Monmouth County Historical Association is a non-profit history museum, research library and archives with five historic houses throughout the county. The Monmouth County Historical Association DONATE Museum Hours Main Museum, 70 Court Street in Freehold : Currently closed for exhibit installation Storm of Revolution: Monmouth at War opens April 28th! Covenhoven House : Fridays 1-4, 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month from 1-4 Marlpit Hall and Taylor Butler House : Fri-Sun 1-4 Allen House is currently closed for renovations, reopening in 2027! Free audio tours for adults (and kids!) available here for Covenhoven, Marlpit Hall and the Allen House! Coming Soon New Exhibit Storm of Revolution: Monmouth at War Using archival records and objects from our world class collection, this exhibit explores the drama, glory, and impact of the American Revolution in Monmouth County. Happening Now Home of Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth Come see this masterpiece up close and personal, featured heavily in Ken Burns' popular miniseries The American Revolution . While the painting is a permanent fixture at MCHA, our exhibit On the Edge of War: Monmouth Before the Revolution will only be open through January 2026. Don't miss it! 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth In celebration of the 250th anniversary of our nation, MCHA is proud to announce the newest project by author and renowned historian Michael Adelberg. The incredible 250-article collection is the most complete history on this topic ever assembled! It is free and digitally accessible on our website - click here to visit or enter via the Learn tab above! The Allen House Restoration Project The Allen House needs you! Please consider helping MCHA save an important piece of American history by donating to the Allen House restoration project. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar. Thank you in advance for your generosity - we could not do everything we do without the care and dedication of the community! DONATE Explore Explore our museum collections, exhibits, educational materials, research library and historic houses Exhibits Explore Indvidual Exhibits Read More Research Library Open by Appointment Only Read More Historic Houses Visit One of Our Houses Today! Read More Education Digital and On-Site Programs Read More Join our email list for updates! Sign Up Thanks for submitting!

This exhibition is the first major development stemming from the Living and Breathing initiative, started in late 2019 as a means of reinterpreting MCHA’s colonial-era historic houses to include the stories of the enslaved African Americans who once resided within them. The exhibition will offer a better understanding of how slavery took root in early Monmouth County, as well as the complex dynamics of daily life and relationships among the enslaved.  Exhibits Coming Soon! Storm of Revolution: Monmouth at War 70 Court Street Freehold, NJ 07728 Using archival records and objects from our world class collection, this exhibit explores the drama, glory, and impact of the American Revolution in Monmouth County. Seventeen Men: Portraits of the Men of the 25th US Colored Troops 137 Kings Hwy. Middletown, NJ 07748 This traveling exhibition features a series of portraits by professional artist, illustrator, and historian Shayne Davidson, based on an exceedingly rare tintype photograph album featuring seventeen of the men who served in the 25th Infantry, United States Colored Troops (USCT), Company G during the Civil War. Each portrait is accompanied by a short biography and other relevant information. The photograph album originally belonged to Captain William A. Prickitt, a white man who was captain of the 25th Regiment. Captain Prickitt was born in Farmingdale, Monmouth County, and had previously served as a Sergeant in the N.J. Volunteers 14th Regiment, organized at Freehold. The album currently resides at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Anchor Choices Choices: The Covenhoven Family and the Battle of Monmouth 150 W. Main St. Freehold, NJ 07728 Visit the historic 1752 home of William and Elizabeth Covenhoven, which was used as a makeshift headquarters by British General Sir Henry Clinton and his officers in the days before the Battle of Monmouth. Discover the choices that were available to the Revolutionary-era residents of Freehold as the British came through on their way to Sandy Hook. Covenhoven House is open to the public Fridays from 1-4, and on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. Call-ahead appointments are available as well - email here to schedule a visit. Explore our volunteer tab if you would like to be a guide for this beautiful historic house museum! Open Fridays from 1-4 and from 1-4 on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month Beneath the Floorboards: Whispers of the Enslaved at Marlpit Hall 127 Kings Hwy. Middletown, NJ 07748 Visit this two-time award-winning exhibit now at Marlpit Hall, a c. 1762 farmhouse once owned by the Taylor family of Middletown. The exhibit interprets the home from the perspective of seven of the twelve known enslaved men, women and children who once lived and worked there, exploring the often-overlooked topic of slavery in the North. Open Friday-Sunday from 1-4

This 250-article collection by author and renowned historian, Michael Adelberg, is the most comprehensive history of the American Revolution in Monmouth County ever assembled. Learn about the bloody civil and coastal warfare in the territory, the amazing story of David Forman, Joshua Huddy, Colonel Tye, and others in this incredible compilation. 250 for the 250th Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution in Monmouth County by Historian and Author Michael Adelberg ©2025 Articles by Year About the Author Purchase Books Other Resources Subscribe Monmouth Courthouse, 1778 We now understand that the American Revolution was more complicated than a contest between the George Washington’s Continental Army and the red-coated British. In no locality are these complications more evident than Monmouth County, New Jersey, where Patriots and Loyalists clashed in brutal, localized civil warfare. This local war transformed the county in multiple ways. It ushered in a new set of leaders whose ambitions were previously blocked by British rule; i t sparked new industries such as privateering and salt-making that brought new people and capital to the shore region, and i t re-structured the county’s most important institutions, including its churches, annual elections, and courts. While some of the clashes and incidents that occurred in Monmouth County—such as the Battle of Monmouth and the hanging of Captain Joshua Huddy by vengeful Loyalists—are well-narrated, dozens more remain largely unnarrated. The 250th anniversary of the American Revolution is the ideal time to compile and narrate the most important events and activities that occurred in Revolutionary Monmouth County. Articles by Year Click the year to be taken to all articles for that year, then click the article title By Year 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1774 1774 1. April 1774 - Turning Away the Tea Ship, Nancy 2. June 1774 – Committees Form to Resist British Policies 1775 1775 3. January 1775 – Shrewsbury Township Resists Continental Movement 4. January - April 1775 – Committees Consider Three Loyalists 5. May 1775 -- Anglican Reverend Samuel Cooke Flees Shrewsbury 6. October 1775 – Shrewsbury Leaders Move Against Their Black Neighbors 7. October 1775 – Monmouth Countians Capture British Ship 8. December 1775 -- Monmouth Militia Takes Control of the Ship, Polly & Anne 1776 1776 9. January 1776 -- Elias Longstreet’s Continental Army Company 10. January 1776 – The Capture of the Blue Mountain Valley 11. March 1776 – Dysfunction in the Monmouth County Militia 12. March 1776 - The Mission to Disable the Sandy Hook Light House 13. April 1776 – British Navy Takes Sandy Hook 14. April 1776 -- British Burn the Sloop Endeavor at Tucker’s Island 15. April 1776 – First Skirmish at Sandy Hook 16. May 1776 – Salt Works Begin on the Monmouth Shore 17. May 1776 – Sandy Hook Becomes Haven for Loyalists 18. June 1776 – Monmouth County’s Petitions Against Independence 19. June 1776 – The Difficult Service of Forman’s Flying Camp 20. June 1776 – Captain Thomas Creigher Sails the Monmouth Coast 21. June 1776 – Lt. Colonel Tupper’s Continentals Attack on Sandy Hook 22. June 1776 – Upper Freehold’s First Loyalist Insurrection 23. June 1776 – George Taylor and Nathaniel Scudder Report the Arrival of British Army 24. July 1776 – Monmouth Loyalists Join British Army at Sandy Hook 25. July 1776 – Pennsylvania Continentals Travel Through Allentown 26. July 1776 – Dr. John Lawrence and the Crime of Having Loyalist Kin 27. July 1776 – Monmouth Militia March to Perth Amboy to Defend Against British Attack 28. July 1776—The Rise of Little Egg Harbor and the British Response 29. July 1776 – New York Tories Find Refuge in Shrewsbury 30. July 1776 – Monmouth Slaves Seek Freedom Behind British Lines 31. August 1776 – Shrewsbury Friends Move to End Slaveholding 32. August 1776 – The Discovery of Samuel Wright’s Loyalist Association 33. August 1776 – County Commissioners Inventory Loyalist Estates 34. October 1776 – First Moves Made to Stop Illegal Trade from Monmouth County 35. October 1776 – The Capture of the Betsy and Disappearance of Its Cargo 36. November 1776 – Colonel George Taylor Turns Loyalist 37. November 1776 – David Forman’s Campaign Against William Taylor’s Loyalists 38. November 1776 – The Capture of Richard Stockton and John Covenhoven 39. November 1776 – The Continental Navy on the Monmouth Shore 40. November 1776 – Defending the Pennsylvania Salt Works at Toms River 41. December 1776 – The “Tory Ascendancy” in Upper Freehold 42. December 1776 – The Freehold-Middletown Loyalist Insurrection 43. December 1776 – The “Tory Ascendancy” in Shrewsbury and Down the Shore 44. December 1776 – British and Continental Soldiers Pass Through Allentown 45. December 1776 – Monmouth Loyalists Jailed at Fredericktown, Maryland 1777 1777 46. January 1777 – The First Battle of Monmouth 47. January 1777 – Lt. Colonel Gurney’s Campaign against Monmouth Loyalists 48. January 1777 – Monmouth County’s Ill-Fated Loyalist Militia and the Fall of George Taylor 49. January 1777—Loyalist Refugees Go into British Lines 50. January 1777 – Raising David Forman’s Additional Continental Army Regiment 51. January 1777 - Captain Francis Wade at Allentown 52. February 1777 – Reconstructing Monmouth County’s Government 53. February 1777 – Disaffection in the Monmouth Militia 54. February 1777 – The Battle of the Navesink 55. February 1777 – Militia Family Suffering after the Battle of Navesink 56. February 1777 -- Daniel Van Mater and Monmouth Refugees in New York 57. March 1777 – Salt Work Laborers and Militia Exemptions 58. March 1777 – Monmouth Baptists Reset Their Congregations 59. March 1777 – David Forman’s Attack on Sandy Hook 60. March 1777 – The First Loyalist Raids against Monmouth County 61. March 1777 -- Captain John Walton Captures Loyalist Boat 62. March 1777 -- David Forman’s Drift into Martial Law and Scandal 63. April 1777 – Monmouth Loyalists Pardoned for Continental Army Service 64. April 1777 – The Disaffection of Edward Taylor 65. April 1777 – David Forman and the Continental Army Red Coats 66. April 1777 -- New Jersey Council of Safety Moves on Monmouth Loyalists 67. April 1777 – Lewis Bestedo Kills Loyalist and Exposes Loyalist Outlaws 68. April 1777 – The Trial of Joseph Leonard 69. May 1777 – Monmouth’s Presbyterians Lose Two Ministers in a Week, then Gain One 70. May 1777 – David Forman Seeks a Fort, Sends Intelligence, and Struggles with Militia 71. May 1777 – Competition for Continental Army Recruits in Monmouth County 72. May 1777 – The Difficult History of the 1st Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers 73. May 1777 – The Travails of Mary Leonard and Other Loyalist Women 74. June 1777 - Monmouth Militia Join Continental Army to Shadow British Retreat 75. June 1777 – The Confusing Case of Captain Benjamin Weatherby 76. June 1777 – Thomas Seabrook and Other Whigs Move Inland for Safety 77. June 1777 – David Forman’s Informants in and from New York 78. July 1777 – The Rental of Loyalist Estates 79. August 1777 – Forman’s Additional Regiment and Salt Works Scandal 80. August 1777 – The Capture of the William & Anne and Post-Capture Maneuvering 81. August 1777 – 1st Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers Routed on Staten Island 82. September 1777 -- The Hanging of Stephen Edwards 83. September 1777 – Monmouth Countians Fight at Battle of Germantown 84. October 1777 – Huddy’s Artillery Company 85. October 1777 – Monmouth Militia Defeated by New Jersey Volunteers near Sandy Hook 86. November 1777 -- The Demise and Sale of the Pennsylvania Salt Works at Toms River 87. November 1777 – New Jersey Legislature Voids Monmouth County Election 88. November 1777 – The Disaffection Rhoda Pew and Murder of James Pew 89. November 1777 – Nathaniel Scudder’s Service in the Continental Congress 1778 1778 90. January 1778 – The First Monmouth County Court of Oyer and Terminer 91. March 1778 – Forman’s Additional Regiment Merged into the New Jersey Line 92. April 1778 –The Continental Army Draft in Monmouth County 93. April 1778—British and Loyalist Attack Monmouth County Salt Works 94. May 1778 – State Troops Raised for the Defense of Monmouth County 95. May 1778 – Loyalists Raid Middletown Point and Keyport 96. June 1778 – William Marriner and John Schenck Raid Brooklyn, New York 97. June 1778 – Second Monmouth County Court of Oyer and Terminer 98. June 1778 – The British Army’s Unpleasant Stay at Allentown 99. June 1778 – British Plundering and Arson at Freehold 100. June 1778 – The Monmouth Militia during the Monmouth Campaign 101. June 1778 – The Second New Jersey Volunteers During the Monmouth Campaign 102. June 1778 – The Continental Army Camps at Englishtown and Manalapan 103. June 1778 – Local Leaders at Battle of Monmouth 104. June 1778 – Damages from the Battle of Monmouth 105. June 1778 – Burying the Dead and Recovering the Wounded after the Battle of Monmouth 106. June 1778 – Monmouth Countians Attack British Baggage Train 107. June 1778 – British Army Marches through Middletown to Navesink