Seeing the Past

On May 10, 1780, on his return to America, Lafayette met with General George Washington and Colonel Alexander Hamilton at Washington's headquarters in Morristown to advise of the formal entry of France on the side of the Americans.  Washington's headquarters was a couple of miles from the center of the town, the Green.  On the Green was Arnold's Tavern, which Washington used as his headquarters in 1777 after the Battle of Princeton when his troops camped at Jockey Hollow.  An imaginative sculpture interprets the event on the Green:

In the middle of the picture you can see the blue square sign in front of the Charles Schwab building that marks the site of Colonel Jacob Arnold's tavern that was on the green.   It is intriguing to imagine this conversation looking like this on the Green.  Elsewhere on the Green is another sculpture commemorating the militia, which Washington often despised.

Fort Nonsense and Alarm Beacons

I previously posted about Fort Nonsense.  On a recent visit I noted two plaques either previously not there or that I'd never read.  It was intriguing: they explored the use of beacons as communications and warning devices used in the Revolution.

Fort Nonsense was built to provide a safe area for retreat of those troops guarding Morristown, New Jersey, in the event of a British attack (which never came).  Morristown is below the hill and to the left as we look out.  The plaque on the right tells us that "[i]n case of enemy invasion or other emergency situations, it was to be set on fire to notify militiamen to go to preselected meeting places and prepare for response to the alarm." The one on the left tells us there were plans for a beacon here, but there is no historical proof one was placed here.  There was to be a line of beacons on the hills, with one on the hill to the south at Summit, which was on the fringe of the battle of Springfield in June 1780; that beacon was said to be activated as the British approached Morristown but were defeated.

In the film Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, there is a dramatic scene showing the force and power of beacons; I found it one of the most beautifully presented images in the series.  We have Aragorn, the king to be, urging the leader of the neighboring country to come to aid:

"Aragorn: The Beacons of Minas Tirith! The Beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid.
Theoden: And Rohan will answer. Muster the Rohirrim. Assemble the army at Dunharrow. As many men as can be found. You have two days. On the third, we ride for Gondor and war."

Not dissimilar to the use explained on the hill at Fort Nonsense.

Kingston Mill, the Revolution and History

Kingston Mill, shown here during the East Coast snowstorm on December 14, is an historic spot.  

The bridge was a replacement built in 1798 for the wooden bridge destroyed by Washington after the Battle of Princeton.  About 100 yards away is a marker referring to the "horseback conference" in which Washington decided to take his force to Jockey Hollow for the winter rather than attack the British at New Brunswick.  After the Revolution, during the early part of the nineteenth century, the Delaware and Raritan Canal was built; there is a lock at Kingston past the left edge of the photograph.  Past the right edge of the photograph, the road was part of the Lincoln Highway designation in the early twentieth century.  The mill itself, testament to the Industrial Revolution, was built in the late nineteenth century.  This place is filled with history across the formation and growth of the country.

Fort Nonsense and 2012

"Fort Nonsense" was a redoubt constructed on the tallest spot in Morristown, NJ, to protect Washington's winter encampment at Jockey Hollow in January through May 1777, following the Battle of Princeton.  Here is a view from the top; on a clear day, you could make out New York City on the horizon:

Notwithstanding its strategic position, the rumor was that it was nothing but busywork for the troops to keep them occupied.

We might think about the current presidential campaign, with so much busywork passing for campaign ads and charges, and the real issues not the subject of meaningful discussion or even serious effort to find middle ground.  Governance has been sacrificed to win at any cost.  At least here, on top of this hill, tangible evidence achievement persists.  What will we say in two hundred years about what we are doing now?