Fort Mercer

Yesterday Aunt Toots drove Anna Lyn and I (Shirley) a few miles down the road to Fort Mercer on the Delaware River at Red Bank. It was here that Colonel Christopher Greene and his troops held back the Hessians during the Revolutionary War.



This was the home of James and Ann Whitall that was commandeered for use as headquarters and hospital for the Fort that they built below the house.

It is worth double-clicking on the above photo to read the information regarding this house.

After using the large metal knocker on the door, we were greeted by these two dressed-in-custom men, who proceeded to give us a free personalized tour, as we were the only ones there.

Each room had a large fireplace..... the only means they had to warm the rooms. This one had pretty painted tiles, and was in the room that Ann would have used as her tea room for entertaining her lady friends, while spinning wool or flax for making clothes, or some other 'female chore'.

During the time it was used as a hospital to treat the war-wounded soldiers, here are some of the surgical instruments they had at their disposal. Pretty crude! Mostly, it sounds like they spent their efforts sawing off injured limbs and tossing them out the window, where the limbs laid around rotting in the yard. Blech! No anesthesia, either! Except whiskey and a piece of leather wound around a stick to bite down on.....

Tooth Extractor!

Cauldron used to boil up herbal remedies

Statue of Colonel Greene, who also lost his life in the war.

Type of canon they used against the onslaught of war ships entering the Delaware River. An underwater obstacle they employed, called chevaux-de-frise, was very successful in sinking ships also.Among the war ships they were able to sink, they counted the ship Augusta, a 64-gun ship on its maiden voyage. It had the most guns of any ship at this time!

The Ditch

These ditches were dug to keep the Hessians from entering from the rear of the fort. The apple trees were fallen and placed on the far side of the ditch with the upturned branches pointing toward the enemy. They would have to barge through the branches and across the ditches and bypass the canons in order to break into the fort. The fort itself, was destroyed after the war, when the Whitall's reclaimed their homestead. Ann Cooper Whitall never left her home during the occupation by the military. She assisted in the hospital there during that time.

This tree bark was interesting.... like camouflage!

Anna Lyn studying the Delaware River through binoculars.

Red Banks Island

Looking up the Delaware River from Red Banks

Looking downstream from Red Banks

There are, of course, many Forts from the Revolutionary War in this area! Kind of surreal for those of us from the West Coast!