Major General Philemon Dickinson. New York Public Library
On the 25th of November, 1777, General Philemon Dickinson, commanding the New Jersey Militia, suddenly embarked before daylight from Halstead’s Point to Staten Island, with a party of about fourteen hundred militia. He advanced his men in three different detachments by different roads, to rendezvous at a central point a few miles distant, undoubtedly Richmond. Unfortunately it was soon found that General Skinner had been informed of the intended attack, and before three o’clock he had drawn his troops off the Island. General Dickinson, however, made a few little attacks on some straggling parties of the tories and on the detachment of British troops under Major-General John Campbell [at Fort Hill], and he killed some five or six men and took twenty-four prisoners [Three NJ Volunteers were captured: Lieutenant Jacob Van Buskirk, Lieutenant Edward Earle and Surgeon John Hammell].
Major General John Campbell: Wikipedia
Immediately after opening fire upon the British, General Dickinson discovered reinforcements and several ships of war approaching the Island. Knowing that he would be overpowered by numbers, he gave orders to retire from the scene, and with the loss of a few men whom the British captured, the Americans made good their escape to the Jersey shore. He lost three men of his command captured, and two wounded. The main object designed by this affair was not accomplished; but General Washington was pleased with the disposal made of the forces by General Dickinson and the manner in which they had been handled.
General Dickinson sums up the results of his invasion in the following letter to Washington:
Elizabeth Town [N.J.] Novemr 28th 1777
Dear Sir
Having obtained the fullest Information, respecting the Strength & Situation, of the Enemy upon Staten Island, & made the necessary Preparations, I called in many Volunteers, whose Numbers, in addition to those who were on Duty at this Post, amounted to about 1400 Men, with this Detachment, I landed Yesterday Morning before Day, upon the Island, from Halsteads Point—The whole Strength of the Enemy, were drawn to this side of the Island, & extended from the Blazing Star, to their former works; Genl Skinner with five Regiments of Greens, were quartered in different Parts, about three hundred Waldeckers with Genl Campbell lay at the Works, in which were light cannon with a company of Artillery, cover’d by a fifty Gun Ship, & a Sloop of War—I landed in three Divisions (having the best Guides) & intended to have march’d bye roads, in order to get in the rear of the Greens, & cut off their Retreat—the Divisions proceeded as far as was intended, (7 Miles) & then met at the appointed Rendezvous, but to my great disappointment, they secured their retreat in the Works, by the most precipitate flight, Genl Skinner, Col: Allen & many other officers having narrowly escaped—We drove in all their Pickets with little opposition, & now & then skirmished a little with them as they fled—I kept my Design as much as possible, not having communicated it, to the Field officers, untill 8, OClock the Evening before, but notwithstanding all my precaution, Mr Skinner recieved the Intelligence at 3, OClock in the Morng which frustrated my Plan—I flatter’d myself, I should have had the Pleasure, of giving your Excellency a good account of the General & his Green Brigade, which undoubtedly would have been the case, had he not unluckily have received the above Information[1]—We made the following Prisoners—vizt two Lieutenants, (one Col: Buskirks Son) one Surgeon, one Commissary, & twenty Privates—Mr Hud of Brunswick among the Numbers—& killed five or six Greens—our loss was, three Men made Prisoners, & two slightly wounded[2]—In justice to both officers & Men, I must inform your Excellency, they behaved well, & wanted nothing but an opportunity, to have done honor to the State they belong to, their Expectations were great, & their Spirits high. I was astonished the Enemy had not collected, & formed upon some advantageous Ground, this I expected would have been the case; & proceeded with caution—They came down in a Body, to play the old Game upon our Rear, this I expected, & was sufficiently prepared for, having thrown up a small Work at Halsteads Point, & placed two Field Pieces in it, from which we kept up a brisk fire, & soon dispersed them—After remaining on the Island Eight hours, & driving them within their Works, we made an easy & secure retreat—not having lost a single Man, Horse, or Boat—By a Flag just come over, I am informed they say, in excuse for their Gallant Behaviour, that we were joined by 2,000 Continental Troops—had it not have been strong tide of Flud, by which means, they might easily have been reinforced from N. York—as General Putnam only intended a Feint there, & their having two Gondola’s, & an armed Sloop, lying in the Sound, I should have remained in Possession of the Island for the Day; those considerations & the Troops being much fatigued, as the Night was very cold, & they obliged to march thro’ much water, determined me to return—which reasons, I hope will mee⟨t your⟩ Excellency’s approbation.
⟨I pr⟩oposed to the Governor, to march most of the Men ⟨from th⟩is Post to the Southern Part of this State, to serve out ⟨th⟩e remainder of their Time, (indeed the whole Force should have marched long ago, but the Council would not consent) if I am not forbid, shall take the Liberty of sending on six hundred of the best Troops early tomorrow Morng which Detachment, I shall accompany—the Weather is very bad, but hope it will clear up this Eveng.
My Indisposition, being much fatigued, & very wet in crossing the river, prevented my giving your Excellency the above Information earlier.
A Fleet consisting of 25 Sail, is just arrived at the Narrows, said to come from England, & to have brought over some of the New raised Irish Regts. I have the honor to be, Your Excellencys most Obt Servt
Philemon Dickinson
The prisoners taken in the raid of General Dickinson, in the preceding November, were still in the possession of the Americans at the commencement of the year 1778, and some had been summarily dealt with. In consequence the following correspondence passed between General Robertson, the commanding officer at New York, and Governor Livingston, of New Jersey:
“New York, January 4, 1778.
“Sir: — I am interrupted in my daily attempts to soften the calamities of prisoners, and reconcile their care with our security, by a general cry of resentment, arising from an information —
“That officers in the King’s service taken on the [27th] of November, and Mr. John Brown, a deputy-commissary, are to be tried in Jersey for high treason; and that Mr. Hill and another prisoner have been hanged.
“Though I am neither authorized to threaten or to sooth, my wish to prevent an increase of horrors, will justify my using the liberty of an old acquaintance, to desire your interposition to put an end to, or prevent measures which, if pursued on one side would tend to prevent every act of humanity on the other, and render every person who exercises this to the King’s enemies, odious to his friends.
