick, described by Fast as "a column of sorry and
forlorn ghosts." Pennsylvania and Jersey soldiers credited with conspicuous
fidelity to Washington.
. Conceived in Liberty: A Novel of Valley Forge. New
Simon and Shuster, 1 939. 389P-
York:
43
The last four chapters contain a memorable account of the nightmarish
Battle of Monmouth and of the anguished march across New Jersey that preceded it.
. The Proud and the Free. Boston.: Little, Brown, 1950. 311p. 44
Based on the mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line in 1781, a rebellion of humble
men against mistreatment by their aristocratic officers, of whom General Wayne
is chief. The action largely in New Jersey, beginning in Morristown and reaching its climax at Princeton.
. The Unvanquished. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce,
1942. 316p.
45
A fictionalized history of the Revolution. Part Four deals with the campaign
in New Jersey leading up to and including the Crossing of the Delaware,
which, with its seeming impossibilities, is reported in considerable detail.
Washington's mixture of uncertainty and high determination brought out, as
is the bitter suffering of the Continental troops and the hostile treatment to
which they were often exposed by the New Jersey citizens. General Lee captured at Basking Ridge, and Tom Paine heartens the soldiers with his doctrine
of revolution.
FLOOD, CHARLES BRACELEN. Monmouth. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1961- 349P•
46
Features many brave men and some honorable love-making. Except for the
last fifty pages the scene laid in Pennsylvania; then the two armies move across
New Jersey and meet at Monmouth Court House. A preliminary council of war
at Hopewell brings out the differing personalities of the several American
leaders. The battle described in some fulness and excitingly. Lee seems chiefly
a confused man and Washington a self-controlled and heroic one.
[221
[47-511 1
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FORD, PAUL LEICESTER. Janice Meredith: A Story of the American Revolution. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1899.
47
536P•
A romance centering on a patriotic girl, who lives with her parents on their
large estate near New Brunswick. Numerous major events of the war from
beginning to end, including the Crossing of the Delaware, and the Battle of
Trenton, incorporated, in most of which Janice and her father play some part.
Washington admiringly sketched, but Ford makes no effort to idealize the
average New Jersey patriot.
FRANCIS, MARY CORNELIA. Dalrymple: A Romance of the
British Prison Ship, the Jersey. New York: J. Pott & Company,
48
1 904- 371p.
The events largely confined to New York City and the prison ship, which
has no connection with New Jersey. The Crossing of the Delaware and the
battles of Trenton and Princeton incidentally reported. The story reaches a
climax in the Battle of Monmouth, with stress on the heat, Lee's cowardice and
jealousy, and Washington's rage and valor. The battle makes possible a personal combat between the hero and his British rival in love.
GAUCH, PATRICIA LEE. This Time, Tempe Wick? New York:
Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1 974. 43P49
The familiar story retold, with some embroidery and delightful illustrations,
for very young readers. Tempe represented as "a feisty farm girl" of Jockey
Hollow, near Morristown, who outwits two soldiers in their attempt to appropriate her beloved horse Bonny. The two men, who want the horse in order
to get to Philadelphia, involved in the mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line.
GERSON, NOEL BERTRAM. Give Me Liberty: A Novel of Patrick
Henry. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1966- 347P50
In this biographical novel, set in Virginia, Henry observes that after Washington was forced out of New York Town his militia deserted by the thousands and that only God knew how many troops left him on the retreat through
New Jersey. John Paul Jones declares that Washington broke the British rules
of warfare by "his night attack on the Germans at Trenton." "Ah, that was
rich. He knows how to fry those devils."
. I'll Storm Hell. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1967.
51
302p.
A fictionalized biography of "Mad" Anthony Wayne. New Jersey figures in
[231
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152-541
an
Me
the following episodes involving Wayne: a clash between Continental soldiers
and New Jersey militia near Princeton, which he breaks up with great severity;
a conference with Washington at Morristown, in which he is given command of
the Pennsylvania Line; a daring engagement with the British near New Brunswick; a consultation with generals, including Lafayette, at Morristown; the
Battle of Monmouth, which is reported at considerable length, with emphasis
on Wayne's distinguished service; the mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line near
Morristown, which, according to this account, Wayne quells with his customary
dispatch.
. Scoundrels' Brigade. By "Carter A. Vaughan." Garden City:
52
Doubleday, 1962. 2S9P.
The central character is in the American army as it retreats across New
Jersey in the fall of 1776. Provisions at a minimum, soldiers forage for food,
many leave for home, citizens are giving up. hope. To revive public confidence
Washington makes surprise attacks at Trenton and Princeton, thereby gaining
possession of the entire state. In the latter part of the book New Jersey figures
slightly in the hero's efforts to track down counterfeiters.
. The Yankee Rascals. By "Carter A. Vaughan." Garden City:
Doubleday, 1963. 232p.
53
A story of love and adventure during the Revolution with the setting mainly
in Pennsylvania and New York. Brief attention given to Lord Stirling of New
Jersey, than whom "No one fought more valiantly at Trenton and Princeton."
A few fictitious incidents in New Jersey, especially the flight of a group of
Yankees across the state from a British prison, which leads to the culmination
of the romance at Princeton.
GRAVES, ROBERT. Proceed, Sergeant Lamb. London: Methuen &
Co., 1 941. 314P54
A first-person account of the experiences of a British soldier in America from
1777 to 1782. Naturally pro-Royalist (having been written by a British novelist)
but not rabidly so. In Chapter 3 it is .stated that the main British army, retiring
across New Jersey in June, 1778, "checked" Washington's forces in "the stubborn rearguard action of Monmouth" and got safely to New York. In Chapter
19 Lamb praises the people of New Jersey for unsurpassed attachment to the
British government. Admits the Hessians given to plundering "in the European
style," used most of the books of the Princeton library as fuel, and there were
some discreditable characters among the British troops, but insists the British
officers never countenanced any atrocities.
[241
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GREENE, MARJORIE SHERMAN. Cowboy of the Ramapos. New
York: Abelard-Schuman, 1956. i89P.
55
The hero a boy of Orange County, N.Y., who becomes a scout for Washington. Has contacts with Claudius Smith, leader of the so-called Cowboys of the
Ramapos. The boy is dispatched to Pompton to announce to the undernourished
mutineers of the New Jersey Line that the farmers of Orange County are sending them large supplies of food. He arrives just as the executions begin, and
his message ends the mutiny.
GUERNSEY, LUCY ELLEN. The Story of a Hessian: A Tale of
Revolution in New Jersey. Philadelphia: American Sunday
School Union, 1877. 181p.
56
A short novel relating sympathetically the career of a Hessian who, sent into
South Jersey as a spy and captured, becomes a worthy citizen of Bridgeton.
Other Hessians in New Jersey not favorably presented.
HAINES, EDWIN IRVINE. The Exquisite Siren: The Romance of
Peggy Shippen and Major John Andre. Philadelphia, etc.: J. B.
Lippincott Company, 1 938. 444P.
57
A story of love and intrigue, set in Pennsylvania and New York, involving
the conspiracy of Benedict Arnold. The Battle of Monmouth commented on
in Chapter 20 as a climactic victory in spite of grave blunders.
HALL, MARJORY. A Hatf ul of Gold. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1964. 192p.
58
This novel about Molly Pitcher's conjectural career from her young girlhood
as Molly Ludwig on her father's farm near Trenton to her removal to Carlisle,
Pa., where she marries John Hays. and on to her adventures on the battlefield
at Monmouth, at which she arrives in her efforts to be near her soldier-husband.
Here she ministers to the wounded soldiers or those exhausted by the terrible
heat, her special service being to bring them water in a pitcher (whence the
nickname they bestow upon her, according to this author). Soon she finds her
husband at his cannon, and when he is wounded substitutes for him. For her
bravery Washington gives her the rank of sergeant, and Lafayette and some
of his men present her with a hatful of coins.
HAND, MATILDA BUTLER. A Romance of Old Cape May. Philadelphia: Dorrance and Company, 1928. 280p.
59
A story of Cape May County during the Revolution, emphasizing civilian as
[25)
New Jersey in the
[ 6o-631
much as military life. The conflict between patriots and Tories of the region
given some attention, and a British cattle raid receives minor notice.
HARRIS, CYRIL. One Braver Thing. New York: Charles Scribner's
6o
Sons, 1942- 416p.
As an immediate aftermath of the war a Tory physician and his family of
Perth Amboy are deprived of their property in 1783 and expelled from the town.
These experiences and their subsequent life in Nova Scotia sympathetically
presented.
. Richard Pryne: A Novel of the American Revolution. New
61
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 11941 . 414P•
Centers on a fictionalized spy for Washington, with the action mainly on
Long Island and in New York. In 1779 the realization comes to him that after
four years the Revolution is a war that is no war, the British not knowing what
to do, and Washington. "encamped out there in New Jersey all winter with a
few scrawny regiments," unable to do anything either. Two and a half years
later New York residents aroused by musket-fire and cannonading across the
Hudson and signal-fires making the night "red all the way from Perth Amboy
to Hackensack," announcing the victory at Yorktown.
. Trumpets at Dawn. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1 938 •
429P.
62
Covers the duration of the war in and near New York City, with several
scenes in New Jersey. A letter relates the fording of the Raritan River in the
fall of 1776 with the hotly pursuing British stalled off by good luck with the
guns. The Jersey farmers, seeing the soldiers' rags, turn the other way. The
Hessians a menace near Trenton, plundering and abducting. The Crossing of
the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton recounted, with the father of an abducted girl giving Rall his death wound. One scene at headquarters in Totowa,
Washington being represented as somewhat short-tempered and Mrs. Washington
as chiefly concerned over housekeeping arrangements. Shortly before Yorktown
Jersey farmers, almost cleaned out, wonder if the war will ever end. Tories
gloat over their prospective revenge on patriots. John Honeyman makes a
brief appearance.
