76. After Loyalist Attack, Seabrook Family Moves to Freehold for Safety < Back June 1777 Previous Next

100 Heading 4 < Back About the Recipe Previous Next

47. Lt. Col. Gurney's Campaign Against Monmouth Loyalists < Back January 1777 Previous Next

11. Dysfunction in the Monmouth County Militia < Back March 1776 Across New Jersey, in the spring of 1776, white men between ages 16 and 60 divided themselves up into districts and began drilling in new militia companies that were loyal to the New Jersey Provincial and the Continental Congresses. The prior militia structure under the Royal Government ceased to operate. However, in Monmouth County, the early militia was not united in its support of the two Congresses. John Longstreet, who would become a captain in the Loyalist New Jersey Volunteers later that year, was a militia captain in Freehold. He described his militia company as a 70-man association which called itself the “Loyalists of Freehold.” Longstreet’s company probably existed parallel to other militia companies, neither aligned nor hostile. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, Longstreet’s men earned the derisive nickname “the Tory company.” Longstreet soon took his men to Sandy Hook and joined the British Army on July 15, 1776. Contemporary descriptions of “the Tory company” are supported in the post-war Loyalist compensation application of John Throckmorton, who noted that he was a Lieutenant in Longstreet’s Loyalist Company, and Longstreet was his captain. Another gradation of loyalty was evident in the Grenadier Company captained by Henry Waddle of Freehold. Waddle’s company, unlike most militia companies, was not raised from a specific neighborhood – it appears that Waddle’s men came from Freehold and Shrewsbury Townships. Waddle’s company was the first Monmouth militia company to muster and march outside of the county –marching to Perth Amboy in April 1776. Waddle was a known opponent of British policies who supported the Continental Association and Whig committees, but Independence appears to have been a breakpoint for him. On July 2, 1776, the same day that the New Jersey Provincial Congress adopted a new constitution separate of British control, Waddle resigned from the militia. He claimed that gout prevented further service. His resignation was accepted by the New Jersey Provincial Congress but Waddle was forced to appear before the New Jersey Council of Safety to declare “his peaceful intentions.” Though disaffected from the new government, Waddle never became an active Loyalist. In neighboring Upper Freehold, the militia was also troubled. In June, Colonel David Brearley (who led the township militia and would soon join the Continental Army) wrote the Provincial Congress twice about disaffection among his men. The first time, Brearley wrote "respecting certain disaffected persons in Monmouth County" and then he wrote again about "disaffected persons in his Regiment.” The Provincial Congress responded first by summoning two of the leading voices in a bloodless Loyalist insurrection, Richard Robins and Moses Ivins. They would not appear. This and other troubling events in Upper Freehold prompted the New Jersey Provincial Congress to send in militia from Burlington County and Pennsylvania to establish order. Shortly after that, on July 23, James Mount, a “field officer” in the militia had his commission “revoked” by the New Jersey Convention (the renamed Provincial Congress). While the revocation’s reason is not stated, it is probable that Mount was found to be cooperating with the township’s insurgent Loyalists. Shortly after that, Guisebert Giberson resigned his militia captain’s commission, which was accepted by the Convention on August 2. Giberson and Mount would both become active Loyalists. New Jersey Militia reenactors demonstrate a firing drill. The early Monmouth militia included several companies that did not muster and others officered by Loyalists. Outside of Freehold and Upper Freehold, there was even greater dysfunction in the Shrewsbury Township militia. Balthazar DeHart, an attorney who was in Shrewsbury in June, was deposed about disaffection in Shrewsbury in July: Saith that he was informed by Captain Jacob Dennis, a Militia officer, who had been ordered to guard Deal shore, in that Township, that he could scarce persuade a man to go there with him; and that the examinant knows that his brother, who is another Militia officer there, could by no means prevail on his men to go to defend that shore—the Whigs telling him they expected that if they went there, they would be delivered by the Tories to the enemy on their landing; and that he was informed by the said Captain Dennis, that the inhabitants along Deal shore told him they did by no means thank him for guarding them, and that they would much rather have the [British] Regulars than the Yankees