the middlebrook all stars
Who Was at Middlebrook?
Middlebrook wasn’t just a campsite —It was like the Continental Army’s headquarters… twice! Thousands of soldiers lived here, trained here, and protected New Jersey from the British. In the spring of 1777, after wintering in Morristown, Washington positioned his army in the Watchung Mountains to monitor British movements and protect New Jersey’s fertile plains from enemy foraging. The ridges offered both visibility and security, allowing the Americans to strike and retreat as needed. The army returned for the winter of 1778–1779, encamping from Bound Brook to Pluckemin.
THE BIG LEADERS
General George Washington
– Commander in Chief
The Major Generals
Major General William Alexander (“Lord Stirling”)
– New Jersey’s own general; headquartered at the
Philip Van Horne House
Major General Henry Knox
– Commander of the Continental Artillery; headquartered at the Jacobus Vanderveer House
Major General Nathanael Greene
– Division commander and logistics
Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
– Inspector General; headquartered at the Abraham Staats House
Major General Arthur St. Clair
– Senior officer present during both encampments
Major General John Sullivan
– Active in New Jersey operations during the 1777 encampment
The Helpers & Thinkers
– Key Staff Officers
Alexander Hamilton
– Aide-de-camp
John Laurens
– Aide-de-camp
Tench Tilghman
– Washington’s trusted aide
Alexander Scammell
– Adjutant General
Timothy Pickering
– Quartermaster General (‘78–;79)
Henry Dearborn
– Light infantry officer
The Brigadier Generals
Anthony Wayne
– Pennsylvania Brigades
Peter Muhlenberg
– Virginia Brigades
Enoch Poor
– New Hampshire Brigades
Jedediah Huntington
– Connecticut Brigades
William Maxwell
– Commander of the NJ Brigade
Local NJ State Patriots
Governor William Livingston
– Coordinated with Washington throughout the encampments
Elias Boudinot
– Commissary General of Prisoners
Francis Hopkinson - Designer of the first US Flag, signer of the Declaration of Independence