HARTS, BRET. "A Jersey Centenarian." In Tales of the Argonauts,
and Other Sketches. Boston: J. R. Osgood and Company, 1875.
288p.
63
A brief sketch of an old woman of the Basking Ridge area who confusedly
remembers Washington. She also recalls a skirmish between militia and Hessians. and a wounded Hessian casually shot by a little Jersey girl.
[26]
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[64-68]
. Thankful Blossom: A Romance of the jerseys, 1779. Boston:
64
J. R. Osgood and Company, 1877. 158p.
A love story about a pert but beautiful girl, living near Morristown, and
her several wooers, the successful one being a sterling New Jersey major. Involved in the tale are General and Mrs. Washington, now in headquarters at
the Ford Mansion, and Washington's secretary, Alexander Hamilton.
HENTY, GEORGE ALFRED. True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the
American War of Independence. London: Blackie & Son, 1885.
65
390P•
A novelized history of the Revolution from the British point of view. Very
briefly reports the Crossing of the Delaware, the important success of which
Henty recognizes, and the battles of Trenton and Princeton. Of the Battle of
Monmouth he merely writes that the object of this conflict was to cut off the
British, but that "the Americans were worsted."
HERBERT WENDALL. See CONGAR, STEPHEN.
HERGESHEIMER, JOSEPH. Balisand. New York: A. A. Knopf,
1924. 371P66
A novel of post-Revolutionary Virginia with many recollections of the war,
including desperate searches for cattle in the Jersey Pine Barrens, the Crossing
of the Delaware, and the defeat of the Hessians at Trenton, as well as the
Battle of Monmouth with Lee's failure: to obey orders.
HILLIARD-D'AUBERTEUIL, MICHEL RENE. Miss McCrea:
Roman Historique (1784). Facsimile reproduction with translation by Eric LaGuardia. Gainesville, Florida: Scholars' Facsimiles
& Reprints, 1958. 64 & 38 p.
67
Based on an actual event of 1777 in New York State: the murder, apparently
by Indians allied with the British, of Jane McCrea, a girl born and reared in
New Jersey. According to the short novel, Jane's father, before this tragedy,
organizes a band of patriots, whom he leads to the defense of their suffering
"brothers" in New Jersey. This justifies a paragraph on Washington's successes
at Trenton and Princeton, by which he gained control of the state in fifteen
days.
HOFFMAN, ROBERT VAN AMBURGH. The Revolutionary Scene
in New Jersey. New York: American Historical Company, 1942.
3o3P68
[271
[69-711 1
New Jersey
in the
A collection of brief "historical tales," based on fact and tradition, concerned
mainly with the Revolution in the northern portion of the state, and presented
largely in somewhat fictionalized form. Among the themes are: the Reverend
James Caldwell's loyalty, his wife's murder, and his part in the Battle of
Springfield; Benjamin Franklin's relations with his son William; John Honeyman's spying for Washington; Colonel Rall's Christmas party at Trenton; the
capture of Charles Lee at Basking Ridge; Alexander Hamilton's astuteness as
confidential secretary to Washington; Tempe Wick and her horse.
HOLDICH, HENRIETTA HOWARD. "Hannah Arnett's Faith."
Reprinted from The New York Observer, 1876, in Authors and
Writers Associated with Morristown. Morristown: Vogt Bros.,
18 93. 407P•
69
A short story, supposedly true in outline, in which Mrs. Arnett of Elizabethtown persuades a group of men to reject the protection the British have offered
them if they will promise not to take up arms. The time is 1776.
HOLLAND, RUPERT SARGENT. The Rider in the Green Mask.
Philadelphia and London: J. P. Lippincott Company, 1926.288p.
Some of the action occurs at an estate on the Delaware opposite Philadelphia
during the Revolution. Hereabouts a gang of marauders steal, burn houses, and
commit murder in the King's name. The young hero joins the Continental
Army in 1778, knowing the next action will be fought in New Jersey. The
war not stressed in detail.
HOPKINS, JOSEPH G. E. Retreat and Recall. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1966. 223p.
71
The central character a young doctor from New England who becomes a
secret agent for the patriot cause in the New York area in 1776-1777. Numerous
references to New Jersey: the sick in a New York hospital, along with soldiers'
wives and camp-followers, sent to refuge in various New Jersey towns; later
the general hospital established in New Jersey; General Charles Lee's capture
by the British at Basking Ridge brought in; according to a Tory newspaper in
New York the Battle of Trenton a mere skirmish of outposts and most of
New Jersey's citizens opposed to independence, yet a British officer admits the
entire state has risen up against England; all "hither Jersey" the scene of
desperate conflicts "between Tory volunteers and Jersey militia men." The last
two chapters are given to the doctor's successful attempt to reach headquarters
at Morristown, after various hazards, and to deliver a secret message to Washington and Greene.
[28]
[72-76]
HOUGH, FRANK OLNEY. The Neutral Ground. Philadelphia and
New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1 941. 526P• 72
American Revolution
The plot, dealing with the conflicting loyalties engendered by the Revolution,
laid largely in Westchester County, N.Y. In Part Three brief reference made to
British raiding and foraging in New Jersey and to the large number of New
Jersey and other Tories under arms against the patriots—making the conflict
almost a civil war. In Part Four the main portion of the Continental Army described as undergoing a winter in the hills above Morristown that makes
Valley Forge "seem a pleasant autumn outing by comparison." In Part Five the
mutiny of the New Jersey Line at Pompton Plains reported as occurring in
imitation of the example set by the Pennsylvania Line.
. Renown. New York: Carrick & Evans, 1938. 497P-
73
A fictionalized relating of the career of Benedict Arnold. The action is
outside of New Jersey except for his court-martial on several charges of misconduct preceding his treason. The trial is held at headquarters in Morristown
in 1784 and reported somewhat fully in the novel. He is sentenced to receive
public reprimand, which Washington reluctantly administers.
INGRAHAM, JOSEPH HOLT. "An Evening at Buccleuch Hall;
or, The Grenadier's Ghost." In The Ladies Companion: A
Monthly Magazine, Vol. XVII (July, 1842).
74
A short story set in a pre-Revolutionary mansion at the edge of New Brunswick, occupied by the British during the Revolution and, according to the story,
haunted by the ghost of a British grenadier. The goblin pays the owner of the
mansion a friendly visit years after the war but reveals no important secrets.
IRON, NATHANIEL COLCHESTER. The Maid of Esopus; or,
The Trials and Triumphs of the Revolution. New York: Beadle
and Company, 1861. (Beadle's Dime Novels, No. 22.) Ioop. 75
Following the, burning of Esopus, N.Y., by the British, Isabelle and her lover
have hair-raising adventures in various parts of the country. At the Battle of
Monmouth the lover and his British rival meet. The latter wounded and captured, and during his captivity the two soldiers become staunch friends. Except
for the heat, few details of the battle presented.
. Stella, the Daughter of Liberty: A Tale of the War Of '76.
New York: Beadle and Company, 1861. (Beadle's Dime Novels,
No. 27.) loop. 76
A confused story of a patriotic girl of New York City who performs many
(291
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177-8o1
valiant services for her country. In the briefly described Crossing of the Delaware and Battle of Trenton her lover has an active part.
JAGENDORF, MORITZ. Upstate, Downstate: Folk Tales of the
Middle Atlantic States. New York: Vanguard Press, 1949. 299p.
New Jersey in Revolutionary times the subject of two of the stories: "The
Foe in the Dark" tells of British and Hessian troops who , set out to capture a
band of Jersey Blues making merry in a Bergen County inn. Apprised of their
danger, the Blues slip away, but the British and the Hessians, confused by the
intense darkness, fire on each other with deadly effect. "The Gunsmith and the
Maiden" is a tale of a Monmouth County gunsmith who, to conceal his horse
from the marauding British, leads it into the woods where he meets a girl
performing a similar office for her father's cows. They fall in love and later
marry.
JAKES, JOHN. The Rebels. New York: Pyramid Books, 1 975. 539PThe plot follows the course of the Revolution from Breed's (or Bunker's)
Hill to Yorktown. The central character, a Massachusetts man, participates in
the Crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton, which "kept the
American army from collapsing under wholesale desertions brought on by
demolished morale." The hero wounded in the Battle of Monmouth, which is
recounted at length with stress on the heat, the confusion, the bloodshed, and
the primitive surgery. Though Clinton's forces not destroyed, "for the first
time, the Americans had fought like first-class troops." Wayne's vigor, Washington's leadership, and Lee's perfidy brought out.
JENNINGS, JOHN EDWARD. The Shadow and the Glory. New
York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1 943. 383P79
The central character, a youth from New Hampshire, serves in the northern
campaigns during most of the war, but he participates in the. Crossing of the
Delaware and the Battle of Trenton. Both events vigorously reported in some
detail, with emphasis on physical suffering, confusion, and dogged courage.
The Battle of Princeton and the encampment at Morristown briefly touched on.
JOHNSON, P. DEMAREST. Claudius, the Cowboy of Ramapo
Valley: A Story of Revolutionary Times in Southern New York.
Middletown, N.Y.: Slauson & Boyd, 1894. 2o6p.
