About the Monument

Location:
Corner of Franklin Ave. and New St.
In front of Nutley High School

The Yantacaw Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution in 1965, erected the following:

In memory of the Revolutionary Soldiers Known to Have Lived in Nutley.

Henry Brown, Isaac Brown, John J. Brown, Manus Brown KIA, Samuel Rutan Sr., Samuel Rutan Jr., Abraham Speer, John Van Riper, John Vreeland, Michael Vreeland.

“The pioneers of the past have shown us the way, and God helping us, we will show the way to the pioneers of the future.” – Mary Marshall

Soldiers

• Henry Brown
• Isaac Brown
• John J. Brown
• Manus Brown
• Samuel Rutan,Sr.
• Samuel Rutan, Jr.
• Abraham Speer
• John Van Riper
• John Vreeland
• Michael Vreeland

American Revolution – Nutley/Second River

Source: Nutley Sons Honor Roll – Remembering the Men Who Paid For Our Freedom – by Anthony Buccino & Andrea Buccino

Second River in the American Revolution

Originally known as “Second River” or “Washington”, the inhabitants renamed the settlement “Belleville” in 1797. Consisting of what today is Belleville and Nutley, it included all the land between the Second River and Third River, or roughly from present day Mill Street in Belleville to Kingsland Road at the Nutley-Clifton border.

Regarding what is now Nutley, in early days various localities acquired special names. North Belleville was a stretch along the Passaic River. Spring Garden was the flat from Chestnut Street to the Belleville line, famous for its market gardens. Povershon was the region around Center Street and Bloomfield Avenue and the hill westward. This name has given rise to much speculation and many anecdotes to explain it. The probability is that it is an old Indian or Dutch name, and that it was the earliest designation of locality in this area. It appears as Powershon in deeds in the possession of Miss Annie L. Van Winkle, dated 1809, and of Mr. Warren Vreeland, dated 1795.

The old Village of Second River was a hot-bed of patriot activity, not to mention the processing center for the Schuyler copper mine, then the largest copper supply in the country. Second River was high on the British “watch list.” Much attention was focused on our activities. In addition, Main Street, the north-south road that ran parallel to the Passaic River, was a major thoroughfare for troop movements going south to Newark, Monmouth, Princeton or Trenton, all of which must pass below the nearly hundred year old church tower.

The Dutch Reformed Church, established 1697, at what is now Main Street and Rutgers Street, Belleville, was the spiritual, political and military center of the community.

The village rallied about 200 militia men to serve in the new republic’s army. In our defense, the Second Essex Regiment, mainly men of the village, was charged with the task of defending the road, the river, the village and the tunnel to the mine.

No easy chore was that. British troops were stationed across the river in Arlington watching the mine entrance. Homes along the river were within musket-shot range of British patrols along the Passaic. Going to the barn to milk a cow or fetching water from the well were life-threatening activities for local citizens. But watchmen and snipers stood guard in the old church tower and the guardhouse at the church had “minute-men” at-the-ready.

The old church tower served the patriot’s cause on numerous occasions. Several clashes of troops occurred within sight of the tower, including the Battle of Second River. History tends to blur these various military actions into a single “Battle of Second River” but it appears that there were several.

After the battle at Fort Lee, N.J., General Washington was in full retreat, trying to save what was left of his army. British General William Howe was in hot pursuit, intent upon Washington’s capture and ending the Revolutionary War right here. But the militia men of Second River, together with the Second Essex Regiment and rear-guard detachments from Washington’s army were not going to let the war end in defeat here on our turf.

Sources:

Brown, Elizabeth Stow, HISTORY OF NUTLEY, 1907

Hinrichs, Dave, The Belleville Times, Anniversary of historic Belleville battle this month, Sept. 27, 2007

Perrone, Michael, Belleville Historical Society

Price, Norman, Village of Second River author

http://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/new_jersey_revolutionary_war_sites/towns/belleville_nj_revolutionary_war_sites.htm

Second River Patriots and Tories

Not all Second River residents supported the American movement for independence from England. Some of them paid dearly for their continued loyalty to their English king.

John Richards’ house at Second River was robbed by his patriotic neighbors, who took away his sheep, cows, horses and seven slaves.

A local farmer named Andrew Innis was hanged for encouraging American soldiers to desert from the army.

The Revolutionary War divided the Second River community. Although it remained a generally quiet place, Second Rive saw skirmishes between American and English troops.

Source: Robert B. Burnett, Belleville 150th Anniversary Historical Highlights, 1839-1989

The Retreat Across the Jerseys

It was the second year of the Revolution, and the Declaration of Independence was but a few months old. General George Washington’s reverses in New York were disheartening. The battle of Long Island was lost on Aug. 27, 1776. Fort Washington fell Nov. 16 and Washington crossed to Fort Lee, N.J. British General Lord Charles Cornwallis followed over the Hudson River, and the Continental army was ordered to abandon Fort Lee and to retreat to the Delaware, “over the Essex Hills.”

