The Court Martial of Richard Lippincott

The hanging of Joshua Huddy on April 12 set off a chain of events. Enraged Monmouth Countians lobbied George Washington to retaliate. Washington moved quickly—ordering that a British officer be selected for retaliation and demanding Huddy’s murderer [Richard Lippincott] from the British Commander in Chief, Henry Clinton. Clinton would not hand over Lippincott, but he also acted quickly.

Henry Clinton Responds to the Hanging of Joshua Huddy

The same day that Clinton heard from Washington (April 21), he wrote William Franklin, New Jersey’s last Royal Governor. Embittered by the flow of the war, Franklin became Chairman of the Associated Loyalists (the paramilitary to which Lippincott belonged). Clinton wrote of Washington's inquiry about Huddy’s hanging: "Brig. General David Forman… has gone to General Washington to complain of the outrage." Huddy was a prisoner in the care of the Associated Loyalists. Clinton demanded a report on Huddy’s death from Franklin; Lippincott was arrested.

The Board of the Associated Loyalists replied to Clinton on April 24. “Captain Lippincott, having been taken up and committed to the Provost [jail] before he completed his report" made it impossible to report on Huddy’s hanging. The Board also learned that Lippincott would be court-martialed by the British Army. The Board acknowledged a request to provide “the names of the men who were of the party with Captain Lippincott." (It appears that this list was never provided.)

Clinton, unhappy with the Board’s response, replied immediately. He made three queries: 1.) “Whether the three prisoners of war delivered by order of the Board to Captain Lippincott were exchanged according to the intentions of the Board, and for whom”? 2.) “What report (either verbal or written) Captain Lippincott had made to the Board on return from Sandy Hook?” 3.) And “also every circumstance the Board knows respecting the death of Captain Huddy." Clinton ended the Board's power to exchange prisoners: "[You] shall not in the future remove or exchange any prisoners of war."

A list of prisoners in the British Provost jail under the authority of the Associated Loyalists was supplied on April 27. This list named to eighteen American prisoners—thirteen of whom were likely Monmouth Countians - John Staatesor, William Everingham, Thomas Wainwright, John Lane, George Parker, David London, William Case, Joseph Hendrickson, James Edsall, John Mitchell, Robert North, George Taylor, Solomon Bartlett. Most of these men were taken with Huddy at Toms River on March 24.

Clinton then replied to Washington April 25. He scolded Washington for his "improper language." But he admitted, "I am very concerned" by Huddy’s hanging. "Acts of cruelty… are notoriously contrary to my own conduct." He informed Washington of Lippincott’s court martial: "I instantly ordered a strict inquiry...and shall bring the perpetrator to an immediate trial."

Clinton’s counterpart, Governor-General James Robertson, heading the civil government of British-held New York, wrote Washington on May 1. He assured Washington of his intentions “to carry on the war agreeable to the rules which humanity formed and the example of the politest nations.” He called on Washington to curb rebel abuses in Monmouth County as he would do in New York. He forwarded Washington the report of fifteen Loyalist murders in Monmouth County that the Associated Loyalists had compiled a few days earlier (see Appendix 1). Robertson then wrote: “Let us agree to prevent or punish every breach of the rules of war within the spheres of our Commands.”

Robertson also warned Washington of a cycle of retaliation: “Nothing but the utmost necessity can justify retaliation, and if this cruel, dangerous measure was to be trusted in the hands of incensed men—universal horror and Barbarity would ensue.” He asked Washington to wait for the results of the court martial before further acting and to return two British officers taken at Elizabethtown.

Washington kept the heat on the British, informing Clinton on April 25, "orders are to be given to designate a British officer in retaliation [for hanging Huddy]... I still hope the result of your Court Martial will prevent this dreadful alternative." Washington’s letter revealed that murder conviction and punishment from the British court would be an acceptable substitute to turning over Lippincott.