“I need not point out to you all the cruel consequences of such a proceedure. I am hopeful you’ll prevent them, and excuse this trouble from. Sir,
“Your most obedient and humble servant,
“James Robertson.
” N. B. At the moment that the cry of murder reached my ears, I was signing orders, that Fell‘s request to have the liberty of the city, and Colonel Reynold to be set free on his parole, should be complied with. I have not recalled the order, because tho’ the evidence be strong, I can’t believe it possible a measure so cruel and impolitic, could be adopted where you bear sway.
“To William Livingston, Esq., &c., &c.”
Immediately upon the receipt of this letter Governor Livingston replied as follows:
“Sir: — Having received a letter under your signature, dated the 4th instant, which I have some reason to think you intended for me, I sit down to answer your inquiries concerning certain officers in the service of your King, taken on Staten Island, and one Browne who calls himself a deputy commissary; and also respecting one Iliff and another prisoner, (I suppose you must mean John Agee, he having shared the fate you mention), who have been hanged.
“Buskirk, Earl and Hammell, who are, I presume, the officers intended, with the said Browne, were sent to me by General Dickinson as prisoners taken on Staten Island. Finding them all to be subjects of this state, and to have committed treason against it, the Council of Safety committed them to Trenton goal. At the same time I acquainted General Washington, that if he chose to treat the three first who were British officers, as prisoners of war, I doubted not the Council of Safety would be satisfied. General Washington has since informed me that he intends to consider them as such; and they are therefore at his service, whenever the Commissary of Prisoners shall direct concerning them. Browne, I am told, committed several robberies in this state before he took sanctuary on Staten Island, and I should scarcely imagine that he has expiated the guilt of his former crimes by committing the greater one of joining the enemies of his country. However, if General Washington chooses to consider him also a prisoner of war, I shall not interfere in the matter.
‘‘Hill was executed after a trial by jury for enlisting our subjects, himself being one, as recruits in the British army, and he was apprehended on his way with them to Staten Island. Had he never been subject to this state, he would have forfeited his life as a spy. [John]Magee was one of his company, and had also procured our subjects to enlist in the service of the enemy.
“If these transactions, Sir, should induce you to countenance greater severities toward our people, whom the fortune of war has thrown into your power, than they have already suffered, you will pardon me for thinking that you go farther out of your way to find palliatives for inhumanity, than necessity seems to require; and if this be the cry of murder to which you allude as having reached your ears, I sincerely pity your ears for being so frequently assaulted with the cries of murder much more audible, because less distant, I mean the cries of your prisoners who are constantly perishing in the goals of New York (the coolest and most deliberate kind of murder) from the rigorous manner of their treatment.
“I am with due respect, “Your must humble servant, ”William Livingston.
Sources and Notes:
Morris’s Memorial History of Staten Island, Ira K. Morris, New York: Winthrop Press (1900); History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York from its discovery to the present time, Richard M. Bayles, New York: L.E. Preston (1887); Founders Online
1. British officer Stephen Kemble’s journal entry for 27 Nov. also reported minor skirmishing on that date: “The Rebels Landed upon Staten Island in Force, from one thousand to seventeen hundred; proceeded as far as General Howe’s Head Quarters, but there turned about and fled to their Boats, where they Embarked; the loss of either side is so little worth mentioning that we shall not say what it was” (Kemble Papers, 1:145).
2. These prisoners all served in Gen. Cortlandt Skinner’s Loyalist corps of New Jersey Volunteers. Jacob Van Buskirk (b. 1760) of Bergen County was a lieutenant in the 3d Battalion, commanded by his father, Lt. Col. Abraham Van Buskirk. Van Buskirk returned to his battalion after his exchange. He was promoted to captain in May 1780 and was wounded at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, S.C., in September 1781. Van Buskirk settled in Nova Scotia on British half-pay after the war. Edward Earle (1757–1825), also of Bergen County, was commissioned a lieutenant in the 3d Battalion in November 1776. Earle, whose property was confiscated by the Americans in 1778, was promoted to captain in July 1781, and after the war he settled in New Brunswick, Canada. John Hammell (born c.1755) of Windsor in Middlesex County served as a surgeon in Col. Philip Van Cortlandt’s regiment of New Jersey militia from July 1776 to November 1776, when he deserted and joined Van Buskirk’s 3d Battalion. Hammell also settled in New Brunswick, Canada, after the war, receiving British half-pay to 1801. John Brown (died c.1780), a cooper from New Brunswick, N.J., and a former commissary for the American forces, apparently served as both a deputy commissary and guide for Skinner’s corps. The New Jersey council of safety on 31 Nov. ordered Van Buskirk, Earle, Hammel, and Brown “committed to Trenton Jail for high Treason” (N.J. Council of Safety Minutes, 167). GW recommended against trying the four men for treason, and after a grand jury failed to bring in a bill of indictment against them, the council turned them over to Elias Boudinot as prisoners of war (see William Livingston to GW, 1 Dec., and note 2, GW to Livingston, 11 Dec., and Charles Pettit to Elias Boudinot, 1 Jan. 1778, in NjP: Thorne-Boudinot Collection). “Mr Hud” of New Brunswick, N.J., may be James Hude, Jr., son of the former mayor of New Brunswick, James Hude, Sr.
Gen. Lord Stirling / engraved by G.R. Hall. William L. Clements Library
The third important attempt to invade the island was made during this winter which is known as the hard winter of 1779-80. The American forces were quartered in New Jersey for the winter, but poorly clothed, provisioned and armed. General Washington, in his quarters at Morristown, planned this expedition, and left its direction to General Stirling. From their peculiar exposure and sufferings at the moment, the commander-in-chief, perhaps, suggested this attack, to divert the minds of his discontented men from their numerous and fearful forebodings.
Head Qrs Morristown 13th Jan. 1780.
