Most Americans remember 1776 as the year the Declaration of Independence was issued. But not everyone was thrilled at the prospect of separating from Great Britain or the imminent war.
In Westchester County, New York, manor lord Frederick Philipse III was disturbed by what he saw as illegal attempts by the provincial government to challenge the British crown and Parliament. Although he initially expressed sympathy to the American cause, as the lines were drawn between Patriot and Loyalist, Philipse found himself firmly on the side of the Loyalists.
At the time, backing the largest and most successful military in modern history seemed like a sure bet, but being a Loyalist in the American colonies was often dangerous. On October 6, 1775, the Continental Congress resolved that local Patriot assemblies, councils, and Committees of Safety should “arrest and secure every person [. . .] as may [. . .] endanger the safety of the Colonies, or the liberties of America.”1
Leaders of the rebellion knew that divisions within society could cripple the war effort. They also knew that those openly or secretly Loyal to Parliament and the British Crown could severely hamper their efforts by reporting on troop movements, supply lines, and other military matters as the Continental Army, local militia, and written messages crisscrossed the colonies.2 More extremist groups like the Sons of Liberty, with organizations in every major American city, were already engaging in political violence toward Loyalists and suspected Loyalists, including beatings, tarring and feathering, and property destruction. Citizens were encouraged (and sometimes coerced) into taking oaths of loyalty to Congress. Refusal to take the oath was seen as a sign of “disaffection.”3
At the same time, Loyalist unrest was affecting ordinary citizens. Since the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April of 1775, dividing lines between Patriots and Loyalists had been drawn. A number of troublemaking Loyalists were imprisoned in the Hudson Valley, sometimes only temporarily, throughout 1775 and early 1776, but in general, New York’s Loyalists were largely left alone by the local Committees of Safety.4
On June 5, 1776, the New York Provincial Congress, the rebel New York government, hearkening back to that Congressional resolve of the previous year, passed a resolution to arrest and question a number of New Yorkers, including Frederick Philipse III.5 On June 15, the “committee for the hearing and trying of disaffected persons” met in New York City and sent out summonses to those listed in the June 5 resolution, including Frederick Philipse. He was to appear before the committee on July 3, 1776, and show why “he should be considered as a friend to the American cause and of the number of those who are ready to risk their lives and fortunes in defense of the rights and liberties of America against the usurpation, unjust claims and cruel oppression of the British Parliament.”6
Frederick Philipse III had a long political history in Westchester County and the colony of New York and as war approached, his ideas seemed to shift. He had, until the spring of 1775, served as the Westchester representative in the New York Assembly.7 In 1774, he participated in the selection of delegates to the First Continental Congress in 1774 (Westchester County threw its lot in with New York City’s delegates) and seemed to agree with some of the complaints the Patriots were making to Parliament.8 But when Patriots in White Plains got together to select delegates for the Second Continental Congress, this seemed to be a bridge too far. On March 28, 1775, Philipse and many of his tenant farmers protested the White Plains meeting, calling the proceedings “illegal and unconstitutional.”9 Whether or not his tenant farmers were coerced into supporting his cause would later become a point of contention. But Philipse was still a member of the New York Assembly, and on April 1, 1775, he was appointed to the “Standing Committee of Correspondence and Inquiry,” which was to correspond with other provincial governments and which was ultimately composed of many men with Loyalist leanings.10 Whether or not that committee was designed to place men with Loyalist leanings where they might do the least damage is debatable, but he was still a member in good standing.
After the violence at Lexington and Concord, Philipse and other Loyalists in the Assembly petitioned British General Thomas Gage in Boston to cease the hostilities until King George III could be consulted.11 Unfortunately for them, he did not comply. On May 7, 1775, Lewis Morris of Morrisania (who would go on to sign the Declaration of Independence) published a letter “To the Publick,” in which he called out the protests against the March meetings and accused the protesters of being non-voting tenant farmers, “lads under age,” and implied that they were under the influence of alcohol as well as Frederick Philipse, resulting in their “temporary” enthusiasm.12 The lines in the sand were being drawn, and Frederick Philipse soon found himself on the opposite side of many of his compatriots.
The vehemence of Frederick Philipse’s politics have been debated by historians13,but by the summer of 1776, he appears to have been firmly Loyalist.
The day before he was called to appear before the New-York Provincial Congress, on July 2, 1776, Frederick Philipse III responded to the summonses from his home at Philipse Manor Hall in Yonkers, NY. He wrote:
Gentlemen:
I was served on Saturday evening last with a paper signed by you in which you suggest that you are authorized by the Congress to summon certain persons to appear before you, whose conduct has been represented as inimical to the rights of America, of which number you say I am one. Who it is that has made such a representation or upon what particular facts it is founded, as you have not stated them, it is impossible for me to imagine; but considering my situation, and the near and intimate ties and connexions which I have in this country (which can be secured and rendered happy to me only by the real and permanent prosperity of America), I should have hoped that suspicions of this harsh nature would not easily be harboured. However, as they have been thought of weight sufficient to attract the notice of the Congress, I can only observe that, conscious of the uprightness of my intentions and the integrity of my conduct, I would most readily comply with your summons, but the situation of my health is such as would render it very unadvisable for me to take a journey to New York at this time. I have had the misfortune, gentlemen, of being deprived totally of the sight of my left eye, and the other is so much affected and inflamed as to make me very cautious how I expose it, for fear of a total loss of sight. This being my real situation, I must request the favour of you to excuse my attendance to-morrow; but you may rest assured, gentlemen, that I shall punctually attend as soon as I can, consistent with my health, flattering myself in the meantime that upon further consideration, you will think that my being a friend of the rights and interests of my native country is a fact so strongly implied as to require no evidence on my part to prove it, until something more substantial than mere suspicion or vague surmises are proved to the contrary.
I am, gentlemen, your most obedient, humble servant,
Frederick Philips.14
His response walked the line between courtesy and indignation, self-deprecation and arrogance. He questioned the validity of the committee’s right to exist and summon him and questioned multiple times their lack of evidence. He also wondered why the Congress should take notice of him, while simultaneously reminding the committee that he was born in the colonies, unlike many of his contemporaries, before he excused himself for health reasons.15
Whether or not his letter reached the committee or the New York Provincial Congress in a timely manner is unclear, as several days earlier, on June 30, 1776, the Provincial Congress had not only empowered local committees of safety to order their local militias to assist them in arresting “divers disaffected and dangerous persons,” they had also evacuated, taking records, the treasury, and ammunition from New York City to White Plains.16
July of 1776 marked a turning point in the war. The Declaration of Independence was released on July 4, 1776, and read to Washington’s troops at City Hall in New York City on July 9, 1776.17 In the ensuing celebration, the statue of King George III was torn from its pedestal in Bowling Green. The Patriots were fervent in their cause. But trouble was brewing. By July 2, 1776, the “largest British expeditionary force ever assembled” was starting to gather at the mouth of New York Harbor.18 The huge number of ships was intimidating, but the Patriots did not waver in their fervency. Meetings with representatives of General Howe and Howe himself that July proved fruitless. He was not empowered to negotiate peace, and the Americans refused to submit to business as usual.
