Common Corestate Standardsforenglish Languagearts

Morristown: “So Hard a Winter”

TargetAge:ElementarySchool

TimePeriod:18thCentury

FeaturedCounty:Morris

NJ350thTheme:Liberty

Common CoreState StandardsforEnglish LanguageArts:

R.CCR.1:Readcloselytodeterminewhat atextsaysexplicitlyandto makelogicalinferencesfromit;cite

specifictextualevidencewhenwritingor speaking to supportconclusionsdrawnfromthetext.

SL.CCR.2:Integrateandevaluateinformation presentedin diversemedia andformats,including visually,quantitatively, andorally.

SL.CCR.5:Makestrategicuseofdigitalmedia andvisualdisplaysof datatoexpressinformation andenhanceunderstandingofpresentations.

NJ Common CoreStandards:

Social Studies:6.1.12.B.1.a

FOCUSQUESTION: Howdid thenaturalresourcesofMorristown,NewJersey contributetothefightforlibertyduring theAmericanRevolution?

BACKGROUND:

Inlate November of1779,General GeorgeWashington decided thattheContinentalArmywould returntoafamiliarlocation forwintercamp.HechoseMorristown,NJ wheretheyhadspent thewinterof 1776to 1777aftertheirhistoricvictories in Trenton and Princeton.Morristownmadestrategicsense for a numberof reasons.Itwas betweenPhiladelphiaand New York,itwas home to severalskilledtradesmen, localindustriesthatproducedweaponsand supplies,and it had acommunityableto provideenough food toawar-wearyarmy.Thisfirststayhad been uneventful.The winterof1779,however,wasanything but.Theseasonwasamong theharshestonrecord as28snowstormsturnedMorristownintoa frozenwasteland.“Wereached thiswilderness,aboutthreemilesfrom Morristown,”

wroteJamesThacher,surgeon to the Continental Armythatwinter,“wherewearebuilding log hutsforwinter quarters.Thesnowon theground is abouttwo feetdeep,and theweatherextremelycold.”

In 1776,Washington’sofficershad used Jacob Arnold'sTavernlocated ontheMorristownGreen in theurban center asthearmy’sheadquarters;Washingtonhimselfstayed in nearbyFord Mansion. Butthissecondencampmentwas in nearbyJockeyHollow,notfarfromMorristown,butin thewoods.Soldierswereordered tobuild log hutsratherthan billetin thecomfortsoftown. Assupplies offood andfirewood dwindled,onesoldier,Joseph Plumb Martin,wrotethathiscomradeswere“soenfeebledfromhungerand cold, astobealmostunableto performtheirmilitaryduty or labor inconstructing theirhuts."

Miraculously,Washington’s men ralliedwhen spring arrived. In June1780,theContinentalArmyclaimedvictory attheBattle ofConnecticutFarmsandtheBattleof Springfield,the lastmajorengagementsof the warinNewJersey.

ACTIVITY:

Ina letterdatedMarch17,1780to theMarquis deLafayette,GeorgeWashington wrote“…theoldestpeoplenowliving in thecountrydonotremembersohard a winteras theonewe are nowemergingfrom.Inawordtheseverity ofthefrostexceeded anything of thekind thathad everbeen experiencedin thisclimatebefore.” Conditions, in fact,weremuch worsethatMorristownwinterthan thebetterknown Valley Forgeencampmentof1777-78 in whichnearly 3,000soldierperished.Only100to 300solidersdied in Morristown,however, asurvivalratecredited to vaccinationsagainstsmall pox,barracksthat protected fromthedamp andcold, andsoldiersmoreexperienced thanthreeyears before.

Moreover,evenwith theharsh weatherconditions,Morristownhad muchto recommendit.HavestudentsexaminethedetailsbelowtodeterminewhyMorristownwas an idealplacefor anencampment.Begin byreviewingthethelistof featuresprovidedand, iftimepermits,followtheweblinksto mapsandmoreinformation aboutthegeographical benefitsof theregion.Studentscouldalso select thetwo orthreemostimportantaspectsofMorristown asa campground, andverballyexplain theirchoices.

Then askstudentsto imaginethey aremembersof GeneralWashington’sstaffandwritea proposalarguing in favorofMorristown,NJ asawintercampsite.They can dosoindividually,or workin smallgroups.

WHAT DIDMORRISTOWNHAVETO OFFER:

1.It was31milesfromNewYorkCity—atwoday march

2.TheContinental Armycould move in anydirection (south to Philadelphia, north toNewYork,andevenfurther north toNewEngland)

3.Generals andstaffofficerscould live in localhomes

4.Theregion wasgeographicallyprotected bytheWatchung Mountains,the RamapoHills, theHudsonHighlands, and theswamplands totheeast

5.Nearbyforests andriversofferedplentifulresourcesofwood andwater

6.Only a fewroadscrossedthrough Morristownduringthe revolutionaryera,soitwasdefendable(andless chanceof asurprise attack)

7.A region southwestofMorristown, calledJockeyHollow,offered:

a.Approximately600acresofforestcutdowntobuild onethousand huts

b.Washington designed thehuts-14 x15feet,6 x6high,sealedwith claytoprotectfromcold,and a fireplace.

c.Each log housecould provideshelterfor12.

BONUSQUESTION: IfWashington’stroopsbuilt1,000huts,and each hutcould house12men,howmany menwere inWashington’sarmyatMorristown,NJ?

