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 > Turning Away the Tea Ship, Nancy by Michael Adelberg This handbill alerted the people of New York City that Captain Lockyer would be permitted to come from Sandy Hook to New York, but strictly supervised while in the city. - April 1774 - On April 19, 1774, a British merchant ship landed at Sandy Hook with a provocative cargo. Five months earlier, Bostonians staged the so-called Boston Tea Party—throwing the East India Tea Company’s tea into Boston Harbor. In response, the Royal Government passed the “Intolerable Acts” to punish the people of Boston and better enforce the tea tax. Colonists throughout the Thirteen Colonies retaliated by boycotting tea and other British goods. Now, the ship, Nancy , hoped to land its cargo of 698 tea chests (twice the amount destroyed in the Boston Tea Party) in New York City. If the tea was landed and sold, it would be a major breach in the colonial boycott. It had been a difficult voyage for the Nancy . A newspaper account noted that the ship was “without her mizen mast and one of her anchors, which were lost in a gale of wind.” In the 1700s, ocean-going ships bound for New York commonly stopped at Sandy Hook, which separates the open ocean from the sheltered waters of lower New York Harbor. Here, ships received fresh water after the long ocean voyage and secured a pilot to guide the ship around lower New York Harbor’s shallows and into the city’s piers. Captain Benjamin Lockyer of the Nancy summoned the resident pilot at Sandy Hook, William Dobbs, to board the ship and guide it to New York. Dobbs, an employee of the City of New York, refused to cooperate. Dobbs was closely tied to the city’s leaders based on prior employment of the administrator of the city’s almshouse; he would serve in the Continental Army as a sergeant from 1776-1781, including being put on-call to guide French fleets four times. Dobbs gave Lockyer a letter “from sundry gentlemen of this city, informing him of the determined resolution of the citizens not to suffer tea on board of his ship to be landed.” Lockyer responded by requesting a personal passage to New York “to procure the necessaries [for his crew] and make a protest.” Dobbs was unmoved. The newspaper report further noted that “the pilot would not bring up the Captain [to New York].” The Nancy sat at Sandy Hook without fresh provisions or a pilot to navigate the shallows of New York’s lower harbor. A few days later, a sloop “with a committee of citizens” came to the Nancy . It is impossible to know exactly what transpired between this committee and Captain Lockyer, but the committeemen declined to let the Nancy pass to New York. Further, at least some of these committeemen remained after the meeting: “a committee of observation was immediately appointed to… remain there near the tea ship till it departs for London.” However, a handbill was printed and circulated in New York stating that Lockyer, but not his ship, would be allowed to come to New York: The long expected TEA SHIP arrived last night at Sandy-Hook, but the pilot would not bring up the Captain until the sense of the city was known. The Committee were immediately informed of its arrival, and that the Captain solicits to come up to provide necessaries for his return. The ship to remain at Sandy-Hook. The Committee conceiving it to be the sense of the city that he should have such liberty, signified it to the Gentleman who is to supply him with provisions, and other necessaries. Advice of this was immediately dispatched to the Captain; and whenever he comes up, care will be taken that he does not enter the custom-house, and that no time be lost dispatching him. Lockyer was apparently permitted to come to New York, but was strictly supervised while in the city and only permitted to purchase items needed to enable the Nancy ’s departure. After five days at Sandy Hook, the Nancy pulled up its anchor and limped away. The senior-most British official in New York, Lt. Governor Cadwallader Colden, complained that he never knew that Lockyer or his ship was at Sandy Hook. He blamed Lockyer for not requesting his help. While surviving documents discuss the Nancy ’s difficult time at Sandy Hook from a New Yorker’s perspective, it is important to remember that dozens of Monmouth Countians regularly sailed the waters around Sandy Hook. Each day, they ferried goods from Monmouth farms to New York in barges and sloops; they fished the banks off Sandy Hook and sold their catch in New York. These Monmouth Countians would have seen the Nancy . Further, Monmouth Countians were likely in the committee that visited Captain Lockyer and the subsequent Committee of Observation. They had it within their power to assist the Nancy with supplies or pilot services and chose not to do so. Many later accounts of this event liken the boycott of the Nancy to the Boston Tea Party. Some narratives suggest that the Committee detained Lockyer and took control of the ship. Original sources do not support these details. The stiff-arm given to the Nancy was not a second Boston Tea Party. The Nancy ’s tea chests were not thrown overboard and Lockyer was permitted to purchase a narrow set of provisions. This discipline was not evident a few days later when a mob gathered in New York and then proceeded to the docks to sack the ship London after it was learned the ship was carrying eighteen tea chests. The decision to turn away the Nancy was a strong expression of colonial solidarity. It also appears to be the first instance of Monmouth Countians participating in the anti-British agitation that immediately preceded the American Revolution. Soon, the people of Monmouth County would form their own committees to coordinate further dissent and seize vulnerable British ships . Related Historical Site : Fraunces Tavern Sources : The Parliamentary Register Or, History of the Proceedings and Debates of the House of Commons (London: J. Debrit, 1775) vol. 1, p70; Pennsylvania Packet , April 25, 1774; Peter Force, American Archives , (Force and Clarke: Washington, DC, 1837) Series 4, vol., 1, p247; New Jersey Archives, 1st Series, Documents Relating to the Colonial, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey , vol. 29, pp. 348-50; Handbill titled “To the Public.” at: https://www.alamy.com/history-of-the-united-states-new-yorks-tea-party-handbill-about-boycotting-the-ship-loaded-with-english-tea-newly-arrived-in-sandy-hook-new-york-april-19-1774-image211094009.html ; The New York Tea Party, https://www.frauncestavernmuseum.org/the-new-york-tea-party ; New York Almanak , https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2018/06/1774-patriots-new-yorks-tea-party/ ; Genealogical webpage on William Dobbs: https://familypedia.fandom.com/wiki/William_Henry_Dobbs_(1716-1781) . 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 > Holmes v. Walton as a London Trading Incident by Michael Adelberg Sloops like the ones in this sketch of the New York Harbor were the workhorses of the London Trade, bringing food and lumber into the city and shipping out finished goods craved in New Jersey. - May 1779 - When the American Revolution began, the state of New Jersey made it illegal to bring or sell goods to the British Army or its supporters. However, the British paid good prices and paid in specie, and the government of New Jersey had few tools to enforce its no-trade policies. Regardless of attempts to curb the illegal trade, New Jerseyans, and Monmouth Countians in particular, were tempted into trading with British assets at Sandy Hook and New York. The illegal trade between disaffected Monmouth County farmers and British buyers was often facilitated by Loyalist middlemen nicknamed “London Traders .” This trade was so pervasive that the New Jersey legislature passed laws to authorize local officials to make arrests and seize suspect goods. But the early laws were cumbersome and frustrated both militia officers and local magistrates seeking to enforce the law. These frustrations and reports of the scope of the illegal made it to the Continental Congress which, in summer 1778, began a dialog with New Jersey Governor William Livingston about London Trading. On August 22, Livingston acknowledged receiving a letter from the Continental Congress urging him to stop the illicit trade between Monmouth County and New York. Livingston replied that "to prevent such supplies from Shrewsbury (from whence, as the County of Bergen is almost exhausted, that villainous traffic is now carried on) will be utterly impossible without a greater military force." Despite this misgiving, Livingston issued a proclamation on August 26 in which he noted "the most boundless avarice" of those who "persist in the traitorous practice of enabling the enemy, by supplying them with provisions." He then charged militia officers and magistrates: To exert their most vigorous efforts in support of said embargo, and particularly enjoin the civil and military officers of the counties of Monmouth and Bergen to use their utmost vigilance in preventing all commercial intercourse with the enemy, and to seize and secure all persons concerned in transporting and provisions to any place in their [British] possession, so that they [traders] may be brought to speedy and condign punishment. The Continental Congress and Livingston continued to consider London Trading . On October 13, the minutes of the Congress recorded: A letter of the 2nd from Governor Livingston was read: Ordered, That the letter be referred to the Board of War, and an extra of so much of it as it relates to the trade carrying on with the enemy at Shrewsbury, be sent to General Washington [George Washington]. That same month, New Jersey’s legislature passed its third law to curb London Trading. That law made it "lawful for any person or persons to seize and secure possessions, goods, wares, and merchandise, attempted to be carried or conveyed” to the enemy. The seized goods had to be registered with the local magistrate and, if the seizure was contested, the Magistrate would preside over a hearing to assure that seizure of goods was appropriate. The magistrate’s hearing did not need to be in a regular court and could be held before a six-man jury (even though a twelve-man jury was the legal standard). There was no appeal. In January 1779, George Washington committed to sending troops to Monmouth County in order to curb the London Trade. While Continental soldiers were involved in a few arrests and seizures, there is no reason to believe they were effective in curbing the London Trade as a whole. While militia officers seized goods suspected of being traded illegally, township magistrates were the officers charged with upholding the seizures. As noted in prior articles, Continental officers such as Major Henry Lee and Continental purchasing agents such as David Rhea, had testy relationships with magistrates who they deemed insufficiently diligent in condemning taken goods. Two township magistrates, Peter Forman of Freehold and Peter Schenck of Middletown, clashed bitterly when Forman upheld the seizure of goods from Benjamin Van Cleave, a Middletown resident. Holmes v Walton as a London Trading Incident On May 24, 1779, Major Elisha Walton, acting on a tip from William Wikoff, seized the goods of John Holmes and Solomon Ketchum, held by Daniel Ketchum. John James was with Daniel Ketchum at the time of the seizure. He subsequently testified: “At the time of the seizure of the goods; about sundown the evening of the seizure, John Holmes and William Bostwick came to Daniel Ketchum." After this, Ketchum "appeared to look very uneasy.” Ketchum soon left with the goods in a wagon. Phoebe Ketchum testified that she "rode in the wagon with her brother [Daniel]… along the back road" to escape notice. When they were stopped, they claimed to have no goods in the wagon. Walton asserted that Holmes and Ketchum bought the goods from London Traders bringing in goods from British-held New York. The goods Walton seized included 700 yards of silk, 400 yards of silk gauze, and other fabrics. Walton claimed that the silk was "such a quantity as could not be purchased in all the stores of New Jersey." Thomas Henderson, the former Freehold township magistrate, supported Walton’s assessment. He said the seized goods "appeared to be such as are usually imported from Great Britain... and the quantity was greater than ever this deponent had seen in any country store.” He further stated that silks like these "were exceedingly scarce." William Hilsey said the silks "appeared imported and of the first quality." Andrew Bowne testified that he transported the silks to Ketchum’s barn. He stated that “Holmes was not a merchant” and "he had never heard of John Holmes purchasing the goods from Boston." Testimony in support of Holmes and Ketchum was weak. Holmes asserted that the goods were purchased in Boston but was unable to produce any receipts about the purchase. Daniel Ketchum testified that he was moving the silks inland because of "an alarm at Middletown" and that the goods were purchased "honestly and righteously." Elias Covenhoven testified that he spoke with Holmes about the goods and Holmes never indicated "the goods were carried from N. York." The seizure of the silks was upheld by Judge John Anderson of Freehold and a mini-jury of six men. Walton promptly sold the silks for £20,000, a huge sum. Under New Jersey law, there was no way to appeal Anderson’s decision short of the state’s Supreme Court. So, John Holmes hired William Wilcocks of Freehold, formerly a Judge Advocate in the Continental Army, and Wilcocks filed a complaint before the New Jersey Supreme Court. While the assertion that the silks were purchased from Boston seems implausible, the due process arguments offered by Wilcocks were damning. Testimony strongly suggested jury tampering: "Elisha Walton did, at his own expense, and without the consent of said John and Solomon, treat with strong liquor the jury sworn to try this case, after they were unpaneled, but before they gave their verdict in the case." Wilcocks also claimed that the October 1778 law under which the seizure occurred was overly broad because it permitted seizures "under any pretense whatsoever.” In addition, Holmes was stripped of his goods without the due process protection of a regular jury trial. The New Jersey Supreme first heard the case in November 1779. The seizure of the silks was invalidated because Holmes did not receive appropriate legal due process (including a fair trial before a full jury). In addition, the October 1778 law that permitted Anderson to uphold the seizure without a verdict from a full jury was judged unconstitutional and voided by the Supreme Court (presided over by Chief Justice David Brearley of Upper Freehold). The case of Holmes v Walton is the first known case of “judicial review” in the United States—in which a court struck down a law as unconstitutional. Holmes v Walton was a Constitutional watershed; this is the subject of the next article . The Scope of London Trading Were it not for the precedent-setting litigation, the seizure of Holmes’ silks would have been just another London Trading incident. The seizure of Benjamin Van Cleave’s grain (see prior article) four months earlier aroused greater passions inside Monmouth County. The author is able to document thirty distinct London Trading incidents during the war, but it is safe to assume that that is only a small fraction of the total volume of London Trading. The trade was so profitable that disaffected Monmouth Countians acquired more wealth (land and livestock) during the war than Whigs (supporters of the Revolution). London Trading also lured in out-of-staters. Three examples are below. These interstate incidents re-escalated London Trading to the attention of state and national leaders. July 3, 1781, the Monmouth County Court of Common Pleas heard the case David Ramsay of Virginia v John Chadwick. Ramsay "landed near Cranberry Inlet” where John Chadwick, believing Ramsay a London Trader, "threatened taking his boat from him" and then impounded the boat. Several Virginians wrote statements about Ramsay’s good character. The dispute was escalated to the Continental Congress. The final disposition of the case is not known. The Pennsylvania Gazette reported that on November 25, 1780, that "a number of persons long suspected of carrying on an illicit trade with the Enemy (by way of Shrewsbury) and depreciating our money, were apprehended.” They were: Patrick Garvey "an apothecary in the Continental service who owns part of the boat employed between Squan and Sandy Hook,” Garvey’s collaborators included two Princeton merchants. Garvey was found not guilty in the Monmouth Court of Oyer and Terminer in May 1782. The fate of the other men is unknown. Nathan Jackson was a New England privateer who apparently discovered that London Trading was more profitable than privateering. His double-dealing along the Monmouth shore allowed him to purchase provisions and then sell them in New York. His duplicity was eventually exposed and he was arrested and his vessel impounded. Jackson fought the charges against him for years in the courts but never recovered his vessel. London Trading in the Courts London Trading and related offenses drove activity in the county courts and New Jersey Supreme Court. Dozens of London Traders (or alleged London Traders) were arrested in a 1780 crackdown that led to a two-month long Court of Oyer and Terminer —twice as long as any court held in Monmouth County during the war. The New Jersey Supreme Court heard 246 Monmouth County-originated cases between its founding in 1776 and the end of 1784. About half of those cases might have involved London Trading: charges in those cases included crossing enemy lines (110 cases); supplying or aiding the enemy (13 cases); boarding an enemy ship (3 cases); and receiving stolen goods (1 case). The frequent appeal of seizures to the New Jersey Supreme Court was a cause of concern for many. A 1780 petition from 34 Monmouth Countians noted that “many captures have been made by the inhabitants of this State from persons within the enemy lines under sanction of a law now in force in this state” and that the decision on some of those captures were “removed to the Supreme Court under the pretense of errors in the proceedings of the Magistrates.” The petitioners complained: Your Petitioners are informed that some of the judgments are reversed by the Judges of the Supreme Court & there remains no redress for the captors who ought to have been fully supported - Your petitioners think it highly inconsistent with Justice that in every case any error should be committed by a Magistrate, that such error should totally abolish the capture. The petitioners requested a new law to protect the rights of people making seizures when an error was made by the magistrate. Petition signers included Elisha Walton, embroiled in Holmes v Walton litigation, as well as Captain John Walton (Elisha’s brother), Thomas Henderson, and John Covenhoven (a former state legislator). The New Jersey Assembly read the petition on December 8. The Assembly acknowledged that setting aside seizures gave “encouragement of the Disaffected and [is] great loss to the Loyal citizens of the State." Similar petitions arrived from Middlesex and Essex counties. However, there is no evidence that the New Jersey Legislature acted on the petitions. London trading remained a profitable endeavor through the end of war. The author’s prior research demonstrates that people in shore townships (where London trading occurred) increased their net wealth during the war despite being victimized by Loyalist raids that carried away their livestock and valuables. London Trading was risky; participants could run afoul of militia and privateer parties that seized their goods. As the war went on, complicated schemes evolved to bring goods to New York involving suspect passports and trap-doored wagons . While one ingenious scheme regarding wagons with trap doors for hiding contraband was exposed , most London trading went undetected; the practice only ended when the British left New York. Related Historic Site : South Street Seaport Museum (New York) Sources : New Jersey State Archives, Bureau of Archives and History, Manuscript Collection, Manuscripts, box 19, #30; Austin Scot, "Holmes v. Walton: The New Jersey Precedent", American Historical Review, 1899, vol. 4, pp 3-4; William Livingston to Congress, Library of Congress, Peter Force Collection, Series 7C, box 31, folder 2, 68:155, 211; Livingston’s proclamation published in the New Jersey Gazette, August 26, 1778; Journals of the Continental Congress, October 13, 1778, p1005 ( www.ammem/amlaw/lwdg.html ); Supreme Court Records, New Jersey State Archives, #44928; Common Pleas Minutes, July 1780, Monmouth County Archives; Austin Scot, "Holmes v. Walton: The New Jersey Precedent", American Historical Review, 1899, vol. 4, pp 3-5; Petition, New Jersey State Archives, Collective Series, Revolutionary War Documents, #76; Supreme Court Records, New Jersey State Archives, #18354; Compiled records of the New Jersey Supreme Court, New Jersey State Archives; Holmes v. Walton, retrial, Supreme Court Records, New Jersey State Archives, #44928; The Library Company, New Jersey Votes of the Assembly, May 13 and May 20, 1780, p 187-195; Adelberg, Michael, “Destitute of Almost Everything to Support Life: The Acquisition and Loss of Wealth in Revolutionary Monmouth County, New Jersey,” in James Gigantino, ed., New Jersey in the American Revolution (Rutgers University Press: 2015). 