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IN MEMORIUM
This
webpage is dedicated to the memory of our 6th great-grandfather
Benjamin Peachee, and the Patriots he served with
in the 2nd New Jersey Regiment during the War for Independence. |
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Benjamin Peachee was born December 26, 1756 at Pittsgrove
Township in Salem County, New Jersey. During the
Revolutionary War Benjamin was a private soldier in the 2nd New
Jersey Regiment of the Continental Line under the command of Colonel Israel
Shreve. His total time of
enlistment, served at various times between 1777 and 1780, was approximately
two years. In addition, he completed
four or five tours of duty with his local Militia at differing times as
called on. He served under the command of Captain Elijah Davis in the First
Battalion of Cumberland County. His time in the New Jersey Militia ranged
from not more than two weeks to a month at a time. Benjamin
Peachey first enlisted in March of 1777 and served six months in a company
under the command of Lt. David Moore of the 3rd Continental Artillery. Benjamin served out the whole of the six
months and was honorably discharged in the Fall of the year 1777. In the spring of 1778 he was enlisted, for
a nine month tour, by a |
Captain Beasley into Israel Shreve’s New Jersey
Regiment of the Continental Line.
Shortly after his enlistment he joined Captain John Noble Cumming’s
Company at Mount Holly, New Jersey.
Later he was transferred to an artillery unit under the command of a
Captain Wooley.
During this time he fought in the Battle of Monmouth on
June 28, 1778. This enlistment
actually lasted for about one year until Benjamin was regularly discharged in
March, 1779. He then
reenlisted later in the same year and was involved in several skirmishes
which included two engagements with British forces around Elizabethtown (now
Elizabeth) in New Jersey. On June 7,
1780 Benjamin’s |
regiment took part in the Battle
of Connecticut Farms, and on June 23,
1780, his unit again saw action in the Battle
of Springfield which resulted in
the retreat of the British army back to Elizabethtown. Benjamin was also involved in an engagement
at Bergen Point, New Jersey where his unit captured a block house and took
several prisoners. Near the end
of his time in the 2nd New Jersey Regiment Benjamin was detailed
as one of a guard present at the execution of the British spy Major John Andre. This event took place at Tappan, New York
on October 2, 1780. Benjamin Peachee was honorably discharged thereafter and returned
to his home in southern New Jersey. After the
War he married Anna Abbott and produced at least seven known off-spring
between 1784 and 1800. Around 1794 he
moved his family to Fleming County Kentucky where he lived until the death of
his wife around 1826. He married a
second time to Elizabeth Broadus with whom he had two children. Benjamin died
in 1835 at Washington, Daviess County, Indiana. |
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History of Military
Unit
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The New Jersey Line |
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The New Jersey Line was a formation within the Continental
Army, which comprised infantry
regiments from the state of New
Jersey. Under the command of Brigadier
General William Maxwell,
it was also known as "Maxwell's brigade" or simply, the
"Jersey Line." As with preceding military units from New Jersey,
the regiments that comprised the New Jersey Line were often referred to as
the "Jersey Blues." The first two regiments were authorized
by Congress on October 9,
1775.
The Third New Jersey |
Regiment
was authorized on January 1,
1776.
The Fourth New Jersey Regiment, under the command of Colonel David Forman,
was authorized on September
26, 1776.
An additional unit, known formally as Spencer's Additional Regiment, under
the command of Colonel Oliver Spencer, was sometimes referred to as the Fifth
New Jersey Regiment. List of the regiments of the New
Jersey Line: |
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2nd New Jersey
Regiment |
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The
2nd New Jersey Regiment was
raised, on October 9, 1775, at Trenton, New Jersey
for service with the Continental
Army under the command of Colonel William Maxwell.
The regiment would see action at the Battle of Trois-Rivières,
Battle of Valcour
Island, |
Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Crooked Billet, Battle of Monmouth, Sullivan Expedition, Battle of Springfield
and the Battle of Yorktown.
