History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 15

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 15
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 15

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It is possible that Moody may have occupied cer- tain caves and hiding-places, and possibly " Moody's Rock" may have been one of them. He speaks of having been pursued and sought, according to the strong language of Scripture, as "a partridge in the mountains." "But," he says, "wandering in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth, by the blessing of God, he still eluded all these researches." His exploit of opening the jail at Newton is thus related :*

" Returning again to Sussex County, he now heard that several prisoners were confined on various sus- picions and charges of loyalty in the jail of that county, and that one of them was actually under sen- tence of death. This poor fellow was one of Bur- goyne's soldiers, charged with crimes of a civil nature, of which, however, he was believed to be innocent. Mr. Moody took with him six men, and late at night entered the country town. ... The inhabitants of the town were but too generally disaffected. This suggested the necessity of stratagem. Coming to the jail, the keeper called out from the window of an upper room and demanded what their business was. The ensign instantly replied he had a prisoner to deliver into his custody. 'What ! one of Moody's fellows?' said the jailer. 'Yes,' said the ensign. On his inquiring what the name of this supposed prisoner was, one of the party, who was well known to the inhabitants of that place, personated the char- acter of a prisoner and spoke for himself. The jailer gave him some ill language, but, notwithstanding, seemed highly pleased with the idea of having so notorious n Tory in his custody. On the ensign's

urging him to come down and take care of the man, he peremptorily refused, alleging that, in consequence of Moody's being out, he had received strict orders to open his doors to no man after sunset, and that, there- fore, he must wait till morning. Finding that this tale would not take, the ensign now changed his note, and in a stern tone told him, 'Sirrah, the man who now speaks to you is Moody. I have a strong party with me; and if you do not this moment deliver up your keys, I will instantly pull down your house about your ears.' The jailer vanished in a moment. On this Mr. Moody's men, who were well skilled in Indian war-whoop, made the air resound with such a variety of hideous yells as soon left them nothing to fear from the inhabitants of New Town, which, though the county town, consists only of twenty or thirty houses. 'The Indians! the Indians are come!' said the panic-struck people ; and happy were they who could soonest escape into the woods. While these things were thus going on the ensign had made his way through the easement, and was met by a pris- oner, whom he immediately employed to procure him a light. The vanished jailer was now again pro- duced, and most obsequiously conducted Mr. Moody to the dungeon of the poor wretch under sentence of death. . . .

"There is no possibility of deseribing the agony of this man when, on being so suddenly aroused, he saw before him a man in arms. . . . The first and the only idea that occurred to him was that, as many of the friends of government had been privately executed in prison, the person he saw was his executioner. On Mr. Moody's repeatedly informing him of his mistake. and that he was come to release him in the name of King George, the transition from such an abyss of wretchedness to so extravagant a pitch of joy had wellnigh overcome him. Never before had the writer been present at so affecting a seene. . . . In such cir- cumstances, it was with some difficulty that the ensign got him away. At length, however, his clothes were got on, and he, with all the rest who chose to avail themselves of the opportunity, was conducted into safety, notwithstanding a warm pursuit of several days."

Moody gives no details of the " warm pursuit." but says the prisoner whom he rescued "was afterwards actually executed on the same sentence on which he had before been convicted, though he left the work with the most solemn asseverations of his innocence ax to the crime of which he had been accused, ex- cepting only an unshaken allegiance to his sovereign."

For his daring hardihood in intercepting the dis- patches sent to Washington in the spring of 1781, Moody was made a lieutenant, having, as he says. " served more than a year as a volunteer without any pay, and almost three years as an ensign." At one time (May 18, 1781), while attempting his capture on the Hudson River, about seventy men were in pursuit of him. He had no other means of escape than to

* The narrative is quito modest, always speaking of himself in the third person, as " the eusign" or " Mr. Moody."

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

climb the steep side of a hill. Long before he had reached the summit a number of the men had so gained upon him as to be within fifty yards, and he received one general discharge of musketry, and " thought it little short of a miracle that he escaped unwounded. The bullets flew like a storm of hail around him; his clothes were shot through in several places; one ball went through his hat, and another grazed his arm. Without at all slackening his pace he turned and discharged his musket, and by this shot killed one of his pursners. Still they kept up their fire, each man discharging his piece as fast as he could load; but, gaining an opportunity of soon doubling upon them, he gave them the slip, and in due time arrived once more safely in New York."

