Following the Continental Army's victory at Princeton, General Washington knew his army was exhausted and vulnerable if General Cornwallis, who was now rushing up from Trenton, caught them.
Washington broke off the pursuit and marched his army north to Morristown, New Jersey.
Beginning around January 6, 1777, the Continental Army set up its winter quarters in Morristown. This strategic location in the New Jersey Highlands allowed Washington to protect his army while constantly threatening the British supply lines that stretched between New York and their garrisons in New Jersey.
The site chosen in Morristown was where the hills surrounding the camp offered a good vantage point to observe the British army, which was headquartered across the Hudson River in New York City.
Morristown’s position allowed Washington to protect the roads leading from the British strongholds in New Jersey to New England and the roads leading to Philadelphia, where the leaders of the American Revolution were headquartered.
Morristown was actually the location of two winter encampments during the Revolutionary War. Washington had first visited Morristown in 1773 with his stepson, John Parke Custis. He had been passing through the town en route to nearby Basking Ridge to visit William Alexander, Lord Stirling, who would later become a major-general in the Continental Army.
Morristown National Historical Park commemorates the sites of General Washington and the Continental Army’s winter encampment, where they survived through what would be the coldest winter on record. The park also maintains a museum & library collection related to the encampments & George Washington, as well as items relating to pre- and post-Revolutionary America.
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| Reproductions of soldier cabins |
Washington used some of the winter trying to reorganize and build up the Continental Army. Despite the Trenton and Princeton victories, some soldiers chose desertion over another cold winter without adequate supplies. Reenlistments were down, and soldiers were returning home when their enlistments expired.
For five months, Washington maintained headquarters at Arnold's Tavern on the Green, which was - and still is - the central hub of Morristown society.
Washington ordered inoculations for his militiamen during a smallpox outbreak in February 1777 and he was very concerned with personal and public cleanliness. Nevertheless, his troops were so distressed by the disease and poor conditions of the camp that by spring 1777, many men attempted to leave and were charged with desertion.
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| Ford Mansion (Photo: Rob Shenk on Flickr) |
Washington returned with his troops between December 1779 and June 1780 at a second encampment in a section of forest known as Jockey Hollow. The winter was again bitter. He was accompanied by his wife, Martha, and they were given shelter in the Ford Mansion owned by Colonel Jacob Ford, Jr. and his wife, Theodosia.
The Georgian-style mansion built in 1774, which was Washington's headquarters, is now part of the Morristown National Historical Park.
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