USA > New York > Queens County > Documents and letters intended to illustrate the revolutionary incidents of Queens county; with connecting narratives, explantory notes, and additions > Part 14
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317. Jan. 23, '82, Riv. Died of dysentery, at Col. Wurmb's quarters, Westbury, Lieut. Forbes, who was interred near the meeting house. His funeral was attended by all the Hessian officers, and part of the 17th Light Dragoons, who paid the deceased military honors. Burial service at the grave by the chaplain of the Lion ship of war.
318. July 20, '82, Riv. At auction, July 22d, at the Wind- mill Tavern, north side of Hempstead Plains, a number of horses, large and small wagons and carts, with harnesses, lately discharged out of government service.
319. July 31, '82, Riv. Strayed from Col. Wurmb's, at the camp, on Windmill Plains, a mare, marked G. E. D. R.
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320. Aug. 20, '82, Riv. Two guineas reward. Run away from Dr. David Brooks, at Cow Neck, a negro boy, Ben. He had on a brown coat, pewter buttons, round black hat.
321. Aug. 28, '82, Riv. Last week a store north side of Hempstead Plains, was robbed of goods and cash to the amount of more than £1200, by persons unknown. [Was this R. Townsend's ?- ED.]
322. Oct. 9, '82, Rir. On Sunday evening, Sept. 29, a party of Skinners landed in a whale boat at Cow Neck, robbed two families of the name of Hewlett .* and committed several other acts of violence. Some inhabitants suspecting where they landed, captured their boat and keeper, which the Skin- ners soon came to the knowledge of, when they took the route to Butler's Creek, at Oyster Bay, where they seized a boat and escaped to the Main, with the loss of only one of their party.
* Only one was robbed, as appears by the dying confession of Richard Barrick, hung at Cambridge, Mass, Nov. 18, '84, for highway robbery.
" In England I was apprehended on a suspicion of robbery, and sent on board a vessel, [the Liverpool, wrecked on Rockaway Beach, Feb. 15, 78,] in which I came to New-York. Then I deserted and came to Long Island and lived with Mr. Valentine Williams. I left him and lived with Mr. Kirk fifteen months, intending to learn the paper making business. I left Mr. Kirk and went to Horse Neck, intending to go to the place whence I came, and follow my old trade of basket making. Soon after this, I and my comrades went to Long Island with an intent to rob James Hewlett: but the weather being very severe, we turned back. On our return, we met with a British vessel, which we boarded and carried into Stamford. We then went back to Mr. Hewlett's in the night, and told him he must get up, for his brother's child was very sick. He supposing us to be robbers, called for his firelock. We then forced in at the windows, and demanded his money. He said he had none ; but his wife asked us how much we wanted. I answered, £100. Mr. H. then went down cellar with a light in his hand, and we followed him. He took a horn from under a hogshead, which contained 190 odd guineas. He then attempted to count out our £100, which we had demanded ; but we told him as he had made some resistance at first, we would take all he had. He then gave us another horn, which contained about 40 guineas : then he gave us a number of dollars. We went out of
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the house, but soon concluded that if he had so many guineas, it was more than probable he had some other sort of gold : we therefore went back and demanded the remainder. Then he gave us another horn, containing 32 half joes. We also took his plate and clothing, to the value of $400. Soon after this, I was taken and put under guard on Long Island. The Col. ordered me from Long Island to New-York gaol for trial ; where I remained three weeks, and then broke gaol. I returned to Greenwich, and was there re-taken for the same crime and carried back to New-York, I broke out a second time, and returned to Greenwich." * *
323. Oct. 26, '82, Riv. On Thursday evening, about 20 rebels landed near Cow Neck, attacked the houses of James Burr and John Burtis, blacksmith, killed Burr and robbed his store of every thing valuable; but in the attack of Burtis, their leader, a Capt. Martin, of Massachusetts, (with his commission in his pocket,) was killed. They carried off three of their party, supposed to be badly wounded.
[There were two whale boats, with muffled oars. The men landed at Thorne's dock (now Judge Kissam's,) and proceeded to Burr's store, (now H. Morrell's, ) Manhasset Valley. Burr had been robbed once before, and slept in the store with his gun ready loaded. As soon as they demanded admittance, he fired. Judging of his position by the report, the robbers fired diagonally through the front corners of the store. Burr received a ball in his body, went to the bedside, told his little brother he was a dead man, and fell.