8o
Claudius Smith, a historical pro-British outlaw and gang leader of Rockland
County, N.Y., carries some of his depredations down into Bergen and Passaic
counties, with much burning of houses and stealing of cattle and horses. In
[301
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[$ 1-841
1780 a band of Tories and regulars invade the Hackensack Valley, burning and
killing and destroying the village of Closter. Washington's retreat across New
Jersey, the Crossing of the Delaware, and the battles of Trenton and Princeton
mentioned, as is the Battle of Monmouth.
JONES, JOHN BEAUCHAMP. The War-Path: A Narrative of Adventures in the Wilderness; etc. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott &
8i
Co., 18 56. 335P•
A novel of Indian adventures, with incidental references to aspects of the
Revolution in New Jersey. These include: danger of the British gaining possession of the whole state, except for the impending alliance with France; the
murder of Mrs. James Caldwell; the Crossing of the Delaware and the battles
of Trenton and Princeton, which "played the d l" with Tory calculations;
Governor Franklin's expectation of being restored to office after the British
victory; many depredations against old men, women, and children of New
Jersey; "the glorious field of Monmouth," after which the British "retired
beaten from the bloody plains of New Jersey."
JONES, JOHN RICHTER. The Quaker Soldier; or, The British in
Philadelphia: A Romance of the Revolution. Philadelphia: T. B.
82
Peterson & Brothers, 1866. 569p.
A long rambling novel, in which Chapter 27, forsaking the story, offers a
historical account of the attack on Fort Mercer in 1777. The successful defense of this New Jersey stronghold against the Hessians and its eventual surrender to British forces included.
JORDAN, MILDRED. Echo of the Flute. Garden City: Doubleday
& Company, 1 958. 479P•
83
A novel about a German-American family in Pennsylvania. One of its members had fought with great distinction at Princeton. Another member thinks
with "burning shame" of the American army's "disintegration" in that battle,
a recollection apparently not offset by any thought of the final American victory.
This character, hearing cannonading at Germantown, reminded of the Battle
of Princeton with its belching cannon, whining muskets, bellowing horses,
and death cries of dying men. On various tense occasions subsequently he
thinks of the Battle of Princeton or of Monmouth.
KALER, JAMES OTIS. Morgan, the Jersey Spy: A Story of the Siege
of Yorktown. By "James Otis." New York: A. L. Burt, 1898.
22op.
84
Scene: Virginia. Here Charles Morgan, historically a successful spy from
1311
New Jersey in the
[85-89]
New Jersey, does valuable service in the background, especially as a counsellor
and aid to the boy heroes.
. With Washington at Monmouth: A Story of Three Philadelphia Boys. By "James Otis." New York: A. L. Burt, 1897. 321p. 85
After numerous adventures in Pennsylvania, the boys follow the army across
New Jersey, and one is a valuable assistant to Washington on the Monmouth
battlefield. Lee's "treachery" included, and Molly Pitcher gets brief mention.
KENT, ALEXANDER. Sloop of War. New York: G. P. Putnam's
Sons, 1972 (first American edition). 319P. 86
One of a series of sea stories by a British novelist centering on a fictitious
mariner, Captain Richard Bolitho. In 1778, according to the present tale, he
maneuvers up and down the American coast engaging in numerous battles with
American and French vessels. Entering Delaware Bay he looks across at New
Jersey, which seems a land of darkness, reminding him of many terrifying stories
he has heard of attacks and ambushes, of Indians under Washington with the
silence of foxes and the savagery of tigers. It seems a "world of shadows and
strange noises." Later he engages and destroys a French frigate off Cape May.
KNIPE, EMILY BENSON and ALDEN ARTHUR. Beatrice of
Denewood. New York: Century Co., 1913- 437P87
A sequel to The Lucky Sixpence. The action is outside of New Jersey, except
that in the first chapter a young soldier reports the Battle of Monmouth as he
experienced it, with some demonstration of the military maneuvers. Lee's
duplicity and Washington's splendor are in evidence.
. The Lucky Sixpence. New York: Century Co., 1912- Op. 88
Centers on a twelve-year-old English girl who is sent to America at the
time of the Revolution and becomes a staunch rebel. The American episodes
largely in Pennsylvania, but early in the war the heroine passes through New
Jersey and finds -the citizens lacking in patriotism under strong Tory influence.
In contrast is a landlord's ill-treated but brave son.
KOEHLER, FRANCIS C. Hilda: A Romance of the Revolution.
Hackensack: Krone Brothers, 1932. 115P. 89
Scene: a Dutch neighborhood on the Hackensack River, whose prosperous
farmers incline toward the British side for self-protection. The Tories guilty of
some violence and even murder. The heroine outwits the Tories and marries a
Continental officer. Baron von Steuben succeeds in molding the raw American
[321
American Revolution
[90-94]
recruits of the region (at the outset he calls them "rabbits") into a formidable
army. The minor Battle of Teaneck Ridge reported.
KUBIE, NORA BENJAMIN. Joel: A Novel of Young America. New
90
York: Harper & Brothers, 1952. 207P.
Connecticut the main scene of this story about a Jewish boy. After the victories
at Trenton and Princeton the British leave most of New Jersey in Washington's
hands. People begin to say Washington "a pretty good general."
LANCASTER, BRUCE. Trumpet to Arms. Boston: Little, Brown
and Company, 1 944. 379P•
91
The stated theme: the transformation of scattered companies of militia into
a national army. This development seen to begin at Lexington and Concord
and to reach completion at Trenton and Princeton. The central character a
Massachusetts soldier associated with Colonel John Glover's regiment from
Marblehead. In Part Seven he and the Marbleheaders serve valiantly in getting
soldiers, horses, and cannon across the raging Delaware and also in the battles
of Trenton and Princeton. The latter especially presented in some detail, with a
close-up view of the bayonet work and the bloodshed. As leader Washington
displays "the coldest head and the truest heart on the continent." Story and
history well integrated.
LAWRENCE, EDITH. Crecy. New York: F. M. Buckles & Com92
pany, 1904. 221p.
A novel in letter form set partly in Trenton at the time of the battle. Crecy, a
high-spirited, patriotic girl, whose love affairs make most of the plot, is present
at the Christmas festivities of the Hessians and prevents Colonel Rall from
reading a letter reporting the danger of an American attack. Considerable attention given to the attitude of the New Jersey Quakers toward the war.Some
glimpses of social and military doings at Morristown in early 1777.
LININGTON, ELIZABETH. The Long Watch. New York: Viking
Press, 1 956. 377P•
93
The editor of a rebel newspaper in New York, threatened with imprisonment
when the British occupy the city, transfers his operations to Kingston, N.Y.,
then to Newark. Part Four of the novel built about his many problems in New
Jersey, having to do with gaining supplies, news, subscribers, and distribution
for his staunchly patriotic Courier.
LIPPARD, GEORGE. "Trenton; or, The Footsteps in the Snow." In
The Legends of the American Revolution "1776." Or, Washing-
x331
New Jersey in the
195-991
ton and His Generals. Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson & Brothers,
1876- 527P.
94
A sentimental tale of a soldier who dies of exposure as the army is embarking
on the Crossing of the Delaware. The death of this "Martyr" is succeeded by
the roar of battle on "the holy ground of Trenton."
LIVINGSTON, ROSA (ACKERMAN). Turkey Feathers: Tales of
Old Bergen County. Little Falls, N.J.: Phillip-Campbell Press,
1963. 166p•
95
Stories for young children, based on history and folklore. Several have to do
with the Revolution, among their subjects being Hessian ruthlessness, Aaron
Burr's courtship of Theodosia Prevost, a secret message from Washington
carried by an eight-year-old girl, and Claudius Smith's depredations.
McCREA, PAUL. A Rabble Came to Trenton: A Christmastide Story
Of 1776. Washington, 1 939. 42P96
A long short story dealing with the Crossing of the Delaware and the Battle
of Trenton. Washington and Knox conspicuous, but the special stress is on
the valor and endurance of the enlisted men.
McGUIRE, FRANCES. The Secret of Barnegat Light. New York:
Dutton, 1952. 128p.
97
Scene: Long Beach Island. Time: the present. A fisherman tells the boy hero
how Americans during the Revolution lured British men-of-war onto the reefs
and sent the salvaged goods to Valley Forge. "And the stuff that was sent from
this little island helped a lot to keep Washington's ragged, starvin' army alive."
McINTYRE, JOHN THOMAS. Drums in the Dawn. Garden City:
Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1 933. 322 P•
98
The action of this romantic novel in various American places (other than New
Jersey) and in France. Here an American and Count de Vergennes discuss
Louis' hesitation to espouse the American cause. The American wants to know
why the King was not satisfied with the victories at Trenton and Princeton by
which a few ragged regiments and raw militia with everything hopelessly
against them "made it impossible for the British to remain in the Jerseys," and
asks what would they not do with the proper support. While trying to rationalize the King's delay the Count says: "Trenton was a blow that must have
made the nation glad; Princeton told of generalship and swift courage."
. The Young Continentals at Monmouth. Philadelphia: Penn
Publishing Company,
1912.
344P•
1341
99
American Revolution
[100-103]
Begins after the Battle of Trenton. Chapter S gives a fairly full account of
the Battle of Princeton, with the death of General Mercer. The action then
moves to Pennsylvania until the last two chapters, which are devoted to the
Battle of Monmouth, with emphasis on the bravery of Molly Pitcher and the
treachery of Lee.
The Young Continentals at Trenton. Philadelphia: Penn
100
Publishing Company, 1011. 334PIs concerned with New Jersey only in the last five chapters. The Hessians
represented as brutal terrorists and plunderers. Two young Continentals move
among them in disguise, getting valuable information. At the Hessians' drunken
Christmas party at Trenton an American girl intercepts the vital letter to
Colonel Rall. The battle itself treated very briefly.
