June 6, 2026, HADDONFIELD, N.J. — Dozens of reenactors blasted muskets at each other down the main street of this New Jersey town as crowds of civilians clapped and cheered at the 12th annual Skirmish, commemorating local clashes between British invaders and local guerrilla fighters during the American Revolution 250 years ago.
The event, which has grown into one of South Jersey’s largest historical celebrations, draws thousands of spectators to Kings Highway in front of the Indian King Tavern Museum every June. The event was originally founded and organized by the Friends of the Indian King Tavern.
While the modern reenactment focuses heavily on a specific British withdrawal in June 1778, the town, then a part of Gloucester County, was a hotbed for military activity across two crucial years. In 1777, the New Jersey Assembly fled British forces and reconvened at the Indian King Tavern to officially declare the “colony” of New Jersey as the State of New Jersey. In October of that year, Hessian forces encamped in Haddonfield both before and after the disastrous defeat of their attempt to capture Fort Mercer in the Battle of Red Bank.
The June 1778 conflict happened as Gen. Henry Clinton evacuated 15,000 British and Hessian troops from Philadelphia by ferrying them across the Delaware River and onto Kings Highway, where they marched through Haddonfield. From Valley Forge, Washington ordered local New Jersey forces to “annoy” and harass the massive British column passing through Haddonfield. Those hit-and-run guerrilla skirmishes along Kings Highway successfully slowed down the Redcoats, buying Washington’s main army enough time to catch them further north, culminating in the massive Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778.
Here’s what this year’s event looked like:
