A historical marker along Rt202/31 near Copper Hill marks the general area when British officer Cornet (Lt.) Francis Geary died returning from a raid in Flemington on Dec. 14th, 1776. But now, the rest of the story…..
In late 1776 Washington’s army was chased across New Jersey into Pennsylvania. In preparation for this surprise attack on Trenton on Christmas day, all boats along the Delaware were hidden and Washington’s troops built fortifications from Easton down to Philadelphia to keep British troops from crossing into Pennsylvania. British patrols were active as was the Amwell Militia, sending information back to their respective commanders. British troops were stationed in Perth Amboy, New Brunswick and Trenton. Over 500 members of the 16th Queens Light Dragoons, a crack British cavalry unit was sent up to Pennington. On December 14th, upon learning of guns and supplies being stored in Flemington, the British sent up a detachment of eight Dragoons under Cornet Geary to raid the storehouse and destroy the supplies. The Amwell Militia, under John Schenk watched their every move as they passed through Ringoes and north into Flemington.
Upon reaching Flemington they found the supplies and food stuffs stored in a warehouse located where the new HC Justice Center is now located. Commandeering a cart, they loaded up the guns and ammunition and headed south towards Ringoes. When they got about a mile and a half out of town, probably about where Ditschman’s is now located they decided to destroy the guns by smashing them against a fence post and then headed south at a quick pace. The Amwell Militia had positioned themselves on both sides of heavy woods in the area between Copper Hill and Larison’s Corner. The militia fired one warning shot, upon which the British deployed into a single line. The militia opened fire and Geary was immediately shot through the forehead. Not wanting to travel back through the militia’s lines, the remaining British troops fled to New Brunswick. Geary’s body was stripped of his uniform, boots and valuables and buried in a shallow grave.
The next day, the British came back to the area to retrieve Geary’s body but could not find it, the grave having been covered by leaves by the militia. From that point on, locals began seeing the ghost of Cornet Francis Geary. Because of numerous sightings the area was always avoided at night. Geary would often appear on a white horse with blood flowing down his forehead. It was not until the woods were cut down and turned into farmland that the ghost sightings lessened.
In 1891 the newly formed Hunterdon County Historical Society decided to check out the accuracy of this famous local history event and members mounted an expedition of sorts to find the exact location of Geary’s grave. They sifted through a great deal of soil until, a few feet below the surface found large bones and a button with 16QLD on it. They had found his grave! They sealed the grave and in 1898 decided to try to contact his relatives in England. It was not until 1907 that the family could be found and working with the Historical Society, arranged to have a proper headstone placed on the grave.
Jim Davidson