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 > The Continental Army Draft in Monmouth County by Michael Adelberg Thirty Monmouth Countians were drafted into the Continental Army in May 1778. They arrived at Valley Forge just in time to march back into New Jersey for the Monmouth Campaign in June. - April 1778 - In early 1778, New Jersey was responsible for filling four regiments (about 2,400 men) for the Continental Army. Washington’s Army, following demoralizing defeats in Pennsylvania and the harrowing winter at Valley Forge, was vastly understrength and recruiting had slowed to a trickle. In February 1778, the Continental Congress, at the urging of Nathaniel Scudder (a newly-arrived delegate from Freehold) and a few others, admonished the states to fill their quotas “by a draft of the militia or any other way that shall be effectual.” George Washington underscored Congress’s resolution with direct appeals to several state governors. He wrote William Livingston of New Jersey about the need to meet the state’s quota via a strictly-enforced draft: The Government must have recourse to coercive measures; for if quotas cannot be had by voluntary enlistment and the powers of the Government are not adequate to drafting, there is an end to this contest and opposition becomes vain. Livingston supported the draft and, after some debate, the New Jersey Legislature acted accordingly. New Jersey Drafts Men into the Continental Army On April 3, 1778, New Jersey passed a law instituting a draft. Under the law, each militia company in the state would divide into 18-man classes (three such classes to a full-sized company), and each class would select one man for nine months service in Continental Army. The means of selection would be determined locally, but, as a last resort, would consist of drawing lots. The law included a $300 fine for any draftee who did not show up for service, but permitted draftees to find substitutes. The law was controversial and compliance was not uniform because it put military impressments into effect—a British practice that was loathed in the colonies prior to the war. To make the law more palatable and reduce the number of needed draftees, New Jersey reduced its Continental Army obligation to fill-out regiments from four to two. The two undersized Additional Regiments of the Continental Army created for the defense of New Jersey—under David Forman and Oliver Spencer—were also merged into the New Jersey Line to help fill the remaining regiments. The Draft in Monmouth County In Monmouth County, compliance with the draft was higher than in much of the state. The county had 26 militia companies , the majority of which were full-sized on paper, but turnout was spotty. If compliance was complete, the county would have raised about 60 men through the draft; instead, 30 draftees were raised from Monmouth County (another list records 24-men raised, but is presumed to be pre-final). While 30 men was only half of what the law called for, Monmouth’s draftees were more than one-fourth of all of the impressments from across the state. The list of Monmouth County draftees has survived. They ranged in age from 16-year old Bedford Boltenhouse and 17-year old William Tennent (presumably the son of the recently-deceased Presbyterian minister of the same name) to 40-year old George Smith. The majority of the recruits (19) were aged between 19 and 27. Two men, William Hall and William Starkey (from Middlesex County), served as substitutes for draftees. Draftees were officially raised on May 14 and given until June 2 to report for duty. Given that these men had to walk from Monmouth County to Valley Forge in that time, the window to report was quite narrow. Records are incomplete, but at least one Monmouth draftee did not arrive in camp until June 11. The men had little time to train; Washington’s Army left Valley Forge to pursue the British Army across New Jersey on June 19 and engaged the British at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28. With Wiliam Tennent as the notable exception, none of the draftees were from the families of leaders. No Formans, Scudders, Smocks, Motts, Holmes, Schenks, Andersons, etc., were among the draftees. Based on the review of tax lists, none of the draftees (except one discussed below) owned a significant estate. This in line with research from historian Mark Lender who demonstrated that, following an initial burst of patriotism in 1776, the rank & file of the Continental Army was comprised of poor people. Besides Tennent, the most noteworthy draftee was Josiah Halstead. A man of this name owned the leading tavern in Shrewsbury. Halstead hosted the township’s annual meeting and his tavern boarded military officers intermittently stationed in Shrewsbury. It would be extraordinary to draft a prominent tavern keeper. This raises a few possibilities: 1.) Halstead, a supporter of the Revolution, believed himself to be in danger in Shrewsbury and allowed himself to be drafted in order to gain relative safety with the Army; 2.) Halstead was drafted as a punishment from local militia officers, perhaps for not being sufficiently accommodating to the local war effort; 3.) Halstead had fallen into debt and military service kept his creditors at bay for nine months; 4.) a different man named Josiah Halstead was drafted (although county tax lists record only one man with this name). The relatively high turnout of Monmouth County draftees is an indicator of the county’s turnaround from a year earlier when the county’s civil government was non-existent and its militia was largely dysfunctional . Another reason for the high turnout may have been the growing understanding in May that the British Army would soon be leaving Philadelphia and marching across New Jersey—with a probable path through Monmouth County. The strength and competence of Washington’s Army would soon have direct bearing on the welfare of Monmouth County. The 1778 draft was greatly unpopular and New Jersey would never again use a draft to fill its Continental Army ranks. However, in 1781, Monmouth County was permitted to conduct a local draft to fill a regiment of State Troops (state-financed soldiers for the defense of the state) established to guard the Monmouth shoreline. That draft raised seventeen men—four of whom—Boltenhouse, Tennent, Smith, and John Robins—were among the Monmouth Countians drafted in 1778. Related Historic Site : Valley Forge National Historical Park Sources : Mark Lender, “The Enlisted Line: The Continental Soldiers of New Jersey”(Ph.D. diss., Rutgers University, 1975) p 86; New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #3628; New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #7199; Mark Lender, “The Enlisted Line: The Continental Soldiers of New Jersey”(Ph.D. diss., Rutgers University, 1975) pp. 87-9; Lender, Mark, “The Conscripted Line: The Draft in Revolutionary New Jersey,” New Jersey History, vol. 103 (1985), pp. 28-37; List of Recruits, New Jersey State Archives, Dept of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #2325-2330; List of Draftees, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #2328. 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 > The Capture of Lt. Col. Klein and Others Seeking to Go to New York by Michael Adelberg In January 1781, Continental soldiers mutinied at Morristown. The British sought to bring them over to New York; throughout the war, Americans defected to the British through Monmouth County. - January 1781 - Wiliam Klein was born in Germany but was living in America when the Revolutionary War began. In 1776, he helped raise the so-called German Regiment—a Continental Army unit comprised of German-American immigrants from Maryland and Pennsylvania. He served as a major in Washington’s Army through the campaigns of 1776, 1777, and 1778 (including the Battle of Monmouth campaign). In September 1778, he was promoted to Lt. Colonel of the regiment. But the regiment diminished in size and was consolidated out of existence in June 1779; Klein was squeezed out of his command. Klein apparently became disaffected. He petitioned and received permission to return to Germany, but getting to Germany was difficult. Few, if any, American ships were Germany-bound and any American ship that attempted to do so faced a high likelihood of capture passing the British Isles. In comparison, there was regular traffic between British-held New York City and German ports—shuttling men and supplies between home and German soldiers in America. Klein apparently decided that defecting to the British was the best way to get home. The Capture of Lt. Colonel Klein On January 9, 1781, Colonel David Forman of Manalapan wrote Governor William Livingston about Klein. He discussed Klein’s passage across New Jersey to Manasquan: A certain Lt. Col. Klein, late of the American Army, and discharged vizt June 1779 - Col Klein left Philadelphia, come by way of Yarkey's Ferry, from there across the country to a certain Walter Curtis at Manasquan. Curtis was a Quaker who defied his church’s pacifism by serving in the Loyalist New Jersey Volunteers before deserting and returning home. He was convicted of an unnamed misdemeanor (likely illegally trading with the British) in 1779 and fined £150 and then fined in 1780 for militia delinquency . In 1781, he had a bond cashed for missing a required court appearance, and then was convicted of another misdemeanor with a massive £500 fine. It is probable this fine was for his complicity with Klein. Forman’s letter discussed Klein’s arrest for attempting to go to New York illegally: On the way through the back parts of Upper Freehold some of the inhabitants took the alarm from his going down in a wagon of and in company of a certain John Jones, they pursued and overtook Mr. Klein at the aforementioned Curtis', your Excellency will observe by the enclosed affidavits of Elisha Stout that Mr. Klein inquired how he, Col Klein, should get to New York; they took and brought up Col Klein to the Grand Jury - in the course of our examining him we was fully convinced his destination was New York, his confession was induced fully. The arrest of a Continental Army senior officer for attempting to defect to the enemy merited the attention of newspapers. New Jersey Gazette reported on January 17, "Lt. Colonel Klein, formerly in the service of the United States, was last week apprehended in the County of Monmouth on his way to New York." The Pennsylvania Evening Post ran the same report a week later. Klein was brought before New Jersey’s Chief Justice David Brearley. Brearley was an Upper Freehold resident who likely knew the people who arrested Klein, and he likely knew Klein from their common service as mid-level officers in Washington’s camp from 1776 to 1779. On February 1, Brearley wrote Livingston about Klein. He explained that Klein was looking for a disaffected shore resident to take him to New York, but because Klein was not a New Jersey resident and had permission to return to Germany, it was unclear if he could be prosecuted under New Jersey law. Brearley was unsure what to do with him: I am at a loss with respect to Lt. Col. Klein and don't incline to have anything to do with him. I think it would be very hard to punish him by the laws of this State... but to set him at liberty will be an encouragement for him to attempt it again. The Governor and Klein apparently reached an accord. Livingston pardoned Klein on February 8 on the condition that he return to Pennsylvania and never return to New Jersey. Other Captures in Monmouth County Historian Harry Ward wrote that escaped British and Loyalist prisoners used the Pinelands of Monmouth and Burlington Counties as "a sort of underground railroad" to go within British lines. Other articles demonstrate that dozens of so-called London Traders , disaffected Monmouth Countians, regularly ferried goods (and, when necessary, people) from Monmouth farms into British lines. Klein’s curious capture was one of many cases of disaffected men or former soldiers seeking passage to New York via Monmouth County. Seven other cases are summarized below (list is not exhaustive): June 1779: Three British soldiers who escaped prison in Frederick, Maryland walked to New Jersey. With a local guide named Atkinson, they were “apprehended making their way through the pines to the Monmouth seashore, in