there. Indeed, Colonel Samuel Breese, Dennis’s commanding officer, struggled with disaffection across the township. David Brearley reported to the Provincial Congress about Breese’s frustration: The Colonel at Shrewsbury has offered to resign, making great complaints of the backwardness, "to say no worse," as he expresses himself, of his people; "so few of whom," he tells us, "are ready to turn out (hiding themselves and deserting their homes)... We have ventured to encourage him with the expectation of their assisting him. On July 9, the New Jersey Convention (the renamed Provincial Congress) accepted Breese’s resignation: “Colonel [Samuel] Breese has resigned his commission of the Third Battalion of militia in the County of Monmouth, assigning for reason the general backwardness of the people.” Beyond Breese, two other two original militia Colonels, Joseph Salter and George Taylor showed disaffection for the Continental cause. Salter, who resigned immediately upon selection in late 1775, would support the Loyalist insurrections. For this and likely other suspect acts, he was arrested and detained in Trenton in 1777. He converted to Quakerism—perhaps out of religious conviction or perhaps to strengthen his case for avoiding militia service. In late 1776, Taylor became an active Loyalist and a great enemy to Monmouth County’s new leaders. However, there were also areas of the county where the new militia was stronger. It appears that the majority of militia companies in Freehold and Middletown townships were functioning by July. On July 6, David Brearley observed that "the Freehold and Middletown people who form the large battalion are, we believe, very hearty & willing to assist as much as possible.” That heartiness would soon be tested, as 200 of them soon would be summoned to put down a Loyalist insurrection. Related Historical Sites: Museum of the American Revolution Sources: Monmouth County Historical Association, Genealogical File, folder – Waddell; local history source reports the resignation of Capt. Henry Waddell of the militia on 7/2/76; Peter Force, American Archives: Consisting of a Collection of Authentick Records, State Papers, Debates, and Letters and Other Notices of Publick Affairs (Washington, DC: U.S. Congress Clerk's Office, 1853), 5th Series, vol. 6, p 1635; Peter W. Coldham, comp., American Loyalist Claims (Washington, D.C.: National Genealogical Society, 1980), p 12 and 489. Jones, E. Alfred. The Loyalists of New Jersey, (Newark, N. J. Historical Society, 1927) p 132 and 166. Gregory Palmer, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution (Westport, Conn. and London, 1984) p 501 and 863. Rutgers University Library Special Collections, Great Britain Public Record Office, Loyalist Application Claims, D96, AO 13/18, reel 6; Peter Force, American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution, 1774-6 (digitized: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/amarch/find.doc.html), v1: p 37-8; John Jordan, Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania: Genealogical and Personal Memoirs (New York: Lewis Publishing, 1911) v. 2, p804; Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p138-9; Minutes of the Provincial Congress and Council of Safety of New Jersey (Trenton: Naar, Day, and Naar, 1879) p 497; Troop Return, Henry Waddle, New Jersey Historical Society, collection 4, Revolutionary War Collection, item 7; Officers of 2nd Regiment of Monmouth Militia to New Jersey Provincial Congress, New Jersey Provincial Congress Coll., MG - 6, #17 , #102 , New Jersey Historical Society; Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey 1775-1776 (Ithaca: Cornel University Press, 2009) pp. 451, 460; David Brearley’s letters are summarized in Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey 1775-1776 (Ithaca: Cornel University Press, 2009) pp. 451, 460; Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p130, 136; Peter Force, American Archives: Consisting of a Collection of Authentick Records, State Papers, Debates, and Letters and Other Notices of Publick Affairs (Washington, DC: U.S. Congress Clerk's Office, 1853), 5th Series, vol. 6, pp. 1621-5, 1630; "Peter Force, American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution, 1774-6 (digitized: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/amarch/find.doc.html), v6: p 1625; Peter Force, American Archives: Consisting of a Collection of Authentick Records, State Papers, Debates, and Letters and Other Notices of Publick Affairs (Washington, DC: U.S. Congress Clerk's Office, 1853), 5th Series, vol. 1, p 602-3.;; Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p138-9; Peter Force, American Archives, (Washington, DC: Clarke and Force, 1837) 4th series, vol. 6, pp. 1657-1658; Peter Force, American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution, 1774-6 (digitized: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/amarch/find.doc.html), v6: p 1657; Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p229-32; John E. Stillwell, Historical and Genealogical Miscellany, 5 vols. (New York, 1903), vol. 1: p 191. Previous Next