My Lord,
Herewith Inclosed are your Lordships discretionary Instructions—In addition to what you read in the morning, & in consequence of Genl Irvines information respecting the state of the Ice between York, long, & Staten Islands I have inserted a clause by which you will see that if things continue in the condition he represents I would have your Lordship turn your thoughts to the practicability of compelling a surrender of the enemy if they should even resort to their Forts.
I am sorry Colo. Hazen made that March in one day, which was intended for two—To counteract this wd it not be well for Genl Irvines detachment to assume an appearance of returning to Camp?
The Men which will reinforce you in Sleds tomorrow, had better be met at Springfield by your Orders, & a careful person to conduct them at once to the place of rendezvous. the Detachment will consist of abt 400 Men & may join Genl Irvines brigade if you have nothing better in view for them.
You know I presume that 40,000 Cartridges have been sent to Genl Irvine for the use of the Troops on the Expedition.
If Colo. Stewarts Detachment should be ready earlier than I expect tomorrow I will direct him to Halt at quibbletown (under pretence of takg in forage there) till a proper hour arrives for him to proceed.6 I mention this that you may know how to meet him with orders in case you have not seen him since yesterday. & fixed your plan with him—In haste I am Yr Lordships most obt Servt
[George Washington]
The American army was then encamped on the hills back of Morristown, the encampment extending several miles into the country. Their canvas tents afforded but a miserable security from the rain, sleet and snow. On the 3d of January came one of the most tremendous snow storms ever remembered. Some of their sheltering hovels and tents were blown down or torn to pieces, and the soldiers became like sheep under the snow, which fell to a depth of from four to six feet. So obstructed were the roads as to prevent the usual receipt of supplies, and for ten days each man had but two pounds of meat and some even were entirely destitute. But why continue the details of the condition of the American army during that hard winter? They are matters of general history. We have given enough to show that it was under the most disheartening circumstances that the plan of invading Staten Island was conceived and set in operation.
In a letter from General Stirling to George Washington, Lord Stirling explains his doubt for a successful plan of attack:
13 January 1780 from Genl Irvines quarters [Crane’s Mill, N.J.]
Sir,
After a full consultation with General Irvine Col. Hazen and Colonel Stewart, and hearing the result of their intelligence and observations—I am of opinion that an attempt to surprise the enemy on Staten Island would have very little probability of success. They are as much upon their guard as they can be—They have patroles at every accessible place; and for this purpose make use of all the Militia as well as their own horse and foot. The difficulties too of getting upon the Island appear to be greater than was imagined; and the roads will no doubt be rendered very bad by the drifting of the snow as the wind has been pretty high to day. Col. Stewart will give your Excellency a detail of particulars by which you will be the better able to judge whether it will be eligible to continue the original plan to change it for another or defer the execution to a more favourable opportunity—The roads a few days hence may be more practicable and the enemy fatigued by their continual guards and patroles may relax in their vigilance.
It has been suggested that relinquishng the idea of a surprise a descent may be made upon the Island in hopes of bringing the enemy to a surrender, as it is said they are very short of provisions and have no covering in their works—But our intelligence is not so explicite on these heads as might be wished. It is a question whether their huts are not near enough to their works to be effectually under their protection; and on this plan we must expect that our own troops will suffer greatly from the severity of the weather which is at this time excessive.
If any thing is attempted under our present information, I should think our whole force ought to be collected at one point and that the detachments now preparing ought to join the others here.
I shall make every preparation with the troops here and shall be ready to do whatever Your Excellency shall direct—I request the favour of hearing from you as early as possible tomorrow.
My opinion is that if any thing is done it must be by force and in open daylight. Very respectfully Yr obt
stirling,
Source: Morris’s Memorial History of Staten Island
General Stirling was dispatched with a body of the [2,500] troops to attack the outposts of the enemy on Staten Island. They proceeded in [100] sleighs, and crossing the river on the ice at Elizabethtown point, took up their line of march toward the present site of Port Richmond. The bridge of ice was sufficient to allow the passage of any force across the kills, and it was supposed that the same obstruction would prevent the movement of reinforcements to the enemy by means of their shipping in the bay. The detachment under Stirling numbered about two thousand five hundred men.
When a little east of Port Richmond the column divided, part marching onward toward New Brighton, where the British post had been erected on the hills, and the other wing proceeding up Mill lane, the present Columbia street of West New Brighton, and approached the mill which stood at the head of the pond. The night of the 14th, on which they made this long passage from camp to the designed scene of action was a starry night, bright and clear, but so intensely cold that about one third of the men were more or less wounded by the biting frost. The intent was to surprise Skinner’s brigade of new recruits, but it was soon discovered that their designs had been anticipated by the enemy, information having reached them through the kind offices of their tory friends. A surprise was now out of the question, and as the works of the enemy were well situated and apparently strong, and the means of receiving reinforcements from New York not obstructed as had been expected, it was deemed unadvisable to make an assault.
“The attempt made by the rebels upon Staten Island January 15th 1780.” http://quod.lib.umich.edu/w/wcl1ic/x-1628/wcl001718. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed: October 30, 2019. Henry Clinton Papers
The troops spent the day of the 15th of January and the following night on the island, in snow waist deep, protecting themselves as well as they could from the inclement weather by making huge fires of the cordwood which they found piled up where they halted. The British during the day sent a boat to New York, which returned at evening with reinforcements. On the morning of the 16th Stirling withdrew his detachment to Elizabethtown. The official report of Stirling concludes with the following statements:
“The retreat was effected in good order, and with very little loss. A party of the enemy’s horse charged our rear guard under Major Edwards, but was immediately repulsed. The major had three men killed. Some few of the men were frost bitten, and though we took all the pains in our power to have all those unable to march transported in sleighs, yet I imagine a very few may have been left behind.”
Immediately after crossing, a party was detached under Lieutenant-Colonel Willett, to Decker’s house. The corps there had been alarmed and barely made its escape. The house as a garrison place, and 8 or 9 small vessels were burned. A considerable quantity of blankets and other stores were found.”