Thus began the memorable “Retreat across the Jerseys” when the patriot army under General Washington and the pursuing British under General Lord Cornwallis marched through the region which we now call Nutley, Belleville, Bloomfield and Newark. Washington had hastened from Fort Lee to Hackensack.

To reach Newark, the Passaic River must be crossed. The only available bridge was at Acquackanonck (Passaic) and the village was rumored to be a “Tory hot-bed.” Washington sent a detachment sent ahead to hold the bridge and to send on stores and ammunition to Morristown by way of Great Notch.

Orders were given to destroy the bridge as soon as the army had crossed. The patriots approached with the British often so near that “the sound of their bugles was heard.” Over the rude (sic) wooden bridge they tramped and that evening or the next day a force from the neighborhood destroyed the bridge with axes and saws and burned the approaches.

Depending on which version you prefer, Washington spent one anxious night at Acquackanonck, Nov. 21, 1776. The next day, the 22nd, with 3,500 men he started for Newark along the River Road. Or, on Nov. 21, 1776 Washington arrives and sets up camp in town (Second River) before proceeding into Newark the following day. [No one knows where he slept.]

Near the northern limits of our area his forces divided. Effectively, Washington’s troops split at what is now Joralemon Street and River Road, with one group staying in the area between the split and the old church. The other troops marched west “over the hills” on Joralemon Street and turned north at what is now Franklin Avenue en route to Bloomfield.

One brigade remained in Second River for several days while another went on to Orange and thence to Newark. Washington spent six days in Newark and on Nov. 28th, proceeded to “Brunswic” (New Brunswick). His headquarters in Newark are uncertain.

Source: Brown, Elizabeth Stow, HISTORY OF NUTLEY, 1907

Pursuit of the British

Lord Cornwallis pursued in two divisions. One came from Hackensack to Rutherford, and crossed the Passaic at the ford where Delawanna now is, camping there for several days.

The rest of the British army followed Washington through Lodi and Wallington to the bridge to find it destroyed and 3,000 men on guard. They turned and crossed above Passaic Falls.

Cornwallis spent a week between Passaic and Newark, a week filled with carousals and revels and forages extending widely inland. He took the River Road to Newark. “Their advance guards were entering the town by the time our rear got out, wrote Washington from “Brunswic.”

Source: Brown, Elizabeth Stow, HISTORY OF NUTLEY, 1907

First Skirmish at Second River

A skirmish was recorded at Second River on Jan. 27, 1777, between British foraging party and large body of rebels, according to Battles and Skirmishes in New Jersey. 

Source: David C. Munn, Battles and Skirmishes of the American Revolution in New Jersey.

Belleville Son Joseph Hornblower Killed in Action

Private Joseph Hornblower, 21, was killed in action on April 4, 1777, at the Battle of Quibbletown in central New Jersey, during the American Revolution. Joseph was born in 1756 in the Hornblower home adjacent to the old Dutch Reformed Church on what is now Main Street in Belleville.

He was the eldest son of Josiah and Elizabeth Hornblower. His father, Josiah, assembled the first steam engine in America, served as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly during the war and after the war served in the Continental Congress and worked on the passage of the U.S. Constitution.

Private Hornblower was one of five American soldiers killed in the April 4 engagement with the British. Quibbletown is today known as New Market, a section of Piscataway Township. Private Hornblower was most likely buried in an unmarked grave on or near the battlefield as was the practice at the time.

Thirty-three days after the death of Private Joseph Hornblower, a new child was born to Elizabeth and Josiah Hornblower. In honor of their recently killed heroic son, the Hornblowers named the newborn Joseph adding the middle name of Coerten.

Private Joseph Hornblower’s brother Joseph Coerten would go on to become the long serving and distinguished Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and founder of the New Jersey Historical Society.

Source: Michael Perrone, Belleville Historical Society

Skirmish in the park Sept 1777

September 12-14, 1777 Battle of Second River

In September 1777, there was an engagement which is most frequently referred to as the “Battle of Second River.” It is for this engagement that a memorial plaque has been erected in the park. The British intended to expand their invasion with a larger force in central Jersey. But first, they had to pass through Second River and beneath the old church tower.

Eyes in the tower saw the advance and sounded the alarm. Under the direction of Captains Hornblower, Joralemon, Rutgers and Rutan, a defense was prepared. Skirmishes went on for two days.

Cannon on the Second River (Belleville) side of the Passaic River followed by musket and cannon battles in the streets held back British troops during Washington’s retreat.

