You say you want a revolution? Try Bound Brook this weekend

Mike Deak, MyCentralJersey.com
Updated ·3 min read

With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence just three years away, the Annual Battle of Bound Brook Living History Weekend takes on added significance.

This weekend's full schedule of events in Bound Brook and South Bound Brook marks the anniversary of the Battle of Bound Brook on April 13, 1777, and raises awareness that Somerset County, "The Crossroads of the American Revolution," played a major role in the fledgling nation's struggle for independence from Great Britain.

What was the Battle of Bound Brook?

On Sunday, April 13, 1777, 4,000 British troops led by Lord Charles Cornwallis attacked a small American garrison of about 500 commanded by General Benjamin Lincoln in Bound Brook, the oldest town in Somerset County.

In the surprise attack, Hessian Jaeger scouts fighting for the British were pinned down by Colonial soldiers who put up a spirited resistance at the Old Stone Arch Bridge located near the Queens Bridge on the Bound Brook side of the Raritan River.

More: Revolutionary War restaurants: Follow Washington’s footsteps at these NJ spots

The skirmish bought time for the bulk of the American force in Bound Brook as British forces poured into the area. When 1,000 British soldiers charged over the Queens Bridge, the Americans retreated, escaping the trap and later that year regrouped at the First Middlebrook encampment on the Watchung Ridge in Bridgewater north of Bound Brook.

What's happening this weekend?

Friday

  • Annual wine and cheese fundraiser, 6-8 p.m. at the Historic Van Horne House, 941 E. Main St., Bridgewater, opposite the TD Bank Ballpark, sponsored by the Heritage Trail Association. Admission $50. Event will feature a "special unveiling."

Saturday

  • The battle begins, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Soldiers march and fight on the Old Stone Bridge and Queens Bridge. Loyalist troops push the Patriot Forces up Bolmer Avenue to the cemetery.

  • Commemoration ceremony, 11:30-11:45 a.m. at the Old Presbyterian Graveyard next to the Bound Brook Memorial Library, 402 E. High St. New Jersey Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard. Special exhibits open to the public at the library, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

  • Lunch for soldiers, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m., Hamilton Street. An opportunity to socialize with the soldiers.

  • Fifth Annual Battle and Brews Guided History Tour and Pub Crawl, 12:30-3:30 p.m. Meet in front of the Brook Arts Center. Registration at eventbrite.

  • Battle reenactment, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Starts at the Queens Bridge at Elm and Main streets in South Bound Brook and ends at Maple Street.

  • Soldiers encampment, 2:30-4 p.m. at the Abraham Staats House, 17 von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook. 18th Century military life, exhibits and drills. Historic house tours, rug hooking demonstration by the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild of New Jersey. Grounds are free but house tours are $10 adults, free under 18.

  • The Annual Publick Ball hosted by Philip Van Horne and the Heritage Trail Association, 7-10 p.m. at the Van Horne House. Dance Master Lazarus Turner calls the dances. $10 admission, $5 for reenactors in period dress. Register at eventbrite.

Sunday

  • Breakfast buffet at South Bound Brook Fire Company, 83 Edgewood Terrace, South Bound Brook. 7:30 a.m.-noon. Adults $12, seniors $10, under 10 $8, under 5 free. Reenactors free.

  • Soldiers encampment, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Abraham Staats House. Encampment closes to public at 4 p.m.

  • "The Treacherous Spring of 1777," 12:30-1:30 p.m., presented by Sam Davis as Gen. George Washington, at the Abraham Staats House. Admission, $10 adults, under 18 free. Tickets include house tour an lecture. Register at staatshouse.org or 732-369-3583.

  • Battle reenactment, 2:30-3:30 p.m. on the grounds of the Abraham Staats House. American and British Soldiers perform military maneuvers.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Battle of Bound Brook: NJ Revolutionary War event returns this weekend