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 > Accidents and Humiliations Plague the British at Sandy Hook by Michael Adelberg In 1783, the British quit New York. The British navy suffered several setbacks at Sandy Hook, including losing 13 men from the HMS Assistance, sent to retrieve deserters on December 31. - January 1783 - In January 1783, Lt. Colonel William Martin wrote to General Guy Carleton, the British commander in chief, about the posts necessary to protect British assets in greater New York City as they drew down their forces and shipped Loyalists to Canada. Martin concluded: The post called Flagstaff Hill on Staten Island may be rendered very respectable, but Sandy Hook is thought by good judges to be the most important spot to Great Britain of any connected with this communication. Despite this and other indications that Sandy Hook was critical to protecting British shipping in and out New York, Carleton had neither the forces nor desire to heavily fortify “the Hook.” On most days, the military presence at Sandy Hook consisted of a guard ship anchored on the bayside of the Hook and a company of New Jersey Volunteers stationed at the lighthouse. By the end of the war, the size of the ships had dwindled from a frigate early in the war to only a sloop of war in 1783. Similarly, the guard at the lighthouse dropped to as little as 25 men (roughly half a full company). The once formidable shore battery and fire ships at the tip of the Hook were removed. In 1782, New Jersey’s most successful privateer, Adam Hyler, made several descents on Sandy Hook that included taking a number of prizes within sight of the guardship, capturing men on Sandy Hook, and defeating the guard and capturing its captain. Loyalist fisherman , peacefully fishing the banks off Sandy Hook, were often preyed upon and taken prisoner by privateers. Despite these humiliations, the British were disinclined to better fortify Sandy Hook—setting the stage for new humiliations in 1783. Continued Humiliations in 1783 While Hyler was dead, other New Jersey privateers continued to prey on British and Loyalist vessels near Sandy Hook. This admiralty court announcement in the New Jersey Gazette on April 16 is one example. The court would hear “the bill of Tunis Vorhees, commander of the armed sloop Revenge against a certain sloop called the Nancy and a certain sloop called the Rachel ... which said vessels were captured near Sandy Hook and brought into the port of New Brunswick." The Connecticut Journal printed a May 24 letter describing the sinking of a transport vessel carrying Loyalists to Canada. The letter reported "a considerable number of dead bodies from both sexes were lately driven on shore on the outside of Sandy Hook and others near Black Point near Shrewsbury. They are thought to have belonged to a vessel that lately sailed from New York to Nova Scotia which is reported to have foundered one day's sail from the Hook." The reason the transport sank is not stated, but it is noteworthy that the vessel left Sandy Hook without as escort, further evidence of British weakness. Another letter more explicitly demonstrated British weakness at Sandy Hook. On July 11, Lt. John White of sloop-of-war Vixen , serving as the guard ship at Sandy Hook, wrote directly to Colonel David Forman at Freehold. Forman was well known for supporting extralegal retaliation against Loyalists and British. White wrote: Yesterday morning, at eleven o'clock, I sent three men in a small boat for a cask of water, near the watering place, near Mr. Stout's at the Highlands; on their arrival they were made prisoners by a party of armed men, one of the men has been liberated and is since on board, who informs me that he has been beat most unmercifully, indeed his bruises are sufficiently conspicuous; what has become of the other two I cannot learn, I have therefore taken the liberty of acquainting you with the matter, as I am confident you would never give sanction to such an affair, and in the fullest hope that you will take the proper methods to bring the offenders to punishment, and to prevent the retaliating that might be the consequence of such unwarrantable proceedings. Years earlier, the beating of British sailors for peacefully drawing water would have prompted a powerful reprisal from British regulars. But by July 1783, White was forced to flatter Forman and hope for the return of his men. The situation on the Vixen worsened. The crew mutinied a week later, an event likely exacerbated by a lack of potable water and the humiliating capture of its sailors. The Salem Gazette printed a July 19 letter based on an account from two sailors who deserted the Vixen . The sailors deposed that: The greatest part of the crew of the galley, chiefly Americans, rose up upon the officers and having confined them, and rendered the cannon and small arms useless, came off in the two boats belonging to the vessel and landed on the Jersey shore, 24 in number. The Vixen had just completed escorting a Loyalist transport vessel out of Sandy Hook when the mutiny occurred. Bad luck for the British continued. On November 12, a large fleet evacuated the thousands of German and British soldiers remaining in New York. The fleet cleared the Hook on November 12; it was then hit by a severe storm. German Quarter Master Johann Georg Pfaff recorded that "the fleet entered the ocean [but] during the evening the wind increased and the fleet so scattered during the night that in the morning only seven ships were sailing together." A few weeks later, the British lost another ship, Three Crowns, to bad weather off the Jersey shore—this time a few miles from Little Egg Harbor. The Connecticut Courant would report that “the vessel went to pieces, and by the severity of the weather and difficulty of getting ashore from the wreck, the chief mate, ten seamen, and a woman, all perished.” The newspaper further reported that “the captain, supercargo, and ten seamen were saved after suffering almost every hardship.” George Washington entered New York City on November 25. The Treaty of Paris was signed, the British agreed to American independence, and the war was over. However, the British navy continued to hold Sandy Hook in order to alert and redirect ships still arriving at Sandy Hook, unaware of the evacuation. Two ships, the 50-gun Assistance and the 32-gun Hermione, were reported at Sandy Hook in December. The Final Indignity: The Halyburton Incident, December 31, 1783 On January 14, 1784, the Pennsylvania Gazette , reported the last British losses of the Revolutionary War, which occurred on December 31: Six seamen belonging to his Britannic Majesty's ship Assistance, of 50 guns, lying at Sandy-Hook, and confederated to desert, jumped out of the ship into a yawl, and pushing for the shore, were pursued by a boat manned with the first Lieutenant, eleven other officers, and a private seaman; presently after they left the ship, a snow storm arose; they lost sight of the chase, as well as of the Assistance, and were all of them (one excepted, who is not yet accounted for) the next morning found dead on a beach near Middletown Point, in New Jersey. - The Lieutenant was the Hon. Hamilton Douglas Halyburton, brother to the Right Hon. the Earl of Morton; the other officers were in general related to some of the most dignified families in Great Britain and Ireland. A second account of the incident, published in Scot Magazine in Great Britain added more detail about the deserters from Assistance : "about 3:00, six seamen of this ship being sent in a long boat, under the command of a midshipman, cut the rope and made for the Jersey shore." The captain of Assistance ordered Lt. Halyburton into a boat with thirteen men to bring them back, but the boat capsized in a storm and Halyburton’s entire party died. A witness at the funeral the next day wrote: I never saw so mournful an affair as yesterday, I attended their funeral at the Light House, where they were buried with full military honors of war, in one grave, tho' in ten different coffins... a most melancholy and awful procession. The British built a memorial on Sandy Hook for the men who "perished off the coast, Sandy Hook." Two other sources reported on the incident, including details about the corpses. The New Jersey Political Intelligencer , reported that the snow storm came on Halyburton’s party "before they got halfway to shore" and that Halyburton’s icy, snow-covered corpse was found on shore the next day. Great Britain’s Gentleman's Magazine , recorded: "A very melancholy accident” at Sandy Hook, writing of Halyburton’s lost crew: Before they reached the shore, a snow storm came on which, as is common in the part of the country, overpowered them so that they lost sight of both the yawl and the ship, and were all except one, found dead on the beach near Middletown Point, New Jersey, most of them sticking in the mud. The logbook of the HMS Assistance has survived. Here’s how it described the incident: Wednesday Dec. 31st, 1783 (Winds) NE b E - Moored in Sandy Hook Bay - First part moderate and cloudy with Snow. midday Weather - fresh Breezes & squally... Sent the Launch on Board the Transport with 7 empty Casks [casks to fill with fresh water]. Found that the people had rose & taken the Boat. Manned & armed the Barge and sent her in Chase of her. Thursday Jan. 1st 1784 (Winds) NNE Moderate and cloudy with Snow... The Barge was not returned. Friday Jan. 2nd 1784 (Winds) N A.M. light Breezes and clear, sent the Cutter on Shore in Search of the Launch & Barge. Saturday Jan. 3rd 1784 (Winds) N b W. Slight Breezes & cloudy. at 4 the Cutter returned with the Barge. informing us that the Barge had swampt the Hon Hamilton Douglas Hallyburton 1st Lieut., Lieut. Champion of Marines and Messrs Haywood, Hamilton, Gascoigne, Spry, Towers, Faddy, Wood, - Tomlinson, Reddy, Johnstone, & Scott Midshipmen& Jno. McChien, Seaman, were perished & all picked up except Messrs Hamilto, Wood & Tomlinson. Sent on Board the Hermoine & Sophie for Carpenters employed making coffins. At 10 A.M. sent the deceased bodies on Shore to be buried. Narratives of wars commonly end with a climactic victory on the battlefield. Inevitably, that victory is followed by months of wind-down activities that produce their own acts of bravery and tragedy. The British navy sailed from Sandy Hook, its last outpost in the original Thirteen States (though the British continued hold of several forts and outposts west of the Appalachians) in early 1784. The author is not aware of the exact date that the British Navy finally quit Sandy Hook, but it was likely shortly after the Hallyburton incident. The first French naval vessel visited New York City on February 5. The Courant reported, “On Monday last, arrived at Sandy Hook, his most Christian Majesty’s packet, Courier de l’New York, Captain Jubert.” The presence of a single French packet sailing safely into New York Harbor was final proof that the British had fully abandoned the region. Related Historic Site : Halyburton Monument Sources : William Marton to Guy Carleton, David Library of the American Revolution, Great Britain Public Records Office, British Headquarters Papers, #5142; M3221, www.nmm.ac.uk/memorials; Lopez, John. “Sandy Hook Lighthouse.” The Keeper's Log, Winter, 1986, p 6; Samuel Smith, Sandy Hook and the Land of the Navesink (Monmouth Beach, NJ: Freneau Press, 1963) p 18; Connecticut Journal, May 24, 1783; Maryland Gazette, March 27, 1783; John White to David Forman, David Library of the American Revolution, Great Britain Public Records Office, British Headquarters Papers, #8405; Salem Gazette, November 19, 1783; Johann Pfaff’s letter in Bruce Burgoyne, Journal of the Prince Charles Regiment (New York: Heritage Books, 2007) p75-6; Pennsylvania Gazette, January 14, 1784; New Jersey Political Intelligencer, January 27, 1784; Gentleman's Magazine, January 1784, vol. 54, p223; George Moss, Nauvoo to the Hook - The Iconography of a Barrier Beach, 32; Log of the HMS Assistance in George Moss, Nauvoo to the Hook - The Iconography of a Barrier Beach, 32; Erik Hinkley, Merchant and Naval Ship Movements, 1764-1799: International Notices from the Connecticut Courant (McFarland: Jefferson, NC, 2025), p 127, 128. 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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 > Sandy Hook Becomes Haven for Loyalists by Michael Adelberg Major Robert Bayard was the East India Tea Company’s agent in New York City. He was one of the first New York City Loyalists to join the British at Sandy Hook. - May 1776 - With the British Navy in possession of Sandy Hook, on the northeast tip of Monmouth County, it is not surprising that this British base became a magnet for active Loyalists and those disaffected from the Continental movement. Even before the Declaration of Independence, Sandy Hook was becoming a haven for New York and New Jersey Loyalists. The earliest documentation of local Loyalists heading to Sandy Hook is a May 7 letter to the New York Committee of Safety from Joseph Blanchard, a merchant from New York City. Blanchard was summoned by the Committee “under an accusation of carrying on a communication with some of the seamen on board the ships lying near Sandy-Hook.” Blanchard admitted to going on board the British ship, Asia , but claimed it was only to settle debts with a New York Loyalist already on board that ship. He swore that he exchanged no intelligence with the Loyalist or Royal Governor William Tryon, who was also at Sandy Hook: Not one word of news, or anything about politicks, was ever hinted either from him to me, or me to him, in any letter that passed between us. As to the Governour, I never wrote him one word, nor ever received any kind of message from him of any kind whatsoever. Interestingly, Blanchard sought to offer military intelligence on the British forces at Sandy Hook to “the Jersey officers” under Lord Stirling that he saw when leaving the Hook. “I knew the contents, and went several times to my Lord's on purpose to deliver him the letter, but could not see him.” In essence, Blanchard’s testimony suggests that he went to the British navy and offered no intelligence, then he attempted to pass intelligence to Continental officers, but they would not see him. This strains the credibility of Blanchard’s testimony. He would become a Loyalist. While Joseph Blanchard may have been the first Loyalist lured to Sandy Hook, Moses Kirkland was the most extraordinary case. Kirkland was a South Carolinian who was “confined in the said jail by order of the Honorable Congress, for practices inimical to this country.” Kirkland escaped and headed for Sandy Hook. A May 15 Virginia Gazette report on Kirkland noted: “he crossed over Delaware at Cooper's ferry last night” and was heading for the British squadron, now at Sandy Hook. A number of newspapers from Virginia to New York printed advertisements that described Kirkland’s appearance and offered rewards for his capture. The New York’s Constitutional Gazette , for example, offered the headline: “Stop a Tory, One Hundred Dollars Reward.” The report suggested that Kirkland had escaped confinement in South Carolina and Philadelphia, and concluded that "he will either endeavor to get on board one of the men of war in the [Hudson] river or at Sandy Hook." It is probable that women were among the New York Loyalists visiting the British ships at Sandy Hook. On June 2, the New York Provincial Congress heard testimony that a Ms. Hill and Mrs. Hatch were in “correspondence” with Governor Tryon’s ship at Sandy Hook. They appointed a committee to examine the two women and anyone else necessary to determine if the women were secretly visiting the British or passing written intelligence. After conducting several interviews, the Committee informed the Provincial Congress that they were “of the opinion that the suspicions against those persons [Hill and Hatch] are not well-founded." The trickle of Loyalists soon increased. On June 19, three of New York’s leading Loyalists--Oliver DeLancey, Charles Apthorpe, and Major Robert Bayard-- left New York City in a canoe and paddled down to Sandy Hook to seek protection on British naval vessels. According to DeLancey, the escape was to avoid a summons to appear before the New York Provincial Congress on the 20th. In a few weeks, the influx of Loyalists from Monmouth County would dwarf the trickle of Loyalists from New York; other New York Loyalists would seek refuge among Monmouth County’s disaffected in Shrewsbury township. Related Historic Site : Sandy Hook Lighthouse Sources : Peter Force, American Archives, (Force and Clarke: Washington, DC, 1837) Series 4, vol. 5, p1230; Virginia Gazette, May 17, 1776; Constitutional Gazette (New York), May 15, 1776; Peter Force, American Archives, (Force and Clarke: Washington, DC, 1837) Series 4, vol. 6, P1359 and 1363; Bruce Bliven, Under the Guns, New York 1775-1776 (New York: Harper & Row, 1972) p 320; Sabine, W.H.W., Suppressed History of General Nathaniel Woodhull (NewYork: Colburn& Tegg,1954) p 167.. 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 > Thomas Crowell and Regulating Loyalist Passage into New Jersey by Michael Adelberg Following the detention of Monmouth Loyalist Thomas Crowell for violating his passport while in New Jersey, George Washington ordered Gen. William Maxwell to limit Loyalist access to New Jersey. - October 1778 - Before the war, Thomas Crowell was a comfortable merchant who captained his own sloop. He lived at Middletown Point, but spent considerable time at both New Brunswick and New York. He was an early Loyalist who served briefly as a captain in the New Jersey Volunteers . His was among the first Loyalist estates inquisitioned and rented out in Monmouth County. Like many Loyalists who went behind British lines , Crowell maintained familial and business contacts in New Jersey. His attempt to come back into New Jersey in fall 1778 is an excellent example of the difficulties faced by state and Continental authorities when regulating the passage of Loyalists across enemy lines. At that time, New Jersey law was fairly permissive regarding who could authorize a New Jerseyan to travel to New York or receive a Loyalist from New York. According to the state’s first law on the subject, local magistrates or militia colonels could give out “passes” or “flags” to New York and receive people traveling from British lines. There were no limits on where returning Loyalists, if authorized by their passport, could go. This would complicate Thomas Crowell’s return trip to New Jersey. Thomas Crowell Returns to New Jersey On September 21, 1778, Governor William Livingston wrote George Washington. He noted that Crowell had come to New Brunswick under a flag of truce from British Admiral James Gambier “for the sole purpose of his carrying to Brunswick Lewis Costigen & his family.” On landing, Crowell “obtained leave” from Colonel John Neilson of New Brunswick to bring Costigen to the town and “to visit his old acquaintances upon plighting his word and honour not to carry off any provisions to New York.” Crowell behaved himself while in New Brunswick, but not on his way back. Livingston wrote: One of our militia officers having received information that he [Crowell] had bargained for some flour along shore, and supposing that he would receive it on board soon after he left the City, detached four men, who lay in the reeds to watch his motions. The militia fired on Crowell in an attempt to stop him from receiving the goods, but Crowell picked up the goods anyway. The militia boarded a boat and caught up with Crowell’s sloop. Livingston wrote: They found on board nine barrels of flour, three firkins of butter and some other articles. It appears from some of his papers which he threw overboard tied to a stone, and which the ebbing of the tide left dry, that he had brought a quantity of sugar to barter for those articles. The captors brought his vessel back to Brunswick, and claim both her and her cargo. Livingston ordered Crowell detained at New Brunswick. But Crowell’s status of traveling under a flag of truce raised difficult legal questions regarding him and his vessel because he was permitted to land at New Brunswick. Livingston wrote: What he has done, would by our Law have incurred a forfeiture of both vessel & cargo had the like been done by any of our own Subjects. How far his Flagg is a protection of his Vessel so as to exempt her from that confiscation which another Vessel the property of a citizen, would be liable to, in similar circumstances, is not so clear as I could wish it. Washington did not respond quickly, suggesting that he consulted with the Continental Congress or attorneys associated with it. On October 5, he finally wrote back: The conduct of Crowel appears to me to have forfeited the protection he derived from the flag and to justify in point of right the detention of his person and the confiscation of the Vessel and her effects. The obligation of a flag is reciprocal. On the one hand it ought to be inviolable, when conducted agreeable to the rules of War and honor; and on the other, any fraud or deceit committed under its sanction is doubly criminal, and the laws and practice of nations will authorize inflicting a punishment proportioned to the crime. Crowell’s vessel was impounded. It was condemned in admiralty court as a legitimate prize of war on December 1. Crowell was sent back to New York. He was hired as the Port Warden of the City of New York, a patronage position that may have been given to him as compensation for his lost vessel. Later in the war, Crowell would become a leader of the Associated Loyalists, a vigilante group in New York, and would conduct ad hoc prisoner exchanges outside of the official Continental-British exchange process. Tightening Rules on Loyalist Passage After Crowell’s vessel was taken, Washington wrote General William Maxwell, to position him as gatekeeper for Loyalists seeking entry into New York: Mr. Crowell's recent violation of the usages and laws of flags render it necessary to adopt some measures that may prevent similar proceedings in the future. For this, you will immediately fix upon a certain number of places for the reception of flag-boats, and advise the commanding Officer on Staten Island of the places, and that no flag boats will be received anywhere else without a special permission. But should the Governor think it expedient, in particular instances, to nominate any other place, at any time, you will comply with his intentions. On December 16, a peeved Maxwell wrote General Washington about the British frivolously issuing passes to Monmouth County Loyalists: I have inclosed you a Letter from General [David] Jones to Genl [Courtland] Skinner with Genl Leslie’s [Alexander Leslie] pass to Vanmater [Daniel Van Mater]; all which I think very extraordinary. I ordered this Vanmater back immediately and His Lordship [Lord Stirling] had ordered the others home before, but the inclosed shows that they had been appointed to come here long before His Lordship knew anything of the Matter & I have good reason to think that they are collecting their friends from different parts and providing passes for them on their arrival here, and refusing all others. An enclosed pass supports Maxwell’s theory. Two Monmouth County Loyalists, Edmund Bembridge and John Van Mater were permitted “to come to Staten Island to meet Mr Daniel Vanmater & Mr Henry Vanmater. Or, in case Lord Stirling refuses them leave, Mr Danl & Henry Vanmater have my permission to pass to Elizabeth Town." Governor Livingston was concerned passes were enabling illegal trade with the enemy. He wrote Washington December 21 with a proposal to curb illegal trade between Monmouth County and New York by limiting the number of "flag vessels" to only the first day of the month. In addition to Loyalists traveling as directed by their passports, there were Loyalists who exceeded the direction on their passports. On January 20, 1779, the New Jersey Gazette reported that two weeks earlier: A certain Joseph Cassel of Philadelphia was apprehended on his way to the enemy in New York via Shrewsbury without a proper passport… he had a number of letters with him from Tories in Philadelphia to their friends in New York, from which it appears that constant correspondence is kept up and traffic carried on between the refugees in New York and the disaffected in this state and Pennsylvania, by way of Shrewsbury. This was not the only passport from New York to Shrewsbury used improperly. In May 1779, the New Jersey Legislative Council (the Upper House of the Legislature) considered the case of Abel Thomas and James Thomas. The Thomas brothers were devout Quakers who had come from Long Island to Shrewsbury with a passport, and then traveled to Manasquan, Barnegat, and Egg Harbor. Apparently, they were only permitted to travel to Shrewsbury. It was common practice for Quakers to maintain their community by sending members to visit several meetings in another region. The Legislative Council accepted an apology and suspended any punishments on the Thomas brothers because they had no "designs injurious to the liberties of America." The Thomas brothers completed their visits and returned to New York. Suspect use of passports to and from Monmouth County forced the New Jersey Government to act. On May 18, 1779, Governor Livingston wrote Elias Boudinot, the Commissary of Prisoners, to tell him about new restrictions on Loyalists coming into New Jersey, and New Jerseyans going to New York: No persons to go into the Enemy's lines from this State, or to come into it from thence but by way of Elizabethtown; You will be pleased to give the strictest orders to the persons navigating the boats with provisions for our prisoners from Shrewsbury and other parts of this State. Livingston also warned Boudinot not to tolerate backsliding from Shrewsbury leaders issuing passes. “If you detect them disobeying this order, it is expected you will immediately supersede him [them]." The New Jersey Legislature would pass three more laws further limiting who could issue passports and receive travelers from New York. At war’s end, only General Washington or Governor Livingston (including their immediate staff) could issue a passport for going to enemy lines. Further, Elizabethtown was named the only legal