This is a list of events in the year 1776 in New Jersey.
Incumbents Colonial governor: William Franklin (until January) Governor: William Livingston (starting August 31st)
Events January 1 – The 3rd New Jersey Regiment is raised at Elizabethtown. June 29 – American Revolution: Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet – The Continental Navy successfully challenges the British Royal Navy blockade off Cape May County. August 13 – The New Jersey Legislative Council is elected, with the New Jersey Provincial Council being succeeded into the Legislative Council. August 27 – The first session of the New Jersey Legislative Council convenes with the Provincial Congress of New Jersey ceased to function under the New Jersey State Constitution. See also: New Jersey Legislature#Before the Legislature and the Constitution of 1776. August 31 – William Livingston is sworn in as the first governor. September 16 – The 4th New Jersey Regiment is raised at Elizabethtown. November 20 – American Revolution: Battle of Fort Lee – Invasion of New Jersey by British and Hessian forces and subsequent general retreat of the Continental Army. December 14 – American Revolution: Ambush of Geary December 22–23 – American Revolution: Battle of Iron Works Hill December 25 – American Revolution: At 6 p.m. Gen. George Washington and his troops, numbering 2,400, march to McConkey's Ferry, cross the Delaware River, and land on the New Jersey bank by 3 a.m. the following morning. December 26 – American Revolution: Battle of Trenton: Washington's troops surprise the 1500 Hessian troops under the command of Col. Johann Rall at 8 a.m. outside Trenton and score a victory, taking 948 prisoners while suffering only 5 wounded.
Births January 24 Jean-Guillaume, baron Hyde de Neuville, French nobleman, diplomat, physician and politician (d. 1857) Peter Augustus Jay, lawyer and politician (d. 1843) February 1 – William M. Crane, military personnel (d. 1846) March 1 – Elias Moore, politician (d. 1847)Society of Friends Archives, Norwich Monthly Meeting Records, Book 'B' March 3 – James Parker, surveyor, and politician (d. 1868) March 21 – John Frederick Frelinghuysen, general and lawyer (d. 1833) April 3 – Elias B. Caldwell, clerk (d. 1825)Perry, James R. The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800: pt. 1. Appointments and proceedings, p. 163. Columbia University Press, 1985. . "Born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, on April 3, 1776, Elias Boudinot Caldwell was the son of the Reverend James and Hannah (Ogden) Caldwell." July 5 – Bernard Smith, politician (d. 1835) September 5 – Stephen Whitney, merchant (d. 1860) December 7 – Reuben Whallon, businessman and politician (d. 1843) Undated Hetty Reckless, runaway slave (d. 1888) Joshua Shaw, English [later naturalised as American] artist and inventor (d. 1860)
Deaths March 30 – Jonathan Belcher, lawyer, and chief justice (b. 1710) June 29 – Richard Wickes, military personnel (b. unknown) October 9 – Philip Vickers Fithian, tutor (b. 1747) August 27 – Philip Johnston, military personnel and patriot (b. unknown)Johnston, Henry Phelps; The Campaign of 1776 Around New York and Brooklyn, p196 December 14 – Francis Geary, British Army officer (b. 1752) December 27 – Johann Rall, German colonel Undated Pierre Abraham Lorillard, French-American tobacconist (b. 1742)Belmont Playground, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, accessed July 21, 2008. Garrat Noel, bookseller and educator (b. 1706)New York Gazette and Weekly Mercury, Sept. 28, 1776; quoted in: New Jersey Historical Society. Documents relating to the Revolutionary history of the State of New Jersey, v.1. Trenton, NJ: J.L. Murphy publishing co., printers, 1901 Joseph Sharp, early settler, landowner, supporter of education, iron manufacturer and industrialist (b. 1708)The Pennsylvania magazine of history and biography, Volume 20 By Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 134
See also 1776 in the United States List of years in New Jersey
References