Cherry Hill Monument
Cherry Hill Monument
Outside Cherry Hill Mall
Near the Main Entrance between Macy's and the North Face
Map / Directions to the Cherry Hill Monument
This boulder was placed inside the mall at its opening in 1961. It was later moved outside around 2007. [1] It pays tribute to the role the surrounding area played in the Revolutionary War era. [2]
The monument briefly mentions several Revolutionary War events. More detailed descriptions and clarifications of these events are given below:
British forces occupied Philadelphia from September 26, 1777 until June 18, 1778. On October 21, 1777, the British sent Hessian troops from Philadelphia to attack Fort Mercer, an American Fort on the Delaware River in what is now National Park. (Hessians were German mercenary soldiers hired by the British to fight in the Revolutionary War.)
The Hessians crossed the Delaware River from Philadelphia into New Jersey, landing in Cooper's Ferry (now Camden). They marched to Haddonfield, where they camped for the night. The following morning, they marched southwest towards Fort Mercer. In order to reach Fort Mercer, the Hessians needed to get across the Big Timber Creek at some point. They marched to a bridge in what is now Brooklawn but discovered that the bridge there had been dismantled by American forces. This caused the Hessians to march an additional eight to ten miles and cross the Big Timber Creek at the Clement's Road Bridge.
Later that day, the Hessians made their attack on Fort Mercer, in what became known as the Battle of Red Bank, where they were defeated, and returned to Philadelphia the following day, crossing back over the Delaware River from Cooper's Ferry. The site of Fort Mercer is now Red Bank Historical Park. See the National Park page of this website for details about the battle and the park. [3]
The Battle of Gloucester referred to on the boulder was a skirmish that occurred on November 25, 1777. (The boulder incorrectly states "March of 1777.") It was the first battlefield command of the Marquis de Lafayette, a French officer who fought for the Americans in the Revolutionary War.
Major General Nathanael Greene sent George Washington the following description of the skirmish:
(Greene's original spelling and punctuation have been left unchanged. "Picquet" refers to a picket, a small group of soldiers placed in front of a main force, to warn against attack)"The Marquis with about 400 Militia & the rifle Corps, attacked the enemies Picquet last evening, kill’d about 20 & wounded many more & took about 20 prisoners—the Marquis is charmed with the spirited behaviour of the Militia & Rifle Corps—they drove the enemy above half a mile & kept this ground untill dark—the enemy’s picquet consisted of about 300 & were reinforced during the skirmish—The Marquis is determined to be in the way of danger." [4]
In February, the British forces occupying Philadelphia were in need of food for their troops and for their horses. They planned a large foraging expedition into this part of New Jersey to collect cattle and hay. General Washington, then with his army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, received word of this plan, and he sent General "Mad Anthony" Wayne to this area to take away cattle and destroy hay before the British got there.
On February 25, General Wayne was in Haddonfield, from where he wrote to General Washington that he had collected and sent on 150 head of cattle, and that he had burned quantities of hay to keep it from the British.
General William Howe, in command of the British at Philadelphia, got word of Wayne's activities and ordered thousands of troops across the Delaware River into New Jersey to cut Wayne off. About 2000 British soldiers under Colonel Sterling and Major John Simcoe marched to Haddonfield. Wayne received advance warning of this, and because he was greatly outnumbered (his own forces totaled about 500, including 300 militia) he evacuated Haddonfield to Mount Holly before the British troops arrived.
Wayne sent a request for assistance to General Pulaski, who commanded a group of cavalry. Pulaski met up with Wayne in Mount Holly with about fifty cavalry to reinforce Wayne's strength, and they headed towards Haddonfield. Upon hearing that Wayne would be returning to Haddonfield with Pulaski's cavalry, British troops evacuated the town and retreated to Cooper's Ferry, where they skirmished with Wayne and Pulaski's men before crossing the Delaware River back to Philadelphia on March 2.
Wayne and Pulaski's forces had been largely successful in preventing the British from capturing food. They carried only about fifty-six head of cattle with them back to Philadelphia. [5]
