Honoring Caesar: Plainfield's African American Revolutionary War Teamster

Plainfield’s Caesar is the city’s first identifiable African American resident. He was a freed slave who served in the American Revolution as a teamster, driving a supply wagon for troops stationed at the Blue Hills Fort and Camp. He lived to be 104 and is buried at the Scotch Plains Baptist Church Cemetery.

Caesar (1702-1806) was born in Guinea, in 1702. He was captured and brought to America. He was sold as a slave to Isaac Drake. He worked on the 111 acre Drake Farm in Plainfield.  Caesar like many slaves, had no last name. He was freed from slavery in 1769.  In 1776, the 13 colonies began their War of Independence from Great Britain. Caesar realized the importance of freedom, and at the age of 74 he wanted to help in the fight for independence! He was a patriot, and became a teamster, driving supply wagons to troops stationed at the Blue Hills Fort and Camp in Plainfield. Soldiers from this fort fought in the Battle Of The Short Hills. Caesar died in 1806 at the age of 104; he is buried at the Scotch Plains Baptist Church Cemetery.

Come hear his story and how he came to be commemorated on the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail.

Speaker: Nancy Piwowar, Historical Society of Plainfield / Drake House Museum
Local historian and President of the Historical Society of Plainfield, Nancy Piwowar oversees the Drake House Museum in Plainfield, a colonial-era residence built in 1746 by Isaac Drake as a home for his son, Nathaniel. Today it is a city-owned public museum administered by the Historical Society of Plainfield. A life-long Plainfield resident, Nancy is a retired postal worker who now dedicates her time and energy to the preservation and promotion of Plainfield's history. Her past programs include "Hidden History Stories of Local African Americans", "Remembering Plainfield's Soldiers During WWI & the Influenza Epidemic," "In the Shadow of The Honeymooners", "10 Things You Didn’t Know Happened in Plainfield", and "The Search for the Lost Fort in the Plainfield."

This program is co-hosted with the Historical Society of Plainfield / Drake House Museum.

Our programs are made possible in part by an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State, additionally through a grant administered by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, Department of Parks and Recreation; and by a 2026 HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners.

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