During the Battle of Red Bank in October 1777, the British 64-gun warship HMS Augusta ran aground in the Delaware River. Following a fierce engagement, the ship was abandoned and exploded. American forces, including the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island Regiments under Colonel Christopher Greene, subsequently salvaged several of the ship's 18-pounder and 24-pounder cannons to reinforce Fort Mercer. American shore batteries and naval galleys relentlessly fired on the stuck ships. During attempts to dislodge the vessel, wadding from HMS Augusta's cannons blew back onto the deck, starting an uncontrollable fire. The crew eventually abandoned ship, and the massive powder magazine exploded. Following the explosion, American boat crews went out to the wrecks to plunder supplies. Operating out of Fort Mercer, the Rhode Island Regulars (who successfully defended the fort) managed to salvage valuable cannons from the wreckage to bolster their own artillery. On November 11, 1777, American soldiers at Fort Mercer attempted to deploy and test-fire two heavy cannons they had successfully salvaged from the nearby river wreckage of the HMS Augusta. Unfortunately, the severe structural stress from the ship's initial catastrophic explosion had fatally compromised the cast iron. When the gun crew fired the weapons, both cannons violently burst apart under the pressure. Patriot Sergeant John Smith of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment documented the horrific event in his diary, noting that the exploding 18-pounder killed bombardier Benjamin Ross and severely wounded several others. September 11, 2015, the team fully excavated the 848-pound chunk of iron. It was immediately identified as the top half of the breech end of a 24-pounder or 18-pounder British naval gun, providing tangible physical proof of the deadly 1777 test-firing accident. Just 200 Rhode Island Regulars held off 1000s of Hessians that attacked that Marched from Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield,NJ. Holding off an attack from land and water. Named after the fallen General from the Battle of Princeton and who served with Washington during the 7yr war. Now buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.