Captain John Schenck "The body of Captain John Schenck rests in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery near Larisons Corner, on the Old York Road, between Larison's and Reaville, a few miles from Flemington, Hunterdon Co., N. J., marked with a bronze plaque, to commemorate his courage and foresight on December 14, 1776, that saved that part of the county from being overrun by British troops. Captain Schenck, who participated in the Battle of Monmouth, served with the Third Regiment of Hunterdon County Militia from 1775 to 1783. A farmer and prominent citizen of the vicinity of Larisons Corner, he was at home on leave in December of 1776, before the Christmas Night Battle of Trenton, when neighbors spread the alarm that mounted British soldiers were heading for Flemington. This advance guard of light-horsemen was part of a detachment of 500 that were engaged in plundering the countryside around Trenton. At Flemington they destroyed or carried away army supplies, and while so engaged Captain Schenck mustered the few available men and arms in the neighborhood and assembled them in the woods along the road near Larisons, where they surprised the British returning to Trenton. The "Historical Collections of New Jersey" thus describe the skirmish: "The Americans poured in a fire upon them, each man taking to a tree, or running from tree to tree, while the Captain, shouting at the top of his voice, gave the impression of his being at the head of a considerable army. The one man to fall in the encounter was their leader, Cornet Francis Geary, of the 16th Regiment, Queen's Light Dragoons, who lost his life while attempting to rally his men. He was a son of Admiral Sir Francis Geary, Baronet of the British Navy. The Hunterdon County Historical Society has a copy of the letter of sympathy written by Lord Cornwallis to Admiral Geary on the death of his son. "This clever deception by Captain Schenck, combined with the sudden surprise, soon put the British to flight, and no further pillage was reported, except the robbing of children on the way to school to get their dinners. The main body of 500, apprised that the woods were full of Americans, hastened back to Trenton. "The Captain's tombstone, standing beside that of his wife, is inscribed: 'In memory of Captain John Schenck, who departed this life August 22, 1823, aged 73 years, 2 months and 27 days.'" Source: A Genealogy of the Quick Family in America And "In 1775 Lowrey put up a grain and produce store, a long, one-and-a-half story frame building, near where his first store was built, contiguous to the site of Mr. Capner's residence. It was a notable mart for grain for a large section of country. That branch of the business was connected with a mill on the South Branch, a mile or two distant.(*) He was appointed a Deputy Commissary, and his army supplies were stored in this building, also a large number of muskets. When the British occupied Trenton a detachment of cavalry, under command of a Cornet Geary,(+) was sent on a foraging expedition to Flemington to take Lowrey prisoner and capture the supplies in his custody. They came by way of Ringoes and reached Flemington in the morning. Lowrey learned of their approach in time to get out of their way, and soon after they arrived he appeared on the neighboring slope of Mullin Hill, on horseback, equipped in regimentals and manoeuvering as if in a reconnoiter in advance of a military force. The British officer saw him and inquired of an Irishman, who was employed at the store, what that meant? Patrick, with more Irish tact than conscientious scruple, promptly replied that there was a large force of American soldiers back of the hill. The officer said, 'In that case we had better get away.' After a short consultation they put the King's seal on the store and hastily rode off. After they passed Ringoes on their way to Flemington, Capt. John Schenck promptly collected a small force armed with muskets, and followed in pursuit. About one and a half miles above Larison's Corner, where there was a piece of woods, they saw the cavalry hastily returning. They quickly concealed themselves behind trees, and as the horsemen filed through the trail, fired upon them. Cornet Geary ordered his men to halt and face the enemy, when he almost instantly received a fatal shot. The cowardly men fled in a panic of alarm, apprehensive of greater disasters, leaving their dead commander where he fell. He was buried in the woods near the same place and the grave concealed. There was a tradition, somewhat current, that a detachment of British soldiers came back at night and exhumed and took away his body. To determine the accuracy or incorrectness of this story, the Hunterdon County Historical Society appointed a committee to open and examine the grave. This was done last summer. The remains were found to have been undisturbed. A few relics which had belonged to the officer's personal equipment were obtained and deposited in the Society's cabinet. This Cornet Geary, it was stated, belonged to an aristocratic family in England and was a person of some distinction. Mrs. Lowrey, who saw him at Flemington, described him as a man of fine physique and gentlemanly bearing." (*)Atkinson's Mill, known later as Quick's, and now as Rockafeller's Lower Mill. (+)The rank of Cornet in the British service was identical with Ensign, the Standard Bearer in a Cavalry Company. Source: "Historico-Genealogical Sketch of Col Thomas Lowrey, and Esther Fleming, his Wife ," by Henry Race, M.D., 1892. And "David Manners married Mary, a daughter of Captain John Schenck, to whose memory history has never done justice. Capt. Schenck was in nearly all of the important battles