History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 16

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 16
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 16

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Elizabethtown, but others soon followed, and his fur- ther progress in that direction was effectually stopped. In the skirmish at Springfield, Capt. Samuel Kuy- kendal, of Sussex County, had his hand split from the middle finger to the wrist by a mu-ket ball,-a wound which finally deprived him of the use of his arm. We find in the records of the county, at New- ton, that on Feb. 22, 1782, Col. Symmes appeared before Guisbert Sutfin, one of the justices of the peace for Sussex County, and made affidavit that the con- tents of a certificate of disability given by him to Capt. Samuel Kuykendal was true; whereupon the court made the following order :

" The Court having taken the same into consideration, are of the opin- lon thut the said Samuel Kirkendall (Kuykendul) is entitled to receive the half-pay of a Captain from the said seventeenth day of December, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, mentioned in the said cet- Hifleute of Col. Symmies ; and the Court is also of opinion that the raid Capt. Sammel Kirkewhall (Kuykendul) is capable of doing Guard or Gar- rison Duty in the Corpe of luvulids, aud order that a Certificate do isone accordingly."

Timothy Symmes, John MeMurtry, and Isaac Mar- tin were the judges on the bench when this order was made.

Col. Symmes was made one of the judges of the Supreme Court of New Jersey soon after the battle of Springfield, and retired from active duty as a military officer. He was, however, prominent in civil and ju- dieial affairs till after the elose of the Revolution, when his eminent services were transferred to another feld of usefulness and honor .*

CAPT, JOSEPH HARKER, another member of the Sussex Committee of Safety, was in active service, and distinguished himself at the battle of Minisink, July 22, 1779.

MAJ. SAMUEL MEEKER was also engaged in the battle of Minisink, in which he was wounded.

After the fearful massacre of July 20, 1779, perpe- trated by Brant upon the defenseless settlers along the Neversink, intelligence was immediately conveyed by dispatch to both Sussex and Orange Counties. Col. Tustin, of Goshen, summoned the officers of his regi- ment, with all the men they could muster, to rendez- vous next morning at Minisink. They promptly at- tended to the order, and Maj. Mecker and Capt. Harker, of the Sussex militia, with a force of men under their command, also appeared at the place of rendezvous. A council of war was immediately held. The enemy, it was then reported, was five hundred strong, two hundred of whom were Tories painted like Indians, and the whole under the command of Brant.

It was thought by Col. Tustin unadvisable, with the small foree there assembled, to attempt pursuit, but the impetuous and daring Mecker mounted his horse, and, brandishing his sword, exelaimed, "Let the brave men follow me; cowards may stay behind !" This energetic action decided the question, for, as

" See full sketch of Judge sommes in the history of Walpack, in this work ; alsu short sketch lu " Beuch aud Bar of Summex County."

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

none wished to be considered cowards, all fell into line and went in pursuit of the enemy. They marched about seventeen miles that day, and camped upon the ground which had been occupied the night before by the Indians and Tories. On their way they had been reinforced by a small detachment under Col. Hathorn, of Warwick. Here it was discovered that the force of the enemy was fully as great as had been supposed, and the more cautious of the officers declined further pursnit until their numbers should be increased by reinforcements. Among those who advised this was Col. Hathorn, who now, as senior officer, had assumed command of the expedition. Maj. Meeker made another appeal to the courage of the party, which had the effect of overturning all dissuasive argu- ments, and it was decided to pursue and attack the Indians at all hazards.

