References

Don’t forget nothing. Have your muskets clean as a whistle, tomahawk scoured, Sixty rounds powder and ball, and be ready at a moment’s notice. When you’re on the march, act the way you would if you were sneaking up on a deer: see the enemy first.  Tell the truth about what you see and what you do. The entire army is depending on you for correct information. You can lie all you please when you tell other folks about the Rangers, but don’t lie to a Ranger or an Officer. Never take a chance when you don’t have to. When we’re on the march, we march single file, far enough apart so one shot can’t go through two men. If we strike swamps or soft ground, we spread out abreast so it is hard to track us. We move ’til dark, to give the enemy the least chance at us. When we camp, half the party sleeps while half stays awake. Separate prisoners ’til we have time to examine them so they can’t cook up a story between them. Don’t ever march home the same way: take a different route back so you won’t be ambushed. Every night you’ll be told where to meet if surrounded by a superior force. Don’t sit to eat without posting sentries. Don’t sleep past dawn: the French and Indians attack at dawn. Don’t cross a river at the ford. If you’re beign followed, circle ’round your own track and ambush them. Don’t stand when the enemy is aiming at you: kneel down, lie down, hide behind a tree, Let the enemy come ’til he’s almost close enough to touch, then let him have it, jump up and finish him off with your tomahawk.

The Committee on the state of New York, brought in a farther report, which being taken into consideration, was agreed to as follows:

Whereas a majority of the inhabitants of Queen’s County, in the colony of New York, being incapable of resolving to live and die freemen, and being more disposed to quit their liberties than part with the little proportion of their property necessary to defend them, have deserted the American cause, by refusing to send deputies as usual to the convention of that colony; and avowing by a public declaration, an unmanly design of remaining inactive spectators of the present contest, vainly flattering themselves, perhaps, that should Providence declare for our enemies, they may purchase their mercy and favor at an easy rate; and, on the other hand, if the war should terminate to the advantage of America, that then they may enjoy, without expence of blood or treasure, all the blessings resulting from that liberty, which they, in the day of trial, had abandoned, and in defence of which, many of their more virtuous neighhours and countrymen had nobly died:

And although the want of public spirit, observable in these men, rather excites pity than alarm, there being little danger to apprehend either from their prowess or example, yet it being reasonable, that those who refuse to defend their country, should be excluded from its protection, and be prevented from doing it injury:

Resolved, That all such persons in Queen’s county, aforesaid, as voted against sending deputies to the present convention of New York, and named in a list of delinquents in Queen’s county, published by the convention of New York, be put out of the protection of the United Colonies, and that all trade and intercourse with them cease; that none of the inhabitants of that county be permitted to travel or abide in any part of these United Colonies, out of their said county, without a certificate from the convention or committee of safety of the colony of New York, ∥setting forth,∥ that such inhabitant is a friend to the American cause, and not of the number of those who voted against sending deputies to the said convention; and that such of the said inhabitants as shall be found out of the said county, without such certificate, be apprehended and imprisoned three months.

Resolved, That no attorney or lawyer ought to commence, prosecute, or defend any action at law, of any kind, for any of the said inhabitants of Queen’s county, who voted against sending deputies to the convention, as aforesaid; and such attorneys or lawyers as shall contravene

this resolution, are enemies to the American cause, and ought to be treated accordingly.

Resolved, That the convention or committee of safety of the colony of New York be requested to continue publishing, for a month, in all their gazettes or news papers, the names of all such of the inhabitants of Queen’s county, as voted against sending deputies; and to give certificates, in the manner before recommended, to such others of the said inhabitants, as are friends to American liberty.

And it is recommended to all conventions, committees of safety, and others, to be diligent in executing the above Resolutions.

Resolved, That Colonel Nathaniel Heard, of Woodbridge, in the colony of New Jersey, taking with him five or six hundred minute men, under discreet officers, do march to the western part of Queen’s county, and that Colonel Waterbury, of Stanford, in the colony of Connecticut, with the like number of minute men, march to the eastern side of said county; that they confer together, and endeavour to enter the said county on the same day; that they proceed to disarm every person in the said county, who voted against sending deputies to the said convention, and cause them to deliver up their arms and ammunition on oath, and that they take and confine in safe custody, till further orders, all such as shall refuse compliance.

That they apprehend and secure, till further orders, the persons named as principal men among the disaffected in the said county, in a summons for their appearance before the convention of New York, issued the 12 of December last, viz.

Of Jamaica township, Captain Benjamin Whitehead, Charles Arden, Joseph French, Esqr. Johannes Polhemus.

