​The following books are recommended for learning more about the Revolutionary War in New Jersey.

 

"1776" by David McCullough

This popular narrative of the second year of the Revolutionary War focuses on New York and New Jersey as it tells the story of the invasion and battles of New York, Washington's retreat across New Jersey, and the Continental Army's triumphant return with the Crossing and defeat of the Hessians at Trenton.

 

"George Washington's Revenge: The 1777 New Jersey Campaign and How General Washington Turned Defeat into the Strategy that Won the Revolution," by Arthur S. Lefkowitz

A detailed account of Washington's game of chess with Howe across the board of central New Jersey, including The Battle of the Short Hills.

 

"The Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield (1780)," by Edward G. Lengel

A concise account of the consecutive battles during which Hessian and British troops tried and failed to break through the Watchung Mountains and capture Morristown. 

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"The Forgotten Victory - The Battle for New Jersey 1780," by Thomas Fleming

A novelesque treatment of the Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield. 

 

"Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle," by Mark Edward Lender and Garry Wheeler Stone

 

"Middlebrook: The Encampment That Saved America," by Robert A. Mayers

A well-researched account of two extended encampments by Washington's Army in the Martinsville area of New Jersey, seven weeks during the early summer of 1777, and during the entire winter of 1778-1779. Mayers, a lifelong New Jersey resident, has written numerous books about the Revolutionary War in New Jersey. This one is perhaps his best.  

 

"Surviving the Winters: Housing Washington's Army During the American Revolution," by Steven Elliott

A look at the winter encampments of the Continental Army at Middlebrook and Morristown, including the savage winter of 1779-80.

 

"Washington's Crossing," by David Hackett Fischer

A magisterial account of the 10 Crucial Days, that period in 1776-77 that began with Washington's Crossing and ends with the victorious Battle of Princeton. 

 

"Ten Crucial Days: Washington's Vision for Victory Unfolds," by William L. Kidder

 

"The Revolutionary World of a Free Black Man: Jacob Francis 1754-1836," by William L. Kidder

The life story Jacob Francis of Amwell Township, Hunterdon County, an indentured servant who went on to enlist in the Continental Army and later the New Jersey militia.

 

"Jack Cudjo: Newark's Revolutionary Soldier and First Black Businessman," by Kofi Ayim

The story of an African man who was captured in the Gold Coast (present day Ghana) and enslaved in Newark, New Jersey. Cudjo substituted for his master in the Revolutionary War and was later given his freedom and land in return.