The Battle of Red Bank, also known as the Battle of Fort Mercer, was fought on October 22, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War. A British and Hessian force was sent to take Fort Mercer on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River just south of Philadelphia, but was decisively defeated by a smaller force of Continental Army troops.

Hessians were German soldiers who served as auxiliaries to the British Army during several major wars in the 18th century including the American Revolutionary War. The term is a synecdoche for all Germans who fought on the British side, since 65% came from the German states of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau. Known for their discipline and martial prowess, around 30,000 Germans fought for the British during the war, around 25% of British land forces.