USA > New York > Queens County > Newtown > The annals of Newtown, in Queens County, New York; containing its history from its first settlement, together with many interesting facts concerning the adjacent towns; > Part 18
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This pretended Freeholder's attachment to that party who are in fact mere tools to the ministry, induced him to avoid touching on the merits of
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the cause; but to dissuade you from adopting the measures recommended by the late general congress, was not ashamed to have recourse to those arts, the flimsy texture of which has often been exposed. He tells you our gene- ral assembly has petitioned his Majesty. But, my abused countrymen, do you know what they have petitioned for? Surely he cannot mean that they have petitioned for the redress of American grievances, felt to be such by every British colony, and so voted unanimously by the continental congress.
My dear Fellow-Townsmen, the enemies of our devoted constitution have long considered it as an obstacle to their design of establishing an arbitrary government over the whole British empire, the first essay of which they are now attempting in the colonies. Bribery and corruption are become so pre- dominant, that every patriot ought to be always on his guard, lest seducers should, in this grand conflict against the iron hand of tyranny, find means to mislead him. It is not attempted to brand with opprobious epithets, and to name the few individuals who, deluded by selfish motives, have raised the cry against the generous asserters of our rights; those men are left to the justice of the great Disposer of events. But we anxiously look for that time when a test of distinction will be drawn between the friends to the Hanove- rian line of British kings, and the tools of state, who would, by one single stroke, destroy our liberty and deprive us of our property.
In the spirit of this soul-stirring appeal, the whig inhabi- tants attended the poll to the number of exactly one hundred, forming a large majority of the freeholders, and elected Col. Jacob Blackwell deputy from said town. The following are the names of the voters :-
NATHANIEL BAILEY,
JOHANNES CORNELL,
WILLIAM BAILEY,
BENJAMIN CORNISH,
CORNELIUS BERRIEN,
JOHN CULVER,
WILLIAM HOWARD,
RICHARD BERRIEN,
THOMAS CUMBERSON,
CAPT. DANIEL LAWRENCE,
ANTHONY BETTS,
ABRAHAM DEVINE,
JAMES BETTS,
PHILIP EDSALL, EsQ.
RICHARD BETTS,
PHILIP EDSALL, JUN.
THOMAS BETTS,
SAMUEL EDSALL.
WILLIAM BETTS,
BENJAMIN FIELD,
CAPT. THOMAS LAWRENCE,
CHARLES BOERUM,
BENJAMIN FIELD, JUN.
JACOB BOERUM,
ROBERT FIELD,
JOSEPH Boss,
STEPHEN FIELD,
ABRAM. BRINCKERHOFF,
JOHN FISH,
WILLIAM LAWRENCE, ELNATHAN LEVERICH, JOHN LEVERICH, JUN. ABRAHAM MARCH, JOHN MCDONNAUGH, JUN.
GEO. BRINCKERHOFF, JUN. JAMES BURROUGHS,
JONATHAN FISH, SAMUEL FISH,
CAPT. SAMUEL MOORE,
JOHN BURROUGHS,
EZEKIEL FURMAN,
THOMAS BURROUGHS,
GABRIEL FURMAN,
JONATHAN MORRELL, JOSEPH MORRELL,
JOHN BURTIS,
HOWARD FURMAN,
SAMUEL MORRELL, BENJAMIN NORTH,
SAMUEL BURTIS,
BENJAMIN COE,
JONATHAN FURMAN, WILLIAM FURMAN, JAMES GOSLINE, JOHN GOSLINE, LUDLAM HAIRE, JACOB HALLETT, JUN.
THOMAS NORTH, JACOB PARCELL, JOHN PARCELL,
BENJAMIN COE, JUN. JOHN COE,
NATHANIEL PETTIT,
STEPHEN PETTIT,
JONATHAN COE, ROBERT COE, SAMUEL COE,
SAMUEL HALLETT,
RICHARD RAPELJE,
CHRISTOPHER REMSEN,
MORRIS HAZARD,
REV. SIMON HORTON, EDWARD HOWARD,
CAPT. JONA'N LAWRENCE, JOSEPH LAWRENCE, RICHARD LAWRENCE, SAMUEL LAWRENCE,
PAUL BURTIS,
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ANNALS OF NEWTOWN.