July 1776 also marked a turning point in official Patriot attitudes toward Loyalists. That month in Charlotte, Dutchess County, sick of neighbors being jailed for refusing to take the oath to Congress, a group of 150-200 armed Loyalist men “traveled in small parties at night and disarmed Patriots in their homes. The following day, they attacked and seized control of the committee chamber.”19 It took local Patriot troops and 500 militiamen from Connecticut to quell the revolt.20 Patriot fears of Loyalists taking up arms against them were being realized and the new proximity of massive numbers of British troops only exacerbated those fears. That month, George Washington ordered the fortification of what would later become Fort Lee in New Jersey. Construction of its sister site across the river, Fort Washington in northern Manhattan, had begun just a few weeks earlier.
But construction was not completed soon enough. That July, British warships were harrying the New Jersey and New York coast, including the HMS Phoenix and HMS Rose. On July 12, 1776, with some smaller ships, they attacked New York City while General Howe landed British troops on Staten Island. A show of force from the British Navy, the ships easily bypassed Patriot defenses and harassed Patriot outposts for the next several weeks.21
Up river in Yonkers, Frederick Philipse III got the month of July as a reprieve, such as it was, but on August 9, 1776, he was arrested at his home at Philipse Manor Hall and sent to prison in New Rochelle, NY.22 While imprisoned at New Rochelle, Frederick III wrote several letters to his wife Elizabeth. Although we do not have a record of his first days in New Rochelle, as early as August 11, 1776, Frederick outlined how that was not to be his permanent place of imprisonment. He wrote:
[August 11, 1776]
My Dearest Life
Tomorrow we are to leave this place but am Afraid we shall not be able for want of wagons to take most of our baggage there are none to be found in this part of the Country and am heartily sick of this vile place I should therefore be greatly Obliged to you If you could get Abram Odell23 to hire Jacob Post24 wagon with his own horses to Carry up my baggage as far as New haven where I can procure another and send this back Abram must set of by day break as we promised to meet the Officer who is to Conduct us to Governor Trumbull25 and one Captn Prentice who is known to Mr Babcock26 he is of New haven and behaves with remarkable politeness and civility he shewed us his orders from Gen Washington which are remarkable kind and favourable to us we are to travel at our Leasure and not to hurry us in the least and provide for us the best Accommodations on the road & to keep an Acct of all the Expence on the road in short I could not have wished for better orders and am verry positive the Capt will keep up to them but loose no time in sending Abram up by Day break to morrow I have ordered the Express to Call on Abram and bring him to you
I have nothing more to write but to beg you to keep any all means and don’t Doubt all will end well yet the General [Washington] has given us the strongest Assurance that asoon as the Battle is over let who will get the Victory we shall be Immediately released – God of his Infinite goodness take you and our Children Into his protection and am my Dearest Love
Your Affectiont husd
FP
Sunday afternoon
My love to all my friends27
As a gentleman of British colonial society, Frederick Philipse was allowed to travel with baggage, hence the need to secure a wagon to move his affects. You’ll also note that Philipse and his fellow prisoners were assured that they would be allowed to travel at their leisure and that they were to keep an account of all the expenses they incurred along the way –presumably to be reimbursed at a later date. George Washington also assured them (likely via his orders) that upon completion of the battle they would be released, regardless of who won. Unfortunately for Philipse and his Loyalist compatriots, that promise was never realized.
A few days later, on August 14, 1776, he wrote Elizabeth again:
My Dearest Life
I return you many thanks for your kind favour and have wrote you so late that nothing worthy notice has hapened. Since I hope you have procured me Posts28 wagon and sent it of before this reaches you for I am really tired and sick of this Filthy place the house is Crowded from morning to night and four Company’s of Militia that are parading here for what purpose I cannot learn but are verry Noisey Companions If the wagon was Arrived I would set of Immediately rain or shine I am thank verry well and in tolerable Spirits and should be more If I Could once get rid of this vile place. Mr. Pintard29 has been remarkable Civil and generous In their Invitation to his house both to lodge & Dine Mr. Abramse30 and Mr. John Myers31 have Likewise been remarkably Civil and generous In their Invitations but for some reasons would not go abroad. I shall upon all future occasions Inclose my Letters to you to the Care of Mr. Isaac Williams32 at West Chester who has promised to take Care of them and all your Letters to Me direct Inclosed to Mr. John Porit merchant at Norwich the Gentleman than Mr. Babcock recommended me to – and get Mr. Babcock to Direct them. I[f] any news should come to your knowledge write it on the Inside of the Cover of your Letters not with Ink but the Juice of a Lemon and I shall do the same. My best regards to good Mr. Babcock and my verry friend Mr. Shaw and Mrs. Shaw and Mrs. Morris Mrs. Ludlow &c My love to polly & Fred [his children]: thank them for their Letter Shall answer them asoon as I arrive at the place of Exile. My Love to the Children and Charge them from me to be Dutyfull to you and mind their Study’s and be verry Obedient And pay the greatest attention to Mr. Babcock and not open their lipps about the times. God bless you My Dearest and may he strengthen and support us with Grace to bear his Dispensations with resignation to his Divine will is the sincere prayer of –
Your affectionate husband
FP
N: Rochelle
14th Augst 1776
I shall write to Mr. Williams the overseer as soon as I am settled Excuse this Incoherent Letter as there is such a noise I cannot write with attention.33
Here Frederick III complained of the conditions of his imprisonment and also instructed his wife to write secret messages of any “news” to him in lemon juice on subsequent letters “and I shall do the same.” Were the letters being read by his captors? Likely, but hard to tell. Lemon juice was the 18th century’s invisible ink – it would dry invisibly, but when exposed to heat the acid in the juice would turn brown, revealing the message. He continued, warning that his boys should “not open their lipps about the times,” indicating he felt it more prudent to avoid antagonizing his captors further.
