Strangely Contaminated: The Loyalists of New Jersey Program Recap

So much of the literature and remembrance of the American Revolution focuses on Washington’s rag-tag army that suffered in almost every conceivable way.  Then there is the mythos around the resilient and zealous Patriot militia, who in the face of every obstacle, were able to best the formidable Red Coats.  But what about their counterparts whose loyalty to the British Crown remained steadfast?  The Loyalists are an often understudied and severely unappreciated population when discussing the American Revolution.  This is especially true of the Loyalists of New Jersey.

How It Started

At the outbreak of the war in 1775, the loyalties in New Jersey where sharply divided.  While many eventual British sympathizers initially supported the cries for representation and outrage against the many acts forced on the American colonies, they could not bring themselves to openly support rebellion.  There steadfastness in support of the British Crown labeled them treasonous, emboldening patriot civil and military authorities to enact harsh punishments for those not openly supporting the rebellion.  As a result, New Jersey had some of the most punitive laws directed toward Loyalists, forcing some to take up arms against their fellow New Jerseyians.  Eventually, the Continental authorities would confiscate nearly 1.4 million pounds-worth in Continental currency of Loyalist property and goods by the end of the war.  But the Loyalists did not sit idly by and watch.

After the invasion of New Jersey by the British in 1776, many Loyalists felt free of their rebel oppressors and became more outspoken in their support of the Crown, including a couple thousand who would take up arms and join the New Jersey Volunteers, a Provincial military force under the command of Brigadier General Cortlandt Skinner.  Formed from 6 battalions commissioned through the fall and winter of 1776-1777, these men would see constant action in New Jersey and even as far south as Georgia and South Carolina.

The New Jersey Volunteers

Unlike their rebel counterparts in the patriot militia, the Loyalists of the NJ Volunteers enlisted for the duration of the war.  The Lt. Colonel of each battalion was responsible for raising their own men, which often came from specific areas of New Jersey.  For example, the 1st and 2nd Battalions were raised primarily in Monmouth County, while the 3rd was from Essex County, the 4th from Bergen County, the 5th from Sussex, and the 6th from Hunterdon, particularly around Trenton and Princeton.  The Volunteers did experience a couple of reorganizations, ultimately ending the war with 3 battalions, which were always undermanned.

The New Jersey Volunteers, while the most prolific and most active of the Loyalist units from the colony, were not the only ones who took up arms against their peers.  The West Jersey Volunteers were mainly from Glouster County and eventually folded into the NJV in 1778, the Loyal Refugee Volunteers were from Bergen County and tasked with securing wood, and the Black Brigade was made up of former slaves and partook in many successful raids in Monmouth County.  In fact, its leader, Cornelius Titus, was a former slave from Shrewsbury Township and was bestowed name of “Colonel Tye”, becoming one of the fiercest guerilla fighters of the war.

Stationed mostly on Staten Island for the duration of the war, the NJ Volunteers and other New Jersey Loyalist units partook in over 100 raids and engagements in New Jersey and Staten Island.  While the NJV suffered a severe blow in Patriot Brigadier General John Sullivan’s overall unsuccessful raid of Staten Island on August 22, 1777, having 2 battalion commanders captured and a sizable number killed, wounded, and captured, their fortitude, determination, and quest for vengeance, would sustain them for the duration of the conflict.

Their efforts were not strictly relegated to guard duty and small raids; they participated in major engagement and fought valiantly alongside the British Red Coats and other more seasoned Provincial units.  The 2nd Battalion of the NJV, for example, were conscripted by the Royal Artillery and were active in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth.  Men from the 1st and 4th Battalions joined Hessian General Kynphausen’s 2 incursions into New Jersey in June of 1780 at both the battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield, the latter of which they pushed back multiple companies of Patriot militia and continentals.  Men from 3rd Battalion joined Captain Patrick Ferguson’s raid on Little Egg Harbor, massacring about 45 men from Kasimierz Pulaski’s famed Legion before sailing to Georgia and South Carolina, where many would meet their end at the Siege of Augusta, Battle of Eutaw Springs, and finally at King’s Mountain.

Armed service was just one, though perhaps the most impactful, of the ways that the Loyalists assisted the British in the defense of their principles.  Supplies and intelligence were critical to keep the military operations afloat, which untold numbers of Loyalists were responsible for.  Even in the face of public ridicule, overly burdensome fines, property confiscation, and imprisonment, many Loyalists from New Jersey were steadfast in their beliefs and suffered at the hands of their Patriot counterparts.  While they are not the Patriots we remember and celebrate, their determination and dedication to the British cause played a significant role in the course of events of the American Revolution, especially in New Jersey.

For More Information

If you would like to find out more information about the New Jersey Loyalists, or Loyalists in general, please visit “The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies” created and maintained by historian Todd Braisted.  You can download a map of the engagements in and around New Jersey at https://www.njstatelib.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Map-of-Loyalist-Engagements-scaled.jpg.  You can also download a copy of the presentation slides at https://www.njstatelib.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Strangely-Contaminated-Presentatin-Slides.pdf.  If you have any questions, please email me at adauphinee@njstatelib.org.

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