“A view of Reuben Mosier of Hardyston in Red Cedar Hollow.
We have been examining the local contributors to the Patriot cause during the Revolutionary War. Today we look at one of those many who were “just militia soldiers,” common men who put their life on the line in battle and put their property and family at risk because of their commitment to the new nation.
This Patriot’s name was Reuben Mosier. I will introduce you to Reuben in a different fashion in today’s column. I will take an excerpt from my new book Mohawk on the Delaware, which is available in local bookstores. The story takes facts about the Battle of Minisink and Sussex County’s militia involvement in the battle, embellishes those facts so that a readable story about people can be had. I hope you appreciate the narrative. The militia are on their way to the battle.
A slightly older fellow, replied, “Yes, I am Reuben Mosier.” He paused speaking to catch his breath. “Whew, the joys of youth—you boys are able to keep a fast pace easily, but for me to keep up it is making me breath hard.” He gulped some air and then asked where they are from.
“We are from Sparta,” said the other boy, Nathaniel Wade.
“Well,” said Mosier, “I live in Hardyston Township here, in an area toward the west; a place called Red Cedar Hollow. I am a farmer, as well as a militiaman. The farm is in a thicket that is sitting atop a hill.” He paused and turned and pointed in a westerly direction. “I live in a log house situated near the Widow Mitten’s farm. I came to this vicinity when a boy.” Reuben was a soft spoken twenty something with a slender build, who swayed as he walked and handled himself as a somewhat troubled young man. Maybe this had to do, visually, with his unsure gait.
“Why did you move here? There’s a lot of land in the country, both near and far from here?” said Nathan; an inquiring and innocent youth that he was.
“I had escaped with my mother from an Indian massacre. This was a terrible incident during which several of my family, my poor relatives, were slain. Not only have we grown to fear the savages, but we also have that horrible experience to look back on. Living in fear every night, wondering about the slightest sound in the forest, the rustling of leaves, the crunch of the grasses and sedges in the clearing near our crops and plantings, the sudden ceasing of the constancy of the cricket rattle and the tree frog chirps and thinking that an Indian band was sneaking up. All the while thinking back to the terrible times and hoping that it was not another Indian raid coming to snuff our lives out in a gruesome way.
“Oh Reuben. That is a frightening story,” said Daniel. He paused for a moment as he took it all in.
Reuben continued, and his voice welling up as he did. “I had just come to be a man when this war that we are now in started. Since my family had such a tragedy due to these Indians, I joined Captain Joseph Harker’s Company.”
“And now, here we are going to battle!” exclaimed Nathaniel. “We will make then pay for their evil ways.”
The story of Reuben Mosier was taken from Reverend A. A. Haines 1887 book Hardyston Memorial. From the 1860 Hopkins map, Reuben lived near today’s Beaver Run Road and behind today’s Indian Fields development. This is an area still rustic, wooded, and natural.
Walking here in solitude, one could still feel the enthusiasm of Reuben to be a free man in a new country.
Bill Truran, Sussex County’s historian, may be contacted at billt1425@gmail.com He is the author of “Mohawk Along the Delaware: A Story of the Sewards.”
