People

Presbyterian minister of Elizabethtown (1734-1781) known as "the Fighting Parson" for his fiery patriot advocacy, who served as chaplain to the 3rd New Jersey Regiment and was killed by a Continental sentry under disputed circumstances.

First governor of New Jersey (1723-1790) who served from 1776 until his death, built Liberty Hall in Elizabethtown, signed the U.S. Constitution, and governed the state through the entire Revolutionary War.

Printer and publisher (1750-1839) who established the New Jersey Journal in Elizabethtown during the Revolutionary War, providing a critical organ of patriot communication in a region constantly threatened by British raids.

Elizabethtown-born Loyalist (c.1740-unknown) who led raiding parties from Staten Island against patriot communities in northeastern New Jersey, embodying the civil war dimension of the Revolution in the Elizabethtown area.

Elizabethtown-born signer of the Declaration of Independence (1726-1794) known as "the Poor Man's Counselor" for his free legal advice to ordinary citizens, who served in the Continental Congress and the first U.S. Congress.

Wife of Reverend James Caldwell (1737-1780) who was shot and killed by a British soldier during the raid on Connecticut Farms in June 1780, an event that became a rallying cry for patriot forces across New Jersey.

Elizabethtown lawyer and statesman (1740-1821) who served as Commissary General of Prisoners, President of the Continental Congress during the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, and later Director of the United States Mint.

An enslaved person who lived in Elizabethtown during the Revolutionary period, representative of the Black population whose labor sustained the community while the Declaration of Independence proclaimed liberty and equality.