Links and Resources ~ Historic House Research ~ Historic Sites Inventory Historic Maps of Monmouth County Historic Aerials Photographs House Research at MC Archives Historic House Research Resources MC Genealogy Society Genealogy Society of NJ MC FamilySearch Wiki NJ Vital Records Dept. of Health MC Archives Genealogy Resources NJ State Archives Geni Resources at Rutgers NJ Afro American Historical & Geni MC Historical Commission Monmouth County Library Weekend in Old Monmouth Friends of Monmouth Battlefield Monmouth Battlefield Revolutionary NJ NJ Historical Commission NJ State Library Special Collection Preservation NJ National Register of Historic Places NJ Historic Preservation Office NJ Historic Trust NJ Historical Society ~ Monmouth County History ~ ~ Genealogy Resources ~ ~ New Jersey History ~

13. British Navy Takes Sandy Hook < Back April 1776 April 1776 was a tense time in New York City. American independence was not yet declared, yet Continental soldiers were flowing into the city and building defenses in preparation for a British attack. Meanwhile vestiges of the Royal Government continued in the city and a handful of British naval vessels sat in the harbor. The vulnerable position of the British ships was punctuated on April 7 when a small party of British was attacked while drawing fresh water on Staten Island. This resulted in the capture of one of the British boats and its crew. After this incident, Rear Admiral Molyneux Shudlham , commanding the British squadron in New York, determined it was necessary to move his ships to a less vulnerable location with fresh water. Sandy Hook was easily defended from New York, had fresh water nearby, and was a strategic location from which ocean-bound shipping could be either guarded or menaced. On April 7, Captain Thomas Parker of the Phoenix anchored off Sandy Hook and his sailors disembarked on the undefended peninsula. Within days, the British were garrisoning Sandy Hook as the Phoenix stood guard from the Raritan Bay side. A 12-man sentry was stationed at the bottom of the Hook to guard the freshwater well. The British also burned the pilot’s house near the light house in order to deny cover to would-be attackers. Lighthouse keeper, Adam Dobbs , was restricted in his activities and ordered to stay on the Hook. He was likely viewed with suspicion because his brother, William Dobbs , had previously refused to assist a British tea-ship and had recently joined the Continental Army. On April 16, the remaining British ships at New York sailed for Sandy Hook with the remainder of New York’s Royal Government, including Governor William Tryon . Tryon decided to permit Dobbs to leave the Hook for New York if a boat was sent for him. He wrote to New York’s mayor that “all possible care has been taken to Mr. Dobbs and his property, that if you will send a sloop to the Hook, it will be suffered to bring up to New York, Mr. Dobbs, his servants and effects." Dobbs was promptly retrieved and deposed before the New York Provincial Congress. After hearing from him, the Provincial Congress determined that Dobbs had information of value for the recently-arrived George Washington . It transcribed Dobbs’ testimony and: “Ordered, That Captain William Dobbs wait on his Excellency General Washington, with the said copy of a Letter." William Dobbs had enlisted in the Continental Army; he was the brother of Adam Dobbs, and the former pilot at Sandy Hook. Three days later, Tryon reported to George Germain , the British Foreign Secretary: I have now got down with my Ship under the guns of the Phoenix man of war, which is anchored within the Bay off Sandy Hook. This was necessary in order to replenish the Ship's water which was considerably expended. As I judged the possession of the Light House might prevent the Seamen from insults when watering at the well near the Light House, I have ordered a Sergeant and 12 men, from Cap' Campbell's new raised Company, for a night guard. Captain Parker assuring me that in case of extremity he could cover their retreat by the cannon of his Ships. The Pilot's house adjoining to the Light house is burnt down to prevent its being made a lurking place to the enemy, three or four hundred of which appeared yesterday near the Isthmus of the Peninsula where the Light house stands. The last sentence of Tryon’s report, in which he mentions 300-400 of the “enemy” at the bottom of the Hook must have been a reference to the still-organizing Monmouth militia . Companies of Middletown militia under Colonel George Taylor were stationed opposite the British, but they were less numerous