Battle of Cedar Bridge | |||||||
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Part of American Revolutionary War | |||||||
The Cedar Bridge Tavern near where Captain John Bacon and his Loyalist "Refugees" (military associators) skirmished with local Patriot militia in the last documented conflict of the American Revolutionary War. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Loyalist militia | Patriot militia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
John Bacon (WIA) | Richard Shreve Edward Thomas | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | 28 militia | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 killed 4 wounded Several captured | 1 killed 4 wounded |
The Battle of Cedar Bridge, fought in Barnegat Township, New Jersey, was the one of the last skirmishes of the American Revolutionary War, between Patriot militia under Captains Richard Shreve and Edward Thomas and Loyalist militia under John Bacon on December 27, 1782. [1] [2]
Bacon had killed 30 sleeping Patriots on the American ship, the Alligator, selling the ship and other acts of terror on suspected Patriot supporters. A reward of 50 pounds for Bacon's capture was offered by the governor of New Jersey, William Livingston.
A Patriot Militia under the command of Richard Shreve and Edward Thomas set out to hunt down Bacon in December 1782 and after several days of an unsuccessful search decided to head back to Burlington, New Jersey. On route back to Burlington, the Patriots decided to stop at the tavern near the bridge, unaware that Bacon and his men were on the other side. [3]
Hearing that the Patriot militia was nearby, John Bacon had little time to escape and so decided to barricade the bridge and opened fire on the Patriots. The Loyalists manage to hold off the Patriots for some time before the Patriots almost overcome them. A group of locals heard the shots and came to the aid of the Loyalists, giving Bacon and his men time to escape. The Patriots would overpower the local Loyalist supporters and capture several of them. [3] [4] [5]
Bacon was discovered at a tavern in Tuckerton, New Jersey, a few months after the engagement and was captured and killed. Bacon was so hated among the populace that his body was paraded through town and the countryside and his body was later buried in an unmarked grave. [6]
Barnegat Township is a township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 24,296, the highest ever count at a decennial census and an increase of 3,360 (+16.0%) from the 2010 census count of 20,936, which in turn reflected an increase of 5,666 (+37.1%) from the 15,270 counted in the 2000 census.
Titus Cornelius, also known as Titus, Tye, and famously as Colonel Tye, was a slave of African descent in the Province of New Jersey who escaped from his master and fought as a Black Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War; he was known for his leadership and fighting skills. He fought with a volunteer corps of escaped Virginia Colony slaves in the Ethiopian Regiment, and he led the Black Brigade associators. Tye died from tetanus from a musket wound in the wrist following a short siege in September 1780 against Captain Joshua Huddy. He was one of the most feared and effective guerrilla leaders opposing the American patriot forces in central New Jersey.
Captain Joshua Huddy was an American military officer and privateer. Born in Salem County, New Jersey, he struggled with financial difficulties in adulthood and was repeatedly convicted of several crimes. During the American Revolutionary War, Huddy supported the Patriot cause and served in the New Jersey Militia along with captaining the privateer ship The Black Snake. In 1782, he was captured by Loyalist irregulars and turned over to the British.
The Battle of Kettle Creek was the first major victory for Patriots in the back country of Georgia during the American Revolutionary War that took place on February 14, 1779. It was fought in Wilkes County about eleven miles (18 km) from present-day Washington, Georgia. A militia force of Patriots decisively defeated and scattered a Loyalist militia force that was on its way to British-controlled Augusta.
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New Jersey played a central role in the American Revolution both politically and militarily. It was the site of more than 90 military engagements, including the pivotal battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Monmouth. George Washington led his army across the state four times and encamped there during three hard winters, enduring some of the greatest's setbacks of the war as well as seminal victories. New Jersey's decisive role in the conflict earned it the title, "Crossroads of the American Revolution".
The 2nd New Jersey Regiment was raised, on 9 October 1775, at Trenton, New Jersey, for service with the Continental Army under the command of Colonel William Maxwell. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Trois-Rivières, Battle of Valcour Island, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Crooked Billet, Battle of Monmouth, Sullivan Expedition, Battle of Springfield and the Battle of Yorktown. The regiment was furloughed, on 6 June 1783, at Newburgh, New York, and disbanded 3 November 1783.