The Start of the Court Martial of Richard Lippincott

The Court Martial of Richard Lippincott began on April 25. The Court included two of the highest ranking Loyalists in the British Army, Generals Cortland Skinner and Oliver DeLancey. The first action of the Court was to hear a plea from the Associated Loyalists to have the case dismissed because the alleged crime was "outside of military jurisdiction." The Associated Loyalists also appealed to Henry Clinton, "we are at loss to know from whence authority is derived by which Capt. Lippincott can be tried for murder by General Court Martial" since Lippincott is not a military officer. Clinton did not respond.

Loyalists watched Lippincott’s court martial with concern.  Attorney William Smith was sympathetic toward Lippincott. As the court martial began, he wrote: "He [Lippincott] seemed fearless, and avowed that what he did was by authority... I then suspected the Board of Refugees meant to disavow Lippincott and make him their scapegoat." Antiquarian sources describe unrest because of the court martial including the public jeering of Henry Clinton and a brawl between Loyalist protesters and British soldiers on May 3 outside of New York’s City Hall (the site of the court martial).

The Huddy hanging unleashed British resentments toward the Associated Loyalists. General James Graham complained of the “predatory kind of warfare… carried out by the loyal refugees.” He continued: “Sir Henry Clinton, highly resenting this disgraceful outrage on humanity and insult on himself as commander.” As for Lippincott “he pleaded that he was not subject to martial law” and “could not be tried in New York for an offense committed in another state, New Jersey."

Also on April 25, the Board of Associated Loyalists, submitted a report entitled, "State of Facts, Presenting the Murders Committed on Loyalists in Monmouth County." The short report listed fifteen Loyalists murdered in Monmouth County: Stephen Edwards, Stephen West, Stephen Emmons, Ezekiel Williams, James Pew, John Wood, Thomas Emmons, Jacob Fagan, Jonathan Burdge, John Farnham, Joseph Wood, Joseph Mulliner, Richard Bell, Thomas Johnson, and Philip White. (See appendix 1.)

The Board of Associated Loyalists followed up again on April 27. They claimed that Lippincott had landed in Monmouth County to attempt a prisoner exchange but it was refused. Then he attempted to “carry off” Captain Clayton Tilton, jailed in Freehold, “by force.” They feared that Tilton would suffer the same fate as Philip White, the Loyalist killed on March 31. They wrote of “the many daring acts of the same nature which have been perpetrated with impunity by a set of vindictive rebels well known by the name the Monmouth Retaliators” and called out David Forman’s as the group’s leader. The Associated Loyalists then admitted to retaliating on Huddy, without admitting to the hanging:

We thought it high time to convince the rebels we would no longer tamely submit to acts of barbarity, and though we lament the necessity to which we have been driven, to begin a retaliation for intolerable cruelties, yet we are convinced that we could not have saved the life of Capt Tilton by any other means. We therefore pitched upon Joshua Huddy for a proper subject of retaliation.

The Associated Loyalists went on to describe Huddy “being instrumental in the hanging of Stephen Edwards, a worthy Loyalist” in 1777.  Huddy “was the man who tied the rope and put it around the neck of that inoffensive sufferer. This fact will appear by two affidavits, which we have the honor to enclose." Lieutenant Josiah Parker, formerly of Shrewsbury, stated that Huddy "had been concerned in the hanging of Stephen Edwards, and in particular that the said Huddy had fixed the rope 'round Edwards' neck." John Tilton spoke with Huddy before his execution. Huddy told him that "he did not hang Edwards, but tied the rope & put it around his neck, and greased the rope, that it might slip easy."

The Associated Loyalists continued to argue that Lippincott’s trial was illegal, writing Clinton on May 2: "attempting to punish Captain Lippincott by a court martial for the execution of Joshua Huddy was… neither warranted by the Mutiny Act or the Articles of War, but altogether illegal, unjustifiable and impolitic." On May 4, the Board sent another letter "stating the reasons which induce the Board to think Captain Lippincott not amenable to a Court Martial." Clinton apparently did not respond.

