Morristown

Morristown was a village of about 70 buildings in 1777. In January 1777, General George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, brought his tired troops there for rest and reorganization after successful attacks against Hessian and British troops at Trenton and Princeton. The new year ended many enlistments, and Washington’s regular army dwindled to a few thousand men, leading him to warn the Continental Congress “to the Situation…of scarce having any army at all.” Encouraged by the recent victories, enlistments increased by spring and the army regained its strength, numbering about 10,000 men. Washington lodged at Arnold’s Tavern, once located near the base of this hill next to the Green, while soldiers stayed in houses or encamped at various places near the town, and a Delaware light infantry company stayed at the Colonel Jacob Ford house on the eastern edge of town.

Morristown, New Jersey · United States