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Party like it's 1777: in National Park after the 40th annual Jonas Cattell Memorial Run
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The start of the 2008 Jonas Cattell Memorial Run on Kings Highway in Haddonfield, NJ.
Join descendants of Jonas Cattell on Sunday, October 25, 2009, at 1 p.m. and retrace Cattell’s 10-mile historic run from Haddonfield, New Jersey to National Park when Gloucester County hosts the 40th annual Jonas Cattell Memorial Run.
Cattell, a teenager working in Haddonfield as a blacksmith apprentice for John Middleton, found himself captured by the Hessians on the evening of October 21, 1777, along Kings Highway near the current football field behind Haddonfield Memorial High School. Throughout the night, Cattell heard Col. Karl von Donop make plans to march 1,200 Hessian soldiers from Haddonfield south to attack Fort Mercer. Cattell knew the fort and many of the men stationed there.
On the morning of October 22, 1777, the Hessians had no use for Cattell and released him. Cattell, an avid runner and hunter, ran through the woods and swamps of South Jersey to reach Fort Mercer in time to warn Col. Christopher Greene of the impending land attack. Greene was able to maneuver his troops in time to defeat the Hessians.
Sunday will mark the 232nd anniversary of Jonas’ run. The run has categories for 14 and under to 60 and over, including wheelchair participants. Registration opens at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday at Kings Court in Haddonfield.
The Haddonfield Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is scheduled to present a plaque to the first high school senior boy to complete the run. In 2007, the 10-mile course was marked with permanent Run for Freedom signs for runners to follow during the race.
In addition to the run, visitors may tour the Battlefield from noon to 4 p.m. and witness re-enactments of the battle, a Revolutionary encampment, colonial crafts, trades, music and food vendors.
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