Photo by Zeete, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY‑SA 3.0).
In the fall of 1778, the quiet settlement of Chestnut Neck on the Little Egg Harbor River became the center of a dramatic Revolutionary War clash. What looked like a small coastal village was actually a busy base for American privateers—local sailors who captured British supply ships and funneled much‑needed goods to General Washington’s army.
British commanders had finally had enough. On October 6, 1778, a fleet of ships carrying soldiers and Loyalists sailed into the area, determined to shut the operation down. They burned homes, destroyed supplies, and tried to break the privateer network that had been costing them so much.
When word spread that General Casimir Pulaski and his Legion were on their way, the British quickly withdrew. A week later, the two sides clashed again in what became known as the Little Egg Harbor Massacre, where Pulaski’s men suffered heavy losses.
Although the British destroyed the settlement, they failed to capture the privateers or their prize ships. Chestnut Neck never returned to its former prosperity, but its role in the Revolution is remembered today by a tall monument in Port Republic, honoring the defenders who once guarded this stretch of New Jersey’s coast.