He also gave his regards to a number of people, including the Reverend Luke Babcock and his wife, who resided in the glebe house of St. John’s Church in Yonkers, his younger sister Mary Philipse Morris, wife ofr etired British colonel Roger Morris, who had gone to England with their eldest daughter in 1775 and whose house in upper Manhattan, Mount Morris (today Morris-Jumel Mansion) was overrun by Patriots; and Mr. & Mrs. Shaw and Mrs. Ludlow. These last few are harder to identify, but the Shaws were not Philipse tenant farmers. Shaw was a common name at this time, but there are a few possibilities, including William Shaw, Sr., who had property in Orange County, NY and had fought in the French and Indian War and whose son William Shaw Jr. joined the Loyalists in the American Revolution. Alternatively, possibly Aeneas Shaw, who came to Staten Island in the 1770s and fought with the Queen’s Rangers. “Mrs. Ludlow” was likely Frances Duncan Ludlow, wife of George Duncan Ludlow, who was a prominent Loyalist with estates in Hyde Park, NY and on Long Island, but it could also be her sister Arabella, who married George’s half brother, Daniel Ludlow. Both Ludlows were staunch Loyalists.34 Were all of these people staying at Philipse Manor Hall? It was possible. Mary Philipse Morris and her children definitely stayed there throughout the fall of 1776.35
Two days later on August 16, 1776, General George Washington wrote to Frederick Jay (brother of John Jay and cousin to Frederick Philipse III), directing that the prisoners at New Rochelle be remanded to the custody of Governor Trumbull of Connecticut – a more secure territory farther removed from the British Navy.
HeadQuarters New York Augt 16th 1776
Sir
In Consequence of my Orders, the undermentioned persons have been apprehended and are now under a Guard at New Rochelle or its Neighbourhood.* As the sending a Guard thro’ to Govr Trumbull with them would be attended with much Inconvenience to the public and cannot be agreeable to the Gentlemen Upon their giving you their Word & Honor to proceed to Lebanon to Govr Trumbull I am satisfyed to permit them to go without any other Escort than that of the Officer who will deliver you this. I must beg the favor of you to take the Management of this Business and as soon as it is put upon a proper Footing dismiss the Guard now there. I am with due Respect Sir Yr most obt Servt.
[* The “undermentioned persons” were “Colo. Philips[,] Jas. Jauncey & his two Sons[,] Joseph Bull[,] Isaac Corsa[,] John Rodgers[,] Ware Branson.”]36
Here, Washington noted that sending a full guard with the prisoners would "be attended with much inconvenience to the public," he recommends just the officer delivering his orders accompany them, trusting that the gentlemen prisoners to give "their Word & Honor."
The same day, the HMS Phoenix and Rose retreated through enemy fire back down the Hudson to join the rest of the British fleet at Staten Island.37
In an undated letter likely written on August 17, 1776, Frederick III again wrote to Elizabeth:
[August, 1776]
Words Cannot Express the Anxciety I was under Last night when I heard—fireing and Saw the lights of the fireships one of our own Company hear’d a Cannon we all Immediately got out of bed and sat at the door for two hours until the firing and lights Ceased and disappeared but words Cannot Express my uneasiness I never Closed my Eyes but remained in that State until Diamond came with your kind Letter which was a reviving Cordial and made me very easy – the Almighty will I trust take us into his holy protection that we may meet once more in peace & Security.
our Departure is now determined we are to go by Land upon our parole only one officer to attend us which is a great Indulgance Considering all things Shall not be a Spectacle to the mobbs thro which we shall pass as if we had Guards to attend us I therefore send Diamond back and beg you’ll send tomorrow my horse & Chair and a horse for George (the horse I had from Mr. Ludlow) You may depend upon my writing to you when ever opertunity Serves upon the road and from Norwich If you should think of any little thing that will be Necessary send it by Diamond Adieu my Dearest Love and may the great and good God take you my Children & all my Friends into his holy protection and believe me to be with the greatest tenderness & affection your most Affect
Husband
FP
Send me Enticks Dictionary
Excuse the Incorrectness of this
A few good Lemons would be verry acceptable by Diamond
My love to Mr. Babcock good Mr. &M Mrs. Shaw and Nancy
Love to all the family & all friends.38
In this letter, Frederick III recounted hearing explosions and cannons the previous evening from his room in New Rochelle. Although that night there was action on the Hudson River, it is doubtful that he could have heard the American forts firing on the Phoenix and Rose, which were on the other side of Manhattan headed for Staten Island. Recounting that he could see “the lights of the fireships,” it is likely there were also ships in Long Island Sound and visible from New Rochelle. No record of any particular action has yet been found, but it may have been in relation to the movement of British ships in Long Island sound. An attempt by the Patriots to blow up the HMS Cerberus occurred around August 16 (some accounts also claim it was on August 13th) off the coast of Long Island, though the explosion happened in the morning, not at night.39
In this letter, Philipse also recounted the arrival of Diamond, a man of African descent enslaved by the Philipses who served as a messenger between Philipse and his wife Elizabeth. Diamond would have crossed some 15 miles of lower Westchester each way to deliver messages. He apparently arrived early in the morning, as Philipse recounted not sleeping all night in a state of “uneasiness” until Diamond arrived with a letter from Elizabeth, which Philipse called “a reviving Cordial” that made him “very easy.”
Philipse also wrote that he and his fellow prisoners would be escorted by a single parole officer, as directed by Washington, thus avoiding becoming a “Spectacle to the Mobbs” who might attack them for being Loyalists. This was likely both a courtesy to their status as wealthy gentlemen, and also probably a tactic to avoid the kind of attention and chaos that might either injure the prisoners or give them an opportunity to escape.
He ended the letter promising to write as often as he could, and for Elizabeth to send him whatever she thought might be necessary, before closing with a request a copy of Entick’s Dictionary, apparently feeling his spelling was not quite up to snuff, and for some lemons, perhaps to write those coded messages he referenced earlier.