MANCUR, JOHN HENRY. Tales of the Revolution. New York:
1o1
William H. Colyer, 1844. 374p.
Two of the stories are concerned with Trenton and vicinity about the time
of the battle:
"Aida Grey: A Tale of New Jersey." Hessians capture the heroine. After
various adventures she is rescued by her suitor, an American officer. The Hessians represented as plundering and ruthless. A German miller is a selfish Tory,
and a French barber is a faithful aid to the Americans.
"Jasper Crowe." The Hessians again much in evidence; something made of
the character and mode of living of their officers in Trenton. The French barber
of the previous story spies for Washington and marries the beautiful heroine.
Not much space given to the Crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton.
MAYO, KATHERINE. General Washington's Dilemma. New York:
Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1 938. 323P102
Book Three, "The First American Civil War," a slightly fictionalized history
of the conflict between loyalists Tories and patriots in Monmouth County,
dramatically expressed in the Philip White-Joshua Huddy- ,Charles Asgill affair
with its difficult consequences for Washington.
MEADER, STEPHEN WARREN. A Blow for Liberty. New York:
Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1965- 187p.
103
The scene: Cape May County. The hero: a brave Quaker boy, who is involved in numerous encounters with the enemy, especially as he serves aboard
a locally built schooner that engages in adventure-filled privateering expeditions
against the British shipping in nearby waters. A pack of Pine. Robbers or Refu-
1351
New Jersey in the
1104-1071
gees hiding out in the Great Swamp do damage to the patriots by robbing and
burning, but are destroyed in the end with the hero's aid. A friendly young
Indian participates in the action at times. Some of the characters based on
actual people.
MERCER, CHARLES E. Enough Good Men. New York: Putnam,
104
1 960 - 514P.
A vigorous and realistic novel of soldier life, mostly in New Jersey. Much in
evidence are mud, cold, near-starvation, disgust, immorality, and lack of discipline. The troops often treated as invaders by the people of the state. Though
Washington shows indecision at times, his quiet strength shines through. Tom
Paine figures slightly. The battles of Trenton and Monmouth incorporated in
the story; in the latter Lee appears as a confused man.
MIERS, EARL SCHENCK.. The Magnificent Mutineers. New York:
105
G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1968. 124P.
Revolutionary events of 1779-1781 as fictionally recorded by an imaginary
teen-age soldier from Pennsylvania. The episodes, presented in considerable detail, occur largely in New Jersey and include the encampment at Middlebrook,
the terrible winter at Jockey Hollow, the Battle of Springfield, and the mutiny
of the Pennsylvania Line at Morristown. Among the historical characters are
General and Mrs. Washington, Anthony Wayne, Lord Stirling, Adam Huyler,
and Rev. and Mrs. James Caldwell. A slight love plot runs through the story.
MINNIGERODE, MEADE. Black Forest. New York and Toronto.
1o6
Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1937- 36oP•
The action occurs in western Pennsylvania before, during, and after the Revolution. One of the characters realizes Washington is having his troubles. "But he
had upset the Hessians' apple cart at Trenton." A little later people are saying
Gates a better general than Washingon, "who had never won a battle. in his life
yet, except that fray with the drunken Hessians at Trenton." Pittsburgh felt
more secure on learning of the "costly retreat" of the British through Monmouth.
MITCHELL, SILAS WEIR. Hugh Wynne: Free Quaker. New York:
107
Century Co., 1896. z vols.
Some incidental references to the Revolution in New Jersey, including the
Crossing of the Delaware and the battles of Trenton and Princeton (Chapter
15), the Battle of Monmouth from a participant's point of view with Washington's profane denunciation of Lee (Chapter 23), and the Morristown headquarters (Chapter 26).
136]
[ Io8-I I I j
American Revolution
MORFORD, HENRY. The Spur of Monmouth; or, Washington in
Arms. By "An Ex-Pension Agent." Philadelphia: Claxton, RemIo8
sen & Haffelfinger, 1876. 48op.
Partly history, partly romance. Culminates in the Battle of Monmouth, in
which Washington rebukes Lee with "profanity and insult." Though presented
as a great spirit, Washington shown to be humanly fallible; for instance, by
involvement in a fictitious love-affair with a beautiful girl. Adam Huyler, New
Brunswick privateer, and his crew, "a wild and reckless set of men," given some
notice.
NEAL, JOHN. Seventy-Six. Baltimore: J. Robinson, 1823. z vols.
109
Purports to be .a narrative, involving both war and love, by an American
soldier who fought in the Revolution. It makes clear the low ebb of patriot
morale late in 1776 and the lift it underwent after the battles of Trenton and
Princeton. Both conflicts, together with the Crossing of the Delaware, forcefully
recounted with emphasis on bloodshed, physical exhaustion, and emotional
tension. Washington conspicuously heroic. These events, the narrator says,
taught Howe to respect the American forces. The Battle of Monmouth merely
mentioned.
NELSON, MAY. The Redbirds Are Flying. New York: Criterion
IIO
Books, 1963. 189p.
Action entirely in the northeast corner of New Jersey. The hero a fourteenyear-old farm boy who, by overhearing conversation of secret agents, learns of
Cornwallis' plan to attack Fort Lee. The boy, like another Paul Revere, rides
madly to notify Greene and Washington of the danger and to give them a map
showing a little known escape route. With this aid the army successfully retreats and avoids destruction. One prominent character is the boy's chief friend,
a young Lenape Indian; another is a peddler who aids the American cause.
Claudius Smith and his outlaws make plundering and murderous raids in
the region.
NUTT, FRANCES TYSEN. Three Fields to Cross.
Stephen Paul, 1 947. 368p.
New York:
III
The episodes largely on Staten Island between 1774 and 1780, with some
incidental action in New Jersey. For example, General Howe tries to trap
Washington, encamped at Morristown, by constructing a pontoon bridge over
which he transports his army supplies from Perth Amboy to Staten Island,
hoping Washington will assume British are evacuating New Jersey. Washington
not taken in.
[371
I 11:2-1151
New Jersey in the
OTIS, JAMES, pseud. See KALER, JAMES OTIS.
PAGE, ELIZABETH. The Tree of Liberty. New York and Toronto:
112
Farrar & Rinehart, 1 939. 985P•
A historical novel covering the period from 1754 to 1806, mostly outside of
New Jersey. Chapter 9 devoted to the American headquarters at Morristown.
Hamilton a prominent figure. The disorganized state of affairs in New Jersey
at this time stressed.
PARETTI, SANDRA. The Drums of Winter. Translated by Sophie
Wilkins. New York: M. Evans & Company, Inc., 1 974. 441P• 11 3
An action-filled novel concerned with a family belonging to the nobility of
Hessia, with major emphasis on two mutually hostile half-brothers. In the
latter part of the book they are serving as mercenaries against the American
patriots, and their long animosity ends in a final confrontation at the Battle of
Trenton. The Crossing of the Delaware and the ensuing battle presented in
some detail, as are the appearance of Trenton at the time, the Toryism of many
of its citizens, the general discouragement of the patriots before the victory, the
rigid discipline of the Hessian troops, and the culpable unpreparedness of their
Colonel Rall, who is depicted as chiefly interested in alcohol and chess.
PEATTIE, DONALD CULROSS. Journey into America. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1943- 276P•
114
Somewhat fictionalized sketches presenting various phases of American history and life, two of them touching on the Revolution in New Jersey:
"The Crisis" ties in Thomas Paine's first pamphlet of The American Crisis
series with the Crossing of the Delaware. Also includes Colonel Rall's failure
to read the revealing note prior to the Battle of Trenton.
"A Country Gentleman Rides to Office." Before the new President leaves
Mt. Vernon for New York his servant Billy tries to convince his fellow-slaves
that he saved the General's life at the Battle of Monmouth and that he, not
Washington, "cussed" General Lee for retreating.
PETERSON, CHARLES JACOBS. Kate Ayles f ord: A Story of the
Refugees. Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson, 18 55. 35 6p. (Reprinted
as The Heiress of Sweetwater by "J. Thornton Randolph." Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson, 1873.)
115
The scene is the Pine Barrens at Pleasant Mills (called Sweetwater in the
novel). A patriotic American heiress, after conflicts with Tories, marries a brave
Continental officer. A gang of Pine Robbers or Refugees conspicuous. Among
101
[xx6-x19]
American Revolution
their exploits they credit themselves with the murder of Mrs. James Caldwell.
The Battle of Trenton and other Revolutionary events related by participants,
and the raid at Chestnut Neck is an important action in the story. Count
Pulaski has a minor place in the tale.
RANDOLPH, J. THORNTON, pseud. See PETERSON, CHARLES
JACOBS.
RAYBOLD, GEORGE A. The Fatal Feud; or, Passion and Piety: A
xx6
Moral Tale. New York: Lane & Scott, 1844. i56p.
A feud develops between two Monmouth County families, one patriot, the
other loyalist. Jacob Fagan, a member of the Tory family, becomes a notorious
Pine Robber, involved in much gruesome violence. Is captured and put to
death by a member of the patriot clan and his followers.
RHODES, HARRISON. "Extra Men." In The Best Short Stories of
19r8, ed. by Edward J. O'Brien. Boston: Small, Maynard & Co.,
117
1 9 19- 44 1 P,
Scene: a colonial farm house where Washington once slept, near Washington's
Crossing, N.J. Time: the First World War. On a misty evening Washington,
with a large company of cavalry, seems to return and assure the elderly occupant of the house, whose sole support is embarking for foreign service, that
he (Washington) and his men will sail with every boatload for France.
RIVES, HALLIE ERMINIE. Hearts Courageous. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill, 1902- 407P.
