"At 10 m. the highway
crosses Alloway Creek over Quinton Bridge, scene of the battle March 18,
1778, when Maj. John Simcoe and a British battalion marched here from Salem.
The bridge was guarded by Colonial militia under Col. Benjamin Holmes.
Concealing most of their troops in and around the Smith house, the British
first led the Revolutionary militia into ambush, killing many. Then the
invaders tried to cross the bridge, but Andrew Bacon seized an axe and,
under fire, cut away the draw section, dropping it into the creek. Arrival
of the Cumberland County militia with artillery compelled the British to
retreat to Salem.
The ruins of
the REVOLUTIONARY BRIDGE are merely a few piles showing a few inches above
the water, L. of the present span. A
granite monument
commemorating the battle stands 200 feet south of the bridge (L)."
-- New Jersey: A Guide to its Present and Past, 1939
Today this bridge sits what I
have to assume is virtually unchanged since 1939. Little evidence
remains of the Revolutionary Bridge, however. A small blue sign marks
the battle on each side of the bridge, which is also present State Route 49.
The photos were taken facing SALEM and are therefore from the perspective of
the patriots defending the bridge. The granite monument mentioned in
the guide is approximately 100 yards to the rear of the photographer, in the
side yard of the Smith house.
Skirmishes like this were not
uncommon in South Jersey, as many of the crossroads were heavily used in
moving not only goods, but troops on both sides from the Delaware River and
Bay north to Philadelphia, and then often to Burlington, then the capital of
New Jersey, and onto New York.
This is actually a very popular
fishing spot today, and it is rare that you can't find someone parked in the
pull off on Alloway Road casting a reel into the creek.