Three days later, they had arrived in Horseneck (modern day Greenwich, CT) and he stopped to write Elizabeth:
Horseneck Tuesday 20 Augt 1776
My Dearest Life
We Arrived here yesterday evening and In Company have hired a wagon & 4 horses to transport our baggage to Norwich which will not be Attended with near the Expence we have Agreed with the waggoner to Give him 40s York[40]per day and to find himself & horses and 20s per day in return At the rate of 40 miles per Day So that Fowler will be quite unnecessary have therefore Sent him back and Likewise my bedding as that will be useless! I am (thank God!) In good Spirits and am in no Anxiety but for you & the Children but my Comfort is I leave you under the protection of a Gracious & Mercifull god who I doubt not will Protect you our Company are all hearty & well and are Just going of Sam Bush[41]was taken into Custody last night for speaking too freely his father is at Fairfield Caution our boy’s not to open their lips to any Freinds or foes. My Love to all and am my Dearest Life
Your Affecte husd
FP42
This short note included a reference to Sam Bush being taken into custody. His father was likely David Bush, a Greenwich, CT merchant and suspected Loyalist.43 Sam was born in 1760, and thus would have been only 16 years old when he was arrested. Philipse included another reminder to “our boy’s not to open their lips to any Freinds or foes.” Clearly Philipse was worried about other family members, including his young children, of being suspected of loyalism and arrested. Two days later, he arrived in New Haven, CT:
New Haven Thursday 22d Augt [1776]
My Dearest
I am Just Arrived at This Place after a verry hot & disagreeable Journey tho (thank God) am in Good health and spirits Considering all things and Should be more So was I Assured that that our Separation did not Affect you So much as I am Confident it must do tho you Pretend to Say to the Contrary but I intreat you not to be dejected on my Acct. As I am Conscious that I have done nothing (upon the Strictest Examination) Inimical to the Liberty’s of My Country or ever would let the Consequences be what it will nothing affects more then to be taken up in such an hostile manner without any Crime brought to my Charge and without a hearing If this be the Liberty we are Contending for – but I shall have done And Shall Say no more on that Subject. Tomorrow we Shall Set out for Lebanon the Residence of Governour Trumbull by the way of Middletown. Weathersfield, & Hartford. The wether Continues Extreamely hot which makes it verry disagreeable Travilling we can only proceed Early & late which makes but Slow riddance we have been verry Lucky in meeting with Good Entertainment Perticularly good & Clean Lodging to this place our Company is verry Social and Agreeable –Tell good Mr. Babcock that his brother is verry well his father Came here from westerly and attended him until he was perfectly recovered and is returned home I had not the pleasure to See Mr. Adam Babcock44 as he is Set out yesterday for Bedford he has it Seems a vessel arrived therefrom the West India’s ladned with Rum & Sugar Just now heard that Mr. Humphry’s45 is made Adjutant of the Militia at Darby and is Gone Down with the Regiment to New York who would thought it I am very positive that I should not have Credited it If a person of veracity had not Informed me of it My Love to sister Morris Mr. & Mrs. Shaw the Children Mr. & Mrs. Babcock and all friends not forgetting Bet I shall not write any more untill I get to Hartford
Adieu my Dearest and with the Greatest
Sincerely your Affecte
Husband FP
Excuse this Scraw for I am in
A room with twenty people
Speaking all at once.46
In this letter, Frederick assured his wife that she was not to worry about him, for he had done nothing wrong. He went on to complain of the type of “liberty” that imprisoned people without remunerating their crimes or without “a hearing,” though perhaps conscious that his letters could be read he quickly changed the subject and reassured her that they had stayed at “clean lodging” with “good entertainment.” He also sent word to his churchman, Rev. Luke Babcock of St. Paul’s in Yonkers, just up the street from Philipse Manor Hall that Babcock’s brother had recovered, presumably from illness, and that his father Adam Babcock had arrived to assist with his recovery. Although Philipse did not see Adam Babcock, he passed along news of his West Indies ship. Finally, Philipse passed along an interesting tidbit of news regarding their children’s former tutor. David Humphreys of Darby, CT had served as tutor to the Philipse family in the early 1770s, perhaps for as little as one year. Here, Philipse told his wife the shocking news that Humphreys had been made Adjutant of the Darby militia and had gone down to New York City to join the American regiments preparing for what would become the Battle of Long Island, which actually began that same day, when British General Howe landed troops on Long Island. Philipse could scarce believe that his old employee had gone over to the Patriots, writing to Elizabeth, “who would have thought it” and “I am very certain I should not have Credited it If a person of veracity had not informed me of it.”
This was Philipse’s last known letter to his wife. Less than a week after his arrival at Governor Trumbull’s residence in Middletown, CT, he gave his parole:
“Parole: I, the subscriber, being apprehended and sent by General Washington to the care of his Honour Governour Trumbull, in order to be kept safe, and being ordered by his Honour the Governour to reside within the limits of the town of Middletown in Connecticut, upon my giving my parole. I therefore do hereby engage and promise to the Governour and Company of the State of Connecticut, upon the honor, faith, and credit of a gentleman, faithfully to abide within the limits of said town of Middletown until further orders shall be had from his Honour Governour Trumbull thereon; and in the meantime I engage and promise not to correspond, either directly or indirectly, in any shape whatever, with any person or persons unfriendly to these American States, and will abide such orders and directions as shall be given from time to time by the Committee of Inspection for said town, where I shall reside as aforesaid, as witness my hand. Dated at Hartford, August 28th, 1776.
“N.B. Said party is granted to go to Wethersfield and Durham, as occasion may be.
“Frederick Philips.”47
Then, as today, a parole from prison came with terms, one of which was “not to correspond” with anyone “unfriendly to these American States,” which likely included his wife Elizabeth who was herself a staunch Loyalist. Philipse’s parole around town and later to neighboring towns was a feature of his social status. As a wealthy gentleman, Philipse was accorded many more rights and privileges than lower class prisoners, who were often held in appalling conditions. The choice to remove him and other Loyalists to New England was a sound one, as the British Navy soon brought Patriot fears to fruition.
The Battle of Long Island, which had begun with the British invasion on August 22, 1776, and lasted until October of 1776, gave the British Army full control of New York City. The Patriots had prevented Loyalists like Frederick Philipse from aiding and abetting their enemy, but it did not stop the British victory. We do not know much about the conditions or events of Frederick Philipse’s imprisonment in Connecticut, only that he was not held in the notorious Simsbury mines, also known as Newgate Prison. His high social status and wealth along with a lack of clear evidence of harming the American cause offered him a measure of safety, but on November 28, 1776, he wrote a memorial [a legal term for a document presenting facts to a government official as a petition] to the New York Committee of Safety. It read:
“To the honourable the Congress or Committee of Safety of the State of NEW-YORK:
“The Memorial of Frederick Philips, humbly sheweth:
“That on the 9th day of August last, your memorialist was, by order of his Excellency General Washington, taken into custody at his own house, and immediately sent prisoner from thence to New-Rochelle, where he was closely confined under guard for eleven days, and from thence removed to the State of Connecticut. A parole (a copy whereof is hereunto annexed) was presented to him, which he signed, and agreeable thereto has ever since been confined to this town and a small district round it. That your memorialist has thus been deprived of his liberty without any particular matter being alleged against him, or even having an opportunity of offering anything in his own defence. He therefore cannot help thinking that General Washington must have been induced to take this step in consequence of some misrepresentations.
“Your memorialist has already suffered great hardships and inconveniences, and if not permitted to return home before the severity of winter sets in, must still suffer many more, which, in his advanced stage of life and infirm state of health, he is ill calculated to undergo. But that all the personal inconveniences he has felt and is likely further to feel if not relieved are far from making so deep an impression on his mind as the circumstances of being separated from wife and numerous family, and thereby prevented from superintending his own affairs, particularly the education of his children, whose tender years require the most watchful attention of a parent’s care.”
“All which is humbly submitted to your Honours' consideration.
“FRED˙ PHILIPS.
