Interact
Interact Clubs help clean hallowed grounds
T
he Middlesex Academy and JP Stevens Interact Clubs participated in a clean-up of a park in Edison. The park is a portion of the site of a Revolutionary War engagement known as the Battle of The Short Hills. It happened here in our district. The battle was pivotal in our country’s fight for independence.
On June 26, 1776, British Generals Cornwallis and Howe led 15,000 Crown forces in a mid-night march from Perth Amboy in an attempt to capture General George Washington and end the war. On the short hills in North Edison, 2,500 Continental soldiers, under the command of William “Lord Stirling” Alexander, thwarted the surprise attack on Washington and 8,000 troops, the main body of our army, in the New Market section of Piscataway. Two hundred died that hot and humid day. The early morning battle alerted Washington in his perch on a rocky outcrop in Greenbrook. He quickly moved his troops into a defensive position in the Watchung Mountains. The Battle of Short Hills averted an encounter that may have ended the revolution.
Today the town park is in a natural wooded state with horse and walking trails throughout. Sadly, there are sections strewn with rubbish from past years of illegal dumping. If you would like to help clean these hallowed grounds or for more information, contact Byron Miller - [email protected].