Battle of Chestnut Neck

Battle of Chestnut Neck
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Date October 6, 1778 Location Chestnut Neck, near present-day Port Republic, New Jersey
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Casmir Pulaski	Patrick Ferguson Henry Collins
Strength
50	400[1]
Casualties and losses
	1 wounded

The Battle of Chestnut Neck was fought on October 6, 1778 in New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War, at Chestnut Neck, a settlement on the Little Egg Harbor River near the present-day town of Port Republic, New Jersey.

Background

At the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, Chestnut Neck was a busy thriving trade center around the Little Egg Harbor River on the New Jersey coast. Local vessels traveled to New York and elsewhere, carrying mail, trading goods and merchandise. With the coming of the war, the same harbor facilities which made it a seaport, made it a home base for American privateers who would attack and seize British ships and take their captured prizes into Chestnut Neck. The captured vessels and their cargos were sold, the captured vessels were often used as privateers.

With the British holding Philadelphia and New York City during the winter of 1777–78, General George Washington at Valley Forge was cut off from his sources of supplies. Supplies were then brought into Little Egg Harbor, unloaded at Chestnut Neck, taken up the river in flat-bottomed boats to the Forks, carted across the state to Burlington, across the Delaware River, and on to Valley Forge. Many cargoes intended for Sir Henry Clinton in New York were seized by privateers and reached General Washington by this route.

General Clinton became so exasperated by this constant loss of his ships, that he decided to "clean out that nest of Rebel Pirates." Accordingly, on September 30, 1778, a fleet of nine British ships and transports, under the command of Captain Henry Collins, with 300 British regulars and 100 New Jersey Loyalists, under Captain Patrick Ferguson, sailed from New York, bound for Chestnut Neck.

Governor William Livingston learned of their sailing, and sent riders to warn the people. General Washington dispatched Count Kazimierz Pułaski and his Legion to assist the Patriots, although they did not arrive until the day following the battle.

Battle

The British fleet, because of bad weather, did not arrive off Little Egg Harbor until late in the afternoon of October 5 1778, the weather also prevented their getting over the bar. Knowing the people had been warned, and that Count Pułaski was on his way, the British troops made their way up the river to Chestnut Neck as quickly as possible. The troops were put aboard the galleys and armed boats and left at daybreak on October 6 1778. They were delayed when two boats grounded, reaching Chestnut Neck at four o'clock, in heavy fog.

Having destroyed any supplies that they could not retrieve, and having received intelligence that Count Pułaski was on his way, they quickly left at noon on October 7 1778, stopping at the mouth of the Bass River to destroy the salt works and mills of Eli Mathis. They also burnt the houses on his plantation, his home and barns and then rejoined their ships.

Aftermath

As soon as Count Pułaski arrived at Chestnut Neck he crossed the river and marched to Tuckerton, arriving there on October 8 1778. Pułaski (with 50 troops) and the British (with 200) watched each other until October 15, 1778 when the British were able to surprise an outpost of Pułaski's men, bayonet the sentry and almost all of the other men. The British then sailed back to New York.

Americans call this the "Little Egg Harbor massacre." The site is marked by a monument erected by the Sons of the Cincinnati.

Despite the retrieval of supplies, the British and American Loyalists were not able to capture any of the American privateers or recapture any of the prize vessels present in the area.

After the battle, Chestnut Neck never became a trade center again. Three of the large land owners did return and rebuild their homes, but the others eventually built new homes in present-day Port Republic.

Legacy

A monument was erected through the efforts of the General Lafayette Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, marking the site of the Battle of Chestnut Neck. The Minute Man at its top faces the river, still guarding the shore against the approaching enemy. The monument honors the men who defended Chestnut Neck at the "Battle of Chestnut Neck" on October 6 1778.
The monument was dedicated on October 6 1911.

References

• Stryker, William Scudder (1894). The affair at Egg Harbor, New Jersey, October 15, 1778. Trenton, NJ: Naar, Day & Naar. http://books.google.com/books?id=JQIrAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22little%20egg%20harbor%22%20october%201778&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q=%22little%20egg%20harbor%22%20october%201778&f=false. 

External links

• Battle of Chestnut Neck
• New Jersey Pinelands description
• Photos of the monument

Coordinates: 39°32′41″N 74°27′41″W / 39.5446°N 74.4614°W / 39.5446; -74.4614

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