Monmouth Countians Testify at the Court Martial of Richard Lippincott

Lippincott’s court martial went through May and into June. Roughly twenty witnesses testified, of which eleven were from Monmouth County. Their testimony is summarized below:

The first Monmouth Countian to testify was Lippincott himself, on May 3. He stressed the cruel treatment of Loyalists:

I have long been attainted by the rebels of New Jersey; my estate has been made subject to their illegal confiscations, and I have all along, without pay or rank, opposed myself to his Majesty's enemies on equal conditions... My Loyalty has not been of the passive kind, for I have often hazarded my life. Loyalty has been bleeding at every vein, & is now bleeding in New Jersey… Those who early staked their all on the final success of the Royal cause, and chose a kind of exile from their estates, families and connections, in preference to the guilt of rebellion… Several of my friends and neighbors have fallen sacrifice to rebel barbarity.

Lippincott defended acts of retaliation, "a milder conduct towards the Loyalists has been the result of such Retaliation." He also claimed that he was verbally ordered by the Board of the Associated Loyalist to perform the execution. He acted "according to the meaning of my Order as explained by several of the Members of the Board." If hanging Huddy was illegal, a middling officer like him "cannot be supposed to know their jurisdiction perfectly" as British military law "is by no means generally known.”

Lippincott refused to enter a guilty or not guilty plea, but "informed the Court that not being prepared to plead" he requested and was granted a delay to May 6. Then Lippincott again refused to enter a plea, now claiming that the British Army court martial lacked jurisdiction over an Associated Loyalist: “He is legally held to answer for the said supposed offence before a Court of common Law cognizance, and not elsewhere." Another delay in the proceedings resulted.

When the court martial resumed, William Corlies, who lived near Lippincott in Shrewsbury before the war, testified. He detailed several past abuses and murder in Monmouth County and called David Forman “Black David… on account of barbarous treatment of Loyalists in New Jersey." (See Appendix 2.)

Thomas Crowell testified William Franklin ordered him to execute Captain Barnes Smock, in 1781, supporting Lippincott's defense that he was ordered to execute Joshua Huddy. "He [Crowell] obtained from the Commandant, thro' Governor Franklin, orders” to take three Monmouth County prisoners and ”to have one executed, one of them by retaliation." But the plan fell apart when no one would sign the order authorizing Crowell to carry out the execution. Crowell would not do the deed without a written order. Crowell’s testimony was corroborated by Moffat Taylor, another Monmouth Countian, who also testified about the near-hanging of Barnes Smock a year earlier.

Samuel Taylor, formerly of Shrewsbury, testified that he informed Franklin of the murder of Philip White. He and Franklin had discussed executing Joshua Huddy in retaliation. Taylor proposed:

The delivery of Captain Huddy and one [Daniel] Randolph (who is looked upon as a man of some consequence in that County) in order to exchange the latter for [Clayton] Tilton and then execute the former [Huddy] in retaliation for Philip White.

Franklin agreed and boasted, "they [Associated Loyalists] should continue retaliating by hanging man for man" against the rebels. Taylor claimed that Lippincott received verbal orders from Franklin to execute Huddy, and that Lippincott "should have looked upon them as lawful Orders.” Franklin said to him, "Will you execute him [Huddy] when you take him out?' he [Lippincott] replied he would… Governor Franklin added 'then you shall have him'." John Tilton agreed, stating that Franklin agreed that Huddy "must be executed, or they (meaning the Loyalists) would all be hanged."

Another Monmouth Loyalist, Moffat Taylor, testified Franklin wanted a prisoner exchange of Randolph and Jacob Fleming for Clayton Tilton and Aaron White (Philip White’s brother). They were both jailed in Freehold—though Aaron White would escape. In addition, “Joshua Huddy was to be executed for Philip White, who had been murdered." Taylor supported Thomas Crowell’s testimony about the near-hanging of Barnes Smock: “One by the name of Smock was taken out to be executed but was not.”