While the troops were upon the island, a number of persons from this side [Elizabethtown] took advantage of the occasion to pass upon the island, and plunder the people there in the most shameful and merciless manner. Many of them were stopped on their return, and their booty taken from them. In addition to which, I have sent an order for publication, requiring those who had eluded the search to restore the articles in their possession, and exhorting the good people at large, to assist in detecting them. All the soldiery on recrossing the ice, were searched, and the little plunder they had taken from them, and their names noted, that they may be brought to punishment. The articles recovered are, and will be deposited with the Revd. Mr. Caldwell, who is exerting himself in the affair, to be returned to the owners. I am happy to inform your Excellency, that a very inconsiderable part indeed, of the troops, dishonored themselves, by participating in these enormities.”
Additional light is thrown upon the affair by the following extract from a letter from an officer on board the British brig “Hawk,” lying off Staten Island at the time.
“On the 15th inst. at Day break, the Alarm was given, that the Rebels were on Staten Island, an Express was sent on board from Gen. [Thomas] Sterling [no relation to William Alexander] to prepare for Action; we immediately got a Spring on our Cable and cleared Ship, the Rebels appeared on the Hill over the Ferry, and brought a Field Piece to bear upon us, which we perceiving, fired our bow Gun twice at them, the second shot roused them from a Meal they were making of broiled Beef Stakes; their Fire from the Field Piece was well directed, but the Shot fell short of us some Yards. A large Party of Rebels came down to burn the Houses and Forage, we fired on them, shot one Man’s Arm off; he bled to death and now lays in the snow; our Firing made them retreat as fast as possible up the Hill to their main Body (which by the Information of two Prisoners and a Deserter that we had on board, consisted of 4,000 Foot, 200 Horse, 6 Brass Field Pieces 6 Pounders, and a Number of Artillery Men) Gen. Skinner sent a Letter on board, thanking us for the Service we did. ‘Tis certain that the ‘Hawk’ prevented the Forage, the Tavern, and all the Houses in that Neighborhood from being burnt. A Number of Men, Women and Children came on board for Refuge with their Goods and Effects.”
Another British account contains so much that will be read with interest that it is presented here. Proper allowances must be made for the partisan coloring in these statements of interested persons at the time: “On Friday Night the 14th inst. a large Detachment from the Rebel Army, consisting, it is supposed, of between 3 and 4000 Men, with 6 Pieces of Cannon, and 2 Howitzers, moved suddenly from the neighborhood of Morristown, and being (as it is reported) transported in Sleighs over the Ice, reached Staten-Island before Day break in the Morning of the 15th, bending their March towards Decker’s-Ferry. Colonel [von]Buskirk commanding the 4th Battalion of Brigadier-General Skinner’s Brigade posted there, having received Intelligence of their Approach, judged it proper to retire towards Ryerson’s Ferry, not being in Force sufficient to oppose so considerable a corps. The Rebels pursued their March, and before Noon took Post upon the Heights, near the Redoubts, constructed at the North End of the Island: from their Position, cutting off the Communication between the Corps hutted there, and the Troops at Richmond[town] and the Flag Staff [present-day Fort Wadsworth]: they remained in this Situation till early in the Morning of the 16th, when they were observed retiring from Staten Island, without attempting any Thing; they burnt Decker’s House, and a very few small Vessels frozen in by the Ice at that Place. A small Detachment which harassed their Rear, made a few Prisoners; and several Deserters came to the different Posts during their Stay on the Island.
View Near Elizabethtown, N. J., oil painting by Régis François Gignoux, 1847, Honolulu Museum of Art
“They committed many Excesses, in plundering and distressing the Inhabitants. “Sixteen Prisoners have been already sent to New York; and it is imagined there are others not yet arrived from Staten Island.” It may be noted in passing that the ice soon after became more solid, and there was a bridge across the bay from the island to New York, over which loaded sleighs and other heavy burdens were drawn. A paper of February 7 has the item that eighty six loaded sleighs passed over on the ice the day before. The most intense frost, accompanied by great falls of snow began about the middle of December, and shut up navigation to the port of New York from the sea for many weeks. The severity of the weather increased to such an extent that about the middle of January all communication with New York city by water was cut off, and new means opened by the ice. The passage of the North river from the city was about the 19th of January practicable for the heaviest cannon, a circumstance previously unknown in the memory of man. Soon after provisions were transported in sleighs, and detachments of cavalry marched from New York to Staten Island upon the ice. The East river was also blocked up for many days. In this state of their communications the British on New York island were apprehensive of an attack from the army of Washington, and set on foot a project for putting the loyal expressions of the inhabitants to a test by raising about forty companies of troops among them. This gave them good courage and they actually began to hope that the Americans would make an attack, so well prepared did they feel to resist it. It was not until the 20th of February that the frost abated so as to allow the waters surrounding New York to become navigable.
General Stirling summed up the results of the attack and the subsequent retreat back into New Jersey:
Eliz. Town [N.J.] Jany 16. 1780
Sir,
I have the honor to inform your Excellency that early on yesterday morning the corps under my command crossed the sound at DeHarts point and proceeded towards the Watering place. The enemy having received previous intellegence of our movements a surprise was out of the question; and as their works were well situated and appeared otherwise strong an assault was deemed unadviseable, as it would probably have cost us more than we could have gained by success—We found too contrary to our expectation that the communication between the Island and New York was open. Immediately on our arrival in front of the enemy’s works, they sent off a boat to the city; and in the evening several vessels came down from thence to the Island. As from this circumstance there was no hope of reducing them for want of provision or fuel and a reinforcement might have rendered our continuance dangerous we determined to march off this morning—The retreat was effected in good order and with very little loss. A party of the enemy’s horse charged our rear guard under Major Edwards, but was immediately repulsed. The Major had three men killed, killed one of the light horsemen and took his horse—some of the men were frost-bitten, and though we took all the pains in our power to have all those unable to march transported in slays, yet I imagine a very few may have been Left behind. We took a few prisoners and had a few deserters from the enemy.
Immediately after crossing a party was detached under Lt Colonel Willet to Deckers house. The corps there had been alarmed and barely made its escape—The house (as a garrison place) and eight or nine small vessels near it were burnt. A considerable quantity of blankets, and other stores were found.