For some time he was a prisoner under Benedict Arnold when the latter had command at West Point, and was kept in what he describes as a most sickly and loathsome prison-pen, excavated in the side of a rocky ledge and covered with loose plank so dis- jointed that the rain poured in and made the bottom of it a pool of mud, while it kept him for several days drenched to the skin and obliged him to lie at night in a bed equally saturated with water, which con- sisted of straw and some blankets, barely kept above the wet and muddy bottom of the cell by a few boards laid across sticks. His fare consisted of dumplings made of musty flour and boiled in a vessel with tainted meat. He petitioned to Washington for re- lief, and that noble-hearted patriot sent an order for the amelioration of his wretched condition.

The only description which Moody gives of himself is incidental. He had a friendly loyalist in New Jer- sey whom he sometimes induced, for convenience, to personate him. This man, he says, came one night to the house of a certain "pompous and important jus- tice of the peace" and raised an alarm. The justice came out, and, espying, as it was intended he should, a tall man, his fears convinced him that it was Moody, and he instantly betook himself to the woods. The next day the rumor was spread abroad that Moody was in that part of the country, and the militia was brought down from the fort, where he really was, with a view of capturing him where he was not ; and so he gained his coveted opportunity for waylaying the mail or express containing all the dispatches of Wash- ington relating to the interview with Count Rocham- bean. Afterwards, at two or three different times, he intercepted and seized the messengers bearing impor- tant letters and dispatches. He had in command under him a younger brother, who captured the mail in Pennsylvania. The name of this younger brother we nowhere find, although he was subsequently hung in Philadelphia.

The greatest plot of Moody, perhaps, was his at- tempt to rob the archives of Congress through the aid of one Addison, an Englishman, who had been em- ployed as clerk in the State-House under Secretary Thomson. This Addison entered into the plot as an

assumed loyalist, agreeing to meet Moody and his party and give them access to the State-House, where the papers and records were kept. Instead of doing so, however, when Moody and his party, after encoun- tering incomparable perils, had reached Philadelphia, and were, as they supposed, within reach of the cov- eted prize, Addison betrayed them into the hands of the authorities. Moody, more shrewd than the others, had foreseen this, and had taken the precaution to conceal his agency in the matter, remaining behind at the ferry-house after crossing the Delaware, and sending his brother and the others forward with Ad- dison. Some little delay occurred in making the arrest of the younger Moody and the others, during which the lieutenant, passing himself off for an officer in a New Jersey brigade (by which was understood a patriot officer) and being fatigued, sought rest in an upper chamber of the ferry-house. He was in this situation, lying upon a bed, but anxious and vigilant, when the military surrounded the house. What fol- lowed we give in his own language:

"Seizing his pistols, he instantly ran down stairs and made his escape. He had not got a hundred yards from the house when he saw the soldiers enter it. A small piece of wood lay before him, in which he hoped at least to be out of sight, and he had sprung the fence in order to enter it. But it was already lined by a party of horse, with a view of cutting off his retreat. Thus surrounded, all hopes of flight were in vain, and to seek for a hiding-place in a clear, open field seemed equally useless. Drowning persons are said to catch at straws: with hardly a hope of es- caping so much as a moment longer undiscovered, he threw himself flat on his face in a ditch, which yet seemed of all places the least calculated for conceal- ment, for it was without weeds or shrubs, and so shal- low that a quail might be seen in it. Once more he had reason to moralize on the vanity of all human contrivance and confidence; yet, as Providence or- dered it, the improbability of the place proved the means of his security. He had lain there but a few minutes when six of his pursuers passed within ten feet of him, and very diligently examined a thickety part of the ditch which was but a few paces from him. With his pistols cocked, he kept his eye constantly on them, determining that, as soon as he saw himself to be discovered by any one of them, he would instantly spring up and sell his life as dearly as might be, and, refusing to be taken alive, provoke, and if possible force, them to kill him. . . . From the ditch they went all round the adjacent field, and as Lieut. Moody some- times a little raised his head he saw them frequently running their bayonets into some small shocks of In- dian corn-fodder. This suggested to him an idea that if he could escape till night, a place they had already explored would be the surest shelter for him. When night came he got into one of these stacks, . . . where he remained two nights and two days without a morsel of food, for there was no corn on the stalks,

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION.

and, which was infinitely more intolerable, without drink."

