Pulaski's Legion in Stafford Township

On October 15, 1778, Count Kasimir Pulaski and his new cavalry Legion was in dire straits. Hours earlier, in a pre-dawn attack that would become known as the Osborn Island Massacre, fifty of his 220 men were “cut to pieces” by a British-Loyalist raiding party, five others were captured, and 25 of his remaining men had just deserted. The only nearby town that might have had  provisions for his men, Chestnut Neck, was razed a week earlier and incapable of assisting. The British flotilla that carried the raiding party had left Little Egg Harbor (called Egg Harbor at the time) that day—amid rumors that it would land men again on its way back to Sandy Hook.

Pulaski’s decimated force rode north to shadow the vastly more powerful British force. As they did, they rode through Stafford Township, which was sparsely populated and poor. The life of the people living the region’s barrier islands and shallow bays was described by a German officer, Andreas Wiederholt, who spent days outside of Little Egg Harbor, in October 1779:

The people who live on scattered islands are pilots who guide ships through channels and earn a living fishing. The islands are of poor soil, sandy and swampy so that not much grows except scrub cedar, pine, and marsh grass and reeds. Some of the ground around their houses is cultivated with soil amended with dung fertilizer which only support miserable vegetables. They have few livestock which graze on marsh grasses. The inhabitants must obtain wood, grain and other necessities from the mainland. The homes are all surrounded by dams and ditches, which constantly need replenishing or clearing out to protect the houses from floods or gales from the nearby ocean.

A Quaker missionary, John Griffith, visited the region prior to the war; he wrote that it was filled with “loose and libertine” people.

Pulaski’s Troubled March through Stafford Township

Count Pulaski first wrote to Congress about his problems with the people of Stafford Township on October 16. He was unable to rally the local militia: “Major Montfort had been sent to the forks [on the Mullica River] to gather and bring the militia, but half of them were gone home and the remainder found so many difficulties that they almost mutinied." He continued:

I beg you will order the militia to be obedient, or take them away entirely, for they are so ill-inclined that they will only spoil our affairs; besides, they disperse and retire when they please, particularly when they are wanted to face the enemy.

Even worse were the local disaffected and Loyalists of Stafford Township (the southern third of today’s Ocean County) who were emboldened by Pulaski’s defeat: “I am constantly alarmed by parties of Tories who seem to make a sport of us, and who in all appearance make use of all opportunities to injure us.” Pulaski continued:

I shall at last be forced to search the houses and take the oath of fidelity from the inhabitants, otherwise I shall be continually exposed. I shall endeavor to discover those who conceal the enemy although it will be dangerous as the Tories have sometimes fired on my patrols.

But Pulaski singled out the Monmouth militia under Colonel Samuel Forman, arriving from Toms River: "toward the sea are good Whigs."

Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress, received Pulaski’s letter and replied on October 18: "With respect to the Tories and the conduct of the militia which you complain of, attempts are daily made for reforming the conduct of both, but in infant States such evils are not to be removed in a moment." By this time, Pulaski was in motion, traveling to Barnegat in Stafford Township.

Here, he was informed by locals that the British flotilla would land on the Monmouth County shore: “I am informed that the enemy have made some movement and that they may land this night. For fear of surprise, I shall wait for them under arms.” Pulaski’s intelligence included a report, presumably, from David Forman (now a Colonel, having resigned as a General of the militia amidst scandal). “We were assured on this by the General [David Forman], who went to reconnoiter, himself.”

The British flotilla did land a party near Barnegat. A militiaman, John Holmes, recalled camping at Barnegat where “the enemy landed in small parties & burnt some houses but could not effect landing to burn the salt works.” Barnegat was the site of a large and controversial salt works (likely never completed) co-owned by David Forman. Forman had proposed that these salt works would, in exchange for government funding, produce salt exclusively for the Continental Army.

Pulaski reported that the quick departure of the British prevented him from engaging them. The landing party was also aided by local disaffected: “As they [the British] were concealed and favored by the Tories, they found means to re-embark.” Pulaski did not mention the role of the militia in blocking an easy landing by the would-be raiders.