Then Moffat Taylor explained that the order to hang Huddy was conveyed through him to Lippincott:

He [Franklin] told him (the Deponent) to go to him [Lippincott] and he dared Say he (Captain Lippincott) would be fond of going [to New Jersey to hang Huddy]; He (the Deponent) went to Captain Lippincott, told him Governor Franklin had appointed him to go and asked him if he was willing to go; he (Capt. Lippincott) replied he had nothing to say against it, he was willing to go.

Aaron White testified on the murder of his brother, Philip White, by three guards. He testified that he was separated from his brother and heard talk of them killing Philip. The guards “harassed and abused” Philip until he attempted an escape. Philip was then hunted down, wounded several times, and killed.

Four prominent Shrewsbury Loyalists served as character witnesses for Lippincott. 1.) Lt. Colonel John Morris stated that he had known Lippincott for many years, and praised Lippincott’s "uniform good character." 2.) Reverend Samuel Cooke was a neighbor of Lippincott's before the war and "had every reason to think his character stood as fair as that of any refugee." 3.) John Wardell, Esq., stated he had known Lippincott over ten years and "always looked upon him as an honest, inoffensive and peaceable man." 4.) Attorney William Taylor, gave a statement in support of Lippincott and, with Robert Alexander, compiled a list of Loyalists unjustly killed in Monmouth County. (See Appendix 1.)

Other Key Testimony at Richard Lippincott’s Court Martial

Timothy Brooks, a Pennsylvania Loyalist in Lippincott’s hanging party, testified that Lippincott showed humanity toward Huddy—permitting Huddy to compose his will. Lippincott also spoke privately and shook hands with Huddy immediately before the hanging. Brooks also testified that Samuel Taylor, also with the hanging party, told him that Governor Franklin had ordered the hanging.

William Cunningham, Provost of Prisoners, testified that Lippincott wanted to kill Huddy, but only if he was authorized:

He had often heard Capt. Lippincott say that Gov. Franklin often said there was no way of preventing the rebels from massacring the Refugees, but by Retaliation. Captain Lippincott answered that he would be the man who would cause it to be done if he, the Governor, would give him a written order, so that he might stand fair in the eyes of his Excellency, the Commander in Chief; Gov. Franklin replied that he could give no written order, but would answer to the consequences to the Commander in Chief -- as it was the only way of putting a stop to the rebels hanging and murdering the Loyal Refugees.

Cunningham also noted that Franklin had sent Lippincott a confession to sign while Lippincott was in jail; Cunningham counseled Lippincott not to sign it "as the contents of which were to acquit the Board of having anything of Huddy's death and that he, Lippincott, should take it entirely upon himself." Finally, Cunningham claimed, like others, that Huddy boasted of his role in hanging Stephen Edwards: “Huddy avowed it by saying ‘By God he did,’ and that he (meaning himself) slushed (meaning greased) the Rope, and that a Colonel Forman assisted in pulling the Rope hand over hand.”

Walter Chaloner, the Associated Loyalist’s Commissary of Prisoners admitted that he knew Huddy was going to be hanged when released into Lippincott's custody. He claimed that Huddy went "joyfully" expecting an exchange. Captain Richard Morris of the Britannia, the guard ship at Sandy Hook, knew of the plan to hang Huddy, and saw the note that would be pinned to Huddy’s corpse, proclaiming the execution an act of retaliation. He gave Lippincott the rope for the hanging.

British military attorney, Stephen Payne Adye, author of The Treatise on Courts-Martial,, was brought in toward the end of trial to provide a legal framing of the facts that had emerged. He noted that killing an "alien enemy" was not murder if it was for a proper military purpose and carried out under military authority. The key question was therefore whether Lippincott believed killing Huddy had a “military purpose” and that he was acting under the authority of a superior.

