NJ History Tour #1 ...
Jim Aupperlee, Bill Bogertman, Gary Link
December 5, 2018; "SinterKlaus Dag" in the Netherlands, and my first installment of our NJ History Nerd Tours...
Today's Planned Activity and site visits:
1. Morristown National Historical Park, Jockey Hollow Encampment/Visitor's Center, Morristown, NJ - The US Continental Army Winter Encampment 1779-1780, the Henry Wick House/Farm, and Pennsylvania Line Soldier Huts.
2. Washington's Headquarters, Ford Mansion, Morristown, NJ - inside the Morristown National Historical Park and Visitor's Center. This was the United State's first National Historical Park opened in 1933.
3. Washington's Headquarters, Colonel Theunis Dey Mansion, Wayne (Preakness), NJ. Washington's HQ from July 1 to July 29, 1780, then October 9 to November 27, 1780.
--------------------------------------
Today's Actual Activity:
 |
America's First National Historical Park here
in Morristown, 1935.
|
1. Morristown National Historical Park-Jockey Hollow Encampment.
NOTES:
o After the battles of Trenton, NJ and Princeton, NJ (1776-1777), 10,000 soldiers at Jockey Hollow, cut down 2,000 trees to build a large log hut city during the worst winter in history, yes, worse than that of the 1777-1778 winter at Valley Forge, PA. Washington was billeted at the Colonel Jacob Ford Mansion in Morristown, NJ. At Henry Wick's home, Major General Arthur St. Clair was quartered while troops were billeted in Morristown, Totowa, NJ and Hawthorne (then known as Wagaraw), NJ (Lafayette). Fort Nonsense in Morristown, NJ was to guard the Morristown valley and supplies.
2. Morristown National Historical Park - NPS Visitor's Center and Washington Headquarters Museum.
NOTES:
A great two-floor Revolutionary War museum including exhibits of period furniture, military history, local pictures and artifacts.
 |
America's First National Historical Park here
in Morristown, 1935. |
 |
| Washington's 1789 Inaugural Sword. |
 |
Hudson River Chain Link, one
crossing the River at West Point, NY. |
 |
| West Point Chain Link Plaque |
 |
Actual British Cannon captured
by the American Army at the Battle
of Princeton, January 3, 1777. |
 |
| Field Cannon Provenance. |
 |
Floor map of Northern NJ summarizing the eight (8)
major Battles of 1776-1780 in the State including
Fort Lee, Monmouth, Trenton, Princeton, New
Brunswick, Bound Brook, Connecticut Farms (Union)
and Springfield, NJ The Battle of Red Back is not shown. |
 |
| von Steuben's Camp Orders. |
You knew I cannot hold back about Lewis and Clark references!
L&C carried German General Baron Frederick Wilhem von Steuben's (1730-1794) book, Regulations for the Order and Discipline of Troops of the United States, on their 2.5 year trip. Since they were US troops, L&C used von Steuben's Regulations for their daily camps and military hygiene, including: Sleep on Dry Straw, Bury the Offal, Dig Sinks (latrines), Make Soap, Fill Necessaries, Dig Trenches, Sweep the Huts.
Archaeologists in Lolo, MT discovered at Lewis and Clark's Traveler's Rest campsite site in Lolo, Montana (2005?) where the camp's "sink" was, based on von Steuben's Regulations stating ... "sinks must be located three hundred feet to the front and rear of the two tent lines." THIS is history!
3. Morristown National Historical Park - Colonel Jacob Ford Jr. Mansion
 |
Layouts of the Ford and Dey Mansions,
first floor, Morristown NJ
and Wayne, NJ respectively. |
NOTES:
o General George Washington's War Headquarters in 1779-1780, a two story block building built in 1772-74, on 200 acres. Washington and staff were here from December 1779 until June 1780.
Widow Dey and her four children and six servants lived in two rooms of their 15 room home; Washington, wife Martha, aides, servants and Officers, up to 35 more people also lived here for seven (7) months.
o The layout of this mansion is very similar to that of the Dey Mansion in Wayne, NJ (Preakness). Picture both Mansion's open hallways lined with chairs for guests and Soldiers (see below).
o Washington, his wife Martha, five aides-de-camp (confidential advisers/aides), including Alexander Hamilton, 18 servants, visiting dignitaries and House Guards lived here, together with Jacob Ford, his (later widowed) wife Theodosia, their 3 sons, a daughter and their six servants, as many as 100 people at one time.
 |
Plaque on Mansion walkway about the
arrival of Martha Washington December 31,1779. |
o Most of the building is authentic, including the first floor open hallway and the front door, the same door that Major General Nathaneal Green, the US Army's first Quartermaster General, in late November 1779, knocked on to request whether Jacob and soon to to be widow Theodosia Johnes Ford (1741-1824), might permit Washington and his Army use their home over the 1779-1780 winter. Picture four (4) feet of snow on the ground and freezing cold temperatures.