Highlands 108. July 1778 – Continental Army and Militia Shadow British Withdrawal 109. July 1778 - British Army Boards Ships via Sandy Hook 110. July 1778 – British Fortify Sandy Hook in Preparation for French Attack 111. July 1778 – French Fleet Threatens Sandy Hook 112. July 1778 – Local Pilots Advise French Fleet about Sandy Hook 113. July 1778 – Provisioning the French Fleet via Rumson 114. July 1778 – Admiralty Courts Held at Barton’s Tavern in Allentown 115. July 1778 – New Jersey Proprietors Sell Off Land on Monmouth Shore 116. August 1778 – The Irregularity John Morris and Court Martial of Jacob Wood 117. August 1778 – Major Richard Howell’s Continentals Camp at Black Point 118. September 1778—The Capture of the Venus by Two Privateers and Its Aftermath 119. September 1778 – The Privateering of Captain Yelverton Taylor on the Jersey Shore 120. September 1778 - Daniel Hendrickson and Other Militia Officers as Privateer Captains 121. September 1778 – The Re-Capture of the Love & Unity at Toms River 122. September 1778 – The Daring Escape of John Hewson from New York to Monmouth County 123. September 1778 – The Death of the Pine Robber, Jacob Fagan 124. October 1778 – Thomas Crowell and Regulating Loyalist Passage into New Jersey 125. October 1778 - Pulaski’s Legion and the Osborn Island Massacre 126. October 1778 – Pulaski’s Legion in Stafford Township 127. October 1778 – Militia Respond to the Attack on Chestnut Neck 128. October 1778 – The Pardons of Purgatory of Ezekiel Forman 129. October 1778 – John Lloyd and David Rhea Lead Purchasing for the Army 130. November 1778 – William Marriner’s Second Brooklyn Raid and Later Career 131. November 1778 – The Decision to Station Continental Troops in Monmouth County 132. December 1778 - The Capture of the Schooner Two Friends and Its Captain 133. December 1778 – The First American Raids Against Sandy Hook 1779 1779 134. January 1779 – Toms River Emerges as a Privateer Port 135. January 1779 – Shore Neighborhoods Support Loyalists 136. January 1779 -- Militia from Other Counties Ordered into Monmouth 137 January 1779 – Caleb North’s Continentals in Monmouth County 138. January 1779 – Grain Seizure Splits Whig Leadership 139. January 1779 – John Van Kirk Infiltrates Pine Robber Gang 140. February 1779 – Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee’s Dragoons in Monmouth County 141. February 1779 – Major John Burrowes and His Actions at Middletown Point 142. March 1779 – Mordecai Gist’s Continentals in Middletown 143. March 1779 – The Auction of Loyalist Estates 144. March 1779 – Scandals Mar the Sale of Loyalist Estates 145. April 1779 – Loyalist Kin Gain Pieces of Confiscated Estates 146. April 1779 – Alarm Beacons Constructed in Monmouth County 147. April 1779 – Benjamin Ford’s Maryland Continentals in Monmouth County 148. April 1779 – British-Loyalist Raid Tinton Falls and Shoal Harbor 149. May 1779 – Philip Freneau: Patriot, Poet, and Privateer 150. May 1779 – Loyalist Raids Increase in Frequency 151 May 1779 – Holmes v Walton as a London Trading Incident 152. May 1779 – Holmes v Walton as a Constitutional Watershed 153. June 1779 – State Troops Raised to Defend Monmouth County 154. June 1779 – The Loss of Tinton Falls 155. June 1779 – Refugee Women Listed in Monmouth County Militia Returns 156. June 1779 –New England Privateers Prey on Shipping at Sandy Hook 157. July 1779 – Monmouth Soldiers Participate in Campaign against Iroquois 158. July 1779 – Lewis Fenton, the Infamous Pine Robber 159. July 1779 –David Brearley Leaves Continental Army for the Supreme Court 160. August 1779 – Monmouth County’s 3rd Court of Oyer and Terminer 161. September 1779 – The Fall of John Morris and His Loyalist Battalion 162. September 1779 – New Jersey Volunteers Drift into Other Loyalist Units 163. October 1779 – Monmouth County Prepares for Return of French Fleet 164. September 1779 – Yelverton Taylor Takes British Troop Transport 165. November 1779 – The Establishment of the Associated Loyalists 166. November 1779 -- Thomas Henderson Selected to Continental Congress 167. October 1779 – David Rhea Complains about Lee’s Continentals in Monmouth 168. December 1779 – The Capture of the Brigantine, Britannia 169. December 1779 -Continental Congress Seeks Blankets Via London Trade 1780 1780 170. January 1780 – Provisions Taken from Shore Residents for the Continental Army 171. January 1780 – Henry Lee’s Continentals Raid Sandy Hook 172. January 1780 – Winter Storms Drive Five Ships onto Monmouth Shore 173 February 1780 -- Samuel Lippincott, Man-Stealing, and Jailed Militiamen in New York 174. March 1780 – The Disaffected Officeholders of Dover and Stafford Townships 175. March 1780 – Loyalist Privateers Sail the Monmouth Shore 176. March 1780 – Monmouth Leaders Split as David Forman Re-Emerges 177. March 1780 – Asher Holmes Raises New Regiments of State Troops 178. March 1780 – Loyalist Raiding Party Murders John Russell 179. April 1780 – British Counter-Attack American Privateers Off Sandy Hook 180. May 1780 – Loyalist “Manstealing” Peaks and the Rise of Colonel Tye 181. May 1780 – Preparations Made for the Return of the French Fleet 182. May 1780 – The Capture of the Outlaws John and Robert Smith 183. June 1780 – Controversy Surrounds Local Prisoner Exchanges 184. June 1780 – Stephen Decatur: The Greatest Privateer of the Jersey Shore 185. May 1780 – The Battle of Conkaskunk 186. July 1780 – The Establishment of the Association for Retaliation 187 June 1780 – Joseph Murray Killed While Tending His Fields 188. June 1780 – Colonel Tye and the Black Brigade 189. June 1780 – David Forman Sends Intelligence Reports to George Washington 190. July 1780 – Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee Returns to Monmouth County 191. August 1780 – Crackdown on Militia Delinquents in Shrewsbury Township 192. August 1780 – Prominent Loyalists Captured and Scandal Ensues 193. August 1780 – Trevor Newland Pushed toward Disaffection 194. August 1780 – The Capture of William Marriner 195. August 1780 – Colonel Tye’s Final Raid 196. September 1780 – New Jersey Legislature Investigates the Retaliators 197. October 1780 – County Elections Marred by Violence and Voter Intimidation 198. October 1780 – Monmouth Loyalists Captured at King’s Mountain 199. October 1780 – Company of New Jersey Volunteers Taken in Route to Sandy Hook 200. October 1780 – New Jersey Assembly Struggles to Support State Troops 201. November 1780 – Monmouth Whigs Crack Down on London Traders 202. December 1780 – Lt. Joshua Studson Killed by John Bacon 1781 1781 203. January 1781 – Failed Prisoner Exchange Stokes Tensions between Whigs and Loyalists 204. January 1781 – The Capture of Lt. Col. Klein and Others Seeking to Go to New York 205. February 1781 – Monmouth County’s Jail and the Jailbreak of February 1781 206 March 1781 – Richard Lippincott Leads Raid against Monmouth Shore 207. April 1781 – Richard Lippincott as an Active Loyalist Partisan 208. April 1781 – The Bold Privateering of Adam Hyler 209. May 1781 – Loyalists Seek to Defend Waters Off Sandy Hook 210. May 1781 – The Monmouth County Whig Society 211. May 1781 –William Clark and the Raritan Bay Horse Thieves 212. June 1781 – The Battle of the 1500 at Middletown 213. July 1781 – Shrewsbury Friends Struggle to Stay Out of War 214. July 1781 – Monmouth County Intersects with the Yorktown Campaign 215. October 1781 – The London Trading Case of Elisha Walton v William Laird 216. October 1781 – Violence Again Mars Monmouth County Elections 217. October 1781 – The Vigilante Acts of the Association for Retaliation 218. October 1781 – Nathaniel Scudder Killed during Loyalist Raid 219. December 1781 – Pine Robbers Menace Dover and Stafford Townships 220. December 1781 – The Rise of John Bacon’s Pine Robber Gang 1782 1782 221. January 1782 -- Associated Loyalists Embrace Policy of Retaliation 222. January 1782 – Privateer Captain William Gray Clashes with London Traders 223. January 1782 – Joshua Huddy’s State Troops Stationed at Toms River 224. February 1782 – Loyalists Raid Pleasant Valley during Winter Storm 225. February 1782 – David Forman Seeks Passport for Mrs. Prevost 226. March 1782 – Associated Loyalists Raze Toms River 227. March 1782 – The Capture and Murder of Philip White 228. April 1782 – Richard Lippincott Hangs Joshua Huddy 229. April 1782 – The Local Response to the Hanging of Joshua Huddy 230. April 1782 – The Continental Response to Huddy Hanging 231. April 1782 – The Court Martial of Richard Lippincott 232. May 1782 – The Aftermath of the Huddy Hanging and Lippincott Acquittal 233. May 1782 – Loyalist Estate Confiscations Resume in Monmouth County 234. May 1782 – The Case of Caesar Tite and Other Litigation over Freedmen 235. May 1782 – Prosecution of Loyalists Intensifies in Monmouth County 236. May 1782 – Adam Hyler Captures Loyalist Regulars on Sandy Hook 237. June 1782 – Davenport’s Pine Robbers Routed at Forked River 238. June 1782 – Loyalists and American Prisoners Fish Off Sandy Hook 239. July 1782 – The Capture and Execution of Ezekiel Tilton 240. August 1782 – Monmouth Whigs Form New Associations 241. September 1782 – The Retaliators Outlast the War 242. September 1782 – Monmouth Loyalists Seek to Come Home 243. September 1782 – Monmouth Loyalists Emigrate to Canada 244. October 1782 – John Bacon Slaughters Gloucester Militia at Barnegat 245. November 1782 – The Secret London Trading of the Privateer Nathan Jackson 246. December 1782 – Pine Robbers Defeat Militia at Cedar Creek 1783 1783 247. January 1783 – Accidents and Humiliations Plague the British at Sandy Hook 248. February 1783 – Jonathan Forman’s Long Service in the Continental Army 249. March 1783 – The Death of John Bacon 250. April 1783 - Monmouth County’s Black Loyalists Emigrate to Canada Own the book inspired by these articles! Makes a great gift for the history lovers in your life! The American Revolution in Monmouth County: The Theatre of Spoil and Destruction The Razing of Tinton Falls: Voices from the American Revolution NEW BOOK! Coming July 2026 The Revolutionary War on the Jersey Shore by Michael Adelberg Books About the Author About the Author Michael Adelberg has been researching the American Revolution in Monmouth County, New Jersey, for over thirty years. He is the author of the award-winning The American Revolution in Monmouth County, and three other books. His essays on the American Revolution have appeared in The Journal of Military of History , The Journal of the Early Republic , The Wilson Quarterly , and other scholarly journals. Adelberg’s research has been recognized by the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance, the David Library of the American Revolution, the public television program NJ Today , and the government of Monmouth County. Other Resources Other Resources 250 for the 250th FAQs 1. How were topics selected for the articles in 250 for the 250th? Article topics were selected based on two criteria: 1.) the importance of the topic to the people who lived in Revolutionary Era Monmouth County; 2.) adequate source materials to draft the article. The Battle of Monmouth was the largest Revolutionary War event to occur in Monmouth County but it is not narrated in 250 for the 250th. That is because the Battle of Monmouth is already the subject of an excellent book, Fatal Sunday, by Mark Lender and Garry Wheeler Stone. However, several topics related to the battle and its impact on the people of Monmouth County are the subject of articles. 2. Are the articles in 250 for the 250th written about elsewhere? The articles in 250 for the 250th fall into one of three categories: a.) Discussed by modern historians, but not easily accessible. For example, David Fowler wrote an outstanding PhD dissertation about the Pine Robbers. The dissertation was written for a scholarly audience and never published as a book. Few people will read Fowler’s research. So, there are articles about the Pine Robbers in 250 for the 250th even though Fowler already well-covered this topic. b.) Discussed in local histories and antiquarian works. Several topics in 250 for the 250th are narrated in antiquarian sources or local histories. Some of these narratives are balanced and well-researched, some are not. Either way, Revolutionary War topics in these works hopscotch sources and are spread across dozens of older books. So, many topics covered in these histories are included in 250 for the 250th. c.) Original source materials. A number of topics in 250 for the 250th have never been narrated (for example, the raising of Monmouth County’s state troops). Shards of information exist across original documents and were pasted together for the first time in these articles. I enjoyed being the first historian to write on these topics. 3. How are antiquarian and genealogical materials used in 250 for the 250th? The articles in 250 for the 250th are built on source materials—those written by people who witnessed the American Revolution. If there are not source materials sufficient to write on a topic, that topic is not part of this collection. However, antiquarian and genealogical sources often add important details not contained in source materials. So many of the articles include supporting information from antiquarian and genealogical materials. 4. Modern historians discuss some aspects of the American Revolution in Monmouth County. How are these works used in 250 for the 250th? The articles in 250 for the 250th are ground in and written from source materials. In a number of articles, specific historians who contributed an original analysis or critique on the article’s topic are mentioned and their works are cited. 5. What is the likelihood that there are errors in the 250 for the 250th articles? The articles in this series are built on source materials and these materials offer the most reliable information about the Revolutionary era. But source materials reflect the bias of the author and sources sometimes disagree. For example, casualty counts in Continental and British narratives of the same event frequently disagree. Source materials are often imprecise with regard to specific dates, name spellings, and locations. In many articles, I make suppositions based on probability and context. Qualifying terms such as “likely” and “potentially” are used alert readers to suppositions. In any collection as large as 250 for the 250th there is inevitably a small amount of human error. If a reader believes an error might exist in an article, the reader is encouraged to bring it to my attention, and forward the source material that can correct the record. Readers can contact me at 250@monmouthhistory.org . 