While the troops were upon the Island a number of persons from this side took advantage of the occasion to pass upon the Island and plunder the people there in the most shameful and merciless manner. Many of them were stopped on their return & their booty taken from them; in addition to which I have sent an order for publication requiring those who had eluded the search to restore the articles in their possession and exhorting the good people at large to assist in detecting them. All the soldiery, on recrossing the ice were searched, and the little plunder they had taken from them; and their names noted, that they may be brought to punishment. The articles recovered are and will be deposited with The Reverend Mr Caldwell (who is exerting himself in the affair) to be returned to the owners. I am happy to inform your Excellency that a very inconsiderable part indeed of the troops dishonored themselves by participating in these enormities.
The officers and men in general showed a good disposition and I only regret there was no opportunity of turning it to advantage. I have the honor to be yr Excellency’s Most Obedt & hume se⟨rt⟩
Stirling,
______________________ SOURCES: History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York from its discovery to the present time, Richard M. Bayles (New York: L.E. Preston & Co. 1887).
Morris’s memorial history of Staten Island, New York, Ira K. Morris (New York: Memorial Publishing Co. 1898)
1. For Stirling’s orders for this raid, see GW to Stirling, 13 Jan. (first letter), source note.
2. As early as 13 Jan., it was known in New York City that the Continental army was planning to attack Staten Island. New York printer Hugh Gaine wrote in his journal entry for 13 Jan.: “Whispers that the Rebels meditate an Attack in Staten Island” (Ford, Journals of Hugh Gaine, 2:75). British brigadier general Thomas Stirling, commanding on Staten Island, was alerted by five deserters from Major General Stirling’s command (see Baurmeister, Revolution in America, 338).
3. Stirling was mistaken in his belief that reinforcements could reach Staten Island from New York City; futile British efforts to cross troops to the island apparently deceived him into thinking they could make the crossing. In his report to Gen. Henry Clinton for 15 and 16 Jan., Lt. Gen. Wilhelm von Knyphausen, temporary commander of the royal forces in the New York City area, stated: “Every attempt was made to send Reinforcements from New York, upon the Evening of the 15th and before day break in the morning of the 16th but it was found impracticable; the Ice having totally obstructed the Navigation, and a similar exertion from Dennys’s Ferry [Long Island, N.Y.], was attended with little better success” (Knyphausen’s report, 1 Jan.–24 Feb. 1780, MiU-C: Clinton Papers). Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe, whose Queen’s Rangers were stationed on the island, later wrote that “General Kniphausen, on the first signal of Staten Island being attacked, embarked troops to support it. The enemy in the dark of the evening saw these vessels, (which, whether the passage could be effected or not, were wisely directed to be kept plying off and on,) but they did not wait to see if they could reach the island, which in fact the drifting ice prevented, but immediately determining to retreat, they effected it the next morning” (Simcoe, Operations of the Queen’s Rangers, 128).
4. This sentence does not appear on the copy sent to Huntington. GW corrected this omission in a brief note sent the same day (see the source note to GW to Huntington, 18 Jan. [second letter]). Maj. Carl Leopold Baurmeister, aide-de-camp to Knyphausen, reported that the Americans left “twenty stragglers and as many deserters” behind on the island (Baurmeister, Revolution in America, 338). Simcoe claimed that the Americans lost “many men by desertion, and many British soldiers, who had enlisted with them to free themselves from imprisonment, embraced the opportunity of being in a country they were acquainted with, to return to their old companions. The Queen’s Rangers obtained a great many recruits” (Simcoe, Operations of the Queen’s Rangers, 128).
5. Loyalist and militia cavalry officer Isaac Decker later filed a memorial with the British government stating that Stirling’s soldiers had burned the rigging of his sloop, plundered his house, stripped his wife of her clothes, taken all his crops, and burned his fences (Coldham, American Loyalist Claims, 120).
6. Stirling’s order, signed by his aide-de-camp William Barber and dated this date at Elizabeth, N.J., reads: “By an order of the 14th instant, all officers, soldiers, militia men, and followers of the army, were positively prohibited from plundering or insulting the inhabitants of Staten-Island; notwithstanding which many of the inhabitants of this State took the advantage of the opportunity, while the army kept the enemy within their works, and acted in open violation thereof; Major General Lord Stirling therefore positively requires, that all persons possessed of any articles of plunder, taken on the Island, do immediately deliver the same to Doctor Caldwell, at Springfield, to the end that they may be returned to the proper owners, otherwise they will be proceeded against with military severity.—The very few of the soldiery who were guilty of the same misconduct have been already compelled to restore what they had taken, and will be most severely punished. All the good people of this state who know any persons within the above description, are desired to give immediate information thereof.
“The Major General thanks the officers and men for the good disposition shewn in this excursion; particularly for the good order so conspicuous on retiring from the Island; he is only sorry circumstances did not permit him to avail himself more effectually of their services” (New-Jersey Journal [Chatham], 18 Jan.). For James Caldwell’s efforts to have this plunder returned, see Caldwell to GW, 19 Jan.; see also GW to Caldwell, 21 Jan., and GW to Moses Hazen, 21 Jan. (second letter).