During September 1777, General Henry Clinton, head of the British Expeditionary Forces in America, selected Schuyler Mansion in Arlington (Kearny) for his headquarters during one of his more important raiding operations which included the famed Battle of Second River.

Sending for reinforcements, the American troops valiantly held their ground and managed to damage British General Sir Henry Clinton’s hilltop headquarters with a direct hit from a cannonball, which happened to be on what is now Franklin Avenue (Kearny). September 14 turned into an all-day pitched battle.

With patriot reinforcements pouring in from neighboring communities, front lines eventually took shape near to Mill Street and Union Avenue.

Private Benjamin Salter, Eastern Battalion, Morris County Militia, was killed in action in Belleville in the second day of fighting during the Battle of Second River on September 14. Private Salter would have been buried there in an unmarked grave on or alongside the battlefield. Eight British soldiers were also killed and buried in what today is Belleville Park along the Second River.

The British forces, overwhelming in numbers, eventually broke through. But once again, the local militia had succeeded in delaying the advance and weakening the invading army.

A large boulder also rests at the fork in the road between Union and Franklin avenues on Mill Street as a landmark to mark the spot where the final shots of the Battle of the Second River were fired. A bronze plaque was placed on the rock in 1932.

Sources:

Hinrichs, Dave, The Belleville Times, Anniversary of historic Belleville battle this month, Sept. 27, 2007

Kearny Township http://www.kearnyusa.com

Munn, David C., Battles and Skirmishes of the American Revolution in New Jersey

Perrone, Michael, Belleville Historical Society

Price, Norman, Village of Second River author

http://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/new_jersey_revolutionary_war_sites/towns/belleville_nj_revolutionary_war_sites.htm

Flight of the British in 1778

There was another flight of soldiery through this region in 1778, after the battle of Monmouth, when the British were running before the Americans to reach the Hudson.

Skirmishes took place at Belleville and at the restored Acquackanonck Bridge, the red coats escaping across it in the darkness.

Source: Brown, Elizabeth Stow, HISTORY OF NUTLEY, 1907

The Raiders and Refugees

While the British were in possession of New York and Staten Island, no part of Jersey suffered more from raids than the banks of the Passaic River. Farms were stripped of crops, cattle and sheep were driven off, and the defenseless inhabitants on their scattered farms were wantonly murdered in defending their property. So great were the terror and sufferings of the people of this region that a guard of the State Militia was raised for the “Defense of the Frontiers.”

There was a guard house at Belleville and Captain Speer’s company was stationed there. John Vreeland (grandfather of Warren Vreeland of Nutley) was a River Guard who rode up and down the river bank on the lookout for raiders, or “refugees” as they were also called, British, Hessian or Tory.

He carried two huge brass-mounted pistols, one of which is now in Mr. Vreeland’s possession, marked, “J. V. 1776.” Though he often shot to frighten “raiders,” only once did the young soldier actually kill an invader across the river.

Source: Brown, Elizabeth Stow, HISTORY OF NUTLEY, 1907

Third Skirmish in Second River

A skirmish was recorded at Second River on June 1, 1779, when local militia captured a Tory named Lawrence as he enlists men for the British Army, according to Battles and Skirmishes in New Jersey. 

Source: David C. Munn, Battles and Skirmishes of the American Revolution in New Jersey.

 

Nutley son Manus Brown Killed in Action

Private Hermanus Brown, 18, was the first known soldier of Nutley (Second River, Spring Garden) to give his life in service to his new country on June 8, 1780. Private Brown is buried at the Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery.

Under the cover of darkness, shortly after midnight on June 7, 1780, the colony of New Jersey was invaded by a massive army from New York. Commanded by German General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, the force of 3,000 German and 3,000 British soldiers landed in Elizabeth. For the record the Germans usually referred to as “Hessians” and “mercenaries” – were not.

The Germans, from half a dozen different German kingdoms were allies of Great Britain by treaty. They were the regular German army, fighting under German generals and German flags. King George himself, although born in England, was of German descent and was at the same time both King of England and prince of the German kingdom of Hanover.

General von Knyphausen believed he now had the opportunity to destroy George Washington and his army at Morristown. The winter of 1780 had been the most severe in 100 years. The Continental Army had been devastated by the cold, disease, lack of food and desertion. Von Kynphausen’s spies assured the general that Washington’s army was about to mutiny.

Von Knyphausen was confident that he would be the one to finally put an end to the American rebellion and then be rewarded with royal honors. The march from Elizabeth to Morristown was expected to be swift with little local resistance. However shortly after the invaders landed, they were spotted by American scouts. Riders were sent out to alert Washington at Morristown and to summon the Essex and Morris County Militias.

