221 years ago to the date, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The path towards freedom from Great Britain was not an easy one and New Jersey served as a host to the majority of the battles, 296 to be exact, during the Revolutionary War. New Jersey was one of the original 13 colonies that joined in an effort to liberate themselves from tyranny and oppression. Without the crucial battles won in New Jersey during the Revolutionary War, the world would be a completely different place and the Nazi regime could possibly be reigning as the world leaders. However, between the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey had held its own against superior and better trained armies.
Emerging triumphant, the battles that occurred in New Jersey laid the “smackdown” on the British armies. At the Battle of Trenton, George Washington had crossed the icy Delaware River to reach the sleeping Hessians on Christmas Eve to launch a surprise attack on the drunk and incapacitated Hessians on Christmas morning. Without warning, Great Britain’s secret plan of using the Hessians had backfired and our rebel forefathers captured 900 Hessians and looted the provisions that were present. About a week after the Battle of Trenton, George Washington led the Continental Army back across the Delaware to New Jersey to fight another fateful battle.
The Battle of Princeton kicked off as the great British General Cornwallis attempted to prevent Washington and his rabble army from infiltrating New Jersey once again. The two sides came to a standoff at Princeton, where the Continental Army proved to be too big a match for Cornwallis, as any advance by the Britons was thwarted by the accurate sniping from the colonials. Eventually, Cornwallis was forced to retreat and another great battle had been fought and won on New Jersey soil. Other battles followed these two gigantic victories, where the Continental Army won at the Battle of Monmouth and the Battle of Springfield.
As we all know, the crazy rebels that had led thousands of men into a war proved to be genius and brave, for the Revolutionary War was won by colonists and farmers. The war might not have been won, if it were not for the ingenious tactics of George Washington and the reserve that New Jersey-ans had showed during this country’s drive for Independence. Following the war with Britain, our forefathers sought to find states that would ratify and uphold the U.S. Constitution. Delaware and Pennsylvania were the first two states to ratify the Constitution, respectfully, and the third was New Jersey. So the next time someone says that we are the garbage state or the ‘armpit of the nation’, you should reply that New Jersey has a proud rich history of fighting for what it believes in and winning to boot. Not only that, but 221 years ago to the day our little state was larger than life, when it became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
2 Comments
Great post Greg! My pride in New Jersey just got a little bigger.
Is it fair to say that NJ is the official Revolutionary Smackdown State?
The Battle of Monmouth is particularly awesome, for both New Jersey and George Washington. It was a stifling summer day and Rebel Troops under the command of General Charles Lee were being overwhelmed by the British in a very uninspired performance by the Americans. Accepting defeat, Lee ordered a general retreat to the ire of George Washington.
In one of the rare instances of Washington losing his cool, he began spitting out profanity and order the troops back into their lands where he led an aggressive counterattack, known as “Washington’s Advance” in order to hold the line.
Washington had come up from the rear so he could lead his troops from the front atop his trusted steed Nelson. George fervently sped back and forth the line despite being in the midst of lethal crossfire. After this display of bravery, Washington’s renown grew to legendary status and apocryphal tales were sown that when Washington dismounted his horse Nelson after the battle, his overcoat was peppered with bullet holes, yet the larger than life General remained untouched. For the troops it was as if their leader was divinely charged to lead them to victory.
All of this went down on the hallowed turf that we here in New Jersey call home.
Lovely post indeed.