A People Harassed and Exhausted

The First Hunterdon Militia Regiment of New Jersey containing the men from today’s Trenton, Ewing Township, Hopewell Township, and Lawrence Township was continually called on to defend the state throughout the period 1775-1783. This is their story, told for the first time, describing the mental and physical challenges associated with fighting a war for independence while also trying to survive economically as farmers, craftsmen, and merchants. Their individual and group stories help us understand many things about the lives of ordinary people during the war and explore many questions, including the following: Why did George Washington describe the New Jersey militiamen and their families as “a people harassed and exhausted?” Why did New Jersey Governor William Livingston describe the militia laws as placing “a disproportionate burden on the willing?” What was the purpose of the militia? Who was required to be in the militia and who could volunteer? Why, since the law required it, did some militiamen not own their own musket and other equipment? Why did so many militiamen who supported the cause of independence refuse to turn out for active duty? What roles did militiamen play in battles such as Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth, and Springfield? What did militiamen do in-between the major battles? How did the British occupation of New York City and Staten Island from 1776 to 1783 complicate the lives of militiamen living along the Delaware River in western New Jersey? Drawing on many primary sources that often allow the militiamen to tell their stories, this story helps us understand how the American Revolution was experienced in the Mid-Atlantic States.