BOOKS BY ROBERT A. MAYERS

 George Washington’s foot soldiers were the men of the Continental Army. Who were they, and what inspired them to endure such appalling hardships throughout the conflict? What was their life like during—and after—the war? And what is their legacy?

In an effort to uncover the truth about these men, author and historian Bob Mayers has scoured obscure documentary material along with little-known British, Hessian, and Loyalist records. What he uncovers challenges many traditional beliefs about Washington’s soldiers. The fighting men—and women—of the Revolution have long been portrayed as zealously patriotic citizen-soldiers, when in reality they were disciplined professionals dedicated to the American cause. This realization lies at the heart of the book and propels the narrative forward in a way that is both entertaining and enlightening.

Corroborated with excerpts from personal diaries and records, these individuals are brought vividly back to life, allowing readers to understand their personalities through their actions and deeds. Mayers examines all aspects of the conflict, including regimental uniforms, training, discipline, medical care, and the punishment of offenders. By the end, readers gain a new and lasting familiarity with the people who fought the Revolutionary War—and a deeper understanding of the human experience behind America’s founding struggle.

Many of the critical events and harsh realities of the American Revolution’s intense warfare in New Jersey have been forgotten, neglected, or lost to history. Across the Garden State, sites where patriots fought and died remain unmarked—shrouded in mystery, distorted by mythology, or buried beneath obscure accounts and lifeless statistics. Numerous locations in the so-called “Crossroads of the Revolution” have vanished entirely, while others linger unnoticed or have been paved over by modern development and highways.

Every day, New Jersey residents commute along heavily traveled roads, unaware that fierce struggles once unfolded along the very routes they now take for granted—during America’s most consequential war.

In Revolutionary New Jersey, author Robert Mayers rediscovers and revives the history of these long-forgotten places by exploring them firsthand. He enriches his on-site observations with fresh research drawn from original documents, often uncovered in obscure British, Hessian, and French records. The result is a vivid journey through the battlefields and encampments of three major theaters of the conflict in New Jersey: The War in the Countryside, The War at the Shore, and New Jersey Campgrounds.

By recounting Revolutionary events that occurred in more than 100 present-day towns, this narrative transports readers back in time—allowing them to see, hear, and feel the action of more than two centuries ago, unfolding in landscapes that still surround them today.

The Forgotten Revolution depicts battlefields, encampments, and sites of critical events from the American Revolution that have been lost, neglected, or obscured by history. Since the eighteenth century, man-made changes to the landscape have dramatically altered these locations. This work revives those forsaken places through fresh research drawn from original military records and extensive on-site investigation.

Through firsthand visits to battlefields, encampments, and pivotal Revolutionary War sites, author Bob Mayers sheds new light on revered locations where patriots fought and died—places that remain unmarked, misunderstood, distorted by mythology, or unknown even to nearby communities. His search for these sites led to many unexpected discoveries. By analyzing obscure sources long ignored by earlier writers, Mayers uncovered surprising details and revealed new truths at locations often assumed to be well understood.

Venturing beyond accepted boundaries and traditional timelines, he demonstrates how myths frequently emerge when history is written solely by the victors. Little-known British, Hessian, and Loyalist accounts often reveal perspectives that challenge long-accepted narratives and provide a fuller, more nuanced understanding of events.

At each location, Mayers sought out “witnesses”—individuals with deep local knowledge—including staff at national and state parks, regimental reenactors, historical society members, private landowners, and descendants of original settlers whose ancestors rest in nearby cemeteries. These modern caretakers of local history offered insights unavailable in official records, enriching the narrative with lived memory and place-based understanding.

A comprehensive index of full names, locations, and subjects completes this work, making The Forgotten Revolution both a compelling narrative and a valuable reference.

 The Revolutionary War encampments of George Washington’s Continental Army at Middlebrook and nearby Pluckemin, New Jersey, have long been neglected by history, despite their critical importance to the American struggle during the Middle Atlantic campaigns. The highlands and surrounding valleys of this natural fortress served as the site of two major encampments of Washington’s army—first during a harrowing seven-week period in early summer 1777, and later throughout the entire winter of 1778–1779.

What is truly astonishing is that the American Army spent nearly nine months here. Yet this vital hub of the American Revolution has languished in obscurity and virtually disappeared from national awareness for more than two centuries.

These campgrounds functioned as the center of operations for American forces through much of the war, including some of its darkest hours. Most significantly, it was at Middlebrook during the winter of 1778–1779 that the raw and inexperienced American Army matured into a disciplined, cohesive fighting force—one capable of confronting and ultimately defeating British troops, then regarded as the best-trained and best-equipped army in the world.

Unlike Valley Forge and Jockey Hollow—sites so frequently commemorated that they are familiar to most schoolchildren—this sacred landscape, where decisive events altered the course of the war, has been overtaken by suburban development. Largely unmarked, shrouded in mythology, and rarely interpreted, it continues to fade from America’s collective memory.

 The forests, farmlands, lakes, and mountain vistas of the Borough of Watchung have been traversed by people for thousands of years. The Lenape—specifically the Leni-Lenape—settled along the banks of Stony Brook and Watchung Lake, calling the area Wacht Unks, meaning “High Hills.” Drawn by abundant natural resources, European settlers began farming the region in the seventeenth century.

During the American Revolution, Watchung’s citizens took up arms as minutemen in the Somerset County Militia, defending the strategically vital Stony Brook Pass. The community later faced an existential threat in 1924, when the State of New Jersey attempted—and ultimately failed—to transform the region into a massive water reservoir.

In this work, local author and historian Robert A. Mayers brings together fascinating stories from across Watchung’s long and layered past, illuminating a place shaped by geography, resilience, and generations of human endeavor.

 The forests, farmlands, lakes, and mountain vistas of the Borough of Watchung have been traversed by people for thousands of years. The Lenape—specifically the Leni-Lenape—settled along the banks of Stony Brook and Watchung Lake, naming the area Wacht Unks, meaning “High Hills.” Drawn by its abundant natural resources, European settlers began farming the region in the seventeenth century.

During the American Revolution, Watchung’s citizens took up arms as minutemen in the Somerset County Militia, defending the strategically vital Stony Brook Pass. The community later faced an existential threat in 1924, when the State of New Jersey attempted—and ultimately failed—to transform the region into a massive water reservoir.

In this work, local author and historian Robert A. Mayers brings together compelling stories from across Watchung’s long and layered past, illuminating a place shaped by geography, resilience, and generations of human endeavor.eavor.