A Message from the Union County Historical Society
War is hell. Unfortunately, that powerful expression is just as accurate today in Ukraine, for example, as it was in Elizabethtown in 1780. In both cases, civilians suffered, and are suffering, along with soldiers.
Heroic sculptures and statues of beribboned generals on horseback are noble and inspiring, to be sure. On the other hand, however, there is the World War II Katyn Memorial in Jersey City, showing the horror of war as it depicts the brutal massacre Russians committed on Polish soldiers graphically showing a bound and gagged Polish soldier impaled through his back by a bayonetted rifle. At its base, a Polish woman cradles a starving child, representing the Polish citizens who were deported to Siberia. Are we to take down such monuments because the horror they depict offends us, or should they remain, conveying their timeless message to us: “Never forget, and Never again!”
Yes, war is hell. And it was so in 1780 as local patriots fought for independence against the often cruel and brutal British and Hessian troops.
One of the most infamous events of that struggle was the horrible murder of Mrs. Hannah Caldwell, the wife of the famous Rev. James Caldwell (“the fighting Parson”), on June 7, 1780 in Connecticut Farms, now Union. It seems that ongoing discussions concerning the changing of the County Seal depicting Mrs. Caldwell’s murder by a British soldier apparently have finally come to light recently.
This tragic event has been depicted on our County Seal for over 100 years. In 1923, the Union County Historical Society proposed and supported the official adoption of the Seal, which had previously been used unofficially for decades. It was formally ratified by the Board of Freeholders at that time. The Society has been proud of its role in the adoption of the Seal a hundred years ago, and strongly opposes current efforts to change it.
Some now object to the Seal’s depiction of a violent and senseless act against a woman and mother of nine young children. But it really happened! Are we to ignore it? Those were dangerous times in this area and few were spared from the death, destruction, and suffering that occurred.
Indeed, Hannah Caldwell’s death became a rallying cry to the despondent, tired, and outnumbered American troops who were inspired to fight on at the Battle of Springfield, the turning point of the Revolution in the North, just two weeks after her death.
Whether she was inside the house or outside when she was murdered is immaterial to the Seal’s message. Showing her outside the house simply makes the event more visible. Similar artistic license is often employed in depicting important events in history. For example, the iconic and dramatic 1851 Emanuel Leutz painting of Washington’s 1776 Christmas night crossing of the Delaware near Trenton is inaccurate in every way except one: its heroic portrayal of a courageous and brilliant military operation, which led to an important turning point in the war.
History is not always convenient; it has more than its share of suffering and evil, as the Union County Seal demonstrates. And isn’t that in fact the meaning and message of the Seal, that democracy and freedom often demand sacrifice. It is a reminder of the terrible price paid by the brave men and women during those difficult times. Any redesign of our iconic and unique Seal would dishonor and diminish the memory of Hannah Caldwell and so many others who sacrificed all in the long and difficult struggle for independence.
Indeed, after the war, Washington acknowledged that no place had suffered greater deprivation and destruction than Elizabethtown and its environs. Our Seal reminds us of that. Let it be.
Charles Shallcross, Vice-President, U.C.H.S.