port of entry for people coming to New York. The British similarly cracked down on New Jersey Whigs (supporters of the Revolution) coming into New York (see appendix). On August 14, 1779, the Loyalist New York Gazette published an order from General James Pattison declaring that all small boats entering New York must have a pass, and that those boats must first visit "the commanding officer at an Out-Post" at one of six locations (one was Sandy Hook) for inspection and receipt of a British pass. Boats landing at New York City without a pass would be seized and forfeited. Whether in New Jersey or New York, whether Revolutionary or Loyalist, many people simply ignored the various laws and orders from the two governments (some travelers likely knew little about them). Illegal passage to and from New York from the Monmouth shoreline and Raritan Bay continued without an effective check for the entirety of the war. Related Historic Sites : Conference House (Staten Island) Appendix: Monmouth County Revolutionaries Legally Pass to New York The first Monmouth Countian to travel to New York under a properly issued flag of truce was militia Captain Andrew Brown. He went to New York in May 1778 with a cargo of flour for prisoners of war. On May 24, he wrote Elias Boudinot, the Commissary of Prisoners: "this will inform you of my return from Staten Island after an unsuccessful voyage." Brown was informed by a Captain Robertson that the British general overseeing prisoners "did not seem altogether pleased" by Brown's offer of a cargo of flour to feed American prisoners. Boudinot replied the next day, "You can now go home… I will send a bushel more--if you think it will be advantageous to store the flour and take the boat to Middletown." Captain John Combs of the New Jersey Line was the next Monmouth Countian documented as going to New York under a flag. On December 1, 1778, he wrote Lord Stirling (General William Alexander) of his trip to New York "for the purpose of delivering your Lordship's dispatches" to the British. Once he crossed enemy lines, Combs was detained by a Captain Ross in the sloop George , who stopped Combs. Combs wrote that "they [Stirling’s letters] were put under the care and protection of a British officer.” Combs gave Ross the letters and took a receipt from Ross which “is herewith enclosed." Ordinary citizens also had reason to go to New York and won the sympathy of local officials and Continental Army officers. One of those was Major Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, the famous Virginia officer, who was stationed in Monmouth County twice. In December 1779, Judge John Imlay wrote Governor Livingston about Lee issuing passports. On December 18, Livingston wrote back: I believe Maj Lee has been overseen when he was granting passports when he was stationed in Monmouth; but I have lately so fully explained to him the dangerous tendency of such a practice & his want of authority for that purpose, that I flatter myself he will for the future cause no further complaint on the subject. Livingston wrote Lee cautioning him against issuing passes to civilians. Just three days later, the New Jersey Assembly passed a law restricting travel to New York only to those who obtained a passport from Governor Livingston or General Washington. The bill passed by a 26-5 vote. In the next year, at least two Monmouth County officials wrote the governor for passports. Captain Samuel Dennis wrote the Governor in April 1780. He requested a pass for Elizabeth Ritter: To go to New York and pass back again, she has a desire to see her aged father and mother, being in residence there; she has no other way to expect to ever see them, she will promise to take nothing with her except her youngest child. Dennis vouched for Ritter’s good character and called her "a peaceable body." Four months later, Nathaniel Scudder requested a passport for Reverend William Ayers to pass to New York. Scudder claimed his mission would be "of great benefit and charity, and that it cannot be of any bad consequences." It is unknown if a passport was issued for either request. Granting passports remained a complicated topic through the end of the war. In 1782, Governor Livingston wrote to Thomas Henderson, John Covenhoven, Thomas Seabrook (Monmouth's delegates to the Assembly at the time) regarding issuing a passport to Major John Cook of Toms River to go to New York. The Governor lamented that too many passports were being issued by Continental officers: "those under the direction of the Continent go often.” He, nonetheless, denied the request for Cook’s passport for New York, “I cannot think it my duty to oblige Mr. Cook in a permission to bring over goods.” However, Livingston did authorize Cook’s family, which had gone to New York while Cook was a prisoner there, to return to New Jersey: “I have cheerfully given him a pass for his family, with all their apparel and hard money they may bring.” Washington was similarly critical of passports being issued by Monmouth County’s civil officers at war’s end. He wrote in May 1782: "I am told there is quite an open intercourse between the City of New York and the County of Monmouth, by means of prostituted Flags of Truce." Sources : The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 17, 15 September–31 October 1778, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, pp. 72–74; George Washington to Wiliam Maxwell, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 17, 15 September–31 October 1778, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, p. 268-9, 282; Ruth M. Keesey, "New Jersey Legislation Concerning Loyalists," Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, vol. 79 (1961), pp. 82, 84; Elias Boudinot to Andrew Brown, Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Elias Boudinot Papers, Coll. #68, box 2, folder 16.20; Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 2, pp. 342-3; John Combs to Lord Stirling, New York Historical Society, William Alexander Papers, vol. 1, p. 231; William Maxwell to George Washington, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 18, 1 November 1778 – 14 January 1779, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, pp. 426–427; William Livingston to George Washington, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 3, pp. 519-20; Library of Congress, Early American Newspaper, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930; Testimony of Lt. Col. A. Emmerick, Great Britain, Public Record Office, Audit Office, Class 13, volume 109, folio 296-7; William Livingston to Elias Boudinot, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 3, p 91; Ruth M. Keesey, "New Jersey Legislation Concerning Loyalists," Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, vol. 79 (1961), pp. 86-7; Library of Congress, Rivington's New York Gazette, reel 2906; William Livingston to John Imlay, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 3, p 271; The Library Company, New Jersey Votes of the Assembly, December 21, 1779, p 93; New Jersey State Archives, William Livingston Papers, reel 11, April 17, 1780; Nathaniel Scudder to William Livingston, New Jersey State Archives, William Livingston Papers, reel 12, July 17, 1780; William Livingston to Thomas Henderson, John Covenhoven, and Thomas Seabrook, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 4, pp. 367-8; George Washington to William Livingston, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw240250)) . 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 > Continental Army and Militia Shadow British Withdrawal by Michael Adelberg While several Continental Army units were ordered to shadow the British after the Battle of Monmouth, only Daniel Morgan’s regiment did so through their withdrawal to Sandy Hook. - July 1778 - Following the Battle of Monmouth, the British Army left Freehold and headed east to Middletown. Geroge Washington faced a decision on whether to pursue them. Mark Lender and Garry Stone, who wrote the defining book on the Battle of Monmouth, have suggested that Washington was disinclined to pursue the British. When Monmouth County’s leaders advised that the British would hold the high ground at Middletown, it likely sealed the decision not to pursue. On July 1, Washington informed Congress of his decision: "Being fully convinced by the Gentlemen of this country that the enemy cannot be hurt or injured in their embarkation at Sandy Hook... I put the troops in motion [for New Brunswick] this morning." He assigned the regiments of Colonel Daniel Morgan and Stephen Moylan, and the New Jersey Brigade under General William Maxwell, (about 1,000 men in all), plus New Jersey militia (another 1,000 men) to shadow the British from the west. In addition to these units, Col. John Neilson’s Middlesex County militia, and Monmouth County militia from Middletown and Shrewsbury townships were operating east of the British Army. Continentals Shadow the British Army Daniel Morgan had collaborated with New Jersey militia to harass the British Army prior to the Battle of Monmouth, and he would see the lion’s share of action after the battle. On June 28, even before the final shots of the Battle of Monmouth were fired, Washington directed Morgan to follow the British. Morgan was directed to "confine yourself to observing the motions of the enemy, unless an opportunity of intercepting some small parties; and by no means to come to an engagement with your whole body unless you are tempted by some very evident advantage." Morgan’s June 29 orders, however, were more aggressive: As it is probable that the enemy is exceedingly harassed with the heat of the weather and the fatigue of the engagement yesterday, his Excellency [Washington] desires that you will press upon their rear and pick up all that you possibly can; you will follow them as far as you can, consistent with the safety of your own party. But it was the cavalry of Stephen Moylan that first pressed into the British rear. He wrote Washington from Nut Swamp , where the British camped the previous night. He was only three miles from the British camp at Middletown and had a local guide, Cornelius Smock, son of the local militia captain. Moylan wrote: “The baggage is still where it last night halted, badly guarded, I wish there was infantry in this detachment, or a great stroke might be made upon it." Local forces had unsuccessfully attacked the same baggage train a day earlier. Moylan also noted a skirmish: "three miles from Middletown we attacked a party of the enemy this morning & took one Captain, one Lieutenant, one Ensign with two privates, prisoners, & killed a few more." While Moylan was pressing the British and Morgan marched to join him, the main body of New Jersey militia—one thousand men under General Philemon Dickinson—was dissolving. On June 29, Dickinson wrote: I am under the disagreeable necessity of informing your Excellency that on my return to this place [Englishtown], I found the number of militia greatly reduced and lessening hourly -- there is universal murmuring amongst them on account of their grass, corn, etc., which they say will be ruined in a few days, as no persons can be employed to secure them. Dickinson marched east with the men who would go with him. On June 30, he wrote: With much difficulty I have march'd 300 men but could not prevail upon a greater number to go forward -- how long they will continue is uncertain as both officers and men seem discontented. I never knew of so much murmuring -- they say their farms will be ruined & that the enemy may remain on the shore for several weeks. Washington expressed disappointment that the militia that "behaved so well in obstructing the progress of the enemy should think of leaving their duty when it is so near finished.” He asked for more time: “A few days, perhaps a few hours, will terminate the matter. They will prevent marauding parties, distress their [British] retreat and flanks, and be a defense of private property till the enemy get on shipboard." Dickinson wrote back that half his men were now gone and "the remainder going heavily, being determined, they say, to return home." He informed Washington that he had "no prospect of executing your Excellency's orders." On June 30, Morgan’s regiment replaced Moylan’s at Nut Swamp. Morgan wrote Washington, still at Englishtown , that he had picked up a British deserter "who is an intelligent fellow." Morgan was also “sending out small parties to round them, to take marauders and to fall in with their small parties." Washington’s aide-de-camp, Tench Tilghman, wrote Morgan that "General Maxwell will remain somewhere in the neighborhood of Monmouth Court House to support you.” But it was not true; the New Jersey Brigade did not offer Morgan any significant assistance. Provisions were left for the Continentals at Manalapan: “the Commissary will have provision to the 8th at Penelopy [Manalapan]... when it is exhausted, you must look out into the country." Morgan began sending deserters and stragglers back to Freehold. Colonel Henry Laurens noted that “Morgan informs us he has taken 30 prisoners, and received 100 deserters.” Major Thomas Massie, under Morgan, offered a higher number: “two or three hundred stragglers that were captured.” Morgan was supported by local Monmouth militia (from Middletown and Shrewsbury townships). Even as New Jersey militia from other counties melted away, local militia had little choice but to stay and skirmish, and seek to hasten the British withdrawal. Four local militiamen recalled their duty shadowing the British at Middletown in their post-war pension applications. Hendrick Hendrickson recalled that he “followed in the rear of the retreating enemy on their way to Sandy Hook, skirmishing with the detached parties and cutting off stragglers." Skirmishing at Middletown Three other militiamen recalled a skirmish with the British just outside of Middletown. James Herbert recalled, “When the British Army lay at Middletown, he was in a fray with a party of British near Thomas Stout's mill - where two of them were killed." Benjamin Wilson also recalled a skirmish at Stout’s Mill: He march[ed] down after the enemy, was deployed from Middletown to Stout's Mill - 3 of the Hessians were killed - he fired at a band & hampered the British on the flanks & rear till they reached the Highlands, from which they escaped. Nicholas Worrell was likely in the same skirmish as Herbert and Wilson. He recalled: “Near the town of Middletown, where the deponent killed two British soldiers at one shot, on their retreat from the Battle of Monmouth, they being part of a party that was robbing a farm house.” While the New Jersey Brigade never marched forward from Freehold, Captain Jonathan Forman of Middletown Point was furloughed home, accompanied by Lt. Colonel David Brearley of Upper Freehold. Forman left the Continental camp on June 29. He recorded being home in Middletown Point , linking up with Morgan on July 2, and then returning to Middletown again on July 10: March'd that morning to Mr. Denice's, myself sent off to Midle Tno [Middletown] where the en'y [enemy] had possession of the heights to get intelligence[.] Col Morgan laying there with abt [about] 200 Riflemen and part of his Excellency's guards returned Saturday. Sunday 12th, went to Mid Tno [Middletown] with Colo D [Elias Dayton] and David B [Brearley] to reconnoiter [reconnoiter]. The eny [enemy] moved off to Sandy Hook and embark'd. Forman and Brearley stayed on at Middletown until July 14—long after the British Army returned to New York. They stayed presumably to observe the movements of the British fleet as it scrambled to keep the French fleet from crossing Sandy Hook and entering lower New York Harbor. On July 2, General Henry Clinton put the British Army in motion. They left Middletown and camped four miles east at the Navesink Highlands—from which British baggage and camp-followers began moving onto Sandy Hook. The camp on the Highlands, without the comforts of a prosperous village, was unpleasant for the British. Morgan skirmished with the British as they left Middletown: "My advance engaged their rear yesterday... We retreated at a hill at this end of the town. They retreated to their own ground; a few [British] were killed. I had one slightly wounded." Morgan occupied Middletown on July 2 and stayed close to the British rear. He wrote, "we are in full view of each other." He complained about a lack of cavalry, "I am at great loss for Light Horse, having none with me." He noted receiving six horses from the Army but the “horses were tired and rather an encumbrance, as they scarce raise a gallop.” Continental Pressure Eases The lack of cavalry complained of by Morgan was owing to Moylan moving away. That same day, Moylan wrote Washington acknowledging orders to re-join the main Army. But Moylan complained that his men were too fatigued and "ought to have at least one fort night's rest before they begin their march.” Moylan made a request: If your Excellency would approve of it, I would recommend Shrewsbury & its environs for that purpose [resting his men]. It is inhabited by disaffected, who, I am informed, have a large quantity of grain & pasture there. Moylan also congratulated himself for his service, "have saved a fine country from being pillaged." Why was Moylan so interested in Shrewsbury? It is probable that he found Shrewsbury enticing because of Captain Elisha Shepherd of the Shrewsbury militia. Shepherd joined Moylan as a guide in: “He was appointed a pilot to Colonel Moylan’s troop of horse who were pursuing the British Army, and after piloting them in safety to Middletown was discharged and returned home to Shrewsbury.” On July 3, with the British marching onto Sandy Hook, Morgan eased up. On July 3, his men were ordered to bathe and received this order, "Tomorrow, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence will be celebrated by the firing of thirteen cannon... soldiers to adorn their hats with green boughs and make the best appearance possible. A double allowance of rum will be served out." Washington was also ready to ease up. He now understood that the British were withdrawing to Sandy Hook where they could not be harassed by Morgan. On July 3, his aide, R.R. Meade wrote Morgan: "You will join with this army immediately upon finding that you can no longer do them (the enemy) injury. Should they be on the Hook, it is taken for granted that there is no annoying them." The British Army completed its withdrawal to Sandy Hook on July 6. Related Historic Site : Marlpit Hall Sources : Mark Lender, Garry Wheeler Stone, Fatal Sunday (Norman, OK: Oklahoma University Press, 2016) pp 354, 372-375; Edwin Salter, History of Monmouth and Ocean Counties (Bayonne, NJ: E. Gardner and Sons, 1890) p 182; Proceedings of the New jersey Historical Society, vol 6, 1851, p18; Bruce Burgoyne, Defeat, Disaster and Dedication: The Diaries of a Hessian Officer (NY: Heritage Books, 1997) p32; James Morgan to George Washington, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 15, May–June 1778, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2006, p. 557; Stephen Moylan to George Washington, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 15, May–June 1778, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2006, pp. 565–566; National Archives, Veterans Pensions, Robert Nesbitt of Virginia; Daniel Morgan to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 4, reel 50, June 30, 1778; James Graham, The Life of General Daniel Morgan of the Virginia Line of the Army of the United States (New York: Derby & Jackson, 1859), p 211-214; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Noah Clayton; Philemon Dickinson to George Washington, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 15, May–June 1778, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2006, pp. 591–592; National Archives, Revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Cornelius Smock; National Archives, Revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Benjamin Van Cleave; National Archives, Revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Benjamin Wilson; National Archives, Revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Nicholas Worrell; Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application of Hendrick Hendrickson of NJ, National Archives, p10-15; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Elisha Shepherd of OH, www.fold3.com/image/# 16277477; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, James Herbert of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#23218878 ; Stephen Moylan to Charles Lee, New York Public Library, Emmet Collection, #5243; Philemon Dickinson to William Livingston, Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Battle of Monmouth files: folder – Militia; Tench Tilghman to Daniel Morgan, New York Public Library, Myers Collection, item 1044; Jonathan Forman [likely author], Anonymous Revolutionary War Diary, Fellows Papers, box 2, Special Collections, Rush-Rhees Library, University of Rochester; transcribed by John Rees; John Laurens, The Army correspondence of Colonel John Laurens in the years 1777-8 (New York: New York Times, 1969) pp. 204-5; Veterans Pension Application of Thomas Massie of Virginia excerpted in The Battle Cry: Newsletter of the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield , v7, n2, March 2001; Stephen Moylan to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 4, reel 50, June 29, 1778; Stephen Moylan to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 4, reel 50, July 2, 1778; Stephen Moylan to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 4, reel 50, June 29, 1778; John Laurens, The Army correspondence of Colonel John Laurens in the years 1777-8 (New York: New York Times, 1969) p 201; George Washington to Daniel Morgan, John Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1932) vol. 12, pp. 126, 146, 149; Morgan’s July 3 order printed in Andrew D. Mellick, Jr., Lesser Crossroads, ed. Hubert G. Schmidt from Andrew D. Mellick, Jr., The Story of an Old Farm (1889 reprint) (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1948), pp. 262-4; George Washington to Philemon Dickinson, John Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1932) vol. 12, pp. 129-30. 