On the morning of the 22d the march was resumed, and on the summits of the hills skirting the Delaware the Indians were discovered strolling leisurely along about three-fourths of a mile ahead. The purpose was now formed to push on and attack them opposite the mouth of the Lackawaxen, where they had for- warded their plunder, and where there was a place for fording the river. But the wily Indians, under cover of the hills, passed to the right and concealed them- selves in a ravine, over which the militia forces passed without suspicion, and were soon surprised by dis- covering that the enemy whom they pursued was in the rear. This gave the Indians an opportunity to cut off part of their force, so that only about eighty men were left to bear the brunt of the battle. They hastily formed into a hollow square on as favorable ground as they could select, and fought with great coolness and determination till their ammunition was exhausted, when no resource was left them but to club their guns and face the savage enemy as best they could. Strength and endurance finally gave way before overpowering numbers, and of the eighty men engaged in the action forty-four were killed or died of their wounds in the surrounding forest. Maj. Meeker was wounded, but not fatally; he was afterwards major in Col. Van Dyck's regiment of New Jersey troops, Oct. 9, 1779. Col. Hathorn and Capt. Harker were among the survivors.

MOSES DEWITT, another Sussex County man, was also conspicuous in this battle. Dr. Wilson, in de- scribing the action, says, "Several attempts to break into our lines had failed, but just as the fire began to slacken one man, who had guarded the northeast angle of the hollow square, and who had kept up from behind a rock a destructive fire upon the enemy, fell, and the Indian and Tory crew broke in upon our ranks like a resistless deluge."

Mr. Edsall, commenting upon this statement, says, "I have authority for saying that the man who thus held the Indians in check was Moses Dewitt, of Wan- tage. Nor did he fall as represented ; his musket, by repeated discharges, became too hot for handling,

and, seeing at a little distance a comrade who had a gun which he was not using (for he seemed intent only upon sheltering himself from the enemy), De- witt started to get that unemployed gun; in doing so he exposed his person, and the balls immediately rattled around him like hail. He fled for his life; a number of the enemy pursued him ; they fired at him repeatedly ; but soon a ravine presented itself. He turned into it, and the Indians fortunately lost his trail. Venturing out as soon as he dared, he laid his course for the nearest block-house. Upon reaching the river-flat he overtook two of his comrades, one of whom could not walk, having cut and lacerated his feet by running upon the rough stones and rocks. Dewitt had a canvas jacket, which he took off, rent in twain, and bound it around the man's feet. Still he could not travel ; and so to drag him to as good a place of concealment as could be found without loss of time, and to take care of themselves, were their only alternatives, and they fortunately proved effectual. Soon after they reached the fort a horse was procured, and under cover of night their crippled comrade was found and his life saved."

Mr. Edsall mentions the names of Daniel Talmage, Capt. Stephen Mead, and Nathan Wade, of Sussex County, who fell in the battle of Minisink, and thinks it not improbable that at least one-fourth of the whole who perished there were citizens of Sussex, although no credit has been given to the county in the various histories of the engagement which have been written.

On July 22, 1822, the bones of those who fell in this action, after lying forty-three years in the wil- derness, were interred with suitable ceremonies in the cemetery at Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y.

COL. KENNEDY and COL. GARDINER both com- manded regiments of Sussex militia during the strug- gle for independence.

MAJS. ROBERT HOOPS, ABRAM BESHERER, and THOMAS DUNN were likewise in active service.

COL. JOHN ROSENKRANS and MAJ. SAMUEL WESTBROOK were also actively engaged during the war. Col. Rosenkrans accompanied Gen. Sullivan in his campaign against the Indians of the Upper Sus- quehanna and Genessee valley in 1779. Gen. Max- well also commanded a brigade in that memorable campaign. One battalion of Col. Rosenkrans' regi- ment was led by Maj. Samuel Westbrook against a party of Indians, April 19, 1780. In this action Capt. Peter Westbrook was killed.

COL. JOHN SEWARD .- This officer had command of the Second Regiment of Sussex Volunteers during the war of the Revolution. His father, Obadiah Seward, came from Wales, and settled on Black (now Lamington) River, in Somerset Co., N. J. Here John Seward, the subject of this notice, and grand- father of the late eminent statesman, William H. Seward, was born, May 22, 1730. His wife, Mary

* Battle of Conneshaugh.