order to get to New York." August 1779: "Samuel Slack & John Shellman [horse thieves who previously escaped jail in Philadelphia] were taken up at Freehold.” The thieves presented a false passport and were released by local officials who did not detect the false document. February 1780: A party of 22 British prisoners and two runaway slaves “with their guide, Joseph Hayes, were taken up as they were passing through Monmouth County on their way to New York." May 1780: Two Pennsylvania outlaws , John Smith and Robert Smith, wanted for murder, attempted to escape to New York via Monmouth County. A local Whig “forced them to throw down their weapons… marched them several miles, and lodged them in jail at Freehold.” June 1780: A party of 34 German soldiers serving in the British army "were taken up in Monmouth County. They were on their way to New York, piloted by persons as yet unknown. These gentry are sent to Philadelphia." November 1780: Monmouth Countians, Robert Woodward, Robert Wilson and “three Negroes" escaped the state prison in Trenton “by undermining the same.” They were seeking to “get to the enemy.” A $2,000 reward offered for taking Woodward; a $250 reward for the others. January 1781: Five Loyalists escaped from prison in Philadelphia “they have been made prisoners by the Rebels and confined in Philadelphia gaol, from whence they fortunately escaped on the 10th inst.” They arrived in New York, via Monmouth County, on January 19. Monmouth County and the Continental Army Mutiny In December 1780, Pennsylvania and New Jersey soldiers in Washington’s Army mutinied at Morristown. According to William Smith, a leading Loyalist in New York, the British commander in chief, Henry Clinton was “pleased and yet I think distrustful of the mutineers.” Clinton, via spies, offered the mutineers the back pay owed to them by the Continental Congress if they would defect to the British. He also “advised their [mutineers] crossing the south branch of the Raritan, and going into Monmouth” where disaffected locals could link them up with Loyalist boats to ferry them to New York. Clinton ordered Elisha Lawrence (the pre-war Monmouth County Sheriff who commanded the 1st Battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers through 1777) into Monmouth County to consort with the mutineers. Lawrence was ordered "to go out to Mount Pleasant [near Middletown], [and] from there, by Scott's Tavern, try to get to Princeton” to link up with an unnamed man in direct contact with the mutineers. The order continued: If they mean to come join us, to tell them that we have been ready to go into the Jerseys whenever they choose to call upon us. If they have anything to propose, we shall be ready to hear anyone they send and will be answerable to their safety. Lawrence apparently went into Monmouth County, though there are no letters that detail his time there. As late as January 29, Clinton was discussing plans to ferry mutineers over from Monmouth County "from whence our boats and vessels could easily bring them off." However, through a combination of concessions and punishments, the mutinies collapsed. While the mutineers never came into Monmouth County, the episode shows that the British high command viewed Monmouth County as the most permeable place in New Jersey for bringing over defectors. Relevant Historic Site : Morristown National Historical Park Sources : Klein’s service record is summarized in Fracis Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army (Washington, D.C. The Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, Inc. 1914); David Forman to William Livingston, New Jersey State Archives, William Livingston Papers, reel 14, January 9, 1781; information on Walter Curtis is Michael Adelberg’s Biographical File, unpublished at the Monmouth County Historical Association; Library of Congress, Early American Newspapers, Pennsylvania Evening Post, January 1781; Library of Congress, Early American Newspaper, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930, January 1781; David Brearley to William Livingston, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 4, pp. 135-6, 140; Pennsylvania Archives, Minutes of the Provincial Council, 1859, p285; Papers Relating to the War of the Revolution, v3, p285; Library of Congress, Early American Newspaper, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930, August 4, 1779; Library of Congress, Early American Newspaper, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930, February 23, 1780; Library of Congress, Early American Newspaper, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930, June 7, 1780; Archives of the State of New Jersey, Extracts from American Newspapers Relating to New Jersey (Paterson, NJ: Call Printing, 1903) vol. 5, p 129; Harry Ward, Between the Lines, (Bloomsbury Academic, 2002) pp.110-1; William Smith, Historical Memoirs of William Smith: From 26 August 1778 to 12 November 1783 (New York: Arno, 1971) pp. 373-4; Carl Van Doren, Mutiny in January: The Story of a Crisis in the Continental Army (New York: Viking, 1943), pp. 177, 228. 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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 > David Rhea Complains about Lee's Continentals in Monmouth by Michael Adelberg Monmouth County’s Quartermaster Agent, David Rhea, used two-horse teams to bring wagon-loads of hay and grains to the Army. He feuded with Major Henry Lee who purchased his own forage. - October 1779 - As noted in prior articles, David Rhea was a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army early in the war who served with distinction at the Battle of Monmouth . In late 1778, he wished to return to Monmouth County as the Continental Army’s Quartermaster agent. He wrote Moore Furman, leading the Quartermaster office, on October 30: “You had thoughts of appointing me to that office if I thought it proper to retire from the Army... I can leave the Army on the shortest notice." Rhea received the appointment and established an office at Allentown. He hired a small staff and set up a second office at Freehold (in a house purchased amidst scandal ). By early 1779, he and John Lloyd, agent for the Commissary Department, were purchasing food, hay, and grains for the Army and its horses. In January 1779, George Washington sent the cavalry regiment of Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee into Monmouth County. The reasons for doing so were not explicit but, based on related orders and events, it is probable that Washington was seeking to increase the county’s security (he had sent a regiment of Pennsylvania Continentals to Tilton Falls a few weeks earlier). Also, Washington likely hoped to place Lee’s men in a place with a large winter store of forage. This second reason would put Lee in conflict with Rhea who was purchasing forage for the main body of the Continental Army. David Rhea’s Complaints about Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee David Rhea first complained about Lee to Clement Biddle on February 12, 1779, even before Lee arrived. He wrote: “The light horse have not made their appearance, pray do not send them to these parts as yet; the country are all in arms about grain prices, send no more wagons here." In the same letter, Rhea referred to a growing controversy regarding Middletown’s Benjamin Van Cleave, which Rhea instigated by asking the Freehold Magistrate to seize Van Cleave’s hay. Van Cleave claimed the hay was to be used for poor relief and the Middletown Magistrate sided with him. A frustrated Rhea wrote of his own county, “it is a damnation country to do business with." Lee’s regiment came and went in early 1779, but returned in the summer of 1779 to search for and initiate communication with the expected French fleet . While other Continental regiments set up camp near the shore (at Tinton Falls and Middletown), Lee set up camp at Freehold and sent small parties to the shore. The co-location of Lee and Rhea purchasing forage in the village of Freehold was bound to cause conflict. On October 12, Rhea complained about Lee to Moore Furman: "Major Lee's dragoons have done as they please since they have been in this county.” Rhea went on describe a specific grievance with Lee’s request for wagons and a horse team: Major Lee has called for some light wagons and says it will be much less expense to ye public to have baggage in some light wagons and two horses, then the way he now moves -- I have none [for him], he wants me to have them made & to purchase large strong horses for that purpose. I have put him off in such a manner that I believe he will not ask again -- I think I shall have no more of it -- those horse consume a large quantity of forage, and at a very high price. I know not what to do --I hope they will not stay long, the inhabitants have fixed their price and the Major, I trust, would not alter it. In this last line, Rhea revealed a key aspect of his complaint. Lee was negotiating purchases directly with local farmers rather than deferring to Rhea, whose job it was to make those purchases. While stationed in Monmouth County , Lee issued passports to locals to go to New York (as spies, Lee reported) and proposed a plan whereby his men would impound the cattle of locals living near the shore, where they might be sold to London Traders or taken by Loyalist raiders. However, Lee lacked the authority to perform these acts. Lee’s sharp elbows not only bothered Rhea, but also bothered Judge John Imlay. Imlay asked Governor William Livingston to write Washington about Lee, and Washington abruptly removed Lee from Monmouth County in January 1780. When the French fleet was again expected on the Jersey shore in summer 1780, Washington returned Lee to Monmouth County. Lee again set up his headquarters at Freehold and again aggravated Rhea. Rhea wrote Furman on July 1, to complain that Lee had hired teamsters from Trenton into service to carry forage to Trenton, but Lee did not have forage for them to transport: Early this morning, some teams that were impressed by the Light Horse returned from Trenton, as they say, and report that they are not wanted... I will discharge the horsemen [teamsters] this evening; they have been a great deal of trouble. If events transpired as Rhea suggests, Lee was purchasing and raising forage in direct competition with Rhea, a move sure to draw his ire. It also suggests that Rhea, at least in Lee’s eyes, may have lacked energy in executing his duty. Rhea complained about Lee again a few weeks later. On July 21, he wrote Furman about the need for meal for the prisoners in the Monmouth County jail at Freehold. Rhea wrote “there are a number of prisoners, very impudent, in the gaol now." He then complained that "Major Lee's troops have consumed all the meal at Walton's & Conover's mills" which was intended for the prison. If all Revolutionary War documents had survived, it is very likely that additional complaints about Lee would surface; similarly, Lee likely complained about Rhea or other Monmouth County officials who he likely regarded as uncooperative. Based on available documentation, Lee did exceed authority more than once and was corrected by Washington and Livingston accordingly. Lee also likely perceived, with some merit, that local officials like Rhea were not doing all they could to support the Amry—much less his own regiment. Related Historic Site : US Army Quartermaster Museum (Virginia) Sources : David Rhea to Clement Biddle, National Archives, Papers of the Continental Congress, M247, I173, Letters from Nathanael Greene, v3, p37; David Rhea to Moore Furman, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #5599; David Rhea to Moore Furman, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #5591-5592; David Rhea to Moore Furman, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #5593. 