“Middletown, November 26, 1776.”48
Despite the relatively cheerful tone of his letters to his wife Elizabeth, Philipse by his own admission was not well when he was arrested. He was 56 years old at the time. It may be that despite the relative freedom of his incarceration that his accommodations were injurious to his health. The references to “the severity of winter” indicate a lack of heat, but the “great hardships and inconveniences” are not recounted.
While Philipse languished in Middletown, CT, the Loyalists of New York had been busy. On November 28, 1776, they issued what was termed the Declaration of Dependence – a reaction to the Patriots’ Declaration of Independence issued four months earlier. The document itself was addressed to Royal Commissioners Richard and William Howe, pledging loyalty to the British crown. But is also noted, “We cannot help lamenting that the number of Subscribers to this Address is necessarily lessened, by the unhappy circumstance that many of our Fellow-Citizens, who have firmly adhered their loyalty, have been driven from their Habitations, and others sent Prisoners into some of the neighbouring Colonies.” This was a clear reference to the imprisonment of Loyalists like Frederick Philipse III.
Over 500 New York Loyalists signed the document, which ran several pages and may have been signed over several days. Today, only four pages survive, all with water damage or torn pieces, so only about 140 names are legible. Curiously, one of those signatures is clearly Frederick Philipse, and his signature on this document is one piece of evidence often used to reinforce the claim that he was a staunch Loyalist.
But how could this be? By his own hand, Frederick Philipse III confirmed he was in Middletown, CT just two days earlier, still imprisoned. A few possibilities exist. One is that the petition was somehow delivered to him in Connecticut and he signed it there. Another is that the petition may have been passed around and signed over several months, and that he signed it at a later date. This is the most likely, as several types of ink are used throughout the document. There is one other possibility, which is that his nephew, Frederick Philipse (son of Philip Philipse and Margaret Marston Philipse) signed it. Frederick Philipse the nephew was born in 1755 and was thus 22 year sold in 1776 and considered of age. However, although Frederick Philipse the nephew was a Loyalist who later joined the King’s American Dragoons, the signature listed on the document is similar to the signatures of Frederick Philipse III on his tenant rent rolls, but not an exact match.
Frederick Philipse did also have an eldest son named Frederick Philipse (who we’ll call Freddy, for clarity’s sake), but in 1776, Freddy was only 16 years old and not of age. It is possible he could have signed it on his father’s behalf, but unlikely that he would have been allowed to travel alone. Regardless of how and when (or even if) Frederick Philipse III signed it, his loyalism had not wavered.
His memorial was received by the New York Provincial Congress on December 11, 1776. On December 13, a committee of the Provincial Congress examined the memorial and recommended:
“That with respect to Frederick Philips, your Committee are well informed that he had exerted himself in promoting an association in West Chester County highly injurious to the American cause; that his great estate in that county has necessarily created a vast number of dependents on his pleasure, and that your Committee verily believe that the shameful defection of the inhabitants of that county is in great measure owing to his influence.”49
The same report later continued,
"With respect to the application of James Jauncey and Frederick Philipse [. . .] a like indulgence to the latter, who requests liberty to return to his family at Philipsburgh, would put it in the power of a professed enemy of the American cause not only further to disaffect the inhabitants of West Chester County, but to put many of them in arms against the United States of America”50
Here, the committee attributes Philipse's power over his tenants as the main reason not to release him, in case he might rally the countryside to the British cause.
Perhaps the recommendations did not reach Connecticut in a timely manner, as on December 23, 1776, Governor Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut paroled Philipse and six of his fellow prisoners:
“Whereas we, Hugh Wallace, Fred Philips, James Jauncey and James Jauncey, Junr. Esqrs. And Gerard Walton, Wm. Jauncey and John Miller, all of the city and Province of New-York, have for some time past resided at Middletown, in the State of Connecticut, being apprehended and sent thither by His Excellency General Washington as suspected of disaffection to the United States of America; and whereas upon our application, His Honour Jona. Trumbull, Esqr. Governor of said State of Connecticut, hath permitted us to return to our families in New-York, and reside there till otherwise ordered, we do hereby pledge our faith and words of honour to the said Governor Trumbull, that we will neither bear arms nor excite or encourage others to bear arms against this or any of the United States of America, and that we will not do or say anything in prejudice of the interest or measures of this or any of the said United States; that we will give no intelligence to the enemies of the said States of any of the councils, operations of war, or other, the transactions of this or any of the said States, and that we will return to any place in this State when required by His Honour Governor Trumbull, the General Assembly of Connecticut, or His Excellency the General of the armies of the said United States, for the time being.
“In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands, this, 23d day of Decemr. A. D. 1776.
“Hugh Wallace,
Fred. Philips,
Jas. Jauncey,
Jas. Jauncey, Junr.
Gerard Walton,
Wm. Jauncey,
John Miller.
“The foregoing is a true copy of the original lodged in my hands.
“Test.
Jonth. Trumbull,
Govr. Of the State of Connecticut”51
Frederick Philipse III was finally released to go home to his wife and children. It was a decision the Americans would regret.
At first, Philipse lived quietly, likely recovering from his imprisonment. But by the spring of 1777, things were shifting again. His brother-in-law Beverley Robinson, who had tried to remain neutral, finally had his hand forced. On February 22, 1777, he was called before the Commissioners for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies and was questioned by John Jay, one of his wife Susannah Philipse Robinson’s distant cousins. The commissioners gave Robinson a month to decide his position.52 He took a little over a week. On March 4, 1777, he wrote to John Jay, telling him he had gone “down to Col. Philip’s in order to have an opportunity of Conferring with my Friends on the unhappy and distracted State of my poor Bleeding Country” and pleaded with Jay to allow his wife Susannah and their children to leave, if necessary, unmolested and with their furniture.53 He likely did go down to Philipse Manor Hall, but he did not remain neutral. Instead, he raised the Loyal American Regiment, in which he served as Colonel, with his sons Beverley Robinson, Jr. and Frederick Philipse Robinson, and many of their Loyalist tenant farmers.54
Furious, on March 21, 1777, John Jay wrote to his cousin Susannah Philipse Robinson, who had remained at Beverly House, directly across from West Point. He pleaded with her to convince her husband to join the Americans, and outlined all the terrible things that might befall her, indicating he had no power to stop them.55 No record of her response exists, but a month later, Beverly House, its farm, and contents, were sold by the Commissioners of Sequestration.56 Susannah and her children likely fled, without their furniture, to her brother’s house at Philipse Manor Hall sometime in late March or early April of 1777.
