Last updated: December 1, 2022
Place
Fort Nonsense Beacon
NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Fort Nonsense, NJ
Significance:
Wayside exhibit
In case of emergencies, a quick response is necessary. Given communication methods available at the time of the American Revolution, the Continental Army employed cannon fire, waving flags, and signal fires, or beacons, to convey predetermined messages when faced with emergency.
This overlook would have been an ideal spot to build a signal beacon during the period of the American Revolution. According to orders, beacons were to be "made of Logs intermixed with Brush square at Bottom about sixteen feet & to Diminish as they rise like a pyramid & should be about 18 to 20 feet high." A huge bonfire lit in case of alarm caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity for miles around - including sentries manning other beacons, who would then light theirs in turn. The sight of a lit beacon traveled much faster than an express rider carrying a message. The beacon's implied message was simple enough: "We are under attack!" Local militia units would respond to the beacon, turning out in force to confront British incursions into New Jersey from New York.
However, though a beacon was ordered to be built at the "point" of this hill, there is no conclusive positive evidence of a beacon actually being constructed here on this particular hill, much less lit because of impending danger. How should this impact our interpretation of the hill's importance, whether or not a beacon was actually built? In much the same way as the "nonsense" name seems to originate from the lack of battle or necessity for the fort, hindsight offers its own perspective, though we should remember the view of those living through the history we talk of as well. Building a fort and having orders for a beacon were prudent during a time of war, after all.
This overlook would have been an ideal spot to build a signal beacon during the period of the American Revolution. According to orders, beacons were to be "made of Logs intermixed with Brush square at Bottom about sixteen feet & to Diminish as they rise like a pyramid & should be about 18 to 20 feet high." A huge bonfire lit in case of alarm caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity for miles around - including sentries manning other beacons, who would then light theirs in turn. The sight of a lit beacon traveled much faster than an express rider carrying a message. The beacon's implied message was simple enough: "We are under attack!" Local militia units would respond to the beacon, turning out in force to confront British incursions into New Jersey from New York.
However, though a beacon was ordered to be built at the "point" of this hill, there is no conclusive positive evidence of a beacon actually being constructed here on this particular hill, much less lit because of impending danger. How should this impact our interpretation of the hill's importance, whether or not a beacon was actually built? In much the same way as the "nonsense" name seems to originate from the lack of battle or necessity for the fort, hindsight offers its own perspective, though we should remember the view of those living through the history we talk of as well. Building a fort and having orders for a beacon were prudent during a time of war, after all.