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 > The Battle of Conkaskunk by Michael Adelberg This Loyalist map details the Middletown shoreline without identifying Conkaskunk. Yet several militiamen name the point as the site of a battle with Loyalist raiders in their postwar narratives. - May 1780 - In general, the larger Loyalist raids into Monmouth County were well documented in newspapers. These include the raids against Manasquan/Shark River and Middletown Point in 1778, and Shoal Harbor/Tinton Falls and Shrewsbury/Tinton Falls in 1779, each of which were documented in one or more newspapers. These raids were printed in newspapers because the raiders were not turned away and, as a result, carried off captives or considerable plunder. This fired local witnesses to document the raid and send their accounts to newspaper publishers. By 1780, however, the Monmouth militia, particularly along the Raritan Bayshore, was more formidable than prior years, and state troops provided a core of full-time soldiers camped on the military frontier. In June 1780, a large Loyalist party came off Sandy Hook and landed at Conkaskunk (present-day Union Beach) on the Raritan Bayshore. While they initially gathered up a considerable number of livestock, they soon met stiff resistance. Three militiamen and one state troop who participated in the “Battle of Conkaskunk” recalled the engagement in their post-war pension applications. Adam Stricker was serving in the state troops under Captain Moses Shepherd in 1780. He recalled being in an engagement near Sandy Hook “in which he and his company took 48 prisoners, 14 horses and a large quantity of household provisions which the enemy had plundered.” (The number of prisoners is likely exaggerated.) Stricker’s company “lost but one man, named Thomson, who was shot through the brains while standing close to the deponent.” He further described: In a skirmish at Conkaskunk with a party of British & Tories who came over for the purpose of carrying off cattle & horses, at which time he received a musket ball in the shoulder, by which he was stunned & thus mowed down - that Daniel Walling was near him at the time & assisted him to rise, the British party had got four wagons of household goods & had collected five hundred head of cattle [likely exaggerated], the whole of which we recovered from them, with the exception of a calf they killed. A comrade, Joseph Dorsey, claimed to have seen ten Loyalists "lying in a heap on board their vessel." Solomon Ketchum (arrested a year earlier for illegally trading with Loyalists) served with the Middletown militia that day. He wrote that: He was at a skirmish at Conkaskunk in Middletown with the refugees from New York, thinks under Captain Shepherd [Moses Shepherd] when one Strickland [Adam Stricker] was wounded and one Walling was wounded with a ball in the throat, which injured him but slightly, the ball being spread in its force. Daniel Hendrickson of Middletown (not the militia colonel of the same name) was also with the militia that day. He wrote that he was "in a battle at Conkaskunk in which a considerable body of British & refugees who had been out stealing cattle & were defeated and drove off, and the cattle with which they had taken were rescued." David Hall, living in Middletown Township at the time, wrote the most revealing recollection of the “Battle of Conkaskunk” which, he noted, “perhaps may be regarded as a skirmish.” He further wrote: The enemy were estimated to be 1,500 in force. They landed at Conkaskunk Point... they marched up to a place called Hedges' farm where they were met by our troops, the company of Captain Walling being the first to attack them. The enemy had a company of Negroes with them commanded by a black fellow whom they called Colonel Tye. The fight with the enemy was severe and they long and obstinately contested the field. The blacks in particular were very fierce and determined, many were killed on both sides. The sergeant of his, Captain Walling's company, Vanderhoff, was shot thru the body but survived. The enemy had to pass a long causeway with thick woods on either side. In those woods, our militia was posted and they cut the enemy down by scores and finally succeeded in driving them off. The enemy came from their shipping and from Staten Island on a plundering party but they failed in their purpose. The militia rallied from all parts of the adjacent country and did their duty like veterans. Hall exaggerated the size of the Loyalist party, but other details from his account are likely accurate and revealing. By writing that the party came from Staten Island, Hall was indicating that the raiding party included New Jersey Volunteers (Loyalist regulars), who were based on that island. Hall also noted that militia and state troops were able to hold off the larger enemy party because of their placement in the woods with the enemy vulnerable on a “long causeway.” This presumably negated the enemy’s superior number of men. Most interesting is Hall’s discussion of Colonel Tye and his irregulars who would soon earn the nickname, “the Black Brigade .” Hall described the African Americans as a “company” (a unit of roughly 50 men) who were “very fierce and determined” during the fight. Prior articles have mentioned small numbers of African Americans participating in Loyalist raids, but the Battle of Conkaskunk is the earliest mention of either Tye or a large number of African American Loyalists acting as a unit. After the Battle of Conkaskunk, Tye and his men continued raiding on their own, while the increasingly dispirited New Jersey Volunteers, generally, stayed in camp on Staten Island and Sandy Hook. There is only one Loyalist reference to the Battle of Conkaskunk. Predictably, it casts the battle in a very different light. On May 16, the prominent Loyalist, William Smith, recorded that "the rebels yesterday, noon, [were] near the Light House, 500 strong, but went off [when] the armed vessels prepared to fire on them." From New York, Smith learned about the Battle of Conkaskunk as a defensive action that turned away an attack on the increasingly permeable British defenses at Sandy Hook. At the Battle of Conkaskunk, the enemy was turned away without captures and the raider’s plunder was recovered. So, the engagement was never reported in newspapers. Pension accounts are prone to exaggerations and they are often murky on dates and commanding officers—that is the case here. But because five participants (in four pension applications submitted in two states) recorded aspects of the Battle of Conkaskunk, there should be little doubt that the event occurred even if the details in particular accounts are open to debate. Thoughtful compilations of the battles and skirmishes of the Revolutionary War, including those of David Munn and Howard Peckham, do not include the Battle of Conkaskunk. But those compilations are newspaper-centric and many local events went unreported in newspapers. Perhaps the most important lesson learned from the Battle of Conkaskunk is that many local events are knowable only when reviewing the widest variety of surviving sources. Other Revolutionary War events in Monmouth County certainly occurred that are lost to history. Related Historical Site: Sandy Hook Lighthouse Sources: National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Solomon Ketchum of NY, www.fold3.com/image/#25013139; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Daniel Hendrickson of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#23340856; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Adam Stricker; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, David Hall of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#21865954; William Smith, Historical Memoirs of William Smith: From 26 August 1778 to 12 November 1783 (New York: Arno, 1971) p 265; Howard H. Peckham, ed, The Toll of Independence: Engagements and Battle Casualties of the American Revolution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974); Munn, David, “The Revolutionary War Casualties,” The Jersey Genealogical Record, vol. 55, (September 1982). 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This exhibition is the first major development stemming from the Living and Breathing initiative, started in late 2019 as a means of reinterpreting MCHA’s colonial-era historic houses to include the stories of the enslaved African Americans who once resided within them. The exhibition will offer a better understanding of how slavery took root in early Monmouth County, as well as the complex dynamics of daily life and relationships among the enslaved.  Exhibits Seventeen Men: Portraits of the Men of the 25th US Colored Troops 137 Kings Hwy. Middletown, NJ 07748 This traveling exhibition features a series of portraits by professional artist, illustrator, and historian Shayne Davidson, based on an exceedingly rare tintype photograph album featuring seventeen of the men who served in the 25th Infantry, United States Colored Troops (USCT), Company G during the Civil War. Each portrait is accompanied by a short biography and other relevant information. The photograph album originally belonged to Captain William A. Prickitt, a white man who was captain of the 25th Regiment. Captain Prickitt was born in Farmingdale, Monmouth County, and had previously served as a Sergeant in the N.J. Volunteers 14th Regiment, organized at Freehold. The album currently resides at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Take a peek into the Discovery Room! On the Edge of War: Monmouth Before the Revolution 70 Court St. Freehold, NJ 07728 This exhibition provides a personal look at the lives and conditions of Monmouth's men, women, and children in the decades leading up to the Revolutionary War. The downstairs gallery will immerse you in the solitude and sounds familiar to Colonial Monmouth, where you can hear the stories of what life was life - told by some of the residents themselves! The Discovery Room will bring you into the home of a Colonial resident to give you a sense of what that may have looked like, and the Hartshorne Gallery contains fascinating documents to illustrate growing frustrations of Monmouth's residents. And of course, don't miss the opportunity to see the magnificent painting, Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth. Our rare Monmouth Flag is on loan to the Museum of the American Revolution, but will return home in September of 2025. A replica is currently holding its place. We hope to see you soon! Open Wednesdays through Fridays from 1-4, and on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Saturdays of the month. Please check our homepage for updated and holiday hours before visiting. Anchor Choices Choices: The Covenhoven Family and the Battle of Monmouth 150 W. Main St. Freehold, NJ 07728 Visit the historic 1752 home of William and Elizabeth Covenhoven, which was used as a makeshift headquarters by British General Sir Henry Clinton and his officers in the days before the Battle of Monmouth. Discover the choices that were available to the Revolutionary-era residents of Freehold as the British came through on their way to Sandy Hook. Covenhoven House is open to the public Fridays from 1-4, and on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. Call-ahead appointments are available as well - email here to schedule a visit. Explore our volunteer tab if you would like to be a guide for this beautiful historic house museum! Open Fridays from 1-4 and from 1-4 on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month Beneath the Floorboards: Whispers of the Enslaved at Marlpit Hall 127 Kings Hwy. Middletown, NJ 07748 Visit this two-time award-winning exhibit now at Marlpit Hall, a c. 1762 farmhouse once owned by the Taylor family of Middletown. The exhibit interprets the home from the perspective of seven of the twelve known enslaved men, women and children who once lived and worked there, exploring the often-overlooked topic of slavery in the North. Open Friday-Sunday from 1-4

