{"chunks_used":9,"query":"The Burning of Crompond","report":"**Research Synopsis: The Burning of Crompond**  \n\nThe Burning of Crompond during the American Revolutionary War was a pivotal event in Westchester County\u2019s history, marked by British raids, civilian hardship, and local resistance. On **July 1779**, British forces under Colonel Tarleton and Major Simcoe\u2019s rangers launched a surprise attack on Crompond, then part of Yorktown, as part of a broader campaign to suppress American militia activity (Shonnard & Spooner 1900). According to Thomas Strang\u2019s 1847 interview, British troops crossed Vail\u2019s Ford and advanced via a winding route to avoid detection, ultimately burning the local church and retreating to Pine\u2019s Bridge (Macdonald 1847). This raid followed earlier tensions, including the disarmament of local Tories by Connecticut troops in 1777, led by the Strang brothers (Macdonald 1847).  \n\nThe event\u2019s human toll is vividly documented in accounts of **Hannah Sackett**, daughter of the Whig Presbyterian minister Samuel Sackett and wife of Stephen Delancey. As she fled the burning church, British soldiers robbed her of shoe buckles and demanded she dismount. Hannah defiantly challenged their conduct, invoking her husband\u2019s name, which compelled the commander to grant her an escort (Bolton 1881). This incident, corroborated across multiple sources, underscores the vulnerability of civilians during the war and the symbolic weight of Delancey\u2019s name, a prominent Loyalist family (Bolton 1881; Macdonald 1847).  \n\nThe aftermath of the raid left a lasting mark on Crompond. British forces killed or captured approximately 30 Americans, with prisoners sent to New York\u2019s Sugar House (Shonnard & Spooner 1900). Colonel Green and Major Flagg, casualties of the engagement, were buried in the Crompond burying ground, as noted in Strang\u2019s interview and Bolton\u2019s histories (Macdonald 1847; Bolton 1881). Discrepancies exist in the timeline: General Heath\u2019s account places the raid on **June 24, 1779**, while other sources cite July (Bolton 1881; Shonnard & Spooner 1900). These variations highlight the challenges of reconstructing Revolutionary War events from fragmented records.  \n\n**Sources Consulted**  \n- Macdonald, John. Interview with Strang, Thomas, 1763-1851; (1847-10-20). *John M. McDonald Interviews, 1844-1851*, WCHS item 1344.  \n- Bolton, Robert Jr. *The History of the Several Towns, Manors, and Patents of the County of Westchester, Vol. II* (1881 revised ed.).  \n- Shonnard, Frederic, and W.W. Spooner. *History of Westchester County, New York, from its Earliest Settlement to the Year 1900* (1900).  \n- Bolton, Robert Jr. *A History of the County of Westchester, from its First Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II* (1848).","sources_consulted":["Bolton, Robert Jr. A History of the County of Westchester, from its First Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II. New York: Alexander S. Gould, 1848.","Macdonald, John. Interview with Strang, Thomas, 1763-1851; (1847-10-20). John M. McDonald Interviews, 1844-1851, WCHS item 1344. Westchester County Historical Society. Transcribed by history.croton.news April 2026.","Shonnard, Frederic, and W.W. Spooner. History of Westchester County, New York, from its Earliest Settlement to the Year 1900. New York: The New York History Company, 1900.","Bolton, Robert Jr. The History of the Several Towns, Manors, and Patents of the County of Westchester, from its First Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II. New York: Charles F. Roper, 1881."]}