HistoricSiteMarkers
American Revolution

Gen. Hugh Mercer's 1776 Staten Island Raid

New York, New York, New York

Marker Inscription

1776 IN MEMORY OF THE PATRIOTS WHO UNDER GENERAL HUGH MERCER CROSSING FROM PERTH AMBOY SURPRISED AND OVERCAME THE ENEMY ON THIS SPOT ON OCTOBER 16, 1776. TAKING TWENTY PRISONERS BESIDES ARMS AND AMMUNITION.

The Story

In the autumn of 1776, the British had just captured New York City and turned nearby Staten Island into a major staging ground, its shores watched across the narrow tidal waters of the Arthur Kill from New Jersey. Hugh Mercer—a Scottish-born physician who became one of Washington's most trusted generals—commanded American forces in the region and pressed the kind of swift, small-scale raids that kept a larger enemy off balance. This spot marks one such strike: patriots crossing from Perth Amboy fell upon the enemy by surprise, carrying off prisoners along with captured weapons and ammunition. Mercer would be mortally wounded only months later at the Battle of Princeton, sealing his place among the Revolution's early martyrs.

Why it matters

It preserves the memory of the daring cross-water raids that defined the Revolution's darkest season around New York, when audacity had to make up for what the Continental cause lacked in strength.

The story behind this marker

AI context

The era

The autumn of 1776 was one of the lowest points of the American Revolution. That summer, the British had landed an enormous army and fleet, occupied Staten Island, and then driven Washington's forces out of Long Island and Manhattan. By fall, New York City was firmly in British hands and would remain so for the rest of the war.

Staten Island sat at the center of this. Its shoreline became a staging ground for the King's forces, watched from across a narrow band of tidal water — the Arthur Kill — by American troops holding the New Jersey side. From towns like Perth Amboy, patriots could see the enemy camps and shipping just across the channel.

With the Continental cause outnumbered and outgunned, American commanders leaned on speed and surprise. Small, sharp raids across the water couldn't win the war, but they could seize supplies, take prisoners, and remind a powerful enemy that no shore was entirely safe. This spot remembers one of those crossings.

People & events

The raid honored here was led by General Hugh Mercer, one of Washington's most trusted officers and one of the more remarkable figures of the era. Scottish-born and trained as a physician, Mercer had served as a young surgeon on the losing side at Culloden before emigrating to America, where he built a life as an apothecary and doctor and became a close friend of George Washington.

In 1776 Mercer commanded American forces gathered in this region, based around Perth Amboy. On October 16, 1776, patriots under his command crossed the water onto Staten Island and fell upon the enemy before they could react. The strike was over quickly: the Americans carried off some twenty prisoners along with captured arms and ammunition, then withdrew.

It was a modest action by the numbers, but exactly the kind of nimble, well-timed blow the Continental cause needed in a season of defeats. Only months later, in January 1777, Mercer would be mortally wounded at the Battle of Princeton — dying of his wounds and becoming one of the Revolution's early martyrs, mourned across the young nation.

Its place in the American story

This quiet memorial connects to a much larger story: how a weaker, improvised army survived long enough to win. In 1776 the Revolution was not a string of triumphs but a fight for survival, and much of that fight was waged in exactly this style — quick raids, river crossings, and hit-and-run pressure that kept a superior enemy off balance.

Hugh Mercer's death at Princeton turned him into a national symbol of sacrifice. In the decades that followed, a grateful country attached his name to towns and counties from Pennsylvania to the western frontier, so that Americans who never knew the man would grow up in places bearing it.

Standing here, you're at one small thread of that fabric — a reminder that the Revolution wasn't won only in famous battles, but in dozens of daring, half-remembered actions like this crossing, carried out by people willing to gamble on boldness when they had little else.

If you visit

Today this is a memorial marker on Staten Island, and the setting invites a moment of imagination. The plaque commemorates a night of risk and motion on a spot that now feels ordinary — which is much of its quiet power.

Look out toward the water. The channel that separates Staten Island from New Jersey is narrower than you might expect, and picturing armed men slipping across it in 1776 makes the distance feel very real. What was once a militarized frontier is now just a strip of tidal water between two shorelines.

For a road trip, this pairs naturally with the New Jersey side of the story. Perth Amboy, the launching point named on the memorial, lies just across the Arthur Kill, so you can trace the raiders' route in reverse and connect two states through a single autumn night. It's a small stop, but one that rewards travelers who like their history close enough to touch.

Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.

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Related people

  • · General Hugh Mercer

Related events

  • · American Revolution
  • · 1776 raid from Perth Amboy onto Staten Island

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American RevolutionMemorial

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