Philipse Manor Hall’s location on the Albany Post Road meant that troops and supplies were often traveling the length of the Philipse Manor, which stretched from the Croton River to Spuyten Duyvil – the marshy waterway between what is today the Bronx and northern Manhattan. Philipse Manor Hall also had views of the Hudson River and could easily see boats coming up and down the river. This location made it easy for Frederick Philipse III to observe troop movements, and some historians claim that in the spring of 1777, he spotted Lieutenant Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs and American troops on their way to attack a British outpost in Morissania (the present-day Bronx) and reported on the troop movements to the British. His note intercepted, he panicked and fled with the entire household by boat to New York City.57
However, in May of 1777, Meigs was in New Haven, CT and had been there since February of 1777, when he was made Lieutenant Colonel in Colonel Henry Sherburne’s Additional Regiment.58 On May 21, 1777, Meigs amassed a force to attack Stephen Delancey and Loyalists who had been left in command of a British fortification at Sag Harbor on Long Island. But Meigs and his troops did not travel via the Albany Post Road or anywhere near Philipse Manor Hall. Instead, they went by boat to Guilford, CT and launched on Sag Harbor from there.59 Unless Frederick Philipse still had contacts in New Haven and tried to warn the British with information received from there, it is unlikely that this was the incident that led to his departure from Philipse Manor Hall.
Regardless, the entire Philipse family, including Mary Philipse Morris and her children, and Susannah Philipse Robinson and her children, left Philipse Manor Hall sometime in the spring of 1777 for their homes in what was now British-occupied New York City. They almost certainly went by boat (since Haverstraw Bay was protected by the British Navy), leaving from the landing at the end of what is now Dock Street in Yonkers, and were thus able to take whatever household goods they wished. They left behind a steward, Isaac Williamson, to manage the estate, oversee the enslaved staff they left behind, and keep the mills running for their tenant farmers.60
With this departure, for all intents and purposes, Frederick Philipse III violated his parole and his word as a gentleman, if he had not already done so earlier by reporting on troop movements. It is unclear when or if the Americans received word of his defection to New York City. On May 11, 1777, George Washington wrote to New Jersey governor William Livingston,
“I am this day honoured with yours of the 2d instant, as I was a few days ago with that of the 30th April.
“previous to the Rect of it, I had desired Mr Boudinot [Commissioner General of Prisoners], to demand Mr Fells release for that of Mr Hugh Wallace, Colo. Philipse or Mr Jauncey whose paroles we have and who are all Counsellors of the State of New York. If they refuse this, I shall call upon one of those Gentlemen to return to the place of his former confinement, and I hope, they will interest themselves in procuring Mr Fells release, rather than submit to a recall.”61
John Fell was a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress who had a reputation as “The Great Tory Hunter.” He was captured on April 22, 1777, and was being held in New York City in terrible conditions by the British.62 Wallace, Jauncey, and Philipse had all been paroled by Governor Trumbull of Connecticut just a few months earlier in December of 1776. In this letter, Washington proposed that their paroles be released in exchange for John Fell’s freedom.
A month later, on June 19, 1777, Elias Boudinot, Commissioner General of Prisoners, wrote to the New York Provincial Congress:
Camp at Middle Brook [New Jersey], June 19, 1777
Sir –
By order of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, I lately made application to the commissary of prisoners in the British army, for an exchange of the Honble. John Fell, one of the councillors of this State [New Jersey], for Messrs. Wallace, Philips, or Jauncey, sent in to the enemy on their parols by Governor Trumbull. I received for answer, “that General Howe did not admit of the exchange.”
In consequence of this answer, by advice of the Board of War and the order of General Washington, I have wrote this day to Governor Trumbull to order a return of all those persons belonging to your State, who were sent in on their parols by His Honour, and that your State would be ready to receive, secure and provide for them in a proper manner.
You will therefore be pleased to take proper measures for this purpose, on their arrival in Connecticut, lest they may consider themselves as discharged from their parols and effect an escape. This application is in consequence of copies of letters transmitted me by the Board of War, which have passed between your Convention and Governor Trumbull, on the subject of these prisoners, whereby it appears that they are prisoners of your State.
I am, with due respect, sir,
Your very hble. Servt.
Elias Boudinot,
Com. Genl. Of Prisoners.63
In this letter, Boudinot instructed the New York Provincial Congress that Governor Trumbull of Connecticut was to order the return of all of the prisoners he had paroled in December, including Frederick Philipse III. Unfortunately for the Patriots, Frederick III never received that summonses, because he was in New York City, and likely disinclined to go back to prison once he was safely behind British lines.
Still, Washington did not give up the effort to recall their paroles. In the depths of winter at Valley Forge, in a letter largely written on January 24th and amended and sent on the 25th of 1778, George Washington wrote to Richard Peters, secretary of the Board of War for the Second Continental Congress,
“The demand of the Return of Messs. Wallace and Philipse agreeable to the terms of their parole comes in my opinion more directly under cognizance of the State of New York, whose prisoners they are. They have several times exchanged Flags with the Governor of the City of New York on the subject of their state prisoners, and I think they may with more propriety make a peremptory demand of those Gentlemen, except they will exchange Mr Fell for one of them, than I can. It is more than probable that the State may have some of the Friends of the Crown in their Custody, and if they threaten retaliation upon them it will have more effect than my writing to Genl Howe, who to the best of my knowledge, said he had nothing to do with them when they were demanded by Govr Trumbull. Would it not be proper to write to Govr Clinton, and know from him in what light the Gentlemen above mentioned are considered by the State?”64
Nearly a year later, the Americans were still trying to get John Fell out of British prison, and Washington indicated that the New York Provincial government was likely to have more success than he in negotiating a prisoner exchange. Again, he brought up the call for Henry Wallace and Frederick Philipse III to return to prison, as they had promised in their December 23, 1776, parole by Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull, and be exchanged for John Fell. By this point Fell was in terrible health and almost died in January of 1778, when he was paroled to the private home of a “Mrs. Marriner” to convalesce. His parole was extended to his home in Bergen County, NJ on May 20, 1778, although for whatever reason he did not actually leave for home until July 2nd. He was released from his parole on November 15, 1778, having been exchanged for Governor Skene [likely New York Lieutenant Governor and Loyalist Philip Skene].65
Frederick Philipse III fared better than others. Conditions in British prisons, especially prison ships, were horrific. Bad food, and little of it, bitter cold, damp, poor sanitation, and physical abuse by guards all plagued Patriot prisoners. Those considered spies were often summarily executed.
Loyalist prisoners also faced poor conditions on prison ships. Crowding in Albany jails was so bad, they started exporting prisoners (like Frederick Philipse) to New England, away from most of the fighting.66 Gentlemen like Philipse were treated better than their lower class compatriots. Gentlemen were more likely to be paroled to nearby towns, as Philipse was in Connecticut, and more likely to be paroled home. Although in theory parole was similar to house arrest, in practice it served to imprison only one’s honor, not one’s person. A theory proved only too well by Frederick Philipse III, who as far as we can tell, was never released from his parole home to Yonkers.
