Dey Mansion and Washington's Battle Plan

 The Dey Mansion of Wayne, New Jersey is one of the most famous historical buildings in North Jersey dating back to pre-Revolutionary War. The building was used as George Washington's headquarters during the war as the British occupied much of New Jersey and New York. This great building was used by Washington throughout the course of the entire war until the British surrender in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia. Within this building, you can see where Washington planned many attacks and battle strategies against the mighty British army.  Since the war ended, the building has been left as a historical museum with many artifacts that you can view inside today. The only thing that is different is that a golf course was constructed behind the building but remains untouched the same way it was built before the war started. I have actually been to Dey Mansion many times and I have even been inside too. When I was inside, I saw all different types of old furniture such as chairs, dinner tables, and fireplaces. The tour guides of Dey Mansion were really friendly and they were able to give me insight of how old everything was in there and even told me I could be standing right where George Washington stood inside the building. Everyone that was a tour guide was wearing old fashioned colonial wear, which I thought was very cool and fun. There were even British tour guides that explained who Washington fought against during the war. They gave knowledge and insight on what type of soldier they were, what part of the army they were in, and gave weapons lessons and names of all the different types of swords, pistols, and muskets that were used during the war. All of this was fascinating, but my absolute favorite part of Dey Mansion had to be the man cave. The tour guides called it the man cave because it had tons of old guns, swords, and taxidermy that were all replicas of what was inside Washington's home at the time. Different types of battle plans were shown on the table, and though they were difficult to read, you got the idea that Washington went to all different measures to win the war and help America gain its independence. Along with that, there were models of boats, cannons, and ammunition all over the room and it was really cool to see how all these different things were constructed.  The tour guides even told me that Washington spent the most times in this room and there were some accounts in which he would be stresses out over the war because colonial morale was low because they were fighting the most powerful army at the time, and they were dealing with many of the acts imposed on them and on top of that the brutal Winter. But they said Washington never gave up and was determined to win the war and that he did. There were many interesting parts about the tour that I liked, these included the colonial style kitchen and bedrooms. There were no stoves, sinks or fridges, there only was a coal holder to heat up tea and pans to cook meat. To obtain water, you needed to go outside to the water well and claim it yourself. Washing all dishes and silverware had to be done by hand. Another thing that was very cool to see was all of the old silverware and plates. Being a silversmith or a potter was a big occupation at the time and the amount of beautiful detail and designs upon the silverware, plates, and bowls were fascinating. It was clear they really cared about looks and esthetics back then. Another amazing thing that I saw was the barracks and bedrooms. Washington had a very large room and had many cool things in there such as a big candle set and a large table where he would work on tactics and battle plans. His soldiers had two different barracks, one inside the Mansion and another branched a little off into the wood. I was told Washington's best soldiers and many other important political figures would stay there because Washington was the hero. Between them was a little awkward moment, seeing the outhouse and or bathroom, it was interesting to see but kind of gross. Finally, another great and interesting part of the Mansion is seeing all of the battle reenactments that take place there. Many people put on colonial soldier uniforms and show what it was like to battle during the war. When I visited, there was a full 12 versus 12 battles between colonial rebels and army against 12 British redcoats. It was so much fun to watch them battle in the field, seeing their tactics and seeing what they would do to win the war for each side. In the end the Colonials won and that pretty much wrapped up our tour. Dey Mansion is such a fun and historical place and I highly recommend visiting it. It is family friendly, and any age of kids, adults, and teenagers will have a great time. You will learn new things about the Revolutionary War and George Washington. You get to take a tour of such an amazing historical building that is almost 300 years old, and finally you get to see a great reenactment of the Revolutionary War which all ages and anybody would love to see. But, most of all you step inside that huge mansion, and you walk where the first President walked, you stand in the same spot Washington did, and you see all his great artifacts that he either touched or sat in during the War. It’s crazy to think that only about ten minutes away from Campus and my home there is one of the most important and historical buildings from the Revolutionary War that was used by George Washington, the biggest name in American history, which is amazing. I still continue to drive by Dey Mansion to look at it because it is amazing, and I am planning another visit very soon. If you haven’t seen this magnificent building, owned and operated by the Father of Our Country, I highly recommend a visit to Dey Mansion. You Won’t regret it at all!  

Dey Mansion Washington's headquarters. deymansion. (n.d.). Retrieved December 20, 2022, from https://www.deymansion.org/.