JEROMUS REMSEN, JONATHAN ROBERTS,
WILLIAM VAN DUYN,
JEROMUS REMSEN, JUN.
WILLIAM SACKETT,
SAMUEL WALDRON,
LUKE REMSEN,
JOHN SHANNAN,
JAMES WAY,
REM REMSEN,
JOHN SUYDAM,
JOHN WAY,
SAMUEL RENNE,
EDWARD TITUS,
JOHN WAY, JUN.
ABRAHAM RIKER,
FRANCIS TITUS,
LAMBERT WOODWARD, JUN.
PETER RIKER,
DOW VAN DUYN,
PHILIP WOODWARD,
SAMUEL RIKER,
It is a remarkable fact, that while the body of the New- town people were in favor of deputies, every other town in Queen's gave its voice against deputies. Owing to this cir- cumstance, Mr. Blackwell, and the other deputies, were not deemed entitled to a vote in the convention, but were privi- leged to give advice; in which they themselves cheerfully concurred. Accordingly, they gave in their written assent to the delegation to congress, in behalf of themselves and those freeholders of Queen's county at whose request they had at- tended the convention.
Meanwhile, events tended to a crisis ; actual hostilities had commenced, and blood been shed at Lexington. The opposi- tion of the loyalists in Queen's county grew formidable. At the poll, opened at Jamaica, Nov. 7th, for the election of deputies to another convention, the county declared three to one against deputies. Not only so, but the leaders among the disaffected began to utter threats, and to procure guns and ammunition, and array themselves in arms, to oppose the measures taken by the United Colonies for the preservation of their liberties.
The convention having met at New-York, received the re- sult of the election, and intelligence of the hostile attitude of the inhabitants, with marked displeasure, and resolved that such conduct was inimical to the common cause of the colo- nies, and ought not, by any means, to be suffered. They sum- moned the inhabitants of the county to appear, by committee, before them, on the 19th of December, to give satisfaction. They also directed a special summons to twenty-six persons, charged as leaders among the disaffected, requiring them to appear and answer on the above date. Among the latter were seven of the inhabitants of Newtown, namely, Nathaniel Moore, John Moore, Sen. Capt. Samuel Hallett, John Moore, Jun. William Weyman, John Shoals, and Capt. Jeromus Ra- pelje.
No regard being paid to these summons, the convention re-
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ANNALS OF NEWTOWN.
solved, Dec. 21st, that the persons voting against deputies had been guilty of a breach of the general association, and were thereby put out of their protection ; and it was further ordered that their names be given to the public in printed handbills. Hesitating themselves to use force against the delinquents, the convention transmitted a list of them to congress, asking its advice and assistance. On Jan. 3d, 1776, that body, after ex- pressing its high disapproval of the course pursued by the de- linquents, resolved that as they had refused to defend their country, they should be excluded from its protection, and pre- vented from doing it injury. They therefore directed Col. Heard, of Woodbridge, N. J. to take with him a competent force, and disarm every person in Queen's county who voted against sending deputies, and also apprehend and secure the twenty-six persons named as principal men among the dis- affected.
In pursuance of these orders, Col. Heard left Woodbridge, on Jan. 17th, with about six hundred militia, and was joined at New-York by Stirling's battalion of near three hundred. On Friday morning, the 19th, they crossed at Hellgate ferry, and proceeded through the township, scouring the several roads, visiting the farmhouses and dwellings of the disaffected, and disarming such as they could find of those who, by voting against deputies, had declared themselves enemies to their country. Numbers of the inhabitants were deprived of their side-arms, guns, powder, and lead, and required to subscribe an oath that those delivered up were all they possessed, and a declaration that they would obey the orders of the congress, and act in conjunction with the inhabitants of the provinces, in the defence of American liberty. This was done in some instances with great reluctance, though the troops met with no direct opposition. At Middletown, the schoolboys were drawn up by their teacher at the roadside, and made their obeisance to the soldiers as they passed ; an incident calculated to excite their parental feeling, turn their thoughts to the group that encircled their own domestic hearth, and impel them to do their duty. Arriving at Jamaica, they took into custody some of the principal tories, disarmed others, and thence proceeded on their mission through the county.