than Tryon reported and in no condition to threaten the British. A British Colonel, Templehoffe, was on Sandy Hook during this time period. He discussed the importance of "being in possession of the light house upon Sandy Hook, which guards the right hand side of the harbour's mouth.” He further stated, “The entrance into the harbour is completely commanded by the light-house." His assessment about the importance of Sandy Hook was shared by Continental officers who would soon seek to dislodge the British. The HMS Phoenix was among the first British warships to land on the western bank of Sandy Hook. The British Navy took Sandy Hook without a fight in April 1776. Related Historical Sites : Sandy Hook Lighthouse Sources : Bruce Bliven, Under the Guns, New York 1775-1776 (New York: Harper & Row, 1972) p 236-7; Colin Lindsay, Extracts of Colonel Templehoffe's History of the Seven Years War (London: T. Cadel, 1793), v2, p484; David Syrett, The Royal Navy in American Waters, 1775-1783 (Aldershot, UK: Scolar Press, 1989), p 16; Harlow McMillen, “Red, Green, and a Little Blue: The Story of Staten Island in the American Revolution, Part 8,” Staten Island History, 1st ser., vol. 32 (1977): Part 3, p 25-6; Pennsylvania Ledger, May 4, 1776; The Library Company, Pennsylvania Ledger, vol. 1, Jan. 1775-Nov. 1776; Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York (Albany: John R. Broadhead, 1857), vol. 8, p677; Peter Force, American Archives, v5:955, 1470; Archives of the State of New Jersey, Extracts from American Newspapers Relating to New Jersey (Paterson, NJ: Call Printing, 1903) vol. 1, pp. 92-3; Genealogical webpage on William Dobbs: https://familypedia.fandom.com/wiki/William_Henry_Dobbs_(1716-1781) . Previous Next

34. First Moves Made to Stop Illegal Trade between Monmouth and British < Back October 1776 Previous Next

10. The Capture of the Blue Mountain Valley < Back January 1776 By the start of 1776, the Continental Army had surrounded the British Army in Boston and invaded Canada. One of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution had been fought at Breed’s Hill (Battle of Bunker Hill) outside of Boston. Rebelling Americans were also growing increasingly bold in their attacks on vulnerable British ships . The Blue Mountain Valley was a 100-foot British vessel that had sailed as part of a 24-ship convoy from London to Boston to supply the British Army camped there. The heavily-loaded vessel was blown off course during a storm and grounded on the Jersey shore, six miles south of Sandy Hook. On January 21, 1776, the pilot at Sandy Hook, William Dobbs , alerted the New York Committee of Safety about the ship’s vulnerable position. The New York Committee of Safety, knowing that the ship was in New Jersey waters, alerted New Jersey’s top Continental Army officer, Lord Stirling (William Alexander). The New Yorkers warned Stirling that the vessel had six cannon and a crew of at least 20 men. They also suggested that it was heavily loaded with ammunition. The Council of Safety concluded, “It would greatly serve the public cause if she could be seized.” Lord Stirling (William Alexander) was alerted to the vulnerable position of the Blue Mountain Valley south of Sandy Hook and led a flotilla of small boats to capture it. Stirling, with 40 Continental Army volunteers, left in a pilot boat from Perth Amboy; they were soon joined by 80 more volunteers from the Essex County militia in several small boats. One of those volunteers, a man named William Marriner , would go on to lead a number of successful maritime raids against British shipping between 1778 and 1780. Together, the motley flotilla headed for the stranded ship. Stirling’s small boats, according to antiquarian accounts, were apparently mistaken for fishing vessels by the captain of the Blue Mountain Valley . The ship did not fire upon Stirling’s boats as they rowed closer. The New Jerseyans came up on the ship and climbed aboard. Stirling’s men were too numerous to be resisted by the small crew of the Blue Mountain Valley . “We boarded her and took her without opposition,” Stirling would report. Stirling’s timing was fortunate. The prior day, some of the Blue Mountain Valley ’s crew went to New York in a boat to seek help, lessening the ship’s ability to resist Stirling’s attack. One antiquarian narrative of the capture also suggests that the vessel had just floated off a sandbar when Stirling’s party arrived; the vessel might have escaped with just a little more time. Stirling reported to the Continental Congress that the Blue Mountain Valley carried: “107 tons of coal, 100 butts of porter, 15 tons of potato, 112 tons of bean, 10 casks of sour krout [sic] and 8 hogs.” He predicted that more British vessels would seek to supply the British and recommended stationing “four or six small vessels” near Sandy Hook to pick them off. This