![]() NPS Photo The British army controlled New Jersey’s central core running from Elizabeth and Newark through New Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton, to Burlington. Unaware of what Patriot forces might linger on their flanks, the British sent troops into northern New Jersey to investigate. On the evening of December 17th, 800 to 1,000 British soldiers ran into Ford’s militia near Springfield, New Jersey. Fighting continued until darkness caused both sides to withdraw. Colonel Ford and his men retreated to Chatham where he wrote to Major General William Heath: “We have Since Sun Set had a Brush with the Enemy 4 Miles below this, in which we have Suffered, and our Militia much Disheartened. They are all Retreated to this place and will in all probability be Attacked by Day Break. The Enemy we have Reasons to believe are Double our Numbers… If in your wisdom you can Assist us we may possably Beat them yet, but without your aide we can’t Stand.” Fortunately for Colonel Ford, the British had no intention to continue the fight and withdrew to Elizabeth. Colonel Ford and the Morris militia returned to Morristown. On January 4, 1777, the day after the Patriot victory at Princeton, Ford was ordered to move his men further east to Chatham. But while he was at the head of his regiment, “he was struck all at once with a Pleurisy and delirium, he was lifted from his horse and borne off the field as the March began” His regiment continued on as ordered, but a small guard and the regimental surgeon Doctor Timothy Johnes, Jr. [Ford’s brother-in-law] remained behind to care for the colonel at the Ford Mansion. ![]() NPS Photo Finally on January 10, 1777, Jacob Ford, Jr. succumbed to his illness and died of pneumonia. In a gesture to Ford and the New Jersey militia, General Washington ordered the Light Infantry troops, who occupied the Ford Mansion, to bury Colonel Ford with “the honors of war.” Forty soldiers along with fifes and drums escorted the mourning party to the Presbyterian Church by Morristown Green where Colonel Ford’s grave can still be seen today. |
Last updated: May 17, 2020