Temperance Wick

Early life

Tempe Wick was born at Jockey Hollow in Morris County, New Jersey, the youngest of Henry Wick's five children. She was likely named after her paternal grandmother Temperance Barnes. The Wick family were one of the first and oldest families in America. Her father, Henry Wick, was a grandson of the Pilgrim Father John Wick, and was the wealthiest and largest landowner in that part of New Jersey. Very little is known of her early life, but at the age of 21 she and her insane brother Henry Wick, Jr. were the last of the Wick children living at home with their elderly parents.

Revolutionary War

During the winter of 1780-1781, known as the Winter at Jockey Hollow and also as the Hard Winter, because of its unprecedented severity, the Continental Army, consisting of more than 10,000 soldiers, encamped upon her father's 1400 acre estate, Jockey Hollow. During the Winter, General Arthur St. Clair and his staff rented quarters in the Wick House. Tempe and her parents occupied two rooms on one side while two rooms opposite were let to the General, while the kitchen was shared. Her father Henry Wick was a patriot who served as commander of the Morris County Cavalry, which was responsible for protecting the New Jersey government and legislature. Henry Wick allowed Washington's army to winter on his land during the winter of 1780-81, the winter at Jockey Hollow.

During the winter at Jockey Hollow, supplies for the large force put great burdens on the community. The troops were poorly clothed and fed, and many had to go barefoot in the snow. In the field north of the Wick House is the burial site of 100 soldiers who died that winter in the brigade hospital, a dirt-floored hut.

The Pennsylvania Line Mutiny

1780 was a difficult winter. The troops wintering there had not been paid in over a year, despite many requests and pleas to the Second Continental Congress. Over one thousand soldiers deserted. The issues came to a head in late December when certain Pennsylvania soldiers organized a mutiny. They planned to go to Philadelphia to march on Congress to demand their pay. In preparation for their march, the mutineers spent several days foraging through the countryside and stealing any horses and food they found.

On December 21, 1780, Henry Wick died, leaving Tempe alone to care for her sick mother Mary and her insane brother Henry. Within days her mother's illness had become dire. Tempe realized she needed a doctor at once. She saddled her horse and rode for the home of Doctor William Leddell, who lived about a mile away. After leaving her message at the Leddell residence Tempe rode for home. On the way three soldiers accosted her, one grabbed the bridle of her horse, demanding that she give them her mount. Tempe pretended to give in and when the soldier let go of the bridle to help her down from the saddle, she whipped her horse and raced for home.

Arriving home, Tempe knew she was not yet safe. She was a familiar sight to the soldiers quartered nearby. She knew that they would follow her home, and search the property for her horse until it was found. Desperate to escape the soldiers, she led the horse into the house through the kitchen and parlour and into the small guest bedroom. She closed the shutter over the window, tied the horse to the wall, and put a featherbed under the horse's hooves to muffle the sounds of movement. The soldiers arrived soon after and searched the outbuildings, barn, and woods around the house, but left empty-handed. Tempe supposedly kept the horse hidden in the bedroom until New Years Day when the mutineers marched south to Princeton, New Jersey.

When the soldiers reached Jockey Hollow, they went to the barn. They examined the outhouses, visited the pasture fields, and made a thorough search, but could find no sign of a horse. It never occurred to them that a girl would conceal a horse inside a bedroom, and the only way in which they could account for the disappearance of the horse was that Tempe had ridden off with him. In other versions of the story, Tempe hid her horse inside the kitchen. Claims are frequently made that a faint imprint of a horse's shoe can be seen in one of the bedrooms in the Wick House.

The Wick House at Jockey Hollow still stands, and is now a part of the Morristown National Historical Park. Visitors are allowed to see the bedroom where Tempe is said to have hidden her horse.

Later life

After her mother Mary died on July 7, 1787, Tempe inherited Jockey Hollow, and married Dr. William Tuttle at the relatively late age of 30. Together they had five children.

Historical accuracy

Scholars dispute the historical accuracy of her life and the traditions surrounding her role in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny, but she and her parents are frequently mentioned in extant historical documents from the period, including letters, journals, and receipts.

Depictions in literature

Tempe Wick is the main character in a short story written by the American story-teller Frank R. Stockton. His version emphasizes the patriotic virtues of American girls, using Tempe Wick as an example. However, most scholars agree that Stockton used very few sources when writing the story, and like most later writers and story-tellers who wrote about Tempe Wick, added many details of his own to the legend. Stockton's story is filled with exhortations to patriotism and courage: "When [Tempe] first began to canter over these hills and dales, it had been in times of peace, when there was nothing in this quiet country of which any one might be afraid; and now, although these were days of war, she felt no fear. There were soldiers not far away, but these she looked upon as her friends and protectors; for Washington and his army had encamped in that region to defend the country against the approach of the enemy."

Ann Rinaldi's historical fiction novel A Ride Into Morning centers on Tempe Wick and her family and is told from the perspective of Tempe's cousin Mary Cooper.

Howard Fast's historical novel The Proud and the Free (1950), tells the story of the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny from the enlisted man's perspective.

Patricia Lee Gauch's version of the story, "This Time, Tempe Wick?", is a popular children's book.