Editing Jersey City, New Jersey (section)

====American Revolution====
[[File:Paulus Hook Monument Jersey City July 2020 001.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Battle of Paulus Hook Monument]]
{{Further|Battle of Paulus Hook}}
In 1776, even before the [[American Revolutionary War|war]], General [[George Washington]] ordered [[Patriot (American Revolution)|American patriots]] to construct several [[fort]]s to defend the western banks of the [[Hudson River]], one of which was located at Paulus Hook. The fort was a naturally defensible position that guarded New York from British attack, guarded the Hudson River channel and the gateway to New Jersey. After suffering defeats in [[New York City]], on September 23, 1776, the American patriots abandoned Paulus Hook, leaving the fort to become the first New Jersey territory invaded and occupied by the [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British]].

In mid-summer 1779, a 23-year-old [[Princeton University]] graduate, Major [[Light Horse Harry Lee|Henry Lee]], recommended to General Washington a daring plan for the [[Continental Army]] to attack the fort, in what became known as the [[Battle of Paulus Hook]]. The assault was planned to begin shortly after midnight on August 19, 1779. Lee led a force of about 300 men, some of whom got lost during the march through the swampy, marshy land. The attack was late to start but the main contingent of the force was able to reach the fort's gate without being challenged. It is believed that the British mistook the approaching force for allied [[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessians]] returning from patrol, though this has not been definitively documented.

The attacking Patriots succeeded in damaging the fort and took 158 British prisoners, but were unable to destroy the fort and spike its cannons.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1879/08/20/81758040.pdf | work=The New York Times | title=Recalling Paulus Hook; Jersey City's Revolutionary Battle. Major Harry Lee's Dashing Exploit One Hundred Years Ago--His Attack Upon And Capture Of A British Garrison--Yesterday's Commemorative Exercises | date=August 20, 1879}}</ref> As daytime approached, Lee decided the prudent action was to have his Patriots withdraw before British forces from New York could cross the river. Paulus Hook remained in British hands until after the war but the battle was a small strategic victory for the forces of independence as it forced the British to abandon their plans for taking additional rebel positions in the New York area.

Later that August, General Washington met with the [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] in the village of [[Bergen, New Netherland|Bergen]] to discuss war strategy over lunch and to bait the British into attacking Bergen from New York. The meeting purportedly took place at the [[Van Wagenen House]] on Academy Street. Additionally, a nearby "point of rocks" at the east end of the street provided an ideal vantage point for military surveillance of the Hudson River.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/appletree|title=Apple Tree House|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref>

One day in September 1780, a local Bergen farmer, [[Jane Tuers]], was selling her goods in British-occupied [[Manhattan]] when she stopped in [[Fraunces Tavern]] and spoke with the owner, [[Samuel Fraunces]]. He informed Tuers that British soldiers were in his tavern toasting General [[Benedict Arnold]], who was to deliver [[West Point]] to the British. Tuers returned to Bergen later that day and informed her brother Daniel Van Reypen about the conspiracy. Van Reypen, a staunch patriot, rode to [[Hackensack, New Jersey|Hackensack]] to meet with General [[Anthony Wayne]] who then sent Van Reypen to inform General Washington of the conspiracy. The information provided by Tuers confirmed what Washington had suspected of Arnold and led to the arrest, trial, conviction and hanging of co-conspirator [[John André]] for [[treason]] and stopped the plot to surrender West Point. Arnold would later defect to the British to escape prosecution.<ref name="Tuers">{{cite web |url=https://njcu.libguides.com/tuers|title=Jane Tuers (Jannetje Van Reypen Tuers)|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 7, 2025}}</ref>

On November 22, 1783, the British evacuated Paulus Hook and sailed home<ref>{{cite book|last1=Farrier|first1=George H.|title=Memorial of the centennial celebration of the battle of Paulus Hook|location=Jersey City, NJ|publisher=M. Mullone|date=August 19, 1879|url=https://archive.org/details/memorialofcenten00farr_0/page/58 |page=58 |oclc=1742471}}</ref> three days before they left New York on [[Evacuation Day (New York)|Evacuation Day]]. While these events occupy a small portion of U.S. [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] history, they are important events in the [[history of New Jersey]] and [[New Jersey in the American Revolution|New Jersey's role in the American Revolution]] and hold an even greater significance in the history of the local neighborhoods. In 1903, a [[obelisk]] was erected at Paulus Hook Park at the intersection of Washington and Grand Streets, the site of the fort, to memorialize the Battle of Paulus Hook. In 1924, a plaque honoring Jane Tuer's heroism was installed at the site of her former home now [[Hudson Catholic Regional High School]]. In 2021, the restored Van Wagenen House was re-opened as the Museum of Jersey City History.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/paulushook|title=Paulus (Powles) Hook|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 4, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Tuers"/>

On February 21, 1798, [[Bergen Township, New Jersey (1661–1862)|Bergen]] became a township by the [[New Jersey Legislature|New Jersey Legislature's]] [[Township Act of 1798]] as the first group of 104 townships in New Jersey.<ref name="Story"/>