Col. Heard was indefatigable, treated the inhabitants with
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ANNALS OF NEWTOWN.
the utmost civility, and displayed great skill and prudence in the execution of his duty. He secured the persons of Nathaniel Moore, Capt. Samuel Hallett, William Weyman, and John Shoals, of Newtown,' whom he conveyed, with other prison- ers, nineteen in all, to Philadelphia, and on Feb. 6th, presented them before congress. This body sent them back to be exam- ined by the New-York convention. Arriving again at New- York, they were put under guard in a house of their own selecting in the city, under surveillance of Col. Lasher, and letters were sent to the town committees to collect the evi- dence of their guilt. Soon after, they petitioned for their liberty, stating that they had been at great expense in their journey to and from Philadelphia, and were now confined at their own charge, and denied the pleasure of visiting their families ; they were willing to give security and pledge their honor to appear before the convention when desired to do so. Their case was deferred for several days, when renewing their petition, they were discharged from custody, on Feb. 16th, after paying all expenses and giving bonds for their peaceable deportment and appearance if summoned.
But, notwithstanding the vigilance of Col. Heard, in his attempt to disarm the loyalists of Queen's county, he was but partially successful, for many concealed their best guns and gave up the poorer ones, while other persons fled or secreted themselves. In March, it was resolved to secure the whole body of tories on Long Island, in order to put the city of New-York and its environs in a state of defence, it being greatly apprehended that the king's troops would attempt to get possession of the province in the course of the spring. Accordingly, by Gen. Lec's order, Lt. Col. Seers made an ex- pedition into Queen's county. On March 6th, he arrived at . Newtown, with a captain's company, and "tendered the oath to four of the greater tories, which they swallowed as hard as if it were a four-pound shot they were trying to get down." The next day he proceeded on to Jamaica.
In further prosecution of the defensive measures above alluded to, the convention, on March 7th, advised the imme-
1 Inquiries were made after Capt. Jeromus Rapelje, one of the proscribed, but he had died four days before Heard landed in Newtown. It is said that his family, apprehensive of violence to his remains, buried him in great haste.
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ANNALS OF NEWTOWN.
diate organization of the militia, under competent officers. Newtown consisted of two beats, the north and south. In the former a company was formed under Capt. Jonathan Law- rence, and in the latter another under Capt. Abraham Remsen, the first containing 107, and the other 86 men, subject to bear arms.1 The Newtown troop of light horse, consisting of 44 men, was commanded by Capt. Richard Lawrence, and after- wards by his brother, Capt. Daniel Lawrence, who was now first lieutenant; Samuel Riker was second lieutenant, Jona- than Coe, cornet, and Peter Rapelje, quarter-master. On the resignation of Capt. R. Lawrence, from infirmity, some time after, and his brother taking the command, Riker and Coe were promoted one grade, and Thomas Betts succeeded to the cornetcy. Capt. Abraham Riker, of the New-York conti- nental line, who, the previous fall, at the storming of Quebec, had held a command composed in part of Newtown men; was now busy raising a company, and several months of the spring and summer were consumed in completing it. Being very im- perfectly equipped, the Jamaica committee furnished them with thirty old muskets, which were put in order at Newtown, un- der the direction of Capt. Riker. This company was attached to the regiment of Col. Ritzema, which formed a part of the brigade of Maj. Gen. Lord Stirling. The militia of Queen's county being destitute of ammunition, Capt. Jonathan Law- rence was furnished with 10,000 cartridges and 1000 flints, to be distributed among them. Newtown began to resound with the din of warlike preparation.
While these military demonstrations were making, the town committee was doing its utmost to quell the turbulent spirits of the disaffected, and maintain the authority of con- gress. That body had appointed May 17th, as a general fast day, but when the whigs of Newtown sought in humility to
1 The subaltern commissioned officers of the north beat company, were William Sackett, Ist lieut. William Lawrence, 2d lieut. and Jesse Warner, ensign; but on the promotion of Capt. Jonathan Lawrence to a majority, on Aug. 10th, 1776, William Lawrence succeeded to the command of the com- pany. The subalterns in the south beat company, were Benjamin Coc, 1st lieut. Robert Furman, 2d lieut. and Benjamin North, ensign. Capt. Abraham Rem- sen was raised to the rank of major soon after, when Coe, Furman and North were each elevated one grade, and Jonah Hallett received the ensigncy.
