RAHWAY, NJ — While Union County is rich in Revolutionary War history, with several major battles occurring in the area, one of the lesser-known conflicts, the Battle of Spanktown, was featured in a lively presentation in Westfield on Thursday, Oct. 3.
Local businessman Thomas Maye, a descendant of many generations in this area, led the discussion about the battle at the fall meeting of The West Fields Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution at the Westfield Town Hall.
During the Revolution, Spanktown was a farming community, part of Rahway, Maye said, thus it proved of interest to nearby British troops because of its horses and cows and, more important, its forage for those animals. In the winter of 1776-77, British and Hessian troops occupying eastern New Jersey were hard-pressed to get feed for their own animals. Many raids resulted on area farming communities, Westfield included, inspiring historians to refer to these conflicts as the ‘Forage Wars.”
At Spanktown, said Maye, several companies of New Jersey Continental and militia as well as Pennsylvania and German troops set a trap for the British who marched into the town on February 23, 1777, in search of forage. The Americans succeeded in ambushing a company of grenadiers, after which a running battle was fought as the British retreated under fire to camps to the east.
Maye’s presentation also featured discussion about a large mural well-known to longtime Rahway residents, a mural on canvas that was displayed for many years at a bank in Rahway – but whose current whereabouts are a mystery. The painter of the mural, Lloyd Garrison, a local artist, also painted a smaller version of the scene, which Maye displayed at the meeting.
Curiosity about the battle and the whereabouts of the mural drew several people of note to the West Fields NJSSAR meeting. Union County Historical Society President Joanne Rajoppi attended, as did Michael Russel, current board member and former president of the Princeton Battlefield Society.
If the mural can be found, several parties have discussed the desirability of displaying it again. If possible, such a display would be particularly well-timed in the run-up to local celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and the nation’s founding.
Anyone with knowledge about the mural’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact Jay Hershey, president of the West Fields Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, at 908-295-0489. Those interested in joining or supporting the New Jersey Society Sons of the American Revolution, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, can call that number as well.
Photo Courtesy of Christopher Sands