Being unable to force open the door, the robbers ripped off the boards and entered through the side of the store, and load- ed themselves with goods. As they returned, and were round- ing the corner of Burtis's shop, west of the house now Dr. Purdy's, David Jervis, an apprentice boy, fired on them, one after another, from the second story, Mr. Burtis loading the guns and Molly, his wife, handing powder. In this, way sev- eral were wounded, till at last came their leader, Capt. Martin, staggering under an enormous load of goods, who received a buckshot in the centre of his forehead, and had his breast also tattooed with shot. Throwing down his carbine, he stumbled up the hill north of Dr. Purdy's, dropping his load by the way, and fell down dead on the summit, where his body was dis-
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covered by George O. The firing alarmed the neighbors, who had now assembled in great numbers. Before it was yet day, J. O. was dispatched for Major Kissam, who came and held an examination. In Martin's pocket-book were found a list of his crew, and a captain's commission from the State of Massachusetts, authorizing him " to cruise against the enemies of the United States," but not to go on land.
Capt. Martin's clothes, shoes with silver buckles, and watch, together with the guns dropped in the flight, were given to Jervis. He was also presented with a pair of new pistols, as a reward for his heroic daring.
Jervis had on a previous occasion beat off a party of whale boatmen, and wounded one Jim Brown.
Martin's body was buried in a corner of Martin Schenck's land, south of the Episcopal church. The rest of the gang escaped to their boats, which were seen by J. O. during the alarm of the firing slowly dropping down the bay to a precon- certed spot, probably Mitchell's landing. The night was over- cast. J. O., a lad of sixteen, was sent with a gun in the young locust north-east of his father's house (now C. Pearsall's) to fire an alarm in case the house was attacked, when a fellow ran up to him, crying out, "D-n their blood, they've wounded me!" On discovering his mistake, he made off, and was out of sight in an instant.
Capt. Martin had been a lucky fellow, as appears by the following captures .- ED.
July 4, '82. St. Martin and Reynolds Finch took a small boat and two schooners, with their cargoes, and several small boats and their cargoes, engaged in the illicit trade in Long Island Sound.
Aug. 2, '82. St. Martin and others took the schooner Scape, Nath. Porter, master, 80 tons, loaded with wood ; two small sloops, 15 tons each, the Good Intent, J. Avery master, and a whale boat, Jesse Soper master, loaded with British goods-all taken in the Sound.
Sept. 16, '82. St. Martin took two schooners and their cargoes, Polly and Betsey, of 50 and 40 tons each.
324. Before Dec. 3, '82, the Dolphin, John Thorne, Jr., was captured in Long Island Sound.
325. Ap. 19, '83, Riv. Persons having any demands against Lt. Saltonstall, of the Royal Welch Fusileers, [or 23d Reg't of
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Foot,] will give in their accounts to Capt. Peter, paymaster, at Herrick's.
326. Ap. 28, '83, Gaine. A match for 200 guineas, May 29, over New Market course, Hempstead Plains, between John Talman's Eclipse and Jacob Jackson's Young Slow and Easy, the best two in three four mile heats.
327. On a fine moonlight evening, May 13, 1783, six whale- boatmen landed at the cleft near the house of John Mitchell. They lay concealed in his nursery till the guard left the house and the family had retired to rest, when they broke open the front door with a stone as large as a man could well manage. As they pushed open the door leading from the hall to the room where Mr. Mitchell slept, he fired through the door and wounded a man. The robbers also fired, but missed. Then they forced open the door and beat Mr. Mitchell and his aged father on the head with the butt end of their muskets. They at length escaped from the robbers, and ran for aid to Israel Baxter's, where the guard had gone. Benj. M. then came down stairs, and as he looked in the door, one of the robbers, named Jackson, who had lived in the family, asked him "if he knew him." Benjamin replied, "Yes." "Then you never shall again." He was then seized and led out in front of the house, and (though he told them he was but a boy) shot through the body with two balls, by Jackson, while an accom- plice held their victim fast. The mother heard the fatal report. She also, as she stood with an infant in her arms, was seized, and beaten till she fainted.
The villains had now become so alarmed, that they gave up all hopes of plunder, and fled before the father could return with the guard. A dead body was discovered on the ground, supposed to be one of the robbers, but a closer examination re- vealed the shocking truth. He gave signs of life, but never spoke. A pistol lay near him that had been broken by a blow on the side of his head.
The afflicted father was unsparing in his efforts to bring these villains to justice. Two were some time after seized in a marauding expedition in the brushwood on Hog Island, and put under guard at Searingtown, but they contrived to escape.