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ANNALS OF NEWTOWN.
supplicate the favor of Heaven on their efforts for freedom, there was seen upon the premises of John Moore, Jun. one of the persons accused of taking a prominent stand with the loy- alists, a king's standard hoisted on a pole, as if in derision of the solemn occasion. Notice was taken of it, and complaints of this "fresh insult" to the United Colonies, were made to the town committee by Waters Smith, Esq. Capt. Nathaniel Woodward, and several other inhabitants. The committee waited upon Mr. Moore, on the 27th, and beheld for them- selves the verification of the charge; the emblem of royalty still floated in the breeze. It was taken down, and secured, with the person of Moore, whom they examined, but obtain- ing no satisfaction, they ordered Capt. Abraham Remsen to conduct him under guard to the convention at New-York. Moore was accordingly taken to the city a prisoner and pre- sented to the convention, together with the flag in question, and a letter from Capt. Lawrence setting forth his offence. On his examination Moore stated that a parcel of schoolboys, who went to school in Newtown, hoisted the colors on his field; he first saw them hoisted on a fast day, and the boys told him that they got the colors of a lad from Now- York, now in Newtown, whose name is Moore; that he order- ed them down on the fast day, but not afterwards; as children put them up, he did not imagine that men would notice it; that he had not signed the general association, nor was it offer- ed to him to sign. Being asked if he would defend the United Colonies by force of arms, he answered that he did not choose to fight, and never meant to, if he could avoid it, and would avoid it as long as he could. On a consideration of his case, the convention permitted him to go upon parole in the city, he promising to attend at the city hall from day to day, ready to obey their direction, and not to depart the city without leave. The next day, on his request, his parole was extended to his own house, and he returned home. The convention or- dered a letter of thanks to be signed by the president, and forwarded to the Newtown committee.
The excitement which at this juncture pervaded all circles, was heightened by the news that the general congress at Phi- ladelphia, had, on the 4th of July, dissolved their connection with the mother country, renounced the authority of both king
-
186
ANNALS OF NEWTOWN.
and parliament, and declared the colonies Free and Independent States, binding themselves, by a solemn compact, to defend their liberties with their lives, fortunes, and sacred honors. Copies of this important document were received, and read at the head of each company in Newtown. It was a scene of varied emotions and absorbing interest. Hitherto the cause of the colonies had been that of British subjects contending for the honor and preservation of the English constitution against a corrupt parliament. Now all kingly allegiance was renounced, and the contest was to be waged for an absolute independence of Great Britain. Wholly unprepared for so ultra a step, num- bers turned their backs upon liberty, while others clenched more firmly their muskets, ready to seal with their blood, if need be, their attachment to freedom's cause.
That blood must soon flow was now evident, for the British troops had made a landing on Staten Island, and their nearer approach was expected. The convention, on July 20th, or- dered out one-fourth of the militia of Long Island, for the purpose of collecting the stock into convenient places, so as to be driven, when necessary, from the coast into the interior of the Island, to prevent its falling into the enemies' hands, and thus afford them supplies. Five days after, in compliance with this order, a quarter of the Newtown militia was drafted, under Capt. Benjamin Coe, of the south beat company ; the light horse with the foot, a circumstance which they did not relish, having been to the expense of equipping themselves as troopers. The company thus formed numbering forty-four men,' was attached to the regiment of Col. Josiah Smith, of Brookhaven, of which Capt. Abraham Remsen, of Newtown, had been appointed major; and forming part of Gen. Na- thaniel Woodhull's brigade, to whom the duty of protecting the stock on Long Island had been particularly assigned.
Information that the enemy were reembarking, with evi- dent intent to land on Long Island, induced the convention to order Col. Smith to march with his regiment and join the brigade of Gen. Greene, at Brooklyn, and these instructions were communicated to Col. Smith, on the 9th of August. The
' For their names see section 103 of Onderdonk's Revolutionary Incidents, a valuable repository of facts pertaining to Long Island during the Revolution, and from which I have drawn largely in preparing this portion of my work.