7. Hamilton wrote this paragraph after the closing and Stirling’s signature and marked it for inclusion at this point.
8. On 15 Jan., Brig. Gen. Thomas Stirling wrote to Knyphausen with his account of his opposition to the American expedition. Brigadier Stirling explained that “Being informed at half an hour after seven in the morning by Lieut.-Colonel Buskirk that the enemy had crossed upon the ice from Elizabeth Town with artillery and that he had abandoned Deckers House in consequence of orders I had previously given him if they came with cannon, it not being tenable, and that he was retiring slowly towards the redoubts, I immediately ordered 300 men with 2 three-pounders to occupy the heights on our right in front of the redoubts, and repaired myself there to reconnoitre the enemy, ordering at same time 20 light dragoons to observe their motions. On their approach the rebels fired three shot from two field-pieces planted behind Deckers House. I observed them advancing in two columns, one towards the Clove by Housmans, the other by Deckers near Freshwater Pond, the two columns coming nearly at same time on each side of the pond and took possession of the woody heights in front of the centre and left-had redoubts and extending all along them to near the mouth of the Clove, while another body of them, about 600 men with 2 field-pieces, was sent to mask the troops at the flagstaff and the road to Richmond, and a body of 200 formed in front upon our right. Finding my numbers not sufficient to meet them on the field, I was forced to content myself with occupying the grounds near to and in front of the redoubts and making the best disposition I could to receive them should they offer to attack us. An armed brig which lay off the watering place was of essential service to us in covering our left flank and protecting our hay and wood magazines. About 12 o’clock the rebels began to light fires and continued in that position the whole evening and night without any alteration or attempt upon any of our advanced parties. A little after daybreak I was informed a column of the enemy was advancing on our right; upon viewing them I found it consisted of about 150 men, who upon the approach of a small party I carried with me began to retire, and in half an hour after the enemy were discovered going off by Deckers Ferry. A party of 200 men were ordered immediately to follow them and 20 light dragoons. Lieutenant Stewart of the provincial light horse who commanded them and Cornet Tucker of the 17th [Light Dragoons] made a gallant charge on their rear and took a serjeant and four men prisoners, but our foot not being able to keep pace with them nothing more could be done, the rebels having broke up the bridge at Deckers Mills so soon as they crossed, and by ten this morning were all off the island. They burnt Deckers House and five woodboats that lay on the ice. We have taken a serjeant and sixteen men prisoners; by them I learn great numbers of the rebels were frostbit and sent off during the night in sleighs” (Davies, Documents of the American Revolution, 18:34–35).
Simcoe, who believed that the time for the attack had been “well chosen” by the American generals, later wrote that Major General Stirling’s march to the Watering Place “cut off General [Thomas] Stirling’s communication with the Volunteers of Ireland [stationed at the Flagstaff] and the Queen’s Rangers [at Richmond]. Lt. Col. Simcoe occupied the high grounds near Richmond with small parties of cavalry, and the infantry were sedulously employed in what might strengthen that post. … all the cattle in the neighbourhood were brought into the precincts of the garrison, as were the sledges, harness and horses, and the most cheerful and determined appearance of resolution ran through the whole corps. About midday, many deserters came in from the rebel army; by them a perfect knowledge of the enemy’s force was gained.” Simcoe intended to launch an attack on Major General Stirling’s rear but was unable to prevail upon the Staten Island Loyalist militia to take the place of the Rangers in the Richmond redoubts. Upon learning of the retreat of Major General Stirling’s battalions, Simcoe “immediately pursued them with the flank companies and Huzzars; and was overtaken by an order from General [Thomas] Stirling to effect the same purpose; but the enemy had passed to the Jersey shore before he could come up with them. While the troops in the enemy’s front, on their arrival at the heights opposite to the British redoubts [at the Watering Place], halted for the rear to close up, they were permitted to make fires, which increased the power of the frost, and rendered them totally unable to proceed, and the severity of the night affecting the whole of them, many lost their limbs, and several their lives.” Simcoe asserted that the “vast mounds of snow drifted before the redoubts” deterred Major General Stirling from attacking at the Watering Place (Simcoe, Operations of the Queen’s Rangers, 121–28; see also Baurmeister, Revolution in America, 338).
The Abraham Manee homestead, at Seguine’s Point, Prince’s Bay,
is one of the oldest buildings on Staten Island. There is reason to believe that it was erected as far back as 1689, and was the home of a Huguenot that settled on Staten Island. It belonged to the Seguine
estate, and by many residing here today is confounded with the original Seguine homestead. We find indisputable proof of this error in the Richmond County Free Press of 1835, which gives an account of
the burning of the old Seguine homestead, and adds that ” the building was totally destroyed.” There was a post at Seguine’s
Point during the Revolution, and [Manee’s] house was occupied as headquarters for a time by General Vaughan, the British commander. There was a spirited skirmish between the Americans and the British near this house [in 1778], and an officer on Sir William Howe’s staff, who was bearing a message from the Commander-in-chief to General Vaughan, was fatally wounded and died in this old house.
Abraham Manee House (photo copyright by Nick Matranga)Lieutenant Colonel Edward Vaughn Dongan, commander of the 3rd Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers in Skinner’s Loyalist brigade was mortally wounded in a skirmish, midway between the Old Blazing Star Ferry and Prince’s Bay. He was taken to a local farm (which I have yet to identify). It may very well be The Abraham Manee homestead in Prince’s Bay, where British redoubts have been discovered nearby.
MAJOR GENERAL SULLIVAN’S ORDERS CAMP ON LONG ISLAND
[Colonel Little’s Order Book]
[Long Island,] August 20, 1776.
Field Offr of the Day tomorrow, Col. Phipps, (?) Adjt from Col. Little’s regt.
August 21st, 1776.
Five hundred men to be on fatigue to-morrow to be on the works by 8 o’clock, to leave at 12, & begin at 2 o’clock, & work till half past 6. Nothing can be more disagreeable to the Genl. than to call upon the men to be so constantly on fatigue, but their own salvation, and the safety of the country requires it. He hopes that in 2 or 3 days more the encampment will be so secure that he can release the men from fatigue and give them an opportunity to rest from their labors. Adjt. of the day to attend at the Genls. quarters every morning at 8, and an orderly from each brigade daily. Four men are to be drafted to row the Genls boat and do no other duty. The Brigade majors, upon receiving orders from Head Quarters are to call at Gen. Sullivan’s quarters for his orders, or send adjts to take them off.
Col. Johnson’s and Newcomb’s regts are to consider the woods on the west side of the creek as their alarm post, and repair there in case of an alarm. Gen. Nixon will show the ground this evening at 6 o’clock to the commg officers of the Regts.
Aug. 23, 1776.
The men not to turn out to their alarm posts this afternoon, (but) to get 2 days’ provisions ready, & to be at their alarm posts to-morrow morning by 3 o’clock in order for action.
