George Washington ordered the first official celebration of American Independence Day July 3, 1778, from his field headquarters that he called Ross Hall. On the night of July 4, Washington's staff and brigadier generals celebrated there in what, by contemporary accounts, was a raucous party. The building was, sadly, razed in 1957, and has been built over. The posted coordinates will take you to the street nearby the location of Ross Hall. There is no need to go to the posted coordinates to obtain the final coordinates. If you do go, head to the posted coordinates on Ross Hall Blvd and look to your east to see where Ross Hall once stood. As this is a private residence, if you do go, please be respectful. There are plans to restore and exhibit the only remaining piece of this unique piece of American history near the final. If you would like to read the full story, read on below. If you'd rather just get to the cache, click on this link or use your own knowledge of what was happening on July 4, 1778 to answer the question below.
On July 3, Washington had moved his army north along the Raritan in search of cool water in the blazing heat that permeated the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse on June 28. Although the battle at Monmouth was a strategic draw, it proved that the Colonial Army could stand their ground against the best British regulars. With that realization, and with the news that the French had officially entered the war, the British were retreating to New York City.
Washington made his headquarters at what he called Ross Hall, named for the widow who lived there. The house was built around 1739 by Edward Antil, who married Anne Morris, daughter of Lewis Morris, then the Royal Governor of New Jersey. Antil sold to Dr. Alexander Ross in 1768. Ross married Sarah Farmar, daughter of the first mayor of Brunswick, in 1775. Ross died later in 1775, leaving the estate to Sarah. (all information from this section comes from here). If you look at a map, you'll notice the current street running by here is Ross Hall Rd.
An 1850 map showing Ross Hall, top center
By the time Washington arrived in 1778, the property was 370 acres, complete with an apple orchard of 500 trees and its own distillery.
Washington needed to capitalize on the events of Monmouth and the British retreat. And so, on July 3, he issued the following orders:
Tomorrow, the Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, will be celebrated by the firing thirteen Pieces of Cannon and a feu de joie of the whole line: The Army will be formed on the Brunswick side of the Rariton at five o’Clock in the afternoon on the ground pointed out by the Quarter Master General. The Soldiers are to adorn their Hats with Green-Boughs and to make the best appearance possible – The disposition will be given in the orders of tomorrow – Double allowance of rum will be served out.
At 3:00 p.m. on July 4, 11,000 troops from all thirteen colonies mustered on the Piscataway side of the Landing Lane Bridge, and marched over to the New Brunswick side, where they were met by thirteen cannons. The line was two men deep, and stretched east along the Raritan for two miles. At 5:00 p.m., the cannons fired in unison and all 11,000 soldiers fired down the line.
The commotion was so loud the retreating British heard it at Sandy Hook.
This was the first official celebration of American Independence, and the tradition continues to this day. At the conclusion, Washington ordered all men to cheer in unison: "Perpetual and undistrubed peace to the United States of America!"
That evening, Washington invited all of his staff and his brigadier generals to Ross Hall for, as one of his guard put it, a "Bawl at Head Quarters with great Pompe." The surviving contemporary accounts suggest it became rather bawdy, but that's a story for another time.
Washington hosting a ball at Mount Vernon
But this place, so important in the history of American independence, forces us to confront the juxtaposition of colonists seeking political freedom for themselves, while simultaneously relying on chattel slavery to build the new nation. Dr. Alexander Ross, for whom the bill was named, died in 1775. Much of the property was passed on to his widow, but there was also an estate sale in 1776.
Listed for sale that day in 1776 were slaves. How many slaves were sold is lost to history. The advertisement listed five indentured Scotch servants (two lads and three girls), a chariot, and a pair of noble horses, but it passes over the slaves without enumerating them.
We don't know if slaves were sold at the location in 1776. The fact that the widow Ross was still living there in 1778 means the sale may never have happened at all. But the fact that she was still living there and that it was in good enough order for Washington to use it as a headquarters suggests slaves were still there in 1778. So we can say that In 1778, as George Washington ordered the first celebration of America breaking free from its bondage from Europe, he was doing so from a plantation that likely had slaves on it at the time, and that certainly had slaves on it as late as 1776. As Americans were celebrating their freedom from political bondage, there were thousands of slaves in the area experiencing actual bondage--and many being forced to watch and serve those who were celebrating their new freedom.
There are few places and points in time in the Revolution where that contradiction is more pronounced than the events that took place at the Ross Hall on July 3 and 4, 1778.
Ross Hall in 1936
The House passed hands several times, serving as the clubhouse for the New Brunswick Golf Club from 1897-1925, and at some point coming to be owned by Rutgers in the 1950s. It was damaged by fire in 1954, and razed in 1957.
Only the parlor wall of Ross Hall was salvaged. There is a restoration and exhibition process underway where you will one day be able to view this piece of American history at the Metlar-Bodine House, just down the road. The final cache is located near there, and if you're lucky, you can stop by and see such an amazing piece of American history.
The preserved parlor wall
To obtain the coordinates to the final cache, answer the following question:
George Washington held a celebration at Ross Hall following the first official celebration of American Independence on July 4. The final coordinates correspond to the person who was not in attendance.
A. Aide de Camp Alexander Hamilton N 40° 30.732' W 74° 27.422'
B. Major General Marquis de Lafayette N 40° 30.741' W 74° 27.387'
C. Major General Charles Lee N 40° 30.770' W 74° 27.428'
D. Inspector General Major General Freidrich von Steuben N 40° 30.761' W 74° 27.430'
E. Major General Nathanael Greene N 40° 30.731' W 74° 27.402'