Fort Mercer

Fort Mercer
National Park, New Jersey
Monument in Fort Mercer, dedicated 1906
Fort Mercer is located in Gloucester County, New Jersey
Fort Mercer
Fort Mercer
Fort Mercer is located in New Jersey
Fort Mercer
Fort Mercer
Fort Mercer is located in the United States
Fort Mercer
Fort Mercer
TypeEarthwork
Site history
Built1777
Built by
In use1777–1781
Materialsearth, logs
Red Bank Battlefield
Location100 Hessian Ave., National Park, NJ 08063
NRHP reference No.72000796[1]
NJRHP No.1405[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 31, 1972[1]
Designated NHLNovember 28, 1972[3]
Designated NJRHPAugust 16, 1979
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War
Garrison information
Past
commanders
Christopher Greene

Fort Mercer was an earthen fort on the eastern shores of the Delaware River in New Jersey that was constructed by the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The fort was built in 1777 by Polish engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko under the command of George Washington. Along with Fort Mifflin on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River to its west, Fort Mercer was designed to block the British advance on the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia during the Philadelphia campaign.

Fort Mercer was located in an area called Red Bank in what is now the borough of National Park in Gloucester County, New Jersey. The fort was named in honor of Brigadier General Hugh Mercer who died earlier that year in fighting at the Battle of Princeton.

The fort's site is now part of Red Bank Battlefield Historical Park, which includes a monument and museum. Several cannons attributed to British warships lost supporting the attack on the fort, and others found buried at the fort itself, are in the park.[4]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Gloucester County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. April 1, 2010. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 18, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  3. ^ "Red Bank Battlefield". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. June 23, 2008. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009.
  4. ^ "Fort Mercer". RevolutionaryWarNewJersey.com.

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search