Unpacking the American Revolution: It’s More than Just Muskets
The Revolutionary War has long been a hard sell for many Americans. The clothing and manners seem so foreign to us (wigs—stays—breeches!); the buildings can seem formal, dark, and cold; the persistence of the institution of slaveryand discriminatory treatment of Native Americans is repugnant; and the absence of the photographs that make the Civil War and later conflicts so immediate makes the period seem veryremote.Battles and skirmishes dominate our understanding too, as mention of the Revolution conjures up images of citizen soldiers armed with muskets turning out to face the British at places likeLexington, Concord, Trenton, and Boston.
While there is no denying that the military history of the War is rich and significant, recent scholarship has revealed many other aspects of the period that have as much or more relevance to us today. Discovering and sharing these diverse stories of the past is a prime focus for RevolutionNJ. Our goal is to enable everyone to find themselves in these narratives and to consider how the events of 250 years ago continue to shape our nation, our state, and our communities.We hope to go beyond the muskets and cannon to reveal the people and communities that shaped this conflict and the nation that was born from it.
So what was New Jersey like at the time of the American Revolution? In her recent book Taking Sides in Revolutionary New Jersey, historian Maxine Lurie describes the state as diverse, largely rural, deeply divided, wracked by violence, and scarred by the injuries inflicted by armies on both sides. “Put simply,” she observes, “New Jersey was not a good place to be during the American Revolution. But it was an important place. The fact that the Patriots gained control in 1776 and managed to hold on until the peace was a significant accomplishment for the state and the nation. If it hadnot doneso the new nationwould have been divided into two or more parts, and the outcome could have been quite different.”
This larger story is made up of the individual experiences of New Jerseyans of many different backgrounds and affiliations. Dr. Lurie and other scholars have used their skills at investigation to uncover many of these stories, from Hannah Caldwell, the wife of a Presbyterian minister and supporter of the Revolution who is shot during the Battle of Connecticut Farms while tending to her infant daughter; to Oliver Cromwell, a Free Black farmer and resident of South Jersey who served in the Continental Army from the 1776 until Yorktown, but then returned to his community; to Walter Rutherford of Hunterdon County who, as a former British officer, struggled to stay out of the conflict with limited success; to Cortland Skinner of Perth Amboy, an East Jersey Proprietor who fought with the British Army and eventually decamped permanently to England.
This “unpacking” of the American Revolution is ongoing, as the process of exploring the past is never finished but continues with each new researcher. During the summer of 2022, for example, an extraordinary discovery of the remains of Hessian soldiers at Red Banke Battlefield in Gloucester County was reported. No doubt more discoveries and narratives wait to be uncovered as we approach this 250th anniversary.