Bayonet Massacre House
Hancocks Bridge, New Jersey
The home of Judge William Hancock became a House of Horrors on March 21, 1778. It had been sheltering members of the Patriot militia, ordered to guard a nearby bridge. Then, after dark, British soldiers and local Loyalists burst in and bayonetted everyone in sight. The indiscriminate, poorly-illuminated butchering included unintended victims such as William Hancock, who was a Tory, a pacifist Quaker, and a judge of the King's court. In all, between 20 and 30 Americans were killed without firing a shot.
The house stood in obscure infamy for over 150 years before it was opened as a historic attraction to mark the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth in 1932. Signs and markers outside give brief accounts of the massacre, accompanied by helpful illustrations of the bayoneting. Tours of the house originally included a trip to the attic to view its bloodstained floor, but not any more.