Today in New Jersey history:
March 21, 1778: Loyalist raiders under Colonel John Simcoe massacred New Jersey militiamen, inadvertently killing a Loyalist judge in the process, in a night bayonet attack at Hancock’s Bridge.
March 21, 1885: The statehouse in Trenton was partially destroyed by a fire. It was not completely restored until1889.
March 21, 1967: Ramsey-born U.S. Army Master Sergeant Charles Ernest Hosking Jr. of the Fifth Special Forces Group was mortally wounded during an operation to capture a Viet Cong sniper. The enemy soldier pulled the pin on a hand grenade, and Hosking grabbed him, taking the full force of the blast and saving his comrades. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism. Hosking is buried in Ridgewood.
