Mordecai Gist's Continentals in Middletown

When Colonel Caleb North’s regiment of Pennsylvania Continentals left Monmouth County in March 1779, they were replaced by companies of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware Continentals under the command of Colonel Mordecai Gist. Starting on March 10, fifteen of Gist’s men were sent “on command” to Middletown; the rest presumably arrived with their colonel a week later. In addition to the Marylanders, a company of Pennsylvania Continentals under Captain Walter Finney as well as several Delaware Continentals—the first of whom arrived “near Sandy Hook” on March 6—entered Monmouth County with Gist.

The entire piecemeal detachment consisted of roughly 250 men. Their mission was to interrupt the illegal trade between the county’s disaffected farmers and the British at Sandy Hook, and to enhance the overall security of the region. There is little evidence that they were effective in either pursuit.

Continental Troops Camp in Shrewsbury Township

Captain Finney wrote of his march to Monmouth County on March 15:

Ordered to Monmouth, marched the detachment from Pennsylvania Line to the Grand Parade, where the party assembled consisting of 250 rank and file, Captains….and myself, Col. Guest [Gist]; at 12 o'clock marched, proceeded to Brunswick, cantoned our men for this night and spent the evening very agreeable.

They arrived in Monmouth County on the next day, "fell in by sun-rise and proceeded to Mt. Pleasant, cantoned our men, lodged at Mrs. Finoes [Freneau]." On March 17, Finney’s part of the detachment reached Tinton Falls, where he would set up camp.

Arrived at Tinton Falls by 12, disposed of the troops in the following manner, vizt. One company at Red Bank, one at Shrewsbury, two at Eatontown, one at the Falls; the latter being stationed, took lodging at John Little, Esq., where we were treated with politeness and respect.

With Little (a county election judge), Finney "took a tour at Eatontown, and in the evening visited the guards” on March 19. The next night he "dined with Col. Breese [Samuel Breese]," the first Shrewsbury militia colonel who resigned in 1776 due to disaffection in his ranks. Breese now lived as a neutral.

Over the next week, Finney patrolled the shore from Middletown to Long Branch with a party of 30 men. He broke off a smaller guard to observe British motions at Sandy Hook form the Navesink Highlands:

I concealed my party till dark, then detached twelve men, and the guide, along the shore to Middletown Point, ordering them to keep concealed as much as possible, and return to me at 3 in the morning; after posting sentinels along the shore to observe, as well the motion of the enemy, whose guard ship lay within hailing.

He made an effort to interrupt “the contraband trade carried on by the disaffected inhabitants” and Sandy Hook:

I concealed my party till dark, then detached twelve men, and the guide, along the shore to Middletown Point, ordering them to keep concealed as much as possible, and return to me at 3 in the morning; after posting sentinels along the shore to observe, as well the motion of the enemy, whose guard ship lay within hailing, as to detect the contraband trade carried on by the disaffected inhabitants.

Finney did not report intercepting any illegal trade.

His men spent a few days at the house of Esek Hartshorne on the Navesink Highlands. Hartshorne, a wealthy Quaker, may have hosted the Monmouth militia two years earlier when it was surprised and routed by British regulars at the Battle of Navesink. While with Hartshorne, Finney’s men misbehaved. On March 28, Finney recorded:

Being informed by Mr. Hartshorne that his cellar was broke into by the soldiery, ordered a search and inquiry, but not being able to prove any individuals guilty, paid the damage and returned to my station at the Falls, having made no further discovery, [other] than six of the enemy's armed vessels convoying 23 transports to New York.

Back in Tinton Falls, Finney settled down and enjoyed himself. On March 29, he wrote: "spent the evening at Mr. West's in company of two very agreeable ladies, and Col. North, at a sociable gaim [sic] of Whist." On March 31, "in the evening, being just set down to a social amusement with two ladies and a gentleman.” That same day, Finney “was startled by drums beating to arms. Immediately repaired to my post... finding there was not grounds for the alarm, retired to my lodging." On April 1, Finney enjoyed "an elegant entertainment and ball at Mr. Lippincott's in Shrewsbury, the whole was conducted with the greatest decorum and good humor."

Captain Walter Beatty of Maryland was stationed at Shrewsbury at this time and recalled “spending our spare time with a number of fine ladies in this neighborhood.” The pleasant entertainment at Tinton Falls and Shrewsbury juxtaposes awkwardly with the long patrols the men were supposed to be conducting; it suggests slackness in Finney’s and Beatty’s commands.

The Disastrous Middletown Encampment

For Gist’s companies at Middletown, the service was dramatically different. According to an antiquarian source, they battled a raiding party and, with the assistance of 60 militia from Woodbridge, they reportedly wounded fifteen of the enemy. They lacked clothing and provisions and found the locals unwilling to sell to them. The Colonel petitioned the Continental Congress complaining of being unable to purchase provisions:

We have the mortification to see the troops of every State provided with clothing and other necessities at reasonable and moderate prices, whilst we alone have been obligated to purchase from private stores every necessity at the most exorbitant rates.

The one documented attempt to supply Gist’s men turned into a fiasco. David Rhea, the Quartermaster agent for Monmouth County, would write in July that he purchased flour for Colonel Gist’s men at Shrewsbury in April. However, the forage master, Richard McKnight, never delivered it. McKnight was also a militia captain and was out on duty in April, then, in early June, he was captured by Loyalist raiders. The flour sat at Manasquan where Rhea finally ordered that the "damaged flour at Squan be sold." But it turned out that Rhea was misinformed. The flour was "not so bad, but bread might be made of it." The flour never made it to Gist’s men.

