The public is invited to a re-enactment of a famous swamp gas experiment conducted 225 years ago by General George Washington and Thomas Paine on the Millstone River.

October 29, 2008

The public is invited to a re-enactment of a famous swamp gas experiment conducted 225 years ago by General George Washington and Thomas Paine on the Millstone River. The event will be held November 5 at 4:30 p.m. at the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park in Rocky Hill.

More than two centuries ago, many wondered about the nature of the so-called "will-o'-the-wisp"--flickering lights sometimes seen at night or twilight in bogs and marshland. General George Washington, his officers and Thomas Paine, in a moment of respite after the end of the American Revolutionary War, decided to investigate. The officers wondered if the will-o'-the-wisp was due to bituminous matter, perhaps turpentine, created by decaying vegetation, whereas Paine and Washington asserted that the flame was caused by a gas.

To find out who was right, the group took a scow onto the Millstone River and, while holding blazing torches above the river surface, probed the river mud with poles. Bubbles rose and there was a flash above the river. This proved that the will-o'-the-wisp was caused by a flammable gas, now known to be methane.

On the 225th anniversary of Washington and Paine's experiment, costumed actors will take to the Millstone River by boat and re-create this famous scene. All are invited at twilight to watch the re-enactment, which can be viewed from Rt. 518 where it crosses over the Millstone River. A reception will follow, from 5:30 to 6:30 at the Delaware and Raritan Canal Park Headquarters, 145 Mapleton Rd., Kingston, NJ.

This event is sponsored by Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

Contact: Doug Eveleigh, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology
Dept. of Biochemistry and Microbiology
732-932-9763, ext. 328
eveleigh@sebs.rutgers.edu