New Jersey

New Jersey's role in the American Revolution


Even though New Jersey might be a small state, it played a major role in shaping the American Revolution. Many people regard New Jersey as just a peaceful state that did not get involved during the war. But what many people don’t know is that around five major battles were fought on New Jersey soil. For example: battle of Princeton, Bunker Hill, Saratoga and many more. New Jersey is famous for the Delaware Crossing led by General George Washington also. The colonists of New Jersey experienced many chaotic times during the revolution. New Jersey was divided into three groups which consisted of the patriots, loyalists, and partially undecided. The patriots wanted freedom from the monarch country (England). The patriots did not like the taxation, laws, and acts that England poured on them. The patriots fought Wars in England’s name, but received nothing from the American casualties. The patriots were fed up. All they wanted to have was freedom, a separate legislature, and to be represented as an individual country. The undecided colonists were either people who supported the patriotic cause but did not want to fight the war, because they knew England’s army would destroy the American army. Also some undecided colonists were the exact opposite. They supported the loyalists because they were afraid of the consequences, but secretly they wanted freedom themselves. Everyone hated the loyalists, but most loyalists were loyalists out of fear. They did not want to commit treason and suffer in the end. The patriots outnumbered the loyalists in New Jersey. Even though the loyalists were demoralized during the revolution by the patriots’ nationalism and hatred, they never gave hope and fought till the end.
There were many individual loyalists that suffered harshly during the revolution. But the loyalist who suffered the most in my opinion is Brigadier General Cortlandt Skinner. General Skinner was the most infamous loyalist in...