The Sentinel. [volume] (Trenton, N.J.) 1880-1882, 1881-08-06


tor Of THE SENTINEL-Some patriotic
young men have desired me to write
out the facts of the above, which [
have concluded to do-leaving it to a
fancy writer to make an entertaining
novel founded on facts
LII not give any statements that
may revive the remembrance of those
old feuds, In which blood was con-
cerned, nor give the names of men,
who, during the Revolutionary War,
used to steal cattle and sell them to
the British, when their ships Of war
lay along the Monmouth county coast;
the most l will do, is to let the curl
GUS look over the names of men who
were brought before the Committee.
OF Safety for their 'aisdeeds copy
whereof have in my possession.
But to my story. During the Revo-
lutlonary War, in Manalapan, in
Monmouth county, n J., there was
road called Sweetman's lane-along
that road lived a man, who had in his
possession farm producing heavy
crops of grass and grain The Ameri-
can army needed provender for their
horses, and as this man was a Tory.
and although the foraging party could
take the Tory's provender by force,
they concluded it best to get his prov
ender by what will call diplomacy.
Colonel Vessel T. Stout, then serving
in the American army as a Lieutenant
and Captain by brevet, and Joseph
Coward, who belonged to Pulaski's
Legion, were two of the foraging
party. Coward was a grandfather of
late governor of this State on his
maternal side, and was true patriot
and soldier. I'll not give the name
of this Tory in full, because | have
not the liberty to do so from his great
grandson, who was living not long
since in little town about the size of
Allentown, so I'll call him Mr.. G.
The foraging party knowing this Mr..
e. to be ardently attached to the Brit
ish party, obtained from some British
prisoners of war, the British uniform.
By their dress the Tory believed they
were British officers, and they called
upon him, and told him King George
had sent them to him for so many
loads Of hay, SO many loads of straw,
bushels of oats and corn-frst exam
lining the old fellows stack-yard and
barn-and having secured nearly all
he had, on leaving gave him a kind
of a note to pay him when WASH
ington and his army were put
down. This system was kept up
a long time; getting nearly all the
hay and grain he raised-giving
him every time the note to pay him,
when the rebels were put down. He
gave his proyender cheerfully, his
hired men helping to load the wagons,
expecting to get his money for the
things when supremacy was estab-
Gshed !; but the war kept going on.
The army of Washington having
obtained some victories, and British
interest and power declining, the old
fellow began to be alarmed fearing
he would lose his money if Washing
ton came out victorious he concluded
to advise with his neighbors what
was best to do that all he got for
his grain and hay were bits of paper,
promising to pay when Washington's
army was destroyed. His neighbors
advised him to drop the thing en-
tirely and join the Washington party,
which, after good deal of invective
against the British rascals for not
paying him for his provender, he
concluded to do. The foragers, hear
ing from his neighbors that the Tory
had got mad at the British for not
paying him, they took off their
British uniforms and wore their own
American suits.
The same men, wearing their own
American uniforms, called upon the
former Tory and told him they were
sent by Gen. Washington for so many
loads of hay, straw, oats and corn, and
he not knowing they were the same
men-by their change of uniform
gave his provender cheerfully to help
the cause of Washington, expressing
his anger in the hardest kind of Ian
guage, against the British rascals who
robbed him OF his grain and hay and
labor, heretofore, and told them he
would do all and everything he could
do to help put the British down, and he
turned his cattle in the woods to take
care of themselves, whilst he gave all
his provender to these Washington
men and almost starved his stock.
It was not till after the war was
ended that he found out he had been
helping the same men and Washing
ton all the time, and the manner he
conveyed his pleasure in broken Eng
lish, you can guess better than [ can
describe it always brought down
shouts of laughter from his audience
whenever he told how he had been
fooled He and his son were ever
after friendly with our family.