The regiment was furloughed, on June
6, 1783, at Newburgh, New York
and disbanded November 3, 1783. |
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Campaigns
and Engagements
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War Diary |
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1775
October - December 1775 On October 9, 1775 the 2nd NJ Battalion is authorized
as part of the first establishment of the Continental Army. The battalion was mustered and organized at
Burlington and Trenton to consist of eight companies from Gloucester, Hunterdon, Burlington, Salem, and Sussex counties. The men served under Colonel
William “Scotch Willie” Maxwell for an enlistment of one year. 1776
March - June 1776 Assigned to the Canadian Department, the regiment
belatedly took part in the Invasion of Canada. The
leading contingent arrived at the city on March 25. The siege of Quebec
ended on May 6, 1776. After enduring
the retreat from Quebec, the regiment took part in the ill-executed Battle of Trois-Rivières,
Canada on June 8, 1776. July - November 1776 Took part in the retreat from Canada to Crown Point and
then to Fort Ticonderoga, NY. The unit formed
part of the garrison there until November 13 when they returned to New
Jersey. November - December 1776 Ordered to reinforce Washington’s army, the battalion marched to Morristown, NJ
where they arrived about December 3 and were disbanded when one-year
enlistments expired. Many of the men
reenlisted in the second establishment of the regiment for a three year
enlistment. 1777
January - April 1777 The
newly formed regiment was headquartered in Burlington and then Princeton. On April 5 the
unit was ordered to join the main army under General Washington. May - June 1777 The
regiment was stationed in the area between Middlebrook (modern-day Metuchen) and Short Hills,
keeping watch on, and occasionally skirmishing with, the enemy. On May 22nd
Maxwell’s Jersey Brigade and Conway’s Pennsylvania Brigade are ordered to
form a division under Lord (General William Alexander) Stirling. On
June 26, 1777 - Stirling’s Division was attacked at
Short Hills by General William Howe’s
British and Hessian troops. After a sharp fight, the Americans retired to Middlebrook and rejoined the main army under Washington. July
- August 1777 A period of marching and countermarching ensued after
the action at Short Hills. General Howe’s forces sailed on board the British
fleet on July 24, their destination unknown. Unable to decide their
objective, General Washington determined to cover all possibilities while
waiting for news of the fleet. Stirling’s Division
moved from Middlebrook across the Hudson to Peekskill, NY
and then back south again into Pennsylvania. At
their camp at “The Cross Roads”, in Bucks County, news was finally received that the British were in
the Chesapeake. September – October, 1777 On September 11th Shreve’s Regiment, along with the
rest of the Jersey Brigade, took part in the Battle of
Brandywine. Forced to move
from their positions on the right of the army, along the creek, Stirling’s Division marched to a hill near Birmingham
Meeting House to counter a British flank attack. The three Continental
divisions on the hill caught the full force of Howe’s assault, which included
the British Guards and light infantry. After an action of about 45 minutes,
the defenders were forced to give way. With the army’s right flank defeated,
the battle was lost and the Americans retreated to Chester, Pennsylvania.. During the
fighting on Birmingham Hill, Colonel Israel Shreve was wounded in the thigh
and did not return to duty until November. Subsequently
the army undertook a series of marches and maneuvers designed to cover both
the magazine at Reading Furnace and the capital at Philadelphia. In
spite of their efforts, the city fell to the British. At the Battle of
Germantown, on October 4th,
Washington’s army assaulted the British encamped outside of Philadelphia.
Maxwell’s Brigade formed part of the reserve and as such attacked the Chew
House in which members of the British 40th Regiment had barricaded themselves
as the Continentals swept through town. After a series of futile assaults,
the Jersey troops were forced to give up the attempt when the battle was lost
and the Americans retreated. November – December 1777 On November 2nd the
2nd New Jersey Regiment arrived at Whitemarsh,
Pennsylvania with the rest of the Army. They remained here for six weeks. On
December 19th Shreve’s Regiment entered winter quarters at Valley Forge. 1778
January
– May 1778 The 2nd New Jersey Regiment remained at the
Valley Forge encampment until ordered, on March 19, 1778, to take post in Haddonfield, New
Jersey. From March 26th to May 31st the
regiment remained on detached duty and in cooperation with the Jersey
Militia. The 2nd NJ gathered forage
