'Patriots and Spies'

Local author captures the region’s role in the Revolutionary War

By J. Warren Cahill
Posted 12/1/21

A. J. Schenkman, a local historian and teacher, has been writing about the history of the Hudson Valley for some time, and his latest book centers around the American Revolution and the role played …

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'Patriots and Spies'

Local author captures the region’s role in the Revolutionary War

Posted

A. J. Schenkman, a local historian and teacher, has been writing about the history of the Hudson Valley for some time, and his latest book centers around the American Revolution and the role played by the American revolutionary patriots and British loyalist Tories in the area.

It is called Patriots and Spies in Revolutionary New York, and while it also deals with the conflicts on Long Island and the Mohawk Valley, the stories about the parts played by those loyal to King George III and those fighting for the independence of the colonies in the mid-Hudson Valley were most interesting to those of us living in the area.

Newburgh had several instances of trouble in those times and not always between rebels and Tories. Lieutenant John Sullivan arrived in Newburgh in August, 1779, with a troop of horse soldiers and promptly told his men to let their horses go free in a pasture owned by a certain Elnathan Foster of Newburgh while the troops spent some time in the village for a few days. However, Mr. Foster did not take to having his meadow disrupted by some cavalry horses since he had rented the property out to the Continental army for cattle grazing, and Sullivan had put the horses there without compensation or even without getting Foster’s permission. The Lieutenant was brought to the court room of Justice Abel Belknap, located in an upstairs room of Weigand’s tavern (which today is undergoing restoration) on Liberty Street near the Old Town Cemetery, and Foster presented his complaints of trespassing and damage to the field for which he was requesting compensation. Judge Belknap agreed with Foster and told Sullivan to pay for the damages and to vacate the property. Sullivan did neither, claiming the hardships of war and the needs of his calvary. Sullivan stayed in Newburgh for some time causing disruptions of all sorts and ignoring the reprimands of Judge Belknap. Eventually Sullivan left for Pennsylvania and became involved with the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, where a militia of soldiers demanding back pay surrounded the State Capital in Philadelphia where Congress was meeting. Fearing for their safely, the congress retreated to Princeton and asked General Washington for assistance. Washington sent 1500 soldiers to put down the rebellion and the crisis passed. The ringleaders of the mutiny were “a derranged army Captain named Henry Carbery” and the hot tempered John Sullivan.

One instance of a capture of a Tory spy happened in New Windsor due to the the confusion of the two Generals on the opposite of the war named Clinton: General Henry Clinton of the British Army and General George Clinton of the American forces. It seems that after the destruction of Forts Montgomery and Clinton on the Hudson, a message was sent to Gen. Burgoyne in Saratoga by British General Henry Clinton via a currier, Daniel Taylor, who carried the message hidden in a small silver bullet. Taylor was dressed in civilian clothing and was on his way north from Fort Montgomery when he came upon a cluster of soldiers in New Windsor dressed in British uniforms. As the author writes, “Little did he know, that these soldiers had stolen British uniforms and had not changed. The guards who asked Taylor to stop were, in fact, Americans dressed in British uniforms. Fooled by the uniforms and believing they were members of Sir Henry Clinton’s troops, Taylor responded: ‘I am a friend and wish to see General Clinton.’” He was then escorted into the presence of the American General George Clinton. Upon sensing the confusion, Taylor immediately took out the silver bullet from his pocket and swallowed it. Gen. Clinton, however, saw what he had done and demanded that Taylor drink an emetic or face disembowelment! Taylor had to take two doses before the silver bullet emerged and the message revealed. Taylor was arrested as a spy and eventually hanged.

Schenkman’s book is filled with interesting and well researched stories taken from files in the Library of Congress and the New York State Archives and other sources. He has worked in Newburgh at Washington’s Headquarters and also at the Cantonment in New Windsor. He is currently the Town of Gardiner Historian while also teaching social studies in the Wallkill School District. He has written several books and articles in addition tho this one, and the books are available on Amazon. The book is published by Globe Pequot.

Proceeds from Patriots and Spies will go to People’s Place, a not-for-profit organization feeding, clothing and responding to the needs of the people in Ulster County with kindness, compassion and the preservation of human dignity since 1972.