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The BATTLE of BOUND BROOK~ 2013
Contacts: NOT FOR POSTING:
South Bound Brook
SBB Historic Preservation Advisory Commission &
The Friends of Abraham Staats House, Inc
Tom Harabin: 732-469-3198
Kathy Ormosi: 732-356-4789
Brian & Kathy Faulks: 732-469-5836
Web site:
Email:
Bound Brook:
Mayor Carey Pilato
Phone: 732-356-0833 x625 Email:
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The BATTLE of BOUND BROOK~ 2013
“The American Revolution Living History Weekend”
Saturday, April 13 & Sunday, April 14
Living History in South Bound Brook and Bound Brook
Join us for an exciting and historic weekend April 13-14, 2013! The two-day program explores the American Revolutionary War during the timeframe of the Battle of Bound Brook and the American army’s use of Middlebrook in the years 1777 – 1779. Learn about and experience this important period in New Jersey’s and America’s history. Weekend activities include:
- Marching, Drilling and Street Battle reenactments in Bound Brook and South Bound Brook, featuring American and British units portraying the soldiers of the American Revolution.
- 18th century Soldiers’ Encampment on the grounds of the Abraham Staats House, 17 von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook, 08880. Come walk through camp and see what life was like for American and British troops during the time of the American Revolution.
- Historic house tours: The Abraham Staats House, with the original structure c. 1740, was home to the Staats family for nearly 200 years and served as the headquarters for George Washington’s “Drillmaster” Baron von Steuben.
- Presentationsand exhibits at the Abraham Staats House, include
- Eminent historian H. Kels Swan – (Sunday, 1:20 pm) – a talk on Artillery in the American War for Independence..
- Tom Harabin, President, Friends of Abraham Staats House, performs musicof the Colonial Era, program on instruments, music of the period (throughout the weekend.)
- Tina Ishihara, Portraitist -- demonstrating techniques of portraiture in the 18th century
- Gary DePaolo – Colonial Surgeon – instruments and practices of 18th century medicine (Sunday)
- Viola Prevete – Spinning and fiber preparation for the making of cloth (Saturday)
Saturday, April 13
Note: Parking available in Billian Park, 561 East High Street, Bound Brook, 08805 and Elm Street Parking Lot, South Bound Brook 08880, as well as along public streets in both towns.
10 AM – 5 PM American Revolution Soldiers Encampment and historic Abraham Staats House, 17 von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook, NJ, 08880.
10 AM Soldiers leave Abraham Staats House to march down Main Street, South Bound Brook and across Queens Bridge to the Old Presbyterian Graveyard and Memorial Library, Bound Brook.
10:30 AMCeremony and Presentation at the Bound Brook Memorial Library, 402 E High Street,Bound Brook, NJ08805
11 AM-NOONSoldiers Reenact the Battle of Bound Brookin vicinity of the Old Stone Arch Bridge and the Queens Bridge, in Bound Brook. Following the ceremony at the Memorial Library, American and British soldiers will assemble and march towards the Queens Bridge, battling through the streets with muskets and cannons!
NOON – 1PM Soldiers Lunch at Mama Rosina’s Ristoriante (public dining as well—come join the soldiers at lunch!) – RailroadPlaza, 350 E. Main St., Bound Brook.
Special Exhibits at the Bound Brook Memorial Library and Old Presbyterian Graveyard open to public all day.
1PM – 1:30PM Soldiers Assemble and begin the march back to South Bound Brook over QueensBridge.
1:30– 2:30PM American and British troops reenact Street Battle in South Bound Brook, starting at Elm & Main St., (south end, Queen’s Bridge), battling to Maple Street.
2:30 PM All troops clear Main St and return to the Soldiers Encampment at the Abraham Staats House, South Bound Brook.
At the Soldier’s Encampment/Abraham Staats House:
In the Abraham Staats House: Special lectures, exhibits and house tours inside the Abraham Staats House (WeekendPass: $10 for adults;$5 for Seniors & 18 years and under. Family: $20.)
On the Grounds of the Abraham Staats House(Free):
2:30 ~ 5 PM The living history American Revolutionary Soldiers Encampment at the Abraham Staats House c. 1740, (17 von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook). Come see life as it existed for the soldiers, camp followers and others who lived the American past.
