Little Egg Harbor massacre
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| History of New Jersey |
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The Little Egg Harbor massacre took place in New Jersey during the American Revolution. The massacre has been little studied in modern times, and the exact date it took place appears to have been forgotten; most modern sources state that it took place in October, 1778. The massacre took place shortly after the Battle of Chestnut Neck, a British raid aimed at suppressing privateers who used the area as a base to harass and seize British ships and their cargoes.
At the time that Captain Patrick Ferguson was wreaking havoc on Colonial shipping in the Mullica River, Kazimierz Pułaski and his newly raised forces were ordered to oppose his actions. Pulaski's Legion, along with three companies of light infantry, three troops of light horse, and one artillery detachment, came too late to be of great use against Ferguson's operations. But their arrival did stop Ferguson from raiding the iron works at Batsto, and stemmed their attacks on privateers at The Forks of the Mullica River.
Pulaski's troops were deserters, mainly, as well as a number of foreign adventurers. They reached the Little Egg Harbor district (near present-day Tuckerton), and immediately set up camp on a farm. A deserter, Lt. Gustav Juliet, found Ferguson and told him of Pulaski's encampment; he mentioned that morale was fairly low, and security almost nonexistent, so that a surprise attack would be devastating. Ferguson promptly loaded 250 of his best men onto boats and rowed them, in the dark, some ten miles to what is now Osborne's Island. He then marched them a further two miles to the site of the infantry outpost, which comprised fifty men a short distance from the main encampment. At first light, Ferguson ordered the attack; only five of his quarry were taken alive. Pulaski eventually led his mounted troops up, causing Ferguson to retreat to his boats minus a few men that had fallen into the colonists' hands.
Oddly, there is a Pulaski Monument near Tuckerton, listed as being located at a bend in Radio Road.
- Information adapted from Boatner's Landmarks of the American Revolution, 1992 ed.
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