did not happen, but the state of New York would soon assign two sloops to cruise the New Jersey shoreline. Stirling’s time off Sandy Hook also exposed him to something troubling – he apparently witnessed locals and Loyalists illegally traveling to British naval vessels in New York Harbor. He wrote: “Attempts have been made in this Province to break through the prohibition ordered by Congress to the shipping of lumber and provisions [to the British]. I have taken every step in my power to prevent it, and have laid the whole proceedings before the Convention of this Province.” Curbing illegal trade and emigration between the Monmouth shore and British interests would remain a problem for the next seven years. On January 29, the New Jersey Provincial Congress affirmed the seizure of the Blue Mountain Valley as legal, and the Continental Congress concurred two weeks later. The capture of the Blue Mountain Valley was reported in New York and Philadelphia newspapers. Word of the capture spread--even the Virginia Gazette in far off Williamsburg noted the capture. The British retaliated, if half-heartedly. On March 27, a British warship sailed into Elizabeth harbor and set fire to the Blue Mountain Valley and Lord Stirling’s personal vessel. But locals rallied to defend the harbor; the fires were extinguished and ships repaired after the British withdrew. The cargo had long since been unloaded. The Blue Mountain Valley was the third British ship taken off the Monmouth shore; British ships would also soon attack Continental ships along the New Jersey shore. Related Historical Sites : Sandy Hook Light House Sources : Calendar of New York Historical Transcripts, (Albany, NY: privately printed, 1868) vol. 1, 220; Benson Lossing, Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution (reprint: Kessinger Publishing, NY, 2006) v1, p328-9; David Paul Nelson, The Life of William Alexander - Lord Stirling (Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama Press, 1987) p71; Peter Force, American Archives, (Force and Clarke: Washington, DC, 1837) Series 4, vol. 4, 1064; New Jersey State Archives, Dept of Defense, Military Records, Revolutionary War Copies, box 28, #6 ; "Peter Force, American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution, 1774-6 (digitized: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/amarch/find.doc.html ), v3: p 867; Larry R. Gerlach, Prologue to Independence: New Jersey in the Coming of the Revolution (New Brunswick, N.J., 1976), p 304; Coldham, comp., American Loyalist Claims (Washington, D.C.: National Genealogical Society, 1980), p 9; Franklin Kemp, The Capture of Enemy Vessels by Ground Troops in New Jersey 1775 – 1783, (privately printed: Egg Harbor, NJ), p 19; National Archives, Papers of the Continental Congress, reel 179, item 162, #384 ; Virginia Gazette, February 10, 1776; Fehlings, Gregory E. “ 'Act of Piracy': The Continental Army and the Blue Mountain Valley,” New Jersey History vol. 115, 1997, pp. 61-6; Peter Force, American Archives, (Force and Clarke: Washington, DC, 1837) Series 4, vol. 4, P851; Library of Congress, NY Gaz & Weekly Mercury, reel 2904; Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 1, p 39 note; Peter Force, American Archives, v4: 913. Previous Next

82. The Hanging of Stephen Edwards < Back September 1777 Previous Next

19. The Difficult Service of Forman’s Flying Camp < Back June 1776 In June 1776, with momentum building for a declaration of independence and a massive British Army on its way, the Thirteen Colonies renewed their efforts to raise men for the Continental Army. Among other measures, on June 3, the New Jersey Provincial Congress passed an act to raise up to 3,300 “Flying Camp” to join the Continental Army. Flying Camp were like other Continental soldiers but, importantly, their enlistments would run for only five months—the expected length of time of the 1776 military campaign season. Raising Forman’s Regiment One Flying Camp regiment would be raised from Middlesex and Monmouth Counties-- Nathaniel Heard of Woodbridge and David Forman of Freehold were charged with raising four companies each from their home counties. Recruiting began in May, prior to the passage of the act, and the regiment reached critical mass by mid-June. Thomas Henderson (a major in the newly-raised regiment) recalled that the first part of the Flying Camp left for “Long Island and joined General Washington's army” on June 14. (Brooklyn and Queens were discussed as part of Long Island in the 1700s.) A month later on July 15, as additional Monmouth County company raised from Upper Freehold left for New York. Forman’s recruits left Monmouth County at an inopportune time. As they left, a Loyalist insurrection bubbled up in Upper Freehold township. The departure of 200 supporters of the Revolution left the Monmouth militia weakened at its first