Joshua Huddy

Captain Joshua Huddy (November 8, 1735 - 1782), the commander of a New Jersey Patriot militia unit and a privateer ship during the American Revolutionary War, was captured by Loyalist forces twice, escaped once, and was hanged by them after his second capture in what was decried as a lynching. His death became the first international incident in the history of the United States and Huddy entered history as “the hero martyr of old Monmouth.”

Early life

Huddy was born to a prosperous family in Salem County, New Jersey, probably on November 8, 1735, the oldest of seven brothers. His grandfather, Hugh Huddy, was a well-known judge in Burlington. Though little is known of his early life, Huddy spent most of it 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 got into financial difficulties. He was forced to sell a 300 acre (1.2 km²) plantation in Salem to pay his debts and forced into debtor’s prison for a time. In 1764, he married his first wife, the widow Mary Borden, with whom he had two daughters, Elizabeth and Martha. It is unknown why this marriage dissolved.

Sometime in the 1770s, he moved to the town of Colts Neck in Monmouth County, where on October 27, 1778, he married his second wife, Catherine Hart, another widow and the owner of a popular tavern she inherited from her previous husband. He became the operator of the inn. He was accused later by the Monmouth County sheriff of trying to steal the tavern from his wife and force her children from her previous marriage out onto the street. He often was in civil and criminal court, either as plaintiff or defendant.

The American Revolution

Background

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 after the United States and Britain ceased hostilities. He served as captain of the Monmouth Militia from March to December 1779. During the war he led several raids in which he and his men seized materials supposed sold illegally to the British in New York, and captured and sometimes killed Loyalists. He was accused by Loyalists of hanging Stephen Edwards, the first Loyalist to die in the struggle, and 14 others. He denied committing at least one of the murders.

He was issued a commission to operate a gunboat, "The Black Snake", as a privateer in August 1780. One month later, he was caught in his house in Colts Neck at night by 25 Loyalist raiders led by Colonel Tye. He and a servant woman held off the attackers in a two-hour-long gun battle, but they set his house afire and he agreed to surrender to them if they would extinguish the fire. The British marched Huddy to what is now West Park in Rumson, New Jersey, where they put him on a boat to take him to New York. However, Patriots on what is now the Sea Bright, 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.

Raid on Toms River

Incident

On February 1, 1782, Huddy was given command of the blockhouse, or small fort, at the village of Toms River on the Toms River that was built to protect the local salt works. The salt was used to cure meat destined for American troops, and the Toms River was an important launch point for Patriot privateers. On March 24, a large party of Loyalists overwhelmed Huddy's small band of Patriots and captured and burned the fort, the salt works, wharves and all but two houses the village, leaving hundreds of women and children homeless.

Huddy was taken prisoner and accused of killing a Loyalist refugee named Philip White, the "veteran raider" who died in Patriot custody, and threatened with hanging in retaliation. He was taken to New York City, under British control, where he expected to be exchanged for a Loyalist prisoner. However, at the request of White's Loyalist friends, the leader of the Board of Associated Loyalists, William Franklin (the last Royal Governor of New Jersey and the son of Benjamin Franklin), approved Huddy's execution without a trial. Huddy apparently was in British custody at the time of White's death, casting doubt on the Loyalists' claims. He was moved from New York to a prison ship anchored off Sandy Hook, where he was held in leg irons with other captured Patriots some of whom were later ransomed for Loyalists.

Death

On April 12, 1782, under the direction of Richard Lippincott, a Monmouth County Loyalist, Huddy was taken by boat to Middletown Point, on the southern coast of Sandy Hook Bay, and carried to the beach at the foot of Navesink Hills, where he was hanged after dictating and signing his will. His 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" and even shook hands with Lippincott.

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 in an unmarked grave two days later. More than 400 people gathered to protest his murder and a petition was sent to American General George Washington demanding retribution. Both Washington and the commander of British forces in New York, General Sir Henry Clinton, condemned the hanging. This "barbarous outrage against humanity" prompted the British to forbid the Board of Loyalists from removing any further prisoners. Sir Guy Carleton, Clinton's successor, later abolished the organization.

Aftermath

A captured British officer, Charles Asgill, was selected by lot to die unless Lippincott was turned over to the Patriots. The British delayed by holding their own court-martial of Lippincott, who was found not guilty on the basis that he was just following orders. Asgill was freed in November by Congress after Asgill's mother persuaded the French foreign minister to plead his case to Washington, who gave him a pass back to British lines. Catherine Hart, Huddy's widow, also stated she wished Asgill's life be spared, since he was an innocent victim of circumstances. Asgill returned to Britain, while Lippincott emigrated to Canada, where the British gave him 3,000 acres (12 km²) as a reward for his services.

External links

* [http://www.shore.co.monmouth.nj.us/archives/huddyexhibit.asp Catalog of the exhibit, "The Joshua Huddy Era: Documents of the American Revolution", at the Monmouth County Library, Manalpan, N.J.]
* [http://www.geocities.com/captjhuddy/fjhuddy.html Website of the Joshua Huddy Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Ocean County, N.J.]
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dutillieul/ZOtherPapers/S&WJAug51782.html A Report to the Board of Loyalists, respecting the Execution of Joshua Huddy, inclosed in a Letter from W.Franklin, the President, to Sir Henry Clinton]
* [http://www.highlandsnj.com/history/html/StoryOf.html History page of the Highlands, N.J. municipal web site]
* [http://www.co.ocean.nj.us/cultural/RevWarEvent.htm Announcement of the planned 225th Anniversary Reenactment of the Blockhouse Fight in Huddy Park, Toms River Founder's Day June 2, 2007]