Battle of Quinton's Bridge

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Quinton's Bridge
partof=the American Revolutionary War
date=March 18, 1778
place=Quinton's Bridge, New Jersey
result=Pyrrhic American victory
combatant2=British
combatant1=United States
commander2=Charles Mawhood
commander1=Asher Holmes
strength2=unknown
strength1=300
casualties2=1 wounded
casualties1=30-40 killed, wounded and missing

The Battle of Quinton's Bridge was a small battle of the American Revolutionary War; it took place on March 18, 1778. The battle was a technical American victory in that the British failed in their main objective to seize the bridge in order to forage further into neighboring Cumberland County, New Jersey but it came at a great cost when the British turned the attempted American rout into a British rout of the attempted American rout instead.

Quinton's Bridge was located on Alloway Creek. On March 12, British Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Mawhood, along with a mixed force of Simcoe's Rangers and British regulars, crossed the Delaware River; the purpose of this move was twofold, to forage for supplies and to meet up with the foraging party led by Colonel Anthony Wayne. The parties joined and went towards Salem, New Jersey; there, they were met by some Tories, who told the commanders that Colonel Asher Holmes, along with 300 militia, was only three miles to the southeast. Like the British, Holmes's men were foraging in the area, and Holmes had taken a position to cover Quinton's Bridge while they were at work.

Before dawn on March 18, Mawhood moved several detachments of men into position on the side of the creek opposite the American forces. Holmes, knowing of the British presence in the area, had ordered planks removed from the bridge as an additional precaution. However, as soon as the Americans saw a British detachment moving to their rear, coming from the direction of the local tavern, a Captain Smith replaced the planks and left 100 men on the high ground. He took 200 more across the bridge in pursuit. This force followed the British further along the road, eventually making contact with another group of the British soldiers, who had been posted behind a rail fence. The remainder of the British force was nearby, posted in a house by the fence.

When Smith and his men were attacked, the soldiers posted in the house slipped out and ran to the Americans' rear flank, cutting off any retreat to the bridge. They then forced Smith's force to attempt another crossing of the creek. At this point the main body of British soldiers arrived at the bridge and attempted to cross over to the American position. They were stopped by Colonel Elijah Hand and his militia, who arrived with two guns in time to stop a complete annihilation of the American force. In the event, the Americans lost between 30 and 40 men in the engagement, most to drowning.

The battle was frequently called a in public circles of the era. The British, however, were never able to cross Alloway's Creek as they had attempted to do at Quinton's Bridge and other locations for further foraging so they soon departed from Salem County with what they had obtained in the Salem area.

References