Philipse, like his sisters and brothers-in-law, was listed in the 1779 New York Act of Attainder, which seized all of his assets – the 52,000 acre estate, his properties in New York City, even the government bonds he had purchased over the years.67 But the Philipses’ estates were largely in British hands or in the contested Neutral Zone. Philipse Manor Hall was not officially confiscated until the end of the war. When the Philipses finally left for England in the fall of 1783, they took only what they had with them. They had been exiled by the Act of Attainder on pain of death. Many of their tenants’ rents went to the Commissioners of Sequestration during the war, and the manor was broken up and sold by the Commissioners of Forfeiture between 1784 and 1786.68
Frederick Philipse III died in Chester, England. His London obituary, published on May 30, 1785, was reprinted months later in the Pennsylvania Packet, a Philadelphia newspaper. It read:
“Lately died in the city of Chester, Frederick Philipse, esquire, a loyalist from New-York. In this worthy gentleman, the several social, domestic, and Christian virtues, were eminently united – Possessed of an ample fortune, he lived at Philipsburgh, twenty miles from the city of New-York, with dignity and splendor, and his intercourse with mankind was marked by diffusive benevolence, by a peculiar frankness and benignity of heart. Botany was his favorite amusement; and his garden contained the largest collection of curious plants and flowers that was in North-America. When the late American rebellion broke out, he took a decided part on the side of government. Attached from principle to his sovereign and the British constitution, he stepped forth with that determined resolution and disinterested zeal, which always distinguish a generous mind, actuated by a sense of duty: and both as a member of the provincial assembly, as a colonel of militia, and a man of influence in the country where he resided, gave all the opposition in his power to the rising spirit of sedition. A character so respectable, and which was of such service to the royal cause, could not pass unobserved by the insurgents, who made him a prisoner in 1776, and detained him in confinement several months; and in the year 1779, he and several others, was attainted, and his estate, which brought him an income of 2000l. [pounds] sterling a year, was confiscated by the usurped legislature of New-York. The peace of 1782, not only left the rebel acts of attainder in full force, but also conveyed the estates of attainted loyalists to the usurpers. In consequence of this, colonel Philipse, was obliged, at an advanced age, and in a very infirm state of health, to take sanctuary in England, with his numerous family. A person, who had made so large a sacrifice in behalf of this country, and who was well known to all the first characters in the British army and navy, might reasonably expect a decent support, at least on his arrival; but from whatever cause it proceeded, this was not the case, and this excellent man was scarcely able to procure the bare necessaries of life! Such a reverse of fortune was enough to shake the firmest mind. He bore it indeed with resignation and without murmuring, yet it preyed upon his spirits, and gradually impaired his strength, and under this accumulated load of misfortunes; he expired on the 20th of last April, in the 64th year of his age, leaving a disconsolate widow and two amiable young daughters, besides several other children, to lament the loss of the best of husbands and of fathers.”69
Although we may never know who wrote his obituary, it is clear from the sentiments that his family blamed the Patriots for his death. The Philipse family was eventually awarded damages by the British Crown, but they went to Elizabeth and the eldest son, Frederick Philipse IV. Many of the fifth generation of Philipses, including the children of Beverly and Susannah Robinson and Roger and Mary Morris, continued to serve in the British Army and Navy, some with distinction. Several returned to the United States after the war. Some, like the descendants of Frederick III’s brother Philip Philipse (including the nephew Frederick Philipse), were not listed in the Act of Attainder and may have never left the United States. But as a whole, the Philipse family never fully regained the wealth and prestige they had enjoyed for nearly 100 years. They had gambled on the victory of the British Empire and lost. The 200,000-odd acres of property confiscated by the Americans was sold to pay war debts and fund the new New York State government.
Sarah Wassberg Johnson is the programs and education manager at Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site. She has an MA in Public History from the University at Albany and has worked in museum education since 2007.
[1] Journal of the Provincial Congress, 1775-1776-1777, published by the New York State Legislature (1842), p. 172.
[2] Canale, Joshua. “When a State Abounds in Rascals: New York’s Revolutionary Era Committees for Public Safety, 1775-1783,” Journal of the Early Republic, 39 (Summer 2019), 203-238.
[3] O’Keefe, Kieran J. “Mass Incarceration as Revolutionary Policy: The Imprisonment of the Hudson Valley Loyalists,” Early American Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Summer 2021), 504.
[4] O’Keefe, 501-502.
[5] Journal of the Provincial Congress, 1775-1776-1777, published by the New York State Legislature (1842), p. 476.
[6] Hall, Edward Hagaman. Philipse Manor Hall at Yonkers, N.Y. New York: The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society (1912), 148.
[7] Bielinski, Stefan. An American Loyalist: The Ordeal of Frederick Philipse III. New York State Parks and Recreation (1976), 13.
[8] Bielinksi, An American Loyalist, 15.
[9] Bielinski, An American Loyalist, 17.
[10] “Committee of Correspondence Appointed, April 1, 1775" ; Bielinski, An American Loyalist, 17.
[11] Bielinski, An American Loyalist, 17.
[12] Lewis Morris to the Publick, May 5, 1775.
[13] Stephen Bielinski posits in An American Loyalist that Philipse was more of a buffoon than a fervent Loyalist. Edward Hagaman Hall makes no judgements but writes of Philipse with sympathy, and Jacob Judd in his chapter of The Loyalist Americans reserves judgement for Philipse’s motivations but makes Philipse’s political decisions clearly Loyalist.
[14] As quoted in Hall, 149-50.
[15] Some historians speculate that Frederick Philipse III, known for his obesity, may have been experiencing the effects of untreated diabetes, which includes blindness.
[16] Journal of the Provincial Congress, 1775-1776-1777, published by the New York State Legislature (1842), p. 512.
[17] "The British Occupation of New York City, 1776-1783," New York Almanack, August 13, 2023.
[18] "Admiral Howe's Fleet Arrives at Staten Island," California Society, Sons of the American Revolution, July 12, 2022.
[19] O’Keefe, 505.
[20] O’Keefe, 505.
[21] Diamant, Lincoln. Chaining the Hudson: The Fight for the River in the American Revolution, New York: Citadel Press (1994), 42.
[22] Hall, 150.
[23] Abram Odell was a Philipse tenant farmer.
[24] Jacob Post was a Philipse tenant farmer.
[25] Jonathan Trumbull was the Governor of Connecticut.
[26] Luke Babcock was the reverend at St. Paul’s Church in Yonkers – an Anglican church built and funded by Frederick Philipse III and located very close to Philipse Manor Hall.
[27] Frederick Philipse III to Elizabeth Williams Philipse, August 11, 1776. As quoted in The Loyalist Americans: A Focus on Greater New York edited by Robert A. East and Jacob Judd, Sleepy Hollow Restorations (1975), 39.