If you havethetime,considerhaving studentsuse thesketchabovetohelprecreatea three-dimensionalmodeloftheMorristownencampmentusing miniaturelog cabins.Each brigadecamping inJockeyHollowoccupied asloping,well-drainedhillside areaabout320yardslongand100yards in depth,including a paradeground 40yardsdeepinfront.Above theparadewerethe soldiers’huts,eightina rowand threeor fourrowsdeep foreach regiment;beyondthose,thehutsoccupied by the captainsandothermid-levelofficers,and higher stillthe fieldofficers’huts.

Materials:

A pieceofwhite paperA pieceof brownpaper

A bag of largePretzelRods

1.Lay asheetofwhitepaperdown onthetable.Thisisthesnowtobuild yourlog cabin on.

2.Open upthe bagof pretzelrodsandbegin building yourcabinwith them.Lay therodsdown onthegreen paper inacriss-crossfashion toformasquarecabin. /Whenyou’vebuilt itas high as youwant,fold a brownpieceof paper in half,open it up, and put itontop to makethecabin roof.

Olderchildren could use thepretzelrodsto makeamuchmoresophisticated cabin. Use a smallmilkcartonas thebase,andthen hotgluepretzelrodstogethertoformwalls. Whiteglue would also work,but it would take along timeto dry. Ifyou wantto maketheprojectfullyedible,peanutbutter andchocolatefrosting also makegreat“glue.”

Thiswould also makea good cooperation project ifyou have teamsof childrenworktogetherto maketheir cabins…thendismantlethemforsnack!

Source:Adapted from(andimagesprovidedby)

FORMOREINFORMATIONAND MAPSABOUTTHEMORRISTOWN ENCAMPMENT:

Followthislinkandscroll downtothemapofMorristown andRelatedAmericanOutpostsof theRevolutionaryWar.

FollowthislinktotheNPSmapof theMapofMorristown

FOLLOW-UP:

Ask yourstudentstoimagine what lifewas like atMorristownduring thewinterof 1779-1780.Thenaskthem towriteeitheradiaryentryor a letterhome,describing theirliving arrangementsand thecold.

Belowaretwo examplesofsoldiers’accounts.

PrivateJosephPlumbMartin: “Weareabsolutely,literallystarved.I dosolemnlydeclarethat I didnotput a singlemorselofvictualsinto mymouth forfourdays andasmanynights,exceptfor alittleblackbirchbarkwhich Ignawedoff a stickofwood. I sawmen roasttheirold shoesand eat them.” Hisuniformwas“whatlaughingly couldbecalled a uniform, and possessed ablanketthin enough tohavestrawsshootthrough itwithoutdiscommoding thethreads.”

General Johann de Kalbwrotethatitwas“so cold that the inkfreezesonmypen,while Iamsitting closetothe fire.Theroadsarepiled with snowuntil, atsomeplacestheyare elevated twelvefeetabove their ordinarylevel.”

WANTTOLEARNMORE?

PlacestoVisit

MorristownNationalPark,NationalPark Service:

More ClassroomActivities

Morristown NationalPark,NationalPark Service(siteincludes a rangeofmaterials,including guidesforplanning field trips,K-12curriculum materials,and informationaboutthehistoricsite’stravelingmuseum;look inthe section “ForTeachers”):

NewJerseyStateArchives(thestatearchivesoffersseveral lesson plansaboutNewJersey’srole in theAmericanRevolution,three ofwhich focusspecifically onMorristown;scroll downtothe“AmericanRevolution”section):

GeorgeWashington’sMount Vernon(an excellentprimarysourcelesson plan aboutGeorgeWashington’sviewsonMorristowndesignedforolderstudents;incorporatesarange of digitizedmaterialsfromMountVernon’scollections): resources/encyclopedia/morristown

“NewJerseyHistoryKids”(developed by theNewJerseyHistoricalCommissionin 2005forgradesK-4;includesa briefvideo historyofMorristownNationalPark, aswell asa video question sheet,onlineinteractiveactivities,anda lesson plan aboutthe mutiny at Morristown),to access,visit:

Clickon "Enter"Clickon "Continue"Clickon "Continue"

Clickon "3-American Revolution-GeorgeWashingtonatMorristown"Clickon "Comparing TwoAccountsoftheMutiny atMorristown

These materialsarealsoavailable in printformat"NJN PublicTelevisionTeacher’sGuideto MorristownNationalPark:”

For MoreInformation

“The Morristown National HistoricalPark,”inthe Around and AboutNewJersey televisionseries, co-producedbyNJN PublicTelevision andtheNewJerseyHistoricalCommission,1995.

Melvin J.Weigand Vera BCraig,Morristown: AMilitaryCapitalofthe AmericanRevolution(NationalPark Service,1950,reprinted1961),availableonline at:

NationalPark Service, Morristown NationalHistoricPark:Guidebook(Washington,DC:Departmentofthe Interior,1950),availableonlineat:

CREDIT INFORMATION:

p. 1:Reconstructedrevolutionarycabins,Courtesy ofNew Jersey StateArchives;Deparment of State.

p. 3:The "hutting" arrangementforGeneralStark'sBrigade,1779—80.Fromanoriginalmanuscriptonceownedby Erskine Hewitt,ofRingwood, N.J., NationalPark Service,Morristown.

It Happened Here:NewJersey is a programof theNewJersey Historical Commission made possible by a grant fromtheNewJersey Council for theHumanities, astate partner oftheNational Endowmentfor theHumanities. Anyviews,findings,conclusions, or recommendations expressed intheprogramdo not necessarilyrepresentthoseof the National Endowmentfor theHumanities ortheNew Jersey CouncilfortheHumanities.To access more teachingresources created forthisprogramvisit