2nd New Jersey Regiment The 2nd New Jersey Regiment was raised , on 9 October 1775 , at Trenton , New Jersey , for service with the Continental Army under the command of Colonel William Maxwell . The regiment would see action at the Battle of Trois - Rivières , Battle of Valcour Island , Battle of Brandywine , Battle of Germantown , Battle of Crooked Billet , Battle of Monmouth , Sullivan Expedition , Battle of Springfield and the Battle of Yorktown . The regiment was furloughed , on 6 June 1783 , at Newburgh , New York , and disbanded 3 November 1783 . History . 1775 - 1776 . On 9 October 1775 , the 2nd NJ Battalion was authorized as part of the first establishment of the Continental Army . Originally New Jersey ' s contribution for 1776 was to be two battalions , but this was raised to three . From December 1775 to February 1776 , the battalion was mustered and organized at Burlington and Trenton , to consist of eight companies from Gloucester , Hunterdon , Burlington , Salem , and Sussex counties . The men served under Colonel William " Scotch Willie " Maxwell for an enlistment of one year . From March to May 1776 , the battalion was assigned to the Canadian Department , the regiment belatedly taking part in the investment of Quebec . The leading contingent arrived at the city on 25 March . The siege of Quebec ended on 5 May 1776 . On 8 June 1776 , after enduring the retreat from Quebec , the regiment took part in the ill - executed Battle of Trois - Rivières , Canada . From July to November 1776 , the battalion took part in the retreat from Canada to Crown Point and then to Fort Ticonderoga , New York . The unit formed part of the garrison there until 13 November when they returned to New Jersey . In November 1776 , with orders to reinforce Washington ' s army , the battalion marched to Morristown , New Jersey , where they arrived about 3 December and were disbanded when one - year enlistments expired . Many of the men reenlisted in the second establishment of the regiment for three - year enlistments . 1777 - 1778 . The newly formed regiment headquartered in Burlington and then Princeton until 5 April , until it was ordered to join the main army under General Washington . On 22 May 1777 , Maxwell ' s Jersey Brigade and Conway ' s Pennsylvania Brigade were ordered to form a division under Lord ( General William Alexander ) Stirling . The regiment was stationed through June 1777 in the area between Middlebrook ( modern - day Metuchen ) and Short Hills , keeping watch on , and occasionally skirmishing with , the enemy . On 26 June 1777 , Stirling ' s Division was attacked at Short Hills by General William Howe ' s British and Hessian troops . After a sharp fight , the Americans retired to Middlebrook and rejoined the main army under Washington . A period of marching and countermarching ensued after the action at Short Hills . General Howe ' s forces sailed on board the British fleet on 24 July , their destination unknown . Unable to decide their objective , General Washington determined to cover all possibilities while waiting for news of the fleet . Stirling ' s Division moved from Middlebrook across the Hudson to Peekskill , New York , and then back south again into Pennsylvania . At their camp at " The Cross Roads " , in Bucks County , news was finally received that the British were in the $ 3 . On 11 September 1777 , Israel Shreve ' s Regiment , along with the rest of the Jersey Brigade , took part in the Battle of Brandywine . Forced to move from their positions on the right of the army , along the creek , Stirling ' s Division marched to a hill near Birmingham Meeting House to counter a British flank attack . The three Continental divisions on the hill caught the full force of Howe ' s assault , which included the British Brigade of Guards , grenadiers , and light infantry . After an action of about 45 minutes , the defenders were forced to give way . With the army ' s right flank defeated , the battle was lost and the Americans retreated to Chester , Pennsylvania . During the fighting on Birmingham Hill , Colonel Israel Shreve was wounded in the thigh and did not return to duty until November . From September to October 1777 , the army undertook a series of marches and maneuvers designed to cover both the magazine at Reading , Pennsylvania and the capital at Philadelphia . In spite of their efforts , the city fell to the British . On 4 October 1777 , at the Battle of Germantown , Washington ' s army assaulted the British encamped outside of Philadelphia . Maxwell ' s Brigade formed part of the reserve and as such attacked the Chew House in which members of the British 40th Foot had barricaded themselves as the Continentals swept through town . After a series of futile assaults , the Jersey troops were forced to give up the attempt when the battle was lost and the Americans retreated . On 2 November 1777 , the 2nd