Not far from where Interstate 78 slips into Pennsylvania, the town of Phillipsburg sits quietly along the Delaware River in Warren County. Most drivers cross without a glance at the water below. But that same crossing once carried Continental Army soldiers, ammunition wagons, and eventually General George Washington himself, during the years New Jersey earned its reputation as the Crossroads of the American Revolution.

Understanding what happened along this stretch of river isn't just a matter of curiosity. It's a reminder that the fabric of every New Jersey community, including the ones many of us call home here in Essex County, is woven from moments that rarely make it into a textbook.

A River Crossing Before It Was Ever a Bridge

Long before the first bridge spanned the Delaware at Phillipsburg in the early 1800s, a ferry operated at that very spot, established in 1739. For decades it carried farmers, merchants, and eventually soldiers back and forth between New Jersey and the growing Pennsylvania town of Easton. Durham boats, the long, flat-bottomed vessels built for hauling iron ore and grain, and lumber rafts floating down from the Pocono headwaters, made Phillipsburg a working river port well before anyone imagined it would also become a wartime passage.

When war came in 1775, that same ferry, along with its neighboring crossings up and down the Delaware, suddenly carried a very different kind of cargo: men marching toward battle.

December 1776 — Reinforcements Race Toward Trenton

In mid-December 1776, with Washington's army retreating across New Jersey and morale sinking with each mile, General John Sullivan led a column of troops through Phillipsburg on their way to reinforce Washington ahead of the attack on Trenton. They crossed the Delaware above the site of today's bridge and camped for the night near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, before continuing south to rejoin the main army.

Ten days later, Washington's crossing at McKonkey's Ferry and the victory at Trenton would change the momentum of the entire war. Sullivan's men were part of the force that made that victory possible, and their route ran directly through what is today Warren County.

1777 — Moving the War's Supplies to Safety

When British forces occupied Philadelphia in the fall of 1777, Washington ordered military stores evacuated from Trenton to safer ground in the Easton-Bethlehem area, just across the river from Phillipsburg. Gunpowder, ammunition, and other essential provisions moved through this corridor rather than risk capture closer to the fighting.

It was a quieter contribution to the war effort. No battle, no headlines. But it was the kind of logistical work that kept an army supplied long enough to keep fighting another season.

New Jersey's rivers didn't just divide two colonies. They decided where soldiers could move, how fast, and whether an army could still be fed the next morning.

1779 — Preparing to March Against the Iroquois

Phillipsburg's most significant Revolutionary War moment came in the late spring of 1779. General Sullivan returned to the area, this time under direct orders from Washington to assemble an expedition against Loyalist and Iroquois forces that had devastated frontier settlements the year before, including the raid at Wyoming Valley.

Sullivan rendezvoused just across the river in Easton, Pennsylvania, gathering roughly 2,500 Continental soldiers, wagons, and provisions for the march north. Marching alongside him was General William Maxwell of Greenwich Township, right here in Warren County, commanding the New Jersey Brigade. That same year, Washington himself, accompanied by his wife Martha, passed through Phillipsburg while troops were encamped nearby, a detail local historians have preserved for generations.

The expedition that launched from Easton that June would go on to break the Iroquois Confederacy's ability to wage war on the frontier. It remains a campaign historians still weigh carefully today, given its harsh treatment of Native villages, even as it relieved pressure on New York's embattled settlements.

Why a Quiet River Crossing Still Matters

It's tempting to assume the important history happened at Trenton, Princeton, or Monmouth, while towns like Phillipsburg simply watched from the sidelines. But New Jersey's revolution wasn't fought only on famous battlefields. It moved through supply corridors, ferry crossings, and river towns that rarely appear in a textbook. Warren County's role was one of logistics and passage rather than pitched battle, and that's exactly why it's so easy to overlook.

I think of it a little like the foundation of a house. Nobody photographs the foundation for a real estate listing. But without it, nothing else stands. Phillipsburg's ferry and river crossing were part of the foundation that let the more famous victories happen at all. The same is true of so many New Jersey communities, including the neighborhoods here in Essex County: the parts you don't see on a sign often matter the most.

Two Moments, One River Crossing

Frequently Asked Questions

The Short Version

Phillipsburg never hosted a famous battle. What it hosted was something quieter and, in its own way, just as essential: a working river crossing that carried reinforcements toward Trenton in 1776, helped move military supplies to safety in 1777, and served as the staging ground for a major Continental Army campaign in 1779, with a local Warren County general marching alongside Sullivan the whole way. History rarely announces itself. Most of the time, it just crosses the river and keeps moving, the same way a good neighborhood builds its character one quiet decade at a time.

This article is provided for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, tax, or mortgage advice. Market conditions change over time, and every situation is unique. Consult the appropriate licensed professionals regarding your specific circumstances. Historical details are drawn from published local and regional sources, including the Phillipsburg, NJ municipal history page, revolutionarywarnewjersey.com, and the National Park Service.