Battle of Cedar Bridge

Battle of Cedar Bridge
	Part of American Revolutionary War
	; The Cedar Bridge Tavern near where Captain John Bacon and his Loyalist "Refugees" (military associators) skirmished with local Patriot militia in the last documented conflict of the American Revolutionary War.
Date	December 27, 1782
Location	Barnegat Township, New Jersey
Result	Patriot victory
Belligerents
Loyalist militia Pine Robbers;	Patriot militia
Commanders and leaders
John Bacon (WIA)	Richard Shreve; Edward Thomas
Strength
Unknown	28 militia
Casualties and losses
1 killed; 4 wounded; Several captured	1 killed; 4 wounded

The Battle of Cedar Bridge, fought in Barnegat Township, New Jersey, was one of the last skirmishes of the American Revolutionary War, between Continental militia under Captains Richard Shreve and Edward Thomas and Loyalist militia under John Bacon on December 27, 1782.^[1]^[2]

Bacon had killed 30 sleeping American seamen on the colonists' ship, the Alligator, and perpetrated other acts of terror on suspected Continental supporters. A reward of 50 pounds for Bacon's capture was offered by the governor of New Jersey, William Livingston.

A Continental militia, commanded by Richard Shreve and Edward Thomas, set out to hunt Bacon down on December 1782. After several days of unsuccessful search it returned to Burlington, New Jersey. En route, the Continentals stopped at the tavern near the bridge, unaware of Bacon and his men on the other side.^[3]

Learning that the Continental militia was nearby, Bacon had little time to escape and so decided to barricade the bridge and open fire on the Continentals. After holding off the Continentals for some time the Continentals began to overcome them. Local inhabitants heard the gunfire and came to the aid of the Loyalists, which gave Bacon and his men time to escape. The Continentals overpowered the local Loyalist supporters and captured several of them.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Bacon was discovered, captured, and killed at a tavern in Tuckerton, New Jersey, a few months after the engagement. He was so hated among the populace there that his corpse was paraded through town and around the countryside before its burial in an unmarked grave.^[6]

^ Heyboer, Kelly. 'NJ's oldest rest stop?: Monmouth U. students digging up history at Cedar Bridge Tavern", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 23, 2014. Accessed December 29, 2024. "The area surrounding the tavern was also the site of the Affair at Cedar Bridge in 1782, one of the last battles of the Revolutionary War."
^ Cedar Bridge Tavern, Ocean County, New Jersey Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed December 29, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "The Battle of Cedar Bridge is fought", California Society, Sons of the American Revolution, December 27, 2023. Accessed December 29, 2024. "On this day in history, December 27, 1782, the Battle of Cedar Bridge is fought near Manahawkin, New Jersey. One of the last skirmishes of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Cedar Bridge was a fight between Loyalist holdouts and New Jersey militia, illustrating the civil war nature of the American Revolution."
^ https://www.co.ocean.nj.us/WebContentFiles/85181e98-b87b-42a8-912a-eb2dc8e48760.pdf
^ https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=70935
^ http://www.pineypower.com/cedarbridge.htm

[1] Heyboer, Kelly. 'NJ's oldest rest stop?: Monmouth U. students digging up history at Cedar Bridge Tavern", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 23, 2014. Accessed December 29, 2024. "The area surrounding the tavern was also the site of the Affair at Cedar Bridge in 1782, one of the last battles of the Revolutionary War."

[2] Cedar Bridge Tavern, Ocean County, New Jersey Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed December 29, 2024.

[CaliforniaSAR-3] "The Battle of Cedar Bridge is fought", California Society, Sons of the American Revolution, December 27, 2023. Accessed December 29, 2024. "On this day in history, December 27, 1782, the Battle of Cedar Bridge is fought near Manahawkin, New Jersey. One of the last skirmishes of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Cedar Bridge was a fight between Loyalist holdouts and New Jersey militia, illustrating the civil war nature of the American Revolution."

[4] ttps://www.co.ocean.nj.us/WebContentFiles/85181e98-b87b-42a8-912a-eb2dc8e48760.pdf

[5] ttps://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=70935

[6] ttp://www.pineypower.com/cedarbridge.htm

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