No. 19 Vol. 1
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IT HAPPENED IN OUR TOWN:
Beacon Hill, Josiah Hall, and the Battle of Springfield
J
By Peter Zablocki osiah Hall stood motionless, darkness around him. From atop Beacon Mountain he could see for miles. He knew this land. The hills, the plains, and the farms with homes resembling dark specs on an otherwise flawless canvas. It was the night of June 23rd, 1780, and around him was his hometown, Denville. He strained his eyes but did not see what he was looking for. News of a battle waging in nearby Springfield had arrived in the town that morning. Below the hill upon which Mr. Hall and his compatriots labored, many locals anxiously awaited his signal. As Josiah looked towards distant Springfield, he was startled by an excited dispatch rider galloping his horse up the hill towards him. And then he saw it himself. A dull red glare lighting the sky in the distance. He instantly ordered the prepared stack of brush in the shape of a pyramid to be set ablaze. As young men hurried around him throwing wet leaves on the fire to facilitate bigger smoke, Mr. Hall resumed his watch. Only the presence of two fires meant victory, and to his dismay, Josiah was still merely seeing one. “Morris County’s proudest boast is that no redcoat ever stepped on her soil ex-
cept as a prisoner of war,” said one-time Supreme Court Justice, Mahlon Pitney. That does not mean that the British never tried. In fact, the inhabitants of this area had a good reason to worry. In Denville Township alone, there were four known forges before the Revolutionary War, one each at Shongum, Ninkey Pond, Cold-Rain and Franklin, all on the Den Brook. Most of the iron ore also came from nearby Mine Hill and Rockaway’s Hibernia. This supply of iron essential for cannon balls, together with the powder plants at Chatham and Mt. Tabor, were all very tempting for the British. As such, and because of the lack of proper means of communication,
the Colonists devised a plan in which they used the old Native American system of fire and smoke beacons to transmit information. When British forces advanced towards the area, twenty-three mountain peaks would light up one by one all across the state in warning. Their smoke and fire would be seen for miles. On that June night, the citizens of Denville were frightened. It was well known that the British and Hessian forces advancing towards them through Springfield were quick to steal, plunder, and burn wherever they went after the conclusion of each battle. Following an established protocol, Denville’s hogs, sheep, cows – and
even women and children – were transported to a place designed to hide them safely until the threat had passed. The “Hog Rock,” or “Hog Pen” was located near “Rockaway Valley,” with many kids still finding corn cobs, dishes, and pieces of iron in the area nearly two centuries later. Once moved to the secret location, the people and animals would stay there for several days until a dispatcher would arrive with the news that it was safe to return. The Beacon Mountain (today “Hill”) managed throughout the war by Captain Josiah Hall – a Denville resident and an officer in the American Revolution – was selected as one of the 23 beacons for its easy visibility. This was regardless of it not being the tallest peak in the vicinity. Josiah’s men lit the beacon and waited, staring at the sole light coming from a distant mountain. Then a second glimmer grew and flamed on the peak. A big smile lit up Mr. Hall’s face. He did not need to give the order to light the second beacon, his assistants were already at it. Down below, many people exhaled. Their homes would be safe after all. But it was not time to celebrate just yet. The fires at Beacon Hill grew bigger continued on page 11
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