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 > Failed Prisoner Exchange Stokes Tensions between Whigs and Loyalists by Michael Adelberg The British Provost Jail housed prisoners captured by the Associated Loyalists. A failed prisoner exchange of Monmouth militiamen nearly ignited retaliatory mistreatment of prisoners of both sides. - January 1781 - In September 1778, Thomas Crowell, a Loyalist from Middletown now living in New York, traveled to New Brunswick under a British passport . During the trip, he illegally traded sugar for foodstuffs and was arrested for it. By April 1779, Crowell was back in New York. He recruited seventeen men and became a captain in the King’s Militia Volunteers, but this group dissipated. In October Crowell was appointed a warden of the Port of New York. In Middletown, his family was thrown off the family estate and reduced to poor relief. They left Middletown and came to New York as refugees. This may have radicalized Crowell; he joined the vigilante Associated Loyalists as a captain and would soon become a central figure in a failed prisoner exchange that nearly resulted in a murder. As noted prior articles , the Continental and British governments conducted prisoner exchanges based on a negotiated cartel. But these exchanges deprioritized captured New Jersey militia officers and officeholders who commonly waited many months for an exchange. In Monmouth County, Colonel Asher Holmes and others negotiated local prisoner exchanges with the Associated Loyalists beginning in 1780. However, these locally-negotiated exchanges were prone to dangerous complications. Thomas Crowell Seeks a Prisoner Exchange On December 30, 1780, William Franklin, Chairman of the Associated Loyalists "recommended the delivery of sundry prisoners taken by the Refugees [Loyalists], to Capt. Crowell, for the purpose of procuring the release or exchange" of Loyalists jailed in Monmouth County. Crowell landed in Monmouth County under a flag of truce but soon learned “of the execution of the Refugees” he had come to liberate. This is revealed in a January 3 letter from Asher Holmes (leading Monmouth County’s state troops ) to Crowell. Holmes wrote of the executions of John Farnham, Jonathan Burdge & Robert Paterson, “your letter came too late for they was executed before it came to hand (or had it been sooner it would not have answered any purpose).” Holmes further explained: As to an exchange of prisoners of war, I am as ready to go into it as any man, but such a person as one guilty of murder, horse stealing or robbery, & coming into our County without being under an officer or military command, must expect to suffer the penalty of the law of that place when such depredations are committed. Angered by the executions and news that other Loyalists were loaded in irons in the Monmouth County jail , Crowell loaded his prisoners—Hendrick Smock, Hendrick Johnston and James Tanner—in irons and revoked the parole of Lt. Colonel John Smock (Hendrick’s brother, recently paroled home via a locally-negotiated exchange). Holmes threatened counter-retaliation: As to the treatment you threaten Hendrick Smock, Hendrick Johnston and James Tanner with, we have those in our power who must expect the same, vizt Samuel Stevenson, Joseph Pew, Daniel Hullett, John White, Andrew King, and James Tucker. John Smock also wrote Crowell on January 3. He sought to avoid, or at least delay, having his parole revoked, and returning to prison in New York: I, this moment, rec'd yours, and what you write concerning my brother, Hendrick Smock, Hendrick Johnson and James Tanner, being put in the dungeon & in irons. I am exceedingly sorry to hear [that] the matter of which they are put in such confinement is & has been entirely out of my power to remedy, and also understand by the above that you are directed to call me in. Smock promised, “I shall immediately repair to New York” when properly ordered, but because Crowell’s order had not come through the Commissary of Prisoners, Smock questioned Crowell’s authority to revoke his parole. Smock promised to go to the Commissary of Prisoners to discuss, he patronized Crowell, “your indulgence to this request shall be very much obliged.” With Crowell’s proposed exchange failed and retaliation looming against prisoners on both sides, another Monmouth Countian in the Associated Loyalists, landed at Black Point. Clayton Tilton came to propose another exchange. He wrote Holmes: It is proposed to give Col John Smock, Hendrick Johnston & James Horner for Joseph Price, John White, Dan'l Hulletts, James Tucker, Andrew King, Samuel Stevens & Humphrey Wade; for the rank of Lt Col [John Smock]. They have a right to insist on 60 privates if exchanged agreeable to the cartel; which will be the case if Col Smock goes in. Tilton also threatened to revoke the parole of another officer, "We think Capt. David Anderson has not acted up to his parole, nevertheless if the above is complied with, shall agree with his proposals." Failed Exchange Escalates Tensions As Holmes and Smock negotiated with Crowell and Tilton, both sides were notifying their higher-ups. Crowell notified William Franklin, who forwarded Crowell’s letters to General Henry Clinton, the British Commander in Chief. Franklin wrote: We now beg leave to inform your Excellency that the proceedings thereon were this day laid before the Board by the President [Franklin] and the enclosed letter, notifying of the execution of the Refugees, delivered by the officer who has just returned from Monmouth with the flag of truce sent by Capt. Crowell to procure their release. Franklin deferred to Clinton on whether to further retaliate against the three Monmouth prisoners for the hanged Loyalists. As these prisoners were not taken by Associated Loyalists, he noted that the Associated Loyalists lacked jurisdiction to retaliate against these men: “The propriety of retaliation in the present instance must be, of course, submitted to your Excellency’s determination.” Meanwhile, the New Jersey Assembly considered the failed prisoner exchange and the mistreatment of Monmouth County prisoners: In consequence of the due execution of the laws of this State, upon certain persons in the County of Monmouth for willful murder and horse-stealing, a certain Thomas Crowell, styling himself a Captain of the King's Militia Volunteers, has procured Messrs Hendrick Smock, Hendrick Johnson and John Tanner, good citizens of said County, to be confined in irons in the lower dungeon of the Provost of New York; threatening that they shall receive the same fate as the criminals executed on the 3rd instant; and as the said Crowell has also ordered Lt Col Smock immediately to repair for New York, probably with a design to treating him in a similar way. Influenced by Monmouth County delegates Nathaniel Scudder, Thomas Henderson, and Thomas Seabrook (elected to the Assembly in a tainted election ) the Assembly then passed two resolutions promising retaliation for the mistreatment of the Monmouth prisoners: "This Legislature will, with the utmost effect, retaliate for all such ill-directed and unwarrantable severities... until their enemies shall confine themselves to military matters within the lines of regular military conduct"; "The Commissary of Prisoners be directed to cause three of the prisoners of war belonging to this State to be immediately ironed in the same manner." The Assembly also resolved to raise the affair with the Continental Government. The Legislative Council, the Upper House of the legislature, passed similar resolutions. Retaliation Is Averted The Board of the Associated Loyalists recorded receiving an offer to conduct an alternative prisoner exchange on January 15, 1781: Clayton Tilton, having received a letter from Col Asher Holmes and Major [Elisha] Walton of the New Jersey troops, offering to exchange some refugees, prisoners at Monmouth gaol, for some rebel prisoners taken by Refugees who were not associators. It was determined that William Franklin should write the British commander for permission to make the exchange; permission was needed because the prisoners in question were not taken by the Associated Loyalists and were, therefore, not the property of the Associated Loyalists to exchange. Three days later, the Associated Loyalists wrote Henry Clinton to request a flag to conduct the exchange. The exchange occurred. On February 5, the minutes of the Associated Loyalists recorded: Clayton Tilton reported that he had, with the flag allowed him, with prisoners taken by the refugees, and after much difficulty and dispute, exchanged them for four of their own people, and had also exchanged two other of his men who were prisoners, for two men he had taken before & paroled. Holmes followed up on the successful exchange with a proposal to Governor William Livingston to let Sarah Wikoff (wife of Lt. Colonel Aucke Wikoff, jailed in New York) visit New York with Huldah Van Mater (wife of Loyalist Daniel Van Mater and Holmes’s sister). Holmes wrote of Mrs. Wikoff: Since the Col. [Wikoff] has been a prisoner, the enemy have plundered his family several times and distressed them to a great degree. His wife is therefore very earnest to see her husband, and as the Enemy will not let her land unless the wife of some refugee is gone with her, Mrs. Huldah Van Mater is recommended for that purpose, as a person as important as any woman that has a husband that has joined the enemy. It is not known if either Governor Livingston or the British permitted this visitation. This exchange defused a tense situation. Subsequent testimony offered during the court martial of Richard Lippincott (an Associated Loyalist captain who hanged Monmouth County’s Joshua Huddy) reveals that Crowell’s failed prisoner exchange nearly led to a murder. Crowell testified that: It was proposed to have executed one of them [local Whig] by way of retaliation, the Board of Directors having promised the deponent that orders should be given for the purpose, but the order was not given, nor did the execution take place; but he [Crowell] in consequence of the declaration made by the Board of Directors, dated 28th December 1780, should have thought himself justifiable in executing one of those Prisoners even had he received only a verbal order. Crowell’s testimony was corroborated by another Monmouth Loyalist, Moffat Taylor, who stated that Captain Barnes Smock was the man to be executed and that Corwell would have done the deed if the Board of Associated Loyalist signed the order—but the Board refused to do put the order in writing. The tense prisoner negotiations in Monmouth County occurred as the Associated Loyalists were trying to expand their ranks and clarify their authority. On January 3, 1781, the Loyalist New York Gazette advertised that the Associated Loyalists had a commission from General Clinton to 1.) keep all of their captures, and 2.) conduct their own prisoner exchanges. Further, new Associated Loyalists who served through the end of the war were promised "two hundred acres of land in North America” and would enjoy “the support of British arms, provisions, and shipping” while conducting British-authorized raids. While we do not know the names of the men exchanged by Tilton and Holmes, we know that this exchange averted a tragic escalation that might have included the deliberate mistreatment of several prisoners and the murder of at least one. That escalation would, however, occur in 1782 when Clayton Tilton was captured and loaded in irons, and Richard Lippincott hanged Joshua Huddy. Related Historic Sites : New York City Revolutionary War Trail (Sugar House Prison) Sources : Thomas Crowell, letter, Library of Congress, MMC - Courtland Skinner, box 10; Crowell’s appointment is n the New York Royal Gazette, October 16, 1779; Jones, E. Alfred. The Loyalists of New Jersey, (Newark, N. J. Historical Society, 1927) p 57. Gregory Palmer, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution (Westport, Conn. and London, 1984), p 190. Rutgers University Special Collections, Great Britain Public Record Office, Loyalist Compensation Claims, D96, AO 13/108, reel 8; William Franklin to Henry Clinton, William Clements Library, Henry Clinton Papers, William Franklin to Henry Clinton, January 6, 1781; Asher Holmes to Thomas Crowell, U. of Michigan, Clements Library, Henry Clinton Papers, box 138, folder 42; Library of Congress, Rivington's New York Gazette, reel 2906; John Smock to Thomas Crowell, U. of Michigan, Clements Library, Henry Clinton Papers, box 138, folder 44; Clayton Tilton to Asher Holmes, Clements Library, U Michigan, Henry Clinton Papers, January 4, 1781; Clayton Tilton to Asher Holmes, U. of Michigan, Clements Library, Henry Clinton Papers, box 139, folder 11; The Library Company, New Jersey Votes of the Assembly, January 6, 1781, p 102-103; Journals of the Legislative Council of New Jersey (Isaac Collins: State of New Jersey, 1781) p64-5; Clements Library, Proceedings of the Board of Directors of the Associated Loyalists, January 1781, p. 11-3; Rutgers University, Special Collections, Loyalist Compensation Applications, Coll. D96, PRO AO 10/20, reel 7 and AO 13/112, reel 10; Clements Library, Proceedings of the Board of Directors of the Associated Loyalists, February 1781, p. 3; Asher Holmes to William Livingston, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 4, p 142; Thomas Crowell’s testimony in Howard Peckham, Sources of American Independence: Selected Manuscripts from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) pp. 570, 579-80. 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 > Richard Lippincott Hangs Joshua Huddy by Michael Adelberg This sketch shows a proud Joshua Huddy being taken from jail by Loyalists. The brazen hanging of Huddy on April 12, 1782, would become the most infamous incident in Monmouth County’s local war. - April 1782 - As discussed in a prior article, a 100-man Associated Loyalist party attacked the village of Toms River on March 24, 1782. They overwhelmed the small guard of New Jersey State Troops defending the village. A dozen state troops, including the commander, Joshua Huddy, were captured and jailed in New York. A week later, the Loyalist partisan, Philip White, was captured near Long Branch, separated from the other Loyalists taken, and murdered by his guards. The Chairman of the Associated Loyalists, William Franklin (New Jersey’s last Royal Governor) supported eye-for-an-eye retaliation for such atrocities. Huddy, because of his role in hanging a Loyalist years earlier, was an ideal target for a retaliatory killing. Regardless of what Franklin believed, it was risky to take an officer out of a British prison and kill him outside the law. The British Commander in Chief, General Henry Clinton, refused to condone eye-for-an-eye retaliation, and his distaste for the Associated Loyalists was longstanding. So, it appears that the Board of the Directors of the Associated Loyalists issued orders that would enable Huddy’s execution without actually authorizing it—at least in writing. Richard Lippincott's Orders As the Board considered retaliating for the death of White, a report came in from Monmouth County. The Loyalist Clayton Tilton (formerly of Shrewsbury), who was captured in Monmouth County on the same day as White, was sentenced to death. After White’s murder, there was worry that more Loyalists would perish and this report added immediacy to those worries. It is unclear exactly what happened next. But based on the majority of evidence presented in the May 1782 court martial trial of Richard Lippincott, it appears that Franklin discussed Tilton’s endangered status with two embittered Monmouth County Loyalists—Samuel Taylor and Lippincott. Lippincott was a “captain” in the Associated Loyalists who had taken a Whig vessel and led incursions into Monmouth County. He was likely regarded as a man of action. According to his testimony at Lippincott’s court martial, Samuel Taylor informed William Franklin of the murder of Philip White and the death sentence on Clayton Tilton. Taylor proposed two actions: 1.) conduct a prisoner exchange for Tilton, and 2.) hang Huddy in retaliation for White. According to Taylor, Franklin discussed a plan with Lippincott on April 8. Lippincott was apparently willing to conduct a prisoner exchange and hang Huddy, but he also wanted to raid Freehold and capture the vigilante leader David Forman if it was practicable. Lippincott wrote up the plan and presented it to the Board of Associated Loyalists. The extra-legal execution of Huddy was beyond the pale for some on the Board of Associated Loyalists. Samuel Blowers, a Board member, would later acknowledge only some of what Lippincott proposed: Captain Lippincott then proposed to make an expedition against the Jerseys with a view to force the gaol in Monmouth County, with a party of about thirty Loyalists, and to rescue Clayton Tilton, or if that was found impracticable, to make an attempt to seize General Forman. Tench Coxe of the Board was forthright in his opposition to the execution of Huddy. Upon seeing Lippincott’s plan in writing, he reportedly stated: "We have nothing to do with that piece of paper, Captain Lippincott, keep your papers to yourself, the Board does not wish to see them or have them read." The written plan to execute Huddy was apparently withdrawn, but the execution was nonetheless verbally authorized by William Franklin, Chairman of the Board. Samuel Taylor believed this, telling another Loyalist that Huddy’s hanging “was by order of Governor Franklin." Encouraging an execution without issuing a written order was not new for Franklin. In December 1780, Captain Thomas Crowell of the Associated Loyalists was presented with this scenario. Crowell testified that Franklin wanted him to hang one of three Whig prisoners under his care if his prisoner exchange with Monmouth County’s Asher Holmes failed: It was proposed to have executed one of them by way of retaliation, the Board of Directors having promised the Deponent that Orders should be given for the purpose, but ...the Order was not given, nor did the execution take place; but he (the Deponent) in consequence of the Declaration made by the Board of Directors, dated 28th December 1780, should have thought himself justifiable in executing one of those Prisoners. We do not know exactly what Franklin told Lippincott, but it is reasonable to assume that Lippincott was instructed to execute Huddy on the Navesink Highlands—a place where Huddy’s dead body would be quickly found. The conclusion of Lippincott’s court martial was that Lippincott was not guilty of murder because he had a “verbal order” to hang Huddy. Lippincott’s Landing in Monmouth County On April 8, the Board of Associated Loyalists formally authorized Lippincott to take the three most prominent men captured at Toms River—Huddy, Daniel Randolph, Jacob Fleming—and attempt to negotiate a prisoner exchange for Tilton. The next day, on April 9, the Board of the Associated Loyalists approved a (revised) proposal from Lippincott: The Board, having information that Capt. Clayton Tilton, now a prisoner in Monmouth County jail, is in danger of being sacrificed to the violent resentments of the rebels, and that a party of Loyalists under Captain Lippincott proposes to attempt his relief by forcing the jail or by seizing General Forman or some violent rebels in that county. The Board then agreed to request “fifteen stands of arms, eight hundred cartridges, thirty spare flints, and five days provisions for thirty men” under Lippincott. Lippincott was issued a passport to go to Sandy Hook and into New Jersey. Huddy was not mentioned in the approval of Lippincott’s mission. Franklin promptly requested military wares for Lippincott from General Oliver DeLancey; he did so without mentioning Huddy: Captain Clayton Tilton of the Associated Loyalists was lately taken prisoner by a party of rebels in Monmouth County. From the report made to the Board, we have reason to believe Capt. Tilton will speedily fall sacrifice to the resentment of the Rebels, to whom he rendered himself obnoxious for his Loyalty & Activity, unless he is relieved by the immediate action of the Loyal Refugees. To effect this relief, a party of Refugees, propose to make an attempt to force the jail or seize General Forman, a violent persecutor of Loyalists in the County. Franklin asked for the supplies quickly, "as the party must set off this evening to save him [Tilton]." Franklin ordered Lippincott to rescue Tilton who "is in great danger of losing his life" and "save him by forcing the gaol or seizing General Forman.” Lippincott was told to “make your descent on the Jersey shore, proceeding with the greatest secrecy and dispatch to Freehold, the gaol of which you will force, and relieve the prisoners therein." It is unclear if Franklin genuinely expected Lippincott to raid Freehold (fifteen miles inland, and well-guarded) with only thirty men, or whether this was a ruse to conceal the real purpose of Lippincott’s mission. Franklin also issued a letter to the Commissary of Prisoners to turn Huddy, Randolph, and Fleming over to Richard Lippincott: "Sir--Deliver to Captain Richard Lippincott the three following prisoners: Lt. Joshua Huddy, Daniel Randolph and Jacob Fleming, to take down to Sandy Hook to procure an exchange of Captain Clayton Tilton and two other Loyalists." No document lists Lippincott’s entire party. Lippincott claimed he had 25 men. By cobbling together information from various sources, it is possible to identify almost half of the men in Lippincott’s party: Samuel Taylor (who advocated for the hanging), John Tilton and Ezekiel Tilton (brothers of Clayton), Timothy Brooks (a Pennsylvania Loyalist who likely participated in the attack on Toms River), Moses (an African American loyalist who had been captured with Philip White but escaped), Aaron White (brother of Philip White), John Fennimore, John Worthly, and Isaac (African-American) (with Philip White at Long Branch). Huddy was loaded in irons on his hands and feet for his transport from New York to Sandy Hook—an unnecessary punitive act. John Tilton (a Monmouth County Loyalist and brother of Clayton Tilton) testified about this at Lippincott’s court martial, but attempted to explain it away: Joshua Huddy was put in irons on board the sloop, Dolphin. He [Tilton] asked Huddy whether he [Huddy] thought it was good usage or not, to which Huddy answered he thought it was not, but he expected to be exchanged in a few days. Tilton also claimed that Huddy threatened revenge against the Loyalists who had loaded him in irons: He [Huddy] hoped to have the killing of him, the deponent, and a good many others. The deponent then asked if he [Huddy] would hang him in case he fell into his hands, as he did the late Stephen Edwards, to which he [Huddy] replied that he did not hang Edwards, but only tied the knot and put it round his neck, and greased the rope that it might slip easy. Edwards was a Loyalist captured at Eatontown in 1777. He was hanged without a proper trial—an act that outraged Loyalists. Daniel Randolph later stated that on April 8, he, Huddy, and Jacob Fleming were "carried immediately on board a sloop, put down in her hold & ironed, the aforesaid Huddy having irons on both feet and both hands, and a certain refugee named John Tilton told Capt. Huddy that the aforesaid Capt Huddy was ordered to be hanged." Randolph said the men were "confined below deck until the 12th." That day, Huddy was told "to prepare to be hanged for having killed Philip White." Huddy replied that "he was not guilty of having killed Philip White, and should die an innocent, in a good cause, and with uncommon composure of mind and fortitude, prepared himself for his end." British Captain Richard Morris of the guard ship Britannia at Sandy Hook met with Lippincott on the morning of April 10. Morris testified that he understood that Lippincott intended to hang Huddy. He further testified that if the rebels retaliated on Tilton for Huddy’s hanging “he believed one of those two who remained [Randolph or Fleming] would also suffer." Lippincott landed on the Highlands on April 10. But he did not immediately hang Huddy. Instead, he chose to capture an enemy boat. He would write the Board of the capture on April 10: I proceeded to Sandy Hook with twenty-five men and received information of a privateer boat being in the Shrewsbury River & notwithstanding the night and a violent storm, I determined to take her; at sunset, ventured the river and proceeded up six miles where I took an eighteen oared whaleboat with one mast, one sail, four oars, one swivel and two blunderbusses. Hanging Joshua Huddy On April 12, Lippincott’s men were prepared to hang Huddy; Huddy was permitted to compose his will: I, Joshua Huddy, of Middletown in the County of Monmouth, being of sound mind and memory, but expecting shortly to depart this life, do declare my last will & testament. First, I commit my soul unto the hands of almighty God hoping he may receive it in mercy & next I commit my body to the Earth, I do also appoint my trusty friend, Samuel Forman, to be my lawful executor, and after all my just debts are paid, I desire that he do divide the rest of my substance, whether by book debts, bonds, notes or any other effects whatsoever, belonging to me, equally between my two children, Elizabeth & Martha Huddy. Huddy left nothing to his estranged wife, Catherine Hart (born Catherine Applegate). Witnesses at Huddy’s hanging disagreed on the details. Pennsylvania Loyalist, Timothy Brooks, testified that prior to the hanging, "Captain Lippincott shook hands with Huddy, as he was standing on the barrel." But John Tilton testified