(I'm knocking on that same door below).
 |
Now THIS is history! I'm knocking on the SAME
DOOR that Major General Nathaneal Greene
knocked on... in 1779, 240 years earlier!
|
 |
| Entering the Mansion through the front. |
 |
| Hallway Front door. |
o Colonel Jacob Ford Jr. was a Patriot, Morris County Militia Officer, a prosperous farmer and iron ore/gunpowder manufacturing plant owner. They had four (4) children, of whom 2-3 eventually relocated to Charleston, SC (1785?) after the Revolutionary War ended (1783). During the Civil War, these Fords fought for the Confederacy against the Union their grandfather Jacob Ford Jr. fought so hard to create.
Colonel Jacob Ford Jr. died of pneumonia in this house January 10, 1777 at age 38, shortly before November 1777 when his wife Theodosia permitted Washington to use the home as his Headquarters.
Colonel Jacob Ford's wife Theodosia Johnes Ford writes... "January 10, 1777 was one of the worst days of my life. The war for independence had been going on for well over a year and it looked like the war would continue on for a long time. My husband, Jacob, had been trying to complete our house in Morristown while also running the gunpowder mill he owned, that was supplying gunpowder to the Patriot forces, and serving as colonel of the local militia regiment. Several days before, men from the shrinking and dilapidated Continental Army had arrived in Morristown after winning the battles of Trenton and Princeton. My husband had not been well and he died of pneumonia on January 10. I was left alone to deal with his affairs, take care of our children, and deal with the 35 soldiers assigned to spend the winter in our house. I got through that winter, but then two years later General Washington himself asked if he could use my house for his headquarters during another winter encampment. Of course I agreed, but the General’s large “family” of officers meant my family space was reduced to just two rooms. Dealing with all this military activity was very difficult on my entire family, especially since that second winter brought with it the worst weather any of us could remember. However, many important people came through my house, one foreign visitor even died while with us, so life was also very interesting, but still very hard."
 |
Plaque on the Ford Mansion walkway:
"The Washington-Rochembeau National Historic
Trail follows routes used in 1781 and 1782..."
French troops from Newport, RI and American
troops from Boston, MA met in Hartford, CT,
then marched south along through Suffern, NY,
down Rt 202 in Mahwah and Oakland, NJ and
camped overnight in Whippany, NJ on
August 27, 1781. The next day 5,500 French
troops marched passed the Ford Mansion, down
Morris Avenue. |
o The Ford family, and servants, lived in only two of the Mansion's 15 rooms while Washington's 35 Aides, Officers, servants and guests took over the rest of the house. In the upstairs Guest Bedroom, Spanish Ambassador Don Juan de Mirrales died while visiting the Washingtons in April 1780. French General Lafayette also stayed here over the seven (7) month stay and General "Mad" Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) also visited the Ford home.
o During 1779-1780, Officers and soldiers of Washington's Continental Army suffered through the worst winter weather in 100 years.. 10-12,000 soldiers were camped at Jockey Hollow during 26 separate snowstorms beginning in November 1779 with a blizzard in early January 1780.
These were tough times for General Washington and the Continental Army; weather was horrible (all tidal areas from Canada to New York City, including the Hudson, Hackensack and Passaic Rivers southward, were frozen solid; desertions were rampant, re-enlistments were dropping and morale in the Army was low). It was also here at Jockey Hollow that Washington's medical staff first experimented with smallpox inoculations to save his sickly troops.
And to make bad things even worse, as General Washington left Morristown in June 1780, headed to Colonel Theonius Dey's Mansion in Preakness (Wayne), NJ, he received word that Benedict Arnold had treasonous plans to give West Point over to the British.
o Jacob Ford's son Gabriel Hogarth Ford (1764-1849, 85 yrs), then 15 years old, was interviewed here at the Ford Mansion in 1844 at age 80. All three sons, Timothy, Gabriel and Jacob, became lawyers or Judges after attending The College of NJ-Princeton.
o On June 6, 1780, Washington left with his Guard and aides through Hobarts Gap, the only route through the Watchung Mountain range to Connecticut Farms, where on July 7, 1780, he fought the British (Union, NJ). Two weeks later, on July 23rd, he fought the last battle in northern NJ at Springfield. Both battles frustrated British ambitions to capture NJ.
-----------------------------------------------
 |
| Study/Washington's Office. |
First Floor Hallway - Always crowded with people coming and going... Officers arriving and leaving, express riders delivering important dispatches and guards standing watch or looking for a place to get warm. Chairs lined the hallways. Some original flooring here but door is original to 1774.
First Floor-Parlor/Conference Room - includes mahogany Chippendale desk. This is where George and Martha Washington dined with Staff, guests and visiting Officers, as many as 20+. The Ford's writing table was a favorite of General Washington.
 |
Parlor/Conference Room. The small writing table
on the left was a favorite of General Washington. |
First Floor-Study/Office - Initially Mr. Ford's den, was Washington's office.
First Floor-Sitting Room/Ford Boy's Bedroom - Where Timothy-17, Gabriel-15 and Jacob-8 slept during Washington's six (6) months in the home
 |
Dressing table used by the Fords and
Martha Washington. |
.
During the battle of Connecticut Farms (Union, NJ) Gabriel was shot twice by British-Hessian soldiers. All three boys eventually graduated from the College of New Jersey (Princeton University) and were lawyers or judges.