6. Were any edits made to source materials when transcribed into the articles in 250 for the 250th? In some articles, small edits were made to made to increase the readability of a particular document. 18th Century sentences were often extremely long and packed with qualifying language that can confuse a modern reader. So, some punctuation edits were made, archaic abbreviations are modernized, and some qualifying text is removed (replaced with “…”). In all cases, edits were minor and made only for the purpose of increasing the readability of the source. 7. Should there be more articles about poor people, women, and minorities in 250 for the 250th? The articles in 250 for the 250th are built on surviving sources and the body of surviving sources tilts heavily toward political and military leaders. When the body of surviving documents allows it, I selected topics that shed light on how the American Revolution impacted poor people, women, and minorities (particularly Africans-Americans in Monmouth County). Even when articles focus on political and military leaders, I seek to discuss the article topic’s impact on ordinary people. 8. Is 250 for the 250th the complete story of the American Revolution in Monmouth County? 250 for the 250th is the most complete account of the American Revolution in Monmouth County, but it is not the complete story. There are many important and interesting topics that lacked enough documentation to develop an article. Below are five examples of interesting topics that are not explored in 250 for the 250th due to lack of source materials: •Free African-American communities •The handfuls of American-Indians, Catholics, and Jews in Revolutionary Monmouth County •The Mattisonia Grammar School near Freehold and education in the county •Refugeetown on Sandy Hook (home to the Black Brigade and other Loyalist partisans) •Rebuilding villages razed by Loyalist raiding parties. Name Index For a name index throughout articles, the following searchable PDF is available. Tip : Use Crtl+F to find the names easily. Tables Here is the link to the tables page. Citations This entirety of this work is protected under US copyright . When using the information, please cite appropriately. This online citation generator offers various styles. Sample citation: Michael Adelberg, “[Article Title],” 250 for the 250th, Monmouth County Historical Association, 2025, [url]. Teacher Resource Click here for a guided classroom activity! Contact Information If you have a question for the author, please email 250@monmouthhistory.org . The author will return correspondence as time allows. Note : Mr. Adelberg is not a genealogist and is unable to help with genealogy questions. If you have a genealogy inquiry for our research librarian, please email Library@monmouthhistory.org . All in-depth genealogy questions will incur a standard research fee . The MCHA staff is unable to respond to emails or voicemails regarding this independent project. Thanks for understanding! Subscribe to get exclusive monthly updates on this collection Email* Join Our Mailing List Subscribe

DIGITAL RESOURCES CLASS TRIPS PROF. DEV MCHA is a proud partner of the grades 5-12 History Happened Here initiative. Students are welcome to click here to learn how to use our resources to discover our fascinating Monmouth County history, and how it fits into the larger framework of American history. Education Programs DigRes Digital Education Our award-winning exhibit on slavery in New Jersey, Beneath the Floorboards: Whispers of the Enslaved at Marlpit Hall , is now the focus of two grade-banded digital companions, tailored to NJ curriculum standards Colonial History (Upper Elementary level) General Monmouth County History (Intermediate-through-Secondary level) Digital resources are currently only available for laptop/PC viewing CLICK the image to access the resource 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth - For educators and high school level students - In celebration of the 250th anniversary of our nation, MCHA is proud to announce the newest project by author and renowned historian Michael Adelberg. The incredible 250-article collection is the most complete history on this topic ever assembled! It is free and digitally accessible on our website. Visit today to learn about Monmouth as a microcosm of Revolutionary War activity. Beneath the Floorboards: Whispers of the Enslaved at Marlpit Hall Using primary sources and artifacts from the MCHA collections and material culture from the historic c. 1756 Marlpit Hall in Middletown, this exhibit tells the stories of seven of the 12 known enslaved individuals who inhabited this residence. The larger story of slavery in New Jersey is also explored through careful research and documentation. Upper Elementary Level Middle School / High School Colonial Kids Education Page This upper elementary resource focuses on the Colonial Era. Discover what 18th-century life was like for the people who lived at the historic Covenhoven House in Freehold! Monmouth County Education Page This intermediate/high school resource focuses heavily on primary sources from the collections of MCHA and beyond to illustrate the rich history of Monmouth County! Colonial era documents, WWII artifacts and ephemera, newspaper articles, and other unique objects help students connect American history to fascinating local history. Trips On-Site Education: Covenhoven House and Monmouth Battlefield! 150 W. Main Street, Freehold, NJ 07728 Grades 2-6 The battlefield books up quickly. Book NOW for 2026, the 250th anniversary of our nation!! This beautiful 1752 historic house museum offers students a window into the Colonial era. Situated on what was known as the Burlington Path, Elizabeth Covenhoven's stately residence was used by General Clinton as the British headquarters in the days before the Battle of Monmouth. Our new exhibit, Choices , will explore the options our various forebears were faced with during the American Revolution. Would you side with the Patriots...or Loyalists? Stay to defend your home, or flee to safety? For the enslaved, the British promised freedom if they fought for the crown...but could this promise be trusted? Students will tour the house and learn about life in the Colonial era through the various historical figures who lived in and visited this home. Groups of students will rotate out to nearby Monmouth Battlefield, the next stop for the British where they clashed with the Continental Army at the Battle of Monmouth. There they will learn about the battle from the park historian and participate in a pre-selected choice of activities, including a battlefield hike, museum scavenger hunt, cannon or musket drill! Covenhoven House Program Only This 90-minute program includes a fun tour of this historic house museum, a hearth cooking demonstration, and a spy code-cracking activity! Students are welcomed into the home by a costumed interpreter, where they will be transported by the sights and sounds of the 18th century as the delicious scent of cinnamon applesauce cooks gently in the kitchen. Dates book very quickly - we cannot stress enough to secure your date early! Hope to see you soon! INQUIRE Recent Review from Mr. Iosue at St. Rose of Lima School: Taking our fifth graders on a trip to the Covenhoven House was a no brainer. As a local historical site I knew this would allow the students to connect on a deeper level. As we toured the home the children were extremely engaged in all of the aspects of colonial life demonstrated to them. The presenters were very knowledgeable and receptive to questions and comments. It was a day that will remain with our students for a long time because of the dedication of the staff. The program was well organized and structured while being exciting and filled with suspense. Every room had a rich history and as it all was explained to us, our fifth graders were able to see the classroom experience come alive. I truly would recommend a trip to the Covenhoven House to any teacher! The kids have not stopped talking about it...from the kitchen to the garden...they loved it all! Thank you to the association! Marlpit Hall Beneath the Floorboards: Whispers of the Enslaved at Marlpit Hall 137 Kings Hwy, Middletown, NJ 07748 Program is tailored for attending grade band (click here for pdf) $10 per student grades 3-12 (Approx. 90-minute program) Combination trips with the historic Murray Farmhouse at Poricy Park or the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center are also available! Freehold High School students, 2022 This c. 1762 house features our award-winning exhibit, Beneath the Floorboards: Whispers of the Enslaved at Marlpit Hall . Students Grades 3-6* tour the historic house museum to learn about slavery in New Jersey through the lens of those who were once enslaved at the residence. The personal stories of these individuals are explored, reconstructed through primary sources such as birth records and freedom papers. Students are given the opportunity to investigate the process of creating historically accurate stories using primary sources; they leave the exhibit with a solid understanding of the institution of slavery in New Jersey, and the skills needed to think like historians. Students grades 7-12** are engaged in an in-depth Primary Source Workshop after the guided museum tour to learn about the processes involved in analyzing documents such as birth records, inventories, freedom papers, as well as "for sale" and runaway ads. What can these sources tell us, what questions do they leave us with, and how can we use our understanding of history to develop possible theories? Students leave with the skills to conduct responsible analysis and interpretation of historic documents, and a solid background on the components of slavery in New Jersey. *For a longer program for grades 3-6 , pair Marlpit Hall with the historic Murray Farmhouse at Poricy Park ! Students will gain a fuller understanding of the Colonial era in this dual program. Murray Farmhouse visitors will learn about Patriots and Loyalists in Monmouth County, as well as have a chance for hands-on activities such as churning butter and grinding spices. ** Grades 7-12 can pair Marlpit Hall with a trip to the historic T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center in nearby Red Bank. This dual program is an excellent segue from slavery to an emphasis on the many successes of Black men and women post-1865. INQUIRE Recent Testimonial Saint John Vianney High School History Club recently visited Marlpit Hall in Middletown. This 18th-century farmhouse holds layers of history regarding slavery in Monmouth County. Thanks to the Monmouth County Historical Association, our guided tour delved into the lives of the seven slaves who once called this place home. From their daily routines to the broader narrative of slavery in Monmouth County, every detail was thoughtfully explored. The interactive workshop afterward was equally enlightening, as students engaged with primary sources, including descriptive want ads offering rewards for runaway slaves. The tour was a powerful learning experience. For fellow educators seeking impactful experiences for their students, I can't recommend this tour enough. The insights gained at Marlpit Hall are invaluable for understanding our shared history. I'm already planning future visits with the MCHA and eagerly anticipating the opportunity to incorporate their educational web resources into my early American history lessons. It's a journey worth taking, enriching both educators and students alike. Kenneth Brumbaugh Social Studies Teacher/Saint John Vianney High School Early College Academy, Adjunct Professor/Brookdale Community College Hybrid Virtual Programs! Marlpit Hall comes directly to your classroom with MCHA's hybrid virtual class trip, bringing your students the best of both worlds! This webinar package includes: - A video tour of Marlpit Hall, learning directly from the curators who built the exhibit. A professional educator will then be available after the presentation for a live Q&A, to answer any questions the students might have. - Grades 7-12 will also be guided through the Primary Source Workshop, in which the skills to critically analyze historical primary source documents are developed. - All grades receive professional lesson plans and activities based on the exhibit material - Students are encouraged to explore the free digital education pages above as a pre-or-post trip activity. - MCHA educators are always available by email to any questions that teachers or students may have, so feel free to reach out! INQUIRE PD Professional Development MCHA offers free professional development training for all grade levels. Our PD program is given by professionals in the field, and presents educators with a two-fold approach to understanding the topic on an in-depth level. First, educators experience a curator-led tour of the exhibit, where they gain the background necessary to bolster their confidence level in the subject matter. They then take part in a Primary Source Workshop in which they learn how to analyze documents from the era to extract information in the most useful way, applying curriculum standards into guided classroom discussion. They are prepared with the most commonly asked questions from students, and provided answers according to top scholars in the field. This workshop can be applied in the classroom as well via the digital companion to the exhibit, and has been found useful by ELA educators as well. The program runs approximately 2 hours long. The Elizabeth Van Cleaf Institute is a multi-day workshop that runs during the summer and is by application only. Click here to learn more! Want to book a trip or PD training? Have questions? Suggestions? Compliments (yes, please!)??? Contact Dana at dhowell@monmouthhistory.org Thank you to our advisors and supporters on the Beneath the Floorboards digital programs: Hank Bitten, Executive Director, New Jersey Council for the Social Studies Dr. Wendy Morales, Assistant Superintendent, Monmouth Ocean Educational Services Commission Dr. Jason Fitzgerald, Dr. Rich Veit and Dr. Bill George, Monmouth University Noelle Lorraine Williams, Director of African American Education at the New Jersey Historical Commission The New Jersey School Boards Association The New Jersey Center for Civic Education Many Thanks to Our Education Sponsors and Supporters Larry & Paula Metz Sam & Laurie Landy Bill Mehr