moment of crisis. Noting the militia’s weakness, the New Jersey Provincial Congress resolved on July 2 that no additional Monmouth County militia would leave the county beyond Forman’s men: Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Congress, the Militia of Monmouth County ought, for the present, to remain in their own County, excepting such part thereof as by the late Ordinance of this Congress were required to form their proportion of the New-Jersey Brigade of three thousand three hundred men. Surviving documents do not reveal exactly when the full Middlesex-Monmouth regiment, now commanded by David Forman, its colonel, reached Long Island. However, one of the men, Isaac Vredenburgh , recalled their line of march and initial responsibilities upon reaching Brooklyn: His company was attached to the Regiment commanded by Col David Forman. A few days after the company marched to Elizabeth Town and from thence by Bergen Point & Staten Island, to Long Island [Brooklyn], and that they labored there and were engaged in constructing redoubts, and breastworks. Forman’s Regiment in the New York Campaign Forman’s regiment was assigned to a brigade commanded by General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island. Greene’s first order mentioning Forman’s regiment concerned gathering "slaw bunks [sick beds] from the different regiments” for Forman. Greene’s order continued “two companies that have been with Col. Forman's Regiment are exceedingly sick, great numbers taken down every day." Indeed, sickness would prove far more dangerous to Forman’s Flying Camp than British soldiers. Periodic muster rolls from Forman’s regiment show the impact of sickness on the regiment during its five months of service. July 1776 – 451 men (42 sick & present, 0 sick & home) September, 352 total (25 sick & present, 131 sick & home); October – 253 men (20 sick & present, 115 sick & home) By October, Forman’s regiment had lost roughly 40% of its men. While there were a few captures and deaths, sickness caused the large majority of losses. After the Continental Army’s disastrous first battle with the British in Brooklyn, the Continental Army began retreating across New York. With the Army in motion, desertions also became a problem. On September 9, Forman advertised a 40-shilling reward for the return of sixteen deserters. He re-advertised for their return in two New York newspapers again on September 28, suggesting little initial success in locating and capturing the deserters. Other men left the regiment for various reasons. Muster rolls record six men being furloughed home (presumably they would return). Forman furloughed himself in September, perhaps to search for the deserters. Other men were listed as “on command” – a catch-all term used for men on temporary assignments away from their company. Common reasons men were listed “on command” include service at a military hospital, gathering supplies for the Army, and recruiting. Combat deaths were a relatively small problem – there were only two combat deaths across the four Monmouth companies. Other documents provide glimpses into the ill-discipline of the rank and file. Orderly books from junior officers and sergeants in Forman’s regiment provide glimpses into the Army’s disorder: July 10: “The General doubts not the person that took and mutilated the statue in the Broadway last night was actuated by zeal in the public cause, yet it was so much the appearance of riot & want of order in the Army that he directs that in the future these things may be avoided by the soldiers & left to be executed by the proper authority.” July 13: [Soldiers] “instead of attending to their duty at the beating of a drum, continued along the banks of the North River, gazing at the ships”; July 17: “Complaints having been frequently made that the Sentries, especially those posted along the river, fire wantonly at boats and persons passing - officers are to be careful upon this head and acquaint Sentries that they are not to molest or upset the ferry boats”; August 3: Warning issued regarding "the foolish & wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing"; August 6: Men chastised for "bad behavior" towards locals "taking and destroying their things." The first time Forman’s regiment saw battle was at the Battle of Long Island (Brooklyn). Several of Forman’s men discussed it in their postwar veteran’s pension applications (written in the 1820s). Some anecdotes about the Battle of Long Island are offered below: David Baird recalled that he “marched to Flatbush where a battle was fought -- that he was not in the main battle, but was engaged in a skirmish with the British during the day, and made a narrow escape with his life, being shot at by a Hessian of whom some of his men killed afterwards, the bullet passing his temple but doing no serious harm." John Bruce recalled