The Second River (Belleville) Dutch Reformed Church served as the local military headquarters. The local militia unit was commanded by Captain Abraham Speer whose farm was located along present day Chestnut Street in Nutley. The blast of the mortar in the middle of the night sent the men scurrying out of their beds and reaching for their muskets and powder horns.

The church bells began to ring and the hundred men of the militia formed ranks quickly. Among them was Lieutenant Henry Brown, his 18 year old son Hermanus “Manus” who had just joined the militia, and Henry’s cousins Issac and John Brown. The company marched off under orders of Col. Philip Van Cortlandt, commanding officer of the Essex County Militia, to take up positions at Connecticut Farms (Union, N.J.)

At 9 a.m., the enemy appeared and the militiamen engaged in what would be a furious three hour battle. Greatly outnumbered and outgunned the Americans withdrew into the woods but they had successfully halted General Knyphausen’s advance. Later that afternoon George Washington and the Continental Army arrived and planned a counteroffensive. Von Knyphausen was surprised and concerned by the stiff American resistance and the growing number of militia reinforcements arriving. He decided to order a retreat of his troops back to their boats at Elizabeth.

General Washington issued an order that three regiments were to pursue the enemy from three different positions. Col. Van Cortlandt was to take the Essex County militia and attack from the left flank, with the Continental Army and the Morris militia taking the center and right flanks.

The Americans pursued the retreating enemy across a sweeping meadow. Unknown to the Americans, hidden in the woods at the end of the meadow the enemy had set up a line of artillery to cover their retreat. As the militiamen and Continentals charged across the fields a barrage of cannon fire rained down on them from the woods.

Private Hermanus Brown, only 18, musket in hand, bravely charged across the open field towards and against the world’s most powerful army. The youthful Brown must have felt like fellow militiaman Ashbed Green, who described the fiery charge across the meadow, writing in his diary, “No thunderstorm I have ever witnessed, either in loudness of sound or the shaking of the earth, equaled what I saw and felt in crossing that meadow.”

As the pursuit continued, in the hail of cannonballs, tragically, one found its mark and tore into the young patriot killing him instantly. Hermanus Brown’s brief military career ended just twelve miles from his home.

Von Knyphausen and his men boarded their boats and returned to New York. The Americans gathered their wounded and dead. The dead were always buried on the battlefield. That is, unless they were close enough to home and there was someone to return the body. As fate would have it, Hermanus’ father and cousins were there in the heat of the battle providing them with the sad opportunity of returning his body home for a proper burial.

Private Hermanus Brown was buried in the cemetery of the Dutch church where he had been baptized eighteen years earlier on a cold December morning. His tombstone read, “Hermanus, son of Henry and Rachel Brown, died, 8 June, 1780, in the 18 year of his age.”

The stone bore an epitaph that read “Behold me here, as you pass by, Who died for Liberty, From British tyrants now I’m free, My friends prepare to follow me.” The war continued for three more years after his death.

Private Hermanus Brown rests with sixty-seven other Revolutionary War veterans at the Dutch Reformed Church cemetery where their honored remains are remembered and celebrated every day and especially on the morning of the 4th of July. The Belleville Historical Society dedicated a new monument to Private Brown at that sacred ground on July 4, 2015.

Source: Michael Perrone, president, Belleville Historical Society; Price, Norman, Village of Second River author

En Route to Yorktown

August 20-21, 1781, Brigadier General Moses Hazen with his regiment, the 1st New Jersey Line, made camp in Belleville on their way to battle in Yorktown. Belleville is listed in the official camp sites of troops on the way to Yorktown.

 

Second River’s American Revolution War Stories

Col. Philip Van Cortlandt

Colonel Phillip Van Cortlandt was the commanding officer of the 2nd Essex Regiment, he was the highest ranking Revolutionary War officer from Essex County. Van Cortlandt lived on Main Street also and is buried in the Van Cortlandt crypt in the cemetery at the Dutch Reformed Church.

The long-lived officer’s name was inadvertently omitted from the 2003 church plaque honoring the Revolutionary War veterans interred in Belleville’s Dutch Reformed Church Yard because he did not serve in a local regiment. In 2016, the Belleville Historical Society added a 68th Revolutionary War soldier to the long roster of 1776 patriots interred at the old Belleville Dutch Reformed Church.

Here, the account of events from Belleville Historical Society President Michael Perrone:

A review of original documents housed in the archives of the New York City Public Library on 5th Avenue confirmed that Col. Philip Van Cortlandt, commanding officer of the Second Essex County Regiment, was a lifelong resident of Belleville.