[28] Tenant farmer Jacob Post.
[29] Either Lewis Pintard or his nephew John Pintard, Jr. Lewis Pintard was appointed by the Continental Congress to “provide assistance” to American prisoners held in British-controlled New York City and served as commissary of prisoners. John Pintard, Jr. was deputy commissioner of prisoners under his uncle Lewis.
[30] Likely Andrew Abramse of New Rochelle, who married a daughter of Anthony Lisepenard.
[31] Likely John R. Myers of New Rochelle, who at the time of the Revolution owned what is today the Lispenard-Rodman-Davenport House, and for whom Myers Point was named.
[32] Isaac Williams was Philipse’s steward, who oversaw the operation of the Lower Mills and their enslaved staffs, as well as the general operation of the estate.
[33] Frederick Philipse III to Elizabeth Williams Philipse, August 14, 1776. As quoted in The Loyalist Americans: A Focus on Greater New York edited by Robert A. East and Jacob Judd, Sleepy Hollow Restorations (1975), 40; “Mr. Williams” was Isaac Williams, the manor’s steward.
[34] "George Duncan Ludlow (1734–1808)," Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
[35] Kemble, Stephen. Journals of Lieut. Col. Stephen Kemble, 1773-1789; and British Army orders: Gen. Sir William Howe, 1775-1778; Gen. Sir Henry Clinton, 1778; and Gen. Daniel Jones, 1778 , Boston: Gregg Press (1972), 98. “Friday, Nov. 8th. [. . .] Had the pleasure of Breakfasting this day with Mrs. Philips and Mrs. Morris – all well.”
[36] George Washington to Frederick Jay, August 16, 1776. National Archives.
[37] Diamant, Lincoln. Chaining the Hudson: The Fight for the River in the American Revolution, New York: Citadel Press (1994), 52-53.
[38] Frederick Philipse III to Elizabeth Williams Philipse, undated but likely August 17, 1776. As quoted in The Loyalist Americans: A Focus on Greater New York, edited by Robert A. East and Jacob Judd, Sleepy Hollow Restorations (1975), 41.
[39] Abbass, Kathy and Rod Mather, “The History of the HMS Cerberus and HMS Lark,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Explorer (2008) ; and Christian McBurney, “Bushnell’s Mine Nearly Sinks a Ship,” Journal of the American Revolution, February 4, 2014.
[40] New York shillings.
[41] Sam Bush was likely Samuel Bush, son of Greenwich, CT merchant David Bush, a suspected Loyalist.
[42] Frederick Philipse III to Elizabeth Williams Philipse, August 20, 1776. As quoted in The Loyalist Americans: A Focus on Greater New York edited by Robert A. East and Jacob Judd, Sleepy Hollow Restorations (1975), 42.
[43] Procknow, Gene, "Ambiguous Allegiances: The Case of David Bush," Researching the American Revolution, June 17, 2023.
[44] Likely Rev. Luke Babcock’s father.
[45] David Humphreys of Darby, CT served as a tutor to Frederick Philipse III’s children in 1774. He later became a fervent patriot and worked his way up to aide-de-camp to several American generals, including General Israel Putnam and ultimately General George Washington.
[46] Frederick Philipse III to Elizabeth Williams Philipse, August 22, 1776. As quoted in The Loyalist Americans: A Focus on Greater New York edited by Robert A. East and Jacob Judd, Sleepy Hollow Restorations (1975), 43.
[47] Memorial of Frederick Philips to the Congress of New York, August 28, 1776. Northern Illinois University Digital Library.
[48] “Memorial and Parole of Frederick Philips,” November 26, 1776. Northern Illinois University Digital Library.
[49] Force, Peter. American Archives, Fifth Series (1853), p. 1205-1206; https://digital.lib.niu.edu/islandora/object/niu-amarch%3A97226
[50] Hall, p. 154-55; https://digital.lib.niu.edu/islandora/object/niu-amarch%3A97226
[51] Trumbull, Jonathan. “Parole from Connecticut, December 23, 1776,” Journals of the Provincial Congress, Vol. II (1852), 356.
[52] New York (State) Commissioners for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies, Appearance of Beverly Robinson, February 22, 1777. Columbia University Library Digital Archives. https://dlc.library.columbia.edu/catalog/ldpd:499827
[53] Beverly Robinson to John Jay, March 4, 1777. National Archives.
[54] http://www.loyalamericanregiment.org/beverley.htm
[55] John Jay to Susannah Philipse Robinson, March 21, 1777. National Archives.
[56] Flick, Alexander Clarence. Loyalism in New York During the American Revolution, Columbia University Press (1901), 141. “The commissioners for that county sold the personal estate of Beverly Robinson on April 21, 1777.”
[57] Bielinski, An American Loyalist, 27.
[58] Colonel Henry Sherburne to General George Washington, February 2, 1777, National Archives; Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons to General George Washington, April 15, 1777, National Archives.
[59] Mather, Frederic Gregory, The Refugees of 1776 from Connecticut to Long Island, (1913), 226-228.
[60] Issac Williamson is noted in Frederick Philipse III’s letters to his wife Elizabeth. Williams is still present in July of 1779, according to the journals of Hessian Captain Johann Ewald, “[I then] sent for the steward from the plantation of Mr. Philipse, which was on my right. He gave me the news that a patrol of fifty horse and a hundred infantry had been there yesterday. [. . .]The man appeared to be a loyalist.” Diary of the American War: A Hessian Journal by Captain Johann Ewald, Yale University Press (1979), 174.
[61] George Washington to William Livingston, May 11, 1777. National Archives.
[62] https://revolutionarynj.org/people_biography/john-fell-full-biography/
[63] Elias Boudinot to the New York Provincial Congress, June 19, 1777. Journals of the Provincial Congress, Provincial Convention, Committee of Safety and Council of Safety of the state of New-York : 1775-1775-1777 v. 2 (1842), 465.
[64] George Washington to Richard Peters, January 24-25, 1778. National Archives.
[65] https://revolutionarynj.org/people_biography/john-fell-full-biography/; https://archive.org/details/cu31924093960825/page/120/mode/2up
[66] O’Keefe, 514-516.
[67] Hufeland, Otto. Westchester County During the American Revolution, 1775-1783. Harrison, NY: Harbor Hill Books (1974), 445. Notably, the descendants of Frederick III’s brother Philip Philipse, who had died in 1768, were not listed in the Act of Attainder, despite the fact that all three of Philip Philipse’s sons had served in the British military. Of the three, only Frederick Philipse (Fred III’s nephew) survived to have children.
[68] Flick, Alexander Clarence. Loyalism in New York During the American Revolution, Columbia University Press (1901), 146-153.
[69] “Foreign Intelligence: London,” Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), August 2, 1785: [2]. Readex: America's Historical Newspapers.
