- Fort Mercer
Fort Mercer was one of two forts constructed in 1777 on the
Delaware River during theAmerican Revolutionary War , by theContinental Army , under the command ofGeorge Washington , to block the approach toPhiladelphia ,Pennsylvania :Fort Mifflin , on the Pennsylvania side, and Fort Mercer, on theNew Jersey side. Fort Mercer was located in what is nowNational Park, New Jersey . A park, monument, and museum exist today on the site of the fort. The fort was named in honor ofBrigadier General Hugh Mercer who had died earlier that year at theBattle of Princeton .On October 22 of that year, in what is known as the
Battle of Red Bank , an attack by 900 Hessian troops, serving under BritishMajor General William Howe, who then occupiedPhiladelphia , was repelled, with heavy losses on the Hessian side, including the death of their commander,Colonel Carl Emil Kurt von Donop, by the 600 Continental defenders underColonel Christopher Greene . After the later loss of Fort Mifflin, Fort Mercer was abandoned without a fight when Lord Charles Cornwallis landed 2,000 British troops nearby onNovember 18 ,1777 . [ [http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/colonials-patriots/sitee10.htm Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings] ,National Park Service . AccessedSeptember 24 ,2007 .]ee also
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Fort Billingsport References
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