Adye believed that Lippincott heard Franklin say “there was no way of stopping the Rebels from massacring the Refugees but by Retaliation.” This gave Lippincott reason to believe the execution had a military purpose. Lippincott also recognized the need to conduct the execution under proper authority: “Captain Lippincott answered he would be the Man who would cause it to be done, if he (the Governor) would give him an Order in Writing, so that he might stand fair in the Eyes of His Excellency the Commander in Chief.” Lippincott told Adye that: “Governor Franklin replied that he could give no written Order, but would answer the consequences to the Commander in Chief.”

Adye also submitted the confession that Lippincott was asked to sign, “the contents of which were to acquit the Board of knowing anything of Huddy's death.” It put Huddy’s execution in the context:

A Set of Vindictive Rebels well known by the Designation of Monmouth Retaliators fired our party with an indignation only to be felt by men who for a series of years have beheld many of their friends and neighbors butchered in cold blood under the usurped form of Law.

Due to these abuses, Lippincott was therefore (according to the statement) entitled to retaliate:

We lament the necessity to which we have been driven to begin a retaliation of intolerable(sic) cruelties long continued and often repeated, yet we are convinced, that we could not have saved the life of Capt. Tilton by any other means; We therefore pitched upon Joshua Huddy as a proper Subject for retaliation... They [Whigs] shall feel by a severe retaliation, in every instance the just Vengeance due to such enormities. Blood shall flow for Blood.

Adye complained that he was not able to interview most of the men in Lippincott’s party (the list of whom was never turned in). Adye noted that Lippincott's "implied obedience" to verbal orders resulted in his "coolly and deliberately” killing a man “upon the bare Word of a third [person, Moffat Taylor]." He suggested that Lippincott should have questioned the scenario, particularly because the execution came through a third party. Adye also challenged the supposition that retaliation curbed abuses by the Rebels; Washington’s threatened retaliation against the British officer, proved that retaliation only encouraged additional retaliation.

The Verdict

In his closing statement, Lippincott reminded the court that he was a "Loyal Refugee" and that "flagrant Acts of inhuman Barbarity so often and so repeatedly perpetrated" against Monmouth Loyalists stirred him. He noted that the Associated Loyalists were founded on a "solemn Declaration that they would take just Vengeance.” Then, Lippincott claimed that he had executed Huddy under orders:

The Governor [Franklin] judging it proper that a retaliation should take place... gave me his Orders for the Execution of Huddy. That in Consequence of such Orders I received Huddy into my possession & commanded the party which disposed of him according to what we thought that the will of our superiors.

On June 22, nearly two months after the court martial started, the verdict was read:

What the prisoner [Lippincott] did in the matter was not the effect of malice or Ill-will, but proceeded from a conviction that it was his duty to obey the orders of the Board of Directors of Associated Loyalists, and his not doubting their having a full Authority to give such orders, the Court is of Opinion that he, the Prisoner, Captain Richard Lippincott, is Not Guilty of the Murder laid to his Charge, and doth therefore Acquit him.

Attorney observers accepted the verdict. Loyalist William Smith, who followed the trial closely, wrote on June 22 that Lippincott's and other testimony has "showed clearly that he had executed Huddy by order of Governor Franklin." Thomas Jones, a British attorney in New York not affiliated with the trial:

One of the objects of the organization [Associated Loyalists] was that the Associators could retaliate upon the Americans for outrages and murders committed upon the Loyalists. This, it was, that led to the execution of Joshua Huddy by verbal order of William Franklin.

Perspective

Huddy’s blood is on Lippincott’s hands. Lippincott killed Huddy based on years of compounded frustration, backstopped by an unethical verbal order conveyed through a third party. Lippincott likely wanted to kill Huddy; but he knew he needed permission to do so. The leader who encouraged the killing and gave the order, William Franklin, was guilty of the deed, but that does not absolve Lippincott.

