At New Bridge and its surrounding community, the American Revolution unfolded alongside local struggles over loyalty, property, and military control. After the closing of the Port of Boston in 1774 and the widening imperial crisis, the Zabriskie family held the local house, farm, and mill, while Bergen County included residents loyal to the crown such as Jan Zabriskie and Andrew Van Buskirk. In 1776, as independence was declared and British victories drove the Continental retreat, Cornwallis moved troops up the Palisades toward Fort Lee, Washington met his forces near the Liberty Pole and led them across New Bridge on November 20, and British troops under Major General Vaughan seized the crossing the next day. During the following years, New Bridge repeatedly became a military corridor and battleground: Loyalist properties were plundered, disaffected residents were arrested, British and American forces moved through and fought there, and figures such as Aaron Burr, Charles Grey, Patrick Ferguson, Henry Lee, Wayne, Hamilton, Benedict Arnold, and John André were connected with events at or from New Bridge. In 1780 the area saw multiple clashes, Washington established his headquarters there during the Steenrapie Encampment with 14,000 men, and a council of war met there after news of losses at Camden. By 1781 the Zabriskie-Steuben House had been confiscated from the Zabriskie family, while the war moved toward the British surrender under Cornwallis. After the war, Abraham Van Buskirk resettled in Nova Scotia, New Jersey presented the confiscated house to Major-General Baron von Steuben in 1783, and by 1788 Steuben had restored the war-damaged house before John Zabriskie, Jr. purchased his ancestral home back from Steuben.

Photo: Bill Coughlin

Photo: Bill Coughlin

Photo: Bill Coughlin