118
A romance centered in Williamsburg, Virginia. Just before the Battle of
Lexington, Philip Freneau, the New Jersey poet, is fictitiously represented as
taking lectures at William and Mary. According to a local Tory, "the rogue
has made the college a pepper-pot." Has one or two armed brushes with young
loyalists. Some complain that Princeton, thanks to President Witherspoon, has
become a "nursery of sedition." In the summer of 1776 Toryism entrenched in
New Jersey.
ROBERTS, KENNETH LEWIS. Oliver Wiswell.
Doubleday, Doran & Company, 194o. 836p.
New York:
rig
A novel written from the loyalist (Tory) point of view. While none of the
action takes place in New Jersey, the New Jersey Volunteers (pro-British)
appear frequently and always with praise for their valiant, important, and loyal
[391
New Jersey in the
[ 12o-1231
service to the British cause. The New Jersey and other patriots belittled at
every opportunity. For instance, it is reported that half the rebels in Connecticut
and New Jersey are selling food to the Tories for three times its value. And
according to one loyalist the soldiers from New Jersey and several other states
are chiefly gifted at running away. Their officers are unable to. make them fight.
Even the women camp followers, armed only with clubs, take them prisoner.
. Rabble in Arms. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1 933•
120
586p.
Deals with the Northern Army in its movements from Quebec to Saratoga.
The imaginary narrator and others ordered by General Schuyler, as a propaganda measure, to spread the story of Jennie McCrae (or Jane McCrea), a girl
born and reared in New Jersey who was in reality murdered by Indians allied
with the British. The narrator, who is represented as having witnessed the
brutal killing, reports it in some detail.
SABATINI, RAFAEL. The Carolinian. Boston and New York:
121
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1925- 414PThe story incorporates much Revolutionary history centering on Charleston,
S.C. Following the Declaration of Independence, a period of peace and prosperity in that area, while in the North all seemed lost. The country "suddenly
startled out of its gloom and despondency" by the Crossing of the Delaware and
the Battle of Trenton. Hope soared again and "the war may be said to have
recommenced."
SAFFORD, HENRY BARNARD. Tory Tavern. New York: Wm.
122
Penn Publishing Corp., 1942. x, 389P.
The fictitious narrator, a secret agent from Long Island, spends much time
traveling on various errands in New Jersey, in the course of which he has considerable contact with a friendly and helpful William Livingston at Liberty
Hall, his Elizabeth estate, and a meeting with an imposing and somewhat aloof
George Washington at the Morristown headquarters. The narrator notes that
the New Brunswick privateer, Adam Hyler (or Huyler), has captured a
British corvette of twenty guns in Coney Island Bay.
SAGE, AGNES CARR. Two Girls of Old New Jersey: A SchoolGirl Story Of '76. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1912. 195P- 123
Touches on many of the events of the war in New Jersey, including the
battles of Trenton and Monmouth, the activities of the Cowboys and Skinners,
the hanging of Joshua Huddy, and the saving of her horse from ruffianly
1401
American Revolution
[ 124
-1271
troopers by Tempe Wick, one of the two girls of the title. The scene principally
North Jersey and Trenton.
ST. GEORGE, JUDITH. Turncoat Winter, Rebel Spring. Philadelphia, New York, London: Chilton Book Company, 1970. viii,
124
165P.
The story of two teen-age boys, one Scottish, the other an Irish redemptioner,
living near Mendham, who have numerous war-related adventures, including
the apprehension of a traitor, before they enlist in the Continental Army. The
scene is New Jersey throughout, and various circumstances of the war, mostly
pertaining to the Morristown area in 1780, provide a background. Washington
and Hamilton the principal historical figures.
SANDBURG, CARL. Remembrance Rock. New York: Harcourt,
125
Brace and Company, 1948. io67p.
A kind of saga of America, beginning in England, a few years before the
coming of the Mayflower and extending to 1945, tied together by the careers of
fictitious characters. In Book Two, Chapter 2, the war has already begun in
Elizabethtown in 1775 between patriots and Tories: a man threatened with hanging who brings a load of oysters from a British ship, a Liberty Pole set up by the
patriots and torn down by the loyalists, a tavern fight between a patriot blacksmith and a British officer. New Jersey displays as strong a spirit of rebellion
as Boston. In Chapter 32 while Tory newspapers in New York announce the
imminent collapse of the rebel cause Washington strikes "out of nowhere" at
Trenton and again at Princeton with heavy losses for the enemy. In Chapter
36 the Battle of Monmouth briefly referred to as demonstrating that the
winter at Valley Forge had not annihilated the American army.
SEAMAN, AUGUSTA HUIELL. The Missing Half. New York and
126
London: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1 94 1 . 245P•
A present-day mystery story laid in New Jersey near Bordentown. A search
for an old document to prove ownership of property brings to light information
about the Hessians and the Battle of the Kegs on the Delaware River.
. The Stars of Sabra. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1933. 273P•
127
Deals with two Monmouth County girls and a boy of today who find a diary
written in 1778. The diary, amplified by the three youngsters' research, provides
some data on the Battle of Monmouth, the ill-famed John Bacon, and the
patriotic Lord Stirling.
1411
[
New Jersey in the
128-132]
SEIFERT, SHIRLEY. Let My Name Stand Fair. Philadelphia and
128
New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1956. 414PBuilt around the marital problems of General Nathanael Greene and his
wife during the Revolution and after. Domestic and social life in headquarters
at Middlebrook and Morristown treated, with some attention to General Knox
and his wife. The battles of Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth, and Springfield
briefly introduced.
SEREDY, KATE. Listening. New York: Viking Press, 1937. 1 57P• 129
A present-day story centering on an ancient New Jersey house, whose history
is told to his children by the current owner. One episode has to do with Washington's brief stop-over during the march across the state in 1776. His heartening
words strengthen the inhabitants to endure the hardships of war, including
theft and destruction by the British and the menace of Indians allied with them.
SETON, ANYA. The Hearth and Eagle. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1 948. 377P•
1 30
The story of a fictitious Marblehead, Mass., family, beginning in 1630 and
extending into the twentieth century. One of its members (his widow tells her
great-granddaughter years later) as a soldier in Glover's regiment was first portoarsman in the boat that carried Washington through the threatening masses of
ice on the Delaware, and was killed in the ensuing battle. General Knox quoted
as having said that the men of Marblehead led "the army along the perilous
paths to unfading glories and honors in the achievements of Trenton."
SHELDON, MARY B. One Thousand Men for a Christmas Present.
131
Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1898. 62p.
Two young New Jersey boys see the retreat of ragged, barefooted, discouraged
American troops toward the Delaware and the occupation of Trenton by ruthless Hessians. By chance the boys and their dog cross the raging river with
Washington's army and witness the Battle of Trenton, in which they, especially
the dog, almost participate. One thousand Hessians captured as a Christmas
present for the country. Washington glorified.
SHERMAN, EDITH BISHOP. Fighting Muskets. New York and
Toronto: Longmans, Green and Co., 1 938. 324P132
Most of the characters and events taken from the history of Newark and
vicinity in 1779-80. Except for the battles of Connecticut Farms (with the; murder of Mrs. James Caldwell) and Springfield (with Caldwell's brave fighting),
skirmishes and raids provide the historical action. Tories and Hessians promi[42]
1 1 33-1 371
American Revolution
nent, the latter and the British being guilty of numerous outrages. The Jersey
Blues conspicuous; in the end the boy hero proudly becomes one of them. Much
made of the terrible winter at Morristown, and General and Mrs. Washington
at headquarters there are brought in.
. Milady at ,firms: A Story of Revolutionary Days. New York:
Doubleday, Page & Company, 1927. 330P•
133
The heroine a young bond-servant of the Newark area who is intensely loyal
to the American cause. The Tories and the Jersey Blues in evidence, and the
patriot women shown to be bravely helpful. The Revolution largely a background for the adventures of the intrepid young heroine. Time: 1777.
. Mistress Madcap. Garden City: Doubleday, Page & Company,
1925. 248p.
134
The action mostly in the Newark area, centering on a brave young farm girl.
Ruthlessness of the Tories of the region heavily stressed. The Battle of Trenton
briefly introduced.
. Mistress Madcap Surrenders. Garden City: Doubleday, Page
& Company, 1926. 26op.
1 35
Time: the winter of 1779-80. The Newark district suffers from Tory plotting
and British devastation. The Jersey Blues and Lafayette given some attention.
The heroine visits in Morristown, where she meets Washington, Mrs. Washington, and Hamilton at the Ford Mansion. In the final chapter the brave Mehitable
surrenders to the wooing of her patriot lover.
. "The Ride of Tempe Wick." In St. Nicholas, Vol. 63 (July,
136
1936).
Hangers-on of the American army try to appropriate Tempe's horse. She
outwits them by hiding him in the spare bedroom of the Wick house for three
weeks. Some emphasis on the grim winter at Morristown.
SIMMS, WILLIAM GILMORE. Southward Ho l A Spell of Sunshine. New York: Redfield, 1854. 47 2 p•
1 37
A collection of stories told by passengers on a ship sailing from New York to
Charleston. As the ship cruises along the Jersey shore, it is remarked that the
Jersey Blues had been noted for a valor "not exceeded, perhaps scarcely equalled,
by any of the neighboring colonies," and that New Jersey had "furnished the
battlefields of some of our most glorious actions--Monmouth, Princeton, Trenton."