For a year, Franklin communicated that he wanted to kill a rebel officer based on the faulty logic that an execution might convince the enemy to be kinder to Loyalists. Franklin knew that it was risky to kill a man extra-legally—and the British refused to condone eye-for-an-eye retaliation. So, Franklin avoided putting his murderous order in writing and promised to take the heat after the execution. When Clinton arrested Lippincott, Franklin sought to pin the deflect the blame, going so far as drafting a self-incriminating confession for Lippincott to sign. More damning, Franklin quietly sailed for England to avoid Lippincott’s court martial. He escaped accountability for the execution he engineered. But the furor over Huddy and Lippincott would reverberate to the highest levels of the American, British and French governments.

Related Historic Site: New York Historical Society

Appendix 1: Extracts from Information Laid Before his Excellency, Sir Henry Clinton, of Several Acts of Cruelty & Barbarity received upon Persons Therein

Excerpted:

1. Stephen Edwards, "of family and property was taken out of his bed in 1777 by

Joshua Huddy, who acknowledged himself to have been active and assisting in

hanging said Edwards."

2. James Pew, Middletown, "of respectable family and good character, was taken

prisoner in 1778. confined for a considerable amount of time in Freehold goal, and

shot to death by the sentry."

3. Stephen West, Stephen Emmons, & [?] Williams: "loyalists from Monmouth were most

inhumanly murdered in 1778."

4. John Wood and Thomas Emmons: "loyalists, were taken in Monmouth in 1778, and

executed."

5. Jacob Fagan, "from Monmouth was wounded in 1778, of said wound he died, and was

privately buried by some of his friends.- the inhabitants got information of this, dug

him up, carried his corpse to Freehold, and hung it on the gibbets."

6. John Farnham and John Burdge, "loyalists from Monmouth were taken in 1781 and

executed at Freehold, notwithstanding that a colonel of the militia and member of

New Jersey assembly (taken by Farnham and Burdge) were offered in exchange for

them."

7. Joseph Wood, "was taken at Long Branch, near Shrewsbury, in 1781, carried to Colt's Neck, where he was a prisoner for several days, that in conveying him to

Freehold, he was shot to death by the guard, within half a mile of the prison."

8. Joseph Mulliner, "loyalist and Captain of a whale boat was taken in 1781, carried to

Freehold, removed to Burlington, tried and executed, notwithstanding [that] he

produced his commission as Captain of a privateer at his tryal."

9. Richard Bell and John Thomson, "loyalists from Monmouth was taken November

last from off Sandy Hook, carried to Freehold and hanged."

10. Philip White, "loyalist taken lately at Shrewsbury in an action, was marched

under guard near 16 miles, and at a fork of the road about 3 miles from Freehold

goal, as is asserted by creditable persons, he was by three persons left back, while Capt. [Clayton] Tilton and the other prisoners were sent forward, and after being stripped of his britches, buckles and other articles, the dragoons said they could give him a chance for his life and ordered him to run, which he attempted, but had not gone thirty yards from them when they shot him.”

Appendix 2: Testimony of William Corlies at Richard Lippincott’s Court Martial

William Corlies, Husbandman from the province of New Jersey, and now one of the Associated Loyalists under the Board of Directors being duly sworn was examined.

Q   What does he (the Deponent) know respecting the death of one Edwards, the Character of that Gentleman, and what was his real offence, together with all the circumstances of that transaction as far as he was able to collect them?

A   He (the Deponent), at the time of Mr. Edwards death, resided at Shrewsbury in the County of Monmouth; that he (Edwards) was taken out of bed at his own house; that he was carried to a place called Freehold, to the best of his (the Deponent's) remembrance about three years since; the following day he was brought to some kind of trial, and the day following was executed; the Offence alledged against him was said to be his having some Papers found in his Pockets; from every thing he (the Deponent) heard respecting Mr. Edwards he bore an exceeding good Character.

Q   by the Court — Was any complaint made to General Washington on the death of Edwards, and what was the Consequence?

A   He heard there was a complaint made to Genl. Washington or the Governor, but to the best of his remembrance he thinks to General Washington, but he cannot say what was the consequence of that Complaint, or what the Complaint was.

