Union's 1780 Battlefield Runs Along Stuyvesant Avenue, and on October 17–18 Its Doors Open
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
At the corner of Stuyvesant Avenue and Chestnut Street, the morning traffic heads for Union Center. On June 7, 1780, this is where British and Hessian columns turned off present-day Colonial Avenue into the heaviest fighting of the Battle of Connecticut Farms. According to the Union Township Historical Society's account, which Union County republished for the 250th anniversary, Brig. Gen. William Maxwell's 1,500 Continental troops and militia fired from the woods at a force of about 5,000. The fighting lasted from 8 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. along that road and in the ravine below Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church. Later that afternoon, Col. Elias Dayton's men at the Rahway River bridge fired a three-pounder east toward Liberty Avenue while a British cannon answered from Morris Avenue.
Union doesn't keep a fenced battlefield park somewhere outside town. The battlefield is the town's own street grid. Most of the year, the buildings that hold its story keep limited hours. On Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18, four of them open free during Union County's annual "Four Centuries in a Weekend." It is the easiest weekend of 2026 to walk the 1780 story in the same order it happened.
Accounts of the size of the attacking force vary. The county's battle summary describes Hessian General Knyphausen landing 5,000 men near Elizabethtown, and a February 2026 NJ.com report puts the invasion from Staten Island at about 6,000. They agree on the objective. The goal was to push through what is now Union County and destroy George Washington's camp at Morristown.
The Americans held for nearly three hours before Maxwell withdrew to avoid being outflanked. Afterward, the settlement was pillaged and burned, and dwellings, barns and the Presbyterian church were left in ashes. The British still never crossed the Rahway River bridge into Springfield, so their attempt to reach Morristown failed. Sixteen days later, they tried again at the Battle of Springfield.
Bob Gula of the Forgotten Victory Trail Association told NJ.com that "after Springfield, the British left New Jersey and did not return." Another member of the association, Barbara La Mort, noted that Ken Burns' 12-hour series on the American Revolution never mentions Connecticut Farms or Springfield.
"Not a single sentence. I was disillusioned. I mean, this was a real turning point."
The weekend's four Union sites cover that turning point and what came after it. One sits near each part of the story.
The Connecticut Farms parsonage was a central site during that morning's fighting. Hannah Caldwell was the wife of the Rev. James Caldwell, the Elizabethtown minister who served as chaplain to Dayton's 3rd New Jersey Regiment. She was there during the fighting. Her place in local history appears on the Union County seal today.
The Caldwell Parsonage at 909 Caldwell Ave. is the place to start. According to the county's 2026 activity guide, the weekend includes:
The Crossroads of the American Revolution story sign out front has been there since 2021, so it wasn't added for the anniversary.
Connecticut Farms Church at 888 Stuyvesant Ave. stands at the center of the morning's fighting. The British burned the church in 1780, and it was rebuilt in 1788. The weekend program offers church-and-cemetery tours focused on the battle, the graves of American, Hessian and British soldiers, recently found artifacts that include musket balls, bell-ringing, crafts and baked goods for sale.
The cemetery holds 72 men who served in the Revolution, plus a mass grave of British and Hessian troops. Nobody knows how many enemy soldiers are buried there. The Rev. Christian Iosso told NJ.com that the church's records up to 1780 were destroyed in the fire. One historic account gives 47, the number of enemy dead that local farmers and militia reportedly found and buried in a common grave on June 8. The county guide lists parking behind the church off West Chestnut Street. That puts the lot on one of the two streets where the fighting was heaviest.
After the battle, Maxwell sent his report to Gov. William Livingston, writing that about 50 of his men were killed, wounded or missing. The house that governor built in 1772 is Liberty Hall Museum at 1003 Morris Ave. It was the home of New Jersey's first elected governor, and it now sits on the Kean University campus.
During the weekend, visitors can see the Visitors Center in the Blue House and the gardens. Main-house tours may not run because of interior work. On Sunday from 1 to 2:30 p.m., the "Liberty Learners 250 Celebration" Family Fun Day covers the Springfield and Connecticut Farms battles, with an appearance by the "ghost" of Hannah Caldwell. The guide notes that this program may carry a fee. The Blue House is ADA-accessible, but the house tours and parts of the family program require stairs. Liberty Hall's America 250 events page lists the museum's other programs for the anniversary year.
The fourth site keeps the shortest hours. The Donald M. Payne Vauxhall Meeting Center at 333 Russell St. is closed Saturday and open Sunday, when the Vauxhall Historical Society will have displays and information about Vauxhall's history. The society documents Vauxhall's development from a farming community into an urban center. It keeps artifacts, documents and photographs, along with a public research library.
The building was dedicated on May 19, 2018, to Congressman Donald M. Payne Sr. TAPinto's report on the ceremony noted his personal involvement in completing Vauxhall's Franklin Street flood wall. The society hasn't published titles for this year's displays. At the 2019 edition of the event, its displays covered the 1780 Battle of Springfield, local veterans from World War I onward, and land development in the Vauxhall area. The guide lists wheelchair access and an on-site parking lot.
On October 17, the weekend overlaps with what Superintendent of Recreation Robert Cowper calls "the biggest weekend of the year at Union Rec." Since Vauxhall is open only on Sunday, the four sites split naturally across both days.
The sources disagree on closing time. The county guide lists noon to 5 p.m. for most sites unless a site says otherwise, while TAPinto's Union report says noon to 4 p.m. If you plan to arrive late in the afternoon, check with the site first. Every participating site stamps the Union County Passport. Several sites in the National Park Service's Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area also offer a stamp for the Passport to Your National Parks book.
The Forgotten Victory Trail Association was formed in 2021. On its trail page, it sketches an itinerary through seven communities, from Elizabeth through Union, Springfield and Millburn to Morristown, Pluckemin and Clinton. The trail's first historical marker stands in Taylor Park in Millburn. The association describes its research on the troop routes as unfinished and says it is still working with towns and historical groups to build the route. The 2.8-mile guided walk on October 10 from Colonial Road in Elizabeth to the Connecticut Farms battle site covers one stretch of that route.
The battle itself ran from Elizabeth to the Rahway River, and the anniversary programs follow the same territory. Through October 31, the Elizabeth Public Library at 11 S. Broad St. is showing its "Red Lion Inn & Elizabeth's Libraries" exhibit. On Wednesday, November 18, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Union County hosts "Women of Congress: 1776" at Trailside Nature and Science Center, 452 New Providence Road, Mountainside. The county keeps the full calendar on its America 250 page.
I'm Cesar Rosado, and I've worked across Essex and Union counties for more than two decades. Knowing which corner saw the heaviest fighting in 1780, or which old house opens only one Sunday a year, is part of knowing a town well. If you have questions about Union, whether you're curious about your own street or thinking about a move within the township, reach out to Cesar Rosado. Let's Connect.
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