Scenes from the 249th Anniversary of The Battle of Bound Brook

A photo recap of the April 11 reenactment — musket fire, ceremony, and community on Main Street.

Bill Mild · April 12, 2026

British soldiers fire a musket volley on Main Street

Bound Brook came alive on Saturday, April 11 as hundreds of residents and visitors lined the streets to watch the 249th annual Battle of Bound Brook reenactment — one of New Jersey's premier living history weekends.

Reenactors portraying Continental and British soldiers marched through downtown, crossed the historic stone arch bridge at Queen Street, and staged volleys of musket fire that sent clouds of black powder smoke rolling down Main Street. It was a surreal experience, a juxtaposition of the battle re-enactment against the modern reality of the occasional freight train moving through Bound Brook.

British redcoats in sharp formation, bayoneted muskets at the ready

A line of soldiers unleashes a volley — smoke fills the street

The Battle

The reenactment traces the morning of April 13, 1777, when British and Hessian forces launched a surprise raid on Washington's encampment here in Bound Brook. Outnumbered, Washington's men staged a fighting retreat across the Raritan — a pivotal moment.

This year's reenactment featured two full battle sequences on Saturday, with a third scheduled for Sunday at the Abraham Staats House grounds in South Bound Brook.

Soldiers in formation along Main Street as spectators watch from the sidewalk

Continental soldiers exchange fire with British forces in front of downtown storefronts

Two soldiers engage in close combat during the reenactment

Redcoats and Continentals

The authenticity of the reenactors' kit is striking up close — hand-stitched wool coats, period-correct cartridge boxes, flintlock muskets that produce a real crack and a real flash when fired.

British redcoats standing at attention with fixed bayonets

Commemoration Ceremony

Following the morning battle, soldiers gathered at the Old Presbyterian Graveyard on East High Street at the Commemoration Ceremony, conducted with the New Jersey Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard. Prayers were offered and a wreath laying ceremony took place — a reminder that these events happened to real people buried nearby.

Soldiers stand at attention during the ceremony, a historic building visible behind them

Reenactors display period regimental flags during the formal ceremony

The color guard carries American flags at the commemoration

A Community Event

The Battle of Bound Brook isn't just a reenactment — it's a full community weekend. Saturday afternoon brought the Soldiers' Luncheon under a tent on Hamilton Street, where redcoats and Continentals sat a few tables apart. One lively re-enactor yelled at a German Hessian to go back to Germany for taking American jobs (I think he was making a political point by using irony).

A costumed British officer speaks with visitors outside the Brook Arts Center

The event continues Sunday, April 12 at the Abraham Staats House in South Bound Brook, with a soldiers' encampment open 10 AM–4 PM, a lecture on "Painting the American Revolution" at 12:30 PM, and a final battle reenactment at 2:30 PM. Admission to the house is $10; the grounds and Sunday reenactment are free.

Photos by Bill Mild / boundbrook.com