NATIONAL PARK — Red Bank Battlefield Park welcomed visitors Sunday to tell the story of the family who owned the historic Whitall House, which played an instrumental role as a field hospital during the Battle of Red Bank. A special tour of the house gave an overview of what the Whitalls, a wealthy Quaker family, were doing when the Revolutionary War came to their backyard.
"What you should know is while they did object to the war, they were helpful to the troops — the Hessians and the British as well as the Americans, " said Denise Smith, a volunteer who gave visitors a welcome speech as they entered the landmark farmhouse.
The Whitall farm, which included a fishery as well as orchards and livestock, was first established in 1748. The house still contains some of its original furniture and all of the original floors. For Sunday's tour, each room of the house focused on a different aspect of the Whitalls' lives. James and Ann had nine children, seven of whom lived to adulthood. All of those children were grown up by the time of the war, but some of them were still on hand as word of the impending battle got to the house.
By the time British and Hessian forces sailed up the Delaware River, part of the Whitall's land had already been seized — against James' wishes — by the colonial army to build For Mercer. The younger Whitalls moved the family's livestock away from their property into Woodbury, but Ann stayed put, spinning thread in her parlor even as cannonballs crashed through the brick walls of her house.
On Sunday, a room in the front of the house held a diorama of Fort Mercer, where the 400 colonial soldiers held their position against the British. On that day in October 1777, however, it served as a field hospital. Wounded Hessian, British and American soldiers alike crowded into the house-turned-hospital, where, as one firsthand account described it, "the wails of the wounded and dying made a dreadful music."
The role of the house as a field hospital makes perfect sense not just because of its location, but also the family's religious beliefs. To tend to the wounded after the battled would have been, for the devout Ann Whitall, a sacred mission even for a reluctant witness to the war.
"It's a lot of fun because you get to learn about history," said nine-year-old Emily Fekete of Cherry Hill. Emily comes from a family of history enthusiasts, having attended events at Revolutionary War battlefields all over the state. Emily even portrayed Molly Pitcher once for a school project.
"Our kids have been coming here since they were born," said Emily's mother, Stephanie Fekete, who grew up in West Deptford. "They've got pictures here from when they were babies til now."
"It's important," said Emily's father, Michael Fekete. "These are events that shaped who we are today."