Fort Nonsense (Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey)
Morristown, Morris County · New Jersey · American Revolutionary War
History & Significance
After their victories at Trenton and Princeton, General George Washington and the Continental Army sought a secure winter encampment, arriving in Morristown on January 6, 1777. Before breaking camp in late May, Washington wanted to secure Morristown as a supply base.
On May 14, 1777 he ordered construction of a fortification, called a redoubt, on a hill bordering Morristown. Washington's men leveled surrounding trees, dug trenches, raised breastworks, built a guardhouse for 30 men, and fortified the crown of the hill with an earthwork redoubt.
It is believed that the Morris County Militia was instructed to build a beacon of between 18 and 20 feet high, constructed of a loose frame of logs with smaller combustibles filling the center. Such beacons were found extending from the Hudson Highlands throughout northern New Jersey.
The beacon system was used on June 7, 1780 and again on June 23 when the British crossed into New Jersey, with area militia responding to the alarms and engaging the British at Springfield. The British never made an attack on Morristown, and the fortified hilltop was never used.
As early as the 1790s the hill was called Fort Nonsense, with a legend growing that Washington had set his men to fortify it simply as a way of keeping troops busy. The name does not appear in any known document before 1833.
Key Facts
Map
View larger map ↗ · © OpenStreetMap contributors
🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Revolutionary War-era hilltop fortification with original trenches and embankments
- Period cannon on display
- Views of New York City skyline from elevated position
- Part of Morristown National Historical Park
- Historic 1777 defensive retreat point under George Washington
Sources
- https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-nonsense.htm
- https://www.battlefields.org/visit/heritage-sites/fort-nonsense
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Nonsense_(Morristown,_New_Jersey)
- https://revolutionarynj.org/sites/morristown-national-historical-park-fort-nonsense/
- https://thelibertytrail.org/nj/trail-sites/national-parks/fort-nonsense
- https://www.nps.gov/morr/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morristown_National_Historical_Park