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION.

Swezy,* was born in the same neighborhood, April 3, 1733. They were married at Roxbury, N. J., by Rev. Mr. Byram, March 22, 1751. Mrs. Seward died at the residence of her son, Dr. Samuel Swezy Sew- ard, in Florida, Orange Co., N. Y., Feb. 29, 1816, aged eighty-three.

Col. John Seward was a member of the board of freeholders from Ilardyston township, from 1767 to 1779. He was present with the board for most of these years, notwithstanding his active service in the Revolutionary army.t

At the breaking out of the Revolution he entered the service as captain of a company in the Second Regiment of Sussex Volunteers. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, Feb. 28, 1777, and subsequently to colonel of his regiment. He remained in the ser- vice till the close of the war, as appears from an oldl roll made out by Joseph Gaston, paymaster of the Sussex regiment. Col. Seward was very active dur- ing the Revolutionary struggle, and was noted as an excellent shot with the rifle. Ile was present when the lead statue of King George gracing Bowling Green, in the city of New York, was taken down to be run into bullets by the Whigs of the Revolution. Ile was trusted by the officers of the army, and re- speeted as a brave man by his neighbors. That he was feared by the British and Tories is attested by the fact that for the safety of his family and himself his house was barriended and otherwise kept in a state of defense, and by the still more significant fact that fifty pounds of British gold was offered for his head. He died on his farm near Snufftown, Hardyston town- ship, Sussex Co., Dec. 29, 1797, in the sixty-eighth year of his age.

The children of Col. John Seward were nine in number, as follows:

1. Polly, born 1752; married Capt. Richard Edsall, 1771; died eight months after at Merritt's Island, Warwick, N. Y., aged nineteen. She was buried at the Reformed Dutch church in Warwick. Capt. Edsall had command of a company in Col. Seward's regi- ment of Sussex men in the Revolutionary army.

2. Obadiah, born 1754; married, and resided on a farm near Hurdstown, Morris Co. He was a lieu- tenant and afterwards a captain in his father's Second Sussex Regiment. He died about 1792, leaving his property to his son John.

3. Nancy, born 1756; died 1762.

4. Infant daughter, born 1758.

5. Elizabeth Swezy, born 1759 ; died 1795.

6. Hester, born 1762; died in infancy.

7. John, born June 10, 1765; became a colonel of militia after the Revolution, and on the decease of his father inherited his estate in Hardyston. About the beginning of the century he sold his lands and moved, first to Ohio and subsequently to Hillshor-

ough, Ill., where he reared a large family and became a wealthy landholder. When an old man, nearly fifty years ago, he came on a visit with his wife to their relatives in Sussex and Orange Counties.

8. Samuel Swezy, born Dec. 5, 1768. f Dr. Samuel Swezy Seward, father of William HI. Seward, who removed to Florida, Orange Co., N. Y., in 1795. See sketch in medical chapter, in this work.)

9. Israel, born 1773; died 1779.

The old Col. Seward homestead is situated about one and a half miles from Snufftown, on the road leading to Vernon. It was formerly in Vernon town- ship, but was included in a strip subsequently set off to Hardyston. The place is now known as the Mar- gerum neighborhood, the estate being owned by the Margerum family.

III .- WOMEN OF SUSSEX IN THE REVOLUTION.

The men of the Revolution were not alone. The women of that day spoke the language of freedom and taught it to their sons, brothers, husbands, and lovers. In the New Jersey Gazette of July 12, 1780, we find the following noticeable paragraph :

" The ladies of Trenton, in New Jersey, simulating the noble example of their patriotic sisters of Penn- sylvania, and being desirons of manifesting their zeal in the glorious cause of American liberty, having this day (July 4th ) assembled for the purpose of promoting a subscription for the relief and encouragement of those brave men in the Continental army who, regard- less of danger, have so repeatedly suffered, fought, and bled in the cause of virtue and their oppressed country, and taking into consideration the scattered situation of the well-disposed through the State who would wish to contribute to so laudable an under- taking, have, for the convenience of such, and more especially to carry their scheme into execution, unan- imously appointed Mrs. Dickerson, Mrs. Cox, Mrs. Furman, and Miss Cadwalader a committee whose duty it shall be to correspond with the ladies here- after named, of the different counties throughout the State, whose nid and influence in their several dis- tricts the ladies now met have taken the liberty to solieit in promoting said subscriptions."