While an old Belleville Historical Society sign in the cemetery claimed that Van Cortlandt was buried here, there was no documentation or evidence of any kind to support the claim. In fact, research conducted by the society since 2002 showed the colonel being buried at the Cortlandt Manor in New York state.

The big break in the mystery came last year when the society found the original newspaper article at the Newark Library on the naming of Belleville.

The colonial Newark weekly newspaper, the Sentinel of Freedom, reported that the village of Second River voted to change the name of the community to Belleville on July 4 in 1792. The last sentence in the news article stated that the July 4 festivities and the voting were presided over by the president of the village committee, Col. Philip Van Cortlandt.

Upon seeing this news the society realized that it needed to reopen the research on the issue, and after a persistent, lengthy and more exhaustive search, found that original volumes of Van Cortlandt’s notes were in the New York City Library collection. I spent last Saturday in the library’s rare book room perusing through Van Cortlandt’s writings.

Van Cortlandt was one of New Jersey’s most prominent citizens. In addition to being a large landowner with an extensive farming enterprise, he owned ships and wagons that transported merchandise throughout the region. He also owned the large quarry on Mill Street, which provided the brownstone for numerous structures in New Jersey, New York and elsewhere. The brownstone from his Belleville quarry was used to build Fort Lafayette in New York Harbor.

During the Revolutionary War, Van Cortlandt led the Essex troops that along with George Washington’s rear guard exchanged fire on two occasions with the British while Washington was camped in Newark in November of 1776.

Later that year Van Cortlandt and units of the Essex Regiment would cross the Delaware with Washington at the Battle of Trenton. Van Cortlandt and the Second Essex Regiment fought at the Battles of Long Island, Monmouth, Connecticut Farms, and in September of 1777, Van Cortlandt and Gen. William Winds led the American forces when the British and Hessians attacked Belleville, during the three days of fighting at the Battle of Second River.

Van Cortlandt died in 1803 and is entombed in the Van Cortlandt crypt.

Source: Michael Perrone, president, Belleville Historical Society.

Captain Abraham Speer

Captain Abraham Speer, was the commander of the local militia unit, headquartered at the Dutch Reformed Church in Second River. He lived on what is now Chestnut Street in Nutley. He was the owner/operator of the ferry that operated in front of the church.

Tradition says that his father John Spear was a look-out in the Reformed Church belfry when he shot and killed a “refugee” or British officer on the North Arlington side of the river. Spear then crossed the river and took the officer’s pocket watch and brass buttons from his coat as souvenirs. Both Abraham and John Spear are buried in the cemetery.

The most striking figure that we can summon from dim colonial times in this farm and woodland region is the young Dutchman Abram Speer. He was the eldest of five sons of John Speer of Second River, who owned a large estate in the center of that village and who was a descendant of John Hendrick Speer, an original grantee near Hackensak and also one of the Acquackanonck patentees.

Abram (or Abraham) came over Third River seeking a wife. He found her in the daughter of one Wouterse or Wouters who had a blacksmith shop at Povershon. He was commissioned Captain in the Second Essex Regiment on May 28, 1777, and stationed at Belleville with this company to “guard the river.”

On an occasion Captain Speer was informed just before daybreak five horses had been driven off by a party of refugee Tories. Speer, with two Vreelands and several other men, followed the tracks to the Hackensack. While considering whether they should continue into enemy territory, they spotted a rider farther upstream.

One of the Vreelands fired and dropped the man, whereupon several other men, who had been hiding on the opposite bank, broke shelter and fled. The riderless horses neighed loudly and were answered from a thicket where the Second River men found the other horses.

Sources: Belleville Historical Society; Brown, Elizabeth Stow, HISTORY OF NUTLEY, 1907

Cadmus

Second River had its own female heroine in the wife of Peter Cadmus. A party of redcoats approached her homestead. She saw them coming so hid her two children in a large oven built in the side of the fireplace – admonishing them to keep very quiet. When she refused to give the British any food and wouldn’t tell them where the men were, the angry officer plunged his sword in her side. When the Cadmus brothers came home they found her bleeding heavily. The children heard their voices and came out of hiding. Mrs. Cadmus eventually recovered.

Source: Belleville Historical Society

Hornblower

Josiah Hornblower at the time of the Revolution had acquired considerable property, was the father of a large family and had become a justice of the peace. He was an ardent patriot, and though too old to carry arms himself, he served the Revolutionary cause with advice, financial aid an as a member of the Provincial Assembly. He brought the first steam engine over to America in 1753 to pump the water out of Scuyler Mine.

The British regarded Hornblower as a very dangerous man, and several times he barely escaped arrest. It was small wonder that he watched prudently from his porch as a rather large party of men was being ferried across the Passaic River by Robert Kip, his son-in-law. At first the score of strangers seemed inoffensive enough of Kip. They were dressed as farm laborers, and had a plausible reason for crossing. But in the middle of the stream they pulled pistols from under their greatcoats, primed them and got ready for action. Kip kept his peace until the ferry was near enough to the shore so that Hornblower, still seated on the porch, would hear his call. Then he dropped his oars overboard, rose to his feet, and shouted, “Father, the British!”

History holds no record of what the British did to Kip. Hornblower had flown and his daughter, Kip’s wife, had been able to hide the family silver. The enemy searched and set fire to the house, but rain and neighbors extinguished the blaze before much damage was done.

Source: Belleville Historical Society

Captain Kidney’s Exploit

Captain James Kidney, Captain Henry Joralemon, Halmark (Helmich) Joralemon and Jacob Garland on a dark and winter night caught the British relaxing at a school house dance in Bergen Heights. They selected the highest ranking officer and a loyalist refugee and bundled them off to a waiting sleigh and brought them back to Second River (Belleville). For several generations the Joralemons proudly exhibited the silver-belted sword of the captured officer. Richard Kidney’s home near Smallwood Avenue for years had holes in his front door made by British bullets. Captain Kidney died at the age of 60 and was survived by his wife Rachel, also buried here.

Sources: Belleville Historical Society; Nikita Barlow: Find A Grave

Rutgers

Anthony Rutgers was an artillery captain. He had six children and his eldest son Anthony constructed the first bridge over the Passaic River. Gerard and Robert Rutgers were both colonels. Col. Henry Rutgers, after whom Rutgers University was named, was a colonel and fought in the battle of Long Island. Harmon Rutgers was killed in the battle of Long Island on Aug. 27, 1776.

Source: Belleville Historical Society

Van Cortlandt

Stephen Van Cortlandt spied a British patrol coming across the Passaic River on the ice. He rounded up the half a dozen militiamen that were in the village at that time. They hid among the thick cedars near the river bank and made such a din that the invaders thought there was a whole army after them and retreated to the other side of the river. It is said that the Van Cortlandts could not draw water from their well without being shot at by the British on the other side of the river.

Source: Belleville Historical Society

Van Riper

Cornelius Van Riper was a blacksmith whose shop was the place where slugs of iron were prepared in the absence of ball, having exhausted his supply of iron suited to this kind of shooting, he surrendered to the gunners first his hammer and then his sledge to be used in place of ball. The British discovering the kind of shot used, were heard to call out loudly to their comrades, “Get out of the way for God’s sake, before they send us the anvil.”

Sources: Belleville Historical Society; Brown, Elizabeth Stow, HISTORY OF NUTLEY, 1907         

American Revolution Soldiers Buried In Belleville

Sixty-eight American Revolution veterans are interred in Belleville. It could be that no other town in the United States can make such a claim.

John Bayley

Henry Brown

Isaac Brown

John Brown

Henry Cadmus

Isaac Cadmus

John P. Cadmus

John H. Cadmus

Peter Cadmus

Lt. Col. Thomas Cadmus

James Campbell

Minard Curen

Capt. Amos Dodd

Thomas Doremus

Anthony Francisco

John Francisco

Jacob Freeland

John Garland

Garrabrant Garrabrants

John Gilliland

John Harrison

James Hornblower

Capt. Josiah Hornblower

James Jacobus

John Jacobus

Henry Jacobus

Richard Jacobus

Capt. Henry Joralemon

Helmich Joralemon

Lt. Capt. James Joralemon

Capt. John Kidney

Abram King

Aurey King

William King

John King

Isaac Kingsland

John Kingsland

John Luker

Joseph Miller

William Nixon

Ensign John Peer

Jacob Pier

Jacob Riker

Daniel Rutan

Capt. Thomas Seigler

Capt. Abraham Speer

Capt. Cornelius Speer

Capt. Henry Speer

Francis Speer

Lt. Herman Speer

James Speer

John Speer

John Spier

Lt. John Spier Jr.

Christian Stimets

Daniel Teurs

Colonel Philip Van Cortlandt

Steven Van Cortlandt

Thomas Van Riper

Simeon Van Winkle

Michael Vreeland

Capt. Ezekial Wade

Samuel Ward

John Winne

 

Names of Soldiers, Services, Military References

John Bayley - Private Essex Militia, Stryker, p. 502, Shaw p. 33; Dutch Reformed Church, Belleville NJ - Family records in church register

Henry Brown - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 521, Shaw p. 33

Isaac Brown - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 521, Shaw p. 33

John Brown - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 521, Shaw p. 33; Family records in church register

Henry Cadmus - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.33; Died 1809, age 58 yrs. Family records in church register; Grave stone still standing in church-yard, also one to his wife, Letty Keene

Isaac Cadmus - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.33; Family records in Church Register

John P. Cadmus - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.33; Family records in Church Register; “Daughters of the American Revolution” Numbers 15617-164701. Buried in church-yard. Verified by his grand-daughter, Mrs. Sarah Cox King - living (1927); some of the Cadmus plots were covered by the chapel.

