Defending Princeton Battlefield
This is the fourth in a series of blogs, created in partnership with Princeton University, entitled Commemoration, Crisis and Revolution in the City. To learn more about the research behind this project, visit https://commons.princeton.edu/commemorating/
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In 1777, George Washington and his army turned the tide of the Revolutionary War when they took to a field just outside of Princeton University and achieved the Americans’ first victory in a set-piece battle over the British forces.[1] The site on which this battle was fought is now memorialized as the Princeton Battlefield State Park, but despite the significance of Washington’s victory, the battle to preserve the site rages on. Without the dedication and sacrifice of a great number of individuals dedicated to public history (the creation and dedication of historic sites and monuments), the site of this battle would have been developed and forgotten long ago. Such individuals are still necessary for the site to continue carrying on its legacy.
Princeton Battlefield, circa 1975
The site of the Battle of Princeton has always been a target for development. In 1899, a trolley company attempted to build a line through the battlefield but was prevented from doing so by Moses Taylor Pyne, a Princeton University trustee with great passion for historical preservation. Pyne purchased land in the path of the trolley, preventing the company from carrying through with their plans. He did the same thing in 1903, purchasing more of the battlefield site to prevent a housing development from being constructed.[2] Pyne was not the only person fighting to keep the memory of the battle alive: the late nineteenth century also saw several monuments to General Hugh Mercer (who died in the Battle of Princeton) erected on the site by other individuals who wanted to highlight Princeton’s role in the formation of our country.[3]
“Gen. Mercer Monument, Princeton, N.J.,” circa 1900
Moses Pyne’s granddaughter, Agnes Pyne Hudson, ultimately saw her grandfather’s vision to its conclusion when she donated the land he had purchased to the state of New Jersey in 1946, paving the way for the creation of Princeton Battlefield State Park. Without the Pynes, the Princeton Battlefield Memorial Park would never have been created.[4]
The actions of the public historians of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries led to the official designation of the Princeton Battlefield Site by the US Department of the Interior in the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 (with a considerable expansion in 1989).[5] This designation provides formal recognition of the site’s significance, but does not cover the entire battlefield area—within the last decade, plans were made to convert a portion of the battlefield owned by the nearby Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) into housing for the Institute’s faculty members.[6] It was once again thanks to individuals dedicated to public history that this development was prevented and the land was preserved.[7] But such actions were not without a cost. A large number of individuals came together and donated $4.5 million to the American Battlefield Trust, an organization filled with people dedicating their time and energy to the preservation of historic sites.[8] The Battlefield Trust offered this money to IAS in exchange for the purchase of the institute’s section of the battlefield. Though this was 350% of the land’s $1 million appraisal, the plan was rejected by the IAS.[9] It took an impassioned speech to the State Legislature from Senator Kip Bateman to convince the institute to accept this proposal.[10]
The struggle to preserve the site of the Princeton Battlefield demonstrates the importance of individuals who care very deeply about public history. Despite its immense historical significance, this site would have been destroyed several times over if not for the efforts of Moses Pyne, Agnes Hudson, volunteers at the American Battlefield Trust, the donors that helped purchase land from IAS, Senator Bateman, and many, many others. The battlefield will almost certainly be threatened again in the future — if we wish to continue defending the site, it is vital for the public historians of today and tomorrow to defend it as fiercely as our predecessors did.
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Henry Laufenberg is a sophomore at Princeton University studying Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is from Champaign, Illinois.
[1] Alfred Hoyt Bill, The Campaign of Princeton, 1776-1777 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2015), 100-116.
[2] “History of the Princeton Battlefield Society” https://pbs1777.org/history-mission/.
[3] “Gen. Mercer Monument and Canon Princeton, N.J.” 1908; “Monument marking spot where General Mercer fell in the battle of Princeton, N.J.” Postcard, Albertype Co., circa 1890.
[4] “Princeton Battlefield Society.” Americana Corner. n.d. https://www.americanacorner.com/preserving-america/princeton-battlefield-society.
[5] United States National Park Service, Princeton Battlefield National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (Washington, D.C.: Department of the Interior, 1989), https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/f4f08e66-bd67-4ca3-a4d6-cf1e29324f96.
[6] Alexandra Altman, “Princeton Planning Board Unanimously Approves Amended Plans for Faculty Housing,” November 7, 2014. https://www.ias.edu/news/facultyhousing-approval-november2014
[7] “Faculty Housing Plans,” 2016, https://www.ias.edu/about/campus-lands/faculty-housing-plans
[8] “About the American Battlefield Trust,” n.d., https://www.battlefields.org/about
[9] George Will, “A battle to save the Princeton Battlefield,” Washington Post, April 8, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost-com.ezproxy.princeton.edu/opinions/a-battle-to-save-the-princeton-battlefield/2016/04/08/3d40e344-fce4-11e5-9140-e61d062438bb_story.html.
[10] Senate Environment and Energy Committee: The Committee will hear testimony on the proposed faculty housing development project by the Institute for Advanced Study on land adjacent to Princeton Battlefield State Park, 216th New Jersey Legislature, 1-3 (2015) (statement of Kip Bateman, Senator of the 16th district).