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ANNALS 0 F NEWTOWN.
day following, one-half of the militia of King's and Queen's was directed immediately to be formed into one regiment, un- der command of Col. Jeromus Remsen, of Newtown, and re- pair to the same place. Both of these orders were promptly executed, and the two regiments, which included within their ranks nearly all the Newtown militia, took up positions with- in the American lines, at Brooklyn, where they were employed in throwing up entrenchments and standing guard at the out- posts and ferries.
The British forces had now landed at New Utrecht, and their assault upon our troops being hourly expected, (the issue of which seemed very dubious,) the convention, on August 24th, ordered the whole militia of Queen's county, with the troop of horse, to be called out, and all diligence to be used to prevent the stock from falling into the hands of the enemy ; that the captain of the King's county troop (Lambert Suydam) join them, and that the inhabitants of Queen's, not subject to militia duty, assist when ordered. Gen. Woodhull hastened to forward the execution of these orders, and early on the day of the disastrous battle of Long Island, (Aug. 27th,) with a command of less than a hundred men furnished him the day previous by Col. Potter, of Huntington, was scouring New- town, and collecting the cattle, three hundred head of which he took off the same day to Jamaica, whence they were driven eastward to the Hempstead plains. His party was reinforced during the day by forty militia of the regiment of Queen's, and fifty troopers from Newtown and King's county. His po- sition was now becoming critical. The American army were driven within their lines at Brooklyn, scouting parties of the enemy were not far distant, and his force was constantly di- minishing, because of the anxiety of the militia to reach their homes and protect or remove their families. Hc had expected that the regiments of Smith and Remsen would be detached to his aid, but this was now become impracticable, as the British troops had cut off his communication with the camp at Brooklyn.
The next day, being the 28th, Woodhull ordered the rem- nant of his men, about ninety in number, to move off to the eastward with the stock, while he remained at Jamaica, in ex- pectation every moment of further orders from the convention,
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for which he had despatched his brigade-major, Jonathan Law- rence. But alas! he lingered too long. In the afternoon, no word arriving, he followed slowly on after his men, but halted during a heavy shower two miles east of Jamaica. The late Ma- jor Robert Moore, of Newtown, who was then a young man, and had been with Gen. Woodhull, was at the house of Mrs. Cebra, in Jamaica, keeping the females company during the shower, when a detachment of the 17th Light Dragoons, under Capt. Oliver Delancey, entered the village, amid thunder, lightning, and a violent rain, in pursuit of Woodhull's party. They reined up at Mrs. Cebra's to inquire for Col. Robinson, an ac- tive whig partizan. Moore came to the door, when, mistaking him for the colonel, they nearly cut off his hand with a sabre blow. On finding their prey had escaped, they hastened on eastward. At Carpenter's inn they took Gen. Woodhull pri- soner, cruelly wounding him with their swords. But the un- timely fate of this gallant officer is too well known for rehearsal here. Several of the citizens of Newtown, namely, Richard Bragaw, George Brinckerhoff, Abraham Devine, and Ludlam Haire, all of whom had been with Gen. Woodhull, driving stock, were also surprised and captured at Hinchman's tavern, Jamaica, and taken from thence to a British prison-ship, where they were urged to enlist, but, by bribing a friend to govern- ment, were released.
