In June 1776, just as in all the thirteen British colonies, Trenton residents heard and engaged in much debate about changing the current war of protest to a war for independence. The war of protest began in April 1775 in Massachusetts at Lexington and Concord. By June 1776, after abandoning Boston to Washington’s army, the British, with the largest military expeditionary force they had ever assembled, were on the verge of taking over New York City and its environs. In addition to the Continental Army, led by George Washington, individual colonies possessed local defense forces, usually called militia, dating to early colonial times. In New Jersey, militia duty was required of free white men aged 16 to 50 unless exempted for physical disability or some other reason, such as religious affiliation The population was split between those supporting the war and those opposing it. The conflict divided families and neighbors and was becoming ever more difficult to deal with and keep things together.

With the British now targeting New York, Washington called on the New Jersey militia to supply several thousand volunteers who would fight alongside his Continental Army for five months. These full-time, five-month volunteers, including some from Trenton, although still slowly forming up, had been sent to New York City to prepare for the British military arrival.

Then, on July 2 the Continental Congress passed the vote for independence and over the next few days travelers from Philadelphia passing through Trenton spread the word. The same day, New Jersey’s Provincial Congress passed a constitution for the anticipated new state of New Jersey. Change was taking place rapidly while Trentonians were also hearing from people about British troops landing at New York intending to bring in a huge number of troops and make the city their headquarters for the war against the colonists.

Hearing about the Continental Congress independence vote appears to have led Trenton merchant and high-ranking militia officer Major Isaac DeCou to resign his commission on July 5, although remaining a private. He may have resigned because he did not feel qualified, having no real military experience, and sensed that events were going to become even more military. Or he did not want to fight on the Patriot side with the changing goal. Throughout the war he paid for a substitute whenever he was called to active duty as a private. DeCou was never considered an active Loyalist by others, but what he considered himself to be is not clear.

The New Jersey Provincial Congress, which had replaced the British colonial government and imprisoned Governor William Franklin, illegitimate son of Benjamin, had been meeting in Burlington and moved back to Trenton on July 5, adding an increased level of governmental activity in the town. Political changes were not the only issue. Two days later, on July 7, the members of the vestry of St. Michael’s Anglican Church (Church of England) on King Street, today’s Warren Street, met and suspended services out of fear for the safety of Rev. George Panton. To be ordained, he had sworn loyalty to the Crown. They also feared for members of the congregation who were split between supporters and opponents of the conflict with Parliament. Services would not be held again until 1783.

The following morning, July 8, a horseman rode into Trenton with a printed copy of the Declaration of Independence that had been approved on July 4. As word spread, a crowd assembled at the Hunterdon County Courthouse located on today’s Warren Street, halfway between State and Front Streets. Trenton merchant and president of the Provincial Congress Samuel Tucker, living on King Street very close to today’s battle monument, came out and stood on the steps of the courthouse where he loudly read both the Declaration of Independence and the new state constitution to the assembled crowd. Today, a mural depicting this event is prominent on a building just across the street from where it took place. The Philadelphia newspaper Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet reported: “The members of the Provincial Congress, the gentlemen of the [Hunterdon] Committee [of Safety], the officers and privates of the Militia under arms and a large concourse of the inhabitants attended on this great and solemn occasion.” Trenton tavern keeper widow Rachel Stille also contributed to the celebration at her tavern on the west side of Warren Street several lots above State Street. Taverns were a primary social gathering place, and Rachel was particularly known for supporting the Revolutionary cause. The Packet also commented that “the people are now convinced, of what we ought long since to have known, that our enemies have left us no middle way between perfect freedom and abject slavery.” That freedom, of course, would only be for white people. Every resident of Trenton had to decide between supporting the known government of the British or creating a new political structure that would undoubtedly change over time.

One Trenton resident, Irish immigrant Charles Harrison, had been active in the Patriot cause, serving as a captain in the militia. Now, he resigned his commission and left town to join a Loyalist military force forming to support the British forces. He had wholeheartedly encouraged the struggle for equal liberties as British citizens but could not support breaking away from Great Britain. He was not the only Trentonian who felt this way, while many others were undecided.

The following day, July 9, those Trenton men stationed in New York City serving in the five-month full-time militia service heard the Declaration of Independence read to them by officers. Many then became part of the group of local Patriots and military groups that tore down the gilded equestrian statue of George III in celebration of the Declaration. Whether a Trentonian heard the Declaration read on July 8 in Trenton or July 9 in New York City, everyone now had to decide whether they would fight to secure that independence or to remain with Great Britain. Making that decision led to heated debates between family members and neighbors and soon to a civil war within the colonies, including Trenton, that could get very ugly. The next six months would see many life-disrupting developments in Trenton as the war developed and led to fierce, destructive battles at Trenton at the end of December and first two days of January.

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