that Huddy was defiant, claiming that if he was freed, he would hang Clayton Tilton. Taylor claimed that Huddy begged for his release, saying "he would be their friend & a good subject, but the said Taylor said it was too late, shook hands with him, and Huddy was turned off." Huddy was hanged on April 12. Huddy’s corpse was left swinging with a note pinned to it that left no doubt about the Loyalists’ retaliatory intentions: We the Refugees, having with long grief beheld the cruel murder of our brethren and finding nothing but such measures daily carrying into execution. We therefore determine not to suffer without taking vengeance for the numerous cruelties and thus begin and have made use of Captain Huddy as the first object to present to your views, and further determine to hang man for man as long as a refugee is left existing. Up goes Huddy for Phil White. James Putnam, a New York boatman, met Samuel Taylor shortly after he returned to New York. Taylor put himself at the center of the hanging: "Huddy would not have been hanged had it not been for said Taylor" because "many people at the said hanging were against it, but he, said Samuel Taylor, was determined that Huddy should be hanged.” Taylor reportedly told Moses, the African American hangman “that if he, the said Negro, did not do his duty, he, said Taylor, would blow his brains out." Timothy Brooks corroborated that the hangman was a black man: Brooks testified that it was a "Negro that did the hanging." Lippincott, who set out to conduct an execution, ensured that Huddy’s blood would be on the hands of a Black man. After Joshua Huddy’s Hanging The chain of events immediately after Huddy’s hanging is hard to assemble. But a few acts are certain: Lippincott’s party quickly returned to New York without trying to free Tilton or capture Forman; While sources disagree on details, a limited prisoner exchange did occur—Clayton Tilton for Randolph and Fleming (some sources suggest that additional people were exchanged); The Associated Loyalists delayed reporting events in Monmouth County to British leadership. As outrage over Huddy’s hanging built in New Jersey, William Franklin finally reported on the proceedings in Monmouth County to General Clinton on April 27, "Randolph & Fleming are both exchanged for Capt. Tilton -- Capt. Lippincott, on his return from Sandy Hook, made the report of a capture of an eighteen-oar barge.” Franklin then singled out Lippincott as the person solely accountable for killing Huddy. According to Franklin, Lippincott “went before the full Board” and stated that: Huddy had been exchanged (laying emphasis on the word) for Philip White, and that when he came away from the Hook, Randolph was allowed to go to Freehold on his parole, in order to propose an exchange for Tilton, and Fleming for Aaron White, or if that could not be obtained, to offer both Randolph and Fleming for Captain Tilton alone. Franklin claimed to "know nothing" of the hanging of Joshua Huddy beyond Lippincott’s report and took no responsibility for it. His desire to place the blame solely on Lippincott is revealed by Dr. Henry Stevenson who testified at Lippincott’s court martial. Stevenson stated that “the Board of Directors had drawn up an Instrument in writing (which they wished Captain Lippincott to sign) purporting that Captain Huddy was executed without their knowledge or consent." Stevenson stated that members of the Board discussed this certificate and whether "he (Captain Lippincott) might alter it as he thought proper." It is unlikely that Lippincott signed any such statement as it likely would have been presented as evidence at his court martial trial. As discussed in the next article, the brazen retaliatory killing of Huddy sparked outrage in Monmouth County. Local leaders who feuded before and after Huddy’s hanging, united to escalate the matter to the highest levels of the Continental Government. Congress and General George Washington proposed executing a British officer in retaliation for the killing of Huddy unless the killer (Lippincott) was turned over. The British scrambled to defuse the situation by convening a court martial to examine if Lippincott was guilty of murder. Franklin laid low and then quietly boarded a ship for England. The flurry of actions and protests would escalate to senior officials from the Continental, British and French governments. The so-called “Huddy Affair” would become the most infamous incident in Monmouth County’s local war. Related Historic Site : Captain Joshua Huddy Historic Marker Sources : Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p224-5; Transcript of the Court Martial of Richard Lippincott, http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/halew/Lippincott.html ; George Washington Papers, Library of Congress: http://founders.archives.gov/?q=privateer%20AND%20Sandy%20Hook&s=1111311111&sa=&r=27&sr= ; Transcript of the Court Martial of Richard Lippincott, http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/halew/Lippincott.html; The Associated Loyalist exchange note is in Edwin Salter, History of Monmouth and Ocean Counties (Bayonne, NJ: E. Gardner and Sons, 1890) p 191; Connecticut Journal, May 2, 1782; James Putnam’s Testimony at Richard Lippincott’s Court Martial, Great Britain, Public Record Office, Colonial Office, CO 5, v107, #240-2, 261, 268; Note to Commissary of Prisoners, Library of Congress, Richard Lippincott Court Martial, reel 1, #168-70.; Chronology of the Huddy hanging discussed in Sheila Skemp, William Franklin: Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990) pp. 256-9.; William Franklin to Oliver DeLancey, Library of Congress, Richard Lippincott Court Martial, reel 1, #158-65; Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p217; Roth’s essay is in Howard Peckham, Sources of American Independence: Selected Manuscripts from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) pp. 515, 552, 554-7, 579; In Kinvin Roth’s essay in Howard Peckham, Sources of American Independence: Selected Manuscripts from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) pp. 578-9; Princeton University Library, Microfilms Collection, #1081.133, Board of Associated Loyalists, April 9, 1782; Testimony of Captain Richard Morris at Richard Lippincott’s Court Martial, Library of Congress, Richard Lippincott Court Martial, reel 1, #31-7; Richard Lippincott’s testimony at his court martial, David Library of the American Revolution, Great Britain Public Records Office, British Headquarters Papers, #4387. Library of Congress, Richard Lippincott Court Martial, reel 1, #186; Joshua Huddy’s will, Catalog of the Exhibition: Joshua Huddy and the American Revolution, Monmouth County Library Headquarters, October 2004; Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p219-20; The note pinned to Huddy’s body is printed in David Fowler, egregious Villains, Wood Rangers, and London Traders (Ph.D. Dissertation: Rutgers University, 1987) p 201; Edward H. Tebbenhoff, “The Associated Loyalists: An Aspect of Militant Loyalism,” New-York Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 63 (1979), p 142; Maryland Gazette, May 2, 1782; William Franklin to Henry Clinton, Library of Congress, Richard Lippincott Court Martial, reel 1, #175; Richard Lippincott to Board of Associated Loyalists, Princeton University Library, Microfilms Collection, #1081.133, Board of Associated Loyalists, April 15, 1782; Deposition to John Tilton, Great Britain Public Record Office, British Headquarters Papers, 30/55, #4439; Samuel Blowers’ testimony quoted in Howard Peckham, Sources of American Independence: Selected Manuscripts from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) p 562. 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 > Samuel Lippincott, Man-Stealing, and Jailed Militiamen in New York by Michael Adelberg Lists like this one show that hundreds of prisoners were exchanged. But prisoner exchanges also fueled the “man stealing” of Monmouth County patriots who served as chips in later exchanges. - February 1780 - On a cold night in February 1780, Samuel Lippincott was kidnapped from his bed. He recalled: While in bed in his residence in Monmouth County, applicant’s residence was plundered by two black Refugees, who laid ready upon his house and took him out of his bed. After having tied his hands behind him, they, in the company of several Tories, conveyed him and two other prisoners to Sandy Hook, from whereabouts [on] the third day they were conveyed to New York. Lippincott was jailed three months in the notorious Sugar House prison until "that place becoming so crowded with prisoners, he was conveyed to the North Church where he remained until he was exchanged.” While there, Lippincott recalled a friend escaping from North Church "having procured a new civilian set of clothes with the connivance of two Hessian guards, passed through the board fence by which the church was surrounded, where a plank was missing, and mingled with the citizens." Lippincott was exchanged “after having been a prisoner for seven months and seven days.” The kidnapping of Lippincott represented an important pivot in the local war in Monmouth County in two ways. It is the first documented case of a party of Black Loyalists conducting a raid on their own, and it appears to be the first recorded “man-stealing” in Monmouth County. Man-stealing was the name given to small raids conducted primarily to carry off hostages. Monmouth Countians had been imprisoned in New York City jails at least since February 1777 when more than 70 Monmouth militiamen were captured by British regulars at the Battle of Navesink . At least four of the men taken that day were still imprisoned when Lippincott was taken. But Lippincott represented a new kind of Monmouth County prisoner—one taken not as a result of battle, but because Loyalists desired revenge for rebel abuses, and because new prisoners were needed for additional prisoner of war exchanges. Other Man-Stealings Captain Moses Shepherd led a militia company from Middletown Township. After the war, his widow, Rebecca Shepherd, wrote of his capture and imprisonment at about the same time as Lippincott’s capture: He was once made a prisoner taken in his own house by a party of Tories about dawn… he was taken to New York paroled as an officer on Long Island, stayed about six weeks, he, in company with Captain Thomas Chadwick took a small boat or skiff and came home, but was afterwards exchanged. William Morris testified to seeing Shepherd while he was detained in New York. “He was passing the prison in New York - Captain Moses Shepherd called to him from one of the windows. He [Morris] stayed and conversed with but was afraid to go in.” Two of Moses Shepherd’s nephews, Elisha Shepherd and Jacob Shepherd, were also captured in 1780. Elisha Shepherd recalled serving in the militia “until taken prisoner by the refugees under Col. Tye when he was taken to New York and put in the provost’s or hangman’s jail… and continued confined in said prison to the end of the war.” His brother, Jacob Shepherd, testified that “himself and his brother… were kept prisoners for about five months and he thinks they were exchanged in the month of March.” Two other militiamen, in their postwar pension applications, described being captured in small raids and taken to New York. Abraham Lane recalled that "he was taken prisoner by a company of Refugees of whom William Gillian was Captain, and was carried to the City of New York and confined in the Sugar House; from there he was removed to the North Church and detained prisoner from March to September 1781." He was paroled home and promptly re-joined the militia as a Lieutenant. Elijah Clayton recalled being taken at Colts Neck on May 14, 1781 “and confined in North Church, and from thence to the Sugar House, where he was kept prisoner until New Year's following, when he was exchanged." Thomas Clayton recalled meeting his brother, Elijah, while in jail: He did not know what had become of his brother until he was informed that he was a prisoner in the same city; that he obtained permission to go see said Elisha and asked for and received a dollar from a Black fellow in some office under the British... That the party that took him prisoner also took a horse from him, from which he never received any compensation. Of course, Monmouth militiamen continued to be taken in military encounters as well. Joseph Johnson was captured on March 16, 1780, on the Raritan Bayshore, while under serving Capt. Joseph Stillwell. Johnson "was taken prisoner... he was kept a prisoner of war in close confinement for 9 1/2 months at which time he took with small pox and very nearly died and then exchanged at Elizabethtown." He returned to militia service in July 1781. In April 1780, John Brown, recalled participating in a skirmish at Manasquan during which he "was taken prisoner by the British at Shrewsbury & carried to New York, where he remained a prisoner in close confinement for 7 months & suffered cruelly from his captors." He also returned to militia service in 1781. Prisoner Backlog in Brooklyn An important purpose of man-stealing was to gain chips to be used in subsequent prisoner exchanges. As noted in a prior article, one of the primary powers granted to the vigilante Associated Loyalists by the British was the ability to capture their own prisoners and conduct their own exchanges. Exchanges are the subject of another article , but it is important to note that the pace of exchanges was slower than captures and prisoners backlogged. From September 1780 until the end of 1782, there was a backlog of Monmouth County militia officers as prisoners. Lists of militia officers paroled to Loyalist houses in Brooklyn exist from September 1780 through war’s end. A "List of New Jersey Officers taken by British, 1776-1780," was compiled in September 1780. It lists 26 New Jersey militia officers confined in Brooklyn. Fourteen of the men were from Monmouth County. They are noted below along with information on their capture and status in September 1780. Six of these men were at home and not in service when taken, three were exchanged, and one was dead: Col. Daniel Hendrickson: taken June 11, 1779, "at his house...exchanged"; Lt. Col. John Smock: taken May 27, 1778, "at Monmouth Cty…not in service"; Lt. Col. Aucke Wikoff: taken June 11, 1779 "at his house...in Provost [jail]"; Maj. Hendrick Van Brunt: taken June 11, 1779 "at his house...in Shrewsbury"; Capt. Stephen Fleming: taken May 27, 1778 at "Monmouth Cty...exchanged"; Capt. Barnes Smock: taken February 13, 1777 "near Light House...exchanged"; Capt. Jacob Covenhoven: taken May 27, 1778 "in Monmouth Cty"; Capt. Richard McKnight: taken June 11, 1779 "in home...not in service, died 1780"; Lt. Thomas Cook: taken February 13, 1777 "near Light House"; Lt. James Whitlock: taken February 13, 1777 "near Light House"; Lt. Theophilus Little: taken May 27, 1778 "in Monmouth Cty...not in service"; Lt. [Moses] Shepherd: taken [no date] "at home in Monmouth Cty"; Lt. Thomas Little: taken June 27, 1778 "in Monmouth Cty"; Lt. Tobias Polhemus: taken February 13, 1777 "near Light House." At least two additional militia officers were captured in 1780 but are not included in this report. Captain Thomas Wainwright spent eighteen months in prison before he was exchanged. Captain Barnes Smock was captured in June 1780 and was exchanged in December. The condition of the prisoners of war in New York was a frequent concern of Continental officials. On September 9, 1780, Commandant of Prisoners, Abraham Skinner, wrote to Governor William Livingston about "the peculiar situation of prisoners of war belonging to this State." Skinner worried that the New Jersey government was not supporting its prisoners of war. Of the officers, he wrote: The officers who are prisoners on Long Island [Brooklyn] have not had the least supply or support from this office since the Spring of 1779; since which many of them have been at board on Long Island, and many of them are destitute of a single farthing, are liable to the daily insult from their landlords, who seem tired of supporting them without fee or reward, and if their exchange could be effected, they would be detained for payment of the debts. Of the enlisted men, Skinner wrote: The citizens and Privates of this State are confined in the Sugar House and churches in a wretched situation, many of them without a shirt or blanket, and no allowance except what they receive from the enemy, about 3 1/2 pounds of bread, which is issued to them by the Continental agent. Skinner wrote that the Jersey prisoners "feel mortification in seeing their fellow sufferers receive supplies from the neighboring States" while they receive nothing from New Jersey. That same month, Hendrick Van Brunt co-authored a petition to Governor William Livingston requesting provisions for prisoners. This included a request for £50 in cash for each officer on parole on Long Island to settle debts. The petitioners noted that nothing had been sent from New Jersey in more than a year, and a prior request for support had been ignored. The petition was signed by 30 New Jersey officers. Seventeen of these men were militia officers of which nine were from Monmouth County (Lt. Col. John Smock, Lt. Col. Aucke Wikoff, Van Brunt, Capt. Barnes Smock, Capt. Jacob Covenhoven, Lt. James Whitlock, Lt. Thomas Little, Lt. Tobias Polhemus, Lt. Thomas Cook). On August 5, 1782, Skinner, compiled a list of "Debts incurred by Sundry Americans Owing to their Captivity to Inhabitants on Long Island." Eleven prisoners on the list were "Jersey Militia" and six of those were Monmouth Countians: Little, McKnight (dead), Polhemus, John Smock, Van Brunt, and Whitlock. They had accumulated debts as high as £65. Skinner’s November 1782 "Schedule of Debts Accumulated by Paroled Prisoners on Long Island" listed the same six officers plus Jacob Covenhoven, Thomas Cook, Barnes Smock (re-captured), and Aucke Wikoff. Lt. Whitlock had been exchanged. The prisoners were prone to disease and privations. Some died. Mathias Mount, a prisoner who was exchanged, returned to Monmouth County and testified on April 24, 1781, about the death of Captain John Dennis while they were prisoners in New York: The deponent was a prisoner in New York in 1778, and was well acquainted with Capt. John Dennis of the 3rd Regiment of the militia of Monmouth County, and saith that John Dennis' wounds were not cured, and that the said Dennis after his death lay several days in the corner of the yard, before he was buried. The kidnapping of Samuel Lippincott presaged the appearance of Colonel Tye and the Black Brigade and the man-stealings that would punctuate the Revolutionary War in Monmouth County in 1780. Man-stealings advanced the local war in Monmouth County to a more brutal stage, leading a cycle of retribution between the vigilante Associated Loyalists and Monmouth County’s Retaliators . Sources : National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Samuel Lippincott; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Moses Shepherd of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/# 16276047; -- National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Elisha Shepherd of OH, www.fold3.com/image/# 16277477; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Joseph Johnson; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - John Brown; List of Officers Taken, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #3971; Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p229-32; Selections from the Correspondence of the Executive of New Jersey, From 1776 to 1786 (Newark, NJ: Newark Daily Advertiser, 1848) pp. 260-1; Edward Roser, "American Prisoners Taken at the Battle of the Navesink," Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, vol. 45, n 2, May 1970, p57; Hendrick Van Brunt to William Livingston, Selections from the Correspondence of the Executive of New Jersey, From 1776 to 1786 (Newark, NJ: Newark Daily Advertiser, 1848) pp. 261-3; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Abraham Lane; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Elihu Clayton; Edwin Salter, Old Times in Old Monmouth (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970) p 303; List of Debts of Prisoners on Long Island, National Archives, M246, RG93, reel 135, folder 4, pages 4-10; Schedule of Debts, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #4125. 