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 > Lewis Fenton, the Infamous Pine Robber by Michael Adelberg Major Henry Lee’s Dragoons were stationed in Monmouth County through much of 1779. They involved themselves in local affairs, including hunting down and killing the infamous Lewis Fenton. - July 1779 - Before the war, Lewis Fenton reportedly worked as a blacksmith’s apprentice near Freehold. He participated in the Loyalist insurrection of December 1776 but was not prominent in that short-lived movement. Historian David Fowler, who rigorously studied Fenton, notes that Fenton, like other early Pine Robbers, drifted toward outlaw activity after the Loyalist insurrections collapsed. In early 1777, Fenton stole clothes from a tailor. As he heard that a posse was forming to go after him, Fenton reportedly returned the clothes with a defiant note: "I have returned your damned rags. In a short time I am coming to burn your barns and houses, and roast you all like a pack of kittens." Fenton was indicted for larceny in Monmouth County Court of Common Pleas in 1777, for this incident or potentially for something else. Fowler notes that Lewis Fenton’s father, Thomas Fenton, composed his will in early 1777. He conveyed his land to Lewis Fenton’s brother-in-law, rather than Lewis. Thomas likely understood that Lewis’s disaffection and criminality would jeopardize his ability to pass on the estate. The extended Fenton family, based on what can be gleaned from tax lists and court documents, were people of modest standing who did not play prominent roles in the war—for either side. Lewis Fenton was an outlier. A man named Lewis Fenton is listed as having deserted from the First New Jersey Regiment of the Continental Army on July 13, 1777 document. He deserted with two men who had common Monmouth County surnames—Schenck and Buckalew. This raises the strong possibility that Fenton enlisted in the Army and briefly served; other disaffected Monmouth Countians were pardoned for their crimes in exchange for army service in the spring 1777, so Fenton might have received an offer to enlist. By late 1777, Fenton was again publicly disaffected. He was implicated in the case of State vs. John Pancas of Upper Freehold. Pancas was charged before the New Jersey Supreme Court for speaking Seditious Words. He was described in court papers as "being a pernicious & disaffected person and possessed of a turbulent mind.” On December 21, 1777, John Pancas “intending to terrify and dispirit the good subjects of this State”: Did falsely say and affect 'I have a great deal of cyder and whiskey to treat my friends with (meaning the soldiery of the King and certain disaffected subjects of this State) when they shall come through, and hope that they will come through soon, and I will get clear of the rebels and live in peace.’ Pancas was accompanied at the time by “a certain Lewis Fenton.” For this incident or others, Fenton was indicted at the 2nd Court of Oyer and Terminer (June 1778). Lewis Fenton, the Pine Robber Fowler notes that Fenton’s career as a Pine Robber may have begun a few weeks later. On the day following the Battle of Monmouth , Fenton robbed the Cooper family, two miles south of Freehold. Antiquarian sources recount that Fenton went to the farm and demanded food from Mrs. Cooper and her daughters. As the women were gathering food, Fenton was chased off by the appearance of five German soldiers recently deserted from the British Army . The small incident illustrates the chaos of the days following the battle. According to antiquarian sources, Fenton established a lair in Tinker Swamp, inland from Manasquan. From here, he robbed the tavern of Widow Harris and robbed travelers on their way to and from Manasquan. In August 1778, Major Richard Howell, with thirty Continental soldiers at Black Point (Rumson), wrote of Pine Robber activity to his south and suggested he would pursue them. This is probably a reference to Fenton, who was operating due south of Howell, although it is also possible that Howell was referring to Jacob Fagan whose gang laired further inland. Ultimately, Howell did not march after either of the Pine Robbers. The relationship between Fenton and Fagan is unknown, but they both had associates who called themselves “Burke.” They must have known of each other and might have even collaborated. This may be why Fenton killed Captain Benjamin Dennis, the man who killed Fagan , and then killed three of Fagan’s companions in early 1779. The Loyalist Royal Gazette wrote: "On Monday, June 5, 1779, Captain Dennis of Monmouth was shot by some freebooters that harbor in that County." It is notable that the Loyalist newspaper labeled Fenton a “freebooter” and did not embrace him. Fenton was now Monmouth County’s most notorious outlaw—and he grew bolder. On June 21, he and a small gang plundered the home of John Andrews of Upper Freehold. The robbery was not random—Andrews opposed the Loyalist insurrection in December 1776 and testified against insurrectionists in 1777. He owned a prosperous 135-acre farm. A month later, Fenton committed another brazen robbery. This time, his victim was Thomas Farr of Imlaystown. Farr was the Deacon of the local Baptist congregation , strong supporters of the Revolution. He was also Upper Freehold Township’s tax assessor. So, Farr was probably an enemy of locals with Loyalist leanings. The New Jersey Gazette reported (somewhat mistakenly) that on July 31: Thomas Farr and his wife and daughter… in the night were beaten by a gang supposed to be led by Lewis Fenton. About the same time, Fenton broke into and robbed the house of one Andrews, in Monmouth County. A second report in the same newspaper was more accurate and detailed: "The house of Mr. Thomas Farr, near Crosswicks Baptist Meeting House, was attacked by several armed men, who demanded entrance." Farr perceived their intent to rob the house, so "the family consisting only of himself, his wife and daughter, barricaded the door." Fenton and his gang "finding they could not get in there, fired several balls through the front door, one of which broke Mr. Farr's leg." The Robbers then entered the house through the back door where they “mortally wounded Mr. Farr with a bayonet, and shot his wife dead on the spot. Their daughter made her escape, after being badly wounded, to a neighbor's house." The robbers then left quickly, fearing that Farr’s daughter would spread the alarm. The newspaper reported that Fenton’s gang left "without any plunder” and “have not been discovered" since. New Jersey’s Legislative Council (Upper House of the Legislature) considered Fenton’s actions on August 24. It reported receiving affidavits: Concerning a number of villains who on the night of July 31st, broke into his home and shot him, the said Farr, who of the wounds he received is since dead, and also an affidavit from one Elizabeth Andrews of the robbery and burglary committed on the night of June 21st in her house by Lewis Fenton. The Council recommended a £500 bounty for the capture of Fenton and a £250 bounty for his associates; Governor William Livingston promptly issued it. The governor’s proclamation did not mention the killing of Captain Dennis, but detailed Fenton’s Upper Freehold felonies: Thomas Farr and his wife were most barbarously murdered in the house of said Farr, in the County of Monmouth, by a number of persons unknown, and in the night of June 21st last, the house of a certain Andrews, in the County of Monmouth, was feloniously broken open and plundered by one Louis [Lewis] Fenton, and a number of persons unknown. The Death of Lewis Fenton Fenton’s days were numbered. In early September, the New Jersey Gazette reported "a few days ago, a gang of villains, associates of the infamous Lewis Fenton, were made prisoners by a party of our militia in Monmouth County, and safely lodged in the county gaol." The report was not correct. New Jersey Gazette , reported again on September 23: "On Thursday last… a Mr. Van Mater [William Van Mater] was knocked off his horse… by Lewis Fenton and one DeBow [James DeBow], by whom he was stabbed in the arm and otherwise much abused, besides being robbed in the saddle.” Van Mater escaped and "went directly and informed a Sergeant's Guard of Major Lee's Light Dragoons , who were in the neighborhood, of what had happened.” The report continued: The Sergeant immediately impressed a wagon and horse and ordered three of them to secret themselves under some hay... on the approach of the wagon, Fenton (his companion being gone) rushed out to plunder it... while advancing toward the wagon, one of the soldiers shot him through the head, which killed him instantly on the spot. The men who killed Fenton were Virginians from Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee’s cavalry regiment. As noted in a prior article, Lee’s cavalry spent much of 1779 in Monmouth County, headquartered at Freehold but sending out small parties continuously to search for the expected French fleet (which never appeared). During that time, Lee’s men had the opportunity to participate in Monmouth County’s local war. Among other deeds, Lee’s men raided the British base at Sandy Hook and killed Fenton. One source notes that the sergeant who killed Fenton was named Cusak. Lee’s men killed Fenton, but the bounty proclamation called for Fenton’s capture. So, it was an open question whether the bounty could be paid to Lee’s men. The New Jersey Assembly ended the debate on October 6 by resolving to pay the £500 bounty to Major Henry Lee, who was not present at Fenton’s undoing, but commanded the men who did the deed. Presumably, Lee shared the bounty with his men. Fenton’s death was reported in the Virginia Gazette in December: A desperate gang of murderers, chiefly refugees and deserters from New York, were lately brought to punishment in a most striking manner. For months past, these miscreants have plundered the county of Monmouth with impunity; all means used to curb their excesses being eluded by their vigilance and sudden retreats to the pine forests. At length however, they were waylaid by a party of armed men, who put the whole to death on the spot. Fenton’s death was, no doubt, welcome news to many in Monmouth County. While it effectively ended inland Pine Robber activity, it was not the end of the Pine Robbers. Pine Robber gangs led by William Davenport, John Bacon, and others operated on the shore between Toms River and Little Egg Harbor through the end of the war. Davenport and Bacon are the subject of other articles. Related Historic Site : Old Yellow Meeting House Sources : David Fowler, Egregious Villains, Wood Rangers, and London Traders (Ph.D. Dissertation: Rutgers University, 1987) pp 146-164; The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 10, 11 June 1777 – 18 August 1777, ed. Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, pp. 263–267; New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #37504; John Raum, The History of New Jersey (Philadelphia: John Potter, 1872) v2, p72; John C. Paterson, The Pine Robbers of Monmouth County, unpublished manuscript in the collection of the Monmouth County Historical Association, 1834, p 1-2; Benson Lossing, Pictorial Fieldbook of the Revolution (reprint: Kessinger Publishing, NY, 2006) v2, p368 note 1; Kenneth Scott, ed., Rivington's New York Newspaper: Excerpts from a Loyalist Press, 1773-1778 (New York, 1973) p 184; New York Royal Gazette published in William Horner, This Old Monmouth of Ours (Freehold: Moreau Brothers, 1932) p 403; Robbery of Robert Andrews discussed in David Fowler, Egregious Villains, Wood Rangers, and London Traders (Ph.D. Dissertation: Rutgers University, 1987) p 161; Killing Benjamin Dennis discussed in Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p199; David C. Munn, "Revolutionary War Casualties," Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, vol 55 (1980) p 144; Lewis Fenton’s robbery of the Farr family is in Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p 198 and other saources; Library of Congress, Early American Newspaper, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930; William Livingston’s Proclamation and related papers are in Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 3, pp. 161-2, 163, 206; David Bernstein, Minutes of the Governor's Privy Council, 1777-1789 (Trenton: New Jersey State Library, Archives and History Bureau, 1974) p 125; Library of Congress, Early American Newspaper, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930; New Jersey Gazette report on Lewis Fenton’s death in Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p198; New Jersey Assembly resolve is in The Library Company, New Jersey Votes of the Assembly, October 6, 1779, p 198; Virginia Gazette, December 26, 1779; For information on Fenton’s extended family, see Michael Adelberg, Biographical File (on file at the Monmouth County Historical Association). Previous Next

