In 1748, Quakers Ann and James Whitall established a 400-acre plantation at Red Bank along the Delaware River, featuring fruit orchards, a lumberyard, a shad fishery, livestock, and a ferry. In 1777, as British forces warned residents to flee for safety, Ann Whitall refused to leave. Even after a cannonball struck her home, she continued her work, moving her spinning wheel to the basement. That October, Continental forces dealt a severe blow to Hessian troops in battle, during which the Whitall home was used as a field hospital. Ann’s dedication to caring for the wounded and dying earned her the title “Heroine of Red Bank.”
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Stories from James & Ann Whitall House
Also known as the Battle of Fort Mercer, Hessian forces under Colonel Von Donop unsuccessfully stormed this fort on the 22 of October, 1777. Halted by combined arms of infantry and ships on the Delaware River, the Hessians suffered significant losses.
Carl von Donop, a Hessian colonel, sought glory in the American Revolution but blundered at Trenton—possibly distracted by a "beautiful widow." To redeem himself, he led a doomed assault on Fort Mercer in 1777, suffering fatal wounds. Arrogant and unpopular, his American dream ended in defeat by the Delaware River.