First Floor-Dining Room - Mrs. Ford and her daughter Elizabeth-12 used it as their bedroom and for dining and daily activities. It provided access to the kitchen and pantry.
 |
Kitchen
|
First Floor-Kitchen/Pantry-Buttery- Mrs. Ford had to share the fireplace with Washington's three (3) cooks. Servants ate their meals here and everyone crowded around the fire to keep warm.
Upstairs-Servants' Quarters- Washington and his military family
brought 18 servants/slaves who probably slept in hallways, attics
 |
Upstairs Servant's Quarters. Nearly 20 servants slept
here and in the upstairs hallway. During the Winter
of 1779-1780, Washington wrote they all had colds
and were constantly trying to stay warm in the
unheated house. |
 |
Upstairs Aide's Room... where the Spanish
Ambassador died. |
and outbuildings.
Upstairs-Aides' Room/Small - Don Juan de Miralles took ill and died in the Ford Mansion April 28, 1780 and was put on view in the room in his richly ornamented open coffin and full-dress scarlet suit.
Upstairs-Aides' Room/Large - It was here that aides-de-camps Richard Meade, Tench Tilghman and Alexander Hamilton and secretaries Robert Harrison and James McHenry wrote letters, filed papers and delivered messages to and from this room. Also used as a bedroom.
Upstairs Hallway - probably where personal servants and sometimes solders were posted here.
 |
| Upstairs Hallway. |
Upstairs George and Martha Washington's Bedroom - Martha traveled by horse-drawn coach to visit. The mirror and dressing table are original and belonged to the Fords and were in the house during Washington's stay there.
 |
Room used by George and Martha Washington as
bedroom during their 1780 stay. Mirror and
Dressing Table authentic and were used by both
the Fords and Washingtons. In May 1780,
in this bedroom, the Marquis de Lafayette informed
General Washington that the French were sending
Solders to support the Americans. |
 |
Looking from Ford Mansion to Morris Avenue.
The Washington Equestrian Statue (center left)
sits on the site of his Life Guard camp while
at Ford Mansion/Jockey Hollow. |
4. Washington's Life Guard Camp site Monument - Equestrian Statue of Washington
on the corner of Morris and Washington Avenues, Morristown, NJ, opposite from Ford Mansion.
NOTES:
o During the 1779-1780 winter encampment, while Washington's HQ was at the Ford Mansion, Wshington's Life Guard camped nearby this site. The Life Guard consisted of about 150 men who served as Washington's
 |
"Continental Army Encampments at Morristown
1777 and 1781 Life Guard Camp
On this site the Commander In Chief's Guard was
encamped from December 1779 to June 1780. The
Guard was reorganized in Morristown during the first
Encampment in 1777 and again in 1780. Washington
made his Headquarters at the Ford House opposite." |
bodyguards. The Guard was on alert since the Americans received intelligence that the British left New York City to capture Washington in February 1780, but they were turned away due to the harsh winter weather.
 |
"Washington"
"Headquarters at Morristown
January to May 1777
December 1779 to June 1780" |
5. Col. Theunis and Hester Dey Mansion, 1772, Wayne-Preakness, NJ Washington's Headquarters, July 1-29, 1780
 |
| Dey Mansion 1936, 83 years ago. |
Jim and Gary and I were given a 1.5 hour tour by the Dey Mansion-Passaic County Park Archaeologist, Jessica.
o Theunis and Hester Dey built the house in 1770 and it remained in the family up to 1820s, then in private hands.
 |
| Internet image of Dey Mansion today. |
The Mansion sat on 600 acres with servants and slaves.
o The Dey Mansion and Ford Mansion share a similar two story layout.
o Washington left the Ford Mansion June XX, 1780 to go to Dey Mansion with his aides and Life Guard for Newport, Rhode Island in order to greet the French Army General and Ambassador, Rochambeau... only to hear of John Andre's capture (September 23rd) and Benedict Arnold's treachery and defection to the British on September 25, 1780. As West Point's Commander, Arnold planned to surrender his command to the British for a large sum of money.
 |
View from the rear of the Mansion, from the
Visitor's Center. |
o Visitors to see Washington in Preakness were Generals Lafayette, Lord Stirling, Benedict Arnold, Anthony Wayne, Henry Knox and Nathaneal Greene and aide Alexander Hamilton.
o While living in the Dey House, Washington received 610 communications and he wrote 364 letters and orders (to Anthony Wayne to attack the British at Bulls' Ferry (West New York, Guttenburg, North Bergen) July 20-21, 1780.
 |
| What a doorway! |
 |
Our Archaeologist was quite excited about the square
brick outline in the walkway; their dig discovered
the family privy/outhouse! |
 |
| Dey's Open Hallway and rear door. |
 |
| Washington Office Plaque. |
 |
Washington used this room as his private office
and dining room. |
 |
| First floor hallway, mostly original flooring. |
 |
| Washington's Bedroom at Dey Mansion. |
 |
Washington's Guest Bedroom
Plaque... |
 |
Dey's/Washington's Guest Bedroom...
included visiting French and American
Generals. |
A terrific day of NJ History!
