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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
MTOWN_031005_001.JPG: Sign: Quarters: A Revolutionary Housing Shortage
Morristown's population swelled during the war. Factional fighting in eastern New Jersey between Patriot and Loyalist militia drove refugees into Morris County. Many refugees moved in with friends or relatives in Morristown.
In 1777, soldiers were quartered in private homes. While enlisted men and most officers lived in log huts at Jockey Hollow in 1779-1780, generals arranged their own quarters. Many lodged with local residents.
The generals came with their wives, baggage, and furniture. George and Martha Washington and their "military family" of aides-de-camp and servants--some 25 persons in all--stayed with the Ford family. Surgeon General John Cochran resided at Jabez Campfield's home. Tavern keeper Jacob Arnold hosted Quartermaster General Nathanael Greene and his wife, Catherine.
MTOWN_031005_038.JPG: The next several photos are from the Ford house, where George, Martha, and the staff of 25 or so stayed. Note the upright table on the right. That served as insulation, putting it between the fireplace and heavily made-up women, to keep their make-up from melting in the heat.
MTOWN_031005_046.JPG: Servant's quarters upstairs
MTOWN_031005_075.JPG: In the left-hand corner is a fold up cot, which staff would bring with them and put together as is the example on the right.
MTOWN_031005_163.JPG: The sign says: Ferguson Rifle.
In 1776, Captain Ferguson demonstrated and patented a breechloading "rifle gun of a new construction" and British Ordnance ordered 100 of them to arm a temporary "Corps of Riflemen" under Ferguson's command for service in North America. Ferguson's Rifle Corps arrived in time to participate in the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign; the unit came under heavy fire during the battle of Brandywine on September 11th, where Ferguson was seriously wounded. The corps was then disbanded and the men (apparently with their rifles) were incorporated into British light infantry units, where they still performed marksmen duties. Although accurate, quick-loaded and provided with a bayonet, the rifle was not completely successful as it had an inherent weakness in the stock between the lock and trigger. The resulting crack and subsequent repair can be seen in this specimen, which bears the serial number "2" and Ferguson's own inspection mark signifying it as one of the original 100 military rifles produced.
[Ferguson was later killed at the battle of Kings Mountain.]
MTOWN_031005_171.JPG: The sign says: Blunderbuss
The blunderbuss was a specialized arm for defending a small area against a crowd of attackers. Its normal load was a handful of buckshot, which it spread in a wide pattern. Thus it was ideal for use in a doorway, a narrow street or on the deck of a ship. Coach or wagon guards who could not aim from a lurching vehicle also found it a useful weapon.
MTOWN_031005_191.JPG: The Wick House. The literature says: Being one of the most prosperous families of the times, the Wick family lived in a comfortable house whose construction and style reflected their New England origins. The Wick farm included a fine and roomy, well constructed house with windows, circa 1400 acres of timberland and open fields; a perfect area for Washington's soldiers to camp for the winter. The Wick farm and adjacent farms grew various crops including wheat, corn, rye, oats, buckwheat, apples and flax. Consequently, the Wick farm and a couple of adjacent farms became home to 13,000 soldiers during the winter of 1779-1780. The Wick farm house became winter headquarters for General Arthur St Clair. Jockey Hollow was a popular camp ground for General Washington's army. It was used by portions of the Continental Army for a total of 24 months during the American Revolution.
MTOWN_031005_261.JPG: Signs:
The Pennsylvania Line.
The First and Second Pennsylvania Brigades -- the Pennsylvania Line--was the backbone of Washington's army. From the invasion of Canada in 1775 to the victory at Yorktown in 1781, Pennsylvania tops served in almost every major battle.
At Monmouth, which began as an American calamity and ended no worse than a draw, Pennsylvanians held the American positions during the initial retreat until Washington put things to rights.
Anthony Wayne, who commanded the Second Brigade, wrote of his men: I would risk my soul that they would sell their lives or liberties at too dear a rate for Britain to make any purchases.
Settling In.
Washington ordered all the huts to be alike, lined up neatly in rows with the soldiers in front and the officers behind. The men camped in tents until the huts were ready -- Christmas time for the soldiers and January or February for the officers. Then they built the orderly huts, kitchens and the rest. Altogether they put up over 1,000 huts in Jockey Hollow. The Pennsylvania Line had about 200 of them lined up on the hillside in front of you.
MTOWN_031005_290.JPG: Notice the roof of the hut on the left. After much consideration, basically because the soldiers weren't issued that many nails to make their huts, the Park Service decided that this was the style of roofs that the soldiers had to have had on their huts.
MTOWN_031005_306.JPG: This shot shows the town from Fort Nonesuch. Washington ordered his troops to build the fort to keep them busy. A sign here says: The Lay of the Land.
The Watchung Mountains belong to a chain of ridges running from New Brunswick to West Point. They shielded the army from the British in New York City and helped protect the roads from Philadelphia to New England by way of West Point.
Located in a valley west of the mountains, Morristown became an army supply center. Connecting roads brought in supplies from the surrounding region. Local rivers powered iron forges, grist mills, sawmills, and a gunpowder mill; all providing essential supplies for the army.
MTOWN_031005_322.JPG: Another sign: Morristown
Morristown was a village of about 70 buildings in 1777.
General George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, brought his tired troops to Morristown for rest and reorganization in January 1777. They had just completed successful attacks against the Hessian and British troops at Trenton and Princeton. The new year brought an end to many enlistments and Washington's regular army dwindled in size to a few thousand men. He warned the Continental Congress "to the Situation... of scarce having any army at all." Encouraged by the recent military victories, enlistments increased by spring and the army regained its strength, numbered about 10,000 men.
General Washington lodged at Arnold's Tavern, once located near the base of this hill next to the Green. The soldiers stayed in houses or encamped at various places near the town. A Delaware light infantry company stayed at the Colonel Jacob Ford on the eastern edge of town [which would become Washington's headquarters during the subsequent winter encampment here].
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Morristown National Historical Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Morristown National Historical Park consists of three sites, the Ford Mansion, Fort Nonsense, and Jockey Hollow that were important during the American Revolutionary War, which began in 1775 and was ended in 1783 by the Treaty of Paris. Morristown is called the military capital of the revolution because of its strategic location, being the source for many essential supplies, and being used twice as the winter headquarters for George Washington.
Jockey Hollow, a few miles south of Morristown, New Jersey was the site of a Continental Army encampment.
Fort Nonsense occupied a high hilltop overlooking Morristown, and is believed to have been the site of a signal fire, along with earthworks.
The Ford Mansion, atop a beautiful hilltop in Morristown was the site of the "hard winter" (December 1779 - May 1780) quarters of George Washington and the Continental Army. That winter remains the coldest on record for New Jersey. Theodosia Ford, widow of Jacob Ford, and her three children shared their household with Washington, his staff, including Alexander Hamilton, along with their servants and sometimes, their family members. Martha Washington traveled to Morristown to spend the winter with her husband. The adjacent museum is being remodeled and should be open again in 2007.
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2003 photos: Equipment this year: I decided my Epson digital camera wasn't quite enough for what I wanted. Since I already had Compact Flash chips for it, I had to find another camera which used CF chips. That brought me to buy the Fujifilm S602 Zoom in March 2003. A great digital camera, I used it exclusively for an entire year.
Trips this year: Three-week trip this year out west, mostly in Utah.
Number of photos taken this year: 68,000.
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