that he “was employed in making entrenchments and fortifications in Brooklyn, at which place they continued until a few days after the battle of Flatbush... Saw the engagement but was not in the battle." Isaac Childs recalled that he "was in the battle of Long Island when the British took it, and saved myself from being prisoner by swimming to the Yellow Mill." James Craig recalled that “when the British Army attacked the Americans at Long Island… were placed in a piece of woods that skirted the roads which the British Army had to come.” His friend, Jacob Pettenger , recalled that Craig “induced a fleeing soldier” to return and stay in formation. Samuel Mundy recalled the hurried retreat of Forman’s regiment after the battle: He recalled the regiment fleeing suddenly at 11 pm "leaving their tents standing.” After the Battle of Long Island, Washington’s Army, with Forman’s regiment in it, spent the fall retreating across New York and into New Jersey. Isaac Vrendenburgh recalled the regiment’s line of march: Remained in the New York a very short time when the whole army move towards Harlem, and from thence marched to Fort Washington and while there had several recontres with the enemy – Shortly after marched up to the White Plains, where the American forces were collected, and where he remained until the battle at that place occurred, in which he was engaged. After this affair, marched some distance further north and crossed the Hudson, and then marched down southerly through Haverstraw to Fort Lee, and from thence through Bergen County to Newark and Elizabethtown in Essex. British soldiers rowed ashore, assembled, and attacked the ill-prepared Continental Army in present-day Brooklyn. David Forman's regiment saw limited action during the battle. With only a week remaining in their enlistment, on November 24, Forman was permitted to pull his regiment away from the Army and return to Monmouth County. This was done in order to suppress a burgeoning Loyalist insurrection. Samuel Mundy recalled: The Colonel of the regiment received orders to take his regiment to Perth Amboy & cross over into Monmouth County to disarm certain disaffected persons in that county - immediately after this service he was discharged with the rest by the Colonel, their term of service expired. Forman’s campaign against the Monmouth insurrectionaries is discussed in another article. Related Historic Site : Brooklyn Battlefield (Battle of Long Island, Brooklyn, NY) Sources : Anderson, John R. "Militia Law in Revolutionary New Jersey." Proceedings of the New Jersey historical Society, vols. LXXVI and LXXVII (July 1956 and January 1959), pp. 291, 293-4; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Thomas Henderson of New Jersey, www.fold3.com/image/#23877525 ; Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey 1775-1776 (Ithaca: Cornel University Press, 2009) pp. 550-1; Charles H. Lesser, The Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength Reports of the Continental Army (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976), pp. 26-34; New York Historical Society, Orderly Books Collection, Captain Henry Weatherhill, reel 3, #32 and American Book #32 ; Library of Congress, William Walton, Orderly Book; Nathanael Greene, The Papers of General Nathanael Greene (Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina Press, 1976) vol. 1, pp. 270-1; Peter Kinnan, Orderly Book Kept by Peter Kinnan, pp. X, 19-56; New York Gazette & Weekly Mercury, September 9, 1776; David Forman returns, National Archives, Collection 881, R 640; New Jersey Provincial Congress, July 2, 17776, in Peter Force, American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution, 1774-6 (digitized: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/amarch/find.doc.html ), v6: p 1632, 1635; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Samuel Mundy of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#25890437 ; Archives of the State of New Jersey, Extracts from American Newspapers Relating to New Jersey (Paterson, NJ: Call Printing, 1903) vol. 1, p 197; David Forman returns, National Archives, Revolutionary War Rolls, Coll. 69, p2, 5, 7, 11; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - David Baird; Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p228; John Rees, Eyewitness to Battle: The Pension Depositions of Frederick Van Lew and Isaac Childs, Brigade Dispatch, vol 29, n 3, 1999, p 18-21; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, John Bruce of New York, www.fold3.com/image/#11713958 ; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Jacob Pettinerger of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/# 25952031. Previous Next

45 Monmouth Loyalists Jailed in Frederick, MD < Back Previous Next

74. Monmouth Militia Joins Continental Army to Shadow British Army < Back June 1777 Previous Next