Q   Was he present at, or does he know the names of the Judges or any of the Members that sat on the Tryal of Mr. Edwards as he has already related?

A   He was not present; General Forman was one; Joshua Huddy was also one; he had that information from Joshua Huddy's own Mouth; he does not recollect who the rest were.

Q   Was he present at the Execution of Edwards?

A   He was not, but was at his Burial.

Q   from the Prisoner — Was Edwards tried for Treason against the Rebel State of New Jersey, or for any and what other Crime?

A   He understood he was tried for Treason in consequence of those papers already mentioned.

Q   What does he know respecting the Trials of John Wood and Thomas Emans, Loyalists in Monmouth County, the Crimes of which they were Accused, and the circumstances of that Transaction?

A   He knows nothing of the Circumstances respecting Wood and Emans but by hearsay.

Q   What does he (the Deponent) know respecting the Trial and Execution of Farnhan, Burge and Paterson, the Crimes of which they were Accused and the circumstances of that whole Affair.

A   He furnished a Man with a Horse to prevent the Execution of those persons, but knows nothing of particulars only by Report.

Q   What was the report of the County respecting these Matters?

A   The general report was that those persons were carried to Monmouth and executed for being Loyalists and guilty of Treason against the State.

Q   What has been the usual mode of proceeding against the Loyalists in that part of the Country, and what pretences do they generally make use of for their Cruelties against them?

A   The general mode of proceeding has been that when any of the Persons alluded to were taken prisoners, they were considered as State prisoners, not prisoners of War, and were tried and executed by order of sometimes Civil Courts, sometimes Courts Martial, and sometimes without any Trial.

Q   Did not the Rebel General Forman generally pass by the name of Black David, on account of his barbarous treatment of Loyalists in New Jersey?

A   Yes; and for that reason, Vizt., Barbaritie, acquired that appellation.

Q   What does he know respecting the deaths of Stephen West, Stephen Emans and Ezekiel Williams; the information he received respecting them and from whom and in the Manner in which their dead bodies were exposed and treated?

A   He (the Deponent) was carried Prisoner to Monmouth in January 1779, on the night of the 24th of that Month; he saw a Captain Dennis3 of the Rebel Service bring to Freehold Court House three dead bodies; that Captain Dennis being a Neighbour of his (the Deponents) he asked where those Men were killed; he replyed they were killed on the Shore, where they were coming to join their Regiments; two of them, he said, belonged to Colonel Morris's Corps of General Skinner's Brigade; the other had been enlisted in their Service by those two belonging to Colonel Morris's Corps; he said also he (Capt. Dennis) had employed a Man to assist them in making their escape, at a place where he (Dennis) was to meet with them on the Shore, at which place he did meet them; that on coming to the Spot he (Dennis) surrounded them with his party; that the Men attempted to Fire, and not being able to discharge their pieces begged for quarter, and claimed the benefit of being prisoners of War; he ordered them to be fired on, and one of them by the Name of Williams fell; that they were all Bayonetted by the Party and brought to Monmouth, and that he (Dennis) received a sum of Money for that Action, either from the Governor or General Washington, which of the two he does not recollect.

Q   from the Court.   Does he (the Deponent) know, or has he heard of any person or persons under the denomination of Loyalists, put to death without trial after being taken Prisoner and Confined?

A   Yes; one person by the Name of [James] Pew.

