Old Tappan

Following the removal of local livestock to prevent the British from taking resources, Col. George Baylor and the 3^rd Regiment of Dragoons established quarters within a series of barns and residences along Overkill Road. With information provided by local Loyalists, the British, under the command of Maj. Gen. Charles Grey, quietly approached the American positions on the night of September 27, 1778. Not firing a shot, the British bayoneted the sleeping Continentals in the barns and residences.

The surprise and massacre of Baylor's men shows how the British in this period of the war were not only desperate for provisions in the areas surrounding New York, but also desperate to demoralize the American army by repeated night attacks and no quarter. Baylor's men only added to those men killed in the Paoli Massacre of September 1777 and those killed in other night attacks near New York City. The British, tired of war, wanted to end the stalemate around their New York City bastion, but seemingly unable to deal the Americans a decisive victory in the field of battle, resorted to small, almost special operations attacks to defeat Continental forces.