John H. Cadmus - Family traditions verified by his great-grand-daughter, Mrs. Harriet Cadmus Wilde - now living (1927).

Peter Cadmus - “Minute Man”, also Essex Militia, Stryker p 528, Shaw p. 33

Family records in Church Register; DAR numbers 164701-156117., 180000-208995-77220; Grave stone still in church yard. Removed from plot, over which the chapel stands by Mr. Henry L. Cadmus of East Orange, N.J.

Lt. Col. Thomas Cadmus - Lt. .Col. Essex Militia, Stryker p. 358; Family records in Church Register; an original deed is still in possession of the church dated 1795 when land was given to the church by Col. Thomas Cadmus and his wife Pietershe Cadmus

James Campbell - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.33; Family records in Church Register

Minard Curen - Private in Capt. Squire’s Co., Essex Militia,  Stryker, Shaw P. 34; Family records in Church Register

Capt. Amos Dodd - Capt. Essex Militia, Commissioned May 28, 1777, Shaw p. 32; Family records in Church Register

Thomas Doremus - Private Capt. Scudder’s Co. 2nd Essex Militia, Shaw, p. 34; Family records in Church Register

Anthony Francisco - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.34; Family records in Church Register

John Francisco - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.34; Family records in Church Register

Jacob Freeland - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.34; Family records in Church Register; Died July 5, 1816, age 60 years; gravestone in Reformed Dutch Church yard

John Garland - Private Capt. Van Blarcum’s Co. 2nd Reg. Also State Troops; Family records in Church Register; Stryker, p 602, Shaw p. 34

Garrabrant Garrabrants - Private Capt. Speer’s Co. 2nd Reg. Essex Militia; Metross Artillery, Continental Army; Stryker p 603, Shaw p 34; Family records in Church Register

John Gilliland - Private Capt. Craig’s Co., State Troops, Shaw p. 34; Family records in Church Register

John Harrison - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.34; Family records in Church Register

James Hornblower - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.34; Family records in Church Register; grave stone still standing in 1847; died age 77

Josiah Hornblower

James Jacobus - Private Capt. Joralemon’s Co. 2nd Reg. Essex Militia, State Troops; Stryker p 643; Family records in Church Register

John Jacobus - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.35

Henry Jacobus - Private in Capt. Speer’s Co of State Troops; Stryker p 643; Shaw p 35; Family records in Church Register

Richard Jacobus - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.33; Family records in Church Register

Capt. Henry Joralemon - Captain 2nd Reg. Stryker p 396; Shaw p. 32; Family records in Church Register; JARALOMAN, HENRY.  Captain, Second Regiment, Essex, May 28th, 1777.

Helmich Joralemon - Private Essex Militia; also is Capt. Kidney’s Exploit; Stryker p. 644; Family records in Church Register

Lt. Capt. James Joralemon - Lt. Capt. 2nd Reg. Essex Militia. Wounded near Springfield, N.J. June 7, 1780. Stryker p 396, Shaw 32; Family records in Church Register; “Bloomfield Old and New”; stone still standing, 1927, Died 1809, age 60 years. JAROLOMAN, JAMES. Lieutenant, Second Regiment, Essex; wounded near Springfield, New Jersey, June 7th, 1780

Capt. John Kidney - Capt. Essex Militia. Hero of Capt. Kidney’s Exploit; “Bloomfield Old and New”; Stryker p. 397, Shaw p. 32

Abram King - Private Essex Militia; also Capt. Van Blarcum’s State Troop, Stryker p. 654, Shaw p.35; Family records in Church Register

Aurey King - Private Capt. Henry Speer’s Co., 2nd Reg. Essex Militia; Shaw p. 35; Family records in Church Register

John King - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.33; Family records in Church Register; died 1816, age 72 years

William King - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p 655, Shaw p. 35; Family records in Church Register

Isaac Kingsland - Private Essex Militia, Capt. Speer’s Co. 2nd Reg.; Stryker p 655, Shaw p 35; Family records in Church Register

John Kingsland - Private in Capt. Henry’s Co. 2nd Reg. Essex Militia; Stryker P 655, Shaw p 35; Family records in Church Register

John Luker - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.33; Spelled “Luke” in church register.

Joseph Miller - Private 1st Batt. 2nd Essex Militia, Stryker p. 251; Family records in Church Register

William Nixon- Private Essex Militia Capt. Craig’s Co. State Troops; “Nexon” family records in church register; Stryker p 704

Ensign John Peer - Ensign Capt. Cornelius Speer’s Co., 2nd reg. Essex Militia, Commissioned May 25, 1777, Church Register, Shaw P. 32.

