Add Us As A Trusted Google Source Cape May, New Jersey, is a centerpiece of history throughout the ages. Visitors can explore a variety of museums, African American history, and historic inns. Beneath its Victorian charm lies a Revolutionary past as fierce and inventive as any in the nation. From dramatic naval battles in its inlets to the resourceful women who defended its shores, Cape May County punched well above its weight in the fight for American independence.
Key takeaways from this post:
- Cape May’s local pilots and underwater obstacles made the Delaware River a dangerous gauntlet for the Royal Navy, helping divert a British assault on Philadelphia.
- Salt production was a critical wartime industry in Cape May County.
- Cape May County sent at least 51 privateering vessels to sea between 1778 and 1782.
- Local heroes include Lieutenant Joshua Barney and the Stillwell sisters.
- Cape May County has the largest concentration of Mayflower descendants outside of Massachusetts.
- Visitors today can experience this history firsthand at Historic Cold Spring Village, the Cold Spring Presbyterian Church Cemetery, and the Museum of Cape May County.
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When War Came to Cape May’s Waters
In the summer of 1776, the British Royal Navy set its sights on Philadelphia, planning a strike from the south through Delaware Bay. What they found was a coastline that refused to cooperate. Cape May’s local pilots knew every shoal, gut, and tidal shift that makes the waterways treacherous for any enemy vessel. Patriot engineers added to the danger by sinking iron-spiked logs into the Delaware River’s shipping channels. Together, local knowledge and local ingenuity forced the British to think twice.
Then, on June 29, 1776, war arrived directly on Cape May’s doorstep. The American brigantine Nancy, loaded with gunpowder and supplies bound for Philadelphia, fled into Turtle Gut Inlet under pursuit by HMS Orpheus and HMS Kingfisher. Captain John Barry coordinated a desperate defense with Continental vessels and local mariners, ferrying as much cargo ashore as possible under heavy bombardment. When capture became inevitable, Barry made a fateful call: he set a long fuse and abandoned the ship. The Nancy exploded just as British boarders reached her, turning what the enemy thought was a prize into a catastrophe. The blast helped repel the assault, though it also claimed the life of Lieutenant Richard Wickes, New Jersey’s first wartime fatality. Shaken by the loss, Admiral Hammond abandoned his southern approach to Philadelphia altogether and steered for the Chesapeake.
Six years later, Cape May waters saw another remarkable American victory. On April 7, 1782, Lieutenant Joshua Barney and the Hyder Ally faced down a British squadron in Delaware Bay. Barney feigned a retreat to draw the warship General Monk into close range, then delivered a devastating broadside. After just 26 minutes of fighting, the Monk surrendered. American losses were four killed and eleven wounded; the British suffered twenty killed and thirty-three wounded. Barney sailed his captured prize to Philadelphia and went on to carry dispatches to Benjamin Franklin in France, cementing his reputation as one of the war’s most daring naval commanders.
Cape May’s contribution extended well beyond its waters. The county operated five saltworks by early 1777, producing over one hundred bushels of salt per month. While today, salt is thought of for flavor, it was the primary means of preserving food for armies and civilians alike, and a key ingredient in gunpowder production. Britain actively targeted American saltworks to weaken the rebellion, making Cape May’s output genuinely strategic. Meanwhile, privateers (privately armed vessels authorized by Congress with Letters of Marque) sailed under Cape May captains in staggering numbers. Between 1778 and 1782, at least 51 such letters were granted to county ships. Twenty-four captains and hundreds of local crew members took part, harassing British supply lines at enormous personal risk.
Not all of Cape May’s heroes were sailors or soldiers. At Beesley’s Point along Great Egg Harbor Bay, Rebecca and Sarah Stillwell were left to defend their family’s ferry house, which stored food and clothing for Continental troops. When Rebecca spotted a British sloop lowering a longboat of redcoats heading for shore, she didn’t wait for help. She loaded a yard cannon with grapeshot and fired a deliberate near miss, close enough to convince the British that the position was defended by artillery. The longboat turned back. Her actions are today honored on the New Jersey Women’s Heritage Trail.
Mayflower Roots Run Deep
Long before the Revolution, Cape May County drew settlers with deep New England roots. According to the 1920 genealogical study Mayflower Pilgrim Descendants in Cape May County, New Jersey by Reverend Paul Sturtevant Howe, Cape May County has the largest concentration of Mayflower descendants outside of Massachusetts. Many of the county’s founding families can be traced generation by generation back to passengers on the Mayflower, with John Howland serving as a central ancestral link for many of these lines. The research draws on church records, wills, and baptismal registers to establish these connections.
Experience the History Yourself
Visiting Cape May today means you don’t have to simply imagine these stories. Historic Cold Spring Village, the largest open-air living history museum in New Jersey, brings the early 1800s to life on a 30-acre site with 27 restored historic buildings. Open late June through Labor Day weekend, Thursdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the village features interpreters in period dress demonstrating blacksmithing, printing, woodworking, basket weaving, bookbinding, and more.
At Cold Spring Presbyterian Church Cemetery, a short drive away, you can stand at the grave of Lieutenant Richard Wickes whose grave serves as the centerpiece of the cemetery’s Veterans’ Field of Honor. A commemorative plaque at the base of the flagpole pays tribute to his sacrifice. At least three other Revolutionary soldiers are also buried here: Captain Aaron Bennett, James Schellinger, and Matthew Wilder.
And for those who want the full sweep of Cape May County’s Revolutionary story in one place, the Museum of Cape May County is unveiled a new permanent exhibit in conjunction with the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, dedicated to telling the community’s role in the founding of the nation.
Cape May’s Revolutionary history is not the history of grand armies on famous fields. It is the history of inlets fiercely defended, salt carefully boiled, ships boldly sailed, and ordinary people who did extraordinary things when their new nation needed them most.
