John Schenck (sometimes written ''Schanck'') (1750–1823) was a captain in the New Jersey Militia during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

Background

Schenck was born in the now-defunct Amwell Township,

Hunterdon County, New Jersey Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 census, the county was the state's 4th-least populous county,New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

who had moved into New Jersey in the 1690s. In 1770, Schenck married Aida Sutphen (1754–1818), daughter of Aert Sutphen (1718–1798) and Jannetje Van Mater (1724-aft. 1798), whose ancestors were also part of the New Amsterdam Dutch settlement. When Schenck died on his farm in Amwell Township, he left a sizeable estate. He is buried in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, in what is now Raritan Township, along with his wife, parents and many of his children. His marker reads "In memory of Captain John Schenck, who departed this life August 22, 1823, aged 73 years, 2 months and 27 days."

Military service

In 1775, Schenck was one of the first residents of Hunterdon County to volunteer to serve as a

Minuteman Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...

in the months following the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

. He first served as a lieutenant and then was elected a captain of what was to become a company of the 3rd Regiment Hunterdon Militia. In eight years of service with the Militia, Captain Schenck fought in most of the major battles of the War in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He was at the battles of

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, Trenton, the

Second Battle of Trenton The Battle of the Assunpink Creek, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton, was a battle between American and British troops that took place in and around Trenton, New Jersey, on January 2, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, ...

(where he took command of another 3rd Regiment company after its lieutenants deserted and its captain fell sick),

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

(where a cannonball took away a tree branch he had stooped to pass under), Bound Brook and Germantown.

Ambush of Geary

Captain Schenck is best remembered by the residents of Hunterdon County for a small skirmish (the

Ambush of Geary The Ambush of Geary, also known as the Amwell Skirmish, was a skirmish of the American Revolutionary War fought on 14 December 1776 in Amwell Township of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Cornet Francis Geary, the leader of a company of dragoons, w ...

, as it is called locally) that took place there on December 14, 1776. Arriving home on leave from Washington's army across the Delaware, Schenck was informed by a cousin that a scouting party of British dragoons were in the area. Schenck quickly assembled a party of irregulars from family members and neighbors and set an ambush for the British as they returned from their mission. Schenck and his party successfully took the dragoons by surprise and with their first volley killed the troop's officer, Cornet Francis Geary.

References

External links

The ambush of Geary's Dragoons.From Fact to Fantasy The British 16th Light Dragoons and the Raid on Flemington, New Jersey, December 14, 1776. By Gilbert Riddle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schenck, John 1750 births 1823 deaths People from Hunterdon County, New Jersey New Jersey militiamen in the American Revolution People from colonial New Jersey