Kate On the Liberty Trail | Oktoberfest Edition

Hi, it’s Kate—and I’m on The Liberty Trail.   

Alright so I’m actually at my desk with coffee and a cat but I’m thinking about a really cool stop we’re about to drop on The Liberty Trail in New Jersey, and I’m wondering--what would you do for beer and sauerkraut? 

I don’t want to spoil the story of the HMS Blue Mountain Valley (download The New Jersey Liberty Trail app!), but I want to share the amazing primary sources we explored to bring this Trail stop to life because they are *chef’s kiss.*

Here’s what you need to know—From October 1775 through January 1776, this British supply ship and its crew spent a grueling 13-week journey getting blown all over the Atlantic on its way to Boston, only to limp into the harbor at Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Patriots spied the ship in the harbor, captured its first mate, and then brought a force of militia and Continentals to board the ship and claim it for the American cause. 

I think it’s only fair that you read the letter written by Blue Mountain’s captain, John Hamilton Dempster, outlining this whole affair from his POV, as was published in 1776:

The moment I came off New York, I sent my chief mate on shore by a pilot boat, in order to get on board the ships of war lying there, to demand assistance in carrying the ship into New York, where we might refit, in order to proceed to Boston, our intended port. But unlikely for me, …my mate was taken prisoner, and was obliged by threats to discover what the ship was, where bound, and of no force. Upon this intelligence, they fitted out four armed vessels, with about 60 men each, in all upwards of 200 men, an overmatch (as you may easily believe) for a ship with four small guns, and sixteen hands in all, after being 13 weeks at sea, and hardly able to keep the ship from sinking. When the vessels made their appearance, I took them for vessels from men of war, the officer who commanded the party being drest [dressed] in the uniform of a Lieutenant of the Navy, and I did not then know my mate was taken prisoner. They boarded the ship in very part, and carried her about ten or twelve miles up a river where two of the King’s ships lay, to a place called Elizabeth-Town, making a prize of the ship and cargo and myself a prisoner upon parole. 

TLDR: The enemy kidnapped my first mate and sent 200 guys to storm a sinking ship. What. Is. Their. Problem. 

Am I the only one picturing him writing this with a furled brow, tense fist, and with so much annoyance and disdain for the Patriots that the pen practically pierces the page? 

Here’s what else I find really amusing about this whole capture of the HMS Blue Mountain Valley. Not only do the Patriots want a 100-foot ship to add to their arsenal, they’re really hoping they’ll be the proud new owners of the goods laden inside the ships’ hull—including much needed arms and ammunition that could be redistributed to Patriot forces. Indeed, a letter that members of the New York Committee of Safety took off the ship’s detained first mate confirmed the ship “is laden with all kinds of stores for the army.” Can you imagine how the Patriots felt when they boarded the (sinking) ship and found not guns and ammunition but…well, here’s the manifest:

…by Gods Grace bound to Boston—One hundred & seven & a Quarter Chaldron of Coals One hundred Butts* of Porter branded CALVERT One hundred & twelve & a half Quarter of Beans Fifteen Tons, twelve hundred Weight of Potatoes Ten Casks of Sour Krout Eighty Hogs** Thirty five Puncheons for water…which are to be delivered in the like Good Order & Condition…unto the Commander in Chief of his Majesty’s Forces in America.

*from the Latin buttis meaning barrel, a legit liquid measurement, about 126 US gallons 

** Captain Dempster reported that they had only about 10 hogs left at this point 

If you’re keeping score, this is something like over 12,000 US gallons of beer (or like, 96,000 pints), enough potatoes to keep you swimming in mash for lifetimes over, and enough sauerkraut to fill ten bathtubs. Did someone say Oktoberfest? 

So again, TLDR: If you want the makings of a German feast, have at it. But no guns, ammo, or saltpetre here…

The whole saga of the HMS Blue Mountain Valley is so much fun to decipher through the letters, reports, and manifests that you can read from the comfort of your own home, with your own coffee and cat, through the wonderful world of digitized books! A treasure trove exists for you here, in the digitized Naval Documents of the American Revolution. Simply search “HMS Blue Mountain Valley.” BYO sauerkraut, potatoes, and porter, and enjoy the primary source ride!

Don’t Forget: 

Download our app and head over to the Sandy Point Lighthouse in the Garden State and take it all in: waft in the salty air, get some sand underfoot, and pull up some sea shanties on Spotify for extra ambiance. Or maybe some polka.