We did not have a long distance to go today but had to be at Cape May at the southernmost point of New Jersey at 1:30 to take the ferry across the Delaware bay back to the state of Delaware – which was the first state to ratify the US Constitution, so is state #1 of the United States of America.

The drive from Carney’s Point to Cape May takes less that 2 hours so we had a few hours to waste so we headed west toward the Delaware Bay and meandered down country roads.

We stopped to take a few photos of Hancock House which is a state historic site. The house is no longer open except by appointment but we wandered all around. It was the site of a massacre in March 1778. There was a short writeup on a bulletin board.

I looked up Hancock House on the internet and this is the more detailed report: “Throughout the 18th century and during the American Revolution, English Quakers who were largely opposed to violence and armed conflict inhabited Salem County. This stance inevitably brought the tragedy of war to hearth and home.

The winter of 1777/78 found George Washington and his army encamped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The British occupied Philadelphia. Both armies needed food and supplies. In February of 1778, General Washington ordered a foraging expedition to be conducted. After moving through parts of Pennsylvania and Delaware, General Anthony Wayne was detached from the main force and crossed the Delaware River into Salem County, New Jersey. He gathered cattle and other supplies before returning to Valley Forge. A month later, Sir General William Howe dispatched 1500 British and Loyalist troops under Colonel Charles Mawhood to do the same. Mawhood’s foraging activities met with considerable resistance from the Salem and Cumberland County militias. A brief skirmish at Quinton’s Bridge on March 18, 1778 left the British frustrated and unable to cross the Alloway Creek to gain access to fertile fields below Salem. On the night of March 20, 1778, Colonel Mawhood sent Major Simcoe and his Queen’s Rangers to lead a surprise attack at Hancock’s Bridge. With local Tories (British Loyalists) and their slaves acting as guides, approximately 300 troops of the Queen’s Rangers made their way down the Delaware River by boat and landed at the mouth of the Alloway. Making their way through the marshes, they surrounded the militia stationed at the bridge. At approximately five o’clock in the morning of March 21, 1778, the attack began. The Rangers attacked the entrenchments at the creek and the Hancock House, believing it was the militia’s headquarters. Everyone inside the house was bayoneted; not a shot was fired. Among the 10 killed and five wounded, was Judge William Hancock. He died several days later.”

The house was built in 1734 by William & Sarah Hancock, a prominent Salem County Quaker family. The house is an excellent example of English Quaker pattern-end-wall brick houses associated with the lower Delaware Valley and southwestern New Jersey.

The initials stand for Hancock, William and Sarah. Amazing that it was built in 1734!

This little log cabin was also on the property, but there was no information about it.

As we drove the roads we would be on the lookout for geocaches. There was one not far down the road from the Hancock House and it turns out many members of the Hancock family, including William and Sarah are buried there. We found the cache as well. And a few more along the way.

We boarded the ferry at Cape May at 2 pm for a 2:30 sailing. The crossing to Lewes, Delaware took 85 minutes and we had sunshine and calm sea all the way.

The seagulls followed the boat all the way across.

I saw the Welcome to Delaware sign at the Lewes ferry terminal as we were driving off the ferry, but noticed it too late to snap a photo. Boo.

The drive to Millsboro where we are spending the night only took about a half hour so we were in our hotel room at 5.

For once our hotel room faces west with a nice view of the sunset.

Tomorrow we also have a short drive into Maryland so we will be doing the same thing as today; wandering along quiet roads, enjoying the countryside and finding a few geocaches.