|
Battle of Cedar Bridge
The Battle of Cedar Bridge, fought in Barnegat Township, New Jersey, was the one of the last skirmishes of the American Revolutionary War, between Patriot militia under Captains Richard Shreve and Edward Thomas and Loyalist militia under John Bacon on December 27, 1782.[1][2] Bacon had killed 30 sleeping Patriots on the American ship, the Alligator, selling the ship and other acts of terror on suspected Patriot supporters. A reward of 50 pounds for Bacon's capture was offered by the governor of New Jersey, William Livingston. A Patriot Militia under the command of Richard Shreve and Edward Thomas set out to hunt down Bacon in December 1782 and after several days of an unsuccessful search decided to head back to Burlington, New Jersey. On route back to Burlington, the Patriots decided to stop at the tavern near the bridge, unaware that Bacon and his men were on the other side.[3] Hearing that the Patriot militia was nearby, John Bacon had little time to escape and so decided to barricade the bridge and opened fire on the Patriots. The Loyalists manage to hold off the Patriots for some time before the Patriots almost overcome them. A group of locals heard the shots and came to the aid of the Loyalists, giving Bacon and his men time to escape. The Patriots would overpower the local Loyalist supporters and capture several of them.[3][4][5] Bacon was discovered at a tavern in Tuckerton, New Jersey, a few months after the engagement and was captured and killed. Bacon was so hated among the populace that his body was paraded through town and the countryside and his body was later buried in an unmarked grave.[6] References
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