Newtown was now open to the enemy, and many of the whig families, alarmed at their defenceless condition, fled in the utmost confusion, taking with them such of their effects as were of most value or could be gathered in the haste of the moment. A number of scattering troops had posted them- selves, the previous day, on the ridge of hills between New- town and Jamaica ; entered many houses, taking victuals and drink, but as yet had not plundered. About three o'clock in the afternoon of the 28th, and while it was raining, two High- land foot soldiers, armed with muskets, and conducted by James Marr, a Scotchman and loyalist living at Dry Harbor, approached the house of Jeromus Remsen, Sen. at Hempstead Swamp, (now James Weeden's,) who, with his family and his daughter, the wife of Barent Johnson, of Brooklyn, was sit- ting at the front door. They said they had come to search for rebels, and being told that there were none there, they replied
ANNALS OF NEWTOWN, 189
with a profane epithet that there were rebels there, (alluding to Mrs. Johnson and her children,) and if they continued to harbor them, they would come again and plunder the house. All this while, Garret Remsen, who was one of the troop, lay asleep with his uniform on, in an adjoining bed-room. Hav- ing been with Woodhull, driving stock, he had come in about eleven o'clock, overcome with fatigue, and had lain down to obtain some rest. His wife woke him after the Highlanders left, and warned him of his danger. Hastily putting on a great coat, he went out of the back door, escaped to Harlem, and was seven years in exile.
Early the following morning, Aug. 29th, the British light dragoons, from Jamaica, entered the town. They overtook Lieut. Jonathan Coe and Hezekiah Field, of the troop, who the day before had returned from driving stock to White Pot, and were now starting to cross the Sound, They were pass- ing through a field, probably to elude observation, and Lieut. Coe had thrown his epaulett in the bushes, but they were re- cognized; the light horse leaped the fence and seized them. They were mounted behind their captors, and amid a profusion of insult and abuse, were carried to Flatbush jail, where the unfortunate Coe died of dysentery, having suffered much for want of food and attention. His body was thrown in a hole, and refused the rites of Christian burial, though his friends requested it for that purpose.
The light horse scoured the town, and while it was yet early, guided by one George Rapelye, a loyalist, came along the Poor Bowery, and halted at Jacobus Lent's (late Isaac Ra- pelye's,) to get some bread. Brandishing their naked swords, they declared that they were in pursuit of that d-d rebel, Doctor Riker. The doctor had spent the night in visiting different sections of the town, tearing down Howe's proclama- tions, that none might be misled, and induced, at this critical juncture, to remain and accept British protection, instead of hasting to the support of the American arms. The females at Mr. Lent's were terrified at the ferocious appearance of the light horse, and observing the haste and greediness with which they broke and ate the dry bread, Balche, a colored bondwoman, innocently inquired of her mistress whether they would not eat them. They dashed on towards Hellgate, but the doctor
13
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ANNALS OF NEWTOWN.
had escaped in a boat to Barn Island, and thus eluded these demons in human form.
The tories, in the excess of their triumph, assuming the character of informers against their whig neighbors, made themselves greatly helpful to the invading foe. They were to be distinguished by a badge of loyalty which they wore; a red ribbon tied around their hat, or a red flannel rag tucked under the hat-band. Estranged by the violence of party strife, and as if animated by the very author of evil, they vented their malice in open persecution of those with whom they had before lived in neighborly intercourse. On the night of Aug. 29th, the horses of Mrs. Johnson, before named, were taken out of her father's pasture, in Hempstead Swamp. The next morning, Aert Van Duyn and his brothers passed the door, and Mrs. J. asked Aert what he had done with her horses, (for the blacks had told her that he took them.) He replied, that they were d-d rebel horses, and he had entered them into the British service. They were never recovered. That day, Abraham Remsen, of Brooklyn, visited the house, and Mrs. Johnson, fearing to remain after the threats of Marr and the soldiers, embraced the occasion to return with him in the afternoon, to Brooklyn. At the Quaker meeting-house, near Maspeth, they met a portion of the British army, under Maj. Gen. Robertson, coming from Brooklyn through Bedford and Cripplebush, on their way to Hellgate, to oppose Gen. Lee, reported to be landing there with an army. The troops drove before them large quantities of cattle, collected on the road, which they took to Newtown village. Here the army en- camped for the night on a tract of vacant land owned by Benjamin Betts, up the Dutch lane. But that first night of their presence was stained by excesses perpetrated by the sol- diery, for which Gen. Robertson the next day issued the fol- lowing apology :- " Major Gen. Robertson, responsible for the actions of those he commands, takes upon himself the respon- sibility of satisfying the people of the village for the depreda- tions committed last evening by part of the 1st brigade, who came for water. He hopes for the future his troops will ab- stain from a crime which disgraces even victory, and defeats the king's intention to protect and reclaim his American subjects,"
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