Joshua Huddy
Encyclopedia
Joshua "Jack" Huddy the commander of a New Jersey
Patriot
militia
unit and a privateer
ship during the American Revolutionary War
, was captured by Loyalist
forces twice escaping once. Following his second capture, Huddy was summarily hanged by irregular forces of the Associated Loyalists. Huddy's death became a motive force behind one of the first international incidents
of the fledgling United States
when the Continental army planned to execute a young British officer In retaliation in what became known as the "Asgill Affair".
, the oldest of seven brothers. His grandfather, Hugh Huddy, was a well-known judge in Burlington
. Huddy spent most of his early life in Salem, where he was considered rebellious and a troublemaker. He was disowned by Quakers
in Salem in 1757 for his “disorderly” conduct. His “rough ways” continued into adulthood; he was tried and convicted several times for crimes including assault and theft, and repeatedly was in financial difficulties. He was forced to sell a 300 acre (1.2 km²) plantation in Salem to pay his debts and was forced into debtor’s prison for a time. In 1764, he married his first wife, the widowed Mary Borden, by whom he had two daughters, Elizabeth and Martha.
In the 1770s, he moved to Colts Neck
in Monmouth County
, where on October 27, 1778, he married his second wife, Catherine (Applegate) Hart, also a widow and owner of a tavern she inherited from her first husband. Huddy was later accused by the Monmouth County sheriff of trying to steal the tavern from his wife and force her children out onto the street. He often was in civil and criminal court, either as plaintiff or defendant.
In August 1780, Huddy was issued a commission to operate a gunboat, The Black Snake, as a privateer. One month later, he was captured in his house in Colts Neck at night by 25 Loyalist raiders led by Colonel Tye
. Huddy and a servant woman held off the attackers in a two-hour-long gun battle, but after they set fire to his house he agreed to surrender to if they would extinguish the blaze. Colonel Tye marched Huddy to what is now West Park in Rumson, New Jersey
, where he was put on a boat to go to New York. However, Patriots on what is now the New Jersey side of the Shrewsbury River
fired on the boat, which capsized. Huddy, wounded in the thigh, managed to swim to shore and escape.
that was built to protect the local salt works. The salt was needed to cure meat destined for American troops, and the Toms River was an important launch point for Patriot privateers. On March 24, a large irregular force of the Associated Loyalists, an organization headed by William Franklin
, overwhelmed Huddy's small band of defenders, taking the fort. The blockhouse, salt works, local mills, and all but two houses in the village, leaving hundreds homeless.
As an officer, Huddy was transferred to a military prison ship at New York, then held by the British. Soon thereafter, however, Huddy was removed from British custody by a band of Associated Loyalists headed by Captain Richard Lippincott
, ostensibly for the purpose of making a prisoner exchange. No such exchange was actually planned, however. Instead, Huddy was taken by boat to Middletown Point, a location on the south coast of Sandy Hook Bay, and landed on the beach at the foot of the Navesink Hills
, where on April 12, 1782 he was hanged
after dictating and signing his will.
Huddy's summary execution by the Loyalists came as a retribution for the death of one of their number, a Loyalist farmer named Philip White who had died under Patriot custody. The Loyalist executioners left a note on his breast, "Up Goes Huddy for Phillip White.” It was reported that Huddy died calmly and bravely, declaring that he would "die innocent and in a good cause."
Patriots found Huddy's body hanging from the gallows the next morning, cut it down and brought it to Freehold
, where he was buried at Old Tennent Church
. More than 400 people gathered to protest his execution and a petition was sent to General George Washington
demanding retribution by the execution of a British officer of similar rank if Captain Lippincott was not surrendered. Both Washington and the commander of British forces in New York, General Sir Henry Clinton
, condemned the hanging, and prompted the British to forbid the Board of Loyalists from removing any further prisoners. Sir Guy Carleton
, Clinton's successor, later abolished the organization.
for retaliatory execution. Washington issued an order to General Moses Hazen
to select a British prisoner by lot to be hung in retribution. Straws were drawn on May 26, 1782 and a young British officer, Capt. Charles Asgill
, drew the short straw and was thereby selected should Capt. Lippincott not be turned over to the Patriots for trial.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that Asgill and the other British captive officers were protected under the terms of surrender agreed to between British General Charles Cornwallis and Washington following the Siege of Yorktown
in October of the previous year. An execution of Asgill would have been a clear violation of the terms of the surrender and a black eye to for the rebellious colonials intent upon establishing an independent nation.
Fortunately for all concerned, the British managed to delay Asgill's retaliatory execution by holding their own court-martial
of Lippincott. Lippincott was eventually found not guilty on the basis that he was just following orders.
Washington turned to an old associate, General Benjamin Lincoln
, formerly the second in command of the Continental Army and the acting Secretary of War of the Americans. While he and other ranking Continental Army officers favored a retaliatory killing, they urged patience. This delay ultimately allowed sufficient time for the intercession of the Americans' French allies, who were motivated by a direct appeal to King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette
, by the mother of the condemned British Captain. French foreign minister the Comte de Vergennes, was directed to plead Asgill's case to Washington.
