It was early in the morning of March 21, and darkness still lay upon the brick house of Judge William Hancock in the Salem County town of Lower Alloway Creek. The year was 1778, and the Revolutionary War was raging in full force throughout the colonies and right here in New Jersey.
But on this night, all was still and quiet along the on the banks of the Alloway. Inside the house, a small garrison of about 30 colonial militia, along with Judge Hancock himself, were fast asleep.
A stone marks the site of the massacre at the Hancock House in Lower Alloways Creek.
On the other side of the creek, Loyalist troops from John Graves Simcoe's Queen's Rangers gathered in the predawn gloom. Simcoe, frustrated by rebel resistance in the area, was determined to stamp out the local militia and those who would offer them refuge. His men stealthily crossed the Alloway Creek and quietly surrounded Judge Hancock’s house.