[433
1138 -142)
1
New Jersey in the
SINGMASTER, ELSIE. Rifles for Washington. Boston: Houghton
138
Mifflin Company, 1938. 32IP•
A Pennsylvania boy and various associates see action in much of the war from
near the beginning to Yorktown, including several New Jersey episodes. Among
them are: the Battle of Monmouth, in which General Wayne and Molly (Pitcher)
Hays distinguish themselves; the difficult encampment at Middlebrook; and the
mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line at Morristown.
SMITH, BEVERLY. "Christmas 1776." In The American Magazine,
Vol. i2g (January, 1g4o).
1 39
Told by means of a series of fictitious letters purportedly written by a girl
who contrived to keep Colonel Rail drunk at the Hessian Christmas party to
prevent his reading a note revealing the imminent attack on Trenton.
SMITH, ELIZABETH OAKES. Bald Eagle; or, The Last of the
Ramapaughs: A Romance of Revolutionary Times. New York:
Beadle and Adams, 1867. (Beadle's Dime Novels, No. 479•) 100PAt outset characterizes New Jersey as "the Flanders of America" because of
the many Revolutionary battles and raids, Ramapo Valley having "suffered more
than any other locality," especially by the incursions of Cowboys, among them
Claudius Smith and his son Richard. A major figure in the story is 'the- historical, or at least traditional, Montagnie (or Montaigne), a soldier supposedly
sent by Washington from lower New York with a message directed to. one of
his generals in New Jersey. Montagnie captured in Ramapo Pass--by Cowboys,
according to the author—and the misleading message turned over to the
British, as Washington intended, with favorable results for the Continental
Army. Bald Eagle a friendly and helpful Indian.
SPICER, BART. Brother to the Enemy. New York: Dodd, Mead &
141
Company, 1958. 308p.
Deals with the conspiracy of Benedict Arnold; the scene laid outside of New
Jersey. The hero, having previously fought at the Battle of Monmouth, vividly
remembers "the raging fury" of Washington when he denounced Lee for retreating. "Such heartfelt, inventive profanity" seemed out of keeping with his
customary self-control.
STEDMAN, EDMUND CLARENCE. "Alice of Monmouth." In
Alice of Monmouth, an Idyl of the Great War, with Other Poems.
New York: Carleton, 1864. 151p. Also in later collections of his
poetry.
142
1441
[ 143-1461
American Revolution
A narrative having to do with a girl of Monmouth County and her lover and
husband, who dies in the Civil War. In Section VIII the people of the region, as
the war comes on, are inspired by the "battle on Monmouth Plains," of which
a memory remains, / Telling us what they have done, / Teaching us what
we should do."
"
STEPHENS, ROBERT NEILSON. Philip Winwood. Boston: L. C.
Page & Company, 1900. 412p.
143
Purports to be a "domestic history" of an American captain in the Revolution
written by "his enemy in arms." Briefly mentions our surprising some Hessians
at Trenton, our overcoming the British forces at Princeton, and the fight at
Monmouth Court House, where, many held, Lee retreated by design. The two
winters at Morristown referred to.
STERNE, EMMA GELDERS. Drums of Monmouth. New York:
Dodd, Mead & Company, 1 933. 287p•
144
The central character Philip Freneau, whose pro-American poem, read at his
Princeton commencement shortly before the Revolution, arouses Governor
Franklin's ire. During the war his patriotism compels him to forsake the safety
of the West Indies and return home, where he is present at the Battle of Monmouth. Lee's conduct set forth as that of a traitor and coward. The Battle of
Princeton receives considerable incidental notice, with an account of General
Mercer's death.
STEVENSON, AUGUSTA. Molly Pitcher, Girl Patriot. Indianapolis
and New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1952. 192p.
1 45
New
Jersey
in
A fictionalized biography for young readers. Molly's girlhood
and Carlisle, Pa., recounted. The last chapter narrates her traditional part in
the Battle of Monmouth and her reward from Washington.
STIMSON, FREDERIC JESUP. My Story: Being the Memoirs of
Benedict Arnold. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1917. 622p.
A novel purporting to be an autobiography. Makes something of the capture
of Charles Lee by the enemy at Basking Ridge; also of his disgrace at Monmouth. The Hessians, under orders to be frightful, ravaged New Jersey, which
incited many to enlist in the patriot army. Chapter 25 tells the tragic story of
Jane McCrea, a girl from New Jersey. Chapter 41 reports in some detail Arnold's
trial by court-martial at Morristown in 1780 for alleged offenses with which
he was charged before his treason.
[45]
[
New Jersey in the
147"1501
STODDARD, WILLIAM OSBORN. The Red Patriot: A Story of
the Revolution. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1897•
147
275PThe principal setting a New Jersey valley on the upper waters of the Delaware. The boy hero on his valiant horse bears dispatches to Hancock in Philadelphia and to Washington at Fort Lee. Some skirmishes between patriots and
British. Tories and Hessians the chief menace to the rebels in the valley. A
good Indian, "the last of the Sasquehannocks," aids the patriot cause. The Battle of Trenton seems won largely by the boy hero and Indian John. Brief treatment of the Battle of Princeton.
TAYLOR, DAVID. Farewell to Valley Forge. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1 955- 378p.
148
Involves an adventurous love story intimately tied in with the Revolution in
Pennsylvania. The last eight chapters deal with the Battle of Monmouth, described in unusual detail as to orders and maneuvers. The love plot reaches a
happy culmination as an outcome of the battle. Washington seen as an inspired
leader and Lee as probably a traitor. Among those prominent in the fight are
Stirling, Lafayette, von Steuben, and Andre ("a spiteful little fiend"). The battle
as a. major event of the Revolution underscored. In passing, the author remarks
that the Marblehead fishermen made the Crossing of the Delaware and the victory at Trenton a reality.
. Lights across the Delaware. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1 954•
149
3 66p•
A love story that leads up to the Crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of
Trenton. Both events related quite fully, with the two lovers taking an important part. Most of the action in Pennsylvania, but some of the most exciting
episodes in New Jersey. Some stress laid on the mood of Trenton under Hessian occupation.
. Storm the Last Rampart. Philadelphia and New York: J. B.
150
Lippincott Company, i96o. 384p.
The action occurs in lower New York, Philadelphia, and Virginia, ending at
Yorktown. Two characters in the story, thinking of Charles Lee at the Battle
of Monmouth, "knew that though the court-martial had found General Lee
guilty only of a shameful retreat in the face of the enemy and disrespect for
Washington, every officer at the trial knew Lee was a traitor: the reluctance of
the court to label him traitor was to save the Rebel Army from the stigma such
a verdict would leave." Other passing references to the Battle of Monmouth and
X46
[ 1 5 1-1 541
American Revolution
to the battles of Trenton and Princeton. The Jerseys found to be devastated by
"vicious, unnecessary ruin" at the hands of the British.
TAYLOR, MARY IMLAY. A Yankee Volunteer. Chicago: A. C. Mc151
Clurg and Company, 1898. 383P.
The novel has a somewhat incidental love plot with the major stress on the
war in New England. The action moves south and involves maneuvering along
the Hackensack River. In Chapter 45 the Americans withdraw to New Brunswick, and General Charles Lee, supposed by the British to be our greatest general, is captured at Basking Ridge. The violence of the Hessians in New Jersey
actually of service to the patriot cause in that the outrages have driven many
otherwise indifferent to its support. Chapters 45 and 46 deal in some detail with
the Crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton, emphasizing the bitter
weather and the wild confusion of the Hessians. The responsibility for the defeat largely Rall's because of his dissipation and disregard of warnings.
THANE, ELSWYTH. Dawn's Early Light. New York: Duell, Sloan
152
and Pearce, 1 943. 317PThe center of the novel Williamsburg, Va., from 1774 to 1781. In Part One,
Chapter 19, the discouraging conditions in New Jersey in the fall of 1776 reported, also the Crossing of the Delaware and the battles of Trenton and
Princeton, news of which is received in Williamsburg with vast rejoicing, and
Washington is a hero once more. In Chapter 21 word reaches Williamsburg of
the Battle of Monmouth, in which the Americans had a chance to defeat the
British and missed it.
TOMLINSON, EVERETT TITSWORTH. The Boys of Old Monmouth: A Story of Washington's Campaign in New Jersey in
1778. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1898.
427P-
153
As much history as fiction, the boys playing a minor role on the fringe of
actual events. A good deal made of the cruelty of the Tories and of the Pine
Robbers, who impose almost more evils of war on Monmouth County than are
suffered by any other part of the nation. "Refugee-Town" on Sandy Hook, a
haunt of outlaws and Tories, played up. The march across New Jersey and the
Battle of Monmouth, with Molly Pitcher's bravery and Lee's treachery or incompetence, given considerable space. Lafayette's part in the battle included.
Some vindication of the Hessians offered.
—. The Camp-Fire of Mad Anthony.
Boston and New York:
Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1907- 391P.
1 54
[471
New Jersey in the
155-158]
Covers the period from December 1774 to the fall of 1776. Much of the action
in Pennsylvania and northward to Canada. Of special interest is the burning of
the smuggled tea at Greenwich, N.J., which Tomlinson attributes to a group
of patriotic teen-agers of that town, disguised as Indians. The tea partly owned
by a ruthless Tory, who attempts to avenge himself for his loss. His henchman
a young Quaker of strong Tory sympathy.
. In the Camp of Cornwallis: Being the Story of Reuben Denton and his Experiences during the New Jersey Campaign of
1777. Boston and Chicago: W. A. Wilde Company, 1902. 353PThe episodes mostly along the Raritan River between New Brunswick and
Bound Brook. The historical background is Washington's holding operation in
the hills back of Bound Brook, which, immobilizing Cornwallis' army in New
Brunswick, prevents its attacking Philadelphia. Several minor skirmishes, in
one of which Reuben and his brother are captured and imprisoned in the Brunswick jail. The Hessians, locally known as "Dutch butchers," display chiefly
stupidity. One evil character a 'Tory horse-thief. Much of the history incidental
to the adventure story until near the end.