Remembering COVID-19 / Adults I am 13 or older and give permission to excerpt answers and use images for MCHA's social media posts under my first name, last initial, and town. * Required Yes No As of April 3rd, the CDC ranks NJ #2 in the country for positive novel coronavirus cases. Even with social distancing, the numbers are increasing. We have been told by the White House to brace for a “rough two weeks ahead”. What are your thoughts about this, and the projections we are receiving from government officials? Statistics change as we learn more about the virus. The CDC currently estimates that 25% of carriers have no symptoms, and scientists cannot agree on the airborne distance of the virus. Will this change your behavior as you venture outdoors, or out to stores for necessities such as food? What have you been able to do to protect yourself up until this point? We have been practicing social distancing since mid-March, and the White House recently issued an updated federal social distancing date of April 30th. In what ways have you been personally affected during this time (for example, as a student, an employee, a professional, a business owner, or at home)? Has anything surprised you regarding societal attitudes or behaviors that you have witnessed, either positive or negative? Do you have a prediction for how this will play out in the next three months? Long term? Has anything unexpected come from the quarantine experience for you or your family? Challenges? Silver linings? Any words of wisdom that might help people through a difficult time such as this? We are looking for images of original artwork, as well as photos and videos that depict the effects this event is having on your community - especially the creative ways in which your family is adapting at home to the new social distancing guidelines! Upload File Upload supported file (Max 15MB) Submit Thanks for submitting!

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 > Second Monmouth County Court of Oyer and Terminer by Michael Adelberg Fairfax County’s Court in Virginia was crowded with litigants, jurors, and passionate onlookers. Monmouth County’s 2nd Court of Oyer & Terminer may have been even more crowded and impassioned. - June 1778 - Monmouth County had no functioning courts from the middle of 1776 and through 1777. During that time, people charged with crimes were detained for long periods without trial, including more than 200 Loyalists sent out of state . In 1777, a few people were tried by the New Jersey Supreme Court and a few dozen went before the New Jersey Council of Safety . Sentences were lenient—usually a small fine and a loyalty oath. In sharp contrast, Colonel David Forman, acting under claimed martial law powers, convened extra-legal tribunals that exiled Loyalist women to New York and hanged the Loyalist, Stephen Edwards. In January 1778, Monmouth County convened its first Court of Oyer & Terminer , a special court for severe and politically-oriented criminal cases. The January court tried 106 individuals and followed the lenient sentencing precedents established by the Council of Safety. As 1778 progressed, however, Loyalist raids and crime increased in quantity and violence. Monmouth Countians became less tolerant. By May, it was expected that the 12,000-man British Army in Philadelphia would march across New Jersey and through Monmouth County. Amidst rising anger and worry, Monmouth County held its second Court of Oyer & Terminer. The Second Monmouth Court of Oyer and Terminer The second Court of Oyer & Terminer convened on June 3. As the court was held just a few days after three militiamen were killed at Middletown Point , the court was likely attended by a revenge-minded and raucous crowd. There are two surviving court dockets from this court and they are not identical in the roster of indictments and case outcomes. Despite the inconsistencies, it appears that by June 15, the court had tried 98 individuals. Charges included: High Treason (8 charged), Robbery (8 charged), Felony (2 charged), Assault (4 charged), Riot & Trespass (11 charged), Seditious Words (6 charged), A handful of individuals (Jonathan Brown, Joseph Giberson, Stephen West, John Lloyd, Esther Wilson) were charged with more than crime. Several of the individuals tried at the second Court of Oyer & Terminer had been charged at the first one. Based on surviving documents, it is impossible to know if these individuals were being retried or charged with new crimes. Seven women were charged with speaking seditious words or misdemeanors (likely conducting illegal trade with or visiting the enemy). Two of these women, Rhoda Pew and Elizabeth Farrow, were charged at the first Court of Oyer & Terminer. Mary Leonard, who had been exiled extra-legally to New York by David Forman, was back in Monmouth County and charged with speaking seditious words. Of the four other women charged with Seditious Words—Sarah Brown, Ann Parker, Catherine Thomson, and Esther Wilson—only Thomson was the wife of a prominent Loyalist. This suggests that most of these women chose to speak forcefully against the state of affairs. The Court’s Capital Convictions In contrast to the lenient sentences of the first of Court & Terminer, the second Court issued twelve capital convictions. This is a remarkable number given that not a single one of these convictions can be traced to a murder (based on surviving documents). As was common in this period, several (five) of the capital convictions drew pardons. On June 22, the Legislative Council (the Upper House of the state legislature) asked Governor William Livingston to pardon five of the capitally convicted Monmouth Countians: John Polhemus and William Grover (charged with High Treason) and William Dillon, Robert McMullen, Michael Millery (charged with Robbery and Felony). Two of the pardoned capital convicts, Dillon and McMullen, would return as dangerous Loyalists later in the war. The Council did not request pardons for four other men with robbery convictions and death sentences (James Disbrow, Harmon Johnson, John Wood, and Thomas Emmons); nor did it request a pardon for David Heslip, charged with High Treason and sentenced to death. The felony charge of “robbery” was more than the theft of property; simple thefts were tried in the courts of general sessions under the charge of larceny. Felony robbery, in contrast, was theft with malevolence—perhaps accompanied by physical intimidation, destruction of property, or tying someone up and leaving them. Disbrow, Johnson, Wood and Emmons may have been the first so-called Pine Robbers captured and tried. Pine Robber gangs, such as that led by Jacob Fagan, were operating in Monmouth County by summer 1778, and Pine Robbers were often sentenced to death in later courts. One of the hanged robbers, Thomas Emmons, was the brother of Stephen Emmons in Fagan’s gang. Therefore, it is probable that four men hanged for robbery were in groups that presaged the better-documented gangs of Fagan, etc. Two other men received capital convictions. Ezekiel Forman, kin of the powerful Forman family, was convicted of High Treason and sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to permanent exile behind British lines. Forman would return to Monmouth County and remain a problem throughout the war. Robert McElvin was convicted of robbery and sentenced to death but he invoked an “Act of Grace,” took a loyalty oath, and was released. Other Notable Proceedings There were other notable proceedings: Five disaffected individuals (Philip White, Benjamin Allen, John Kirby, Nathan Woolley and John Van Loo) were convicted of misdemeanor for "accompanying Captain Klein to Philadelphia.” Klein was a German officer in the British Army who came ashore in Monmouth County. The men took him to Philadelphia to rejoin the British Army. Only one of these men – Philip White – is recorded as being punished. He was jailed for one month. After that, White became a Loyalist partisan. He was captured by a party of state troops and was murdered in 1782. With the British Army on the march, three men sentenced to prison were ordered to serve their time outside of Monmouth County. Joseph Fitzrandolph was convicted of “trading with the enemy on Staten Island" and jailed in Morris County; Uriah West and Nathaniel Finnan were convicted of “absconding to the Enemy” and jailed in Gloucester County. Other men sentenced to prison were not sent out of the county; it is unclear why some men were sent away but others were not. Five individuals were fined £20 (the approximate value of a good horse) or more. They were: Thomas Thomson, Sr., seditious words, fined £100 Derrick Longstreet, riot & trespass, fined £50, Joseph Wardell, two misdemeanors, fined £30, James Grover, misdemeanor, fined £30, Esther Wilson (wife of Andrew), misdemeanor and seditious words, fined £20. Thomson was a yeoman from Upper Freehold Township who supported the Loyalist insurrection in 1776. It is unknown what he said to prompt the exceptional fine, but he would remain a problem throughout the war (including a High Treason indictment in 1779). Derrick Longstreet’s unusually large fine was likely tied to the curious fact that his was the only house at Manasquan spared the torch during the April Loyalist raid. John Lloyd and Thomas Lloyd, prominent supporters of the Revolution, were both charged with misdemeanors and were found not guilty. John Taylor, the former leader of the Middletown Loyalist Insurrection was also charged with misdemeanor and found not guilty. One person, Moses Robins, was charged with a felony and found not guilty. Two prominent Loyalists were jailed in the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold at the time of Court of Oyer & Terminer: Chrineyonce Van Mater and William Taylor. Van Mater had guided British troops in taking two of New Jersey’s leading Whigs, Richard Stockton and John Covenhoven. Taylor led a Loyalist association that was broken up in November 1776. Van Mater is listed in the court docket as indicted but his charged crime is not stated. Van Mater was freed by the British Army when it reached Freehold. Taylor is not listed in the court dockets—he was extra-legally detained and would soon be exchanged for the captured John Burrowes, Sr. Also absent from the court docket is Thomas Hartshorne of Shrewsbury Township. He was arrested on May 16, 1778, nearly two weeks prior to the start of the court for “being armed & arrayed in a warlike & hostile manner” where he “did falsely, wickedly and traitorously join, aid, abet & adhere to a body of troops and soldiers, then and there being enemies of their State." Hartshorne was indicted as a “false traitor” who was "seduced by the subjugation of the devil.” Hartshorne was tried for High Treason by the New Jersey Supreme Court in July 1779; it is unclear why he was not brought before the Second (or Third ) Monmouth County Court of Oyer and Terminer. The march of the British Army and Battle of Monmouth upended any plans for prompt executions. The British burned much of Freehold and, after the battle, the people of Freehold needed to care for dozens of severely-injured men . Executions were delayed until July 17—six weeks after sentencing. But it appears only two men were executed that day (Wood and Emmons). Dr. Samuel Adams of the New Jersey Line (who stayed in Freehold after the Battle of Monmouth) wrote that “two Tories were hanged at Monmouth Court House, I went to the place of execution, but they were carried off a few minutes before I arrived." The other three men on death-row, according to a July report in the New Jersey Gazette , would be executed on August 18, but there is no follow-up report stating that executions occurred that day. An August 1 report in the Loyalist New York Gazette reported that executions would occur at Freehold on August 18 and September 30. Presumably, the three capital convicts—Disbrow, Johnson, Heslip--were hanged on these two days. Perspective For Monmouth County, the second Court of Oyer & Terminer was a watershed. Prior to this court, the people of Monmouth County (with the extra-legal actions of David Forman as a conspicuous exception) showed great restraint when dealing with their enemies. At this court and with its five executions, Monmouth County’s leaders (judges and officers of the court) and its citizenry (juries) succumbed to bloodlust. The second Court of Oyer & Terminer demonstrated that Monmouth County’s Revolutionaries—enraged by deadly Loyalist raids and malevolent robberies, and facing an impending British invasion—were now as violent as their enemies. Related Historic Site : Burrowes Mansion Sources : Archives of the State of New Jersey, Extracts from American Newspapers Relating to New Jersey (Paterson, NJ: Call Printing, 1903) vol. 2, p 312; New Jersey State Archives, Judicial Records, Court of Oyer & Terminer, box 2, folder - June 1778; Morristown National Historical Park Collection, reel 39, Monmouth Courts; Morristown National Historical Park Collection, reel 39, Monmouth Courts; Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey 1775-1776 (Ithaca: Cornell University Library, 2009) pp. 249-50, 254; David Bernstein, Minutes of the Governor's Privy Council, 1777-1789 (Trenton: New Jersey State Library, Archives and History Bureau, 1974) p 83; Dr. Samuel Adams to Polly Adams, David Library of the American Revolution, Sol Feinstone Collection, reel 1, #28-30; New Jersey Supreme Court: State vs Thomas Hartshorne, High Treason, New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, # 35917; Kenneth Scott, Rivington's New York Newspaper: Excerpts from a Loyalist Press, 1773-1783 (New York: New York Historical Society, 1973) pp. 148-9, 158. E. Alfred Jones, The Loyalists of New Jersey: Their Memorials, Petitions, Claims, etc. From English Records (Heritage Books, 2009), see Willaim Grover. 