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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 > Philip Freneau: Patriot, Poet, and Privateer by Michael Adelberg Philip Freneau was a young patriot who served in the Middletown militia and on American privateers. He wrote several anti-British poems and was especially acerbic when writing about Loyalists. - May 1779 - Philip Freneau was born in New York City in 1752 and his family summered in Monmouth County. In 1770, the family moved to Mount Pleasant (in Middletown Township). He was among the few privileged children in Monmouth County to receive a formal education, studying under Reverend William Tennent at the Matisonia Grammar School near Freehold before attending the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), which he graduated in 1775. After briefly preparing to be a minister, Freneau became interested in politics and went to New York. There, he wrote a half-dozen long poems protesting British policies and the treatment of the people of Boston. He wrote two poems in a pretended-voice of General Thomas Gage (the British commander in that city) and then wrote “On a Hessian Debarkation” about an imagined landing of German mercenaries in Manhattan. One verse reads: In the slow breeze I hear their funeral song; The dance of ghosts the infernal tribes prepare; To hell's mansions haste, ye abandoned throng; Drinking from German sculls old Odin's beer. In February 1776, Freneau went to the West Indies (perhaps to avoid arrest by Royal authorities in New York). He stayed there into 1778. There are several antiquarian and biographic narratives of Freneau’s activity between 1778 and the end of the war—few of which include citations. These narratives agree that Freneau returned home in 1778, served in the Monmouth militia, and served on privateers. They note that he was captured and jailed on a British prison ship (at least once) and wrote several polemic poems about British and Loyalist cruelties. However, these narratives sharply diverge in the specifics about events, dates, and his role in other events. It is impossible to offer a narrative on Freneau that fully reconciles all of these narratives. What follows is the author’s good faith attempt to write a consensus narrative of Freneau during the war—but another compiler could reach different conclusions about some of the “facts” below. Freneau returned home in June 1778. One account claims he came home on a Philadelphia privateer commanded by a Captain Hansen. The vessel was captured by the British, but they released Freneau because he was (as yet) a non-combatant. According to another source, he came home on the day of the Battle of the Monmouth—which was fought close enough to his house to hear the cannon fire. Another source claims Freneau rode to the cannon fire to witness the Battle of the Monmouth. Freneau’s Wartime Activities Several narratives agree that Freneau served in the Middletown militia in the summer of 1778, though one narrative claims that he first sailed from Shrewsbury to the Caribbean and back during that time. One source claims that Freneau served as a militia sergeant under Captain Barnes Smock of Middletown. This is plausible but cannot be proven from the scattering of surviving militia documents--they reveal nothing of his service in the Monmouth militia. One narrative claims that Freneau’s first service on a privateer was October 1778, aboard the Indian Delaware , a small privateer owned and captained by Daniel Hendrickson, Colonel of the Shrewsbury militia. This dovetails with what is known about Hendrickson and that vessel. Narratives diverge on what happened next, but Freneau was in Philadelphia in May 1779 and was apparently serving on the privateer Aurora . The Aurora captured "a small sloop… laden with corn" off Cape Henlopen and sent it back to Philadelphia before heading into open water. Off the coast of southern New Jersey, Aurora was chased by the larger British vessel Iris which was "carrying the guns double the size of theirs." Aurora steered for safety at Little Egg Harbor, but trapped itself in the shallows of the unmarked bay. Iris fired upon and incapacitated the smaller ship, and then boarded it with marines. The privateer’s crew, including Freneau, was carried to New York and put aboard the horrible prison ship, Scorpion . [Note: Some narratives suggest these events occurred in 1780.] Freneau was jailed in New York for six weeks. He caught the dreaded “jail fever” and was then paroled home—where he gradually recovered his health. The parole was an act of grace granted to a young man from a “good” family; hundreds of comparably sick men were left to die aboard the prison ships. One source claims that Freneau returned home and served again in the militia, where he was slightly wounded in a skirmish with Loyalist raiders. It is probable that he was in or was witness to a skirmish with Loyalist raiders in August or early September 1779. Freneau penned his only poem about Monmouth County's civil war, curiously titled, “The Jewish Lamentation at Euphrates” signed from "Monmouth, September 10, 1779." Freneau responded to the raid with this curse on the raiders: Thou, Babel's offspring, hated race; May some avenging monster seize, And dash your venom in your face; For crimes and cruelties like these: And, deaf to pity's melting moan; With infant blood stain every stone. Interestingly, there is no specific documentation of a raid against Middletown in August or early September 1779—many smaller raids went undocumented and are forever lost to the historical record. One source suggests Freneau sailed from Shrewsbury on the privateer brig Rebecca (under a Captain Chatham) for the Canary Islands in October. This likely occurred because Freneau wrote a poem about the famous songbirds of those islands. If Freneau enlisted on a privateer after being released from a prison ship, he broke the terms of his parole. Other sources put Freneau on a Philadelphia privateer in June 1780, where he was captured and jailed again in narratives that mirror his capture and imprisonment in 1779. It is possible that Freneau was taken twice, but equally possible that accounts simply disagree on dates. A number of Freneau’s poems (or excerpts of poems) were published in quick succession starting in late 1779. The most famous was the memoir-like, "The British Prison Ship," his most-often quoted and cited poem. In that poem, Freneau narrated the capture of the Aurora and his time as prisoner on the prison ship, Scorpion . He wrote of Aurora ’s inability to battle the larger British vessel, Iris : Along her decks dispos'd in close array Each at its port, the grim artillery lay, Soon on the foe with brazen throat to roar; But, small was their size, as was their bore; Who now must bend to steer a homeward course And trust her swiftness rather than her force, Unfit to combat with a powerful foe; Her decks too open, and her waist too low. Freneau described the prison ship, Scorpion, this way: No masts or sails these crowded ships adorn, Dismal to view, neglected and forlorn! Here, mighty ills oppress the imprison'd throng, Dull were our slumbers, and our nights too long— From morn to eve along the decks we lay Scorch'd into fevers by the solar ray; No friendly awning cast a welcome shade, Once was it promis'd, and was never made. And Freneau had this to say of the Loyalist guards and teamsters who brought their meager provisions: Some miscreant Tory, puff'd with upstart pride, Led on by hell to take the royal side; Dispensing death triumphantly they stand, Their musquets ready to obey command; Wounds are their sport, as ruin is their aim; On their dark souls compassion has no claim, And discord only can their spirits please: Such were all tyrants, and such were these. The excerpts above are abridged; the unabridged poem is in the appendix of this article. Excerpts of this and other poems were published in the New Jersey Gazette and magazines in Philadelphia over the next year. These publications earned Freneau a following. Freneau also wrote about his time on the prison ship in prose. He wrote about 35 prisoners escaping the Scorpion shortly after he came on board. This greatly increased the cruelty of the guards: They posted themselves at each hatchway and most basely and cowardly fired fore and aft among us, pistols and muskets, for a full quarter of an hour without intermission. By the mercy of God they touched but four, one mortally… We had water given us to drink that a dog could scarcely relish, it was thick and clammy and had a dismal smell. They withdrew the allowance of rum and drove us down every night strictly at sunset, where we suffered unexpressibly till seven o'clock in the morning, the gratings being barely opened at that time. Freneau returned home and served again in the militia in December 1779. He was present at the capture of the stranded Loyalist vessel , Britannia , and received a share of the prize money. By 1781, Freneau was in Philadelphia, working for the Freeman’s Journal , a weekly newspaper. He became known for his sharp-tongued anti-British verse. For example, he wrote in the voice of King George about the scandalous hanging of Monmouth County’s Joshua Huddy and Congress’s inaction in hanging British Captain Charles Asgill in retaliation: I'll petition the rebels if York is forsaken; For a place in their Zion which ne'er shall be shaken; I'm sure they'll be clever, it seems their whole body study; They hung not young Asgill for old Captain Huddy. And it must be a truth that admits no denying; If they spare us for murder, they'll spare us for lying. Freneau’s poems earned him renown and he was later nicknamed "The Poet of the American Revolution" by admirers. Historians have noted his importance in stoking American patriotism after the initial “Spirit of ‘76” had faded. Don Higginbotham, for example, called Freneau "a propagandist of the highest order." Freneau’s Life after the War After the war, Freneau split time between Monmouth County, Philadelphia and New York. He married into the prominent Forman family in 1790 and attempted to establish a Monmouth County newspaper in 1791. When that did not work out, he returned to New York where he worked for the newspaper, The National Gazette . Freneau was an early supporter of the party of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (his Princeton classmate) when most New York and New Jersey leaders supported the party of John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. Freneau was critical of George Washington’s administration and it was said that Washington disliked him, calling him a “rascal.” When Jefferson became President in 1800, Freneau was hired into the State Department while continuing to write partisan pieces in pro-Jefferson newspapers—a cause of controversy. After that, Freneau returned to Mount Pleasant where he died in 1832 at age 80. Freneau was not a typical Monmouth Countian, but his wartime experiences as a militiaman, a privateer, and as a prisoner were similar to those of hundreds of men in Monmouth County. While those men did not write their views with Freneau’s bite and acclaim, many had the same views. Related Historic Site : The Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument (Brooklyn, New York) Appendix The unabridged version of “The British Prison Ship” Assist me, Clio! while in verse I tell The dire misfortunes that a ship befell, Which outward bound, to St. Eustatia's shore, Death and disaster through the billows bore. From Philadelphia's crowded port she came; For there the builder plann'd her lofty frame, With wond'rous skill, and excellence of art He form'd, dispos'd, and order'd every part, With joy beheld the stately fabric rise To a stout bulwark of stupendous size, 'Till launch'd at last, capacious of the freight, He left her to the Pilots, and her fate. First from her depths the tapering masts ascend, On whose firm bulk the transverse yards depend, By shrouds and stays secur'd from side to side Trees grew on trees, suspended o'er the tide, Firm to the yards extended, broad and vast They hung the sails susceptive of the blast, Far o'er the prow the lengthy bowsprit lay, Supporting on the extreme the taught Gib-stay, Twice ten six pounders at their port holes plac'd And rang'd in rows, stood hostile in the waist: Thus all prepar'd, impatient for the seas, She left her station with an adverse breeze, This her first outset from her native shore, To seas a stranger, and untry'd before. From the bright radiance that his glories spread Ere from the east gay Phœbus lifts his head, From the sweet morn, a kindred name she won, Aurora call'd, the offspring of the sun, Whose form projecting, the broad prow displays, Far glittering o'er the wave, a mimic blaze. The gay ship now, in all her pomp and pride, With sails expanded, flew along the tide; 'Twas thy deep stream, O Delaware, that bore This pile intended for a southern shore, Bound to those isles where endless summer reigns, Fair fruits, gay blossoms, and enamell'd plains; Where sloping lawns the roving swain invite, And the cool morn succeeds the breezy night, Where each glad day a heaven unclouded brings And sky-topt mountains teem with golden springs. From Cape Henlopen, urg'd by favouring gales, When morn emerg'd, we sea-ward spread our sails, Then east-south-east explor'd the briny way, Close to the wind, departing from the bay; No longer seen the hoarse resounding strand, With hearts elate we hurried from the land, Escap'd the dangers of that shelvy ground, To sailors fatal, and for wrecks renown'd.— The gale increases as we stem the main, Now scarce the hills their sky-blue mist retain, At last they sink beneath the rolling wave That seems their summits, as they sink, to lave; Abaft the beam the freshening breezes play, No mists advancing to deform the day, No tempests rising o'er the splendid scene, A sea unruffled, and a heaven serene. Now Sol's bright lamp, the heav'n born source of light, Had pass'd the line of his meridian height, And westward hung—retreating from the view Shores disappear'd, and every hill withdrew, When, still suspicious of some neighbouring foe, Aloft the Master bade a Seaman go, To mark if, from the mast's aspiring height Through all the round a vessel came in sight. Too soon the Seaman's glance, extending wide, Far distant in the east a ship espy'd, Her lofty masts stood bending to the gale, Close to the wind was brac'd each shivering sail; Next from the deck we saw the approaching foe, Her spangled bottom seem'd in flames to glow When to the winds she bow'd in dreadful haste And her lee-guns lay delug'd in the waste: From her top-gallant flow'd an English Jack; With all her might she strove to gain our track, Nor strove in vain—with pride and power elate, Wing'd on by hell, she drove us to our fate; No stop no stay her bloody crew intends, (So flies a comet with its host of fiends) Nor oaths, nor prayers arrest her swift career, Death in her front, and ruin in her rear. Struck at the sight, the Master gave command To change our course, and steer toward the land— Swift to the task the ready sailors run, And while the word was utter'd, half was done: As from the south the fiercer breezes rise Swift from her foe alarm'd Aurora flies, With every sail extended to the wind She fled the unequal foe that chac'd behind; Along her decks dispos'd in close array Each at its port, the grim artillery lay, Soon on the foe with brazen throat to roar; But, small their size, and narrow was their bore; Yet faithful they their destin'd station keep To guard the barque that wafts them o'er the deep, Who now must bend to steer a homeward course And trust her swiftness rather than her force, Unfit to combat with a powerful foe; Her decks too open, and her waist too low. While o'er the wave with foaming prow she flies, Once more emerging, distant landscapes rise; High in the air the starry streamer plays, And every sail its various tribute pays: To gain the land we bore the weighty blast; And now the wish'd for cape appear'd at last; But the vext foe, impatient of delay, Prepar'd for ruin, press'd upon her prey; Near, and more near, in aweful grandeur came The frigate Iris, not unknown to fame; Iris her name, but Hancock once she bore, Fram'd and completed on New Albion's shore, By Manly lost, the swiftest of the train That fly with wings of canvas o'er the main. Now, while for combat some with zeal prepare, Thus to the heavens the Boatswain sent his prayer: "List, all ye powers that rule the skies and seas! "Shower down perdition on such thieves as these, "Fate, strike their hearts with terror and dismay, "And sprinkle on their powder salt-sea spray! "May bursting cannon, while his aim he tries, "Destroy the Gunner, and be-damn his eyes— "The chief who awes the quarter-deck, may he, "Tripp'd from his stand, be tumbled in the sea. "May they who rule the round-top's giddy height "Be canted headlong to perpetual night; "May fiends torment them on a leeward coast, "And help forsake them when they want it most— "From their wheel'd engines torn be every gun— "And now, to sum up every curse in one, "May latent flames, to save us, intervene, "And hell-ward drive them from their magazine!"— The Frigate now had every sail unfurl'd, And rush'd tremendous o'er the wat'ry world; Thus fierce Pelides, eager to destroy, Chac'd the proud Trojan to the gates of Troy— Swift o'er the waves while hostile they pursue As swiftly from their fangs Aurora flew, At length Henlopen's cape we gain'd once more, And vainly strove to force the ship ashore; Stern fate forbade the barren shore to gain, Denial sad, and source of future pain! For then the inspiring breezes ceas'd to blow, Lost were they all, and smooth the seas below; By the broad cape becalm'd, our lifeless sails No longer swell'd their bosoms to the gales; The ship, unable to pursue her way, Tumbling about, at her own guidance lay, No more the helm its wonted influence lends, No oars assist us, and no breeze befriends; Meantime the foe, advancing from the sea, Rang'd her black cannon, pointed on our lee, Then up she luff'd, and blaz'd her entrails dire, Bearing destruction, terror, death and fire. Vext at our fate, we prim'd a piece, and then Return'd the shot, to shew them we were men. Dull night at length her dusky pinions spread, And every hope to 'scape the foe was fled; Close to thy cape, Henlopen, though we press'd, We could not gain thy desert, dreary breast; Though ruin'd trees beshroud thy barren shore With mounds of sand half hid, or cover'd o'er, Though ruffian winds disturb thy summit bare, Yet every hope and every wish was there; In vain we sought to reach the joyless strand, Fate stood between, and barr'd us from the land. All dead becalm'd, and helpless as we lay, The ebbing current forc'd us back to sea, While vengeful Iris, thirsting for our blood, Flash'd her red lightnings o'er the trembling flood, At every flash a storm of ruin came 'Till our shock'd vessel shook through all her frame— Mad for revenge, our breasts with fury glow To wreak returns of vengeance on the foe; Full at his hull our pointed guns we rais'd, His hull resounded as the cannon blaz'd; Through his main top-sail one a passage tore, His sides re-echo'd to the dreadful roar, Alternate fires dispell'd the shades of night— But how unequal was this daring fight! Our stoutest guns threw but a six-pound ball, Twelve pounders from the foe our sides did maul, And, while no power to save him intervenes, A bullet struck our captain of Marines; Fierce, though he bid defiance to the foe He felt his death and ruin in the blow, Headlong he fell, distracted with the wound, The deck distain'd, and heart blood streaming round. Another blast, as fatal in its aim, Wing'd by destruction, through our rigging came, And, whistling tunes from hell upon its way, Shrouds, stays, and braces tore at once away, Sails, blocks, and oars in scatter'd fragments fly— Their softest language was—submit, or die! Repeated cries throughout the ship resound; Now every bullet brought a different wound; 'Twixt wind and water, one assail'd the side, Through this aperture rush'd the briny tide— 'Twas then the Master trembled for his crew, And bade thy shores, O Delaware, adieu!— And must we yield to yon' destructive ball, And must our colours to these ruffians fall!— They fall!—his thunders forc'd our pride to bend, The lofty topsails with their yards descend, And the proud foe, such leagues of ocean pass'd, His wish completed in our woe at last. Convey'd to York, we found, at length, too late, That Death was better than the prisoner's fate; There doom'd to famine, shackles and despair, Condemn'd to breathe a foul, infected air In sickly hulks, devoted while we lay, Successive funerals gloom'd each dismal day— But what on captives British rage can do, Another Canto, friend, shall let you know. Canto II.—The Prison Ship The various horrors of these hulks to tell, These Prison Ships where pain and horror dwell, Where death in tenfold vengeance holds his reign, And injur'd ghosts, yet unaveng'd, complain; This be my task—ungenerous Britons, you Conspire to murder those you can't subdue.— Weak as I am, I'll try my strength to-day And my best arrows at these hell-hounds play, To future years one scene of death prolong, And hang them up to infamy, in song. That Britain's rage should dye our plains with gore, And desolation spread through every shore, None e'er could doubt, that her ambition knew, This was to rage and disappointment due; But that those monsters whom our soil maintain'd, Who first drew breath in this devoted land, Like famish'd wolves, should on their country prey, Assist its foes, and wrest our lives away, This shocks belief—and bids our soil disown Such friends, subservient to a bankrupt crown, By them the widow mourns her partner dead, Her mangled sons to darksome prisons led, By them—and hence my keenest sorrows rise, My friend, my guardian, my Orestes dies; Still for that loss must wretched I complain, And sad Ophelia mourn her favourite swain. Ah! come the day when from this bloody shore Fate shall remove them to return no more— To scorch'd Bahama shall the traitors go With grief and rage, and unremitting woe, On burning sands to walk their painful round, And sigh through all the solitary ground, Where no gay flower their haggard eyes shall see, And find no shade but from the cypress tree. So much we suffer'd from the tribe I hate, So near they shov'd me to the brink of fate, When two long months in these dark hulks we lay, Barr'd down by night, and fainting all the day In the fierce fervours of the solar beam, Cool'd by no breeze on Hudson's mountain-stream; That not unsung these threescore days shall fall To black oblivion that would cover all!— No masts or sails these crowded ships adorn, Dismal to view, neglected and forlorn! Here, mighty ills oppress the imprison'd throng, Dull were our slumbers, and our nights too long— From morn to eve along the decks we lay Scorch'd into fevers by the solar ray; No friendly awning cast a welcome shade, Once was it promis'd, and was never made; No favours could these sons of death bestow, 'Twas endless cursing, and continual woe: Immortal hatred doth their breasts engage, And this lost empire swells their souls with rage. Two hulks on Hudson's stormy bosom lie, Two, farther south, affront the pitying eye— There, the black Scorpion at her mooring rides, There, Strombolo swings, yielding to the tides; Here, bulky Jersey fills a larger space, And Hunter, to all hospitals disgrace— Thou, Scorpion, fatal to thy crowded throng, Dire theme of horror and Plutonian song, Requir'st my lay—thy sultry decks I know, And all the torments that exist below! The briny wave that Hudson's bosom fills Drain'd through her bottom in a thousand rills, Rotten and old, replete with sighs and groans, Scarce on the waters she sustain'd her bones; Here, doom'd to toil, or founder in the tide, At the moist pumps incessantly we ply'd, Here, doom'd to starve, like famish'd dogs we tore The scant allowance, that our tyrants bore. Remembrance shudders at this scene of fears— Still in my view some English brute appears, Some base-born Hessian slave walks threat'ning by, Some servile Scot with murder in his eye Still haunts my sight, as vainly they bemoan Rebellions manag'd so unlike their own! O may I never feel the poignant pain To live subjected to such fiends again, Stewards and Mates that hostile Britain bore, Cut from the gallows on their native shore; Their ghastly looks and vengeance-beaming eyes Still to my view in dismal colours rise— O may I ne'er review these dire abodes, These piles for slaughter, floating on the floods,— And you, that o'er the troubled ocean go, Strike not your standards to this miscreant foe, Better the greedy wave should swallow all, Better to meet the death-conducted ball, Better to sleep on ocean's deepest bed, At once destroy'd and number'd with the dead, Than thus to perish in the face of day Where twice ten thousand deaths one death delay. When to the ocean dives the western sun, And the scorch'd Tories fire their evening gun, "Down, rebels, down!" the angry Scotchmen cry, "Damn'd dogs, descend, or by our broad swords die!" Hail, dark abode! what can with thee compare— Heat, sickness, famine, death, and stagnant air— Pandora's box, from whence all mischief flew, Here real found, torments mankind anew!— Swift from the guarded decks we rush'd along, And vainly sought repose, so vast our throng: Three hundred wretches here, denied all light, In crowded mansions pass the infernal night, Some for a bed their tatter'd vestments join, And some on chests, and some on floors recline; Shut from the blessings of the evening air, Pensive we lay with mingled corpses there, Meagre and wan, and scorch'd with heat below, We loom'd like ghosts, ere death had made us so— How could we else, where heat and hunger join'd Thus to debase the body and the mind, Where cruel thirst the parching throat invades, Dries up the man, and fits him for the shades. No waters laded from the bubbling spring To these dire ships the British monsters bring— By planks and ponderous beams completely wall'd In vain for water, and in vain, I call'd— No drop was granted to the midnight prayer, To Dives in these regions of despair!— The loathsome cask a deadly dose contains, Its poison circling through the languid veins; "Here, generous Britain, generous, as you say, "To my parch'd tongue one cooling drop convey, "Hell has no mischief like a thirsty throat, "Nor one tormentor like your David Sproat." Dull flew the hours, till, from the East display'd, Sweet morn dispells the horrors of the shade; On every side dire objects meet the sight, And pallid forms, and murders of the night, The dead were past their pain, the living groan, Nor dare to hope another morn their own; But what to them is morn's delightful ray, Sad and distressful as the close of day, O'er distant streams appears the dewy green, And leafy trees on mountain tops are seen, But they no groves nor grassy mountains tread, Mark'd for a longer journey to the dead. Black as the clouds that shade St. Kilda's shore, Wild as the winds that round her mountains roar, At every post some surly vagrant stands, Pick'd from the British or the Irish bands, Some slave from Hesse, some hangman's son at least Sold and transported, like his brother beast— Some miscreant Tory, puff'd with upstart pride, Led on by hell to take the royal side; Dispensing death triumphantly they stand, Their musquets ready to obey command; Wounds are their sport, as ruin is their aim; On their dark souls compassion has no claim, And discord only can their spirits please: Such were our tyrants here, and such were these. Ingratitude! no curse like thee is found Throughout this jarring world's extended round, Their hearts with malice to our country swell Because in former days we us'd them well!