American Revolution Came to South Orange

When thinking of American Revolution battles, Yorktown, Lexington, Philadelphia, Concord and Morristown come to mind, but not South Orange. But, with recorded visits by George Washington and the Redcoats, South Orange has an interesting Revolutionary history, too.

 

The area of South Orange was once called Chestnut Hill, and there was a Battle of Chestnut Hill. The date is unknown, but it's likely to have been one of the skirmishes that took place in the Essex/Union area after the Battle of Springfield on June 23, 1780. Around midnight, a member of the Ward family (for which Ward Place is named), a prominent South Orange family living near present-day Seton Hall, heard something loud coming toward town from Center Street and discovered that it was British Redcoats. He's said to have yelled, “Up to the hills! The Redcoats are coming!" and several Chestnut Hill men—minutemen for the Essex Militia—waited outside with guns. When they intersected with the British, some shooting occurred in what's now South Orange's downtown, and the Redcoats were repelled. No one was seriously hurt in the fighting.

 

George Washington was no stranger to South Orange. His third cousin, Timothy Ball, had built a house on Ridgewood Road in Maplewood, still known as the Timothy Ball House. While headquartered in New Jersey, Washington sometimes arrived with his men at the home of his relatives, where they would sleep and, literally, hold their horses. They're said to have picnicked and explored during their visits. (Was Washington ever on your lawn?)

And on Nov. 22, 1776, Redcoats were spotted marching toward Hudson County, and Washington marched his soldiers on present-day South Orange Avenue to Newark and then on to Hudson County to stop them.