Orange in Essex County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Dispatch Rider of the American Revolution

Dispatch Rider Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, May 18, 2008

1. Dispatch Rider Marker

Inscription. This statue was dedicated Friday, June 14th, 1907, centennial of first town meeting of Orange, also the 130th Anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as our national emblem. In memory of the men and women of this community who assisted in establishing American Independence.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Religion & Religious Structures • War, US Revolutionary.

Location. 40° 46.42′ N, 74° 14.034′ W. Memorial is in Orange, New Jersey, in Essex County. It is at the intersection of Main Street (County Route 659) and Scotland Road (County Route 638), on the right when traveling east on Main Street. Marker is in the churchyard of the First Presbyterian Church in Orange. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 420 Main St, Orange NJ 07050, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in New Jersey’s North Jersey,

in Greater Newark,

and in the New York City Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

and on the

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Revolutionary War Dead (within shouting distance of this marker); West Orange Police Station (approx. 0.4 miles away); World War II Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); West Orange War Memorial Park (approx. 0.4 miles away); Vietnam Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); Korean War Dead Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); U.S. Army M1A1 57mm Anti-Tank Gun (approx. 0.4 miles away); Purple Heart Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away).

Also see . . . A Guide to New Jersey's Revolutionary War Trail, page 47. There are a number of Revolutionary War soldiers and Patriots buried in the cemetery that surrounds the old stone church. In a prominent position in the cemetery is a weathered bronze statue honoring the “Dispatch Rider of the American Revolution.” Dispatch riders provided

Statue in Presbyterian churchyard image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, May 18, 2008

2. Statue in Presbyterian churchyard

Bronze by Frank Edwin Elwell (1852-1922) is approx. 9 feet high on a 3 foot base. Marker is on the right side of the statue's pedestal.

the communications system of the war, carrying important messages from headquarters to command posts to the front lines.

But not all dispatch riders were put on pedestals. Washington wrote to Congress on December 1, 1776, that “I wish my letters of yesterday may arrive safe, being informed that the return express who had them was idling his time, and shewing [showing] them on the road.”

Also, it was a dispatch rider who gave away the location of Gen. Charles Lee to British soldier before they captured him at Basking Ridge. (Submitted on May 20, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 18, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 2,403 times since then and 72 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 18, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.