The Monmouth County Historical Association collects, preserves, and interprets its extensive museum and archival collections relating to Monmouth County history and culture, making these resources available to the widest possible audience through special programming and exhibits. MCHA also preserves and interprets five significant historic sites that represent the county’s vanishing architectural heritage. Freehold High School, c. 1925 History is Ours Monmouth County, New Jersey is home to some of the most revolutionary history in the story of America. Originally settled in 1675 as part of what was known as the province of East Jersey and officially established in 1683, the county was divided into the three towns of Freehold, Middletown and Shrewsbury. It was from Freehold that Washington strengthened our resolve at the Battle of Monmouth, young William Burroughs Ross went off to fight for the Union, and a tenacious, spirited Lillie Hamm walked into Freehold High School, ready to change the world. Explore the Stories in the MCHA Museum and Archives and Beyond... Established in 1898, MCHA is home to one of the finest and most extensive regional collections in the country. Our museum collection contains over 35,000 objects, and our archives house over 1,000 manuscript collections. In partnership with local history organizations, this digital resource has been curated to support the NJ Social Studies Curriculum for high school students. We are pleased to offer a variety of local and national primary source examples and other fascinating material to help engage students in the classroom, and will continue to build and refresh the resource with new discoveries. Colonial Era thru Revolution 1600s - 1783 Slavery Era, 16oos-1865 Civil War Era, 1861-1865 Early L ocal Industry 1800s to mid-1900s The Gilded Age thru New Deal, 1870-1938 War in the 20th Century Featured Art Peter Luyster c. 1760 by Daniel Hendrickson No, we don't know either. But good luck sleeping tonight. Now and Then... Hover to Peek Into the Past! Click to Enter Under Construction ! Small Town Life Diverse Monmouth Monmouth County has a rich history of diversity, though minority populations have not always been documented as thoroughly. Through oral histories, video presentations and photographs, learn about the achievements of individuals with physical challenges, the fight for women's equality, the fascinating history of Asbury Park's Segregated Seashore, and the struggles and triumphs of our African American and LGBTQ communities. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Inspiring Civil Rights Quotes from MC Residents We must discredit the notion that economic status defines an individual’s morality. - Reverend William H. Dickerson Next Social Justice Next Next Hey guess what? The next group of categories really have nothing to do with your curriculum, but we think this stuff is cool so we're sharing it with you anyway! Fun ... Fascinating... Quirky.... Monmouth County Stuff & Things People Interesting Stories Museum Collection Have an idea for us? We know an awful lot over here but we don't know it all...if you have an idea for a topic, please share it and we will do our best to integrate it! Email suggestions to dhowell@monmouthhistory.org

The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > Monmouth Militia Takes Control of the Ship, Polly & Anne by Michael Adelberg New York’s Royal Governor, William Tryon, sought to supply the British Army in Boston by loading the Polly & Anne. The ship beached on the Monmouth shore and was taken. - December 1775 - Shortly after the capture of HMS Viper ’s 30-foot tend er vessel, a second ship in the service of the British military beached on the Monmouth shore. On December 23, 1775, the Polly & Anne ran aground on Manasquan beach during a storm. John Graham, a passenger on board the vessel, reported that the “vessel was laden by his Excellency Governor Tryon [New York’s Royal Governor William Tryon]” for the British Army at Boston. The vessel beached and was discovered by a party of Monmouth Countians that included John Morris. Morris was a former British Army officer who would become a battalion commander in the Loyalist New Jersey Volunteers , but, at this time, Morris was supporting the Continental cause. Morris apparently notified the Shrewsbury Township Committee of Observation, acting as the de facto local government for the Manasquan neighborhood. The committee considered the stranded vessel being on December 26, 1775: Whereas information to this Committee is made that a sloop is come on shore at Manasquan loaded with fresh provisions entirely, such as beef in quarters, hogs and fowls, etc., and that there is reason to suspect that the cargo was intended for the use of the enemy at Boston as the persons on board of said vessel refuse to give any account of themselves or their intention. Therefore: Resolved, that David Knott and James Davis be a subcommittee to repair to the spot and make inquiry concerning the above affair and if they find sufficient reason therefore to secure the cargo at least and if necessary some or all of the persons until a hearing before this or the County Committee, and if assistance be wanting, that they call upon Capt. [Aaron] Longstreet and Capt. [Moses] Shepherd to attend with a sufficient party of militia. Militia apparently arrived at the stranded ship quickly—but whether the militia were from Shrewsbury or from Freehold is an open question. According to a surviving document, Graham “immediately was taken prisoner, by order of the Committee of Freehold , in Monmouth County.” A deposition taken from James Webb, another passenger, confirmed that the vessel’s cargo was intended for the British Army in Boston. A report compiled after the capture revealed that the Polly & Anne’s cargo consisted of dry goods and “a quantity of beef, pork, and other provisions.” As such, the Monmouth County Committee instructed Colonel David Forman to impound the cargo “except such articles as were perishable, which the Committee directed to be sold by Doctor Scudder [Nathaniel Scudder] and Doctor Henderson [Thomas Henderson].” The perishables were promptly sold and the proceeds were turned over to “the Congress of this Colony.” As for the ship’s crew, the Monmouth County Committee asked the New Jersey Committee of Safety to assist: “It is expected a number of persons belonging to said sloop will fall into the hands of this Committee; will be glad of advice on how to dispose of them.” The county committee received instruction to ”deliver to the seamen and passengers, all such clothing and other effects as belong to them.” Because the crew were New Yorkers, the Committee would deliver the prisoners “to the Provincial Congress or Committee of Safety” of New York. Dr. Thomas Henderson (also a militia major) brought the prisoners to New York, where he was deposed by the New York’s Council of Safety. Henderson’s testimony revealed that the Polly & Anne was captained by a man named Haines, a known Loyalist who escaped confinement in New York in order to take the vessel and provisions into British lines. Henderson further testified that: “The casks and boxes found on board of the said sloop had labels nailed to them, but that all the labels were torn off. That among the labels torn off, he found one directed to General Howe, Boston.” Henderson further testified that three casks of wine on board the vessel were personally shipped by Royal Governor Tryon. Another Monmouth Countian, David Rhea, who accompanied Henderson, offered additional information on Captain Haines: He broke jail by breaking six grates out of a window, and stole a boat about midnight, and got on board of the man-of-war; that the sloop Polly and Ann was purchased for him about three days, or less, before the time of her sailing, and that she was purchased of Isaac Gidney. As of January 23, Captain Gaines and John Graham were still confined in New York. Graham petitioned for an early release from confinement due to his declining health. Their fate, and the fate of the other passengers on the Polly & Anne , is not known. The Polly & Anne was sold at public auction by Dr. Nathaniel Scudder, but money from the sale was taken by Loyalists, presumably during the Loyalist insurrection of December 1776. As late as June 1778, the New Jersey Legislature was still seeking to settle accounts related to the capture of the ship with Forman, Scudder and Henderson. Another capture of a British ship would soon occur. Related Historical Sites : New Jersey Maritime Museum Sources : Peter Force, American Archives, (Force and Clarke: Washington, DC, 1837) Series 4, vol. 4, P818; Peter Force, American Archives, (Force and Clarke: Washington, DC, 1837) Series 4, vol. 4, P1059; Proceedings of the Committees of Freehold and Shrewsbury, Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, First Series, 1846, pp. 192-3; Franklin Kemp, The Capture of Enemy Vessels by Ground Troops in New Jersey (privately printed) p 19; William James Morgan, Naval Documents of the American Revolution (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1969) vol. 3, pp. 886-7; New Jersey State Archives, Bureau of Archives and History, Manuscript Coll., State Library Manuscript Coll., #83; "Peter Force, American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution, 1774-6 (digitized: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/amarch/find.doc.html ), v4: p 1058-9; "Peter Force, American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution, 1774-6 (digitized: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/amarch/find.doc.html ), v4, p 1059-60; Calendar of New York Historical Transcripts, (Albany, NY: privately printed, 1868) vol. 1, 220; The Library Company, New Jersey Votes of the Assembly, October 11, 1777, p 203-4; The Library Company, New Jersey Votes of the Assembly, June 5, 1778, p 134, 165. 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The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > Monmouth Loyalists Pardoned for Continental Army Service by Michael Adelberg Abraham Clark was a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777. He supported three imprisoned Loyalists insurrectionists who sought pardons in exchange for enlisting in the Continental Army. - April 1777 - The Continental government had two interrelated problems in early 1777. First, it had several hundred Loyalist prisoners who needed to be sheltered, fed, and guarded. Daily, these men consumed resources that were needed by the threadbare Continental Army. Second, the Army was thousands of soldiers short of expectations with respect to filling its ranks. Offering Loyalist prisoners pardons in exchange for Continental Army service—though fraught with complications—was a way to alleviate both problems at once. The idea of pardoning prisoners for enlisting into the Continental Army and Navy was not unique to Monmouth County’s jailed Loyalists. It was implemented at different times and in different ways across the colonies. Moving Monmouth County’s Loyalists into the Continental Army was first proposed by Owen Biddle, a Continental commissary officer in Philadelphia, to Governor Willilam Livingston in February 1777. Livingston did not respond directly, but informed Biddle that Nathaniel Scudder, a committeeman and militia officer from Freehold, would soon be visiting Philadelphia to assess the Monmouth prisoners. Nathaniel Scudder visited the Continental prison In Philadelphia and identified Monmouth Loyalists taken on January 2 at Freehold (at the “First Battle of Monmouth ”) and other Loyalists taken by Francis Gurney’s regiment on January 6 at Upper Freehold and January 9 at Shrewsbury. Scudder did not endorse enlisting insurrectionists in the Continental Army in exchange for a pardon. Governor Livingston confessed frustration on how to proceed, "we know not what to do with them [the prisoners] at present." However, Livingston soon had a mechanism for considering these Loyalists. Beginning in earnest in April, Governor Livingston convened a Council of Safety for the state of New Jersey (discussed in another article) which examined dozens of Monmouth Loyalists, including several who were confined in Philadelphia. Jailed Insurrectionists Allowed to Join the Continental Army Some jailed Monmouth Loyalists wished for a pardon in exchange for serving in the Army. On March 30. 