Cape May Combat
In 1782, British forces raided and burned several buildings in this specific Cape May County village.
What is Town Bank?
These local "legal pirates" were authorized by the government to attack and profit from British merchant ships.
What are Privateers?
Cape May was a vital production site for this mineral, used to preserve food for the Continental Army.
What is salt?
This local patriot served as the chairman of Cape May’s Committee of Safety and was a prominent landowner in the county.
Who's is Aaron Leaming?
Established in 1718, this "Old Brick" church in Cape May County served as a spiritual hub for many local Revolutionary soldiers.
What is Cold Springs Presbyterian Church?
This 1776 engagement is recognized as the only Revolutionary War battle fought specifically in Cape May County waters.
What is the Battle of Turtle Gut Intlet?
While many fought for independence, these residents—also called Tories—remained faithful to the King.
Who are Loyalists?
British ships patrolled Cape May heavily because it sits at the strategic entrance to this major river.
What is the Delaware River?
Before he was a general and the first U.S. President, he relied on Cape May's salt works to preserve meat for his Continental Army.
Who is George Washington?
In 1761, Cape May earned this title, becoming the first location in the American colonies officially recognized for this leisure purpose.
What is America's First Seaside Resort?
To prevent the British from seizing her cargo during the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet, American sailors famously blew up this ship.
What is the Nancy?
This local patriot represented New Jersey’s interests while serving in the Continental Congress.
Who is Richard Somers?
The harbor area was a high-stakes zone because it provided the main link between the Atlantic Ocean and this body of water.
What is the Delaware Bay?
This local resident and tavern owner was a noted patriot whose colonial home still stands today as a museum on Washington Street.
Who is Memucan Hughes?
Long before the Revolution, this 17th-century industry brought the first permanent European settlers to Cape May's "Town Bank."
What is Whaling?
This naval hero, often called the "Father of the American Navy," commanded the defense of the Nancy in 1776.
Who is John Barry?
Local residents were constantly on high alert, serving as lookouts for the arrival of these enemy vessels.
What are British Ships?
This 1783 peace agreement officially brought a conclusion to the hostilities between the U.S. and Great Britain.
What is the Treaty of Paris?
He was the first American casualty of the war in New Jersey, killed during the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet and buried in Cold Spring.
Who is Lieutenant Richard Wickes?
This 18th-century "living history" site in Cape May County preserves original colonial buildings, including a tavern and a pottery shop.
What is Historic Cold Springs Village?
During the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet, sailors risked their lives to salvage this specific, explosive cargo from the hold.
What is gunpowder or ammunition?
Rather than marching on land, most Cape May combatants served aboard these types of converted vessels.
What are fishing vessels privateer ships?
During the Revolution, Cape May’s geography was vital because it offered a "back door" for ships to bypass the British blockade and enter this 12-mile-wide mouth of the Delaware Bay.
What is the Cape May-Cape Henlopen entrance?
While not a resident, this "financier of the Revolution" chartered the ship Nancy to bring vital gunpowder through Cape May's waters.
Who is Robert Morris?
In the early 1850s, this famous "Moses" of the Underground Railroad worked in Cape May to fund her missions of freeing enslaved people.
Who is Harriet Tubman?