Share Bedminster Cantonment History With A Pocket Park – America 250 Ideas

With America’s 250th anniversary just around the corner, there’s no better time to recognize great American history about what we’ve coined “The Greatest Story Never Told” about the American Revolution – The Academy that came 24 years before the Military Academy at West Point. And we know how important the West Point Academy is to our American history. It’s time to bring this story to the forefront of America’s history.

For those who don’t know the story, back during the American Revolution, each army would shut down activities in the winter. We had seven winter locations. Everyone seems to know Valley Forge, PA, for sure. But what many don’t know is that New Jersey had 3 of the 7. That means that almost half the time during the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army was in New Jersey.

In New Jersey, the Continental Army’s three Revolutionary War encampments were in Morristown, Middlebrook (Bound Brook), and a special encampment called a cantonment during the winter of 1778-1779 in Pluckemin, a small hamlet of Bedminster Township, New Jersey. An encampment and a cantonment both refer to places where soldiers are stationed, but they differ in purpose, permanence, and structure. An encampment is generally temporary, consisting of tents or makeshift shelters set up in the field, often during campaigns or between battles. It reflects mobility and short-term occupation, such as the Continental Army’s winter encampments at Valley Forge or Morristown, where troops gathered for only a season. A cantonment, on the other hand, is more permanent and organized, often involving constructed huts or buildings designed for longer stays, training, or administrative functions. During the Revolutionary War, the term “Pluckemin Cantonment,” for example, described a semi-permanent military complex used for housing, storage, and officer quarters, essentially an early form of a military base rather than a simple campsite.

Pluckmin was referred to as a cantonment because it had one distinct, unique responsibility – it housed the Continental Army’s Artillery under the direction of General Henry Knox, who made the decision to create America’s first military academy (24 years before he started West Point).

Why This Post?

We have several researched posts about America’s first military academy, but this post focuses more on the future and how America can be introduced to the physical area known as the Pluckemin Artillery Cantonment. I’ve been thinking about this for years!

Now I know there are many things happening with Bedminster Township’s recent takeback of the operations of the Jacobus Vanderveer house. The non-profit Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House was unable to sustain its charter obligations, and it will take some time for the dust to settle. There’s also a realization that bold times should bring bold actions. With America’s 250th anniversary on the horizon, it’s time to create a plan to build a parklet and visitor information area to honor this little-known story that sits on the Bedminster hillside.

Pocket Park Idea – Sharing Washington & Knox’s Historic View

A pocket park is a small public park or green space, usually less than an acre, tucked into an urban or suburban area where larger parks aren’t possible. They’re often created on vacant lots, street corners, or between buildings and serve as a little oasis within a developed neighborhood. The idea is very simple. There is already the restored Vanderveer / Knox Winter Cantoment homestead. There is already a Somerset County/Bedminster Bike Trail, along with paved paths, bridges, and signage. There is already a roadside stop on Schley Mountain Road. There once was a wood-chipped path into the private property where the cantonment grounds once stood (nothing there today). The only things needed are a reconstructed trail, a parklet, and permanent binoculars to view the area just as General Washington and General Knox did almost 250 years ago. Plackard signage could be placed at the site telling the story.

What better way for our town, county, state, and country to honor those who fought for our rights to exist as the country we have today?

Thoughts?

Let us know what you think below in the comments section.

Revolutionary War Winter Encampments (1776 – 1783)

During the bitter winters of the American Revolution, the Continental Army moved from camp to camp, each encampment marking a new chapter in the struggle for independence.

Winter	Encampment Location	Defining Event or Theme	Summary
1775–1776	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Birth of the Army	Washington’s newly formed Continental Army besieged Boston. Training, discipline, and organization took shape while smallpox and inexperience tested the ranks. The army’s first real winter together.
1776–1777	Morristown, New Jersey (first encampment)	Survival & Rebuilding	After retreating across New Jersey and the daring Christmas victory at Trenton, the army encamped at Morristown to regroup amid freezing conditions and exhaustion — morale hung by a thread.
1777–1778	Valley Forge, Pennsylvania	Hardship & Transformation	The most famous winter of the war. Severe cold, starvation, and disease ravaged the army — but under Baron von Steuben’s training, discipline, and unity were forged. The army emerged reborn.
1778–1779	Middlebrook/Pluckemin, New Jersey	Stalemate & Stability	No major battles this winter. The army settled into routine defense near the Watchung Mountains, protecting New Jersey and the Hudson corridor. Washington’s command structure matured. America’s first artillery training facility at Pluckemin.
1779–1780	Morristown, New Jersey (second encampment)	“The Hard Winter”	The coldest winter of the century — worse than Valley Forge. Snowdrifts buried huts, supplies ran out, and men nearly starved. Desertions rose, and even Washington’s patience was tested.
1780–1781	New Windsor, NY / Morristown & Pompton, NJ	Mutiny & Discipline	Frustrated by years of unpaid service, soldiers mutinied, first the Pennsylvania Line, then the New Jersey Line. Washington crushed the revolt, restoring order but revealing deep cracks in the army’s endurance.
1781–1782	New Windsor Cantonment, New York	Victory & Vigilance	After Yorktown’s triumph, the army waited for peace. Though victorious, soldiers grew restless over unpaid wages — tension lingered under the surface. Washington’s leadership kept the army from unraveling.
1782–1783	Newburgh, New York	The Newburgh Conspiracy	Officers, unpaid and angry, nearly rebelled against Congress. Washington’s emotional appeal, “Gentlemen, you must pardon me, for I have grown gray in your service,” defused the crisis and preserved the Republic.

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