The sequel is that on the fifth day after his escape from the ferry-house he reached a point up the Dela- ware where he found a boat, and, taking advantage of the flood-tide, rowed up the river till he thought he was out of danger, and by the assistance of friendly loyalists made his escape again to New York. His brother, whose fate he greatly lamented, was impris- oned in the new jait-dungeon at Philadelphia, and was executed, at the age of twenty-three, Nov. 13, 1781.

Moody was invited to England by Sir Henry Clin- ton, and there wrote his "Narrative," which was published in London in 1783.

II .- PROMINENT MEN OF SUSSEX AND WARREN IN THE REVOLUTION.

We incorporate into this chapter on the Revolution some brief notice of the men of Sussex and Warren who were prominent actors in the scenes of that period.

GEN. WILLIAM MAXWELL, the chairman of the Sussex County Committee of Safety, was a brigadier- general in the army of Washington, and a noble sol- | dier and patriot. He served in the French war of 1755-59 as an officer of provincial troops, was with Braddock when that general was defeated at Fort Du Quesne, and fought under Wolfe at the taking of Quebec. He was afterwards attached to the Commis- sary Department and was posted at Mackinaw, hold- ing the rank of colonel. As soon as he heard that the colonies had resolved upon resistance to the Crown he resigned his commission in the British army and marched on foot to Trenton, where he tendered his services to the Provincial Congress, then in session. They were accepted and a colonel's commission be- stowed upon him, with orders to raise a battalion to march to Quebec. He succeeded in enlisting a fine body of men, and was engaged in recruiting when the Sussex County Committee of Safety was formed, in August, 1775. He took up his line of march accord- ing to orders, but the defeat of Montgomery occurred before he could possibly reach Quebee, and nothing remained but for him to return to headquarters. He was soon after raised to the rank of brigadier-general, and served with distinction in the battles of German- town, Monmouth, Brandywine, Springfield, Wyoming, and elsewhere. His personal frankness and the ab- sence of all haughtiness in his manners made him a great favorite with the soldiers, but his merits, as is too often the case, excited envy. Some of the officers who boasted a more aristocratic lineage than he could elaim showed much jealousy of his advancement, and in 1782, when one of this class steceeded in obtaining promotion over him, he resigned his commission. He enjoyed in n high degree the special regard of Gen. Washington, who frequently eulogized him in his let- ters. Unfortunately for biographical purposes, Gen.

Maxwell's house took fire just after the close of the Revolution, and all his valuable papers, together with his correspondence, were destroyed.

The following inseription, written by his friend and compatriot Governor Howell, of New Jersey, is placed over the remains of this gallant officer in the grave- yard of the First Presbyterian church of Greenwich township :

" Beneath this Marble Lies the Inuly of BRIGADIER-GENERAL WILLIAM MAXWELL, Eldest son of John and Aune Maxwell, of the township of Greenwich, County of Snesex and State of New Jersey, who departed thi, lite Ou the 4th of November, in the year of our Lord, 1796, Ju the 634 year of his nge. In the Revolutionary War which established the Independence of the United States He took an early and active part; A distinguished military partisan, He rose through different grades of the American Army To the rank of Brigadier-General; A Genuine Patriot, lle was a firm and decided Friend To the Constitution and Government of his Country ; In privato life he was equally devoted to its service, And to the good of the Community of which he was a member, An honorable and charitalde Man, A warin and affectionate Frietul, A zealous advocate of the Institutions, and An active promoter of the Interests of the Christian Religion."

CAPT. JOHN MAXWELL, a brother of the general, was another of the brave and noble patriots of Sussex. In the darkest hour of the Revolutionary conflict, when Washington had been forced to evacuate New York and was retreating hither and thither through the Jerseys, when his worn-out troops dropped off daily, and when his forces became so reduced in num- bers that it is said he could call every man under him by name, Maxwell appeared with one hundred men, recruited in Greenwich and the neighboring town- ships, and tendered their service to the great chief- tain. It was upon this occasion that Washington, surprised and gratified, exclaimed, "What ! one hun- dred men, good and true, from Sussex !" importing thereby that he was agrecably astonished,-that, while the people of the counties which were pecu- liarly exposed to the ravages of the British troops were falling away from him, those in the interior had not caught the infection, as he supposed might be the case, but remained in adversity, as they had been in prosperity, " good and true."