1777, Congressmen Abraham Clark and Jonathan Sargent, two of New Jersey’s delegates to the Continental Congress, wrote Gov. Livingston: The enclosed petitions from three of the Jersey prisoners [John North, William North, James Journee] were presented to Congress & referred to us. We have visited them in the hospital & find they have had the small pox very favorably. They are almost fit to go to work & very pressing for a discharge. We can find no cause of their detention. The three prisoners were transferred to New Jersey and appeared before the Council of Safety on April 14; they promptly took Loyalty oaths to the state. But the Council did not immediately pardon them, perhaps because it was considering the status of several other Monmouth Loyalists in similar circumstances. On May 19, Lt. Gilbert Imlay of David Forman’s Additional Regiment wrote the Council of Safety about fifteen Loyalists (including North, North, and Journee) who wished to join in the Army: A number supposed to be dangerous & disaffected to the Government were apprehended in the beginning of January last, in the county of Monmouth, by virtue of and orders from one of the generals in the Continental service [Israel Putnam], and sent to Philadelphia, in which place they have been since confined. Several of the prisoners have been enlisted in the United States [Army] on condition that they be released or set at large from their present imprisonment; and that practice & caution are taken to enlist only those as are either really innocent or stand accused on only petty offenses. Imlay noted that "Major Seabrook [Thomas Seabrook], who is now at this place, can if called upon, bear evidence in favor of the person aforementioned." Seabrook would formally request that the fifteen Loyalists "be released from confinement & permitted to join the company in which they have enlisted." If Imlay and Seabrook were seeking to bring Loyalists into David Forman’s Additional Regiment, they were presumably doing so with Forman’s approval. As discussed in a prior article, recruiting for Forman’s regiment was going badly and the potential of recruiting a large chunk of the 200+ jailed Monmouth Loyalists might double the size of the regiment. Forman was struggling to recruit even 100 men when a full-strength regiment was roughly 600 men. The Council of Safety heard from Seabrook and approved pardons for the fifteen Continental Army enlistees. On May 21, Gov. William Livingston wrote to the Pennsylvania Board of War about the Loyalists: The prisoners hereafter mentioned, confined in your goal, were apprehended January last in the County of Monmouth as disaffected; and are said to have enlisted in the service of the United States, on condition of being sett [sic] at liberty. Livingston proposed having Major Thomas Mifflin bring the prisoners back to New Jersey, where Livingston would free them contingent on their enlistment. The selection of Mifflin was not accidental; Mifflin led Pennsylvania troops in defeating the Monmouth Loyalists five months earlier. The prisoners were returned to New Jersey on May 23. For an unknown reason, only seven of the prisoners agreed to enlist at that time. The eight others were returned to jail. Confusion among the enlistees continued. On May 27, the New Jersey Council of Safety recorded that four of the enlistees--John Sears, Stout Havens, Richard Margison, Richard Barber--had "declared they had altered their minds and did therefore refuse to comply with their former engagements; wherefore they were remanded to the Guardhouse.” All four of these would cause trouble later in the war: Sears and Margison would be convicted of treason and jailed in Morris County; Havens would incited for harboring enemy combatants tried before the New Jersey Supreme Court (verdict unknown); and Barber would become a London Trader and associate of the Pine Robber , John Bacon. Lt. Imlay marched off with only three recruits (North, North, and Journee). The Loyalists who reneged on their promise to enlist were, by and large, treated roughly. Stout Havens remained in jail even after "friends testified in his favour" on June 4. Five others claimed the right to favorable treatment as prisoners of war (as opposed to domestic traitors) based on joining George Taylor’s Loyalist militia . This status was denied by the Council of Safety because "none of them had been engaged more than a fortnight" in that militia. They remained in jail as criminals not subject to prisoner exchanges negotiated between the armies. Seven of the twelve Loyalists were ultimately convicted of treason by the Council of Safety and, on June 19, transferred to prison in far-off Morristown, too far from home to receive regular visits from friends and family. Later in the War The idea of paroling prisoners in exchange for Continental service was raised again later in the war. For example, on January 1, 1781, New Jersey’s Chief Justice, David Brearley, a former Continental Army officer from Upper Freehold, wrote the New Jersey Legislative Council (the Upper House of the legislature) that: At a Court of Oyer and Terminer lately held in the County of Monmouth, Benjamin Lee was convicted of rape upon Sarah Phillips, and Henry Sellers of robbery, for which the death sentence was passed against them, and requesting a pardon for them upon condition that they enlist and serve aboard one of the Continental frigates. Brearley supported the proposal. Lee was not granted a pardon and was put to death; the fate of Sellers is unknown. As for the three Monmouth Loyalists who joined the Continental Army in exchange for a pardon—John North, William North, and James Journee—they took different paths through the war. John North served his three-year enlistment in the Continental Army without incident. He then served in the Monmouth militia. In January 1782, he joined the State Troops and was one of three men assigned with taking a captured Loyalist, Philip White, from Long Branch to the county jail at Freehold. The three guards harassed White into attempting an escape and then murdered him when he ran. White’s murder prompted Loyalists to execute Captain Joshua Huddy, a retaliatory act which nearly led to the execution of a British officer, Charles Asgill, in retaliation for Huddy. The “Huddy Affair ” reverberated across the highest levels of the Continental, French and British governments. North was indicted in the Monmouth courts for riot in November 1782, though the particulars are unknown. William North served in Forman’s regiment but left in 1777. He is listed as deserted in the muster rolls of the New Jersey Volunteers in January 1778. This suggests that he deserted the Continental Army in 1777, collected a bounty for joining the New Jersey Volunteers, and then returned to the Continental Army where he received lenient treatment because he returned on his own. After his three-year term in the Continental Army, he served in the Monmouth County militia. He is listed as a “Single Man” in the 1784 tax rolls—suggesting that he was a poor laborer unable to own land at war’s end. James Journee served his three-year enlistment and returned home. He became a Lieutenant in the militia. He is listed as owning 200 acres in the 1779 tax rolls, suggesting he was from a wealthier family than John and William North. He was indicted for assault in 1780, but the particulars of that assault are unknown. In 1781, he was involved in an attempted prisoner exchange outside of official channels, but the exchange did not occur. Permitting Loyalist prisoners to join the Army in exchange for a pardon, at least in the case of Monmouth County’s Loyalists, produced only three recruits. Given the amount of time invested by several leaders to create the opportunity and the continued shortage of men in the Continental Army, the results of this effort could only be considered disappointing. Related Historic Site : Morristown National Historical Park . Sources : William Livingston to Owen Biddle, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 1, p 248, 253; Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey 1775-1776 (Ithaca: Cornell University Library, 2009) pp. 19, 21; Abraham Clark to William Livingston, Paul Smith, et al, Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789 (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1970) vol. 6, p 310 note 2; Gilbert Imlay to NJ Council of Safety, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #4126; William Livingston to PA Board of War, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 1, pp. 337-8; Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey 1775-1776 (Ithaca: Cornell University Library, 2009) pp. 55, 57-8; David Bernstein, Minutes of the Governor's Privy Council, 1777-1789 (Trenton: New Jersey State Library, Archives and History Bureau, 1974) p 191; Adelberg, Michael, Biographical File , at Monmouth County Historical Association, Freehold, New Jersey. 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The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > Prominent Loyalists Captured and Scandal Ensues by Michael Adelberg George Taylor, Colonel of an illusory Loyalist militia, led several incursions into Monmouth County. He was taken in August 1780; after months in jail, he was exchanged back to New York. - August 1780 - Prior articles demonstrate that summer of 1780 was a particularly desperate time in Monmouth County. Colonel Tye and other Loyalist irregulars kidnapped more than a dozen county leaders. In response, hundreds of county residents formed an extra-legal vigilante association, the Retaliators . Disaffected county residents trying to weather the war at home had livestock impounded by Continental soldiers and were subject to shockingly high fines for missing militia duty. But it was an equally desperate time for Monmouth County Loyalists behind British lines in New York. The New Jersey Volunteers , which hundreds of Monmouth Loyalists joined in 1776-1777, were largely dispirited —and original recruits drifted into new military units or left the Army for irregular Loyalist paramilitaries such as the Associated Loyalists . Amidst this desperation, a party of prominent Monmouth Loyalists was tempted to land in Monmouth County on an ill-fated mission. Monmouth Militia Captures Loyalist Party The New Jersey Gazette reported that on August 2: Eight of the infamous refugees, five of whom pretended to be officers in the Tyrant's service, were brought to the Commissary of Prisoners at Elizabethtown from Monmouth. When they were captured, they pleaded they came over with a flag , and produced their orders; but their frivolous pretensions would not answer their ends, and they were sent to Philadelphia to occupy a corner of the new gaol until exchanged. The New Jersey Journal reported on the same incident: Yesterday, were brought to this town under guard, being on their way to Philadelphia, Col. George Taylor, Lt. Samuel Leonard, Lt. John Thomson, Ensign John Lawrence and Chrineyonce Van Mater, late inhabitants of Monmouth County, and three others -- they were made prisoners on Wednesday last by a party of militia." Five of the eight captured men were well-known Loyalists from prominent families: George Taylor was the colonel of the illusory Loyalist Monmouth County militia . In 1777, he led raids into Monmouth County and remained active in recruiting Loyalists from the county afterward. Samuel Leonard was a lieutenant in the (Loyalist) New Jersey Volunteers. He often commanded the troops at the Sandy Hook Lighthouse . He was kin to Thomas Leonard (a major in the Volunteers) and Joseph Leonard (the former county clerk who took the county’s records .). John Thomson was a former lieutenant in the New Jersey Volunteers who became an Associated Loyalist. He was involved in raids into Monmouth County. While others in the party were exchanged, Thomson remained in jail. He was convicted of two felonies and hanged. John Lawrence was an ensign in the New Jersey Volunteers. His kin co-led the Upper Freehold Loyalist insurrection of December 1776. Chrineyonce Van Mater was the first of Monmouth’s Loyalist partisans. He helped capture two leading Whigs in late 1776 and participated in the December Loyalist Insurrection. His daring escape on horseback gave birth to the place-name “Jumping Point” in present-day Rumson. The other men in the party—Timothy Scoby, Richard Freeman, and Adam Brewer—were from poor families. Scoby was a private in the New Jersey Volunteers early in the war before becoming an Associated Loyalist. In 1782, he was convicted of treason in the Monmouth County courts, but was pardoned by Governor William Livingston. Less is known about Freeman and Brewer. The purpose of the landing is not explicitly stated in any surviving document. It is known that George Taylor paroled home a captured Middletown militiaman, Daniel Covenhoven. Another militiaman, Cornelius Swart, testified that the Commanding Officer at Sandy Hook told Taylor “he could discharge them if he thought proper - at which time Taylor told them he paroled them both to return home and remain peaceable subjects until called upon.” Perhaps Taylor landed to conduct a prisoner exchange . However, as noted below, the Loyalists brought a large quantity of counterfeit money with them—and the discovery of this money likely ended any chance of the flag of truce being honored. Counterfeiting was a nagging problem throughout the war; various pre- and post-independence currencies and notes traded freely. Continental money was particularly prone to counterfeiting and rampant inflation. As early as April 1777, Thomas Clark, from a disaffected Middletown family, was brought before the New Jersey Supreme Court “for suspicion of receiving and passing counterfeit paper 30 dollar bills, in imitation of the 30 dollar Continental bills.” In January 1780, a bold raid against Sandy Hook resulted in the capture of counterfeit money by Continental soldiers. Major Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee reported on the raid, noting that “the counterfeit money I sent to be burnt." No doubt, counterfeit money was circulated via London Traders and other disaffected New Jerseyans. On August 4, the Pennsylvania Packet reported that the Monmouth Loyalists had reached Philadelphia: Yesterday was brought to town, under guard, being on their way to Philadelphia, Col. George Taylor, Lt. Samuel Leonard, Lt. John Thomson, Ens. John Lawrence and Chrineyonce Van Mater, late inhabitants of Monmouth, and three others. They were made prisoners on Wednesday last by a party of militia. On reaching Philadelphia, the Loyalists apparently complained about the legality of their capture. If they had arrived under a flag of truce, with a British passport, they should have been permitted to present themselves to an officer and explain their purpose. After that, they could have been allowed to stay or sent back to their boats by that officer. If their credentials were appropriate, they should not have been taken. Hearing the Loyalists’ plea, the Board of War of the Continental Congress inquired to George Washington about the capture. Washington, perhaps not wanting to involve himself in a sordid local affair, claimed minimum knowledge of the incident. He wrote on August 14: I have not yet been fully informed of the circumstances attending the capture of Lieut. Leonard and the others sent to Phila. with him. I only know that they came out under the sanction of a Flag, but there being something irregular in the conduct of it, the Militia of Monmouth thought proper to apprehend and secure them. The Fate of the Captured Loyalists and Capturing Militia Officers The Loyalists remained in jail in Philadelphia until January 1781. On January 9, Colonel David Forman wrote to Governor William Livingston about them: The Grand Jury would esteem it a particular favor if your Excellency would take the earliest opportunity of ordering Chrineyonce Van Mater, Samuel Leonard, John Thomson, John Lawrence, Timothy Scoby, Aaron Brewer and other late inhabitants of Monmouth