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 > The Death of the Pine Robber, Jacob Fagan by Michael Adelberg The first Pine Robber gangs, including that of Jacob Fagan, laired in the marshes between Shrewsbury and Manasquan. Fagan was only an outlaw a few months when he was killed by militia. - September 1778 - The Pine Robbers were Loyalist outlaws who lived in the coastal marshes and interior pine forests of Monmouth, Burlington, and Gloucester counties. While many of these outlaws made a living primarily by acting as middlemen in the illegal trade between disaffected farmers and the British commissary at Sandy Hook, others engaged in multiple violent robberies and burglaries. A lot that has been written about the Pine Robbers is improbable and not supported by original documents. One account, for example, claims that Jacob Fagan’s Pine Robber gang had a sophisticated fortress-lair: Fagan's gang had a state-of-the-art hideout in the pine barrens. Trap doors hidden under leaves and branches in steep hillsides admitted the pine robbers into 30 foot tunnels. These ended in storerooms that were large enough to hold six men. Buried beneath their floors was thousands of dollars worth of patriot loot. Romantic depictions aside, living in swamps and subsisting off the occasional robberies of people who were, themselves, not wealthy, was a very difficult way to live. Fagan’s outlaw existence, which lasted only a few months, was not “state of the art.” Many Pine Robbers did not survive the war; of those who did, there is no reason to think they were anything other than poor at war’s end. Historian David Fowler, who wrote the defining work on the Pine Robbers, traces their origin to early 1777 when some of the defeated Upper Freehold Loyalist insurrectionists hid in the woods after their insurrection was toppled. A few of these men were captured and jailed . Others may have stayed in the woods. These men laid low and convinced themselves that the British would return as liberators. But when the British Army traversed Monmouth County and quit New Jersey in July, 1778, any flickering hopes of liberation were dashed. Now, these Loyalist recluses mixed with British Army deserters and pre-war ne’er do wells. They emerged in outlaw gangs that have been imprecisely labeled Wood Rangers, Tory Banditti, and especially, Pine Robbers. In June 1778, a dozen men received death sentences for treason, robbery, and burglary at Monmouth County’s Court of Oyer and Terminer —half were pardoned. Two of these Loyalists, William Dillon and Robert McMullan, either became Pine Robbers or consorted with them after their pardon. In August 1778, Major Richard Howell, from his camp at Black Point, wrote about marching after a Pine Robber gang to his south, but it is unclear if he ever did so. What is clear is that Pine Robbers gangs—swelled by deserters from the British Army—grew increasingly bold in summer 1778. The Rise of Jacob Fagan and Attempts Take Him Jacob Fagan was a criminal who was twice indicted for larceny before the war. In 1776, he stole a horse, and joined the Loyalist New Jersey Volunteers some time in 1777, probably shortly after the Loyalist insurrections were toppled. In the days before the Battle of Monmouth, Fagan and a few other Monmouth County Loyalists with the British Army, deserted and camped in the marshes a few miles inland from Shrewsbury. They became the core of the first notorious Pine Robber gang. Fagan and his gang must have been active robbers in summer 1778 based on the many steps taken to counter him. Daniel Dey of the Monmouth County militia recalled in his veterans' Pension Application: I volunteered for one month under Capt Walton at the time the British Army evacuated Philadelphia and marched through the State of New Jersey, was in the battle of Monmouth - was one week in the service under Col. [David] Forman hunting Tories through the pines, capturing more than 20 of them and fastened them together, two by two by the neck with a strong rope. William Lloyd also recalled going "in pursuit of the Refugees of the Pines” in 1778. He further recalled that “they broke into the house of a man I knew and killed the man and his wife." On August 10, with Fagan’s infamy building, the New Jersey Legislative Council (the Upper House of the legislature) asked Governor William Livingston to "order out one class of militia from each of the counties of Burlington and Monmouth, to be stationed in Monmouth” to protect residents from “the disaffected persons skulking in the pines." Two weeks later, Major Richard Howell, stationed at Black Point with a small guard of Continental soldiers, attempted to infiltrate Fagan’s gang and then proposed to attack them: I sent out two men who pass for deserters to join the wood Tories, but could not join them, from their caution, having been deceived before. Since that measure was defeated, I now propose to go down by night & surround the swamp in which they are from, with this intelligence, and burn their cabins. However, there is no evidence that Howell went after Fagan. Fagan’s Most Notorious Incident and Death The primary documented incident involving Fagan was the robbery of the house of Captain Benjamin Dennis. Amelia Dennis, the 15-year-old daughter of Captain Dennis, later recalled Fagan and Stephen Emmons (who used the alias “Burke”) and two others coming to the family home near Manasquan. Dennis was a target because he was a strong supporter of the Revolution and because he was holding money from a sale of a captured Loyalist vessel. Captain Dennis was not home when the Pine Robbers approached, but his wife and daughter were. The first man to enter the house was a man named Smith, who, according to Amelia Dennis, was secretly an informer against Fagan. He warned Amelia to gather her father's valuables and flee into the woods. Amelia “hid a pocketbook containing eighty dollars in a bed-tick.” She and her little brother hid in the woods. Fagan and Emmons entered the house and became frustrated when they could not find any money. They found Rebecca Dennis, Amelia’s mother, and “took her to a young cedar-tree and suspended her to it by the neck with a bed cord” to force her to reveal the money's location. The potential hanging was disrupted by a passerby (John Holmes) who fled when the robbers descended on him. During the distraction, Mrs. Dennis freed herself and ran off. The robbers left with only a few household items. Afterward, Captain Dennis moved his family to the village of Shrewsbury for safety. According to Amelia Dennis, Smith informed Captain Dennis of Fagan's plan to return to the Dennis home in order to more thoroughly search for the hidden cash. The militia set up an ambush and fired upon both Fagan and Burke when they came, but the Pine Robbers escaped. However, Fagan was apparently wounded and his body was recovered a few days later in a swamp. Fagan's body was brought to Freehold where: The people assembled, disinterred the remains, and after heaping indignities upon it, enveloped it in a tarred cloth and suspended it in chains with iron bands around it, from a large chestnut tree, about a mile from the Court-house, on the road to Colt's Neck. There hung the corpse in mid-air, rocked to and fro by the winds, a horrible warning to his comrades. Amelia Dennis’ full account is an appendix to this article. Fagan’s death was reported in the New Jersey Gazette and Pennsylvania Evening Post . Jacob Fagan, the chief of a number of villains of Monmouth County, terror of travelers, was shot. Since which his body was gibbeted on the public highway in that County, to deter others from perpetrating like detestable crimes. The near-hanging of an innocent woman was an outrage that stirred the New Jersey Government. On September 30, the New Jersey Assembly, not knowing Fagan was already dead, concurred with a request from Governor Livingston: To issue proclamations offering such reward or rewards as his Excellency and the Privy Council shall deem proper for the apprehension of Jacob Fagan and Stephen Emmons, alias Burke, and certain other disaffected and disorderly persons in the County of Monmouth, who have for the time past committed, and still continue to commit, diverse felonies & depredations on the persons & property of the inhabitants thereof. The upper house of the legislature, the Council, recommended that Governor Livingston place bounties on the heads of: Jacob Fagan ($500), Stephen Emmons, alias Burke ($500), Samuel Wright of Shrewsbury, William Van Note, Jacob Van Note, Jonathan Burdge, and Elijah Groom ($100 each). The New Jersey Gazette published the Governor’s proclamation accordingly on October 7: Whereas it has been represented to me that a number of persons in the County of Monmouth, and particularly those herein mentioned, have committed diverse robberies, violences and depredations on the persons and the property of the inhabitants thereof, and in order to screen themselves from justice, secret themselves from justice in the said County: I have therefore thought proper, by and with the advice of the Council of this State, to issue this Proclamation, hereby promising rewards herein mentioned to any person or persons who shall apprehend and secure, in any gaol of this State, the following person or persons to wit: for JACOB FAGAN and STEPHEN EMMONS, alias BURKE, five hundred dollars each; and for SAMUEL WRIGHT, late of Shrewsbury, WILLIAM VAN NOTE, JACOB VAN NOTE, JONATHAN BURDGE and ELIJAH GROOM, one hundred dollars each. The militia had already killed Fagan—so, Dennis and the other militia were ineligible to collect on his bounty. In November, Dennis petitioned for the Jersey Assembly for the bounty anyway. Governor Livingston was sympathetic to Dennis and wrote a letter on his behalf. Livingston noted that he could not give Dennis the bounty, but urged the Assembly to "recompense [Dennis’ party] for their risque and trouble as may be suitable encouragement for others to undertake the like enterprises." On December 1, the Assembly voted to award Dennis £187 for his efforts—this amount was likely reimbursement for expenses related to mustering the militia to go after Fagan. The Council concurred on December 12, though it called the sum “a reward for taking Jacob Fagan” rather than reimbursement for expenses. This was less than the bounty on Fagan’s head, but still a significant sum. Fagan’s death was re-reported in the New Jersey Gazette on January 29, 1779, after three other members of his gang (including Stephen Emmons) were killed. The newspaper wrote: "the destruction of the British fleet could not diffuse more joy through the inhabitants of Monmouth County then has the above deaths of these three most egregious villains." The death of Emmons is the subject of another article . The death of the Pine Robbers was big news. It was reported as far away as Williamsburg, Virginia, where the Virginia Gazette reported on February 26: We hear from East Jersey that a desperate gang of murderers, chiefly refugees, deserters from New York, were lately brought to condign punishment in a most striking manner. For months past these miscreants had