Catherine Hart, Huddy's widow, also stated she wished Asgill's life be spared, since he was an innocent victim of circumstances.
Backed by diplomatic pressure, the matter was turned over to the Continental Congress
for decision. Asgill was freed by order of Congress passed on November 7, 1782. Asgill was issued him a pass back to British lines and returned to Britain, while Lippincott emigrated after the war to Canada, where he received 3,000 acres (12 km²) as a reward for his services to Britain, as was common for all Loyalist refugees.
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Patriot
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
unit and a privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
ship during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, was captured by Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
forces twice escaping once. Following his second capture, Huddy was summarily hanged by irregular forces of the Associated Loyalists. Huddy's death became a motive force behind one of the first international incidents
International incident
An international incident is a seemingly relatively small or limited action or clash that results in a wider dispute between two or more nation-states...
of the fledgling United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when the Continental army planned to execute a young British officer In retaliation in what became known as the "Asgill Affair".
Early life
Joshua Huddy was born November 8, 1735 to a prosperous family in Salem County, New JerseySalem County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 64,285 people, 24,295 households, and 17,370 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile . There were 26,158 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile...
, the oldest of seven brothers. His grandfather, Hugh Huddy, was a well-known judge in Burlington
Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....
. Huddy spent most of his early life in Salem, where he was considered rebellious and a troublemaker. He was disowned by Quakers
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
in Salem in 1757 for his “disorderly” conduct. His “rough ways” continued into adulthood; he was tried and convicted several times for crimes including assault and theft, and repeatedly was in financial difficulties. He was forced to sell a 300 acre (1.2 km²) plantation in Salem to pay his debts and was forced into debtor’s prison for a time. In 1764, he married his first wife, the widowed Mary Borden, by whom he had two daughters, Elizabeth and Martha.
In the 1770s, he moved to Colts Neck
Colts Neck Township, New Jersey
Colts Neck is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 10,142.What is now Colts Neck Township was established by an act of the New Jersey Legislature as Atlantic Township on February 18, 1847, from portions of Freehold...
in Monmouth County
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
, where on October 27, 1778, he married his second wife, Catherine (Applegate) Hart, also a widow and owner of a tavern she inherited from her first husband. Huddy was later accused by the Monmouth County sheriff of trying to steal the tavern from his wife and force her children out onto the street. He often was in civil and criminal court, either as plaintiff or defendant.
Military career
Huddy allied himself with the American revolutionists and engaged in raids and revenge executions that characterized the intense violence between Monmouth County residents, which continued even after the war's end. He served as captain of the Monmouth Militia from March to December 1779. He led several raids in which he and his men seized materials allegedly sold illegally to the British in New York; he captured and sometimes executed Loyalists. He was accused of hanging Stephen Edwards, the first Loyalist to die in the county, and 14 others. He denied at least one of the murders.In August 1780, Huddy was issued a commission to operate a gunboat, The Black Snake, as a privateer. One month later, he was captured in his house in Colts Neck at night by 25 Loyalist raiders led by Colonel Tye
Colonel Tye
Colonel Tye, also known as Titus Cornelius , was a slave of African descent in New Jersey who achieved notability during the American Revolutionary War by his leadership and fighting skills, when he fought as a Loyalist...
. Huddy and a servant woman held off the attackers in a two-hour-long gun battle, but after they set fire to his house he agreed to surrender to if they would extinguish the blaze. Colonel Tye marched Huddy to what is now West Park in Rumson, New Jersey
Rumson, New Jersey
Rumson is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,122.Rumson was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1907, from portions of Shrewsbury Township, based on the results of a...
, where he was put on a boat to go to New York. However, Patriots on what is now the New Jersey side of the Shrewsbury River
Shrewsbury River
The Shrewsbury River is a short stream and navigable estuary, approximately 8 mi long, in central New Jersey in the United States....
fired on the boat, which capsized. Huddy, wounded in the thigh, managed to swim to shore and escape.
Capture and execution
On February 1, 1782, Huddy was given command of the blockhouse (a small fort) at the village of Toms RiverToms River, New Jersey
Toms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...
that was built to protect the local salt works. The salt was needed to cure meat destined for American troops, and the Toms River was an important launch point for Patriot privateers. On March 24, a large irregular force of the Associated Loyalists, an organization headed by William Franklin
William Franklin
William Franklin was an American soldier and colonial administrator. He served as the last Colonial Governor of New Jersey. Franklin was a steadfast Loyalist throughout the American War of Independence, despite his father Benjamin Franklin's role as one of the most prominent Patriots during the...
, overwhelmed Huddy's small band of defenders, taking the fort. The blockhouse, salt works, local mills, and all but two houses in the village, leaving hundreds homeless.
