Fort Nonsense (New Jersey)

Fort Nonsense (New Jersey)
Name	Fort Nonsense
Location	Morristown, New Jersey
Coordinates	40.7965°N 74.4817°W
Built	1777
Builder	Continental Army
Added	1973
Governing body	Morris County Park Commission

Fort Nonsense (New Jersey) is an American Revolutionary War-era earthwork and landmark on a prominent ridge in Morristown, New Jersey. The site overlooks Jockey Hollow, Morris Plains, and the Watchung Mountains, and is managed as a public park by the Morris County Park Commission. Fort Nonsense is traditionally associated with George Washington, Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene, and Continental Army encampments during the Winter at Morristown (1779–1780) and the New York and New Jersey campaign.

History

The ridge where Fort Nonsense sits was strategically significant during the Revolutionary War era when Continental Army forces under George Washington used Morristown, New Jersey as a defensive hub after the Battle of Monmouth and during operations related to New York and New Jersey campaign. Early 19th-century accounts linked the site to evolving local memory, including references in diaries by Aaron Burr contemporaries and correspondence involving figures such as Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. By the mid-19th century, historians like Benson Lossing and preservationists influenced how the site entered municipal and state narratives alongside landmarks such as Jockey Hollow and the Washington Valley Park. In the 20th century, federal and state heritage initiatives, including actions by the National Park Service and the New Jersey Historical Commission, resulted in listings and protection under broader programs similar to those for Morristown National Historical Park.

Construction and Design

Traditional attribution credits the earthwork’s emplacement to engineers serving under Nathanael Greene and artillery officers like Henry Knox to command views toward vital approaches used by British forces departing New York City after British evacuation of New York (1783). The structure features a rough stone perimeter and an interior earthen parapet consistent with 18th-century fieldworks described in manuals used by officers influenced by European engineers from the eras of Frederick the Great, Marquis de Lafayette, and practices observed during the Seven Years' War. Contemporary surveys by the Historic American Buildings Survey and later plans by the Society for the Preservation of New Jersey Antiquities documented dimensions, drainage, and emplacement of revetments comparable to fortifications near West Point, Fort Ticonderoga, and other Continental positions.

Role in the American Revolution

Debate continues about whether the earthwork served primarily as an active fortification, a signal station, or a training ground during campaigns tied to the Philadelphia campaign and engagements like the Battle of Springfield (1780). Period orders and correspondence involving John Stark, Israel Putnam, and staff officers document duties such as monitoring British troop movements in New York Harbor and signaling to posts near Newark Bay and Raritan Bay. Other Revolutionary War sites that shared operational patterns—Fort Lee, Fort Washington (New York), Stony Point—offer comparative contexts for troop rotations, artillery deployment, and logistics overseen by Commissary officers connected to Robert Morris and supply networks established through ports like Newark and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Preservation and Restoration

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, preservation advocates including citizens associated with institutions like the Daughters of the American Revolution and historians affiliated with Rutgers University and the New Jersey Historical Society campaigned for conservation. The site’s acquisition and stewardship by Morris County and alignment with regional heritage corridors mirrored efforts at Morristown National Historical Park and collaborations with federal agencies such as the National Register of Historic Places program. Restoration interventions have included stabilization of stonework, interpretive signage inspired by exhibits at The Smithsonian Institution and fabrication of period-appropriate fencing used at sites like Valley Forge National Historical Park.

Archaeology and Research

Archaeological investigations by teams connected to Montclair State University, Drew University, and the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office applied stratigraphic excavation, metal-detecting surveys, and dendrochronology to analyze construction episodes and occupation layers. Finds such as musket balls, artillery shot, ceramics comparable to assemblages from Jockey Hollow and Washington's Headquarters Museum helped calibrate occupation dates and supply routes tracing to merchants in Philadelphia and warehouses near Hudson River. Comparative studies published in journals affiliated with the American Battlefield Trust, Smithsonian Institution Press, and university presses offered interpretations that integrated cartographic evidence from Pierre Charles L'Enfant-era mapping and wartime correspondence archived at repositories like the Library of Congress and the New Jersey State Archives.

Access and Recreation

Today the site functions as a public open space connected by trails to Jockey Hollow and municipal parks in Morristown, with visitor facilities coordinated through the Morris County Park Commission and local tourism offices that promote links to nearby attractions such as Town Hall (Morristown), Speedwell Ironworks, and the Morris Museum. Interpretive programs, guided tours similar to those offered at Fort Lee Historic Park and ranger talks modeled after National Park Service practices introduce visitors to broader Revolutionary War themes involving George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and allied French officers like the Comte de Rochambeau. The site is accessible via regional roads connecting to Interstate 287 and public transit hubs serving Morristown Station and neighboring Madison, New Jersey.

Category:Morristown, New Jersey Category:Historic sites in New Jersey