This anecdote, which involves a great compliment, has been distorted by the slanderers of Sussex patriot- ism into a precisely opposite meaning, having been adhdluced as proof that Washington did not think there were a hundred honest patriots in Sussex !* Nothing, probably, could have been further from the opinion of Washington, or, at least, if he had such an opinion, nothing could have been further from the facts, as the records of the times abundantly show.

. Elsall's "Contennial Address."

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

We quite agree with Mr. Edsall that, even had Wash- ington doubted the integrity of the people of this section, he would not have proclaimed it in the face of a body of men deserving the highest commendation for the prompt and ready manner in which they came to his succor in a dark and trying moment. Wash- ington was neither precipitate in forming a judgment, nor was he ungrateful for even the smallest services rendered him by any of the people of the colonies. He often went out of his way to notice and commend very humble persons for the smallest offerings of help or intelligence that could assist in any way the great cause which lay so near his own heart. He was, in- deed, the most remarkable man in this respect whom America has ever produced, and was loved and ven- erated by thousands for that very trait of character. Those, therefore, who distort his meaning in this in- stance, reflect dishonor upon the memory of Wash- ington.

"Capt. Maxwell's company proved a valuable ac- cession to the American army ; they were efficient in aiding to turn the tide of the Revolution at Trenton, and did good service in the conflict at Assanpink and in the sanguinary battle at Princeton."

The following inscription upon the tombstone of this sterling patriot, in the Greenwich churchyard, briefly recites his history and records his worth :

" In Memory of JOHN MAXWELL, ESQ., Second son of John and Anne Maxwell. He was born in the County of Tyrone, Ireland, Nov. 25, A.D , 1739, And at an early age emigrated with his father

To New Jersey. He. was a Lieutenant in the First Company raised in Sussex Conuty, for the defense of his adopted Conutry In the Revolutionary War ; And soon after, in the darkest hour of her fortunes, joined the army of General Washington as a Captain of a Company of Volunteers. He was engaged in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmonth, and Springfield, And ever distinguished himself as a brave and able officer. Having served his Country in various Civil und military offices, And faithfully discharged his varions duties As a Soldier, Citizen, and a Christian, Ile closed a long and naofol life at his residence At Flemington, February 15th, A.D. 1828, In the Eighty-Ninth Year of his Age."

THOMAS ANDERSON, clerk of the Sussex County Committee of Safety, was born about 1742 or 1743, and was consequently about thirty-three years of age at the time the Declaration of Independence was signed. After the war broke out he remained in the county, ferreting out the Tories and bringing them to the alternative either of giving their adhesion to the cause of liberty or of submitting to such pains and penalties as could be legally inflicted upon them. In this work he was heartily assisted by Evi Adams, Esq., of Wantage, and James Davidson, Esq., of Greenwich. During a considerable portion of the war

he acted as assistant deputy quartermaster-general, and attended to forwarding flour, chopped feed, hemp, etc., from this county for the sustenance and use of the army. The three points to which supplies from Sussex were sent were Trenton, Morristown, and New Windsor. Cavalry-horses worn down in the service were assigned to Mr. Anderson, who had to procure keeping for them proper to recuperate and refit them for the army. This office was one of great importance, and he discharged its duties with skill and fidelity. There were few wagons in the county, and it was necessary to procure some from a distance. Teams also were scarce and difficult to be obtained. The roads were new and ill adapted to transporting pur- poses, yet Mr. Anderson persevered until it was found impracticable to forward supplies with the means at command. In this emergency Washington sent an order to Moore Forman, Mr. Anderson's principal, empowering him to confiscate teams whenever neces- sary, and, where forage could not be procured by pur- chase, to impress supplies of that also. This delicate duty Mr. Anderson discharged with firmness, the pub- lic service demanding extraordinary measures. If there were complaints of individual hardships, the general good was promoted.

The army-supplies raised in Sussex and forwarded to the various military posts were of great service in strengthening the sinews of war, and all who were engaged in this useful business were quite as effect- ually rolling on the ball of the Revolution as those who "spent their dearest action on the tented field."