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Two years after, Jackson was hung at St. John's, and while under the gallows was very contrite for his sins, and said " there was only one thing he dared not hope pardon for-that was the murder of Benjamin Mitchell."
328. May 17, '83, Rir. Those inhabitants that have any demands against Ensign Vockerrorth, of the Hessian Regi- ment de Knoblauch, will bring them before the court martial of said regiment, at Herricks, by Junc 6.
F. A. HUBER, Judge Advocate.
DEPORBECK, Col. and Comd't.
329. Ob. Valentine, born on Long Island, but residing in Connecticut, charged before Judge Ludlow of breaking into the house of P. Sniffen, Hempstead Harbor, was in the Pro- vost from May 28, '83, till the evacuation .- Rir.
330. Israel Baxter had two market boats cut out of Cow Bay, and a wood sloop taken off Success Rock. She was boarded through the cabin windows. The captain was not on board and the hands made little or no resistance.
Once off Hewlett's Point Capt. B. was becalmed. Sud- denly some whale boats rowed up, fired and riddled his sails. He allowed them to draw quite near, when he discharged his swivels on them. The boats made off, when some negroes on the Long Island shore, attracted by the firing, hurraed. This was too much for the Yankees: they put about and fired a blunderbuss at the negroes, who fell down or scampered off, and were out of sight in an instant.
Capt. B. had a swivel mounted on a stump in the pines on the hill, overlooking the dock (now Mill-dam) where his boat lay. Expecting an attack one night, he wound his cable around the rudder, waited the approach of the whale boats, and then fired down on them as they were vainly trying to get her off. The men then landed and tried to surround their as- sailants, but failed, though they nearly touched them in the dark. They then abandoned their prize.
Capt. St. Thorne had two wood boats taken out of Cow Bay in one night-one from A. O.'s landing. One of the gang afterwards deserted, and being a worthless fellow, charged Wm. Cornwell, at whose house they had stopped, with giving
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information. In consequence, Cornwell had most of his wood cut off for the King's use, and he and Hewlett Cornwell were put in Jamaica jail. Adrian O. barely escaped the same fate, for the fellow pretended to recognize him as one of the Whigs present at W. Cornwell's that night; but he was enabled to prove his absence by the great number of passengers who were that very night at his house, intending to go to New-York by the sloop which was cut out in their sight and hearing.
Young St. Thorne rode about the Neck with the informer, and called on the principal Whigs, with hopes of his identifying them with those said to have been at Cornwell's.
The whale boats were sometimes caught in a snare. Rob't Thorne, innkeeper, at Latham's (now Mitchell's) Mill, had a small sloop. Capt. Jos. Thorne,* with twelve armed men, was secreted in her hold. As they rowed into the Soun !, a whale boat put out from Huckleberry Island. As soon as she came alongside, the armed men rushed on deck and pointed their guns down on the astonished crew, who instantly gave up. The prisoners were marched under a guard of militia (of which John Morrell was one) to Col. Hamilton at Flushing, and thence taken to the prison ship.
A whale boat attempted to take out Geo. Cornell's sloop from the east side of Great Neck, (B. Wolley's landing.) A party landed and proceeded along shore, keeping even with their boat. John Morrell, who, with Peter Baker, was on guard that night, hearing a noise, but seeing nothing, fired. Instantly he found himself between two fires, but luckily escaped. A buttonwood near him was marked with bullets. The sloop happened to be aground, and so was saved. The men went in John Morrell's house, who, making the best of the matter, set a bottle of spirits on the table, of which they good-humoredly partook, and went off. They also dropped in at Wm. Mitch- ell's, but were not so civil.
* He was a wagon-maker, and kept a body of refugees in his house, (since St. Sell's,) and usually had a swivel mounted over his door to fire down on any assailants.
331. Martin Schenck was robbed once before and once after February, 1782. The first time, some of the new raised corps
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at Herricks carried off great quantities of linen-sixty shirts and other articles of small value. They took him under a tree and threatened to strangle him unless he would give up his money. He was rescued by the intrepidity of his wife. Complaint was made to the commanding officer, who had his men arranged in a circle for Schenck to point out the offenders, but as the officers seemed bent on screening* them, and there was much unfairness in the examination, no redress was ob- tained.
