Smuggler's Woods

Stealthy and dangerous though their activities were, the smugglers were not outcasts. They were looked upon with indulgence by many respectable citizens of the day. As bitterness toward the mother country mounted, smugglers were encouraged and actively supported in their operation agains the Crown. The Jersey inns and taverns emerged as the "cradles of revolt" in the years immediately preceding the Revolution. In them were planned and fostered many intrigues and acts of violence that played important parts behind the scenes of military and official action. A number of these inns and taverns are still in active use today and are depicted in the illustrations. Smugglers' Woods deals with smugglers, privateers, patriots, and loyalists to give an exciting account of the tensions and conflicts that gripped pre-Revolutionary and Revolutionary New Jersey.