Cols. Miles & Ransom’s (Remsen’s of L.I.) regts. to take possession of the Bedford road this night—Col. Ransom’s regt. to march at 5 o’clock. Col. Miles’ regt. is on the spot. Cols. Little’s & Hitchcock’s Regts to possess the Flatbush road & Cols. Johnson’s & Martin’s to take possession of the road near the [Pg ii.28] river. All these regts. to be at their posts by 6 o’clock. Upon their arrival the troops now there are to retire to their encampments & get 2 days provisions dressed, & be ready for action. The Gen. will never make a 3rd. requisition to the majors of brigade, to attend for orders.
Long Island Aug. 24 1776.
A return to be made to the Gen. this afternoon at 5 o’clock of all ye Light Horse & companies of troop within the lines. The adjt. of Col. Little’s regiment is to attend at Genls. quarters at 7 o’clock a.m. to-morrow.
The Genl. returns his thanks to the brave officers & soldiers who with so much spirit & intrepidity repulsed the enemy & defeated their designs of taking possession of the woods near our lines. He is now convinced that the troops he has the honor to command, will not, in point of bravery, yield to any troops in the universe. The cheerfulness with which they do their duty, & the patience with which they undergo fatigue evince exalted sentiments of freedom, & love of country gives him most satisfactory evidence that when called upon they will prove themselves worthy of that freedom for which they are now contending.
Col. Ramsons (Remsen’s) Regt. to mount no guard except quarter guard of 12, but be considered a fatigue party, to which they are to attend from day to day. The Genl. is sorry to find that Regt. flying from their posts, when timid women would have blushed to have betrayed any signs of fear at any thing this regt. discovered at the time of their flight.
Officers are requested to see that their men always keep at least 2 days provisions, ready dressed by them. The Commissary is to deal out one gill of rum per man each day on this Island until further orders. Soldiers are not to be out of their encampment but upon urgent business. Gen. Nixon to take command of the lines next the enemy until further orders, to post his men in the edge of the woods next the enemy. Brigde Majors to attend punctually at the Genl’s. quarters at 10 a.m.
Long Island Aug. 25 1776.
The following arrangement to take place on Long Island until further orders—Viz: Col. Mile’s 2 battalions, Col. Atlee’s, Col. Lutzs, Major Hayes, Col. Lashers and Drake’s to be formed into[Pg ii.29] one brigade under the command of Gen. Ld. Stirling. Col. Hand’s, Prescott’s, (Late) Nixon’s, Varnum’s, Hitchcock’s, Little’s, Smith’s, & Ramson’s to be under Gen. Nixon. Wylly’s, Huntington’s, Taylor’s, (Tyler’s) Silliman’s, Chester’s, & Gay’s under Gen. Parsons; Johnson’s, Courtlandt’s, Martins, Newcombs & Freeman’s (Forman’s), under the command of Brig. Gen Hurd.
The General orders that the Brigrs. attend at Head Quarters at 8 a.m. to-morrow for directions. Brigde Major Box is appointed to act as Adjt. Genl. for this department until further orders.
A Brigr. Genl. of the Day to attend the Grand Parade at Guard mounting at 10 a.m., every day afterwards at 8, whose duty it shall be to see that the guards are regularly made up, & properly posted & duly relieved. No firing at the outposts to be allowed on any pretense, except by permission of the Comg Gen. of the day, & none within the lines except by permission. This order not to extend to sentries on guard.
Brigr. for the day Gen. Ld. Stirling.
The Gen. is surprised to find the soldiers strolling about, notwithstanding repeated orders, miles distant from the lines, at a time when the enemy are hourly expected to make an attack. The officers are enjoined to cause the arrest of any soldier who shall be found strolling without the lines unless they can show a written permit from their Cap. or Comg. officer of the regt. or company. All the officers and soldiers are to keep within their quarters, unless ordered on duty.
All troops in this department are desired to wear a green bough or branch of a tree in their hats, till further orders.
Col. Ward’s Regt. to be added to Gen. Parson’s brigade. All the troops not…. [——The order breaks off at this point in Colonel Little’s book, but it is fortunately preserved entire in an orderly book kept by Captain John Douglass, of Philadelphia. (Hist. Mag., vol. ii., p. 354.) The following order from General Lord Stirling also appears in Captain Douglass’s book:
[Long Island] August 25th 1776.
“The Adjutants of each Corps of this Brigade are to attend Brigade Major Livingston at Gen. Sullivan’s Quarters every morning at 9 o’clock to receive the orders of the day. The Weekly Returns are to be brought in this day. Such regiments as have tents are to encamp within the lines as soon as possible.”]
All other troops not mentioned and those which may be sent here[Pg ii.30] without a General Officer to command them are to be considered as a part of Lord Stirling’s Brigade till further orders.
A return of the several Brigades to be made immediately. Eight hundred (men) properly officered to relieve the troops on Bedford Road to-morrow morning, six field officers to attend with this party. The same number to relieve those on Bush (Flatbush) Road, and an equal number those stationed towards the Narrows. A picket of three hundred men under the command of a Field Officer, six Captains, twelve Subalterns to be posted at the wood on the west side of the Creek every night till further orders.
It is a very scandalous practice unbecoming soldiers whose duty it is to defend the liberty and property of the Inhabitants of the country to make free with and rob them of that property; it is therefore ordered that no person belonging to this army do presume on any pretense whatever to take or make use of any Corn, Poultry or Provision, or anything else without the consent of the owners nor without paying the common price for them; any breach of this order will be severely punished. The Commanding Officer of each Regiment and Company is to see this order communicated to their respective corps and to see it carried into execution….
Brigadier Lord Stirling to command the front of our lines next Hudson’s River and to command the reserve within the lines, and when either of the other Brigade Generals have the command of the Advance Lines Lord Stirling is to have command of his post in his absence. Each Brigadier General to assign the Alarm Posts to the several Regiments under their command.
