The mysterious Widow of Mount Holly raises her head again in this new historical
fiction covering the Battle of Mount Holly (Iron Works Hill). Dennis Rizzo, author of
Mount Holly - Hometown Reinvented, Parallel Communities, and numerous articles and
stories, poses the possibilities and breathes life into real and imagined participants.
Challenged by a friend and fellow historian to write the story of the battle, Rizzo
decided to incorporate the environment, social issues, personalities and dynamics that
shook this part of Jersey during the time of crisis in December 1776.
All sixteen-year-old indentured servant TOM
DYER wants for Christmas is the roast goose
and rum pudding from Halstead's Tavern on
Second Street in Philadelphia. Instead, he gets a
wet and icy ride through New Jersey in an open
milk cart, attending his employer, ELIZABETH
ROSS and her petulant niece, SARAH GRISCOM.
Among those seeking the demise of the American
rebellion is First Sergeant JACOB BRUNNER, of the
Hesse-Kassell Jäger Company. Jacob and his comrade,Sergeant MATTHIS GRUIN, are the veterans in a ragtag
contingent of hunters, woodsmen, and conscripted
schoolboys. Jacob wants only to end the task and go
home to his wife and child.
The ebb and flow of skirmishing and guerilla
warfare that takes place while the main armies are
waiting to come to blows envelopes Thomas and Jacob, forcing each to confront his
values and purpose. In the end, it is the fateful decision by the Corps leader, Colonel