On another evening, a knocking was heard at the door, which was incautiously opened by his niece. On seeing two men with guns, their faces blackened and concealed by bonnets, she said, she "hoped they meant no harm." "Oh no, only wanted to see Mr. Schenck." As she led the way to his bedroom, one of the ruffians followed and seized Schenck before he could get his gun. They then demanded his money. As Schenck was edging off toward his gun, he tripped, when he received a musket blow, which disabled his arm. He, however, escaped to the cellar, whither they durst not follow. As they left the house, with some trifling articles of plunder, he saw them turn up the road toward the meeting-house, and calling his slaves from the barn, made chase, but to no purpose. They were supposed to be refugees. The dogs in the neighborhood had been shot a fortnight before, so that these guardians of the night might give no alarm.
* " The provincial corps," or soldiers raised in America, were fre- quently abandoned men, fugitives from justice, who enlisted to escape punishment. Even such recruits were hard to be obtained at a high bounty ; and if they committed a crime, the officers were loth to lose them or give them up to punishment-to replace them was so difficult.
332. A gang surrounded the house of Michael Mudge and knocked at the door, when Daniel, his son, asked who was there. "Friends," was thereply. The door not being opened immediately, they added, " It will be better for you to let us in." Thereupon the frail door was opened, when three men entered, (one had on a hair cap, drawn down and tied under his chin, and his face blackened,) and proceeded to the room of the aged father, whom they beat unmercifully, and run a gun-
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muzzle in his cheek because he did not tell where his money was: and in truth he did not know, for he had given it to his daughter-in-law, who had it in bed with her. He gave them his silver shoe-buckles, but because they were plain, they sup- posed them to be base metal, and threw them back in his face. They then rummaged every part of the house, went up the kitchen stairs, and bid the negroes lie still. At last, to frighten the rest of the family into a disclosure, they brought the old man into his daughter-in-law's bedroom, the blood trickling down his head behind both ears, and joining in one stream under his chin, so that his throat seemed cut. The family then gave up. A bag of silver was brought forth. They opened it and ex- claimed, " Not a single guinea !" Directly eyeing a bag inad- vertently left under a table, which proved to be filled with gold, in the rage of disappointment they dragged the daughter- in-law out of bed with her infant in her arms. She managed, however, to save a part of the remaining gold. During the search, the robbers every now and then went to the door to consult with those outside, and returned with increased fury. When they left, they blew out the lights, and bid Daniel (who was following to see what road they took) to stay in doors. This gang was supposed to have been harbored by John Thomas, who lived at Col. Sands's, water-side, whale boats having often been seen hid in the bushes by his house.
333. Israel Pearsall was twice beset by robbers; in both cases they had poor success, once only carrying off some spoons and linen. On one occasion, Israel was lying in his bed in the early part of the evening, when word was brought him that robbers were below. He ran for the garret, turned the key on the robbers while they were yet at the foot of the stairs, ran out on the roof, got behind a chimney and cried murder. It was heard at D. Mudge's, who fired an alarm, and then it was pop ! pop ! pop ! all over the neighborhood ; where- at the robbers hastily decamped, vowing vengeance to the man on the roof.
Israel had a maiden sister who had been at a house in Cedar Swamp that this same gang had previously robbed. She sang out to them from an upper window, " What do you
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want ?" Instantly recognizing her sharp voice, they cried out, " What, are you here, too ?"
334. To prevent robberies, a patrol was kept by the militia along shore. This duty was very laborious. The militia from Wolverhollow were required to patrol on the Sound and east side of Hempstead Harbor. One night the patrol there heard the whale boats rowing, when Tunis Bogart fired, and two boats put about instantly. As they neared Cow Neck shore, E. Hegeman, a patrol on that side, also fired. One of the crew jumped up, flapped his arms, and crowed out defiance. They then returned to the Main without effecting their design, which was to rob a store at Herricks. It was not unusual for the whale- boatmen to make a circuitous overland march, so as to escape detection in case of alarm, for those robbed would be apt to take the nearest route to the water-side. There was a mounted Hessian patrol also.
335. As all money was of silver or gold, and as there were no banks for safe-keeping, and few opportunities for investing, each man became his own banker. For fear of robbery, the money was buried in earthen vessels, wrapped in paper and hid under a stone, thrust behind a joist, or between the roof and rafters, laid under the hearth, put in a tea-kettle, or se- creted in any way that ingenuity could devise. But what availed all this, if the owner should unluckily be caught and put to the torture ? To escape this, men often slept for months in outhouses, bushes, or obscure places. These treasures were sometimes forgotten, or the owners died before revealing the secret. Hence, for years, it was not unusual to find money when tearing down old houses, removing fences, or digging in cellars.