New Jersey Regiment arrived at Whitemarsh , Pennsylvania , with the rest of the Army . They remained there for six weeks . On 19 December 1777 , Shreve ' s Regiment entered winter quarters at Valley Forge and stayed there until ordered , on 19 March 1778 , to take post in Haddonfield , New Jersey . Through the spring of 1778 , on detached duty and in cooperation with the Jersey Militia , the 2nd New Jersey gathered forage and supplies , and skirmished with the British and Loyalists for two months . At the end of May , the rest of Maxwell ' s Brigade joined them at Mount Holly . On 4 and 5 April 1778 , British forces repulsed Major Richard Howell and his troops from Billingsport , New Jersey . British troops attacked Swedesboro and marched on towards Haddonfield . Col . Israel Shreve evacuated from Haddonfield about 2 am Sunday morning , 5 April , and speed marched his troops his troops to Mount Holly . Haddonfield was attacked , two Quaker houses were burned , and American rider Miles Sage was stabbed multiple times by British ( but survived ) . British troops proceeded to Cooper ' s Ferry ( present site of the New Jersey access of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge ) . A pitched battle ensued , with about 50 American troops ( most of whom were part of Shreve ' s Regiment ) , led by Major William Ellis ( Gloucester Militia ) . Orders had been given by Shreve ( and sent by Miles Sage ) to vacate upon the ignition of an alarm cannon . The cannon was never fired , and Ellis refused to retreat across the Cooper Creek Bridge . Many men were wounded , killed or captured . The British were furious about the lost opportunity to capture Shreve at Haddonfield but elated about the capture of the American picket at Cooper ' s Ferry ( including a set of spy glasses given by Washington to spy upon the Philadelphia shore ) . Washington was furious at Shreve and never forgave him . Through June 1778 , the reunited Jersey Brigade kept watch on the British in Philadelphia in anticipation of their evacuation . On 28 June Maxwell ' s Brigade formed a part of Gen . Charles Lee ' s advance force in the opening phases of the Battle of Monmouth . Hampered by confused orders and heavy pressure from the British , Lee ' s troops retreated in disorder until they were met by the main army under Washington . The 2nd New Jersey covered the retreat of Lee ' s forces and fell back as reserves for the rest of the engagement . From June to December 1778 , the Jersey Brigade was stationed in and around Elizabethtown , New Jersey , to cover the area and counter any British moves from New York through the summer and autumn . 1779 - 1783 . From 16 December 1778 to 29 May 1779 , the unit was ordered into winter quarters at or near Newark , New Jersey , where they remained until spring . At the end of May they marched to Easton , Pennsylvania , to join the expedition against the Iroquois , forming under Major General John Sullivan . From 18 June to October 1779 , the 2nd Regiment took part in Sullivan ' s campaign to destroy the power of the Indian allies of the British . They marched through Pennsylvania and into western New York , burning villages and laying waste to crops . On 24 August General Sullivan ' s army left Tioga , Pennsylvania , leaving behind Colonel Israel Shreve and a mixed detachment to garrison a small work called Fort Sullivan . The remainder of the regiment marched north with the rest of the army . On 29 August a force of Iroquois and Loyalist troops attempted an ambush at Newtown ( present - day Elmira , New York ) , but were defeated and driven from the field . Maxwell ' s Brigade was in the reserve during this action . The army returned to Easton on 15 October . On 17 December 1779 , the brigade arrived at Eyre ' s Forge on the Hardscrabble Road , located between Jockey Hollow , Basking Ridge , and Vealtown ( present - day Bernardsville , New Jersey ) . The Jersey regiments made this site their winter quarters , remaining there until April or May 1780 . On 7 June 1780 , the 2nd New Jersey took part in the Battle of Connecticut Farms , New Jersey . Colonel Shreve wrote that this " Action was the warmest that has Ever Happened since the war with Our Brigade . " Fron 8 to 22 June the brigade kept watch on British forces encamped behind their fortifications at Elizabethtown . On 23 June Shreve ' s Regiment saw action in the Battle of Springfield , which resulted in the retreat of the British army back to Elizabethtown . At midnight on the 23rd the enemy troops crossed back to Staten Island . From June to November 1780 the Jersey Brigade was situated at several posts to protect the New Jersey side of the Hudson from enemy incursions . In October they moved to West Point and entered barracks in anticipation of remaining there for the winter . The brigade also lost their long - time commander , William Maxwell , having