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The "Pine Robbers" were groups of loosely organized outlaw gangs who were Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War and used the New Jersey Pine Barrens to wreak havoc in the area. The pine barrens created densely forested terrain where concealment of guerrilla and criminal activities could easily be carried out.
The Battle of Quinton's Bridge was a minor battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on March 18, 1778, during the British occupation of Philadelphia. New Jersey militia companies defending a bridge across Alloway Creek in Salem County, New Jersey, were lured into a trap by British Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood and suffered significant casualties.
The Battle of Charlotte was an American Revolutionary War battle fought in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 26, 1780. The battle took place at the Mecklenburg County Court House; which is now the site of the Bank of America tower at Trade and Tryon Streets in uptown Charlotte. An advance guard of General Charles Cornwallis' army rode into town and encountered a well-prepared Patriot militia under the command of William R. Davie in front of the court house. A skirmish ensued in which George Hanger, leading the British cavalry, was wounded. The small Patriot force, which had not intended more than token resistance, withdrew north toward Salisbury upon the arrival of Cornwallis and the main army.
David Fanning was a Loyalist leader in the American Revolutionary War in North and South Carolina. Fanning participated in approximately 36 minor engagements and skirmishes, and in 1781, captured the Governor of North Carolina, Thomas Burke, from the temporary capital at Hillsborough. Additionally, Fanning was captured by Patriot forces 14 times throughout the war, each time escaping or receiving a pardon. After the British defeat in the war, Fanning fled to Canada, where he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1791 to 1801 representing Kings County. After being convicted of rape in 1801, Fanning was expelled from New Brunswick, and settled in Nova Scotia, where he lived the remainder of his life.
The Battle of Brier Creek was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on March 3, 1779, near the confluence of Brier Creek with the Savannah River in eastern Georgia. An American Patriot force consisting principally of militia from North Carolina and Georgia along with some Continental Army troops were defeated by British forces, suffering significant casualties. The rout damaged Patriot morale.
Associators were members of 17th- and 18th-century volunteer military associations in the British American thirteen colonies and British Colony of Canada. These were more commonly known as Maryland Protestant, Pennsylvania, and American Patriot and British Loyalist colonial militias. But unlike militias, the associator military volunteers were exempt from regular mandatory military service. Other names used to describe associators were "Associations", "Associated", "Refugees", "Volunteers", and "Partisans".
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Colonists who supported the British cause in the American Revolution were Loyalists, often called Tories, or, occasionally, Royalists or King's Men. George Washington's winning side in the war called themselves "Patriots", and in this article Americans on the revolutionary side are called Patriots. For a detailed analysis of the psychology and social origins of the Loyalists, see Loyalist.
The Battle of Torrence's Tavern was a minor engagement of the American Revolutionary War that took place in what was the western portion of Rowan County, North Carolina, approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of the Catawba River near modern-day Mooresville in Iredell County. Torrence's Tavern was a part of the larger Southern campaign of the American Revolution, which, by 1780–1781 involved a series of clashes between the British Army and Loyalist militia and the Continental Army and Patriot militia in the Piedmont region of North and South Carolina.
The Cedar Bridge Tavern is a historic building located in the New Jersey Pine Barrens in Barnegat Township. It was built around 1740 and is believed to be the oldest intact bar in the United States. It is located at the site of the last skirmish of the American Revolutionary War. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
John Bacon, was a leader of the Pine Robbers, a band of Loyalist guerrilla fighters who hid out in the Pine Barrens of south-central New Jersey and preyed upon Patriots toward the end of the American Revolutionary War. The group was responsible for the October 1782 Long Beach Island Massacre, which occurred after hostilities between the United States and Great Britain had been put on hold pending treaty negotiations. He and his band were relentlessly pursued thereafter. Bacon was killed the following March while resisting capture.
Asher Holmes was an American politician and veteran of the American Revolution.