It Happened in Hillsborough: The Militia and Minute-Men of Hillsborough

On Tuesday, May 2nd, 1775, the New Jersey Provincial Committee of Correspondence met in New
Brunswick to discuss New Jersey's response to the acts of hostility perpetrated by the British at
Lexington and Concord two weeks previously. They decided to convene a meeting of the Provincial
Congress to take place at Trenton on May 23rd. Hillsborough Township didn't wait three weeks.

The Militia and Minute-Men of Hillsborough  

The very next day, May 3rd, 1775, the Freeholders (landowners) of Hillsborough Township met at the
house of Garret Garretson (near where the YMCA stands today). They agreed to form three companies
of militia, one company of grenadiers, and a Company of Minute Men to be ready at a moment's
notice (literally a minute) to take up arms in defense of their homeland.

The three militia companies were formed along geographic lines and selected their own officers. The
Hillsborough Company was captained by John Ten Eyck with Peter D. Vroom, Lieutenant, and Jacobus
Quick, 2nd Lieutenant.

The captain of the Millstone Company was Hendrick Probasco, with John Smock, Lieutenant, and
Casparus Van Nostrand, 2nd Lieutenant.

The Shannick (Neshanic) Company was led by William Ver Bryck, Captain, Roelif Peterson, Lieutenant,
and Cornelius Peterson, 2nd Lieutenant.

The captain of the Grenadiers was Cornelius Lott, with John Bennet, Cornelius Van Derveer, and Garret
Garrison, Lieutenants.

And finally, for the all-important Minute-Men, who, unlike the militia, which were only called out to
battle, were drilled twice a week, the company chose Cornelius Lott, Captain, John Nevius, Lieutenant,
and Garret R. Garrison, 2nd Lieutenant.

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Gregory Gillette has been writing about local history for 20 years, starting with his Courier News column
“Gillette on Hillsborough” and continuing today with a Facebook page of the same name. He was named
as Hillsborough’s first Local Historian in 2025.