New Jersey
The arrest of New Jersey’s royal governor changed the colony forever
4-minute read
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On a bitter January morning in 1776, Patriot militia from the 1st New Jersey Regiment slogged through slush to the Proprietary House in Perth Amboy. Their target was William Franklin, the Crown’s highest-ranking civilian official between New York and Philadelphia.
Franklin was not a visiting British officer or a passing bureaucrat. He was the royal governor of New Jersey, and his arrest was a milestone that destroyed the bridge back to reconciliation.
His father, Benjamin Franklin, was already a figure of international renown. Printer, scientist, inventor and diplomat, he moved easily between Philadelphia and London. William had grown up in that orbit, trained in law and politics.
Unlike his father, who increasingly sympathized with the colonial cause, William sided with the Crown. He saw loyalty to Britain as vital to protect law, order and property.
Story continues below photo gallery.
In the months before militiamen arrived at his door, Franklin steadfastly refused to yield authority as governor. While local Committees of Observation enforced boycotts and intercepted mail, Franklin continued issuing proclamations, corresponding with British officials and loyalists and asserting that the government was still under control of the Crown.
By early January, patience had ended among members of the state’s revolutionary committees. Allowing Franklin to operate inside New Jersey was no longer seen as tolerable.
Shoemakers, tanners and farmers
The men sent to detain him were not professional soldiers in the British sense. In the 1872 “Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War,” historian William Stryker wrote that the 1st New Jersey Regiment was drawn largely from Essex, Bergen and Elizabethtown.
Stryker noted that shoemakers and tanners from Newark, men who had watched their businesses tighten under British currency and customs policies, made up a significant portion of the early volunteers.
Alongside them were Dutch-descended farmers from the Hackensack Valley, many of whom viewed Franklin’s land agents and surveyors as a threat to their claims, historian Adrian Leiby wrote in the 1962 work “The Revolutionary War in the Hackensack Valley.”
It also had members of the Elizabeth-Town Rifles, whose officers lived within sight of the British fleet in New York Harbor.
The group included men who had previously served during British campaigns during the French and Indian War, when Franklin held a captain’s commission. In her 1990 biography “William Franklin: Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King,” historian Sheila Skemp wrote that some had trained with him, while others had marched beside him.
Mission led by Lord Stirling from Basking Ridge
Primary source journals from the regiment describe the uncomfortable silence of the Jan. 8 mission, led by William Alexander, an aristocrat from Basking Ridge known as Lord Stirling. In the 1847 volume “The Life of William Alexander,” William Alexander Duer wrote that before the war, Stirling and Franklin had shared wine, discussed land deals and attended the same elite galas.
The group did not storm the Proprietary House. Contemporary journals describe a solemn encirclement. Guards were placed at the gates. According to the “New Jersey Archives” published in 1886, Franklin was informed by Stirling rather plainly that he “received orders… (and) to prevent your quitting the Province… I have therefore ordered a guard to be placed at your gates.”
Franklin objected immediately, calling the arrest a “high insult” and illegal.
The 1886 “New Jersey Archives” record that he argued that nobody in New Jersey possessed the right to restrain the king’s appointed governor, but it was no use. Authority had shifted.
Franklin signed a parole agreement restricting his movement. Within weeks, it nonetheless became clear that he had no intention of complying.
Seized and transported to Connecticut
He continued corresponding with loyalist figures and acting as governor in all but name. The Provincial Congress responded by ordering his removal from New Jersey. In June 1776, Franklin was seized again and transported under guard to Connecticut.
While Franklin remained imprisoned, events in New Jersey continued. Royal government collapsed. A new governor, William Livingston, assumed office. New Jersey moved formally into rebellion.
Franklin was released in a 1778 prisoner exchange and sent to British-occupied New York City. He did not return to New Jersey. Instead, he took up a new role as president of the Board of Associated Loyalists, an organization tasked with coordinating loyalist refugees and retaliatory actions against Patriot strongholds.
In research for the Online Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies, Todd Braisted wrote that this organization operated as a paramilitary arm of the Loyalist cause.
From Manhattan, Franklin drew on his detailed knowledge of New Jersey’s geography and leadership. Raids authorized under the board targeted farms, barns and ironworks. Loyalist parties crossed the Hudson at night, seizing property and prisoners in Bergen and Essex counties.
Leiby documented that survivors later testified that attackers called out names as they approached, which provided evidence of the advanced knowledge Franklin had gathered as governor.
Franklin’s actions during these years ensured that he could never return. When the war ended, he relocated permanently to Britain, where he died in 1813.
Spring fever heats up Seaside Heights beach and boardwalk in April
Warm weather draws crowds to the Seaside Heights boardwalk and beach on April 15, 2026.
Ready to take a stroll on the best boardwalks along the coast?
According to USA TODAY 10BEST Readers, the Garden State has three. Vistors planning to travel to Shore will bask in the golden days of summer at 3 of best boardwalks New Jersey has to offer where good food and fun meet.
The USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards is an annual survey designed by panel of industry experts to nominate their favorite attractions across a wide range of categories in which 10Best editors nominate contenders to the public for a winning vote.
Three New Jersey beaches were voted on the list by readers. And here’s what editor’s said about Wildwood, Atlantic City and Point Pleasant Beach:
No. 1 Wildwood
Originally a 150-yard boardwalk at its inception in the 1890s, the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey, now stretches for 38 blocks and is packed with shops, restaurants, bars, water parks, and an amusement pier featuring over 100 attractions.
This is the second year in row that Wildwood has topped the list.
No. 5 Atlantic City
The Atlantic City Boardwalk ranks among the most famous in the nation. Built in 1870, the boardwalk is lined with everything from high-end retailers to classic candy shops, casinos, and beach bars, all with ocean views.
