Ambush of Geary
Who Fought
History & Significance
The Ambush of Geary, also known as the Amwell Skirmish, was a skirmish of the American Revolutionary War fought on 14 December 1776 in Amwell Township of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Cornet Francis Geary, the leader of a company of dragoons, was shot in an ambush set up by local militiamen led by Captain John Schenck.
After British forces captured New York City in the first part of the New York and New Jersey campaign, they established outposts throughout central New Jersey. Geary, the son of Admiral Sir Francis Geary, was operating from a station at Pennington when he was killed in the ambush. His body was concealed and later buried in a shallow grave, preventing its recovery by British troops. In the 19th century local historical interest led to the confirmation of his grave's location, and the establishment of markers at the site and in England.
Making a casualty of Geary was one of a number of militia actions that resulted in a reduced scope of British reconnaissance, contributing to the eventual success of George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River and victory at the Battle of Trenton.
After General William Howe successfully drove George Washington's Continental Army out of New York City in the fall of 1776, Washington retreated across New Jersey, pursued by General Charles Cornwallis. Washington retreated all the way across the Delaware River in early December, and the British began arranging winter quarters in New Jersey, establishing a chain of outposts from Perth Amboy to Bordentown.
The British and their Hessian allies regularly sent out reconnaissance and foraging parties. These were vulnerable to attack by local Patriot militia companies. The area around the Trenton outpost, commanded by Johann Rall and populated primarily by Hessians, was particularly vulnerable to these militia raids, as was a detachment of the 16th (Queen's) Light Dragoons posted not far away from Trenton at Pennington. Hunterdon County, north of Trenton, was an area where atrocities were reported in early December, including claims of rape of girls and pregnant women, perpetrated by groups of British and German soldiers; these reports contributed to an increase in Patriot militia activity in the area north of Trenton.
Cornet Francis Geary was the eldest son and heir of Admiral Sir Francis Geary and Mary Bartholomew. Born in 1752, he was raised in Surrey and educated at Balliol College, Oxford. Purchasing a cornetcy in the 16th Light Dragoons in 1773, Geary was sent to North America in 1776, arriving in New York at the end of September. In October and November, Geary's unit was mainly occupied with forays in northern New Jersey where they met little organized resistance, but on 1 December, his company was ordered to camp at Pennington. On 14 December, Cornet Geary and seven other members of the 16th were sent north on a reconnaissance mission.
The ground they fought on
The site of Ambush of Geary lies on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.
- 16th (Queen's) Light Dragoons: One killed
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- Ambush of Geary · Wikipedia