County, and now confined in Philadelphia to be sent to this place to stand for tryal. Forman was serving as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Monmouth County and was apparently eager to try the Monmouth Loyalists. Forman was also leading the vigilante Retaliators , raising questions about the impartiality of the justice he might administer. The impending transfer to Monmouth County seems to have tempted at least some of the Monmouth Loyalists to attempt an escape. The Loyalist New York Gazette reported on January 21: The following persons arrived in this city, they have been made prisoners by the Rebels and confined in Philadelphia goal, from whence they fortunately escaped the 10th inst., a reward of $2000 was published for apprehending them. The escapees were Chrineyonce Van Mater, Timothy Scoby, Nathan Tyson, Aaron Brewer, and Richard Freeman. Van Mater, Scoby, and Brewer were Monmouth Countians taken in August. Tyson’s biography and reason for arrest are unknown. Thomson was tried in Monmouth County in November 1781, found guilty of horse stealing and “felony” and hanged. The others were probably exchanged for captured Whigs (supporters of the Revolution). Scoby would be captured again in 1782, convicted of high treason, and sentenced to death. He was pardoned by Governor Livingston at the request of Guy Carleton, the conciliatory British commander in chief at war’s end. The investigation of the Loyalists led to inquiries into the conduct of the militia that took the Loyalists despite their arrival under a Flag of Truce. This led to the court martial of several officers, reported in the New Jersey Gazette on February 21. The gravity of the trials is underscored by the fact that they were presided over by General Philemon Dickinson, the commander of the New Jersey militia. The results of the courts-martial are below: Major Thomas Hunn was charged with "cowardice and unofficerlike behavior, and acquitted of the first charge buy unanimously found guilty of the last, and judged to be cashiered"; Ensign Peter Vanderhoff was charged on the same charges with the same results. However, he was fined 200 Continental dollars and permitted to continue serving; Ensign Barnes Bennett was charged with "disobeying orders with respect to the trunks brought from Staten Island with George Taylor and others under the sanction of a Flag.” He was further charged with "suffering those goods to be embezzled" and "for passing the counterfeit money which came over." He was found guilty on all charges and cashiered; Lt. Jacob Tice was charged with "not turning out upon his tour of duty, and adjudged to be guilty." He was fined 200 Continental dollars; Capt. Samuel Dennis was charged with "cowardice and disobedience of orders.” He was “acquitted on both charges"; Quartermaster Richard Hartshorne was charged with "neglect of duty in not supplying the men with provisions.” He was “unanimously acquitted." Surviving documents do not reveal if there were legitimate questions about the documents the Loyalists brought into Monmouth County, but the courts-martial results reveal that, whatever the official purpose of their landing, another purpose was to return with materials purchased with counterfeit money. On this alone, the Loyalists deserved to be detained, though the scandalous conduct of certain Monmouth militia—passing the counterfeit money into circulation—surpassed whatever “irregularity” might have existed with the flag of truce carried by the Loyalists. Related Historic Site : Jumping Point Park Sources : Library of Congress, Early American Newspaper, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930; William Horner, This Old Monmouth of Ours (Freehold: Moreau Brothers, 1932) p 137; William Nelson, Austin Scott, et al., ed., New Jersey Archives (Newark, Trenton, Somerville, 1901-1917) vol. 4, pp. 551-552; State vs. Thomas Clark of Middletown. New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #34610; Henry Lee to George Washington, January 16, 1780, Library of Congress, Early American Newspapers, Pennsylvania Evening Post; Pennsylvania Packet, August 4, 1780; Goerge Washington to Congress, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw190446)) ; David Forman to William Livingston, New Jersey State Archives, William Livingston Papers, reel 14, January 9, 1781; Library of Congress, Rivington's New York Gazette, January 21, 1781, reel 2906; The New Jersey Gazette report on the court martial is in William Horner, This Old Monmouth of Ours (Freehold: Moreau Brothers, 1932) p 162; William Nelson, Austin Scott, et al., ed., New Jersey Archives (Newark, Trenton, Somerville, 1901-1917) vol. 5, p 200; Daniel Covenhoven to William Livingston, New Jersey State Archives, William Livingston Papers, reel 14, February 15, 1781; Michael Adelberg, Biographical File , unpublished, Monmouth County Historical Association. 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The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > Continental Congress Seeks Blankets Via London Trade by Michael Adelberg Richard Peters served on the Board of War of the Continental Congress. He championed an ill-fated, secret plan to buy British blankets for the Army via illegal traders at Manasquan. - January 1780 - While much is written about the Continental Army shivering through a miserable winter at Valley Forge (1778-1779), the winters of 1779-1780 and 1780-1781 at Morristown were colder. Amidst harrowing reports of soldier suffering, the shortage of blankets for the Army tempted the Continental Congress to relieve the shortage with a half-baked scheme. On December 31, 1779, the Continental Congress approved a secret plan developed by its Board of War. The minutes of the Congress did not describe the plan because it could not be entered into the public record, but the minutes do document that this secret plan was approved: [The] plan appears practicable and if carried into execution promises supplies of certain articles immediately wanted for the troops at much less expense, and with greater dispatch than can otherwise be procured. Congress then allocated $500,000 Continental dollars to buy blankets from British-held New York via “London traders ” at Manasquan. Bowman’s Secret Mission is Implemented The Board of War, chaired by Richard Peters of Pennsylvania, wrote George Washington on January 8, 1780, regarding the secret plan. It wrote, "we have employed Maj. [Richard] Howell... to facilitate the measures we have communicated to him. Capt. Nathaniel Bowman of that Regiment may be detached with his entire company of Light Infantry." Bowman was ordered "to proceed with an ammunition wagon to Squan by way of Freehold, where he is to draw two weeks provisions with orders on the Commissary [John Lloyd] there." The Board was clear about the secret nature of the mission: Your Excellency [is] to give these orders to Capt. Bowman alone with direction to keep his route and destination a profound secret & to repair to Squan with all expedition...To ensure their good temper and fidelity, it will be necessary that they be as well equipped as to clothing & supplies as circumstances will admit. The Board also warned Washington "should your Excellency have occasion to detach any other officer into that part of the country, it will be necessary to order him not to interfere with Capt. Bowman's command; tho' we would wish no other officer may, for a time, be sent there." Washington’s aide, Robert Harrison, promptly ordered General William Maxwell, leading the New Jersey Line, to detach Capt. Bowman's company on the secret mission. Bowman was to be provided "an ammunition wagon provided with horses & a driver. There is to be no ammunition in the wagon.” Maxwell was further ordered to make sure Bowman’s company was full: “Whatever men are deficient [in Bowman's company] are to be made up out of the Regiment, and the General desires that those men may be furnished as soon as possible with their clothing in preference to others." Bowman was asked to be ready to march to Freehold in three days. Maxwell was not told of Bowman’s mission. On January 11, Washington wrote directly to Bowman with secret orders: You are to proceed immediately with the men of your company present, and those attached to it by an order yesterday for the purpose of making it complete, to Squan by way of Freehold, taking with you the ammunition wagon for which you obtained an order of General Knox at Freehold; you will draw two weeks provisions for your party, for which purpose you will find an order enclosed for the Commissary of that place... It is the desire of the Board of War that your route and destination be kept a profound secret. No officer may interfere with your command in the course of your march and command. You [will] keep strict discipline and good order. Troubles with Bowman’s Blankets at Manasquan There is no documentation of Bowman’s time at Manasquan until the end of March. On March 30, Abraham Clark, a New Jersey delegate in Congress, wrote to Governor William Livingston. By law, British goods were illegal in New Jersey. Any New Jersey citizen who found British goods in the state could seize them. With the approval of the local magistrate and a verdict from a mini-jury, those goods would be forfeited to the person who seized them. This meant that the blankets at Manasquan were liable to seizure. Clark wrote: There is now stored at Squan a quantity of blankets for the use of the Army… it appears they are of British manufacture and on that account are liable to seizure, it is said that a number of inhabitants, having knowledge of said goods, are determined to avail themselves of the law authorizing seizures in case of their removal. This embarrasses the Board of War. Clark requested that Livingston intervene to allow Bowman to safely bring the blankets out of Manasquan. That same day, Richard Peters wrote Washington that "the great distress of the Army for want of blankets induced the Board to sometime since attempt to import them from New York." He provided an update on Bowman’s mission and made a request: The Board contracted with a Gentleman for 5,000 blankets on terms advantageous to the Public & gave him a permit to go into N. York, where he has been a most unreasonable time. He has at length sent to Squan in N. Jersey upwards of 2,000 blankets and some other goods...a small quantity which has been at rec'd by the Clothier here [Philadelphia]--but the transportation of them through the Jersies and the imprudence of the persons conducting them have created such suspicion and uneasiness among the people as to make the board apprehensive of risking the rest across the Country. Peters asked that Washington give Bowman a pass to carry the blankets across the state. Livingston and Washington exchanged letters about the blankets at Manasquan. Livingston wrote: There is now stored at or near Squan a quantity of blankets designed for use of the Army; these with other articles of clothing are under the direction of the Board of War...How and whence these blankets came to the above place, I am not able to inform your Excellency, but it appears they are of British manufacture and on that account liable to seizure. It is said that a number of inhabitants of New Jersey, having knowledge of the said goods, are determined to avail themselves of the law authorizing seizure. Livingston asked Washington to issue a special pass for the blankets: "Orders to the effect which he [Clark] mentions should doubtless be given without delay, but as this is a matter relating solely to the Army, it seems proper that the passport should come from Your Excellency [Washington]." Washington complied with the requests from Livingston and Peters by sending a pass for Bowman to transport the blankets to the Board of War. He also complained of being pulled into a plot that contradicted New Jersey law: I enclose a permit for the goods in charge of Captain Bowman. This mode of obtaining supplies is certainly justifiable, from the unhappy situation of our affairs and the necessity of having them; but at the same time, for reasons which will steadily occur to the Board, I very much wish the business could have been concluded without any interference on my part. Bowman's pass read: "The goods which Capt. Bowman has in his charge have been procured by the public, and are essential articles of supply for the Army; They are therefore permitted to pass." Livingston promised his support: "I shall cheerfully do everything in my power that may be thought necessary to facilitate the safe transportation of the blankets." It is unclear when Washington’s pass made it to Bowman, but Bowman stayed at Manasquan through April. The delay proved costly. At the end of April, Bowman compiled a troop return: three men deserted on April 18; five more deserted on April 20; five were captured during a Loyalist raid on Manasquan, also on April 20; and four more deserted on the march back to Morristown on April 29. In April alone, Bowman lost seventeen of his 62 men (though two of the deserters eventually returned). It was inevitable that London Traders at Manasquan who regularly conversed with Loyalists at Sandy Hook and New York would inform a Loyalist with military resources. The April 20 raid on Manasquan was reported in the Loyalist New York Gazette . A detachment of New Jersey Volunteers (Loyalist troops) "under the command of Lt. Col. Lawrence [Elisha Lawrence] embarked at Sandy Hook on an expedition against a rebel post at Squan.” The report continued: After being detained for a week at the Light House by contrary winds, Coll. Lawrence landed at midnight and marched immediately for the cantonment of the enemy, which he soon reached, but was mortified in finding the post had been withdrawn to the south. However, the Loyalists did capture a small detachment of Continentals, consisting of a Lieutenant and five men. After this, Lawarence determined that "nothing further to be done, the detachment re-embarked and returned" on April 22. The captured officer was Lt. Benajah Osmun, who had just returned to Manasquan from Philadelphia on April 18 with two privates (he probably had delivered a wagonload of blankets to that city and was returning). After his capture, Osmun was permitted to write Colonel Israel Shreve, his regimental commander. He wrote of the capture of his party while searching local homes (perhaps