Jacob Pier - Private Capt. Lyon’s Co. 2nd Reg. Essex Militia; Baptism record states he was son of Johannis. Stryker p 719, Shaw p 36.

Jacob Riker - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 734, Shaw p.36; Family records in Church Register

Daniel Rutan - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 742, Shaw p. 3; Family records in Church Register

Capt. Thomas Seigler - Capt. 2nd Reg. Essex Militia, Stryker p. 408, Shaw p. 32; Family records in Church Register

Capt. Abraham Speer - Capt. 2nd Reg. Essex Militia; Stryker p. 411, Shaw p. 32; Family records in Church Register

Capt. Cornelius Speer - Capt. 2nd Reg. Essex Militia, Stryker p 411 - Shaw p 32; Family records in Church Register, also State Troops

Capt. Henry Speer - Capt. 2nd Reg. Essex Militia; Stryker p 411 Shaw p 32; Family records in Church Register

Francis Speer - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 764, Shaw p. 35; Family records in Church Register

Lt. Herman Speer - Private Essex “Light Horse”; Stryker P 764, Shaw P. 32; Lt. in Artillery and Militia

James Speer - Pvt. 1st Reg. Essex Militia; Stryker p 289; Family records in Church Register

John Speer - Pvt. 1st Reg. Essex Militia; Lt. Capt. Craig’s Co; Stryker p 289; Family records in Church Register; DAR numbers 117039-3242

John Spier - Private Essex Militia, Stryker p. 528, Shaw p.33; Family records in Church Register

Lt. John Spier Jr. - Pvt. Essex Militia; Stryker P 764, Shaw p 36; Family records in Church Register

Christian Stimets - Private in Continental Army, Stryker, p 769 Shaw p 36; Family records in Church Register

Daniel Teurs (Tours) - State Troops, Continental Army, Stryker, p. 791, Shaw p. 36; Family records in Church Register

Thomas Van Riper - Private 2nd Essex, Also Capt. Craig’s Co., Shaw p. 31; Family records in Church Register

Simeon Van Winkle - Private Capt. Joralemon’s Co., 2nd Reg. Essex Militia, Shaw p 37; Family records in Church Register

Michael Vreeland - Private in Continental Army, Shaw p. 37; Family records in Church Register

Capt. Ezekial Wade - “Captain” on stone in church-yard, Family buried there. Died 1817, age 77 yrs.

Samuel Ward - Private “Spencer’s Regiment”, Stryker p. 314 Shaw p 37; Family records in Church Register

John Winne - Private “Spencer’s Regiment”, Stryker p. 314; Family records in Church Register

(1) - New Jersey Official Register - Stryker

(2) - Newspaper Extracts

(3) - The Battles of Trenton and Princeton - Stryker

(4) - Monographs of the Revolution - Stryker

(5) - History of the Presbyterian Church - Hall

(6) - History of Burlington & Mercer Counties - Woodward

(7) - The Mechanics Bank - Dr. Godfrey

(8) - Burial Records - Mrs. Murray

(9) – Nelson’s Biographical Encyclopedia

(10) - History of Trenton - Raum

(11) - Historical Collections - Barber & Howe

Mabel W. Howell

Historian - The General David Forman Chapter

SOLDIERS AND HEROES OF THE WAR OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION from the Dutch Reformed Church - Belleville, New Jersey, (formerly Second River).

New Jersey State Library, https://www.njstatelib.org

REFERENCES

Jersey-men in the Revolutionary War - William Stryker

History of Essex and Hudson Counties - William H. Shaw

Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society - Vol. I 3rd Series

New Jersey Archives Marriage Records from 1665-1800, 1st Series, Vol.22

Bloomfield Old and New - Joseph F. Folsom

Church-Yard Records - taken in 1847-1901 & in 1926-27

Manuscript Copies of 1847-1901 Church-Yard records in possession of New Jersey Historical Society Rooms 16, West Park St. Newark, N.J.

Family Traditions

Daughters of the American Revolution National Numbers.

-- Compiled by Grace Louise Ward (Mrs. Henry C.)

Sources

Belleville Sons Honor Roll

Brown, Elizabeth Stow, HISTORY OF NUTLEY, 1907

Dutch Reformed Church cemetery

Hinrichs, Dave, The Belleville Times

Kearny Township http://www.kearnyusa.com

Munn, David C., Battles and Skirmishes of the American Revolution in NJ

Perrone, Michael, Belleville Historical Society

Price, Norman, author, Village of Second River

The Belleville Times