resigned from service . Contrary to expectations the Jersey troops were ordered in November 1780 to take up winter quarters in and around Pompton , New Jersey . With the new year another change in command took place , with Israel Shreve resigning as colonel of the 2nd New Jersey and Colonel Elias Dayton assuming the post . From 20 to 27 January 1781 , the men of the Jersey Brigade at Pompton mutinied to redress their grievances , in emulation of the Pennsylvania troops . The uprising was suppressed quickly with the execution of two of its leaders . In February , after the Pennsylvania Line mutiny , the New Jersey soldiers moved into the old Pennsylvania huts at Mount Kemble ( Jockey Hollow ) . In the same month , two light companies and three battalion companies from the New Jersey line along with the light troops from New England were selected to form a detachment under the Marquis de Lafayette to serve in Virginia . In addition to other skirmishes during the spring and summer , these men saw action on 26 June 1781 at Spencer ' s Ordinary , near Williamsburg . They were reunited with the rest of the Jersey Brigade at Williamsburg in late September 1781 . During the first six months of the year the two New Jersey regiments kept a large proportion of troops on detached duty , including one company on duty at Wyoming , Pennsylvania . Besides commanding the 2nd Regiment , Colonel Dayton had charge of the brigade , keeping his headquarters at Chatham , New Jersey . On 30 June Dayton was ordered to concentrate the whole brigade at Morristown , excepting the troops at Wyoming . On 30 June the brigade was ordered to march towards Kingsbridge , New York . They were then redirected towards Dobb ' s Ferry and remained in that vicinity until August . On 21 July the brigade was ordered to send a detachment of troops to Fort Lee , and on the 28th 150 New Jersey soldiers escorted General Washington as he reconnoitered the British positions at New York from the palisades at Fort Lee . On 29 August 1781 , the Continental army left Springfield , New Jersey , bound for Virginia in an effort to trap British forces under Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown . On 2 September the American forces passed through Philadelphia on their way south ; the following day the French army under General Rochambeau marched through the city . One of the places they passed , just south of the city , was the Blue Bell Inn on Cobbs Creek . There are a number of other witness sites along the route . On 5 September the French and British fleets battled for control of Chesapeake Bay . With the defeat of the British fleet the escape of Cornwallis ' troops by sea was blocked . On 23 September 1781 , the first contingent of New Jersey troops under General Washington landed near Williamsburg , at which place they joined the force under Lafayette . The siege of Lord Cornwallis ' forces at Yorktown began on 29 September . On 14 October , at night , the Jersey Light Infantry under Lt . Colonel Francis Barber took part in the assault and capture of Redoubt Number 10 . This was one of two important strongpoints taken , Redoubt Number 9 being captured by French troops . On 19 October , the capitulation of the British and German forces at Yorktown took place , the enemy troops surrendering their arms to the French and American armies . In December 1781 the New Jersey regiments " take Post somewhere in the Vicinity of Morristown " for their winter cantonment . The troops may have been housed once more in the old Pennsylvania Line huts at Mount Kemble . Through the first half of the year the Jersey regiments spent most of the time in small detachments doing duty as guards and picquets . On 29 August they left their huts and marched north to join the main army on the other side of the Hudson at King ' s Ferry , New York . Leaving Verplank ' s in October and traveling north , they marched from " Murderer ' s Creek " on the 29th a distance of " about five miles to our ground for hutting and encamped . " On 30 October General Washington wrote from Newburgh , New York , that the regiments of " New Jersey , are hutting in the Neighborhood of this place " it being " of Importance to the Health , care and comfort of the Troops , as well as economical on many Accounts , that they should be early put into Quarters for the Winter . " This , the last cantonment for the army , was located at New Windsor , New York . This last winter was relatively uneventful . Ebenezer Elmer , surgeon ' s mate and then surgeon to the 2nd New Jersey Regiment from 1777 to 1783 , recorded the end of the war in his diary . On 19 April " The cessation of hostilities was announced in camp just eight years from the commencement thereof . " And finally " Our brigade received our furloughs , and we all decamped " on 6 June 1783 . The war was finally , and successfully , over . External links . < br >