Lafayette Comes to Haddonfield

Lafayette Comes to Haddonfield. . , On November 24, 1777, the 20-year-old Marquis rode into Haddonfield hoping for a chance to lead men in battle; his chance came the next day. , The British Gain Control of the Delaware River , The British army marched into Philadelphia on September 11, 1777 but faced starvation unless they captured the Rebel forts blockading the Delaware River. On November 20, Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis, with 4250 men, forced the last fort defending the river to evacuate-Fort Mercer at Red Bank. Five days later, Cornwallis began embarking troops from Gloucester Town for Philadelphia. Observing them at a safe distance was Marquis de Lafayette. , The Continental Army Arrives in Haddonfield , From the Continental Army camp at Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania, Commander-in-Chief George Washington sent Major General Nathaniel Greene and three brigades to reinforce Fort Mercer, but they arrived too late as they had twice as far to march as Cornwallis, who had a two-day head start. The first Continental troops, 170 men from the Rifle Corps arrived in Haddonfield late on the 22nd. After dark on the 24th, the Marquis de Lafayette and General George Weedon arrived with their aides. Greene and the first infantry finally arrived on November 26, long after the fort's loss. , November 25, the skirmish Benjamin Franklin named "Battle of Gloucester" , The next day, Lafayette and other officers reconnoitered the British. Midafternoon, Lafayette asked permission to attack a Hessian outpost east of Gloucester Town. With 300 or 400 Continental riflemen and New Jersey militia, Lafayette pushed the Hessians back almost 2 1/2 miles. This little victory provided the only good news that Major General Greene could report to General Washington. On December 1, the Continental Congress voted to give the gallant Frenchman, the Marquis de Lafayette, command of an army division. , The Marquis was a mason, a member of the Paris lodge, Saint-Jean d'Ecosse du Contrat. Lafayette's masonic membership placed him in an international fraternity that included George Washington, Baron de Kalb, Benjamin Franklin, and others important to Lafayette's career. , ( photo captions ) , , The skirmish along the King’s Road, about 4PM to 4:45PM, November 25, 1777 , , A green-coated Hessian rifleman takes aim at charging militia men. Monmouth Battlefield State Park, 2019. Courtesy Adin Mickle , , The Marquis de Lafayette Painting by Charles Willson Peale, 1779-80 Courtesy Independence National Historical Park. Camden County Historical Society