Strategically, the Wick family were considered by the officers of the Continental Army to be one of the most reliable and patriotic families in America, so the Army never had any trouble quartering there, nor did the Wick family ever require compensation for the use of their land, which was especially important to Congress. The Continental Army had wintered there in 1776-77 following George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River and the subsequent American victories at Trenton and Princeton. One fourth of the Army died from smallpox or dysentery. During that Winter, the Wicks hosted Captain Joseph Bloomfield.