No. 10 Point Pleasant Beach
Point Pleasant packs an incredible amount of fun into its mile-long boardwalk. Jenkinson’s Aquarium and Boardwalk Amusements are the crown jewels of this Jersey Shore venue, though there are classic arcade games, local eateries, an antique emporium, and plenty of gift shops too. The nightlife scene transforms the area into a colorful evening playground where visitors can enjoy live music, comedy shows, and fun bars and restaurants.
USAT 10BEST Readers’ Choice Public Spaces: Best Boardwalk
- Wildwoods Boardwalk (Wildwood, New Jersey)
- Kemah Boardwalk (Kemah, Texas)
- Ocean City Boardwalk (Ocean City, New Jersey)
- Carolina Beach Boardwalk (Carolina Beach, North Carolina)
- Atlantic City Boardwalk (Atlantic City, New Jersey)
- Venice Beach Boardwalk (Venice, California)
- Ocean Beach Park Boardwalk (New London, Connecticut)
- Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (Santa Cruz, California)
- Virginia Beach Boardwalk (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
- Boardwalk at Point Pleasant Beach (Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey)
Filming Big Mistakes in New Jersey was no mistake at all.
The Netflix comedy series, which debuted earlier this month, has already hit the streaming service’s Global Top 10 English TV List, making it one of the most-watched shows out right now.
As per Netflix, the comedy series co-created, executive produced, written and starring Emmy winner Dan Levy, follows Nicky (Levy) and Morgan (Taylor Ortega), two deeply incapable siblings who are in over their heads when a misguided theft for their dying grandmother accidentally pulls them into the world of organized crime. Blackmailed into increasingly dangerous assignments, they clumsily fail upwards, sinking deeper into chaos they’re ill-equipped to handle. The dark comedy, which has only eight episodes, has a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes so far.
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Set in the fictional New Jersey suburb of Glenview, the series was fittingly filmed primarily in numerous towns and cities in New Jersey, including Caldwell, Cranford, Franklin Lakes, Irvington, Jersey City, Union, Warren and Weehawken for a total of 40 filming locations. (The cartel storyline in Episode 7 was shot in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where its coastline and architecture doubled as Miami’s waterfront, luxury estates and yacht life.)
“I’ve really enjoyed shooting in New Jersey,” location manager Mia Thompson said. “We have quite a number of recurring locations that have all just been wonderful—not only the home owners, but the business owners, the towns, the local police, the local fire departments, the town clerks. It’s been a really great experience.”
More than 300 cast and crew and 500 vendors took part in the production. Ortega, who plays Morgan, is actually a New Jersey native and was surprised to film in her backyard.
“It was surreal getting to film in my home state,” she said. “I grew up in New Jersey and was obsessed with film and television and never thought I’d be returning home for such a major project and moment in my life.”
The show filmed the scenes at Morelli’s Hardware, run by Nicky and Morgan’s mom (Laurie Metcalf), at Edison Millwork & Hardware, a more than 50-year-old, family-owned hardware store in Edison.
“It’s one of the few mom and pop hardware stores that are left anywhere, really, so it was really great to find this location that fits very perfectly with our story,” Thompson said.
The show was also filmed at Wyoming Presbyterian Church in Millburn—the backdrop for Nicky’s day job as a pastor and his living space.
“We’ve utilized every inch of space of that church inside and out,” said Thompson. “They’ve enjoyed the experience just as much as we have.”
Other spots they filmed at include Deerfield School, Essex County Airport, Fosterfields Living Historical Farm, Hatfield Swamp, Springfield Municipal Building and the Crystal Inn in Eatontown.
“One thing about New Jersey is that it’s so diverse. The various neighborhoods offer different kinds of looks and aesthetics,” said Thompson. “You have everything that you could ask for.”
See Jersey in all eight episodes, streaming now on Netflix.
Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band tour rehearsal in Ocean Grove
Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band March 26, 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour rehearsal at the Ocean Grove Youth Center in Ocean Grove.
There will be No Kings at the Monday, April 20 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show at the Prudential Center in Newark but the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey will be there.
The group will be the “featured organization” for the New Jersey stop of the band’s Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour.
“We’re honored to have the opportunity to work with New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen to advocate for the rights and freedoms that all people deserve,” said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha in statement. “This moment requires all of us, and we are grateful to Bruce, who is using his platform to fight against authoritarianism and for our rights. We share a love for New Jersey and a desire to make the Garden State safer and freer for everyone who calls it home. Our team is thrilled to connect with everyone who shares our mission to protect and defend civil liberties, and who knows the power that art and music have to change the world.”
Springsteen said the American Dream is under attack by “our wannabe king and his rogue government” when he announced the tour on Feb. 17. Promotional posters for the tour features the phrase “No Kings,” a reflection of the national anti-President Donald Trump protests that have taken place in the last year.
The tour kickoff was March 31 at the Target Center in Minneapolis and it included 27 songs over three hours. The show also featured some direct talk from Springsteen on the state of the country. The setlist included the newly composed “Streets of Minneapolis,” written after the fatal shooting by federal agents of Renee Good and Alex Pretti of Minneapolis in January.
ACLU-NJ representatives will be at the Prudential Center to talk to concertgoers about its work. The American Civil Liberties Union previously released an ad with the Springsteen classic “Born in the U.S.A.” featured on the eve of the Supreme Court case where the ACLU is challenging the President Trump’s executive order attempting to overturn the current interpretation of 14th Amendment, which grants automatic citizenship to those born in the U.S. regardless of their parents’ legal status.
Visit www.aclu-nj.org for more info on the ACLU-NJ.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at cjordan@app.com
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