Pompton Mutiny The Pompton Mutiny , also referred to as the Federal Hill Rebellion , was a revolt of Continental Army troops at Pompton Camp in New Jersey , that occurred on January 20 , 1781 , beneath the command of Colonel Israel Shreve . History . Acting beneath the auspices of Sergeants David Gilmore , John Tuttle , George Grant and the disguisement of copious amounts of spirits , about 300 soldiers from the New Jersey Line of the Continental Army mutinied . These soldiers began to make their way to Trenton to issue demands for a redress of grievances to the Continental Congress , in echo of the actions of their brethren in the Pennsylvania Line who had successfully sought similar redress . Alerted to this rogue faction by Pompton Camp Commander , Colonel Israel Shreve , who had in turn been informed by a woman whose name has been lost to history , General George Washington ordered General Robert Howe to command a detachment to compel the mutineers to unconditional submission . General Howe completed this duty successfully and with great haste , surrounding the now sobered rebels and subduing them without resistance . Sergeants David Gilmore and John Tuttle were executed on the spot by a firing squad of 12 mutineers , Sergeant George Grant was issued a pardon based upon testimony by the troop body that he had advocated peaceable return to duty throughout the events of the rebellion . The firing squad was reported to have discharged their duty and their weapons tearfully , slaying their former officers . The entire body of troops was said to have been penitent and genuinely contrite in the time following the unsuccessful mutiny . Controversy . It is not readily apparent where Pompton Camp , as described in Washington ' s letters , was located . Historians are also divided on what path the rebels took towards Trenton and where the actual location of their submission and execution occurred . 21st Century historian Robert A . Mayers affirms that William Nelson , writing Paterson and Its Environs ( Silk City ) in the 1920s , was correct in his assertion that " In a thick wood , on the bleak and desolate summit of a rocky knob of the Ramapo Mountains , overlooking the Pompton Lakes Station on the New York , Susquehanna & Western Railroad , the hearty traveler can find two rude piles of weather - beaten field - stones . These are pointed out as marking the lonely , dishonored graves of the two Jersey mutineers . " However , despite numerous attempts , no historian has been able to locate these graves since that era . A historic marker in Bloomingdale , New Jersey reads : " Federal Hill Historic Site - The site of the Revolutionary war era Pompton Mutiny which occurred in the cold harsh winter of 1781 . It was in the eastern valley overlooking Bloomingdale that an encampment of weary troops mutinied , consequently their two ringleaders were arrested , tried , and executed in the vicinity of what is now known as Union Avenue . " At times , Pompton Lakes , Bloomingdale , and Riverdale , NJ have all laid claim to the site of these historic events . Nearby Pequannock Township also has a valid claim to the history , if not the physical location , as these events would certainly have taken place within its then vast borders , long before the split off of the other towns named . Modern day . In addition to the controversy over the site of the execution , at least one of those potential sites is privately held and in danger of development . The Federal Hill site in Bloomingdale is held by DR Horton , who seek to build 256 homes there , without great consideration to historical or environmental preservation on the site .