Of Newtown, Nathaniel Moore, John Moore, Senr.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_order_of_battle”

New York State, probably the most Loyalist state in the colonies, furnished 15,000 men to the British army and another 8,000 to local militias, according to one historian, and Long Island contributed undocumented thousands to these numbers. Seven of the military units that operated on Long Island, and especially harassed the heavily Patriot Suffolk County residents, were composed of Loyalists, rather than British soldiers.

Alarmed at Hempstead’s refusal to support the Patriot cause, the Continental Congress in early 1776 ordered Col. Nathaniel Heard to take 500 or so of his New Jersey militia and disarm every dissenting Loyalist. Heard and his men cut a wide swath through Jamaica, Hempstead, Jericho and Oyster Bay, forcing 500 Tories to sign a loyalty oath and collecting a wide assortment of muskets, blunderbusses, swords and cutlasses.

The foray into Queens resulted in a famous piece of Loyalist doggerel making fun of Heard, sung to the tune of “Yankee Doodle”:

Colonel Heard has come to town
In all his pride and glory.
And when he dies he’ll go to hell
For robbing of the Tory.

Welcome to the Throckmorton-Lippit-Taylor Burying Ground

On Penelope Lane in Middletown, New Jersey

Middletown is one of the oldest settlements in New Jersey, and this is the oldest recorded family burying ground in Middletown. The men, women and children interred here represent some of the earliest settlers of the town, and their lives reflect those who founded our country. They were merchants, cabinetmakers, carpenters, judges, farmers, and adventurers in search of religious freedom and economic opportunity for their families and themselves. Here are some of their stories.

The Throckmorton-Lippit-Taylor Burying Ground

Edward was a Member of the Assembly in 1768, 1772, and 1774, and a member of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1775 and 1776. At the beginning of the American Revolution, he supported the Patriots’ cause by sending supplies to the people in Boston. When his son, George, became a Colonel in the British army, Edward became sympathetic to the Royalist cause. Brigadier General David Forman sent a letter to him dated July 2, 1777. Edward was told to stay on his farm in Middletown until further notice. Some of his neighbors suspected that he was a British spy who had given information to his son, thus, enabling him and his soldiers to escape from the militia. The war years were difficult for Edward because his political convictions differed from many of his neighbors.

Colonel George Taylor was Edward’s son. He married Deborah Carman in 1752, and they are both buried here. During his early military life, George was an officer in the militia. When the Revolution began, he was commanding a battalion of militia in the Continental Army until he had a change of heart. In July 1776, he gave up his commission with the militia and joined the Loyal Volunteers as a Colonel in the King’s service.

Women were very important in colonial America. They maintained the home and raised the children. Their husbands’ economic and political status brought some of them prestige and for some ridicule and hardship. One of those ladies was Phebe Taylor.

Phebe Taylor died on July 10, 1791. Her life must have been interesting because her husband and brother were prominent figures during the American Revolution, and they were on opposite sides. Phebe’s husband was Squire John Taylor, Edward’s brother. He was a Royal Sheriff of Monmouth County and a Loyalist. In 1777, Admiral Lord Howe came here to offer terms of reconciliation to the Patriots, and he appointed John “His Majesty’s Lord High Commissioner of New Jersey”. As a result, his neighbors who were Patriots took part

of his land for public use and paid him with depreciated Continental currency, denying him the true value of his property. Phebe is buried here but John is not.

Phebe’s brother was General Nathaniel Heard in the Continental Army. On June 19, 1776, during a midnight raid, he arrested William Franklin, New Jersey’s Royal Governor and turned him over to the Patriots. After being released from a prison in Connecticut, Franklin ultimately sailed back to England. On September 12, 1776, Heard’s brigade took part in George Washington’s evacuation of New York City. His brigade consisted of sixteen companies of 160 officers and 1,762 enlisted men. During the war, Heard kept Washington apprised of what the British were doing at Sandy Hook. General Heard left part of his estate to Phebe. He is buried in Woodbridge.


The term “a house divided” pertained to the Taylor family of Middletown. Though Edward, George, and John Taylor were Loyalists; other Taylors were Patriots. Colonel George’s son, Edward, was a Captain in the Continental Army.

Eleanor Taylor Lyell, daughter of Edward Taylor Esq., was married to Captain Fenwick Lyell. He was a captain on merchant vessels and was lost at sea. Their sons, Fenwick and John, were cabinetmakers who had shops in Middletown Village and New York City in the late 1700’s. Some of their pieces are with the Monmouth County Historical Association in Freehold. Eleanor and her sons are buried here.

The men and women who are interred in this burying ground were courageous and adventurous. They founded new settlements in the wilderness and followed their political and religious convictions with dignity. Their commitment for a better life continues today in the spirit of Middletown.