The ladies selected for this noble and patriotic work were the most respectable and influential in the sev- eral counties; among them were Mrs. Condict, Mrs. Hornblower, Mrs. Burnet, Mrs. Parsons, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Forman, Mrs. Cox, Lady Stirling, Mrs. Stock- ton, Morris, Bloomfield, Elmer, Boudinot, Erskine, and many others like-minded. The committee for Sussex County was composed of Mrs. Councillor Og- den, Mrs. Col. Thompson, Mrs. Maj. Hoops, and Mrs. Thomas Anderson.

This shows what an active part the women of the Revolution took in securing the liberty of the conn- try. Their exertions in the cause were unobtrusive, yet none the less effective. It was appropriate that men should take that position in the great struggle

* Now spelled Swayze,-a well-known family in Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon Counties.

+ Suo freeholders' records of Sussex County.

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

which made their services more conspicuous, but it is not appropriate or just in us, their descendants, to overlook or forget the mothers of the land in that tribute of respect and gratitude which it is our pleas- ure to pay to the fathers. They beheld husband, father, brother, son, go forth to battle, yet they com- plained not, nor allowed the great deprivations they endured to prostrate their energies. As a general rule, they were superior to adversity. Besides dis- charging the household duties to which they had been accustomed, often including articles of domestic manufacture to clothe their families and the care of large families of children, they cheerfully went forth to the fields and successfully performed those hardy tasks which in civilized countries are properly im- posed upon men. The following paragraph, extracted from a newspaper dated July 25, 1776, will show what the women of that period did in this State as well as in New England :

" We hear from New Jersey and Connecticut that, a great part of the men being absent on military ser- vice, and the time of harvest coming on, the women, assisted by the elderly men whose age rendered them unfit for the army, have so effectually exerted them- selves that they have generally got in their harvest completely, the landable example being set by the ladies of first character in each place. And we are credibly informed that they will take the farming business upon themselves so long as the rights and liberties of their country require the presence of their sons, husbands, and lovers in the field."

The pen of the historian has borne testimony that " the women of Sussex, in self-denial, in patient en- durance, and in the display, when necessary, of truly heroic qualities, were exceeded by none in the land. Here they have been known to take up the rifle to defend themselves against the Indians, or to mount the fleet charger and ride for miles through the wil- derness, amid storm and darkness, to summon aid when danger was impending. Such were your moth- ers, citizens of Sussex,-women who possessed all the tenderness of feeling, all the shrinking modesty, which become their sex, but who scorned, as all right-minded females ought to scorn, that contempti- ble affectation of timidity which shrieks to see a spider crawl and swoons at the sight of a mouse."*

CHAPTER X.

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION (Continued).

TROOPS FURNISHED BY THE COUNTY DURING THE WAR.

I .- REGULAR TROOPS OF THE JERSEY LINE.

THE Continental troops of the "Jersey Line," raised in 1775, embraced two battalions, known at

first as the Eastern and the Western, afterwards as the First and the Second. The First Battalion was com- manded by Col. William Alexander (Lord Stirling), and after his promotion to brigadier-general in the Continental army by Col. William Winds, who was previously lieutenant-colonel of the same battalion. It embraced eight companies, commanded by Capts. Joseph Morris, Silas Howell, John Conway, John Polbemus, Joseph Meeker, Andrew MeMires, Daniel Piatt, and Elias Longstreet. The Second Battalion was commanded by Col. William Maxwell, and the captains of its eight companies were William Faulk- ner, Joseph Brearley, James Lawrie, William Shute, Richard Howell, John B. Scott, Joseph Stout, and Archibald Shaw.