— This pierces deep, too deeply wounds the breast; We help'd them naked, friendless, and distrest, Receiv'd their vagrants with an open hand, Bestow'd them buildings, privilege, and land— Behold the change!—when angry Britain rose, These thankless tribes became our fiercest foes, By them devoted, plunder'd, and accurst, Stung by the serpents whom ourselves had nurs'd. But such a train of endless woes abound, So many mischiefs in these hulks are found, That on them all a poem to prolong Would swell too high the horrors of my song— Hunger and thirst to work our woe combine, And mouldy bread, and flesh of rotten swine, The mangled carcase, and the batter'd brain, The doctor's poison, and the captain's cane, The soldier's musquet, and the steward's debt, The evening shackle, and the noon-day threat. That juice destructive to the pangs of care Which Rome of old, nor Athens could prepare, Which gains the day for many a modern chief When cool reflection yields a faint relief, That charm, whose virtue warms the world beside, Was by these tyrants to our use denied, While yet they deign'd that healthy juice to lade The putrid water felt its powerful aid; But when refus'd—to aggravate our pains— Then fevers rag'd and revel'd through our veins; Throughout my frame I felt its deadly heat, I felt my pulse with quicker motions beat: A pallid hue o'er every face was spread, Unusual pains attack'd the fainting head, No physic here, no doctor to assist, My name was enter'd on the sick man's list; Twelve wretches more the same dark symptoms took, And these were enter'd on the doctor's book; The loathsome Hunter was our destin'd place, The Hunter, to all hospitals disgrace; With soldiers sent to guard us on our road, Joyful we left the Scorpion's dire abode; Some tears we shed for the remaining crew, Then curs'd the hulk, and from her sides withdrew. Canto III.—The Hospital Prison Ship Now tow'rd the Hunter's gloomy sides we came, A slaughter-house, yet hospital in name; For none came there (to pass through all degrees) 'Till half consum'd, and dying with disease;— But when too near with labouring oars we ply'd, The Mate with curses drove us from the side; That wretch who, banish'd from the navy crew, Grown old in blood, did here his trade renew; His serpent's tongue, when on his charge let loose, Utter'd reproaches, scandal, and abuse, Gave all to hell who dar'd his king disown, And swore mankind were made for George alone: Ten thousand times, to irritate our woe, He wish'd us founder'd in the gulph below; Ten thousand times he brandish'd high his stick, And swore as often that we were not sick— And yet so pale!—that we were thought by some A freight of ghosts from Death's dominions come— But calm'd at length—for who can always rage, Or the fierce war of endless passion wage, He pointed to the stairs that led below To damps, disease, and varied shapes of woe— Down to the gloom I took my pensive way, Along the decks the dying captives lay; Some struck with madness, some with scurvy pain'd, But still of putrid fevers most complain'd! On the hard floors these wasted objects laid, There toss'd and tumbled in the dismal shade, There no soft voice their bitter fate bemoan'd, And Death strode stately, while the victims groan'd; Of leaky decks I heard them long complain, Drown'd as they were in deluges of rain, Deny'd the comforts of a dying bed, And not a pillow to support the head— How could they else but pine, and grieve, and sigh, Detest a wretched life—and wish to die? Scarce had I mingled with this dismal band When a thin spectre seiz'd me by the hand— "And art thou come, (death heavy on his eyes) "And art thou come to these abodes," he cries; "Why didst thou leave the Scorpion's dark retreat, "And hither haste a surer death to meet? "Why didst thou leave thy damp infected cell? "If that was purgatory, this is hell— "We, too, grown weary of that horrid shade, "Petitioned early for the doctor's aid; "His aid denied, more deadly symptoms came, "Weak, and yet weaker, glow'd the vital flame; "And when disease had worn us down so low "That few could tell if we were ghosts or no, "And all asserted, death would be our fate— "Then to the doctor we were sent—too late. "Here wastes away Autolycus the brave, "Here young Orestes finds a wat'ry grave, "Here gay Alcander, gay, alas! no more, "Dies far sequester'd from his native shore; "He late, perhaps, too eager for the fray, "Chac'd the vile Briton o'er the wat'ry way "'Till fortune jealous, bade her clouds appear, "Turn'd hostile to his fame, and brought him here. "Thus do our warriors, thus our heroes fall, "Imprison'd here, base ruin meets them all, "Or, sent afar to Britain's barbarous shore, "There die neglected, and return no more: "Ah! rest in peace, poor, injur'd, parted shade, "By cruel hands in death's dark weeds array'd, "But happier climes, where suns unclouded shine, "Light undisturb'd, and endless peace are thine."— From Brookland groves a Hessian doctor came, Not great his skill, nor greater much his fame; Fair Science never call'd the wretch her son, And Art disdain'd the stupid man to own;— Can you admire that Science was so coy, Or Art refus'd his genius to employ!— Do men with brutes an equal dullness share, Or cuts yon' grovelling mole the midway air? In polar worlds can Eden's blossoms blow? Do trees of God in barren desarts grow? Are loaded vines to Etna's summit known, Or swells the peach beneath the torrid zone?— Yet still he doom'd his genius to the rack, And, as you may suppose, was own'd a quack. He on his charge the healing work begun With antimonial mixtures, by the tun, Ten minutes was the time he deign'd to stay, The time of grace allotted once a day— He drencht us well with bitter draughts, 'tis true, Nostrums from hell, and cortex from Peru— Some with his pills he sent to Pluto's reign, And some he blister'd with his flies of Spain; His cream of Tartar walk'd its deadly round, Till the lean patient at the potion frown'd, And swore that hemlock, death, or what you will, Were nonsense to the drugs that stuff'd his bill.— On those refusing he bestow'd a kick, Or menac'd vengeance with his walking stick; Here uncontroul'd he exercis'd his trade, And grew experienced by the deaths he made; By frequent blows we from his cane endur'd He kill'd at least as many as he cur'd; On our lost comrades built his future fame, And scatter'd fate, where'er his footsteps came. Some did not seem obedient to his will, And swore he mingled poison with his pill, But I acquit him by a fair confession, He was no Englishman—he was a Hessian,— Although a dunce, he had some sense of sin, Or else the Lord knows where we now had been; Perhaps in that far country sent to range Where never prisoner meets with an exchange— Then had we all been banish'd out of time Nor I return'd to plague the world with rhyme. Fool though he was, yet candour must confess Not chief Physician was this dog of Hesse— One master o'er the murdering tribe was plac'd, By him the rest were honour'd or disgrac'd;— Once, and but once, by some strange fortune led He came to see the dying and the dead— He came—but anger so deform'd his eye, And such a faulchion glitter'd on his thigh, And such a gloom his visage darken'd o'er, And two such pistols in his hands he bore! That, by the gods!—with such a load of steel He came, we thought, to murder, not to heal— Hell in his heart, and mischief in his head, He gloom'd destruction, and had smote us dead, Had he so dar'd—but fate with-held his hand— He came—blasphem'd—and turn'd again to land. From this poor vessel, and her sickly crew An English ruffian all his titles drew, Captain, esquire, commander, too, in chief, And hence he gain'd his bread, and hence his beef, But, sir, you might have search'd creation round Ere such another miscreant could be found— Though unprovok'd, an angry face he bore, We stood astonish'd at the oaths he swore; He swore, till every prisoner stood aghast, And thought him Satan in a brimstone blast; He wish'd us banish'd from the public light, He wish'd us shrouded in perpetual night! That were he king, no mercy would he show, But drive all rebels to the world below; That if we scoundrels did not scrub the decks His staff should break our damn'd rebellious necks; He swore, besides, that if the ship took fire We too should in the pitchy flame expire; And meant it so—this tyrant, I engage, Had lost his breath to gratify his rage.— If where he walk'd a captive carcase lay, Still dreadful was the language of the day— He call'd us dogs, and would have us'd us so, But vengeance check'd the meditated blow, The vengeance from our injur'd nation due To him, and all the base, unmanly crew. Such food they sent, to make complete our woes, It look'd like carrion torn from hungry crows, Such vermin vile on every joint were seen, So black, corrupted, mortified, and lean That once we try'd to move our flinty chief, And thus address'd him, holding up the beef: "See, captain, see! what rotten bones we pick, "What kills the healthy cannot cure the sick: "Not dogs on such by Christian men are fed, "And see, good master, see, what lousy bread!" "Your meat or bread (this man of flint replied) "Is not my care to manage or provide— "But this, damn'd rebel dogs, I'd have you know, "That better than you merit we bestow; "Out of my sight!"——nor more he deign'd to say, But whisk'd about, and frowning, strode away. Each day, at least three carcases we bore, And scratch'd them graves along the sandy shore; By feeble hands the shallow graves were made, No stone memorial o'er the corpses laid; In barren sands, and far from home, they lie, No friend to shed a tear, when passing by; O'er the mean tombs insulting Britons tread, Spurn at the sand, and curse the rebel dead. When to your arms these fatal islands fall, (For first or last they must be conquer'd all) Americans! to rites sepulchral just, With gentlest footstep press this kindred dust, And o'er the tombs, if tombs can then be found, Place the green turf, and plant the myrtle round. Americans! a just resentment shew, And glut revenge on this detested foe; While the warm blood exults the glowing vein Still shall resentment in your bosoms reign, Can you forget the greedy Briton's ire, Your fields in ruin, and your domes on fire, No age, no sex from lust and murder free, And, black as night, the hell born refugee! Must York forever your best blood entomb, And these gorg'd monsters triumph in their doom, Who leave no art of cruelty untry'd; Such heavy vengeance, and such hellish pride! Death has no charms—his realms dejected lie In the dull climate of a clouded sky; Death has no charms, except in British eyes, See, arm'd for death, the infernal miscreants rise; See how they pant to stain the world with gore, And millions murder'd, still would murder more; This selfish race, from all the world disjoin'd, Perpetual discord spread throughout mankind, Aim to extend their empire o'er the ball, Subject, destroy, absorb, and conquer all, As if the power that form'd us did condemn All other nations to be slaves to them— Rouse from your sleep, and crush the thievish band, Defeat, destroy, and sweep them from the land, Ally'd like you, what madness to despair, Attack the ruffians while they linger there; There Tryon sits, a monster all complete, See Clinton there with vile Knyphausen meet, And every wretch whom honour should detest There finds a home—and Arnold with the rest. Ah! traitors, lost to every sense of shame, Unjust supporters of a tyrant's claim; Foes to the rights of freedom and of men, Flush'd with the blood of thousands you have slain, To the just doom the righteous skies decree We leave you, toiling still in cruelty, Or on dark plans in future herds to meet, Plans form'd in hell, and projects half complete: The years approach that shall to ruin bring Your lords, your chiefs, your miscreant of a king, Whose murderous acts shall stamp his name accurs'd, And his last triumphs more than damn the first. Sources : Lewis Leary, That Rascal Freneau: A Study in Literary Failure (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1941); Philip Marsh, Works of Philip Freneau (New York: Scarecrow Press, 1968) p 33; Philip Marsh, Works of Philip Freneau (New York: Scarecrow Press, 1968) p 33; Mary Austin, Philip Freneau: The Poet of the Revolution; a History of His Life and Times (New York: A. Wessels, 1901) pp. 108-11; Philip Freneau, "The Log of the Brig Rebecca, October 15-November 7, 1779," Jour. Rutgers Univ. Lib., vol. 5 (1942), pp. 65-6; Don Higginbotham, The War for American Independence, (New York: North Eastern Universities Press, 1983), p 261; Philip Marsh, Works of Philip Freneau (New York: Scarecrow Press, 1968) pp. 7-8; Richard Harrison, Princetonians: 1769-1775: A Biographical Dictionary (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014) vol. 2, 149-56; Philip Marsh, "Philip Freneau's Poetry in the New Jersey Gazette," New Jersey History, vol. 77, 1959, p 240-3; Edward Eckert, "Philip Freneau: Poet as Propagandist," New Jersey History, vol. 88, 1970, p 25; Monmouth, Page in History (Freehold: Monmouth County Bicenntenial Commission, 1976) p 15; plus entry 5160; Philip Freneau, "Some Account of the Capture of the Ship Aurora", (New York: J. Miles, 1899), pp. 7-15; Princetonia Museum, Freneau, Philip, Class of 1771 , ( https://www.princetonianamuseum.org/artifact/b3a7858e-3a87-4fe0-b9ca-1fe1de52029a ); Adelberg, Michael, Biographical File, on file at the Monmouth County Historical Association. 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 > Mordecai Gist's Continentals in Middletown by Michael Adelberg Colonel Mordecai Gist led a piecemeal detachment into Monmouth County in March 1779. His month in the county was marred by soldier misconduct and officers neglecting their duty. - March 1779 - When Colonel Caleb North’s regiment of Pennsylvania Continentals left Monmouth County in March 1779, they were replaced by companies of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware Continentals under the command of Colonel Mordecai Gist. Starting on March 10, fifteen of Gist’s men were sent “on command” to Middletown; the rest presumably arrived with their colonel a week later. In addition to the Marylanders, a company of Pennsylvania Continentals under Captain Walter Finney as well as several Delaware Continentals—the first of whom arrived “near Sandy Hook” on March 6—entered Monmouth County with Gist. The entire piecemeal detachment consisted of roughly 250 men. Their mission was to interrupt the illegal trade between the county’s disaffected farmers and the British at Sandy Hook, and to enhance the overall security of the region. There is little evidence that they were effective in either pursuit. Continental Troops Camp in Shrewsbury Township Captain Finney wrote of his march to Monmouth County on March 15: Ordered to Monmouth, marched the detachment from Pennsylvania Line to the Grand Parade, where the party assembled consisting of 250 rank and file, Captains….and myself, Col. Guest [Gist]; at 12 o'clock marched, proceeded to Brunswick, cantoned our men for this night and spent the evening very agreeable. They arrived in Monmouth County on the next day, "fell in by sun-rise and proceeded to Mt. Pleasant, cantoned our men, lodged at Mrs. Finoes [Freneau ]." On March 17, Finney’s part of the detachment reached Tinton Falls, where he would set up camp. Arrived at Tinton Falls by 12, disposed of the troops in the following manner, vizt. One company at Red Bank, one at Shrewsbury, two at Eatontown, one at the Falls; the latter being stationed, took lodging at John Little, Esq., where we were treated with politeness and respect. With Little (a county election judge), Finney "took a tour at Eatontown, and in the evening visited the guards” on March 19. The next night he "dined with Col. Breese [Samuel Breese]," the first Shrewsbury militia colonel who resigned in 1776 due to disaffection in his ranks. Breese now lived as a neutral. Over the next week, Finney patrolled the shore from Middletown to Long Branch with a party of 30 men. He broke off a smaller guard to observe British motions at Sandy Hook form the Navesink Highlands: I concealed my party till dark, then detached twelve men, and the guide, along the shore to Middletown Point, ordering them to keep concealed as much as possible, and return to me at 3 in the morning; after posting sentinels along the shore to observe, as well the motion of the enemy, whose guard ship lay within hailing. He made an effort to interrupt “the contraband trade carried on by the disaffected inhabitants” and Sandy Hook: I concealed my party till dark, then detached twelve men, and the guide, along the shore to Middletown Point, ordering them to keep concealed as much as possible, and return to me at 3 in the morning; after posting sentinels along the shore to observe, as well the motion of the enemy, whose guard ship lay within hailing, as to detect the contraband trade carried on by the disaffected inhabitants. Finney did not report intercepting any illegal trade. His men spent a few days at the house of Esek Hartshorne on the Navesink Highlands. Hartshorne, a wealthy Quaker, may have hosted the Monmouth militia two years earlier when it was surprised and routed by British regulars at the Battle of Navesink . While with Hartshorne, Finney’s men misbehaved. On March 28, Finney recorded: Being informed by Mr. Hartshorne that his cellar was broke into by the soldiery, ordered a search and inquiry, but not being able to prove any individuals guilty, paid the damage and returned to my station at the Falls, having made no further discovery, [other] than six of the enemy's armed vessels convoying 23 transports to New York. Back in Tinton Falls, Finney settled down and enjoyed himself. On March 29, he wrote: "spent the evening at Mr. West's in company of two very agreeable ladies, and Col. North, at a sociable gaim [sic] of Whist." On March 31, "in the evening, being just set down to a social amusement with two ladies and a gentleman.” That same day, Finney “was startled by drums beating to arms. Immediately repaired to my post... finding there was not grounds for the alarm, retired to my lodging." On April 1, Finney enjoyed "an elegant entertainment and ball at Mr. Lippincott's in Shrewsbury, the whole was conducted with the greatest decorum and good humor." Captain Walter Beatty of Maryland was stationed at Shrewsbury at this time and recalled “spending our spare time with a number of fine ladies in this neighborhood.” The pleasant entertainment at Tinton Falls and Shrewsbury juxtaposes awkwardly with the long patrols the men were supposed to be conducting; it suggests slackness in Finney’s and Beatty’s commands. The Disastrous Middletown Encampment For Gist’s companies at Middletown, the service was dramatically different. According to an antiquarian source, they battled a raiding party and, with the assistance of 60 militia from Woodbridge, they reportedly wounded fifteen of the enemy. They lacked clothing and provisions and found the locals unwilling to sell to them. The Colonel petitioned the Continental Congress complaining of being unable to purchase provisions: We have the mortification to see the troops of every State provided with clothing and other necessities at reasonable and moderate prices, whilst we alone have been obligated to purchase from private stores every necessity at the most exorbitant rates. The one documented attempt to supply Gist’s men turned into a fiasco. David Rhea, the Quartermaster agent for Monmouth County, would write in July that he purchased flour for Colonel Gist’s men at Shrewsbury in April. However, the forage master, Richard McKnight, never delivered it. McKnight was also a militia captain and was out on duty in April, then, in early June, he was captured by Loyalist raiders. The flour sat at Manasquan where Rhea finally ordered that the "damaged flour at Squan be sold." But it turned out that Rhea was misinformed. The flour was "not so bad, but bread might be made of it." The flour never made it to Gist’s men. On April 3, at least one company of Maryland soldiers mutinied at Middletown and Colonel Gist rode to Tinton Falls to seek help. Colonel Daniel Hendrickson, commanding the militia at Tinton Falls, wrote Captain Barnes Smock of Middletown to call out the militia: At Coll. Gess's request, I let you know that Coll. Gess has requested of me to let Coll. Holmes [Asher Holmes] know that he stands in need of assistance of the militia in order to bring his men to order; that one company hath this day mutinied at Middletown and are determined to go off to the enemy if not prevented; and desire Coll. Holmes would assist him with about fifty militia tomorrow morning at Middletown. Should take it as a particular favour if you would carry these lines in secrecy; I direct you to show it to Coll. Holmes so that he may give every assistance possible. I have ordered but a part of my militia here to attend tomorrow morning." Captain Finney, at Tinton Falls, wrote: "Captain Patterson's company mutinied at Middletown, was disarmed, and sent to camp under guard." At least some of the mutineers were arrested and brought before a court martial on April 14. That day, George Washington’s general orders noted “the Tryal of those men belonging to the Maryland Line who mutinied and attempted to desert from the Detachment at Monmouth." Two of Gist’s were men were found guilty: Daniel Buckley a soldier in the 2nd Maryland regiment and Patrick Ivory a soldier in the 1st Maryland regiment were tried, the former for Desertion and the latter for deserting from the Monmouth command—found guilty of breaches of the 1st Article of the 6th Section of the Articles of War respectively and sentenced to receive one hundred lashes each. Two days after the mutiny, Finney’s men responded to reports of a Loyalist raiding party at Shrewsbury: Being informed of some principal Tories being in the neighborhood of Shrewsbury, the whole detachment set out in quest of them, missed the main object, but in our route took two negroes and one deserter and two suspected persons, put the whole, with one other deserter, into one room--the two most noted villains in irons. It is probable that the raiding party was seeking to exploit gaps created by the troop mutiny. After this activity, "nothing material happened" happened according to Finney until April 10. On that day, "Col. Ford and [Benjamin Ford] an equal detachment relieved us." The Departure of Gist’s Regiment Finney’s men left Tinton Falls on April 11: "Proceeded to Mt. Pleasant, cantoned our men, and took a tour of Middletown Point; Dined with Captain Burrowes [John Burrowes], sup'd at Mrs. Finoes [Freneau]; lodged at Mr. Wallace [Wall]." On April 12, they mustered at sunrise, but did not leave the county that day: Being informed of a robbery being committed in the night, ordered a search to be made, found the villains, restored the goods, and punished the delinquents for disobedience of orders; Afterwards, pinioned them and marched them to the Provost, there to wait tryal [sic] for the robbery. Finney’s men left Monmouth County on April 13, camping at Millstone that evening. Washington communicated the withdrawal of Gist’s detachment to Governor William Livingston: I shall be obliged to recall the detachment from Monmouth. I have thought it necessary to give your Excellency this early notice, that you may take such measures in consequence as you shall judge expedient to give security to those parts of the country which these troops are now posted to cover. In a second letter on April 23, Washington admitted that one reason for the withdrawal were Loyalist “emissaries ” who “have been active in corrupting our [Gist’s] men.” In these letters, it is unclear if Washington knew that Benjamin Ford’s regiment had replaced Gist in Monmouth County. One Maryland company, under Captain Beatty, stayed at Shrewsbury, probably to help acquaint Colonel Ford’s men to the area. Beatty wrote of his continued stay: "Here we continued very peaceable, until the 26th of the month.” That day a massive British-Loyalist raiding party , under Captain Patrick Ferguson, landed at Shoal Harbor on the Raritan Bayshore and marched to Tinton Falls. Ford’s men pulled back rather than face the larger party. This raid is the subject of another article. Perspective While Gist’s command engaged in a skirmish and arrested a few men, its overall performance was poor. The local militia that it was supposed to be helping needed to muster and bring order to its mutineers and there is no evidence that Gist’s men curbed illegal trade with the enemy. At least some of Gist’s officers spent more time flirting with women than conducting patrols. After about a month in Monmouth County, they would be replaced by Benjamin Ford’s Marylanders—who would perform no better. Related Historic Site : The Old Mill Sources : Capt. Enoch Anderson, Muster Rolls, Delaware Archives, (Wilmington: Mercantile Press, 1911) vol 1, pp 92, 234-6, 312, 347; Must Rolls, Delaware Archives, (Wilmington: Mercantile Press, 1911) vol 1, pp 104; Muster Rolls, David Library of the American Revolution, Mordecai Gist Papers, reel 1; Memorial, Mordecai Giss, National Archives, Papers of the Continental Congress, reel 49, item 41, vol. 3, #460-3; Chester County Historical Society, Diary of Walter Finney; Daniel Hendrickson to Barnes Smock, Monmouth County Historical Association, Cherry Hall Papers, box 5, folder 9; George Washington, General Orders, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 20, 8 April–31 May 1779, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010, pp. 55–57, 478-81; George Washington to William Livingston, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw140422)) ; William Beatty, "Journal of Captain William Beatty of the Maryland Line, 1776-1781", Historical Magazine, 2nd Series, 1867, pp 117; David Rhea to Moore Furman, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #5600. 