and supplies, and skirmished with the British and Loyalist for two months. At
the end of May, the rest of Maxwell’s Brigade joined them at Mt. Holly. On April 4th
and 5th, British
forces repulsed Major Richard Howell and his troops
from Billingsport. British troops
attacked Swedesboro and march on towards Haddonfield. Colonel Israel
Shreve evacuated from Haddonfield about 2 am, Sunday morning
, the 5th of April and quickly marched his troops to Mount Holly. After attacking British troops proceeded to
Cooper's Ferry (present site of New Jersey access of the Benjamin Franklin
Bridge). Here a pitched battle ensured
with about 50 American troops (most of whom were part of Shreve's Regiment),
led by Major William Ellis of the Gloucester Militia. Ellis refused to
retreat across the Cooper Creek Bridge thus many men are wounded, killed or
captured. The British were furious
about the lost opportunity to capture Shreve at Haddonfield but elated about
the capture of the American picket at Cooper's ferry. June
– December 1778 During the month of June 1778 the reunited Jersey
Brigade kept watch on the British in Philadelphia in anticipation of their
evacuation. On June 28th, Maxwell’s Brigade
formed a part of Gen. Charles Lee’s
advance force in the opening phases of the Battle of Monmouth. Hampered by
confused orders and heavy pressure from the British, Lee’s troops retreated
in disorder until they were met by the main army under Washington. The 2nd NJ
covered the retreat of Lee’s forces and eventually fell back as reserves for
the rest of the engagement. For the
remainder of 1778 the Jersey Brigade was stationed in and around Elizabethtown, NJ
with orders to cover the area and counter any British moves
from New York through the summer and autumn seasons. On December 16, 1778 the
unit was ordered into winter quarters at or near Newark, New Jersey,
where they remained until spring. 1779
January
– May 1779 The Second New Jersey Regiment remained at their winter
encampment near Newark, New Jersey until the end of May. On May 29th
they marched to Easton,
Pennsylvania, to join the
expedition against the Iroquois,
forming under Major General John Sullivan. |
1779
June – December 1779 Beginning on June 18th the 2nd Regiment took
part in Sullivan's campaign to destroy the power of the Indian allies of the
British. They marched through Pennsylvania and into western New York, burning
villages and laying waste to crops. On August 24th General Sullivan's army
left Tioga, Pennsylvania, leaving behind Colonel Israel Shreve and a mixed
detachment to garrison a small work called Fort Sullivan. The
remainder of the regiment marched north with the rest of the army. On August
29th a force of Iroquois and Loyalist troops attempted an ambush at Newtown, New York, but were defeated and driven from the field.
Maxwell's Brigade was in the reserve during this action. The army returned to
Easton, Pennsylvania on October 15. On the 17th of December the brigade arrived
at Eyre's Forge on the Hardscrabble Road, located between Jockey Hollow, Basking Ridge, and Vealtown (present-day Bernardsville, New Jersey). The Jersey regiments made this site
their winter quarters. 1780
January
– May 1780 The 2nd New Jersey
remained at their winter encampment at Eyre’s Forge until April or May. June
1780 On June 7th the 2nd New Jersey took part in
the Battle of
Connecticut Farms, New Jersey. From
June 8 to June 22 the brigade kept watch on British forces encamped behind
their fortifications at Elizabethtown.
On June 23rd, Shreve's Regiment again saw action in the Battle of
Springfield which resulted in
the retreat of the British army back to Elizabethtown. It was during this battle that Reverend James Caldwell chaplain of Jonathan
Dayton's New Jersey regiment, passed out pages from the Watts hymnal book to
be used as wadding. The battle cry "Give 'em
Watts, boys" was apparently coined from this incident. At midnight on
the 23rd the enemy troops crossed back to Staten Island, New
York. July – December 1780 During this period the Jersey Brigade was situated at
several posts to protect the New Jersey side of the Hudson from enemy
incursions. In October they moved to West Point and
entered barracks in anticipation of remaining there for the winter. The
brigade also lost their long-time commander, William Maxwell, having resigned
from service. Contrary to expectations, in November the Jersey troops were
ordered to take up winter quarters in and around Pompton, New Jersey. 1781
January – June 1781 With the new year another change in command took place,
with Israel Shreve resigning as colonel of the 2nd New Jersey and Colonel
Elias Dayton assuming the post. Between
January 20 and January 27, 1781 the men of the Jersey Brigade at Pompton
mutinied to redress their grievances in emulation of the Pennsylvania troops.
The uprising was suppressed quickly with the execution of two of its leaders.
