Connecticut Farms
RETURN TO INDEXVictory: American
Troops: United States 12,000 - Great Britain 6,000
The Battle of Connecticut Farms, fought June 7, 1780, was one of the last major battles between British and American forces in the northern colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, in command of the British garrison at New York City, made an attempt to reach the principal Continental Army encampment at Morristown, New Jersey. Knyphausen's advance was strongly met by companies of the New Jersey militia at Connecticut Farms. Knyphausen received word from spies that General George Washington's main army at Morristown, New Jersey, had been reduced by desertion and disease to only 3,500 men and was plagued by mutinies and low morale. Seeing an opportunity to inflict a mortal blow on the Revolutionary cause, Knyphausen decided to move against Washington. Knyphausen had also been led to believe that the war-weary people of New Jersey would give little resistance to his invasion.
On June 6, Knyphausen's troops boarded boats on Staten Island and, at midnight, started to land at Elizabethtown Point, New Jersey. As the column moved westward, one of the first shots fired severely wounded Brigadier General Stirling, upon which command of the 1st Division passed to Hessian Colonel Ludwig von Wurmb. At about 8 a.m., Brigadier General William Maxwell, with his New Jersey Brigade and a force of militia, received the attack of the British 1st Division. Using trees and bushes for cover, the Americans held their ground for three hours until von Wurmb was reinforced by General Mathew and part of his 2nd Division. Now 3,000-strong, the British drove the Americans through Connecticut Farms toward Springfield. Hannah Caldwell, wife of the Reverend James Caldwell, a chaplain in Washington's army, was shot dead as she sat in her house with her children. That evening, Knyphausen and his commanders evaluated the situation. He had failed to reach Hobart Gap and was surprised by the numbers of New Jersey militia who had assembled to oppose him, some of them from as far away as Hopewell, New Jersey.
On June 6, Knyphausen's troops boarded boats on Staten Island and, at midnight, started to land at Elizabethtown Point, New Jersey. As the column moved westward, one of the first shots fired severely wounded Brigadier General Stirling, upon which command of the 1st Division passed to Hessian Colonel Ludwig von Wurmb. At about 8 a.m., Brigadier General William Maxwell, with his New Jersey Brigade and a force of militia, received the attack of the British 1st Division. Using trees and bushes for cover, the Americans held their ground for three hours until von Wurmb was reinforced by General Mathew and part of his 2nd Division. Now 3,000-strong, the British drove the Americans through Connecticut Farms toward Springfield. Hannah Caldwell, wife of the Reverend James Caldwell, a chaplain in Washington's army, was shot dead as she sat in her house with her children. That evening, Knyphausen and his commanders evaluated the situation. He had failed to reach Hobart Gap and was surprised by the numbers of New Jersey militia who had assembled to oppose him, some of them from as far away as Hopewell, New Jersey.
