Bergen County saw much of the American Revolution from its own doorstep. Close to British-occupied New York City, this corner of New Jersey was divided by the Revolution. Some people were staunch Loyalists or Patriots, in disagreement with their families and neighbors; others wavered or remained neutral, while still others changed their minds as was expedient. In the end, the years of hostilities led to massive damage and upheaval within the community as men either left home or stayed near...

America’s War for Independence dramatically affected the speed and nature of broader social, cultural, and political changes including those shaping the place and roles of women in society. Women fought the American Revolution in many ways, in a literal no less than a figurative sense. Whether Loyalist or Patriot, Indigenous or immigrant enslaved or slave-owning, going willingly into battle or responding when war came to their doorsteps, women participated in the conflict in complex and va...

Winner of the 2016 New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance Authors Award for the Edited Works CategoryBattles were fought in many colonies during the American Revolution, but New Jersey was home to more sustained and intense fighting over a longer period of time. The nine essays in The American Revolution in New Jersey, depict the many challenges New Jersey residents faced at the intersection of the front lines and the home front.Unlike other colonies...

"The Importance of the North River (the Hudson), and the sanguine wishes of all to prevent the enemy from possessing it, have been the causes of this unhappy catastrophe." So wrote General George Washington in 1776 as the British invaded New Jersey. Worse was to come, as the British overran the state, and the Americans suffered one unhappy catastrophe after another. Central New Jersey witnessed many small battles and important events during the American Revolution. This area saw it all: fr...