Sources: James J. Graham, The Memoir of General Graham, (Edinburgh: R.R. Clark, 1862) pp.24, 83-4; Henry Clinton to William Franklin, Library of Congress, Richard Lippincott Court Martial, reel 1, #158-65; Prisoner List, Library of Congress, Richard Lippincott Court Martial, reel 1, #187: Henry Clinton to William Franklin, Princeton University Library, Microfilms Collection, #1081.133, Board of Associated Loyalists, April 22-May 4, 1782: Board of Associated Loyalists to Henry Clinton, Princeton University Library, Microfilms Collection, #1081.133, Board of Associated Loyalists, April 22-May 4, 1782: Henry Clinton to Board of Associated Loyalists, Princeton University Library, Microfilms Collection, #1081.133, Board of Associated Loyalists, April 22-May 4, 1782: To George Washington from James Robertson, 1 May 1782,” Founders Online, National Archives (http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-08307, ver. 2013-09-28); Princeton University Library, Microfilms Collection, #1081.133, Board of Associated Loyalists, April 22-May 4, 1782; Library of Congress, Rivington's New York Gazette, reel 2906; George Washington to Henry Clinton, Great Britain, Public Record Office, Colonial Office, CO 5, v105, reel 8, #722, 775-6; Elizabeth Miller, The American Revolution: As Described by British Writers and The Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser (London: Heritage Books, 2008) pp. 95-7; William Smith, Historical Memoirs of William Smith: From 26 August 1778 to 12 November 1783 (New York: Arno, 1971)  pp. 500-1; Board of Associated Loyalists, Report, Library of Congress, Richard Lippincott Court Martial, reel 1, #158-65; Board of Associated Loyalists statement in BF Stevens, Report on American Manuscripts in the Royal Institution of Great Britain (London: Mackie & Co, 1906) v2, p467; Board of Associated Loyalists Statement in Elizabeth Miller, The American Revolution: As Described by British Writers and The Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser (London: Heritage Books, 2008) pp. 97-8; Board of Associated Loyalists Statement in Elizabeth Miller, The American Revolution: As Described by British Writers and The Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser (London: Heritage Books, 2008) pp. 97-8; Richard Lippincott’s statement is in Howard Peckham, Sources of American Independence: Selected Manuscripts from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library  (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) pp. 558-9, 582-8; William Corlies’ statement is in Howard Peckham, Sources of American Independence: Selected Manuscripts from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library  (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) pp. 566-8; Robert Alexander and Anthony Stewart’s statements, Great Britain, Public Record Office, Colonial Office, CO 5, v107, #240-2, 261, 268; Thomas Crowell’s testimony in Howard Peckham, Sources of American Independence: Selected Manuscripts from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library  (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) pp. 570, 579-80; Testimony of Samuel Taylor in Howard Peckham, Sources of American Independence: Selected Manuscripts from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library  (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) p 571; Testimony of John Morris, Samuel Cooke and John Wardell in Howard Peckham, Sources of American Independence: Selected Manuscripts from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library  (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) pp. 580-1; Richard Lippincott’s plea, Transcript of the Court Martial of Richard Lippincott, http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/halew/Lippincott.html  ; List of Cruelties and Barbarities, National Archives, Papers of the Continental Congress, reel 171, item 152, vol. 10, #543-6. Library of Congress, Richard Lippincott Court Martial, reel 1, #158-65; Board of Associated Loyalists to Henry Clinton, Princeton University Library, Microfilms Collection, #1081.133, Board of Associated Loyalists, April 22-May 4, 1782; William Cunningham’s testimony at the Court Martial of Richard Lippincott, Great Britain, Public Record Office, Colonial Office, CO 5, v105, reel 8, #783-5; The verdict in the court martial is printed in William Gordon, The History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment of the Independence of the United States of Amerca, (New York, 1788) p284-9; Transcript of the Court Martial of Richard Lippincott, http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/halew/Lippincott.html

Testimony of Stephen Ayde Adye, Transcript of the Court Martial of Richard Lippincott, http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/halew/Lippincott.html  ; David Library of the American Revolution, Great Britain Public Records Office, British Headquarters Papers, #4760; Trial Verdict, Transcript of the Court Martial of Richard Lippincott, http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/halew/Lippincott.html; William Smith, Historical Memoirs of William Smith: From 26 August 1778 to 12 November 1783 (New York: Arno, 1971)  pp. 507, 511, 529; Thomas Jones, History of New York During the Revolutionary War: And of the Leading Events in the Other Colonies at That Period (Ulan: 2012) pp. 481-3.