David Forman's Informants In and From New York

In spring 1777, combat lines hardened. The British controlled lower New York and small pieces of New Jersey, including Sandy Hook. The rest of New Jersey was under the Continental government (though much of the New Jersey coast and pinelands remained weakly governed). Both sides sought intelligence on the strength and movements of the other. The large number of Monmouth County Loyalist refugees and pervasive illegal trade with New York created human bonds between New York and Monmouth County that could be exploited for intelligence gathering. David Forman, Monmouth County’s de facto leader in 1777, placed himself at the center of this sensitive activity.

David Forman’s First Spy in New York, Robert Ireland 

The first documented spy to go to New York from Monmouth County was Robert Ireland. On June 3, 1777, David Forman wrote General John Sullivan about Ireland: “He fell in to the enemy's hands last winter, at the time when the enemy penetrated this State -- they have since employed him as a shoer to the British horse."  Forman called Ireland "friendly to our cause" and proposed sending him back to New York as a spy:

[He] has gained the entire confidence of several soldiers and was so generally known as a horse shoer, he could pass unsuspected amongst the troops... I therefore proposed his returning on the plan of getting intelligence -- He agreed to it. -- The copy of his oath I enclose herewith, I had him conducted by an officer beyond the guards last night and is gone off by way of the Hook.

Forman noted that Ireland’s family remained in Shrewsbury and could be used as human collateral to keep Ireland honest. "His wife and family being in my hands will be at all times a proper check on him."

Sullivan’s response has not survived, but it appears that Ireland engaged in spying, was discovered, and was taken by the British. On March 28, 1778, Ezekiel Williams, a member of the Continental Congress, wrote Elias Boudinot, the Continental government’s Commissary of Prisoners, about Boudinot’s proposal to involve Ireland in a prisoner exchange. Williams wrote, "I have no objection to the release of Ireland, provided he is altogether a common prisoner of war." Ireland’s whereabouts later in the war are unknown, but he is absent from the county’s tax lists, so it can be assumed that he did not stay in Monmouth County. (Perhaps because he was no longer safe; many shore Whigs moved inland for safety.)

Other Sources of Intelligence 

Between 1777 – 1782, David Forman was responsible for sending literally dozens of intelligence reports to George Washington on British movements at Sandy Hook. These reports were usually drafted by Forman or a subordinate, particularly Captain John Burrowes and John Stillwell. They camped on the Navesink Highlands and reported on what they saw. At times, these reports were quite valuable and Washington praised Forman and requested additional reports. At other times, Washington was able to rely on other Continental Officers stationed in the area, most notably Major Richard Howell in the summer of 1778.  These reports are the subject of another article.

Intelligence was gathered from Americans returning from New York and British deserters. For example, in July 1780, David Forman sent George Washington intelligence taken from Lieutenant Joseph Wolcott, who had been a prisoner in New York prior to a prisoner exchange. Wolcott watched British ships while being transported to Sandy Hook for his exchange:

At the Narrows he fell in with five large transports—The vessell he was in run close by two of the Transports, he saw they ware full of troops—There uniform red ground turnd up white or pale Buff—Instead of Buttons on the Hips they ware Trim’d with Lace or fringe—that the Officers of the flagg informed him they ware Lord Rawdon’s or some such Core—That on Tuesday before he was exchanged he saw the said five ships go to sea and stand southward.

A different type of returning American was Joseph Mount. He lived in Middletown and went off with a Loyalist raiding party in April 1779. After two weeks in New York, Mount came home and reported on what he saw to Captain John Burrowes: “he had the liberty of the town granted to him, convenient to his being a Friend of [British] Government - he says General Clinton with 7000 troops were on board of the fleet and going in a secret expedition.” However, Mount illegally brought a large quantity of fabrics, sewing wares, and sugar on his return. These were seized by Continental Army Colonel Benjamin Ford and suggest that Mount was a person of ambiguous loyalty.

Forman and other Monmouth leaders interrogated a string of British deserters during the war. For example, in July 1780, he wrote his ally in the New Jersey Assembly, Nathaniel Scudder, about the intelligence provided by a deserter. Forman reported that the feared Colonel John Simcoe, with 300 men, was preparing to attack Amboy and “he will more than probably make his retreat through Sandy Hook.” Forman used the opportunity to press for supplies to the troops in Monmouth County, listing the specific detachments lacking ammunition. He then concluded, "This is our present situation - a frontier county, at all times exposed to incursion, now immediately threatened, with not a single dozen cartridges to be given out." The intelligence proved wrong—Simcoe did not attack in October 1780.

On another occasion, British Navy deserters allowed Forman to compile a list of warships at New York and a picture of the defenses at Sandy Hook consisting of "fire ships" and several sunken ship hulks "loaded with stone for sinking in the channel."

David Forman’s “Intelligencers” During the Yorktown Campaign

During the Yorktown campaign (fall 1781), General Charles Cornwallis’s British Army was trapped on the York Peninsula in Virginia and Washington marched much of his army south to participate in the siege. The key question throughout the campaign was when and with what level of force the British fleet in New York would seek to rescue their trapped army. Intelligence reports from David Forman on British movements in New York were critical. Historian Burke Davis noted that David Forman's reports during the Yorktown campaign were the single most important source of intelligence on the British attempts to relieve Cornwallis at Yorktown.

To meet the need, Forman created an informant network in New York. The first word of this network is in a July 23 letter from Forman to Washington (a month before Washington began his march). Forman had heard from an informant in New York and wrote that "I have lately obtained from New York a list of the British Line ships” which he forwarded. Forman also warned that he was having "the greatest difficulty in employing horsemen to forward intelligence.” This would lead to delays in the future.