. In the Hands of the Redcoats. Boston and New York: Hough156
ton, Mifflin and Company, 1900- 37op.
The action begins in 1780. The New Jersey hero rescued from the British
prison ship, the Jersey, by Adam Huyler, the New Brunswick privateer. The
killing of Tory Philip White and the hanging of Joshua Huddy in retaliation
given prominence. With these events is involved a British attack on Toms
River. Subsequently, Charles Asgill, a British prisoner chosen by lot to die for
Huddy, is freed by Washington. Governor Franklin presented in a highly unfavorable light, but in the end reconciled with his father.
—. A Jersey Boy in the Revolution. Boston and New York:
Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1899. 428p.
1 57
The setting Monmouth County after the Battle of Monmouth. Terror prevalent. Much made of raids and destruction of farmhouses and villages by the
Redcoats and supporting outlaws from "Refugee-Town" and the Pine Barrens.
These conditions shown to be even worse after Cornwallis' surrender, largely
because of the Pine Robbers. Daring deeds of Adam Huyler and Joshua Huddy
prove them to be stalwart patriots, while William Franklin appears as traitor.
. The Mystery of the Ramapo Pass: A Story of the American
Revolution. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin Company,
148]
L 15fq-161
,4merican Revolution
]
158
1922.305P.
Based on the historical episode employed by Elizabeth Oakes Smith in Bald
Eagle (see entry 140). Tomlinson locates Ramapo Pass in New Jersey. Most of
the events of the story occur in Westchester County, N.Y., and New York City.
*Stories of the American Revolution. New York and London:
D. Appleton and Company, 1923. 357P1 59
Recounts actual episodes of the Revolution, several of them concerned with
New Jersey, in slightly fictionalized form:
"The Fighting Parson of '76" is the story of the Reverend James Caldwell and
his resourcefulness at the Battle of Springfield. The brutal murder of his wife
at Connecticut Farms included.
"The Baron of the Pines" tells of the shooting of Fenton, the Pine Robber.
"Firing the Ship." Two seventeen-year-old boys of the Elizabeth area, at the
urging of an American officer, swim out with a raft loaded with inflammables
and set fire to a British sloop near Staten Island.
"The Capture at Ramapo Pass" retells briefly the story Tomlinson had already told in The Mystery of the Ramapo Pass.
"The Deed of a Jersey Lass." A Woodbridge girl captures a drunk Hessian
and turns him over to the patrol guard.
"Tunis Forman's Reward" reports the capture by a teen-ager of two refugees
who have escaped from the Monmouth Court House jail and are presumably
on their way to join a gang of Pine Robbers. The reward is $20,000 in continental money.
. Three Colonial Boys: A Story of the Times of '76. Boston: W.
A. Wilde & Company, 1895. 368p.
16u
Events of the year 1775, located mainly in Elizabeth and vicinity. Sober defiance toward England on the part of the New Jersey patriots after Lexington
brought out. The boys outwit unpatriotic citizens of Elizabeth who make a
business of smuggling goods to Tories on Staten Island. One opponent of the
heroes a tyrannical schoolmaster who is fanatically pro-British. Two of the
boys help to transport consignments of powder from Elizabeth to Cambridge.
. Three Young Continentals: A Story of the American Revolution. Boston: W. A. Wilde & Company, 1896, 364P.
161
Time: from the latter part of 1775 to August, 1776. The heroes of Three
Colonial Boys now young Continentals. Many of their adventures have to do
with Fagan, the villainous Pine Robber, who gets as far from his hide-out in
the Barrens as Elizabeth, Long Island, and Staten Island. The three boys take
[49]
New Jersey in the
[i62-i64]
part in the Battle of Long Island, in which one of them is killed. New Jersey's
enthusiastic reception of the Declaration of Independence mentioned, and Lord
Stirling figures to some extent. In the main, adventure predominates over history
in the book.
. Washington's Young Aids: A Story of the New Jersey Campaign, 1776-1777. Boston: W. A. Wilde & Company, 1847. 391 PBuilt around Washington's retreat from the Hudson to the Delaware late in
1776, culminating in the Crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton.
The rigors of the former and the major significance of the latter emphasized.
The Battle of Princeton reported at some length, with the death of Mercer, who
is characterized as "One of the bravest men in all the patriot army." Much made
of the. low morale in New Jersey prior to these events. Lee, before and after
his capture at Basking Ridge, appears in a highly unfavorable light, and Fagan,
the Pine Robber, and his gang are a recurrent menace. To a considerable extent
the Revolution employed as a background or justification for the: adventures of
the three young aids.
TOMLINSON, PAUL GREENE. A Princeton Boy in the Revolution.
New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1922. 299p. (Reissued as
A College Boy in the Revolution. New York: Dodd, Mead and
163
Company, 1931.)
At the outset patriotic Princeton students burn tea taken from the college
storeroom and from students' private stocks. The hero and two friends leave
college to fight for their country. The former sent by Washington on a dangerous mission, which is complicated by Lee's capture at Basking Ridge, and
all three students participate in the Crossing of the Delaware and the Battle
of Trenton. The Battle of Princeton. including the death of Mercer and Washington's conspicuous fearlessness, receives considerable attention. The Hessians
represented as ruthless and cowardly, and their atrocities at Princeton, as well
as those of the British, noted. The plot largely a vehicle for history.
TRUE, JOHN PRESTON. Scouting for Washington: A Story of the
Days of Sumter and Tarleton. Boston: Little, Brown & Company,
1900. 311p.
164
The setting largely Boston and South Carolina. Ch:,pter 7 has a brief report
of the torturing of a Yankee soldier by Cowboys in New Jersey, and Chapter 11
gives a few sentences to the Battle of Monmouth, including the American retreat and Washington's denunciation of Lee.
[s0.]
[165-168]
American Revolution
TURNBULL, AGNES SLIGH. The King's Orchard. Boston:
165
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1963- 467P.
Time: 1772 to about 1795. Place: the Pittsburgh area. The Revolution conspicuous in second quarter of the story. The Crossing of the Delaware and the
battles of Trenton and Monmouth briefly referred to, with Washington's profane anger at Lee and with later comment on Molly Pitcher's valiant service.
The central character goes to Morristown to confer with Washington. Some
description of Ford Mansion and allusion to privations of soldiers at Jockey
Hollow. Hamilton in evidence at headquarters.
TYSON, JOHN AUBREY. The Stirrup Cup. New York: D. Apple166
ton & Co., 1903. 208p.
Largely a romance concerned with Aaron Burr's love for Theodosia Prevost.
Most of the action takes place at Paramus, with some reference to the Battle
of Monmouth and Burr's part therein.
VAN SANT, HOWARD DE LA COUR. Barnegat Pirates. New
167
York: F. Tennyson Neely, 18 97. 322P•
The episodes occur in and near Toms River, a small but busy center of
patriot activity. Much made of a gang of desperadoes under the leadership of
Jack Bacon, whom the author indiscriminately labels Refugees, Pine Robbers,
and Barnegat Pirates. One of their exploits is to aid the British in an attack on
the salt works at Toms River. A band of Mohawk Indians also help the British
in this affair, while a single friendly Indian gives valuable service on the American side. Some of the fighting is on the water, and a melodramatic love story
is interwoven through the combats. The book ends with the historical killing
of Bacon.
VAUGHAN, CARTER A., pseud. See GERSON, NOEL BERTRAM.
VIDAL, GORE. Burr. New York: Random House, 1 973. 430p. 168
A novel largely in the form of a fictional memoir of Aaron Burr, purportedly
in part dictated to, and in part written by, a young journalist. A consistent belittler of Washington, Burr made to say that in three years Washington had won
only "a small victory at Trenton and that had been an accident." Burr recounts
at some length his experiences and observations at the Battle of Monmouth
Court House, representing Washington and Lafayette much less favorably, and
Lee more favorably, than is customary. Through poor generalship the battle,
which might have been "a clear-cut victory," ended up a mere "skirmish, ulti[511
New Jersey in the
[ 1694731
mately beneficial to the outnumbered British, who ought, in the normal course,
to have been destroyed."
WARREN, GEORGE A. The Musket Boys on the Delaware; or, A
Stirring Victory at Trenton. New York: Goldsmith Publishing
169
Co., 1940. 292p.
Military movements in various areas lead up to the Crossing of the Delaware
and the Battle of Trenton.
WATROUS, ANDREW E. "The Two Cornets of Monmouth." Harper's Weekly, XXXV, No. 4842 (Sept. 12, 1891), pp. 689-694. 170
This sketchy romantic tale includes, among other characters, two cavalry officers (cornets) and features the Battle of Monmouth with some attention to
Lee's misconduct, Washington's wrath thereat, and Wayne's lust for battle. Molly
Pitcher when, according to this version, her gunner-husband is killed, takes
over his duties, and for her bravery is given a gratuity of $80, the rank of sergeant, and half pay for life.
WIBBERLEY, LEONARD. Peter Trcegate's War. New York: Far171
rar, Strauss and Cudahy, 496o. 456p.
The teen-age Peter, after various military adventures in Massachusetts, serves
actively in the Crossing of the Delaware and the battles of Trenton and Princeton. The Battle of Trenton, especially, described somewhat fully, with emphasis on the breathless speed of all its happenings.
WIENER, WILLARD. Morning in America. New York and Toron172
to: Farrar & Rinehart, 1942. 3o3P.
