Battle of Chestnut Neck Monument
Chestnut Neck Battle Monument
Route 9 and Old New York Rd.
Map / Directions to the Chestnut Neck Battle Monument
Map / Directions to all Port Republic Revolutionary War Sites
THE BATTLE OF CHESTNUT NECK - OCTOBER 6, 1778 [1]
Background - The Privateers, and the Village of Chestnut Neck
The term Privateer refers to a private individual who received a government commission (known as "letters of Marque") to attack and seize enemy ships. During most of the Revolutionary War, the British were in control of New York City, and therefore there was much British shipping traffic in the waters around New Jersey. Many American privateers operated in this area, preying on British merchant ships.
Chestnut Neck was a village on the Little Egg Harbor River (now called Mullica River) making up what is now the northern part of Port Republic. The village's location on the river with access to the Atlantic Ocean made it an important shipping harbor before the Revolutionary War. When the war came, those same good harbor facilities made it a haven for the privateers. They would bring their captured British vessels to Chestnut Neck, where some of the goods would be taken to be used by the Continental (American) Army, and the rest would be sold. Some of the captured vessels would be converted into additional privateer boats. [2]
Prelude to the Battle - Late September - October 5, 1778
The privateers seized many British vessels, which had a negative effect on the British, while helping the American side. By late September 1778, British Commander General Henry Clinton decided to take serious action against the privateers. During the last week of September, a fleet of nine ships was assembled to sail from New York City down the New Jersey coast and make an attack on Chestnut Neck.
The ships headed out towards Chestnut Neck at about midnight on September 30. The naval officer in charge of the ships was named Henry Collins. [3] On board were 400 British soldiers who were under the command of Captain Patrick Ferguson. [4]
The ships of the 1700's which operated by sails were much more affected by winds and weather than modern fuel-powered vessels. Also, they did not have the extended and reasonably accurate weather reports we have today based on satellite information and other modern technology. Therefore, they could not easily anticipate upcoming changes in weather conditions. These factors would come into play as the ships headed towards Chestnut Neck.
Their trip started off well, as the wind was with them. But by the next day, the winds changed directions and a storm began. As a result, it took them over four days to travel just 77 ½ nautical miles to the bay outside the Little Egg Harbor River, known as the Great Bay. When they finally arrived in the Great Bay on October 5, the weather caused further complications. Their larger ships were unable to enter the bay due to the winds. Therefore, the soldiers were loaded into the smaller boats to head into the bay and then up the river to Chestnut Neck.
The Battle of Chestnut Neck and the Destruction of the Village - October 6, 1778
A small fort had been constructed on the river by the Americans to protect Chestnut Neck. [5] The fort was manned by militiamen, but it was not equipped with cannons. They were unable to put up much resistance against the British forces who opened cannon fire on the fort from their ships, and then came ashore attacking and driving the American forces from the fort into the woods.
The British destroyed several privateer ships they found, as well as the houses in the village. The British would have caused more damage, but their delayed arrival caused by the weather had given the inhabitants of Chestnut Neck time to prepare. A number of privateer vessels were sent out to the ocean or miles upriver to a spot known as the Forks, and the locals had time to remove valuables from the houses and hide them in the woods.
The British had hoped to sail farther up river to capture the privateer vessels which had been moved to the Forks. However, they had received word that American military forces were on their way to Chestnut Neck, and they decided that it was safer to instead leave the river and return to the bay, which they did at midday on October 7. The British ships intended to leave immediately and head back to New York, but they were again deterred by weather conditions. Wind and water conditions kept the British in the bay for another fifteen days.
American forces under the command of General Casimir Pulaski arrived in the area on October 8, too late to defend the village of Chestnut Neck. They made camp about five miles northeast from here, in what is now Little Egg Harbor Township. On October 15, two hundred British troops came ashore and made a surprise attack on a group of Pulaski's troops, in what is known as the Affair at Little Egg Harbor. See the Little Egg Harbor Township page for details.
