Arthur Pierce tells the vivid story of smugglers turned privateers after the Revolutionary War broke out. He recounts from many sources tales of ships and men who fought and, although outnumbered and outgunned, still played havoc with British shipping. He tells also of the profiteering that went hand in hand with the privateering of the war years. From the Mullica River to Cape May stretched the woodlands and the inlets that harbored smugglers. Stealthy and dangerous though their activities were, the smugglers were not outcasts. They were looked upon with indulgence by many respectable...

Deep in the heart of southern New Jersey lies an area of some 96,000 acres of sprawling wilderness. It is the famous Wharton Tract which the state of New Jersey purchased in 1954 for a watershed, game preserve, and park. Many people know and love these wooded acres. Each year, people by the thousands visit Batsto Village, once the center of the iron industry that thrived on the tract more than a century ago.

With warmth and accuracy, Arthur D. Pierce tells the story of the years when iron was king, and around it rose a rustic feudal economy. There were glass factories, paper mills, cotton...