History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 14

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1140

USA > New Jersey > Sussex County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 14
USA > New Jersey > Warren County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 14

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the women having been removed to the fort. They all endeavored to escape, but one of the sons was shot down between the house and barn. Another ran to the river, half a mile off, swam it, and was shot on the opposite shore. The father, an old man, and two of his sons, assisting him, ran on together; but, find- ing they would soon be overtaken, the father told his son James, a very active, strong man, to run and save himself, which he did. The Indians pursued him half a mile over fenees and across lots, when he gained the fort and they gave up the chase. The father and the other son were soon overtaken and dispatched. No attempt was made by Brant to take the fort. After murdering a few families he left the valley and re- turned northward. in July, 1779, he reappeared with a larger force, and effected the destruction of the Neversink settlement, at what is now Port Jervis, in Orange Co., N. Y. The scene of massacre enacted here beggars description. One writer says, "White the inhabitants were attending the funeral of a de- ceased neighbor at the church, and when the proces- sion was leaving for the burying-ground, the Indians came down upon their settlement, and before they had time to reach their homes the flames of the church gave signs of their narrow escape, and the smoke of their mills, barns, and houses foreshadowed the doom of Neversink. Some of the whites-the number is unknown-were massacred in the most merciless manner ; others-and among them mothers with their children in their arms or by their sides-fled to thickets, swamps, and standing grass for concealment and safety. Mrs. Van Auken lay concealed all night in a ditch overgrown with grass and flags, while the mountains and valleys echoed to each other the savage war- whoop, and tortured her with fear that her family was cut off by the barbarous foe. On their approach to the heart of the village the Indians found the ris- ing hope of the colony in the school-house. under the tuition of Jeremiah Van Auken. The teacher soon fell a victim to their fury, and was dragged, a corpse, from the school-house, and also some of his little pupils. Meanwhile, the rest of the boys fled to the woods for safety, while their sisters stood trembling and weeping by the lifele's remains of their teacher. At this instant a savage whoop was heard that rever- berated through the forest and seemed like the signal to renewed deeds of cruelty. But even in the bosom of an Indian there still glowed one spark of sympathy that kindled at the scene. A brawny form sprang from the woods, where he had witnessed the tragical event, and with utmost speed approached the little group, with his horn by his side and his brush in his hand, and, dashing his paint-brush across their aprons, cried, 'Little girls, hold up that mark when you see an Indian, and you are safe,' and, uttering a terrible yell, he plunged into the forest and disappeared. It was Brant. The life-mark was upon the little girls. The ruthless savage, when he saw it, smiled and passed by. The will of the chief was law : the innocent ones

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

were safe. But their brothers,-must they be cleft by the tomahawk ? The thought was more than their tender hearts could endure ; yet what could they do to save them ? Benevolence is ever prompt to devise and ready to execute. The dispersed flock was soon collected, and each one took her brother under her garments ; aud all were safely protected by the apron with the mark of the paint-brush held up whenever an Indian was seen." The writer who penned the above account in 1844 says, "One eye-witness still survives to tell the story,-Mr. Van Inwegen."

Rev. Mr. Kanouse mentions a Sacks family who were killed, with the exception of an elderly maiden lady, a sister of Gen. Bevier. This lady saved herself from the stroke of the tomahawk by holding up a large Bible like a shield over her head, and into this the blow was struck that must have cleft her skull. The Bible with the gash of the tomahawk has been preserved in the Bevier family of Ulster County.

The incident of the humanity of Brant reminds us of his education at Dartmouth College, and of the fact that he was a Mason and always respected his obligation with friend or foe. It is said that in the engagement at Minisink, which followed soon after the events above described, Brant saved a soldier by the name of Wood, whom he had engaged in a des- perate hand-to-hand encounter. Just as Brant was about to strike him down Wood gave the fiery war- rior the Masonic grand hailing-cry of distress, where- upon Brant, true to his obligation, seized Wood by the hand, led him beyond the line of fire, and bade him put his trust in God and seek safety by flight. These incidents are worth remembering in the lives of savage men, showing that they are not wholly bad.

At the time of this fearful massacre Brant bore the commission of a British colonel. His headquarters were in Canada, whither he had gone with Sir John Johnson and the Mohawk tribe at the outbreak of the Revolution. He was not in the massacre of Wyo- ming, as some suppose ; that revolting slaughter was led on by Col. Butler, a noted British Tory, who also lived in Canada and was sent upon that expedition by the military authorities at Fort Niagara. The following affidavit, made before a justice of the peace of this county, will throw some light upon the opera- tions of Col. Butler :

"July 8th, 1778, Wallpack, Sussex County .- Personally appeared before me Timothy Symmes, one of the Judges of the Court of Common pleas for this County, one Junies Green, one of the inhabitants of Wyoming, who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangeliste of Almighty God, de- poseth and saith, that he was one of the men destined to defend a fort in Kingston, and that the enemy commanded by Col. Butler and one of the English Lient .- Colonels and the King Owugo, an Indian Commander, with part of the six tribes of Indinne, 800; who fought well without taking to trees, but lay flat on their bellies to fire und to lond. Said Green says that these men, to the amount of twelve hundred, as he heard, came within three or four milve of the fort, with offer of good quarters upon their surrender, and threatening men, women and chil- dren with immediate death if oue gun was fired against them : he says he thinks no answer was returned by this flag; about two or three hours after the same flag came in again. Ile says he knew the man well. Ile was Daniel Engerson, whom they took prisoner at the first fort. Ile

brought much the same proposals he brought before, which were still re- jected : to a challenge they sent in to our people to fight Col. Butler, re- turned for answer that he would meet their officer at a particular place at a set time to hold a conference. He further saith that Cols. Butler, Denins and Durrene, with all the men they had, which were three or four hundred, marched to the place appointed at the appointed time, and not finding the enemy there, they waited about an hour, and then they marched up the river until they met the enemy, when a battle begant on the right wing, which extended to the left in about one minute, eod con- tinued very smart on both sides; but our people were partly surrounded on the left wing in the space of ten minutes, when the left wing of our people fled to the amount of about twenty men ; the others of our people fought about an hour, when they were surrounded by superior numbers, and some killed and some drove into the river, where many perished; sobie got to an Island in the river, where they found Indians plenty to murder them. He says he has since seen one Bill Hammon, who was taken on the island with six or seven more, who were. made to sit down when the Indians tomahawked them, one after the other; but before it came to bis turn, he said he jumped up and ran and made his escape by swiming off the lower end of the island. Said Green says that the night after the battle he saw the fires and heard the noise of a Grand Cantacoy amongst the Indiaus, who, the said Green judges, were burning their prisoners alive ; he says it was the judgment of others besides luni- self ; for the flag, who were the next day in the fort, told them that he did not know that there was a prisoner alive among them, and that he had Geen au hundred and ninety-four scalps in oue heap. Ile further saith that the fort was surrendered or evacuated the next day after the battle, when the people fed towards the Delaware River, and in the night sent back George Cooper and James Stiles, who went to the top of the monn- tain and saw the houses from the lower part of Wyoming, about half way to the upper end, in flames, and it was supposed they went to buru the whole settlement.

" Signed by JAMES GREEN. " Sworn before me, "TIMOTHY SYMMES."

The following is an affidavit of Capt. Joseph Har- ker of Sussex County :

" July 22, 1779, at the mouth of the Lackawack, a battle was fought by a party of militia from the County of Sussex, aforesuid, und the County of Orange, commanded by Col. John Huthorn, of the State of New York, and a party of Indians and tories under the command of one Joseph Brant."

The New Jersey Gazette of May 3, 1780, speaks of a party of Indians which were discovered at Minisink commanded by " one Daily, a white man, formerly of Somerset County." "Some of the Jersey militia passed the Delaware and engaged them ; a very se- vere conflict ensued, which ended in the defeat of the Indians." Daily was left dead on the field, and Capt. Westbrook, a lieutenant, and one private were killed. The same paper of June 7, 1780, publishes a letter from a gentleman in Sussex County which describes another skirmish west of the Delaware.

VIII .- SUSSEX STEEL AND CANNON-BALLS.

Sussex County should be proud of the fact that she furnished Congress with cannon-balls and steel during the latter part of the struggle for independence,-at least, with the means for manufacturing them. Her mines of ore and furnaces had been famous for a long period before the war, particularly the old iron-works at Andover. These works had been erected by an English company, who continued to operate them not only till the breaking out of the war, but down to the beginning of 1778, being protected by the British army which occupied Philadelphia. Congress had its eye upon these works, and instrueted the Board of

SUSSEX AND WAARREN COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION.

War to make an examination of them with reference to their availability for making steel and cannon-balls for the use of the army. This they did, and also found, by consultation with Col. Fowler, that they might be procured of the proprietors and turned over to the use of the government. The Board of War made their report Jan. 15, 1778, whereupon Congress passed the following resolutions :

" Rewired, That the Board of War be authorized to direct Col. Flower to make n contract with Mr. Whitehend Humphreys, on the terms of the former agreement, or such others as Col. Flower sholl derm equitable, for making of steel, for the supply of the Continental artificery, nud works with that necessary article; and as the Iron made at Andover Works only will with certainty answer the prijsse of making steel. that Col. Flower be directed to apply to the government of New Jersey tu just a proper person in possession of these works (the same belonging to those who adhere to the enemies of the States), npon such terms as the government of the State of New Jersey may think proper ; and that Col. Flower contract with anid person for such quantity of iron as he shall think the service requires.

" Resolved, That a letter be written by the Board of War to the Gov- ernor and council of the State of New Jersey, setting forth the peculiarity of the demand for these works, being the only proper means of procuring Iron for steel, an article without which the service must irreparably suf- frr; and that the sail Governor and council be desired to take such moins as they shall think most proper for putting the said works in blast, atl obtaining u supply of iron without delay."

New Jersey promptly answered this call, March 18, 1778, by the following resolution adopted by the Leg- islature :

" The council hinve taken Into consideration the resolution of Congress of the 15th of January hast, and the letter from the Board of War ne- companying the suid resolution, recommending it to the Government of the State to cause the Andover Iron-Works, In the county of Sussex, to be put in blust for the purpose of procuring iron to be made into steel ; it being represented that the iron made at the said works is the most proper of any in America for that purpose; and having also taken into consideration the application of C'ol. Benjamin Flower, commondling general of military stores, agreeing to the said resolve, who, at the same Ume, recommended Col. John Patton as n proper person to carry on the euil works; and considering that it is not yet ascertained that the catate In said Andover Iron-Works is confiscable to the use of the public, or whether the owners thereof have committed any art of fortelinre; uml at the same time being desirous that the public service may be promoted by the use of said works;

" RemNeed, That it be recommended to Col. l'utton to agree with the present owners of the said works to take the same, to wit: the furnace and forges ou lense, hereby assuring him that, in case the snid estate shall be legally udjudged to by foririted, or otherwise come under the particu- Inr direction of this government, such agreement shall be confirmed to the subl Cul. Patton, or to such person or persons as the Legislature almall approve, for any period not exceeding thive Venta from the date hereut. But If the saldl ow ners shall refuse to let the sabl works for the use ut the public, the Legislature will then take the necessary steps for putting them in the possession of a proper person in order to have them carried on for the purpose above mentionedl.

" Ordered, That Mr. Hon wait on the House of Assembly with the foregoing resolution und desire thet concurrence therein.

" Which merouge bring read and consider! :

" Resolver, That the House do concur In the resolution contained in the and message."

Under these authorizations the old Andover Iron- Works changed owners. Passing from the control of those who had no interest in the American cause, and who had probably used them in aid of the enemies of the country, they came into the hands of men whose fervid patriotism was fitly symbolized in the glow of their rekindled fires. "At once mine, furnace, and forge seemed to catch the patriotic spirit of their new

occupiers; the fires glowed with an intenser heat, and the anvils rang louder and clearer, as if conscious that they were forging arms with which brave men were to defend their homes and their country. Miners and forge-men, wood-choppers and colliers, urged on by citizen soldiers and patriotic officers, were all engaged in procuring iron and steel for the use of the Conti- Dental army ; while through the valleys and the gorges came the echo of the sound of the hammers, as, swung by stalwart arms, they rang upon the anvils and kept time to the song of the forge. This music fell like a death-dirge upon the ears of British loyal- ists and their Tory allies."*

War had made terrible ravages in New Jersey ; her brave sons had been slain in battle, her towns had been sacked, and her churches and farmhouses given to the flames; hier State treasury was bankrupt and her people impoverished ; yet her means for the de- fense of liberty and country were not wholly ex- hausted. Hler mineral wealth was beyond the reach of invading armies, and her iron-mines, intrenched in her rock-bound hills, defied the power of England. "And now, at the eall of liberty, out of the deep caverns of the mountains, as from a mighty arsenal, poured forth the true metal of war, and old Sussex in the hour of need furnished both the soldier and his sword."

The Andover works were held by the government till the close of the war, and for five years furnished iron and steel for the Continental army.

CHAPTER IX.

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION Continued).

I .- TORYISM-LIEUT. JAMES MOODY.

OCCASIONAL references are made to Tories in these counties during and previous to the commencement of the war. For instance, Oct. 25, 1775. one was com- missioned as a captain of militin of Sussex County, but on July 18, 1777, the same man appears to have been fined and imprisoned for speaking seditious words, t and in the New Jersey Gazette of March 14, 1780, we find an advertisement which indicates that this man Ind proved n Tory and that his estate was confiscated and sold for the aid of the cause which he had betrayed. In that paper, and in the one of March 29, 1780, are to be found advertisements of confiscated estates in Sussex which indicate that Toryism was a sin which Sussex patriotism did not " look upon with allowance." The published min- utes of the Council of Safety contain the names of penitent Tories from Sussex County, some of whom

· Article In Ser Jerry Herald, Sept. 7, 1571.

t Minutes of the Council of Safety.

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

were pardoned unconditionally, and others on con- dition of enlisting in the Continental army. At a council held at Morristown, Aug. 14, 1777, a procla- mation had been issued permitting such a pardon on condition of enlistment in the army or navy. Thus Toryism was converted into an efficient auxiliary of patriotism.

Mr. Edsall has ealled attention to the fact that in Sussex County the men who were found wanting in the hour of need had nearly all been eager for a re- mission of the burdens imposed upon the country by the British Parliament and had petitioned for relief. but when they found that redress was to be attained only by an appeal to the sword a portion of them lacked the nerve to take up arms. Others, such as the Friends, had religious scruples, and a third class, looking upon the colonies as too weak to contend suc- cessfully against the mother-country, were eager to place themselves upon the stronger side, and to win that royal regard which turning their arms against their own neighbors and brethren they believed would ultimately secure them. Mistaken men! Charity may cover the faults of those whom timidity caused to shrink from danger; we may also forbear to judge harshly the conduct of men who could not conscien- tiously fight; but traitors and fratricides, who acted as spies and robbed and plundered their neighbors, who plotted with the Indians, piloting them to the abodes of the white settlers, and who aided and abetted the massacre and slaughter of their brethren, are deserving the severest condemnation and execra- tion of their fellow-men.

There was probably not a Tory leader of any note belonging to Sussex County during the Revolution. True, there were some bands of outlaws and robbers who infested the mountains and availed themselves of the rocky fastnesses for concealment and security, and some holding Britishi commissions who sought to recruit the royal army from the disaffected portion of the population. but as a general rule they were led by foreigners. The following statement, taken from Mr. Edsall's " Centennial Address," will show that a com- paratively small proportion of the population of the county adhered to the British cause : "The county of Sussex in 1776 contained not far from thirteen thou- sand inhabitants, of which, according to the usual ratio, two thousand six hundred were males over the age of twenty-one years. Of all this number, ninety- .six only were attainted for joining the army of the king and their property confiscated to the State; while, of those who were not freeholders, there cer- tainly was not more than an equal number who re- fused to take the oath abjuring their allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain. Adding both these classes together, we have about two hundred disaffected per- sons in two thousand six hundred,-a proportion of only one in fourteen. Probably no county in the :State can show a greater preponderance of patriot- ism."

LIEUT. JAMES MOODY.

The most noted Tory in Sussex County during the Revolutionary period was Lieut. James Moody, erro- neously called " Bonnell" Moody. We have before us his narrative, published in London in 1783, wherein most of the achievements attributed by tradition to "Bonnell" Moody are related and well authenticated. The title of the work is, "Lieut. James Moody's Narrative of his Exertions and Suf- ferings in the Cause of Government since 1776: Au- thenticated by Proper Certificates." Among the certificates appended is one signed by " William Franklin, late Governor of New Jersey," and one by Cortland Skinner, the British brigadier-general in whose brigade Moody served, both as an ensign and as a lieutenant. We give the latter entire, as follows :

" I do hereby certify that Mr. James Moody came within the British lines in April, 1777, and brought in with him upwards of seventy men, all of whom, except four, entered into my brigade; that in Jane follow- ing he was sent into the rebel country for the purpose of enlisting men for llis Majesty's service, with orders to continue there until a favoralle opportunity offered for him to disarm the rebels and arm the loyalists, nud, with what men he could collect, to join the royal army, but he was prevented from putting that plan into execution by our army's taking a different route from what was expected; that Mr. Moody, being thus dis- appointed, assisted by two of his neighbors, soon after embodied about an hnudred men, with whom he attempted to join the British army, but was unsuccessful; that afterwards he made two onccessful excursions into the rebel country, and brought with him from Sussex County uhont sixty able-bodied recruits, nearly all of whom entered into my brigade ; that after this time he made many trips into New Jersey and Pennsylva- nia, and brought with him many good men, and gained many articles of important intelligence concerning the movements of Col. Butler, the real state of the rebel conutry, the situation and condition of the rebel armies under command of their generals, Washington, Sullivan, etc .; and that while Mr. Moody was under my immediate direction he also destroyed n considerablo magazine of stores near Black Point, taking prisoners two colonels, one major, nud several other officers, and broke open the Sussex Connty jail, rescuing a number of loyalists that were imprisoned in it, one of whom was nader sentence of death ; besides performing many other services.

" I also certify that in the month of October, 1777, the suid Moody was umstered as an ensign, but received no pay ns such till April, 1778; that he continued his exertions under my directions till 1780, about which time he was taken from the regiment, which prevented his being appointed to a company in it, as it was in general believed the commander- in-chief intended doing something better for him; that I have every reason to believe Mr. Moody received nothing from government to re- ward him for his extruordinary services, or to indemnify him for his ex- traordinary expenses, till 1780; that from the time of his joining the army, in April, 1777, till his departure for Europe, in May, 1782, he did npon every occasion exert himself with the utmost zeal in support of His Majesty's cause in America; and, on the whole, that I believe all that is related in his printed narrative to be true, without exaggeration. " LONDON, Junoary 30, 1783.

" CORTLAND SKINNER,* " Brig .- General, &c."

Moody was neither a native nor a resident of Sus- sex County, nor is it anywhere stated to what part of New Jersey he belonged, although tradition has as- signed him to Hunterdon County. He tells us that

* Cortland Skinner was attorney-general and Speaker of tho Honso of Assenibly under the provincial government; he resided at Perth Amboy. At the commencement of the Revolution he accepted a commission from the British as brigadier-general of a partisan or Tory brigade, and was engaged in raising recruite in New Jersey. He went to England ut the close of the war.

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION.

previous to going into the army he was " a plain con- tented farmer, settled on a large, fertile, pleasant, and well-improved farm of his own, in the best-culti- vated and happiest country in the world." He came to New Jersey to arrest Governor Livingston, but, finding that Mr. Livingston had gone to Trenton to meet the Assembly, he left his men in Sussex County, where one of them was captured by Maj. Robert Hoops, to whom he revealed the plot, and the scheme for capturing the Governor was thwarted. This was in May, 1780, and seems to have been the first inci- dent that gave Moody notoriety in Sussex. His next project was an attempt to blow up the magazine at Suckasuny, about fifteen miles back of Morristown. "But this," he says, "also proved abortive; for, not- withstanding his having prevailed on some British prisoners, taken with Gen. Burgoyne, to join him in the enterprise, the alarm was now become so general, and the terror so great, that they had increased their guard around this magazine to the number of one hundred and upwards." He had not more than seven men at any time during his operations in Sussex County.

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History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 14

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1140

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1140