Hot Tea

In the winter of 1774, as the American colonies struggled to define their future relationship with Great Britain, the British tax on tea and the 1773 Boston Tea Party were followed by the closing of the port of Boston and the meeting of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Congress’s non-importation, non-exportation agreement urged colonists not to buy or sell goods from the mother country to place economic pressure on England. Not far from this spot, on the night of December 22, 1774, some residents of Cumberland County showed their support for that recommendation by burning a cargo of British tea. When fighting broke out in April 1775, New Jersey was ready, and despite opposition, infantry was raised to support the fledgling army. During the winter, support for the American cause was voiced in the “Plain Dealer” posted at Potter’s Tavern in Bridgeton. As in other colonies, opinion in New Jersey was divided between those who believed good relations with Great Britain could be restored and those who saw independence as the only solution, and in July 1776 New Jersey joined the other colonies in voting for Independence.

Greenwich, New Jersey · United States