In September 1781, Forman wrote Washington that his "intelligencers who live in the power of the enemy must be dealt with very guardedly on acct of their personal safety and to gain their confidence - I therefore dare not send a messenger to them for fear of alarming them or cause suspicion in others." Later that month, Forman wrote Washington about the first mission undertaken by one of his spies: "This evening, under cover of night, one of my intelligencers called upon the enemy."

In October, Forman received and forwarded intelligence on British movements in New York Harbor. The intelligence, Forman wrote, "comes through a person who has it in his power to know their intended operations." Forman also forwarded Loyalist newspapers from New York as a source of intelligence.

The uneven pace of Forman’s intelligence frustrated Washington at times. In November, Washington wrote Marquis De Vaudriel, "I cannot account for not hearing from General Forman (upon the Monmouth Coast) respecting the sailing of the last division and fleet." Washington was apparently embarrassed that a British fleet sailed from Sandy Hook without a report from Forman (the report arrived a few days later). On December 12, Washington wrote Forman to politely ask him to be more prompt in sending intelligence reports. On receiving this rebuke, perhaps not coincidentally, Forman wrote Washington of a serious blow to his intelligence network:

My intelligence from New York has of late been entirely broken up, occasioned by a fellow from this county joining the enemy & swearing against eight different persons - they went to New York by my permission.

But this breakdown did not prevent Forman from declaring Staten Island "very defenseless" based on reports from one of his intelligencers. At this time, Forman also forward his accounts for 1780-1781 related to maintaining his intelligence network. He apologized for needing to send a bill for reimbursement but said that he was "drained to the last shilling.” Despite this, there is evidence that Forman maintained at least some “intelligencers” in New York late into 1782 when Washington again promised Forman funds to maintain his "chain of intelligence” in New York.

Later Intrigues in New York

In February 1782, Forman sought permission to send Ana Prevost to New York to collect a debt owed to her family by David Matthews, the Loyalist Mayor of New York. Matthews was hated by local Whigs because of his role in administering the miserable British prisons in which hundreds of Americans died. Forman sought permission from Washington, who referred him to Governor William Livingston. Livingston declined to grant permission and sent him back to Washington. 

On his second try to get a pass for Prevost, Forman discussed sending Prevost for spying purposes: “I should not have interested myself so considerably had I not the fullest assurance of being able to obtain the fullest account of the enemy's situation... also to establish a line of intelligence." On March 8, Governor Livingston finally approved Forman's plan. This is the subject of another article.

A few months later, David Forman, with two former legislators, John Covenhoven and Thomas Henderson, proposed a plan to extract specie from New York by sending “a person of prominence” to New York to borrow from Loyalist creditors, receive specie, and never pay the loan because of the impending evacuation of New York. Forman and his colleagues acknowledged that the plan was “hazardous business” but argued it was necessary because of a lack of specie in the state. The plan to extract specie through unpaid loans was neither approved nor disapproved by the Governor, but was likely put into effect. It is probable that Forman, himself, was the “person of prominence.” In April 1783, Elias Boudinot wrote, "Mr. [David] Forman is in New York" without stating the reason that Forman was behind enemy lines.

Perspective

David Forman was not the only Revolutionary leader who sought to extract intelligence from New York. For example, in July 1780, Colonel Elias Dayton proposed a plan to learn of British defenses by embedding a boat with trusted men "to follow the fishing [boats] to Sandy Hook until he gets thorough knowledge of every obstruction in the Narrows and then return to Elizabethtown." Other New Jerseyans implemented other plans. But, in total, and despite his inconsistent record, no individual was as prolific as David Forman in providing intelligence about the enemy.

Related Historic Site: Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route

Sources: Sullivan, John, Letters and Papers of Major John Sullivan, Otis G. Hammond, ed. , 2 vols. (Concord, NH: 1930-31) vol. 2, pp. 355-6; Elias Boudinot Letterbook, Wisconsin Historical Society, p95; John Burrowes to Lord Stirling, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 58, May 6, 1779; Benjamin Ford to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw4&fileName=gwpage058.db&recNum=1102&tempFile=./temp/~ammem_YHA1&filecode=mgw&next_filecode=mgw&prev_filecode=mgw&itemnum=7&ndocs=100; George Washington from David Forman, 21 July 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives (http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-02593), ver. 2013-09-28; David Forman to Nathaniel Scudder and Thomas Henderson, New Jersey State Archives, Collective Series, Revolutionary War Documents, #102; David Forman to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 72, July 23, 1781; David Forman to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 80, September 5, 1781; David Forman to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 81, October 17-19, 1781; Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/P?mgw:28:./temp/~ammem_8Jit::; Burke Davis, The Campaign that Won America (New York: The Dial Press, 1970), pp. 30; George Washington to Marquis Vaudreil, John Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1932) vol. 24, pp. 382-3; David Forman to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 87, September 1 and 3, 1782; David Forman, Thomas Henderson, and John Covenhoven to William Livingston, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 4, pp. 440-1; George Washington to David Forman, John Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1932) vol. 24, pp. 60, 320; George Washington to Anne-César, chevalier de La Luzerne, 6 November 1782,” Founders Online, National Archives (http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-09886, ver. 2013-09-28); Paul Smith, et al, Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789 (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1970) vol. 20, pp 201-2; Monmouth County Historical Association, Diaries Collection, box 2, John Stillwell's Diary (photocopy); George Washington to David Forman, John Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1932) vol. 23, pp. 424-5; Monmouth County Historical Association, Diaries Collection, box 2, John Stillwell's Diary (photocopy).