Forty Minutes by the Delaware: The story of the Whitalls, Red Bank Plantation, and the Battle for Fort Mercer by Lee Patrick Anderson
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94RedRover
N 39° 52.152 W 075° 11.403
18S E 483746 N 4413257
In October 1777, the British sent a troop of 1,200 Hessian sent to attack Fort Mercer at Red Bank, a strategic river-side fort that helped protect Philadelphia from the British Navy.
Waymark Code: WM6NP7
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 06/27/2009
Views: 3
Red Bank was the 400 acre estate of James and Ann Whitall. Built in 1748, the Whitall grounds were seized by the Patriots to built a fort ont he strategic bluffs here on the Delaware River. The house and grounds sat directly across the Delaware River from Fort Mifflin. The American's hoped that a fort on both river banks would be able to stop a naval attack. The fort built here was called Fort Mercer.
By the Fall of 1777, the British had taken Philadelphia, and Washington knew that hindering supplies to the British could be stopped by successful maritime defenses.
In October 1777, JOnas Cattell, an 18 year old Gloucester County Militiaman, was taken captive by an advancing force of 1,200 Hessians, led by Count Carl Emil Kurt von Donop, planning on attacking Fort Mercer to open the waterways for British ships to Philadelphia. Cattell and other prisoners overheard the plans. On the morning of October 22, 1777, the Hessians released the prisoners as they began their march on the fort.
Cattell knew he had to warn Colonel Christopher Greene at Fort Mercer of the impending attack. Knowing the area very well, Cattell ducked through forests, marshes and creeks to reach Greene before the Hessians. This warning was enough for Greene to prepare his Rhode Island regiment for battle.
The attack began late in the day on October 22, 1777 and lasted less than one hour. Although outnumbered 3 to 1, the American forces successfully defeated the Hessian army. The Hessians suffered 200 fatalities, including Count von Donop, while the Americans' count was 37. This was a decisive victory for the American Army.
Ann Whitall remained at her spinning wheel in the Whitall House all throughout the battle. History reads that a cannonball ripped through the house, and Mrs. Whitall simply moved to the cellar to continue her work. After the battle, wounded soldiers from both sides were taken to the house, which was used as a field hospital for weeks after the battle.
ISBN Number: 1581128037
Author(s): Lee Patrick Anderson
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