A realistic novel of the Revolution, largely in New Jersey, with General
Charles Lee as principal character. Action includes his capture at Basking Ridge;
his conduct at the Battle of Monmouth, reported at length together with the
council of war at Hopewell; and his trial by court martial chiefly at Spotswood,
according to Wiener (actually chiefly at New Brunswick). His treachery during
the battle attributed to a half-demented dream of fascist power in America. Lee
presented as a repellent person, admired only by his aide, who is disillusioned
in the end. Elias Boudinot, Wayne, Lafayette, Greene, Lord Stirling, and of
course Washington prominent figures in the story.
WILLIS, CHARLES ETHELBERT. Scouts of '76: A Tale of the
Revolutionary War. Richmond, Va.: Dietz Printing Co., 1924152]
American Revolution
[ 174]
173
344PScene: mainly around Boonton and Lake Wawayanda. The principal characters a white boy and an Indian boy, who have a part in the Revolution in spite
of their youth. They are at the battles of Monmouth and Connecticut Farms.
Lee called "as black a traitor as was Benedict Arnold."
WONSETLER, ADELAIDE (HILL) and JOHN C. Liberty for
Johanny. New York and Toronto: Longmans, Green and Co.,
174
1 943. 278p.
Pennsylvania the principal scene of this story of the Revolution, involving a
Pennsylvania Dutch boy and a young slave. Chapters 9, 10, and 11 present a
military expedition into South Jersey in 1778.
[531
Index
The numbers indicate titles in the bibliography, not pages. Only references to
historical persons, places, and events in or essentially connected with New Jersey
are included. References to British forces, Continental Army, patriots, and the
like, which appear in almost every book, are not indexed.
Alexander, William, see Stirling, Lord
Andre, John, 24, 148
Arnett, Hannah, 69
Arnold, Benedict, 13, 73, 146
Asgill, Charles, 156
Fenton, Lewis, 159
Fort Lee, 7, 42, 110, 147
Fort Mercer, 9, 82
Franklin, Benjamin, 3
Franklin, William, 68, 81, 144, 156
Freneau, Philip, 118, 144
Bacon, John, 127, 167
Barnegat Pirates, 167
Basking Ridge, 45, 63, 68, 71, 146, 151,
162, 163, 172
Battle of the Kegs, 126
Bergen County, 77, 80
Boonton, 173
Bordentown, 22, 126
Boudinot, Elias, 172
Bound Brook, 155
Bridgeton, 12, 56
Burr, Aaron, 95, 166, 168
Caldwell, James, 68, 105, 132, 159
Caldwell, Mrs. James, 5, 13, 68, 81, 105,
115, 132, 159
Cape May County, 59, 86, 103
Central Jersey, 25
Chestnut Neck, 115
Clinton, Sir Henry, 8, 34
Closter, 80
Connecticut Farms, see Union
Cornwallis, Charles, Lord, 110, 155
Cowboys, 5, 28, 55, 123, 140, 164
Declaration of Independence, New Jersey's
reception of, 12, 161
Delaware River, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 15, 19,
20, 21, 35, 38, 45, 47, 48, 62, 65, 66, 76,
78, 79, 80, 81, 94, 96, 101, 107, 109, 113,
114, 121, 126, 130, 131, 147, 148, 149,
151, 152, 162, 163, 165, 169, 171
Donop, C. E. K., Count von, 9
Dutch farmers, 89
Elizabeth, 69, 122, 125, 159, 160
Fagan, Jacob, 116, 161, 162
Gloucester County, 9
Glover, John, 91, 130
Greene, Nathanael, 71, 110, 128, 172
Greenwich, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 154
Grovers Mills, 25
Hackensack Valley, 80, 89, 151
Hamilton, Alexander, 2, 36, 64, 68, 112,
124, 135, 165
Hancocks Bridge, 13
Hessians, 5, 9, 16, 21, 35, 54, 56, 62, 63,
66, 77, 82, 92, 95, 100, 101, 106, 113,
126, 132, 139, 143, 146, 147, 149, 151,
153, 155, 159, 163
Honeyman, John, 21, 38, 62, 68
Hopewell, 18, 30, 46, 172
Howe, Sir William, 109, 111
Huddy, Joshua, 102, 123, 156, 157
Huyler, Adam, 37, 105, 108, 122, 156, 157
Indians, 6, 86, 103, 110, 129, 140, 147,
167, 173
Jersey Blues, 77, 132, 133, 135, 137
Jersey City, 12
jockey Hollow, 49, 105, 165
Knox, Henry, 96, 130
Lafayette, Marquis de, 2, 51, 58, 135, 148,
153, 168, 172
Lake Wawayanda, 173
Lee, Charles, 1, 2, 8, 15, 18, 30, 33, 39, 45,
46, 48, 66, 68, 71, 78, 85, 87, 99, 104,
107, 108, 114, 141, 143, 144, 146, 148,
150, 151, 153, 162, 163, 164, 165, 170,
172, 173
[551
Index
Little Egg Harbor, 27
Little Timber Creek, 9
Livingston, William, 122
Long Beach Island, 97
144, 147, 150, 152, 162, 163, 171
Pulaski, Casimir, Count, 10, 115
Quakers, 5, 92, 103, 154
McCrea, Jane, 23 , 67, 120, 146
Marblehead , Mass ., fishermen , 38, 91, 130,
148
Mendham, 124
Mercer, Hugh, 99, 144, 162, 163
Middlebrook, 16, 105, 128, 138
Monmouth, 1, 2, 8, 13, 15; 18, 20, 22, 30,
32, 33, 39, 40, 43, 46, 48, 51, 54, 57, 58,
65, 75, 77, 78, 80, 83, 87, 99, 102, 104,
106, 107, 108, 109, 114, 116, 123, 125,
127, 128, 137, 138, 141, 142, 143, 144,
145, 146, 148, 150, 152, 153, 157, 159,
164, 165, 166, 168, 170, 172, 173
Montagnie, 140
Morgan, Charles, 84
Morristown, 2, 3, 13, 15, 16, 34, 36, 44, 49,
51, 64, 71, 72, 73, 79, 81, 92, 105, 107,
111, 112, 122, 124, 128, 135, 136, 138,
143, 146, 165
Newark, 12, 28, 93, 132, 133, 134, 135
New Brunswick, 26, 37, 42, 47, 51, 74,
Rall, Johann Gottlieb, 5, 35, 62, 68, 92, 100,
113, 114, 139, 151
Ramapo Valley, 140, 158, 159
Raritan River, 62, 155
Refugees , 115, 157, 167
"Refugee-Town," 153, 157
Salem County, 10
Sandy Hook, 40, 153
Skinners, 123
Smith, Claudius, 28, 55, 80, 95, 110, 140
Smith, Richard, 140
South Jersey, 10, 12, 18, 174
Spotswood, 172
Springfield, 13, 28, 68, 105, 128, 132, 159
Steuben, F. W. A. H. F., Baron von, 89, 148
Stirling, Lord, 53, 105, 127, 148, 161, 172
Teaneck Ridge, 89
Toms River, 156, 167
Tories, 6, 10, 12, 14, 18, 21, 26, 33, 39, 59,
60, 62, 71, 72, 80, 81, 88, 89, 102, 113,
115,116, 118, 119, 125, 132, 133, 134,
108, 122, 151, 155, 156, 172
New Jersey Line, mutiny of, 41, 55, 72
New Jersey Volunteers, 119
North Jersey, 6, 11, 68, 110, 123
135, 147, 153, 154, 155, 156, 160
Totowa, 62
Trenton, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 15, 16, 19, 21, 35,
38, 47, 48, 50, 52, 53, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68,
71, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 90, 91, 92, 94, 96,
98, 99, 100, 101, 104, 106, 107, 109, 113,
114, 115, 121, 123, 125, 128, 130, 134,
Paine, Thomas, 7, 42, 45, 104, 114
Paramus, 166
Passaic County, 80
Paulus Hook, 12
Pennsylvania Line, mutiny of, 16, 34, 44,
137, 139, 143, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151,
152, 162, 163, 165, 168, 169, 171
49, 51, 72, 105, 138
Perth Amboy, 26, 60, 111
Pine Barrens, 3, 66, 103, 115, 157
Pine Robbers, 9, 39, 103, 115, 116, 153, 157,
Union (formerly Connecticut Farms), 5, 13,
132, 159, 173
Union County, 31
159, 162, 167
Pitcher, Molly, 32, 39, 58, 85, 99, 138, 145,
Washington, George, 4, 7, 15, 19, 21, 24,
153, 165, 170
Pleasant Mills, 115
Pompton, 55
Pompton Plains, 72
Prevost, Theodosia., 95, 166
Princeton , 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 15, 34, 36, 44, 48,
51, 52, 53, 54, 65, 67, 79, 80, 83, 90, 91,
98, 99, 107, 109, 118, 125, 128, 137, 143,
~~56~
29, 32, 33, 35, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 45, 46,
47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67,
68, 71, 73, 78, 80, 85, 86, 87, 90, 91, 95,
96, 97, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108,
109, 110, 111, 117, 122, 124, 125, 129,
130, 132, 135, 140, 141, 145, 147, 148,
150, 152, 155, 156, 162, 163, 164, 165,
168, 170, 172
Index
Washington, Martha, 62, 64, 105, 132, 135
Washington's Crossing, N.J., 117
Wayne, Anthony, 10, 18, 33, 34, 41, 44, 51,
78, 105, 138, 170, 172
Whippany River Valley, 27
White, Philip, 156
Wick, Tempe, 49, 68, 123, 136
Witherspoon, John, 118
Woodbridge, 159
L571