History buffs gather in River Vale to mark 234 years since the Baylor Massacre

NorthJersey.com ^ | 09.24.12 | TATIANA SCHLOSSBERG

[Coleus]

RIVER VALE — At the 234th commemoration on Monday of the Baylor Massacre, it was easy to see how New Jersey earned the nickname Crossroads of the Revolution. River Vale Historian Ed Moderacki wears a British infantry uniform as he helps Lincoln Schefter of Hackensack hold a musket at the site of the Baylor Massacre.

The site, along the banks of the Hackensack River near Red Oak Drive, played host to a skirmish that took place in the middle of the night on Sept. 28, 1778, in which 54 soldiers from the rag-tag Continental Army were killed, captured or wounded, said Ed Moderacki, the township historian who was dressed as a British soldier for the event.

But the story of the Baylor Massacre continues into the late 20th century: In 1967 the bodies of six of the dead, soldiers from Virginia, were discovered during an archaeological dig on a tract of land that had been set aside for a housing development.

“How do we know these men weren’t just bodies dumped by the mob in the 1930s?” Moderacki asked the assembled crowd of around 40 people, a mix of children, their parents and curious adults. “From the buttons and buckles found with the bodies, we were able to identify one of the soldiers,” he said.

John Muller, director of Fort Lee Historic Park, was also on hand to deliver some lessons from the past, though he was dressed as an American soldier. “The important thing is that we aren’t doing a reenactment, and we don’t glorify war,” he said, holding up an 18th century pistol. “It was a terrible bloody thing. What we’re talking about is history, and the best way to talk about history is from artifacts.”

The lesson was not lost on Larissa Schefter, 11, of Hackensack, who is homeschooled. “I’m one of those people who likes artifacts, and I think they’re beautiful,” she said. “I liked learning that it’s not about the sword or death, it’s about how people lived.”

Muller said he was pleased by the turnout. “It restores my faith in people,” he said. “Who’s going to tell the stories for the next group of people if you don’t keep telling them? When you study things and other things, remember that the whole world isn’t Williamsburg, it’s not all clean and tidy like it is down there.”

Grace Heck, 10, a Hillsdale resident, who is also homeschooled, liked learning about New Jersey’s role in the Revolution. “It makes me proud to know that something happened here,” she said. “American history isn’t my favorite though.”

Moderacki, who boasted of New Jersey’s role in turning the tides of the war, summed up the importance of the event. “People should remember that the sacrifice was made by the soldiers as part of the sacrifice made by Americans even before the Revolution, that they were continuing the ideas of the Founding Fathers,” he said.

[Coleus]

yes, same here, how are you doing? Happy New Year.

[SunkenCiv]

Happy new year!