The event commonly known as: "The Battle of Chestnut Neck" |
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The Traditional Story (Found in most General History Books, when it is mentioned at all) This excerpt is from New Jersey, America's Main Road, by John T. Cunningham "The war in New Jersey took a more devious turn when Clinton
transferred his seat of operations to Southern states. Privateers based in
southern New Jersey carried the war to British shipping, sailing out of
Barnegat Bay and Little Egg Harbor to hunt down merchant vessels off the
coast. Their captured cargoes brought prosperity to Toms River and
Tuckerton and a small privateer boom town arose at the forks of the
Mullica River. By midsummer of 1778 no British merchant ship was safe off
the Jersey coast without armed escort. Now, in most cases, I really adore the writing of John Cunningham, but he has really missed the big story here. Partially, I am sure, because he was mainly a historian of North Jersey and dabbled a little in South Jersey history. |
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