searching for pilfered blankets): I ordered them [his men] to rest their selves for a little time and then would go search the houses and no doubt should have found them but was disappointed by a party under the command of Col. Lawrence which landed about 1 o'clock and took me and the men, which was brought to New York, and I was sent to Long Island [Brooklyn] on parole where I still remain. Congress’s Board of War had funded Bowman to purchase 5,000 blankets, and, in March, reported that “upwards of 2,000 blankets” were brought from New York to Manasquan. Lt. Osmun apparently brought “a small quantity” of those blankets to Philadelphia, but most of the blankets were likely lost—either to the Loyalist raiders or to local disaffected who pilfered the blankets when Bowman retreated from Manasquan on Lawrence’s landing. After the Collapse Bowman’s Mission In May, an anonymous intelligence report was sent to Congress from Black Point (Rumson). The secret correspondent was probably Major Richard Howell, who had spent five months at Black Point in 1778. He wrote: "I sent you a line the 8th instant from Black Point from which place I intended a secret visit." The writer warned Congress of rumors that "I have been the principal instrument of supplying the Continental Army with blankets and ammunition, but they are false." Even after the failure of Bowman’s mission was known in Congress, discussions continued about acquiring blankets via illegal trade. Indeed, Richard Peters, who had championed the Bowman mission, proposed a similar plan to acquire blankets via West Point, New York. Peters predicted that, this time, there would be "less examination or suspicion, as the transportation [of blankets] is by water, & no risk to be run by the public." General Washington was cool to the idea and there is no evidence that the scheme was implemented. A month later, it was understood that a lot of money was spent on bringing blankets from New York to Manasquan and only a few of the blankets had made it to the Army. On June 7, Congress summoned Bowman to appear before Congress, via a letter to Washington: The Board are desirous of seeing Capt. Bowman of the Jersey Troops on the subject of his command at Squan, during the last winter and spring, & would be much obliged to your Excellency to order him to repair to Philadelphia without delay. Washington complied. He wrote the Board that he was sending Bowman to Philadelphia; he also vouched for Bowman’s good character: "He is said to be a very brave and active officer." On June 14, Congress noted Bowman’s arrival. There is no record of Bowman’s examination before Congress. This is likely because Bowman’s mission was a secret one, albeit a poorly-kept secret, and a decision was made to keep the proceedings out of the public record. The misadventure at Manasquan had one final twist. According to historian John Rees, in December 1780, Major Howell, Bowman’s commanding officer, was arrested for his role in illegally trading for British blankets. “He was forcibly taken from his father's house before a Judge at Burlington.” Howell then “showed his secret orders, which secured his discharge and erasure of the minutes." Rees suggested that Bowman’s mission "seemed fated for failure almost from the outset” because it started too late in the year, was plagued by poor communications, and was dependent on unreliable locals living along the vulnerable Monmouth shore. Rees concluded that, for Congress, "the experience at Squan must have discouraged any further such plans." This may be true, but it certainly did not stop Monmouth Countians from engaging in other convoluted plots to extract valuables from New York. Related Historic Site : Morristown National Historical Park Sources : John Rees, Supply Shortages, Suffering Soldiers and a Secret Mission During the Hard Winter of 1780, Military Collector & Historian, v52, n3, Fall 2000, pp. 100-107; George Washington to Nathaniel Bowman, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 63, January 11, 1780; Richard Peters to George Washington in John Rees, Supply Shortages, Suffering Soldiers and a Secret Mission During the Hard Winter of 1780, Military Collector & Historian, v52, n3, Fall 2000, pp. 100-7; Abraham Clark to William Livingston, Paul Smith, et al, Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789 (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1970) vol. 15, p 555; William Livingston to George Washington, John Rees, Supply Shortages, Suffering Soldiers and a Secret Mission During the Hard Winter of 1780, Military Collector & Historian, v52, n3, Fall 2000, p100-7; George Washington to Congress, John U. Rees, The Great Distress of the Army for Want of Blankets, p4-10; William Livingston to George Washington, Library of Congress, Early American Newspaper, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930; Bowman’s Troops Return in John U. Rees, The Great Distress of the Army for Want of Blankets, p4-10; Library of Congress, Rivington's New York Gazette, reel 2906; Anonymous Report, William Clements Library, Henry Clinton Papers, vol. 98; Congress to George Washington in John Rees, Supply Shortages, Suffering Soldiers and a Secret Mission During the Hard Winter of 1780, Military Collector & Historian, v52, n3, Fall 2000, p100-7 Previous Next

The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > Grain Seizure Splits Whig Leadership by Michael Adelberg General Nathanael Greene was in charge of raising provisions for the Continental Army in 1779 when the improper seizure of hay from Benjamin Van Cleaf of Middletown was escalated to him. - January 1779 - As discussed in prior articles, raising forage and provisions from the fertile farms of Monmouth County was a high priority for the Continental Army. It appointed two officers, David Rhea and John Lloyd to purchase supplies in the county. But not all farmers wanted to sell their goods to Rhea and Lloyd. Some were secretly trading with Loyalist middlemen (called “London Traders ”) who brought their goods to the British. Other farmers were simply interested in holding onto their goods in order to get a higher price later on. The treatment of one of these farmers was escalated to senior Army generals and New Jersey’s governor. It caused a rift in the county’s leadership. The Benjamin Van Cleaf Affair Benjamin Van Cleaf was a comfortable Middletown farmer from an extended family that solidly supported the Revolution and included both militia and local government officers. Van Cleaf was a militia lieutenant who signed a number of pro-Revolutionary petitions and served on grand juries. In January 1779, Peter Forman, the magistrate from neighboring Freehold Township, came to Van Cleaf’s house and ordered his grain to be impounded for the use of the Army. Van Cleaf was compensated at the Army’s standard rate. General Nathanael Greene was made aware of the controversial seizure. He noted: “This Van Cleaf has had rye in stacks upwards of two years. He has frequently refused to sell it, cloaking his real intentions with the very charitable purpose of reserving it for the poor." Greene was implying that Van Cleaf was participating in the London Trade, though there is no evidence of that in surviving documents. According to Greene’s letter, Forman had initially sent Captain Knight [Richard McKnight] to buy the rye, but Van Cleaf refused, claiming he was keeping it for poor relief. Forman then went to Van Cleaf with a party of teamsters, and, under threat of arrest, forced Van Cleaf to sell his rye. Forman appears to have exceeded his authority in two ways: First, he left his own township to impound the goods of a farmer living in another township; second, magistrates were permitted to impound goods from those disaffected from the Revolution or materials likely to fall into enemy hands; there is no evidence that Van Cleaf was disaffected or that his rye was in danger. Aggrieved, Van Cleaf went to the Middletown magistrate, Peter Schenck, who appeared with his own party and ordered the wagons with Van Cleaf’s rye to be unloaded. On February 4, Schenck wrote Forman: “How could you assume such authority as to supersede my precepts?... Neither the Chief Justice nor Governor Livingston would have presumed to supersede any magistrate without giving him a hearing." Schenck wrote that Forman has "scoffed... at giving him [Van Cleaf] an opportunity in his own defence.” Schenck further stated: Your conduct I cannot but resent, and resent accordingly. I know not how you should impress the grain after it was made known it was sold for the use of the inhabitants - the legislature reposing confidence in Magistrates as the guardians of the people - gave them authority to impress produce from disaffected persons, but not to take it from the people who would dispose of their produce for the use of the poor... families are dependent on their bread on Mr. Van Cleave, out of the grain you have undertook to seize. Schenck concluded by insulting Forman with a striking comparison—suggesting that Forman’s actions were even worse than the crimes of the hated Pine Robbers , Jacob Fagan and Thomas Emmons (a.k.a. Burke): “Fagan and Burke, when they robbed, had regard for the poor, they only took out of abundance from those they robbed, but you have endeavored to arrest the bread from the poor." Schenck’s letter was forwarded to Gen. Greene and the Continental Congress with documents showing the market price of a bushel of rye or corn to be $10, but the Continental Quartermaster paying only $4 and $6 a bushel respectively. With the controversy brewing, the Quartermaster purchasing agent from Monmouth County, David Rhea, wrote a Continental officer, Clement Biddle, on February 12: “The country are all in arms about grain prices; send no more wagons here." Rhea informed Biddle that he sent Captain McKnight and Forman to Van Cleaf to purchase the rye: I sent a Magistrate [Forman] with the forage purchase who ordered the brigade [wagon team] to be loaded - paid for the same by taking the receipts without opposition; as soon as they were gone the owner applied to another Magistrate [Schenck] who drove off McKnight with his brigade, nor would he suffer them to take any [of the rye]. Rhea suggested that he would seek to right the situation by gaining Schenck’s support. He apologized for the controversy that he had inadvertently begun: "I am extremely sorry to trouble you about this affair - this much I must say, it is a damnation country to do business with." The Van Cleaf controversy prompted General Greene to write Governor William Livingston on February 14. Greene sided with Rhea and Forman: "I have enclosed for your Excellency's information copies of several papers… respecting the wickedness and villainy of some Magistrates in Monmouth County.” Greene argued that “the great difference in the price offered by the public purchasers and the private engrossers” was the root cause of the problem. He suggested: It appears to me a plan concerted with a design either to save the grain in the county or procure for the inhabitants an extravagant price for it. That we are reduced to the necessity to impress the grain by the aid of Magistrates is notorious. Greene was, in effect, admitting that because of the low price paid by the Continental Army, the Army had to rely on magistrates to take goods from otherwise dutiful citizen farmers at below-market prices. Livingston responded to Greene three days later. He suggested that some of Monmouth County’s office holders were not sufficiently patriotic and even in league with London Traders. "Some of them have rendered themselves culpable. While some are remiss at assisting the Army... others have been oppressive in granting warrants for wood cutting without summoning the owner to try his disaffection, or any proof of his refusal." Monmouth County’s disaffected officeholders is the subject of another article. However, Schenck’s intervention on behalf of Van Cleaf was never reversed. Perspective In isolation, the seizure of Van Cleaf’s rye was a small incident in which a local official exceeded his authority by going into a neighboring township to seize goods for the benefit of the Army. The seizure was reversed by the magistrate with appropriate jurisdiction. Continental and state leadership empowered local agents to act aggressively in raising forage for the Army but acquiesced to the rule of law when one of their agents exceeded his authority. More broadly, the bitter words between the magistrates exposed a growing rift in Monmouth County’s leadership. On one side of the split were “Machiavellian” Whigs (mostly from Freehold and Upper Freehold townships) who took unlawful actions in the interest of better prosecuting the Revolution; other the side, were “Due Process” Whigs (mostly from the Middletown and the Shore Townships) who supported the Revolution, but not at the expense of the rule of law. While this split was evident intermittently before the Van Cleaf controversy (such as the overturned county election of 1777), the Van Cleaf controversy re-aggravated the split and set in motion a string of events that substantially worsened it. Another property seizure by a Captain John Walton of Freehold against a Middletown citizen, Solomon Ketchum, three months later would lead to landmark litigation and further widen the split inside Monmouth County. The split would climax with leaders from the two sides coming to blows at the 1780 county election and splitting into rival associations after that. Related Historic Site : Howell Living History Farm Sources: Nathanael Greene, The Papers of General Nathanael Greene (Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina Press, 1976) vol. 3, pp. 247-8; Peter Schenck to Peter Forman, Papers of the Continental Congress, Letter of Nathanael Greene, vol. 3, p43-4; David Rhea to Clement Biddle, National Archives, Papers of the Continental Congress, M247, I173, Letters from Nathanael Greene, v3, p37; Nathanael Greene to William Livingston, Nathanael Greene, The Papers of General Nathanael Greene (Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina Press, 1976) vol. 3, pp. 247-8; William Livingston to Nathanael Greene, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 3, pp. 35-6; Michael S. Adelberg, “The Transformation of Local Governance in Monmouth County, New Jersey during the War of the American Revolution,” Journal of the Early Republic , 2011. Previous Next