plundered Monmouth County with impunity, all means used to curb their excesses being eluded, by their vigilance and sudden retreat to the pine forests. At length, however, they were way layed by a party of armed men, who put the whole to death. However, other Pine Robber gangs led by Lewis Fenton, William Davenport, John Bacon and others would form and prove more destructive and durable than Fagan’s gang. The swamps of the Monmouth shore would remain, in the words of historian Donald Shomette, “lightly populated and altogether wild... the haunt of rowdies, smugglers, and highwaymen.” Pine Robbers would remain a significant problem for local governments and militia for the remainder of the war. Related Historic Site : Bear Swamp Natural Area Appendix: Amelia Dennis’ Account the Pine Robber Attack on Her Family One Monday in the autumn of 1778, Fagan, Burke [actually Stephen Emmons], and Smith came to the dwelling of Major Dennis, on the south side of the Manasquan River, four miles below what is now the Howell Mills, to rob it of some plunder captured from a British vessel. Fagan had formerly been a near neighbor. Smith, an honest citizen, who had joined the other two, the most notorious robbers of that time, for the purpose of betraying them, prevailed upon them to remain in their lurking place while he entered the house to ascertain if the way was clear. On entering he apprised Mrs. Dennis of her danger. Her daughter Amelia, a girl of fifteen, hid a pocketbook containing eighty dollars in a bed-tick, and with her little brother hastily retreated to a swamp near. She had scarcely left when they entered, searched the house and bed, but without success. After threatening Mrs. Dennis, and ascertaining she was unwilling to give information where the treasure was concealed, one of them proposed murdering her 'No!' replied his comrade, 'let the d—d rebel b—h live. The counsel of the first prevailed. They took her to a young cedar-tree and suspended her to it by the neck with a bed cord. In her struggles she got free and escaped. Amelia, observing them from her hiding place, just then descried John Holmes approaching in her father's wagon over a rise of ground two hundred yards distant, and ran toward him. The robbers fired at her; the ball whistled over her head and buried itself in an oak. Holmes abandoned the wagon and escaped to the woods. They then plundered the wagon and went off. The next day Major Dennis removed his family to Shrewsbury under the protection of the guard. Smith stole from his companions and informed Dennis they were coming the next evening to more thoroughly search his dwelling, and proposed that he and his comrades should be waylaid at a place agreed upon. On Wednesday evening the Major, with a party of militia, lay in ambush at the appointed spot. After a while Smith drove by in a wagon intended for the plunder, and Fagan and Burke came behind on foot. At a given signal from Smith, which was something said to the horses, the militia fired and the robbers disappeared. On Sunday, the people assembled, disinterred the remains, and after heaping indignities upon it, enveloped it in a tarred cloth and suspended it in chains with iron bands around it, from a large chestnut tree, about a mile from the Court-house, on the road to Colt's Neck. There hung the corpse in mid-air, rocked to and fro by the winds, a horrible warning to his comrades." Sources : Stephen Davidson, The Pine Barrens: Jacob Fagan's Gang, United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Trails/2012/Loyalist-Trails-2012.php?issue=201243 ; David Fowler, Egregious Villains, Wood Rangers, and London Traders (Ph.D. Dissertation: Rutgers University, 1987); John Raum, The History of New Jersey (Philadelphia: John Potter, 1872) v2,p72-4 Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p196-7; Edwin Salter, Old Times in Old Monmouth (Freehold, NJ: Moreau Brothers, 1887) p 36; Donald Shomette, Privateers of the Revolution: War on the New Jersey Coast (Shiffer: Atglen, PA, 2015); National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Daniel Dey of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#15489356 ; William Lloyd’s pension application contained in John C. Dann, The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980) pp 135-16; -- David Bernstein, Minutes of the Governor's Privy Council, 1777-1789 (Trenton: New Jersey State Library, Archives and History Bureau, 1974) p 83-4; Richard Howell to William Maxwell, George Washington Papers, Library of Congress, Series 4, Reel 5; The Library Company, New Jersey Votes of the Assembly, September 30, 1778, p 180-1; David Bernstein, Minutes of the Governor's Privy Council, 1777-1789 (Trenton: New Jersey State Library, Archives and History Bureau, 1974) p 91-2; The Library Company, Pennsylvania Evening Post; Library of Congress, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930; William Livingston to New Jersey Assembly, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 2, pp. 487-8; New Jersey Legislature notice, Monmouth County Historical Association, J. Amory Haskell Collection, folder 13, Document A; John C. Paterson, The Pine Robbers of Monmouth County, unpublished manuscript in the collection of the Monmouth County Historical Association, 1834, p 3; Archives of the State of New Jersey, Extracts from American Newspapers Relating to New Jersey (Paterson, NJ: Call Printing, 1903) vol. 3, p 54; Virginia Gazette, February 26, 1779, 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 > Pulaski's Legion in Stafford Township by Michael Adelberg Kasimir Pulaski was a heroic officer who gave his life for the American Revolution. However, his newly-recruited Legion lost about half of its men during a disastrous two weeks in Stafford Township. - October 1778 - On October 15, 1778, Count Kasimir Pulaski and his new cavalry Legion was in dire straits. Hours earlier, in a pre-dawn attack that would become known as the Osborn Island Massacre , fifty of his 220 men were “cut to pieces” by a British-Loyalist raiding party, five others were captured, and 25 of his remaining men had just deserted. The only nearby town that might have had provisions for his men, Chestnut Neck , was razed a week earlier and incapable of assisting. The British flotilla that carried the raiding party had left Little Egg Harbor (called Egg Harbor at the time) that day—amid rumors that it would land men again on its way back to Sandy Hook. Pulaski’s decimated force rode north to shadow the vastly more powerful British force. As they did, they rode through Stafford Township, which was sparsely populated and poor. The life of the people living the region’s barrier islands and shallow bays was described by a German officer, Andreas Wiederholt, who spent days outside of Little Egg Harbor, in October 1779: The people who live on scattered islands are pilots who guide ships through channels and earn a living fishing. The islands are of poor soil, sandy and swampy so that not much grows except scrub cedar, pine, and marsh grass and reeds. Some of the ground around their houses is cultivated with soil amended with dung fertilizer which only support miserable vegetables. They have few livestock which graze on marsh grasses. The inhabitants must obtain wood, grain and other necessities from the mainland. The homes are all surrounded by dams and ditches, which constantly need replenishing or clearing out to protect the houses from floods or gales from the nearby ocean. A Quaker missionary, John Griffith, visited the region prior to the war; he wrote that it was filled with “loose and libertine” people. Pulaski’s Troubled March through Stafford Township Count Pulaski first wrote to Congress about his problems with the people of Stafford Township on October 16. He was unable to rally the local militia: “Major Montfort had been sent to the forks [on the Mullica River] to gather and bring the militia, but half of them were gone home and the remainder found so many difficulties that they almost mutinied." He continued: I beg you will order the militia to be obedient, or take them away entirely, for they are so ill-inclined that they will only spoil our affairs; besides, they disperse and retire when they please, particularly when they are wanted to face the enemy. Even worse were the local disaffected and Loyalists of Stafford Township (the southern third of today’s Ocean County) who were emboldened by Pulaski’s defeat: “I am constantly alarmed by parties of Tories who seem to make a sport of us, and who in all appearance make use of all opportunities to injure us.” Pulaski continued: I shall at last be forced to search the houses and take the oath of fidelity from the inhabitants, otherwise I shall be continually exposed. I shall endeavor to discover those who conceal the enemy although it will be dangerous as the Tories have sometimes fired on my patrols. But Pulaski singled out the Monmouth militia under Colonel Samuel Forman, arriving from Toms River: "toward the sea are good Whigs." Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress, received Pulaski’s letter and replied on October 18: "With respect to the Tories and the conduct of the militia which you complain of, attempts are daily made for reforming the conduct of both, but in infant States such evils are not to be removed in a moment." By this time, Pulaski was in motion, traveling to Barnegat in Stafford Township. Here, he was informed by locals that the British flotilla would land on the Monmouth County shore: “I am informed that the enemy have made some movement and that they may land this night. For fear of surprise, I shall wait for them under arms.” Pulaski’s intelligence included a report, presumably, from David Forman (now a Colonel, having resigned as a General of the militia amidst scandal ). “We were assured on this by the General [David Forman], who went to reconnoiter, himself.” The British flotilla did land a party near Barnegat. A militiaman, John Holmes, recalled camping at Barnegat where “the enemy landed in small parties & burnt some houses but could not effect landing to burn the salt works.” Barnegat was the site of a large and controversial salt works (likely never completed) co-owned by David Forman. Forman had proposed that these salt works would, in exchange for government funding, produce salt exclusively for the Continental Army. Pulaski reported that the quick departure of the British prevented him from engaging them. The landing party was also aided by local disaffected: “As they [the British] were concealed and favored by the Tories, they found means to re-embark.” Pulaski did not mention the role of the militia in blocking an easy landing by the would-be raiders. Pulaski promised to keep shadowing the flotilla in order to protect the Monmouth shore, “I shall conduct my forces toward Barnegat for fear that the Enemy may burn as they go on." He continued to complain about the militia, “I expect no assistance from the militia, for they have abandoned me.” However, according to Holmes, it was wisely-stationed militia that likely compelled the British landing party to give up its landing without burning the salt works at Barnegat, “the enemy landed in small parties & burnt some houses but could not effect landing to burn the salt works.” The next day, Gerard St. Elme, writing for Pulaski, informed Congress that, "We are betrayed on all sides, we cannot take a step but an hour later the enemy is informed.” St. Elme was not optimistic: “The number of the Legion is too small and in too ungrateful a country to undertake anything." Two days later, on October 21, Pulaski reported to Congress from Barnegat. The British ships were finally leaving, "the enemy are going away… save one frigate that ran ashore.” He also noted that other American forces were now headed back to Philadelphia: “I have directed Col Proctor to return to Philadelphia twenty-four hours after they are gone. I shall stop at Barnegat until they are passed.” Pulaski concluded, “My Corps is very much fatigued and require some days rest... I send you signatures of several inhabitants who have taken the Oath of Allegiance; they ought all take it." Between October 16 and October 21, Pulaski administered Loyalty oaths to at least eleven local residents: Silas Ireland, Joseph King, Stephen Ayers, Edward Parker, Samuel Parker, Noah Ridgeway, James Crammer, Adam