336. It would be impossible to narrate all the exploits and outrages committed in North Hempstead. Suffice it to say, that Richard Townsend, storekeeper, (now H. Titus's,) North Side, was carried off in the night to Connecticut by a party under A. Cornwell, and subsequently paroled. They also took off a wagon load of his goods, which were sold be- fore his eyes .- The house of James Pool, and a store kept in one of his outbuildings, were visited by a party from the Main,
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headed by Wright Craft. They left their borrrowed horses with a sentry at the pond northwest of his house, which they loaded with booty, and returned in safety. Hoyt, to prevent similar visits, built a blockhouse, bullet proof, (since removed to Herricks,) with port holes in the second story, in which he kept store .- Rich. Hewlett was robbed, 1783; also Derick Albertson, among other articles, of his wedding shirt .- Tredwell Smith's store, Searingtown, was robbed, but most of the goods were found secreted in the Harbor Hills .- In altering some fence of A. O., near the Friends' meeting-house, silver spoons marked J. S. were found, evidently stolen and hid there by the picket guard. They were restored to John Searing on his producing one to match .- Cornelius Cornwell, north of Success, (since Isaac Downing's,) was robbed of $100, the property of Miss Clements, a girl living in his family. Being deaf, he heard no noise, but felt a jarring as the soldiers forced in the door. He sprang up and made at them with a trammel rod, and would have beaten them off, but unluckily it broke across a musket that a soldier held up to ward off the blow. They left traces of blood for a mile or two from the house in the direction of Hempstead .- The widow Cornwell, at Success Pond, (now S. Garretson's,) was robbed by soldiers from Hempstead, who had their faces and hands blackened with a solution of gunpowder. They broke open whatever was locked, acted ferociously, and struck with an axe at Thomas Pearsall, her son-in-law, as he came in the room and tendered them all the money he had. On leaving the house they threw into a snow-bank the plated candlestick they had used .- Wm. Mott, of Great Neck, was robbed and dreadfully beat on the head to make himn give up his money ; his horses and cattle were driven off, and a negro shot east of his house .- Adam, father of Samuel Mott, Cow Neck, was robbed. Eliza Cornelius (since Mrs. Jervis) was forced at the bayonet's point to show the robbers about the house.
The Hessians were billeted on the inhabitants at North Side, (using the school-house south of Obadiah Townsend's as a hospital ;) at Westbury ; on Cow Neck, (the school-house at Flower Hill being occupied one winter, so that Master El- bert Hegeman discontinued his school ;) at Success, (occupying
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the Dutch church ;) at Great Neck, (using Abm. Schenck's barn as a hospital ;) along the head of Cow Neck, (occupying the school-house north of John T. Mitchell's ;) and at Herricks. They had picket guards in a house at Judge Mitchell's land- ing, at Friends' meeting-house, and at Harris's Hill : and en- campments at Herricks, Success, and on a slope southeast of D. R. Schenek's, Great Neck. The provincial corps also lay at Herricks, and in the orchard of Wm. Tredwell, northeast of Success church; on the site of the Episcopal church were tents, and in the rear stables for cavalry horses. There, on land (now Judge O.'s) might be seen Hessians with black gaiters, drilled so as to manœuvre with the mechanical precision of au- tomatons. Col. Janecke was quartered at Dr. Latham's, (now Judge Mitchell's,) and had two swivels mounted before the house. His men lay in the orchard west of the mill brook, and on B. Kissam's land, (now Warren Mitchell's.) Almost every tree top was cut off to make huts. None could be more handy with a hatchet than a Hessian : of course fences stood no chance near a camp. The Hessians were a kind, peaceable people, inveterately fond of smoking, and pea-coffee: their offences were of the sly kind, such as stealing at night, while the British and " New raised Corps " were insolent, domineer- ing, and inclined to violence, robbery, and bloodshed.
337. N. York Gaz., June 23, '84. Whereas, several per- sons came into my house at Cow Neck, on Friday evening last, and burglariously carried away a silver watch, a silver tankard, some silver spoons, and a sum of money, two pair of velvet breeches, a light-colored great coat, several shirts, shifts, stockings, and handkerchiefs; and whereas, from the sugges- tion of others, I was inducea to suspect Capt. Look and his crew of committing said robbery ; but upon an investigation before the Mayor, I am satisfied of their innocence; I hereby offer a reward of $100 for the discovery of the men who robbed me, and a generous gratification for the recovery of all, or any part of my property. THOMAS THORNE.
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