and skirmishes of New Jersey. He often related how excited he was when he saw Lee retreating at Monmouth. At the battle of Princeton, he was in the act of stooping under a limb and rallying his men, when a cannon ball struck the limb and carried it away. We relate below that Captain Schenck aroused the party that attacked the British Lighthorse on their return from the raid upon Lowrey�s storehouse in Flemington. He knew that if successful in this expedition the British would overrun the whole of this part of the country, heretofore untouched by them. "Returning from from their raid upon Col. Thomas Lowrey's storehouse in Flemington, Cornet Francis Geary and a small body of Light-Horsemen had to pass through a thick forest from Copper Hill to what is now Larison's Corner. After the party had left Ringoes in the morning, Capt. John Schenck collected all of the men and ammunition to be found in the neighborhood, and passing quietly through the woods to a point in the road about a mile and a half above Larison's the party secreted themselves among the trees and awaited the coming of the British. As they approached, a single shot was fired, but the horsemen proceeded. A whole volley was then fired, and the Amwell men ran from tree to tree shouting as though a whole army were in the woods. The leader of the Light Horse now formed his men in a line and returned fire. But one of the Americans, aiming at Geary, shot him in the center of the forehead, and he reeled and fell to the ground, mortally wounded. His cowardly followers now wheeled and fled towards Flemington, and left their leader lying in the road. The party in the woods took the body, stripped it of valuables and uniform and hastily covered it up with leaves. The party now scattered and went toward their homes. "The British on their return overtook Matthew Housel, who had been in the fray, and compelled him to go with them and act as a pilot. They struck across to the New Brunswick road and reached their line without doing any damage except robbing some children, who were on their way to school, of their dinner. That night, under cover of the darkness, a company was sent back, under guidance of Housel, to try to recover the officer's body. "Cornet Francis Geary was descended from the nobility of England, and his family would have given a large reward for his remains. Housel was forced to obey his captors, and with a lantern led the way through the woods. He happened to be one of those who covered Geary with leaves, and knew just where he lay; so he cunningly took the British to every spot in the woods but the right one. "Wearying with the search, the British contingent now went to the houses at Ringoes. In one of these the officer's coat was secreted under some wheat that lay piled on the floor of the garret. In another, his boots were hid in an oven. His watch went to Flemington, and we are told that it is here now. Failing to find anything, they took Housel to the New Brunswick road and discharged him, thinking his services had paid the price of his liberty. "David Manners and Mary Schenck, his wife, had nine children, five sons and four daughters: John, who married John Stout�s daughter Penelope, of Hopewell; David, who became Mayor of Jersey City; Theodore, married Caroline Werts; Abraham, married Abraham Quick�s daughter, whose mother was a Stout; and Jacob S., living on the old Manners homestead, married Jacob Blackwell�s daughter." Source: "Traditions of Hunterdon," John Lequear, 1869-70 And "There was at that time some British [at] Pennyton,... went the next day down as far as New Market... got information that some of the British light horse were coming up the next day to Flemington... where Colonel Thomas Lowery, then a commissary, had a large quantity of beef and pork salted down for the army. He [John Schanck] returned with the information to his father and uncle Garret Schenck and that night Captain John Schenck returned from Pennsylvania to his family and got the information and they selected a few men... The next morning a Cornet and 8 light horsemen came up past Ringoes and went up to Flemington found that the beef and pork was there and returned to meet a part of about 500 troops of the British that planned that day to come up and take these provisions, by that time there was 8 men - deponent's father, Esq. Abm. Prall, Capt. John Schenck, Jacob Schenck, William Vansyckle and deponent and two others who had collected and stationed themselves by the road side in a wood about 5 miles below Flemington, in the afternoon the light horse came back and the militia fired on them as they passed and killed the officer - a Cornet, his name "Frederick Geary" was engraved on a silver plate on his cap which deponent got and his shoes, Cpt. Jno. Schenck got his sword, and Wm. Vansyckle his watch, when he fell his horsemen fired on the militia and whirled out of the road and took a course across the farms toward Somerset and the cornets horse followed them. After sunset the British came along and a little past where the officer was killed they stopped at a farm house (Matthias Housel's) to inquire of them had been any light horse along, he told them the officer was killed a little below, they made him get a lantern and go back to the place where they found the blood, they interrogated him and he told them fictictous stories of Washington's having crossed the Delaware and there being a great many of the militia about and that alarmed them, and the regiment wheeled about and marched directly off towards Somerset without going on to Flemington and the provisions were left untouched." Source: Pension record of John Schanck (a cousin of the Captain) My Genealogical HomePage |