On April 3, at least one company of Maryland soldiers mutinied at Middletown and Colonel Gist rode to Tinton Falls to seek help. Colonel Daniel Hendrickson, commanding the militia at Tinton Falls, wrote Captain Barnes Smock of Middletown to call out the militia:

At Coll. Gess's request, I let you know that Coll. Gess has requested of me to let Coll. Holmes [Asher Holmes] know that he stands in need of assistance of the militia in order to bring his men to order; that one company hath this day mutinied at Middletown and are determined to go off to the enemy if not prevented; and desire Coll. Holmes would assist him with about fifty militia tomorrow morning at Middletown. Should take it as a particular favour if you would carry these lines in secrecy; I direct you to show it to Coll. Holmes so that he may give every assistance possible. I have ordered but a part of my militia here to attend tomorrow morning."

Captain Finney, at Tinton Falls, wrote: "Captain Patterson's company mutinied at Middletown, was disarmed, and sent to camp under guard." At least some of the mutineers were arrested and brought before a court martial on April 14. That day, George Washington’s general orders noted “the Tryal of those men belonging to the Maryland Line who mutinied and attempted to desert from the Detachment at Monmouth." Two of Gist’s were men were found guilty:

Daniel Buckley a soldier in the 2nd Maryland regiment and Patrick Ivory a soldier in the 1st Maryland regiment were tried, the former for Desertion and the latter for deserting from the Monmouth command—found guilty of breaches of the 1st Article of the 6th Section of the Articles of War respectively and sentenced to receive one hundred lashes each.

Two days after the mutiny, Finney’s men responded to reports of a Loyalist raiding party at Shrewsbury:

Being informed of some principal Tories being in the neighborhood of Shrewsbury, the whole detachment set out in quest of them, missed the main object, but in our route took two negroes and one deserter and two suspected persons, put the whole, with one other deserter, into one room--the two most noted villains in irons.

It is probable that the raiding party was seeking to exploit gaps created by the troop mutiny. After this activity, "nothing material happened" happened according to Finney until April 10. On that day, "Col. Ford and [Benjamin Ford] an equal detachment relieved us."

The Departure of Gist’s Regiment

Finney’s men left Tinton Falls on April 11: "Proceeded to Mt. Pleasant, cantoned our men, and took a tour of Middletown Point; Dined with Captain Burrowes [John Burrowes], sup'd at Mrs. Finoes [Freneau]; lodged at Mr. Wallace [Wall]." On April 12, they mustered at sunrise, but did not leave the county that day:

Being informed of a robbery being committed in the night, ordered a search to be made, found the villains, restored the goods, and punished the delinquents for disobedience of orders; Afterwards, pinioned them and marched them to the Provost, there to wait tryal [sic] for the robbery.

Finney’s men left Monmouth County on April 13, camping at Millstone that evening.

Washington communicated the withdrawal of Gist’s detachment to Governor William Livingston:

I shall be obliged to recall the detachment from Monmouth. I have thought it necessary to give your Excellency this early notice, that you may take such measures in consequence as you shall judge expedient to give security to those parts of the country which these troops are now posted to cover.

In a second letter on April 23, Washington admitted that one reason for the withdrawal were Loyalist “emissaries” who “have been active in corrupting our [Gist’s] men.” In these letters, it is unclear if Washington knew that Benjamin Ford’s regiment had replaced Gist in Monmouth County.

One Maryland company, under Captain Beatty, stayed at Shrewsbury, probably to help acquaint Colonel Ford’s men to the area. Beatty wrote of his continued stay: "Here we continued very peaceable, until the 26th of the month.” That day a massive British-Loyalist raiding party, under Captain Patrick Ferguson, landed at Shoal Harbor on the Raritan Bayshore and marched to Tinton Falls. Ford’s men pulled back rather than face the larger party. This raid is the subject of another article.

Perspective

While Gist’s command engaged in a skirmish and arrested a few men, its overall performance was poor. The local militia that it was supposed to be helping needed to muster and bring order to its mutineers and there is no evidence that Gist’s men curbed illegal trade with the enemy. At least some of Gist’s officers spent more time flirting with women than conducting patrols. After about a month in Monmouth County, they would be replaced by Benjamin Ford’s Marylanders—who would perform no better.

Related Historic Site: The Old Mill

Sources: Capt. Enoch Anderson, Muster Rolls, Delaware Archives, (Wilmington: Mercantile Press, 1911) vol 1, pp 92, 234-6, 312, 347; Must Rolls, Delaware Archives, (Wilmington: Mercantile Press, 1911) vol 1, pp 104; Muster Rolls, David Library of the American Revolution, Mordecai Gist Papers, reel 1; Memorial, Mordecai Giss, National Archives, Papers of the Continental Congress, reel 49, item 41, vol. 3, #460-3; Chester County Historical Society, Diary of Walter Finney; Daniel Hendrickson to Barnes Smock, Monmouth County Historical Association, Cherry Hall Papers, box 5, folder 9; George Washington, General Orders, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 20, 8 April–31 May 1779, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010, pp. 55–57, 478-81; George Washington to William Livingston, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw140422)); William Beatty, "Journal of Captain William Beatty of the Maryland Line, 1776-1781", Historical Magazine, 2nd Series, 1867, pp 117; David Rhea to Moore Furman, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #5600.