As an officer, Huddy was transferred to a military prison ship at New York, then held by the British. Soon thereafter, however, Huddy was removed from British custody by a band of Associated Loyalists headed by Captain Richard Lippincott
Richard Lippincott (Loyalist)
Captain Richard Lippincott, U.E. was an American-born Loyalist who served in the British army during the American War of Independence. He is best known for his part in the Asgill Affair in which he hanged an enemy officer Joshua Huddy in revenge for similar murders of Loyalists, provoking an...
, ostensibly for the purpose of making a prisoner exchange. No such exchange was actually planned, however. Instead, Huddy was taken by boat to Middletown Point, a location on the south coast of Sandy Hook Bay, and landed on the beach at the foot of the Navesink Hills
Navesink Highlands
The Navesink Highlands, sometimes referred to as the Highlands of Navesink and also known as the Atlantic Highlands, are a range of low hills and upland areas located along the United States Atlantic coast in New Jersey...
, where on April 12, 1782 he was hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
after dictating and signing his will.
Huddy's summary execution by the Loyalists came as a retribution for the death of one of their number, a Loyalist farmer named Philip White who had died under Patriot custody. The Loyalist executioners left a note on his breast, "Up Goes Huddy for Phillip White.” It was reported that Huddy died calmly and bravely, declaring that he would "die innocent and in a good cause."
Patriots found Huddy's body hanging from the gallows the next morning, cut it down and brought it to Freehold
Freehold Township, New Jersey
Freehold Township is a Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 36,184. Freehold Township was first formed on October 31, 1693, and was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21,...
, where he was buried at Old Tennent Church
Old Tennent Church
Old Tennent Church is a Presbyterian church located at 448 Tennent Road in Manalapan, New Jersey. The congregation, a member of the Presbyterian Church USA, was founded in 1692 and played a prominent role in the founding of Presbyterianism in America. The current edifice was completed in 1751 and...
. More than 400 people gathered to protest his execution and a petition was sent to General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
demanding retribution by the execution of a British officer of similar rank if Captain Lippincott was not surrendered. Both Washington and the commander of British forces in New York, General Sir Henry Clinton
Henry Clinton (American War of Independence)
General Sir Henry Clinton KB was a British army officer and politician, best known for his service as a general during the American War of Independence. First arriving in Boston in May 1775, from 1778 to 1782 he was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America...
, condemned the hanging, and prompted the British to forbid the Board of Loyalists from removing any further prisoners. Sir Guy Carleton
Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester
Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB , known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator...
, Clinton's successor, later abolished the organization.
The "Asgill Affair"
Patriotic sentiment ran high following the killing of Huddy. In an effort to avert independent reprisals by the New Jersey militia, Washington agreed to the proposition to select a British prisoner of warPrisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
for retaliatory execution. Washington issued an order to General Moses Hazen
Moses Hazen
Moses Hazen was a Brigadier General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Born in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, he saw action in the French and Indian War with Rogers' Rangers. His service included particularly brutal raids during the Expulsion of the Acadians and...
to select a British prisoner by lot to be hung in retribution. Straws were drawn on May 26, 1782 and a young British officer, Capt. Charles Asgill
Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet
Sir Charles Asgill 2nd Baronet GCH was a career soldier in the British Army. Asgill enjoyed a long military career, eventually rising to the rank of General...
, drew the short straw and was thereby selected should Capt. Lippincott not be turned over to the Patriots for trial.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that Asgill and the other British captive officers were protected under the terms of surrender agreed to between British General Charles Cornwallis and Washington following the Siege of Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
in October of the previous year. An execution of Asgill would have been a clear violation of the terms of the surrender and a black eye to for the rebellious colonials intent upon establishing an independent nation.
Fortunately for all concerned, the British managed to delay Asgill's retaliatory execution by holding their own court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
of Lippincott. Lippincott was eventually found not guilty on the basis that he was just following orders.
Washington turned to an old associate, General Benjamin Lincoln
Benjamin Lincoln
Benjamin Lincoln was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...
, formerly the second in command of the Continental Army and the acting Secretary of War of the Americans. While he and other ranking Continental Army officers favored a retaliatory killing, they urged patience. This delay ultimately allowed sufficient time for the intercession of the Americans' French allies, who were motivated by a direct appeal to King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, by the mother of the condemned British Captain. French foreign minister the Comte de Vergennes, was directed to plead Asgill's case to Washington.
Catherine Hart, Huddy's widow, also stated she wished Asgill's life be spared, since he was an innocent victim of circumstances.
Backed by diplomatic pressure, the matter was turned over to the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
for decision. Asgill was freed by order of Congress passed on November 7, 1782. Asgill was issued him a pass back to British lines and returned to Britain, while Lippincott emigrated after the war to Canada, where he received 3,000 acres (12 km²) as a reward for his services to Britain, as was common for all Loyalist refugees.
External links
- "Revolutionary War Sites in Toms River, New Jersey: Joshua Huddy Park," Revolutionary War New Jersey, www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/
See also
- Charles AsgillSir Charles Asgill, 2nd BaronetSir Charles Asgill 2nd Baronet GCH was a career soldier in the British Army. Asgill enjoyed a long military career, eventually rising to the rank of General...