Lieutenant Colonel Edward Vaughn Dongan, commander of the 3rd Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers in Skinner’s Loyalist brigade was mortally wounded in a skirmish, midway between the Old Blazing Star Ferry and Prince’s Bay. He was taken to a local farm (which I have yet to identify). It may very well be The Abraham Manee Farmhouse in Prince’s Bay, where British redoubts have been discovered nearby.
Lt.-Col. Edward Dongan. Circa 1773. A copy of this painting is in the home of Dr. John R. Dungan of Hastings. The sitter is almost certainly Edward Dongan, in the style of 1771-72, possibly 1760s, but he was married in 1773, a more likely date of painting. This is one of a pair of portraits removed from the Dongan Manor, 1882 and presented to the New-York Historical Society’s collection in 1882. The New-York Historical Society, Digital Collections.
Edward Vaughan Dongan was born January 3, 1749. After his father’s death, he went with his mother to live in Elizabeth. He was brought up a lawyer and lived at New Brunswick, N. J., where he married a daughter of Squire La Grange, a lawyer of that place. On the outbreak of the revolution, he made himself obnoxious on account of his adherence to royalty and was driven from his home before the British landed in New York. His father-in-law and family were in sympathy with him, and their estate was afterward forfeited.
Lt. Col. Edward Vaughan Dongan, along with Major Robert Drummond of the 3rd Battalion New Jersey Volunteers, had participated in Loyalist Foraging Raids into the New Jersey countryside from the Winter and early Spring of 1777. They successfully captured prisoners and livestock in one Foraging Raid into New Jersey from Staten Island on August 19, 1777.
Dongan was in command of a body of loyal troops and was posted at the Morning Star at the time of Sullivan’s raid on Staten Island, August 22, 1777. In this engagement, he received a wound from the effects of which he died in the hospital in New York city on the first of September.
August 23.—Yesterday morning, before daybreak, a body of rebels, under the command of Messrs Sullivan, Smallwood, Sullivan’s decent and^e Bourg, landed in two divisions upon the west end on Staton Island. By the acknowledgment of some of their officers, now prisoners here, their number was at least two thousand. One division of them soon fell in with a part of the New Jersey volunteers, which brigade was posted, in small detachments, along the side of the island, from Decker’s ferry to the point opposite Perth Amboy, a distance of fifteen miles. The rebels, greatly superior in numbers, had the fortune with success to engage the detachments that were commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Laurence, and LieutenantColonel Barton, who were both made prisoners, with several other officers, and a considerable number of men. They then marched down to Decker’s ferry, where they burned about thirty-five tons of hay and set fire to a barn. As soon as the alarm had reached head-quarters, Brigadier-General Campbell marched with the 52d British and 3d battalions of Waldeck, leaving a regiment of Anspach to guard the camp and redoubts. Upon the approach of the regular troops, the rebels instantly marched off with all speed. In the mean time Brigadier-General Skinner had collected those of his corps which had been dislodged from their stations, and detached Major Tympany, with twenty-five men, to gain information of the route which the enemy had taken. The major came up with a number of them at the house of Doctor Parker, which they were plundering. He attacked them immediately, killed several, and took the rest prisoners; among the killed was Mr. Small wood’s brigadier-major.
It was now known that the rebels on this side had gone off towards Richmond; they were eagerly pursued, and on the road beyond that village an account was received from Lieutenant-Colonel Dongan, that his post had been attacked by the second division of the enemy, and obliged to retire, (which they did with very little loss,) towards Lieutenant-Colonel Allen, who had himself very seasonably retired, and taken post on a height near Prince’s Bay, where Lieutenant-Colonel Dongan had joined him. A large body of the rebels had twice made a show of attacking them, but finally declined it, and marched off towards the Old Blazing Star. Those two gallant officers soon determined to pursue them, and now gave information to Brigadier-General Skinner that they were on the way and requested orders which were immediately despatched to them, to proceed, and at all events to attack the enemy as soon as possible, informing them at the same time, that their brother volunteers from the right were coming up with all speed to join them, and that the regular troops, with General Campbell, were at hand to support them. These orders were executed with equal spirit and success. Notwithstanding a great disparity of numbers, these new troops attacked the rear of the enemy, consisting of Smallwood’s and other corps that are foremost in reputation among the rebels, with an intrepidity and perseverance that would have done honor to veterans. A considerable number of the enemy were killed, and about three hundred taken prisoners, including twenty-one officers, viz., one lieutenant colonel, three majors, two captains, ten lieutenants, three ensigns, one surgeon, and one officer wounded. By this time, General Campbell had got up one piece of cannon with a detachment of the artillery. That piece was soon followed by two or three more, and a well-directed fire of round and grape shot had a great effect on the rebel boats, and on those of their people who had got over to the Jersey shore. Our loss, in the whole affair, is five killed, seven wounded, and eighty-four missing. Among the wounded were Lieutenant-Colonel Dongan1 and Major Barnes, both officers of distinguished bravery.
The rebels, by this attempt, have, indeed, got a good deal of plunder, chiefly from the inhabitants, of which they may possibly be ready to boast, for they have often boasted of exploits which honest men would deem a disgrace; and they have reason on this occasion to blush for their conduct.
Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Vaughan Dongan died of his wounds soon after the action. He was the commandant of the third battalion of New Jersey Volunteers; the youngest son of Walter Dongan, Esq., late of Staten Island; was bred to the law, and supported a most amiable character. He was in his twenty-ninth year and left a young distressed widow to lament the death of an affectionate husband. Their only child died a few hours before him.
—Gaine’s Mercury.
‘Gaine’s Mercury, September 1. * In New Jersey.
His only child, which with its mother had suffered great exposure on the day referred to, died on the same day, and was buried in the same grave with him. His widow afterward went with her family to reside at Farmington, Hackney, England.
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Excerpts from: Frank Moore, Diary of the American Revolution: From Newspapers and Original Documents, Volume 1, C. Scribner, 1860.
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The IV Battalion New Jersey Volunteers were garrisoned on Staten Island for most of the War, but made frequent forays and raids into nearby towns in New Jersey. These photos are from a reenactment of the Raid on Closter, New Jersey, a rebel stronghold.
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