Evesham Friends (Quaker) Meeting House
Evesham Friends Meeting House
Moorestown-Mount Laurel Rd. and Hainesport-Mt. Laurel Rd.
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The Evesham Friends Meeting House was built in 1760. The section of the building which can be seen at the left of the photo above was added in 1798. [1]
Because Quakers are pacifists, they generally took no side in the Revolutionary War, and they wished to have nothing to do with it. However, the location of this Quaker meeting house placed it in the line of march of British troops in June 1778. As described below, this resulted in British soldiers occupying this meeting house for one night.
The British army occupied Philadelphia from September 26, 1777 until June 18, 1778. Philadelphia had been serving as the American capital, and the British occupation forced Congress to move to York, Pennsylvania, which had a demoralizing effect on the Americans.
During that same winter of 1777, General George Washington and his Continental (American) army were camped about twenty miles away from Philadelphia in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Valley Forge provided a good strategic location for the army's winter quarters: It was close enough to keep an eye on the British troops in Philadelphia, but in a strong defensive position should the British decide to attack.
In early June 1778, the British forces in Philadelphia decided to abandon Philadelphia and march towards New York City, the main British stronghold in America. British forces under General Henry Clinton began their trip on June 18, 1777, when they crossed over the Delaware River into New Jersey, landing at Coopers Ferry (now Camden). They then marched as far as Haddonfield where they encamped for the night. The following day, they marched through a heavy rainstorm into this area, which was then part of Evesham, where they spent the night of June 19, 1778. British troops encamped around the area of this Friends Meeting House. The same night, Hessian troops were encamped about five miles away on the grounds of the Moorestown Friends Meeting House. (Hessians were German mercenary soldiers hired by the British to fight on their side in the Revolutionary War.)
During this time, General Washington and his Continental Army were also on the move. After hearing of the British evacuation of Philadelphia, Washington made the decision to leave Valley Forge. On June 20, they crossed into New Jersey at Coryell's Ferry and marched in pursuit of the British troops, keeping a path miles to the north of them.
From Mount Laurel, the British troops moved on through Mount Holly, Bordentown and Crosswicks. On June 28, they met the Continental Army at Monmouth Courthouse and fought the Battle of Monmouth, the longest continuous battle of the war. [2]