Military Drills, Demonstrations, Contests, Camp Life, Living history demonstrations, soldiers drilling and practicing military tactics, sutlers (merchants) selling colonial goods, sewing, basket weaving and cooking, period music and refreshments at the camp. The soldiers will be drilling during the afternoon, just as they did 200 years ago – (No fee for activities on outside grounds of the Abraham Staats House.)
4 PM – 8 PM In South Bound Brook:
Pasta Dinner available for purchase at the Fellowship Hall of the Reformed Church ofBound Brook in South Bound Brook (located in South Bound Brook, on Clinton Street) from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. Adults: $9, Seniors & Reenactors: $8, Children: 5-12 years: $6, 4 under: Free.
5 PMSoldiers Encampment and Abraham Staats House closed to the public.
7 PM – 10 PM: “Spring Ball & Social” – 18th century dance and social, open to the public, Van Horne House, 941 Main St., Bridgewater, NJ08807. $15. Live music: Ridley and Anne Enslow. Contact: Janice Wolk, at: Janice.wolk.yahoo.com to reserve a place. Note: Space limited; first come, first served.
Sunday, April 14
7:30 AM–12 PMBuffet Breakfast, South Bound Brook Fire Co. #1 Firehouse. Eat with the soldiers and colonial camp followers at the famous All-You-Can-Eat Sunday Buffet Breakfast at the South Bound Brook Firehouse on Edgewood Terrace, available for purchase from 7:30 a.m. – 12 noon. Adults: $9, Seniors: $8; under age ten: $6, under age 5: free.
10 AM- 4 PM Soldier’s Encampment at the Abraham Staats House:
In the Abraham Staats House: Special lectures, exhibits and tours inside the Abraham Staats House (Fee: $10 for adults & $5 for 18 years and under.)
11 AM-NOON Soldiers Drills and Battle Demonstrationon the grounds. Watch the American and British soldiers as they perform military maneuvers of the American Revolution.
1:30 PM H. Kels Swan: "Artillery and the War for American Independence” ~Hear about the big guns!
On the Grounds of the Abraham Staats House (free):
Visit the living history American Revolutionary Soldiers Encampment at the Abraham Staats House c. 1740, (17 von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook). Come see life as it existed for the soldiers, camp followers and others who lived the American past. Military Drills, Demonstrations, Contests, Camp Life, Living history demonstrations, soldiers drilling and practicing military tactics, sutlers (merchants) selling colonial goods, sewing, basket weaving and cooking, period music and refreshments at the camp. The soldiers will be drilling during the afternoon, just as they did 200 years ago – (No fee for activities on outside grounds of the Abraham Staats House.)
2:30 -3:30pm Soldiers Drills and Battle Demonstrationon the grounds. Watch the American and British soldiers as they perform military maneuvers of the American Revolution.
4 PMSoldiers Encampment / Abraham Staats House closed to public.
Directions: I-287, Exit 10, Rt. 527 (Easton Ave to South Bound Brook) to Von Steuben Lane (approx. 3/4 mile). Follow Von Steuben Lane to end, driveway entrance and parking for house.
Information:
About the Annual Battle of Bound Brook Weekend:
The annual Anniversary of The Battle of Bound Brook, launched in 2001, is a multi-community event created to raise pride and awareness in our area’s historic character and vital contribution to the American struggle for independence. The event also supports preservation of key Revolutionary War sites, including the Abraham Staats House in South Bound Brook and the historic Old Stone Arch Bridge in Bound Brook.
The Friends of Abraham Staats House, Inc. has received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. The weekend lectures have been funded, in part, by a grant from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission and Friends of Somerset County Culture & Heritage, Inc. The Abraham Staats House also receives support from the Borough of South Bound Brook, which owns and maintains the property.
Parking for events in South Bound Brook is available along Main Street, in the Elm Street Parking Lot and along public streets in the area of the Soldiers Encampment. Parking in Bound Brook is available throughout the town and in Billian Park. Intermittent street closings are expected during the weekend in South Bound Brook, and Bound Brook to accommodate the march of the soldiers.
Battle of Bound Brook Web sites: Visit for event schedules, information and updates.