Mr. Anderson was appointed in 1785 the first surro- gate of Sussex County, which office he held by suc- cessive reappointments until his death, in 1807. He was also acting clerk of the county from 1770 to 1777.

Among the papers left at his death have been found some documents which will doubtless be of great in- terest to the present generation. We print a few of them below. The first is a literal transcript of the order of Gen. Washington, above referred to, respect- ing the impressmeut of teams and forage for the use of the army :

" To MOORE FURMAN, ESQ., Deputy Q. M. Genl. :

" The present critical and important conjuncture requiring every pos- eible effort to forward the Stores and Provisions for the use of the Army, and the present embarrassment in the Quarterminster General's Depart- mont rendering it impracticable to provide competent menns in the ordi- mary way, you are hereby anthorized and empowered to impress as minny teams in the State of New Jersey as you may find necessary for the pur- pose above mentioned, with respect to those articles which are under our direction. And in order that an ndequnte supply of forage umy had, yon will provide by purchase, impress or otherwise the Quantity necessary, for which this shall be your warrant.

" Given at Head Quarters,

" Robinson House, State of New York, " July 30, 1780.

" GEORGE WASHINGTON."

Another of these documents shows that Robert Morris, chief justice of New Jersey, and John Cleves Symmes, one of the justices of the Supreme Court of Judicature, commissioned Mr. Anderson "to take especial recognizance, administer oaths," etc., in Sus-

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION.

sex County. The commission is dated New Bruns- wick, April 10, 1778, and signed by Robert Morris and John Cleves Symmes.

It would appear that in 1765 the stock of leather had become exhausted in Sussex County. Mr. An- derson, taking a benevolent interest in his relative, Mr. Joseph Collier, sends him to Trenton for a new supply, with the following letter addressed to Mr. Stacy Potts, of that place, offering himself as security for his friend :

" SIR :

" Altho' most a stranger to you, and a Young Fellow just beginning the world, and nothing Before Bund, and, thank God, Int little Behind Inud, I have, upon my relation's, Mr. Joseph Collier's request, made bald to write you in his behalf, and Desire you'l let him have Six or Eight Ponuds worth of Leather, and tako me for his Security for that sum; and In so doing will much oblige

" Your Ilumble Survt.

" THOM' ANDERSON.

"MAIDENHEAD

" Murch 24, 1765."

The original of which the following is a copy was addressed to Mr. Anderson by Joseph N. Shippen, asking his advice as to how two negroes could be saved from the death-penalty-then in force-for stealing. The writer seems to have been very much in earnest to save the lives of these unfortunate crim- inals, and writes :

" DR. SIR,-The bearer has a NIgro of Ben Depat's and another of nine, umuler a commitment to Sussex Goal, from Mr. Van Horne, Gir a thelt from Mr. Hoops, which cannot be tried conveniently unless he was at home, und then, Imagine, we might have them tried by three or four Magistrates, und an end made to the affair without taking their lives. Pruy send me your advice what will be the best way for me to net in the mutter, and I will thankfully reward you for it and whatover trouble you may take in obliging me. One thing more, I beg that you will please to order such refreshments for him while he is there as you think proper. I will pay it. I am sick in bed, nunble to ride up or 1 would come myself and consult the matter fully with you.

" Know, however, that I will most assuredly reward you to your sails- faction. I cant at present tell you the affair exactly, but will'as soon us I cun neo yon. Excuse this very incorrect scrawl, as I write in the greatest pain lying In my bed.

" 1 um Dr sir,

" Your ready Friend and very Hmble Sevt. " JOSEPH N. SHIPPEN. "Oxronn, 27 June, 1770."

COL. JOHN CLEVES SYMMES was a lending mem- ber of the Sussex Committee of Safety, and one of the eminent men of the State. In the fall of 1776 he repaired, with the battalion under his command, to Morris County, and formed part of the brigade under Col. Jacob Ford. On the 14th of December of that year, while quartered at Camden and charged with the duty of covering the retreat of Washington through New Jersey, Col. Ford received intelligence that eight hundred British troops, commanded by Gen. Leslie, had advanced to Springfield, four miles from Chatham, and he ordered Col. Symmes to pro- ceed to Springfield and cheek the approach of the enemy if possible. Accordingly, Col, Symmes, with n detachment of the brigade, marched to that village und attacked the British in the morning. This was one of the first checks Leslie met with after lenving

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History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 15

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