Pettit, Cajah Willets, Peter Parker, Joseph Parker. The oath is below: I do swear before God the Supreme, that now being persuaded of the justice of our cause in defence of liberty, to be always faithful in fulfilling the will of the United States of America, their orders issued by the Honorable Congress, and also endeavor all in my power to render our country independent, so help me God. And I do solemnly swear or affirm that I do not hold myself bound to bear faith and allegiance to George, the King of Great Britain. I will solemnly declare and affirm that I do bear faith and true allegiance to the United States of America and will do all in my power to support the law established under the authority of the People. After the March Through Stafford Township Pulaski’s officers were Europeans, and most of the men who served in his Legion were recruited from Pennsylvania and Maryland. They probably were viewed as unwelcome foreigners by most of the locals. Stafford Township would become the center of Pine Robber activity later in the war, hosting the gangs of William Davenport and John Bacon. The residents and Stafford and Dover Townships continued to elect disaffected men to local offices through the end of the war. One of the few New Jersey recruits in Pulaski’s Legion was William McBride of Middlesex County, who enlisted at Britton’s tavern as the Legion headed toward the shore. His time in Stafford Township must have made an impression, as he volunteered for the State Troops regiment in 1780 that was sent into Stafford Township. He recalled serving at Cedar Creek (Tuckerton) "where there were many Tories and disaffected" and recalled pursuing a party of Pine Robbers who "were plundering the inhabitants." (McBride incorrectly stated the Loyalists were led by the African-American partisan leader, Colonel Tye .) After permitting his men a few days of rest at Barnegat. Pulaski ended the miserable assignment in Stafford Township. His men rode for Trenton, where they arrived on October 28. The New Jersey Gazette ’s brief article on Pulaski's return flatteringly suggested his Legion had "had driven the enemy on board their vessels." In reality, the two weeks in Stafford was a disaster—it had resulted in the death, capture, or desertion of more than a third of his men. This was an ominous sign of the misfortune that would befall a string of Continental regiments sent into Monmouth County in 1779. Related Historic Site : Barnegat Light Museum Sources : Kasimir Pulaski to Congress, Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) p 216; Henry Laurens to Kasimir Pulaski, Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) pp. 217-8; Kasimir Pulaski to Congress, Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) pp. 217-8; Gerard St. Elme to Congress, Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) pp. 218-9; Kasimir Pulaski to Congress, Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) pp. 218-9; Griffith’s description is John Griffith, Journal of the Life, Travel and Labors in the Work of Ministry of John Griffith (London: James Phillips, 1779) p388-9; Weiderhold’s description is in JP Hand, The Cape May Navy, (Charleston, SC: History Press, 2018) pp. 71-76; Waldenmaier, Nellie Protsman, Some of the Earliest Oaths of Allegiance in the United States of America (Lancaster, Pa.: privately printed, 1944) p 72. Szymanski, Leszek. Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) p 220; Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) p 220; Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application of William McBride of NJ, National Archives, p3-4, 20-2. 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 > Lt. Joshua Studson Killed by John Bacon by Michael Adelberg Shore militia companies took to the sea in boats like this one. Lt. Joshua Studson led a boat like this against a small vessel trading with the enemy. While doing so, he was shot and killed at close range. - December 1780 - Joshua Studson was a boatman of modest standing at Toms River before the war. He lived on a 23-acre plot of land (too small for a family farm) with his wife, Mary Studson, and a single head of livestock. Despite his modest standing, he was selected sergeant in the first Dover Township militia loyal to the Provincial and Continental Congresses. His selection as sergeant was likely the result of having strong anti-British views in a neighborhood where many men had pro-British sympathies. By 1777, Studson was a lieutenant in the militia. His boat was a small vessel named Alligator and it was used for militia duty. In May 1778, Alligator , led by Studson, rowed past Sandy Hook and captured a small schooner lying near the Roebuck , a British frigate and the guardship at Sandy Hook. The Toms River men took the prize into Matawan Creek. The reprisal was swift—a British-Loyalist party landed at Middletown Point , scattered the Middletown militia, burned much of the village, and then burned Studson’s boat. The Toms River men had to walk home—40 miles. The loss of his vessel did not dampen Studson’s zealous support of the Revolution. In 1780, Studson joined the vigilante Whigs of the Association for Retaliation , petitioned for a State Troop guard at Toms River, and then was appointed a recruiter for that guard when the New Jersey Legislature authorized it. Studson was elected Dover Township’s Surveyor of the Highways, demonstrating he was ascending in status. This occurred even as Dover’s voters elected disaffected men to other offices. Joshua Studson as a Privateer Concurrent to all of this activity, Studson was at sea again, but now as a privateer. According to John Field, a privateer and militiaman, Studson commanded a Philadelphia brig, Hornet, for three months. During that time, Hornet was nearly taken by a larger British vessel: He volunteered and served the full term of three months on the ocean. The vessel in which he served was a brig called the Hornet, commanded by Capt Studson, John Dillon was the first mate, and the name of the second mate was Thomas Smith. The vessel was a Privateer. This declarant embarked at Philadelphia – our Brig stood out to sea and continued cruising on the ocean for about one month when she came in contest with a British man-of-war and was chased by her for nearly three days and was finally driven into a small inlet called Tom’s River he thinks. Studson’s fortunes soon improved. A short time after the British vessel had departed, we again stood out to sea and after sailing about for some time, we came across a British merchant vessel on her voyage from the West Indies: We attacked her- after firing one gun she struck [struck her colors, surrendered], and we conducted her into Tom’s River aforesaid. On August 18, 1780, Studson was listed as the master of the privateer vessel, Dolphin , a “Pennsylvania Boat” mounting one swivel gun (a small cannon on a turret) with a crew of fourteen. The vessel was owned by Samuel Brown (Studson’s militia captain), and Daniel Griggs of Toms River. Thomas Brown, Samuel’s son, was with Studson as they put to sea. In his postwar veterans’ pension application, he recalled taking a small brig off Barnegat with cargo of rum, molasses, and linen, which was brought into Toms River. In November, Studson took two more vessels, the schooner John and the sloop Catherine , within sight of Sandy Hook. The prizes were taken to Middletown Point. On November 22, the New Jersey Gazette advertised that on December 1, at Freehold, “the sale of the sloop Catherine and the schooner John , as they now lay at Middletown Point, lately captured by Capt. Joshua Studson." The vessels were sold on December 1, but Studson never saw the proceeds. The Death of Joshua Studson On December 1, Studson was not in Freehold. He was leading a militia boat in Cranberry Inlet outside of Toms River. Studson saw a boat with three local disaffected men Asa Woodmancy, Richard Barber, and Thomas Collins entering the inlet. They were presumably returning from a London Trading trip to New York. The militia boat closed in on the London Traders and called for them to halt. As Studson prepared to board the trading boat, a fourth man in the London Trading vessel stood up (by some accounts, the fourth man was concealed). It was John Bacon, a Pine Robber . He shot and killed Studson at close range. An 1858 newspaper described the event this way: Arriving in the bay, Capt. Studson (Dec. 15, 1781) met them off the south-east point of Pelican Shoal, near Cranberry Inlet. Captain Studson bore down upon the sloop, and brought on the engagement by firing his nine pounder into her broadside. Woodmansee ordered his men to strike and himself cried for quarter, but the instant that Capt. Studson mounted the railing, Woodmansee caught a musket and shot him through the head, where upon Mr. John Wilbur, Acting Lieutenant, left the prize and returned to the village with the corpse of Capt. Studson. This account well-illustrates the difficulties of over-relying on antiquarian sources. The account has the wrong year of the incident, it substantially overstates the size of Studson’s cannon, and it establishes Woodmancy as the killer of Studson, rather than John Bacon. After killing Studson, the London Traders and Bacon escaped by jumping into the shallow water and fleeing on foot. Panicked and leaderless, the militia apparently did not pursue them. Some antiquarian accounts suggest that the London Traders were non-violent and Bacon acted on his own. Fearing retribution, the London Traders could not return home. An antiquarian account claims that one of the traders joined the New Jersey Volunteers , which, by this time, was an organization in decline. He caught smallpox, and nearly died. The New Jersey Gazette noted Studson’s death in a brief statement on December 22: "Lieut. Joshua Studson of Monmouth was shot last week, as he was attempting to board a vessel of Toms River, supposed to be trading from New York to Egg Harbor." Bacon was soon indicted for waging war on the United States. He would participate in several other notorious events before meeting a bloody end in 1783. On March 24, 1782, a large party of Associated Loyalists attacked Toms River, overwhelmed the guard of State Troops commanded by Captain Joshua Huddy, and razed the village. They spared only one home—the home of Mary Studson. Even vengeance-minded Loyalists showed a measure of mercy for Joshua Studson’s widow. But Mary did not prosper; she is listed in the 1783 tax rateables as owning eighteen acres with zero livestock. Related Historic Site : Barnegat Bay Maritime Museum Sources : Alfred Heston, South Jersey: A History 1664-1923 (Lewis Historical Publishing, 1923) p 238; National Archives, Papers of the Continental Congress, reel 22, item 11, #172-6; David Fowler, egregious Villains, Wood Rangers, and London Traders (Ph.D. Dissertation: Rutgers University, 1987) p 240-2, 247-9; Heston, Alfred M. South Jersey, A History, 1664-1924 (New York: Lewis Historical Co., 1924) p 239; William Fischer, Biographical Cyclopedia of Ocean County (Philadelphia: A.D. Smith, 1899) p 53; Library of Congress, Early American Newspaper, New Jersey Gazette, reel 1930; Edwin Salter, History of Monmouth and Ocean Counties (Bayonne, NJ: E. Gardner and Sons, 1890) p 202; Edwin Salter, Old Tims in Old Monmouth (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970) p 43-4; Archives of the State of New Jersey, Extracts from American Newspapers Relating to New Jersey (Paterson, NJ: Call Printing, 1903) vol. 5, p 145; Bacon indictment discussed in David Fowler, Egregious Villains, Wood Rangers, and London Traders (Ph.D. Dissertation: Rutgers University, 1987) p 246; The New Jersey Gazette advertisement of Studson’s prizes is in Archives of the State of New Jersey, Extracts from American Newspapers Relating to New Jersey (Paterson, NJ: Call Printing, 1903) vol. 5, pp. 122-5; John C. Dann, The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980) pp 135-41; Alfred Heston, South Jersey: A History 1664-1923 (Lewis Historical Publishing, 1923) p 238; Thomas Brown’s pension narrative in, John C. Dann ed., The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980) pp 137-9; National Archives, John Fields, S.8472, State of Ohio, Greene County National Archives, John Fields, S.8472, State of Ohio, Greene County; The Ocean Emblem , January 30, 1858. Previous Next