Authority was given, Jan. 10, 1776, for the organi- zation of a Third Battalion ; it was placed in com- mand of Col. Elias Dayton, the company commanders being Samuel Potter, Thomas Patterson, John Ross, William E. Imlay, Peter Dickerson, Thomas Reading, Joseph Bloomfield, and Anthony Sharp.

A second establishment of troops from New Jersey for the Continental army was made by the Congress of the United Colonies, Sept. 16, 1776, under which the quota of this State was four battalions. Their organization was effected late in November and in the following month. The battalions were commanded as follows :

First Battalion, Col. Silas Newcomb, subsequently promoted to be brigadier-general of militia; he was succeeded by Lieut .- Col. Matthias Ogden.

Second Battalion, Col. Isaac Shreve.

Third Battalion, Col. Elias Dayton.

Fourth Battalion, Col. Ephraim Martin.

The company officers of the above commands were : First Battalion, Capts. Joseph Morris, Silas Hcwell, Jolin Conway, John Polhemus, Andrew McMires, Daniel Piatt, Elias Longstreet, and Daniel Baldwin.

Second Battalion (first arrangement), Capts. Joseph Brearley, James Lawrie, William Shute, Joseph Stout, Archibald Shaw, James Dillon, Thomas Yard, and Ephraim Anderson ; (new arrangement) Capts. James Lawrie, Joseph Stout, James Dillon, Thomas Yard, Ephraim Anderson, John Hollingshead, John N. Cumming, Samuel Reading, and Henry Luce.

Third Battalion, Capts. Peter Dickerson, Thomas Patterson, John Ross, John Doughty, John Mott, William B. Gifford, William Gordon, and Jacob Rosenkrans.

Fourth Battalion (first arrangement), Capts. Thomas Morrell, Robert Gaston, John Anderson, William Bond, James Holmes, Jonathan Kinsey, Jonathan Forman, and Abraham Lyon; (new ar- rangement) Capts. William Bond, John Anderson, Noadiah Wade, James Holmes, Jonathan Kinsey, Jonathan Forman, Abraham Lyon, and John Pear- 801.

These four battalions constituted " Maxwell's Bri- gade," commanded by William Maxwell, of Sussex,

* Edsall's " Centennial Address."

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION.

he having been elected brigadier-general by Congress in October, 1776.

A new arrangement of the American army was made by Congress May 27, 1778, under which the Jersey troops in the campaign of 1779 constituted three battalions. Feb. 9, 1780, Congress called upon this State for sixteen hundred and twenty men to fill the "Jersey Line" for the campaign of that year. To supply the deficieney, volunteers were called for, large bounties offered, and muster-masters appointed, Maj. John Van Vleet being master for Sussex. June 14th the act of the Legislature was amended, under which the quota of Sussex was fifty men. June 25th recruiting-officers were appointed, Capt. George Rey- nolds serving for the county of Sussex.

The three regiments thus raised were commanded by Cols. Matthias Ogden, Isaac Shreve, and Elias Dayton respectively. The company officers were,-

First Regiment, Capts. Jonathan Forman, John Flahaven, Giles Mead, Alexander Mitchell, Peter V. Voorheers, John Holmes.

Second Regiment, Capts. John Hollingshead, John N. Cumming, Samuel Reading, Nathaniel Bowman, Jonathan Phillips, William Hehns.

Third Regiment, Capts. John Ross, William Gif- ford, Richard Cox, Jeremiah Ballard, Joseph I. An- derson, Bateman Lloyd.

Gen. Maxwell continued commander of the Jersey Brigade until he resigned, in July, 1780, Col. Elias Dayton, as senior officer, then assunred the position, remaining until the close of the war.