The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > Monmouth County's Petitions Against Independence by Michael Adelberg The Declaration of Independence forced Americans to take sides. In the month prior to the Declaration, Monmouth Countians authored and signed nine petitions against independence. - June 1776 - By June 1776, Americans were hotly debating whether or not to declare independence from Great Britain. While a consensus for independence was emerging in large parts of the Thirteen Colonies, there were regions where significant minorities, and even local majorities, opposed independence. Monmouth County was one of those regions. In a time period before public polling, the best tool available for sensing public opinion were petitions to the state legislature (in June 1776, New Jersey’s legislature was the Provincial Congress). Different records of the Provincial Congress convey slightly different totals, but the most comprehensive source suggests that Monmouth Countians authored roughly half of New Jersey’s anti-independence petitions that were sent to the Provincial Congress. We can infer that the question of independence was well-settled in the counties that sent zero petitions. The large number of Monmouth County petitions suggests a deeply divided population in which individuals felt compelled to go on record with their opinions. In total, it appears that Monmouth Countians authored seventeen petitions to the Provincial Congress over a five week period—eight favoring independence and nine opposed. The sentiment of these petitions by township is as follows: Freehold Pro-Independence: 2 / Anti-Independence: 0 Middletown Pro-Independence: 3 / Anti: 4 Shrewsbury Pro-Independence: 2 / Anti: 4 Upper Freehold Pro-Independence: 1 / Anti: 1 Dover & Stafford Pro-Independence: 0 / Anti: 0 Unfortunately, the contents of most of these petitions are lost. The minutes of the Provincial Congress briefly summarizes the contents of the petitions. The brief petition summaries contain information on additional topics beyond independence. For example, a June 12 petition from Monmouth County opposing independence also asked "that none of the militia may be taken out of that county, as it lies so exposed to hostile invasion." This brief statement tells us that Monmouth Countians felt vulnerable to being on the front lines of the expected British invasion, with little to defend them but their own militia. For these petitioners, their vulnerability was a motivation to oppose independence. It appears that only one of the June 1776 anti-independence petitions still exists. In this petition, the petitioners acknowledged: "We daily experience and sincerely lament in common with our fellow inhabitants, the calamitous consequences of the present unhappy controversies with Great Britain.” However, the petitioners suggested that destruction from the coming war would outweigh any potential benefit of independence: We trust, Gentlemen, that you will have the honor, the interest, safety, and welfare of your native country too much at heart to subject this once flourishing and happy province to the reproachful and calamitous consequences of an avowed separation... We are convinced that settlements of separation and independence must not only be highly impolitic, but may be of the most dangerous and destructive consequences. The 47 petition signers are an interesting mix. Several would become Loyalists—including John Taylor—who would serve as a county commissioner for administering loyalty oaths during the Loyalist insurrections of December 1776. Two signers, Morford Taylor and John Van Mater, would flee to the British in the coming weeks. One signer, Timothy Scoby, would become a Loyalist partisan who would be sentenced to death by a Monmouth County court later in the war. Other signers, such as Revaud Kearney, would weather the war at home, but remain disaffected from the new American government. And most interesting, two of the signers, Thomas Wainwright and Hendrick Vanderveer, would become leaders in the Revolutionary movement. In 1777, when the Monmouth militia was re-organized and purged of its Loyalist-leaning officers, they would become a captain and lieutenant respectively. The Monmouth Countians who were most vocal in composing and gathering signatures for the anti-independence petitions eventually paid a price for doing so. When New Jersey’s Provincial Congress adopted a new constitution free of British control on July 2 and the Continental Congress declared independence on July 4, these men were now effectively enemies of their country. John Wardell of Shrewsbury gathered signatures for one petition. The former judge of the courts would be arrested in November 1776, appointed a commissioner for administering British loyalty oaths during the Loyalist insurrection of December, and then arrested again in 1777. The case of William Taylor, as summarized in his postwar Loyalist Compensation Application, provides an even better example of the fate of the men who led anti-independence petitions. Taylor was the son of John Taylor of Middletown, one of the county’s wealthiest men, and the county sheriff through the 1760s. Under Royal Governor William Franklin, William Taylor was the Surrogate of the Monmouth County Courts, a patronage position from which he drew a salary and prestige. As the votes for independence drew closer, Taylor "prevailed upon a great majority of the inhabitants of the Country to sign a counter petition [against independence] and William Taylor, himself, delivered them to a member of Congress." Shortly after the Declaration of Independence, Taylor was confronted and summoned to sign a Loyalty oath, which he refused to do. Taylor would lay low in Middletown for the next few months where he quietly organized a Loyalist association and waited for the right opportunity to support the British Army. His association was broken up in November and Taylor had to flee to the British at Sandy Hook ahead of a party of Monmouth County Continentals led by David Forman. Many of Taylor’s followers were captured and ultimately jailed in far-off Frederick, Maryland. Taylor became an officeholder in Royal Governor William Franklin’s government-in-exile in British-held New York City . He was captured in May 1778. Taylor moved to England at war’s end. Related Historic Site : National Archives (Washington, DC) Sources : Jones, E. Alfred. The Loyalists of New Jersey, (Newark, N. J. Historical Society, 1927) p 215. Gregory Palmer, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution (Westport, Conn. and London, 1984), p 851; Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey 1775-1776 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009) pp. 470-4; Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p135-8; Larry Gerlach, Prologue to Independence: New Jersey in the Coming of the American Revolution (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1976) p 335; Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey 1775-1776 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009) p 451; Peter Force, American Archives: Consisting of a Collection of Authentick Records, State Papers, Debates, and Letters and Other Notices of Publick Affairs (Washington, DC: U.S. Congress Clerk's Office, 1853), 5th Series, vol. 6, p 1618; Monmouth County Historical Association, Articles File: "Local Facts about the American Revolution Made Public"; Jones, E. Alfred. The Loyalists of New Jersey, (Newark, N. J. Historical Society, 1927) p 241. Gregory Palmer, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution (Westport, Conn. and London, 1984), p 906. Rutgers University Special Collections, Great Britain Public Record Office, Loyalist Compensation Claims, D96, AO 13/112, reel 12. Previous Next

The articles in the collection 250 for the 250th: The American Revolution in Monmouth County represent the most complete history of this topic ever assembled. < 250 Home < Previous pg. Next > County Commissioners Inventory Loyalist Estates by Michael Adelberg Many Loyalist women stayed behind when their husbands went off to the British and some had property “applied to public use.” This sketch depicts a Loyalist woman having property taken. - August 1776 - By early August 1776, at least 150 Monmouth Countians had become active Loyalists by leaving their homes to join the British Army; hundreds more were engaging in activities that bordered on active Loyalism such as illegally trading with the British and refusing to participate in the militia. Monmouth County’s Whigs (supporters of the Revolution) sought a countermeasure that would punish their active enemies and deter potential enemies from going down the same path. Confiscating the estates of Loyalists was that measure. On August 7, Monmouth County became the first New Jersey county to begin the process for confiscating Loyalist estates (under the legal argument that an individual “forfeited” his property by joining with the enemy and fighting against his country). The first step toward confiscation was inventorying the estates of suspected traitors. After that, inquisitions would be held to determine that the Loyalist in question was in fact a traitor deserving of estate confiscation. The final step would be selling the estate at public auction. Three commissioners were appointed oversee this high-stakes process—Samuel Forman (Colonel of the Upper Freehold militia), Kenneth Hankinson (a captain in the Freehold militia and future Chairman of the vigilante group called the Retaliators ), and Jacob Wikoff of Freehold (who would become the county tax collector and paymaster for Monmouth County’s State Troops). The first estates were inventoried on August 7. They belonged to two Freehold Loyalists, Thomas Leonard (now a major in the New Jersey Volunteers) and John Longstreet (now a captain in the New Jersey Volunteers). The primary inventoried assets are listed below: Thomas Leonard – total value of inventoried assets £1909 3 slaves (named one named male slave, Paris, valued at £50), 300 acre farm (L800), 10 acre property near Court House (£500), 30 acre lot (£100), Other movable property. John Longstreet Jr – total value of inventoried assets £2887 4 slaves (including one named male slave, Prince, 2 women, 1 child), 1 servant, 2.5 acre lot in town "where William Taylor, Esq., lives" (£500), 2nd "town lot, where Israel Britton lives" (£200), 5 acre lot "house & lot where Adam Shaw lives" (£700), additional town lot "where John Combs lives" (£50), 8 acre lot (L50), farm "wherein Mr. Longstreet lived" (£1000), Other movable property. Inventorying estates did not displace the families of Loyalists who remained at home. In fact, the inventory of Thomas Leonard’s estate included a note from his wife, Mary Leonard: "I, the subscriber, take charge of the estate of my husband and oblige myself to be accountable to sd Commissioners." In a male-dominated era, the rights of wives who stayed on the family estate of a Loyalist husband was an open question. The status and welfare of the Loyalist families that remained at home would greatly complicate the confiscation of those estates. Other estates were inventoried shortly after. On August 10, the New Jersey Convention requested "inventories of the Estates of Anthony Woodward and William Guisebertson [William Giberson], of Monmouth County, persons who have absconded from their homes, and joined the enemy." The Estate Forfeiture Commissioners continued their work through August. On August 12, they inventoried the estates of a handful of Upper Freehold Loyalists (including Woodward and Giberson): James Grover - 250 acre farm (£1000), slave boy, 30 hogs, horses & cattle and other items -- total value £1281; William Giberson - 40 acre farm w/ corn £351 and 2 slaves: male Ike (£60), girl Rachel (£35); James Nealon - 1 gristmill, 1 sawmill, 11 acres (£600), bills and bonds (£600), 2 "little Negro girls" (£50), other items – total value £1321; and Anthony Woodward - 150 acre farm (£800), 250 acre farm (£1500), 250 acre farm (£500), salt meadow (£35), 60 hogs (£48), 30 sheep (£15), other items – total value £3317. For Grover, it was noted that he shared his estate with three of brothers, none of whom had left for the British Army. Therefore, the commissioners noted that they could only confiscate one fourth of the estate. Finally, on August 14, the Commissioners inventoried the estates of two Shrewsbury Loyalists: Robert Morris - 50 acres, sawmill £120), £73 in other items; Jeremiah North - no land, items worth £19 s11. Parallel to this process, other Loyalists had parts of the estates “applied to public use” – meaning that the new government commandeered their property and provided compensation. Brothers John Taylor and Morford Taylor of Shrewsbury, for example, had their estates "applied to public use" in 1777. For this, they were compensated with $373 of nearly worthless Continental money. John Morris, who had become a Colonel of New Jersey Volunteers, also had his property “applied to public use.” Dozens of smaller property confiscations and livestock impressments occurred without being documented. These first actions of the Forfeiture Commissioners were only an opening salvo – ultimately, more than 100 Monmouth County Loyalists had their estates confiscated and sold at public auction. However, this did not occur until 1779, when it occurred in a scandal-riddled process that generated New Jersey Legislature investigations and several lawsuits. Related Historic Site : National Guard Museum of New Jersey Sources : Francis Bazley Lee, New Jersey as a Colony and as a State (New York: The Publishing Society of New Jersey, 1902), vol 2, pp. 93-4; New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #10122; Peter Force, American Archives: Consisting of a Collection of Authentick Records, State Papers, Debates, and Letters and Other Notices of Publick Affairs (Washington, DC: U.S. Congress Clerk's Office, 1853), 5th Series, vol. 6, p 1661; Peter Force, American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution, 1774-6 (digitized: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/amarch/find.doc.html), v6: p 1661; New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #10122; Gregory Palmer, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution (Westport, Conn. and London, 1984) p 847. Previous Next