In February, after the Pennsylvania Line mutiny, the New Jersey soldiers
moved into the old Pennsylvania huts at Mount Kemble, (Jockey Hollow). During the
first six months of the year the two New Jersey regiments kept a large
proportion of troops on detached duty, including one company on duty at Wyoming,
Pennsylvania. Besides
commanding the 2nd Regiment, Colonel Dayton had charge of the brigade,
keeping his headquarters at Chatham, New Jersey. During the
month of February 1781 two light companies and three battalion companies from
the New Jersey line along with the light troops from New England were
selected to form a detachment under the Marquis de
Lafayette to serve in Virginia. In addition to other skirmishes during the
spring and summer, these men saw action on June 26th at Spencer's Ordinary,
near Williamsburg. They were reunited with the rest of the Jersey Brigade at Williamsburg in
late September of 1781. July
– August 1781 On 30 June Colonel Dayton was ordered to concentrate
the whole brigade at Morristown, excepting the troops at Wyoming in
Pennsylvania. As such the brigade
initiated a march towards Kingsbridge. They were then redirected towards Dobb's Ferry and
remained in the vicinity of that place until August. On July 21 the brigade
was ordered to send a detachment of troops to Fort Lee and
on the 28th 150 New Jersey soldiers escorted General Washington as he
reconnoitered the British positions at New York from the palisades at Fort
Lee. On August 29th, the Continental
army left Springfield, New Jersey, bound for Virginia in an effort to trap
British forces under Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. September – December 1781 On September 2nd the American forces passed through
Philadelphia on their way south; the following day the French army under General Rochambeau
marched through the city. By September
23rd the first contingent of New Jersey troops under General
Washington landed near Williamsburg, at which place they joined the force
under Lafayette. The siege of
Lord Cornwallis' forces at Yorktown began on September 29th. On the night of October 14th, the Jersey
Light Infantry under Lt. Colonel Francis Barber took part in the assault and
capture of Redoubt Number 10. This was one of two important strong points
taken, Redoubt Number 9 being captured by French troops. On October 19th the capitulation
of the British and German forces at Yorktown took place, with the enemy
troops surrendering their arms to the French and American armies. After the
victory at Yorktown, Virginia the New Jersey Regiments returned to New jersey
to prepare for another winter cantonment.
They were ordered to, "take Post somewhere in the Vicinity of
Morristown." The troops may have been housed once more in the old
Pennsylvania Line huts at Mount Kemble. 1782
Through the first half of the year the Jersey regiments
spent most of the time in small detachments doing duty as guards and picquets. On August 29 they left their huts and marched
north to join the main army on the other side of the Hudson at Verplanks Point, crossing at King's Ferry. Leaving Verplanks in October and traveling north, they marched
from "Murderer's Creek" on the 29th a distance of "about five
miles to our ground for hutting and encamped." October 1782 to Spring 1783 - On the 30th of October General Washington wrote from
Newburgh, New York, that the regiments of "New Jersey, are hutting
in the Neighborhood of this place" it being "of Importance to the
Health, care and comfort of the Troops, as well as economical on many
Accounts, that they should be early put into Quarters for the Winter."
This, the last cantonment for the army, was located at New Windsor, New
York. 1783
This last winter was relatively uneventful. Ebenezer
Elmer, surgeon's mate and then surgeon to the 2nd New Jersey Regiment from
1777 to 1783, recorded the end of the war in his diary. On April 19 "The
cessation of hostilities was announced in camp just eight years from the
commencement thereof." And finally "Our brigade received our
furloughs, and we all decamped" on June 6, 1783. The war was finally,
and successfully, over. |
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Battalion Records
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The following is a
listing of the documentation we’ve collected
regarding the wartime record of
this military unit, and the persons who served therein. |
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· 2nd NJ Regiment’s Muster
Rolls during the 1778 Winter
encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania · Listing of Regiments at
the 1778 Winter
encampment in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania |
·
2nd
NJ Regiment’s Roster during the 1779 expedition against the Indians |
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Click on this LINK to view our
entire |
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collection of documents for this military unit. |
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Image Gallery
During our research we have collected images and
photographs that may be of interest to the history of this military
unit. Some of them are presented on
this website because we believe they tend to provide the reader with
additional information
which may aid in the understanding of our ancestors past lives and war
experiences. |
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The following are links to websites that will provide
you with specific
information to assist with your research this topic. |
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·
2nd
New Jersey Regiment - Wikipedia ·
2nd
New Jersey Reenactors unit · 2nd Regt. Soldiers Serving Without Pay 1777‑1780 · General Maxwell's Brigade of the New Jersey Contintental Line |
· Revolutionary War Battles 1775-1783 |
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