By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Historians frequently refer to Elias Phillips, Patrick Lamb and Ezekiel Anderson the men who guided Gen. George Washington’s troops on the back roads from Trenton to Princeton on Jan. 3, 1777 as farmers or civilians.
But the three Maidenhead men were not just farmers or civilians. They belonged to the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment, whose members often fought alongside the Continental Army and sometimes as members of the Continental Army.
The story of the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment and the Lawrence Township men who served in it has not been told, but retired Hun School history teacher Larry Kidder is researching its history. Mr. Kidder outlined what he has learned thus far on Oct. 14 at the Lawrence Historical Society’s ninth annual Mary Tanner Lecture.
Mr. Kidder said he has consulted many sources, but much of the information about the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment has been drawn from pension requests submitted by the surviving veterans who were first allowed to apply in 1832. The First Hunterdon Militia Regiment included the townships of Hopewell, Trenton and Maidenhead as Lawrence was formerly known.
”(The applicants) were not young men with young memories. It is amazing how accurate they were, but also how truthful they were. It’s almost touching, how truthful they were. They said bad things about themselves,” Mr. Kidder said of the Revolutionary War veterans who applied for military pensions.
Militias, which pre-dated the Revolutionary War, were not full-time standing armies. They were made up of men between 16 and 50 years old who were required to attend training days and regimental parades, and to turn out when they were called. Members had to own a musket, a bayonet, a cartridge box, a prime wire and brush, a knapsack, a canteen, bullets and flints.
There were exemptions for men in certain occupations, such as operators of gristmills and ferry boats, as well as gunsmiths and leather workers, Mr. Kidder said. Elected officials were exempt, as were conscientious objectors. Sometimes the exemptions were permanent and sometimes they were temporary. It was also possible to hire a substitute to serve, he said.
Mr. Kidder dispelled the myth that Continental Army soldiers were more dedicated to the cause than their militia counterparts, noting that the reality was much more complex. Some militia members, such as Maidenhead residents Joseph Brearley and Ephraim Anderson, served with the Continental Army and the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment.
It was not uncommon to criticize the militiamen for their perceived lack of dedication because they were concerned about the well-being of their families, but by looking out for themselves economically, they were also looking out for the state’s economy, Mr. Kidder said. They provided food and supplies for the Continental Army.
The ranks of officers in the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment included company officers the captain, the first lieutenant and second lieutenant and the ensign. They appointed the sergeants, the corporals and the musicians, he said. They elected their own field officers the colonel, lieutenant colonel, the first major and second major, and the adjutant.
Many Maidenhead men served as officers. Joseph Phillips was a colonel, and Ephraim Anderson, Joseph Phillips and Joseph Brearley were elected to be first major at separate times. The second major was Benjamin VanCleve, and the adjutant was Elias Phillips.
George Green, Benjamin VanCleve and Phil Phillips were captains, and John Lattimore served under Joseph Clunn as a member of the artillery company of the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment, Mr. Kidder said.
The First Hunterdon Militia Regiment was called on from time to time to march up to Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy, where its job was to prevent the British from crossing over from Staten Island to New Jersey, Mr. Kidder said.
The regiment also was charged with preventing communication and commerce between the Tories in New Jersey and the British military stationed on Staten Island, as well as preventing the British from sending foraging parties into New Jersey to seek food, he said.
And members of the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment served as guides for the Continental Army, helping them to cross the Delaware River during the first week of December 1776 and then several weeks later during the battles of Trenton and Princeton, Mr. Kidder said. They were familiar with the terrain.
Mr. Kidder said some members fought in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, alongside Continental Army soldiers, although they are not credited with fighting in some of those battles. They also fought in the Battle of Monmouth.
Although the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment has long since been disbanded, the concept of a state militia has continued only now, it is known as the National Guard. The militia never really went away, Mr. Kidder said.