Pulaski promised to keep shadowing the flotilla in order to protect the Monmouth shore, “I shall conduct my forces toward Barnegat for fear that the Enemy may burn as they go on."  He continued to complain about the militia, “I expect no assistance from the militia, for they have abandoned me.” However, according to Holmes, it was wisely-stationed militia that likely compelled the British landing party to give up its landing without burning the salt works at Barnegat, “the enemy landed in small parties & burnt some houses but could not effect landing to burn the salt works.”

The next day, Gerard St. Elme, writing for Pulaski, informed Congress that, "We are betrayed on all sides, we cannot take a step but an hour later the enemy is informed.” St. Elme was not optimistic: “The number of the Legion is too small and in too ungrateful a country to undertake anything." Two days later, on October 21, Pulaski reported to Congress from Barnegat. The British ships were finally leaving, "the enemy are going away… save one frigate that ran ashore.” He also noted that other American forces were now headed back to Philadelphia: “I have directed Col Proctor to return to Philadelphia twenty-four hours after they are gone. I shall stop at Barnegat until they are passed.”

Pulaski concluded, “My Corps is very much fatigued and require some days rest... I send you signatures of several inhabitants who have taken the Oath of Allegiance; they ought all take it." Between October 16 and October 21, Pulaski administered Loyalty oaths to at least eleven local residents: Silas Ireland, Joseph King, Stephen Ayers, Edward Parker, Samuel Parker, Noah Ridgeway, James Crammer, Adam Pettit, Cajah Willets, Peter Parker, Joseph Parker. The oath is below:

I do swear before God the Supreme, that now being persuaded of the justice of our cause in defence of liberty, to be always faithful in fulfilling the will of the United States of America, their orders issued by the Honorable Congress, and also endeavor all in my power to render our country independent, so help me God.

And I do solemnly swear or affirm that I do not hold myself bound to bear faith and allegiance to George, the King of Great Britain. I will solemnly declare and affirm that I do bear faith and true allegiance to the United States of America and will do all in my power to support the law established under the authority of the People.

After the March Through Stafford Township

Pulaski’s officers were Europeans, and most of the men who served in his Legion were recruited from Pennsylvania and Maryland. They probably were viewed as unwelcome foreigners by most of the locals. Stafford Township would become the center of Pine Robber activity later in the war, hosting the gangs of William Davenport and John Bacon. The residents and Stafford and Dover Townships continued to elect disaffected men to local offices through the end of the war.

One of the few New Jersey recruits in Pulaski’s Legion was William McBride of Middlesex County, who enlisted at Britton’s tavern as the Legion headed toward the shore. His time in Stafford Township must have made an impression, as he volunteered for the State Troops regiment in 1780 that was sent into Stafford Township. He recalled serving at Cedar Creek (Tuckerton) "where there were many Tories and disaffected" and recalled pursuing a party of Pine Robbers who "were plundering the inhabitants." (McBride incorrectly stated the Loyalists were led by the African-American partisan leader, Colonel Tye.)

After permitting his men a few days of rest at Barnegat. Pulaski ended the miserable assignment in Stafford Township. His men rode for Trenton, where they arrived on October 28. The New Jersey Gazette’s brief article on Pulaski's return flatteringly suggested his Legion had "had driven the enemy on board their vessels." In reality, the two weeks in Stafford was a disaster—it had resulted in the death, capture, or desertion of more than a third of his men. This was an ominous sign of the misfortune that would befall a string of Continental regiments sent into Monmouth County in 1779.

Related Historic Site: Barnegat Light Museum

Sources: Kasimir Pulaski to Congress, Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) p 216; Henry Laurens to Kasimir Pulaski, Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) pp. 217-8; Kasimir Pulaski to Congress, Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) pp. 217-8; Gerard St. Elme to Congress, Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) pp. 218-9; Kasimir Pulaski to Congress, Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) pp. 218-9; Griffith’s description is John Griffith, Journal of the Life, Travel and Labors in the Work of Ministry of John Griffith (London: James Phillips, 1779) p388-9; Weiderhold’s description is in JP Hand, The Cape May Navy, (Charleston, SC: History Press, 2018)  pp. 71-76; Waldenmaier, Nellie Protsman, Some of the Earliest Oaths of Allegiance in the United States of America (Lancaster, Pa.: privately printed, 1944) p 72. Szymanski, Leszek. Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) p 220; Szymanski, Leszek, Casimir Pulaski: A Hero of the American Revolution, (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1993) p 220; Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application of William McBride of NJ, National Archives, p3-4, 20-2.