The news of the cessation of hostilities was an- nouneed in the camp of the brigade April 19, 1783, and the "Jersey Line" was discharged November 3d of that year.

I .- THE MILITIA LEVIES.

At various times during the war New Jersey, by reason of its exposure to the incursions of the British army and the ravages of Tories and Indians, found it necessary to embody a certain quota of volunteers from the militin of the different counties. These were sometimes called "New Jersey levies" and "five months' levies," but were generally designated as State troops. Of these, Sussex County (which then em- braced what is now Warren) furnished the following :

Under the act of Nov. 27, 1776, for the raising of four battalions, Sussex furnished two companies. These, with two companies from Somerset and four from Hunterdon, formed a battalion of which David Chambers was colonel, Jacob West lieutenant-colonel, and Enos Kelsey major. The four battalions formed one brigade, of which Gen. Matthias Williamson had command.

Under the call of Oct. 9, 1779, for four thousand volunteers for service until Dec. 20, 1779, two regi- ments, of ten companies each, were raised, one of which contained the Sussex County quota. The amended militia law of Aug. 16, 1775, gave this county two regiments and one battalion. " Minute-

men" having been raised in Sussex, Morris, and Som- erset, this ordinance also ordered, in obedience to the recommendation of the Continental Congress, that all the counties furnish them, and prescribed the propor- tions for each, the apportionment for Sussex being five companies.

The Provincial Congress passed an ordinance, June 14, 1776, to raise the three thousand three hundred troops called for by the Continental Congress. This force was divided into five battalions, of eight com- panies each, and the service limited to Dec. 1, 1776. One of the battalions contained four companies from Sussex County (the remaining half were from Morris), and was officered as follows : Colonel, Ephraim Mar- tin ; Lieutenant-Colonel, John Munson ; Major, Cor- nelius Ludlow; Adjutant, Joseph King; Quarter- master, Joshua Gordon ; Surgeon, Jonathan Horton ; Surgeon's Mate, David Ervin. This was in the bri- gade of Gien. Nathaniel Heard.

July 16, 1776, Congress requested the Convention of New Jersey to supply with militia the places of two thousand men of Gen. Washington's army who had been ordered to march into New Jersey to form the Flying Camp. One of the four battalions thus raised contained two Sussex companies, of sixty-four men each, Col. Mark Thompson being its commanding officer.

Enactments regulating the militia were passed in 1777 and the subsequent years of the war. In 1778 the militia troops were divided into brigades. In 1780 bounties of sixty dollars (Continental money) were offered to privates for service of one month. In 1781 the militin was formed into three brigades in- stead of two, the troops of Sussex, with those of Essex, Morris, etc., constituting the " Upper Brigade."

IUI .- ROSTERS OF OFFICERS AND PRIVATES.

The troops of Sussex County, under this last ar- rangement, were composed of two regiments and a battalion, with the following officers :

First Regiment .- Colonel, William Maxwell, fol- lowed successively by Mark Thompson and Lieut .- Col. Jacob West ; Lieutenant-Colonel, Jacob West, succeeded by Matthias Shipman and by Capt. Wil- liam Bond; First Major, Matthias Shipman, suc- ceeded by John B. Scott and Capt. John Van Vleet ; Second Major, Edward Demund, succeeded by Lieut. Abr. Besherer; Quartermaster, Robert Arnold; Sur- geon, Robert C'ummins.

Serond Regiment .- Colonel, Ephraim Martin, suc- ceeded by Aaron Hankinson and John Seward, the latter promoted from rank of lieutenant-colonel ; Lieutenant-Colonel, John Seward, succeeded by Daniel Harker; First Major, James Broderick and Francis Headley; Second Major, Samuel Mecker ; Adjutant, Joseph Linn ; Quartermaster, Isaac Hull, succeeded by Henry Johuson; Surgeon, Cornelius Baldwin.

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History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 16

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