On December 15, 1776, British dragoons led by Col. William Harcourt surprised American General Charles Lee at breakfast in Basking Ridge and captured him, along with several others. According to recent research, the British troops passed through Warren Township, along King George Road, on their dash towards Basking Ridge. While Washington and his army were retreating before the British from Newark to Trenton, General Lee with another army was on the move from Morristown to Vealtown (Bernardsville). On December 13, Lee left his army and rode to the Widow White's tavern in the village of Basking Ridge - according to some historians, on a mission seeking the company of a woman. A local Tory may have disclosed Lee's whereabouts to the British, who immediately sent a portion of the 16th Queen's Light Dragoons, commanded by Harcourt, in the direction of Morristown. Harcourt's men, 30 in all, left Hills-borough, then crossed the Raritan River on the bridge at Bound Brook. At some point north of Bound Brook a Tory - probably Richard V. Stockton - joined the scouting party. "With their guide, the dragoons proceeded north, on what is today King George Road, in the direction of Morristown," writes Arthur S. Lefkowitz in The Long Retreat. "Probably from rebels they captured on the way, Harcourt learned that Lee was at the tavern in the remote village of Basking Ridge, protected only by a guard of 30 soldiers." Harcourt's troopers reached the Widow White's without detection, and after a heated exchange of gunfire, captured Lee, still dressed in his nightclothes. Although it took a slightly different course during the 18th century, King George Road would have been the most direct route from Bound Brook to Basking Ridge, especially for mounted men. A troop of 30 dragoons could hardly have passed through Warren without notice, but local patriots had no warning, and could do little to impede their progress. © Warren Township Historical Society |