Reinforce the Resistance – The Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield

Battle of Springfield, N.J. “Give ‘em Watts, Boys”, 1780, By John Ward Dunsmore (d. 1945)

Fraunces Tavern Museum, Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York

Recipient: Kean University

Amount: 42,825

The Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield were the last military confrontations in New Jersey during the American Revolution. General George Washington’s Continental army had just gone through another rough winter, suffering through a lack of food, warm clothing, and other essentials. Leading the British commander-in-chief, General Sir Harry Clinton, to believe that Washington’s forces were falling apart. In light of this development, Clinton ordered General Wilhelm von Knyphausen to deploy six thousand troops into New Jersey, using a three-pronged strategy for the attack. They landed near Elizabethtown in eastern New Jersey on June 7, 1780, with the plan to capture Springfield, and then move on to take Hobart Gap and attack Washington's encampment.

Outnumbered Continental forces under Brigadier General William Maxwell could not prevent the British landing and pulled back from Elizabethtown to an area known as Connecticut Farms (present-day Union Township). Maxwell went to the countryside to raise militia forces to bolster his ranks. Now in the area with a mixed force of Continentals and militia, Maxwell met the British advance. The British pushed the Americans through the small village and towards Springfield. After encountering steady Continental resistance and realizing his plan was not going to work, Knyphausen pulled his forces back to Elizabethtown. The Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield, though small, were significant in the sense that it revealed how Continental troops and local militia could work together against a British inland invasion.

With the support of a Battlefield Interpretation Grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program, Kean University will develop an interpretation plan for key areas of these battlefields. The plan will build on the research of local archeologists, cultural landscape experts, and historians to identify innovative interpretation techniques, including augmented reality and web apps, to broaden the story of the Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield. Kean University aims to use newly identified approaches to illustrate the significant impact of battles on the nation’s founding in time for America’s 250th anniversary.

Battlefield Interpretation Grants from the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program empower preservation partners nationwide to modernize and enhance battlefield interpretation – to inspire wonder, understanding and empathy at the places that witnessed some of our nation’s most challenging events. In addition, the program administers three other grant opportunities: the Battlefield Land Acquisition, Preservation Planning, and Battlefield Restoration Grants. This financial assistance generates community-driven stewardship of historic resources at the state, tribal and local levels.

Get Your Project Funded

Check out the American Battlefield Protection Program's website for more information about various grant offerings and eligibility.

Learn more!