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 > Pine Robbers Menace Dover and Stafford Townships by Michael Adelberg This map of Little Egg Harbor shows Osborn Island at the southern tip of Monmouth County, where 70 Loyalists camped at the end of 1781. The Loyalists worried shore leaders at Toms River. - December 1781 - In Monmouth County’s southern townships of Dover and Stafford (present-day Ocean County), the majority of inhabitants were ambivalent or opposed to the Revolution. The residents of the Little Egg Harbor, just south of Monmouth County, may have been even more disaffected. Lured to the profitable London Trade , disaffection flourished in these townships (disaffected men held several local offices ). In October 1778, snipers harassed Kasimir Pulaski’s Continentals as they marched north (after being decimated at Osburn Island ). In December 1780, Lt. Joshua Studson was killed in a boat near Toms River while intercepting a London Trading vessel. Pine Robber activity, centered in Shrewsbury Township in 1778-1779, and then moved south into Dover and Stafford Townships under new and resourceful leaders—William Giberson (originally from Upper Freehold ), William Davenport (likely from Gloucester County ), and, most notoriously, John Bacon (possibly from Arneytown on the border of Upper Freehold and Burlington County). Another Pine Robber leader, Joseph Mulliner, operated in Little Egg Harbor Township, just south of Monmouth County (see appendix for summary of Mulliner’s outlaw career). The Growing Pine Robber Threat The Pine Robber threat in southern Monmouth County and Little Egg Harbor Township (just south of Monmouth County) built through the second half of the Revolution. Job Clayton of the Monmouth Militia recalled in his postwar pension application that the Pine Robbers were "concealed through the extensive pines of the lower part of the county, and sprung out of them, plundered and robbed and murdered the inhabitants." Mary Throckmorton, wife of the militiaman, Job Throckmorton recalled her husband providing intelligence to the militia to inform an attack on a Pine Robber gang: The enemy had been to Burlington County and stole a number of horses & secured them in William Parker's Cedar Swamp, six miles off, the enemy had got information from their Tory friends that we was laying in wait for them… retook said horse and the thieves attending them. The attack, however, only aroused the Pine Robbers. Afterward, the Throckmorton family left the shore and relocated to Englishtown for its safety. An August 1780 newspaper report from Philadelphia reported the robbery of four houses just over the county line in Burlington County: John Black Jr., Clayton Newbold, William Newbold, and Caleb Shreve. The report continued, "Colonel William Shreve, with a number of inhabitants immediately set off in pursuit of the villains and overtook them at Borden's Run on the verge of the Pines.” The report continued, "one of the robbers, it is said, is taken to Monmouth Gaol." From this, it can be inferred that the captive either was from Monmouth County or was taken by Monmouth militia. Abraham Osborn, living in present-day Howell, also recorded after the war that "he was robbed by the Tories of his horses, cattle and furniture" in 1780. In March 1781, James Allen was robbed by a Pine Robber gang that included Nathan Lyon and Joseph Wood. Allen compiled a "memorandum of articles plundered from the house of James Allen" in 1784. His itemized losses demonstrate that Pine Robbers, while politically motivated, were also common thieves: cloth coat (£5 S10), one pair of buckles and breaches (£1 S10), musket, cartridge box & bayonet (£3 S10), pair of shoes (S7), pair of silver buckles (£1 S17), gold ring (£1 S4), 3 silver teaspoons (S15), 3 oz. of unwrought silver (£1 S5), one boat (£7 S2), 2nd boat (£6), pair of stockings (S6), 3 cambric stocks (S6), 2 shirts (S7 each), 2 handkerchiefs (S10), one Morocco Leather pocket book (S15), one razor (S7). Allen’s follow up note about Lyon demonstrates the familiarity that often existed between Pine Robbers and their victims: He [Lyon] lived about 1 3/4 miles from James Allen, when he was robb'd; that the robbers came to the house in the night -- that Nathaniel Lyon was with them -- he knew him afterwards and recognized that it was the same -- he was Lyon with a pair of breaches of Allen's -- that a few days afterward, he saw one Joseph Wood (as people say his name is), one of the men that was there that night with Lyon. Privateers also interacted and occasionally clashed with Pine Robbers, as when a party of Cape May militia captured a London Trading vessel at Shark River, lost it to a party of Pine Robbers at the mouth of Little Egg Harbor, and then retook it on Osborn Island. From June 1780 into 1782, a 30-man guard of state troops was posted at Toms River, the lone village in the shore townships that solidly supported the Revolution. Yet, this guard was too small to exert influence beyond the village. In May 1781, Colonel Samuel Forman, commanding the undersized militia of Dover and Stafford townships, wrote Governor William Livingston: The refugees [Loyalists], joined by a number of residents from Burlington County have drove Ensign [David] Imlay & some militia from the boundary of Little Egg Harbor to Hankins; our men have killed one & wounded two mortally. A reinforcement is demanded of me; I have ordered thirty five mounted [men] to their assistance for twelve days. Forman requested 150 Burlington County militia join him in a campaign against the Pine Robber gang that chased off the militia. He was angry that the leaders of Burlington County allowed disaffection and London Trading to fester on the shore: “The complaint lodged with me is bitter against the County of Burlington... the illicit trade is so much esteemed that their lives are endangered for it." The Loyalist attack may have been prompted by Imlay’s killing of the Pine Robber, Richard Bird. Bird was reportedly found in a cottage and was shot through a window without being given a chance to surrender. Zachariah Hankins, formerly disaffected, now serving under Imlay, would later report that Imlay’s posse "surprised and took a gang of Tories under the notorious Richard Bird, near Toms River, when Bird fell. It was always believed that Captain Imlay himself killed Bird." Pine Robber Gang Fights Off Militia and Threatens Toms River Six months later, Forman was still complaining about the disaffected living around Little Egg Harbor. On November 7, he wrote Governor Livingston about "the lower part of Monmouth” and “more particularly Burlington.” He further wrote: “The refugees come and go unmolested & repeatedly [are] joined by the inhabitants in their mischiefs under the cover of night." Forman discussed his inability to muster the disaffected into the militia, "My adjutant was beaten exceedingly last Monday night on the presumption that he had been to review that part of the regiment the preceding day; his son was also beaten shamefully on that same day." Forman called for a 40-man party to march against the disaffected neighborhood and arrest the assaulters. They would then remain as a guard. It did not happen. As Forman was lobbying the Governor, the Whigs of Dover and Stafford petitioned the state legislature. A November 1781 Stafford Township petition read: We do suffer on several accounts for want of militia or Continental guard to protect them from the ravages & devastations of the Refugees which they are committing every day by taking and treating in an inhumane and savage manner, & on the other hand they are censured by their own people for harboring and secreting them & holding a correspondence with those creatures. A Dover Township petition in December discussed: Several armed boats with a number of men are fortifying on Osburn's Island near Egg Harbor meeting house, with a view as we conceive to receive deserters from the American Army… also that a quantity of provisions is conveyed from that place to New York. - now we petitioners beg a guard to be stationed, to prevent such unlawful proceedings. At the bottom of this petition is an extraordinary unsigned statement about government inaction: I am extremely sorry so little attention is paid to the petitions of the inhabitants of this county by the legislature vizt. the legislature became immune of all human feeling for this suffering county - every year since the commencement of the war, we have paid dearly for the inattention of the legislature -- it is a most notorious faith & yet unaltered - does not this legislature know, for instance, their men in service [State Troops] expires, do they not know the difficulty & length of time it takes to recruit a number of men? March the legislature down to the lines, that they might see & feel a little of what these inhabitants have - it May be said where is the militia? - the militia is worn out. Captain Andrew Brown of Dover Township also wrote Livingston regarding “the precarious situation of the well affected inhabitants of this place.” He wrote of large Pine Robber gang at Little Egg Harbor: The refugees are this time more numerous in this quarter than has been known since the start of the war. I am well informed that they are fortifying at Little Egg Harbor where they have made a stand for a considerable time. The militia gunboat Flying Fish "was attacked by a superior force and narrowly escaped capture.” Brown continued: They have a number of boats down there now and we having nothing to oppose them but this one, whose force is not equal to them. I would wish and pray that something may be done to drive them from the shore by land or water, and that a guard may be continued at this place. Livingston wrote George Washington about the situation on the lower Monmouth shore on January 2, 1782. The Pine Robbers, he said, “have several armed boats, with a number of men, are fortifying Osborn's Island near Egg Harbor.” They “receive deserters from the American Army & for the greater convenience of conveying provisions to New York, which already go from that neighborhood in immense quantities.” Livingston was blunt about the inadequacy of the local militia: That part of the State is so disaffected or intimidated that the Refugees have reigned in it. Guards of our militia are, whether for want of pay or other cause, procured with the greatest difficulty, and when obtained are, for want of discipline & unfitness of their officers, not infrequently corrupted after being stationed on the lines by the alluring profits of illegal trade. Livingston requested a Continental guard "to prevent the well affected in those parts from deserting their habitations ... thereby extending the Enemy's lines." Livingston did not mention that Continental detachments in Monmouth County had mutinied in 1779 and traded with the enemy in 1780. A week later, three letters were sent to Governor Livingston by Brown (again), Major John Cook—the highest ranking lower shore office—and Abiel Aiken—the Dover Township magistrate. Each described the threat to Toms River. Cook wrote that “we were under arms all nite on information that about thirty refugees being on horse within 7 miles." Brown offered similar information; Aiken was more descriptive. "Our number here is small, the [State Troop] guard that was here was discharged and the militia is very slack coming to our assistance, which is very discouraging." Cook described the Pine Robber’s moated base on Osborn Island: “The main entrance is by causeway… and a bridge of 12 feet.” They had no cannon on land, but their armed boats had cannon. Cook noted that there were no regular soldiers at the base, but there was 50 to 80 armed men. Their base was formidable: “Their boats are armed: the one with a six pounder, swivels, etc., the other with 2 small carriage guns, swivels, etc. By good intelligence another large armed boat went thro' the bay last Sunday to join them.” Brown noted additional challenges with attacking Osburn’s Island: Whenever they are attacked or are apprehensive, they fly to their boats and proceed to the beach to the house of one Tucker, where the principal rendezvous is, and where we cannot come at them by water... as for the inhabitants in the neighborhood, they are no better than the refugees, as they do countenance and trade with them. Brown sized up the enemy: There [sic] numbers are forty to one hundred at times, and they have not less than five arm'd boats, some of which carry from a three to six pounder swivels and small arms, which are frequently plying from thence to New York to protect their trading boats. Aiken estimated that the Pine Robbers have 70 men and 5 boats which "are constantly plying up and down the bay and supporting illicit trade." He wrote that the Pine Robbers are based at Clam Town (modern-day Tuckerton), opposite Osburn’s Island, and their biggest boat has "one six pounder in the bow and three swivels on the sides." Cook and Brown wrote that the Loyalists were led by William Davenport (of Gloucester County) and Samuel Ridgeway (from one of Stafford Township’s leading families). Cook also complained that some of the Loyalists were criminals who were “pardoned by your Excellency and broke gaol , etc." Brown wanted to attack the Pine Robber base: “If we don't visit them, they will visit us.” However, he lacked the men to make an attack: “our number being small, the enlist'd men's being out and the militia very slack coming in." This is a reference to State Troop terms expiring at the end of the year. On January 11, Governor Livingston considered the three letters and forwarded them to Lord Stirling [William Alexander], commanding the New Jersey Line. The letters were carried by Elisha Lawrence, the former militia Lt. Colonel over the Dover and Stafford militias. Livingston wrote that Lawrence had “recently been on the spot with the command of a party of our militia to dislodge the Enemy. He is a member of our Council & the greatest confidence may be reposed of him." Lawrence and Stirling apparently discussed a campaign against the Loyalist base. Re-Assessing the Pine Robbert Threat However, George Washington quashed the campaign on January 13, writing Livingston that the Pine Robber threat was exaggerated. Washington had received contrary information from Colonel David Forman: Had I found the report to be well-grounded, I should have concerted my measures to dislodge them. From the best information I have been able to obtain, particularly from General Forman who is now in town, no lodgment was ever made on Osborn's Island or any other place. Washington acknowledged that the lower shore was a center for London Trading and bluntly expressed frustration with the persistent problem: A constant intercourse is carried on by water between the refugees and inhabitants, but no force which I could spare would prevent it, as they would, if kept out of one inlet, use another for their purposes. It is in vain to think the pernicious and growing traffic will ever be stopped until the States pass laws making the penalty death... We are, I believe, the only nation who suffer their people to carry on commerce with their Enemy in times of war. Livingston was likely caught off-guard by Washington canceling the campaign based on intelligence from Forman (who might have been assumed to support a campaign against Pine Robbers). The Governor likely consulted with Monmouth County leaders before responding to Washington on January 26: Relative to the affair of Egg harbour: As the facts upon farther enquiry appeared to be very different from the information I had at first received, it could not be expected that your Excellency should pursue such measures as I had hoped. Livingston acknowledged “your Excellency’s good intentions & am glad to find that the enemy have not yet dared to venture on so bold an attempt, ’tho’ they do infinite mischief in that part of the country.” Livingston concurred with Washington’s assessment regarding leniency toward London Traders: “I heartily concur with you in sentiment that it ought to be made capital [a capital offense].” Was the Pine Robber gang and base on Osburn Island exaggerated? Certainly, there are examples of enemy strength being exaggerated in unrelated reports. David Forman clearly thought his Monmouth County colleagues were overselling the threat to Toms River and he convinced Washington and Livingston accordingly. It can only be speculated why Forman undermined other county leaders, but it is worth noting that Aiken was a known opponent of the Retaliators (the vigilante group led by Forman). So, Forman may have sought the opportunity to quash an action that a rival desperately wanted. The Pine Robber gangs of Davenport and Bacon operated in Stafford Township in 1782. Davenport’s mixed-race gang was estimated to be 80 men—when it was surprised and routed at Forked River in June 1782. Based on this later report, the size of Davenport’s gang probably was not exaggerated by Cook, Brown and Aiken, though the threat against Toms River may have been. The local leaders were clearly on edge after the village’s state troop guard went home. Davenport’s gang never came to Toms River, but the residents of Toms River could not have not known this in January 1782. Toms River was indeed targeted by Loyalists—even after a new State Troop guard under Captain Joshua Huddy arrived there at the end of January. The village was razed in March 1782 by Associated Loyalists from New York, guided by local men such as William Dillon with ties to the Pine Robber gangs. Related Historic Site : Little Egg Harbor Friends Meeting Appendix: The Pine Robber, Joseph Mulliner Historian David Fowler has extensively researched Joseph Mulliner. He writes that Mulliner was likely from a poor Quaker family, probably from Little Egg Harbor Township in Burlington County. He was likely a London trader and may have interacted with other Pine Robber leaders like William Davenport and John Bacon. In late 1780, Mulliner was indicted for beating a man, and he became an outlaw after that. Fowler suggests that Mulliner’s gang consisted of about ten hard core members and he had access to dozens of associated London traders and disaffected. In 1781, Muller committed an arson and robbery on the homes of John Watson and the widow Bates of Burlington County. Mulliner’s documented activities were in Burlington County, not Monmouth. Secondary sources suggest that Mulliner carried a privateer’s commission from the British government. Mulliner was captured by Monmouth County militia and first jailed in Freehold in July 1781. The New Jersey Gazette reported him as “motivated by the devil” and further stated: This fellow has become a terror of the country. He made a practice of burning houses, robbing and plundering all who fell in his way... when he came to trial, it appeared that the whole country, both Whigs and Tories, were his enemies. Mulliner was transferred to Burlington County for trial. He was convicted of horse stealing and sentenced to be hanged on August 8. Mulliner’s hanging, on August 16, reportedly drew a hundred spectators. Interestingly, New Jersey Legislative Council (Upper House of the legislature) recommended him for a pardon in September, not knowing he was already dead. Sources : National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Job Clayton; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Job Throckmorton; Kenneth Scott, Rivington's New York Newspaper: Excerpts from a Loyalist Press, 1773-1783 (New York: New York Historical Society, 1973) p 232; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Abraham Osborn; Robbery Evidence, Princeton University, Special Collections, CO 315, box 5, folder: Monmouth Pleas; Samuel Forman to William Livingston, in Carl Prince, ed., Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 4, p 326; Dover and Stafford Township Petition in Carl Prince, ed., Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 4, pp. 328, 356 note; Monmouth County Petition, Massachusetts Historical Society, Monmouth County, NJ, Petition; Andrew Brown to William Livingston, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 4, pp. 356, 358 note; Edwin Salter, History of Monmouth and Ocean Counties (Bayonne, NJ: E. Gardner and Sons, 1890) p 212; Edwin Salter, Old Tims in Old Monmouth (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970) p 40; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - David Imlay; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, John Gregory of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/# NJ 21671340; William Livingston to George Washington, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 4, p 35; John Cook to William Livingston, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 4, p 358; Andrew Brown to William Livingston in Richard J. Koke, "War, Profits, and Privateers Along the Jersey Coast," New York Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 41, 1957, p 3; Abiel Aiken’s letter is in Richard J. Koke, "War, Profits, and Privateers Along the Jersey Coast," New York Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 41, 1957, p 313; William Livingston to Lord Stirling, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 4, pp. 359, 361, 372; George Washington to William Livingston, John Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1932) vol. 23, pp. 444-5; To George Washington from William Livingston, 26 January 1782,” Founders Online, National Archives (http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-07738, ver. 2013-09-28; David Fowler, Egregious Villains, Wood Rangers, and London Traders (Ph.D. Dissertation: Rutgers University, 1987) p 215-225. Previous Next