The Patriot's escape is the route the American Revolutionary soldiers took to the safety of the Watchung Mountains after the June 26, 1777 at the Battle of Oak Tree which played an important role in the Battle of the Short Hills.
The British hoped that if they feigned a departure from New Jersey, they would lure the Continental Forces down from the Watchung Mountains, crush them, and finally end the Revolutionary War. The American forces sought to lure and slow the the British and Hessian troops by having their cannons bogged down in through the Ash Swamp in order to buy more time for Gen. Washington. The American troops wanted to draw the British through this area and slow their advance to get his soldiers back up to safety in the Watchung Mountains.
The plan didn’t go so well, even though Washington’s troops of less than 6,000 were vastly outnumbered by a combined British and Hessian force numbering about 12,000. The Continental Army fought a running battle across what is now Edison and Scotch Plains before retreating to the safety of the Watchung Mountains—It has been said that Gen. George Washington turned back the British forces through a pass by Seeley’s Pond that would become as Bloody Gulch or Bloody Gap.
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