ABOUT:
The Battle of Bound Brook and Middlebrook Encampments
On Sunday, April 13, 1777, a four-column force of 4,000 British Crown troops led by Lord Charles Cornwallis attacked a small American garrison of about 500 commanded by General Benjamin Lincoln and located in the town of Bound Brook. The objective: surround the town, capture the garrison and provisions located at this patriot stronghold and gain a foothold in the war against the American Revolutionary army. In the surprise attack, an advance column led by Hessian Jaeger scouts fighting for the British were pinned down by Colonial soldiers who put up a spirited resistance at the Old Stone Arch Bridge located near the Queens’ Bridge.
The skirmish bought precious time for the bulk of the American force in Bound Brook as British forces poured into the area. When a second column of 1,000 British soldiers charged over the Queen’s Bridge to attack, the Colonials retreated, escaping the trap. The American army regrouped in the area later in 1777, in a larger encampment called First Middlebrook. General George Washington’s army was also settled in the winter and spring of 1778-79 in a Second Middlebrook encampment, in the area of Bound Brook. Nearly 10,000 troops gathered at Middlebrook, with attendant artillery camps, hospitals, commissaries, post office, artificers, quartermasters stores, corrals and other military operations situated in nearby locations. General Washington and many of his officers stayed in homes in the area, near to the main encampment. General Baron Frederich von Steuben made his headquarters at the home of Abraham Staats in South Bound Brook, today known as the Abraham Staats House.
The Abraham Staats House
17 Von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook
During the American Revolution, the house was owned by American patriot Abraham Staats, marked as an enemy of the Crown by the British. His family hosted General Baron Frederich von Steuben, drillmaster of the American Revolutionary Army, who used the house as headquarters during the Second Middlebrook encampment in the winter of 1778-79. Research indicates the earliest portion of the house dates from around 1738, with sections added around 1800 and 1840 by the Staats family, which owned the home for 200 years. Following the Battle of Bound Brook in April 1777, a retreating British column crossed the Staats’ property, taking items which Abraham later made claim as war damages. The home was the setting for visits by General George Washington and other key figures during the War. The Abraham Staats House was purchased by the Borough of South Bound Brook in 1999 for historic preservation. The South Bound Brook Historic Preservation Advisory Commission and Friends of the Abraham Staats House, Inc. are dedicated to preservation of the house, which has been placed on both the State and National Register of Historic Places.
The Old Stone Arch Bridge
This triple-arch bridge is one of the oldest surviving stone bridges in New Jersey and a rare example of colonial highway engineering. Construction of the bridge was authorized by the Legislature in 1730. It was probably built soon thereafter to span the Green Brook, a channel of the Bound Brook, and form part of a causeway that crossed a large area of marshy ground along the Bound Brook and Raritan River. The bridge played a significant role in the defense of Bound Brook during the Revolutionary War, and it is one of the few existing battlefield resources in New Jersey for which a first-hand action account exists. The diary of Hessian officer Johann von Ewald records the fighting along the causeway during the Battle of Bound Brook in April 1777. Made of locally quarried rough sandstone and shale, the bridge spans the boundary between Somerset and Middlesex counties and the boroughs of Bound Brook and Middlesex. Approximately 85 feet long and 33 feet wide, its remains are almost completely buried by fill on its north side; on the south side they are exposed above the top of the arches, including two large buttresses, one of which is relatively intact.
(Excerpt from “Preservation New Jersey:
Life in Camp:
Encampment at The Abraham Staats House, 17 von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook
The soldiers and camp followers will be living life in camp much as it would have been in 1777. Visitors may tour the camp, observe camp artifacts and equipment, and see how the troops of the American Revolution, British Crown and American forces, lived and view Camp Food Preparation, Military Training and Drills, Artillery and Small Arms Practice. Members of the reenactor’s units involved in the encampment are dedicated to recreating the history of the American colonial 18th century period through demonstrations, exhibits, lectures, encampments, and interpretations. Equipment used and clothing worn by members is authentic and documented. The men, women, and children who participate volunteer their time to recreate the lives of everyday people struggling for independence during the American Revolution. Members are encouraged to learn 18th century skills and strive for authenticity in their interpretations.
Battle of Bound Brook 2013 Information at Friends of Abraham Staats House web site: