Dr. Wroblewski, received a BA (’67) and MA (’72) in Social Studies from Trenton State College and earned a Doctorate in Education from Temple University (‘87). Served in the Peace Corps in Western Samoa, (‘67-’69). Worked for the School District of Philadelphia in the Office of Research and Evaluation and taught Social Studies at the S. A. Douglas High School. Retired from the School District of Philadelphia in 2002. At present he is a volunteer docent at Morven (Princeton, NJ), the home of Richard Stockton.
“I, A. B.do promise and declare that I will remain in a peaceable Obedience to His Majesty, and will not take up Arms, nor encourage Others to take up Arms, in Opposition to His Authority, shall and may obtain a full and free Pardon of all Treason and misprisions of Treason, by him heretofore committed […]
“Permit me to thank you, in the most affectionate manner, for the kind wishes you have so happily expressed for me and the partner of all my domestic enjoyments. Be assured, we can never forget our friend at Morven.” George Washington[1] To whom was George Washington writing and why did he offer, “in the most […]
William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin, was the last Royal Governor of New Jersey, from 1763 to 1776. He is usually identified in U. S. History texts negatively as an ardent Loyalist and opponent of the American War of Independence. Historian Larry Gerlach offers a different view: “He was one of the most popular and […]
In Douglas S. Freeman’s biography of Robert E. Lee, he noted: Corps activities took a certain amount of Lee’s time that winter. Kosciuszko was in those days the patron saint of West Point. He had designed the Revolutionary forts, Clinton and Putnam, and had resided in the little cottage that had been preserved. For some […]
“Captain John Bacon: His name was second only to that of the New Jersey devil for producing nightmares among the inhabitants of the pine barrens.”[1] As David Fowler, in his dissertation on Pine Robbers, noted: “John Bacon is the foremost Tory guerilla of the seacoast and pinelands regions.” He further stated that “Bacon is most […]
While brutal internecine warfare was waged in various sections of New Jersey, nowhere in the state were the effects both in length and degree felt as harshly than in the central coastal county of Monmouth.[1] The guiding principle of the war here was lextalionis, that is, the law of retaliation, whereby a punishment resembled the […]
John Corlis (sometimes spelled Corlies) was a Quaker land owner who resided in Shrewsbury Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey. He along with his mother owned six slaves. It has been reported that Corlis was a “harsh master” and whipped his slaves for trivial reasons. In the 1760s, Quakers in New Jersey had begun to emancipate […]
During September–October 1789, two heroes of the American War of Independence, both members of the Society of Cincinnati, were in the Polish capital of Warsaw. While they were aware of each other’s wartime exploits, they had never met. What brought these two Revolutionary War icons together in 1789? In November 1783, Congress gave naval hero […]
If January and February 1778 was Brig. Gen. Casimir Pulaski’s “Winter of his Discontent,”[1] then October through December 1778 was his “Autumn of Despair.” Following what has been called the “Massacre of the Pulaski Legion” at Egg Harbor, New Jersey, on October 15, 1778,[2] the Legion returned to Trenton, awaiting orders. On October 26, Pulaski […]
“Of the forty or more battalions of Loyalists, which enlisted in the service of the Crown during the Revolutionary war, none has been so widely celebrated as the Queen’s Rangers.”—James Hannay.[1] The Queen’s Rangers, named in honor of King George III’s wife Queen Charlotte, were mustered into service in August 1776 on Staten Island. It […]
“The prisoner of war is one of the most tragic figures in any conflict.”Larry G. Bowman[1] Various studies have placed the number of Americans taken prisoner during the American Revolution anywhere from 18,000 to 20,000, with 8,500 to 12,000 dying in captivity.[2] The harsh treatment of Americans taken by the British began after the Battle […]
On the Topographic-Bathymetric Series Map, Eastern United States, 1:250,000, Wilmington: NJ 18-2 (1972) prepared by the United States Geological Survey located at grid WU5.5, 8.0 is a symbol for a landmark labeled, “Pulaski Monument.” This monument indicates the site of the “massacre” of the Pulaski Legion in the pre-dawn hours of October 15, 1778.[1] In […]
On March 14, 1778, Gen. George Washington sent the following recommendation to Congress concerning Brig. Gen. Casimir Pulaski, who on February 28 had resigned as Commander of Horse: The Count, however, far from being disgusted with the service, is led by his thirst for glory, and zeal for the cause of Liberty, to solicit farther […]
Casimir Pulaski, an exiled Polish nobleman, through the influence of well-placed individuals in the French Court and based on his experience as the de facto military leader of the rebel forces in Poland[1] was able to obtain interviews and letters of recommendation from both Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin.[2] He arrived at Marblehead, Massachusetts, with […]
