{"chunks_used":9,"query":"The burning of Crompond","report":"# The Burning of Crompond: A Revolutionary Raid\n\nThe burning of the Crompond Presbyterian meeting-house in 1779 stands as one of the most significant acts of retaliation during the American Revolution in Westchester County. While local tradition and later historical accounts often attributed the destruction to Colonel James Holmes, a prominent Loyalist, primary evidence suggests a more complex military operation led by British regulars. Shonnard and Spooner (1900) clarify that Holmes, who had resigned his patriot commission in 1777 and joined the British in 1778, was not present at the scene; his association with the event was a result of local prejudice against \"disaffected\" neighbors rather than factual participation. The actual raid was executed by a British cavalry force, specifically involving Tarleton\u2019s dragoons in conjunction with Simcoe\u2019s Rangers, who targeted the village to punish the local patriot population and destroy a symbol of their religious and political resistance.\n\nThe specific date of the raid is a point of slight discrepancy among sources. Bolton (1881) cites General Heath\u2019s account, stating that approximately 200 enemy light horsemen arrived at Crompond on the morning of June 24, 1779, surprising militia pickets and killing or capturing several men. In contrast, Shonnard and Spooner (1900) place the attack on June 21, 1779, noting that about thirty Americans were killed or taken prisoner, with captives subsequently sent to the Sugar House prison in New York. Regardless of the exact date, the tactical approach described by Thomas Strang in his 1847 interview with John Macdonald provides vital geographic detail. Strang, a resident of the area, recalled that the British horse surprised Colonel Drake at Crompond, while a separate party crossed Vail\u2019s Ford\u2014about two miles east of Pine\u2019s Bridge\u2014to advance via a crooked road near the Davenport house. This maneuver allowed the British to approach from an unexpected direction, ensuring the element of surprise before they set fire to the church and retreated back toward Pine\u2019s Bridge.\n\nThe human cost of the raid is vividly illustrated by the experience of Hannah Sacket DeLancey, the daughter of Rev. Samuel Sacket, the Whig Presbyterian minister of Crompond. Both Macdonald (1847) and Bolton (1881) recount how DeLancey, mounted on a bay horse, was fleeing the burning meeting-house when she was intercepted about one mile north of the village by British cavalry. The soldiers robbed her of her shoe buckles and earrings and demanded she dismount. DeLancey\u2019s bold refusal and demand for an escort, citing her status as the wife of Stephen DeLancey, resulted in the commander granting her safe passage. Notably, she withheld the fact that she was the daughter of the local minister, a detail that may have influenced the British officer\u2019s decision to spare her. This incident highlights the personal dangers faced by civilians, particularly women, during these forays, and the strategic use of social status to secure protection.\n\nThe aftermath of the raid left a lasting mark on the community, both physically and demographically. The destruction of the meeting-house was part of a broader pattern of harassment in the Crompond area, which Bolton (1881) describes as being \"greatly harrassed\" by frequent enemy forays. The village\u2019s Presbyterian church, which had been served by Rev. Samuel Sacket until his death in 1784, became a focal point of this conflict. The raid also intersected with the lives of prominent Loyalist families; Bolton (1881) notes that Susan DeLancey and her mother, Anne Heathcote DeLancey, had retired to the area to escape the turmoil, and their home served as an asylum for persecuted patriots. The burning of the church thus represented not just a military strike, but a direct assault on the social and religious fabric of the community, forcing residents like the DeLanceys to navigate the dangerous neutrality of the \"debateable territory\" between patriot and loyalist forces.\n\nSources consulted:\n*   Macdonald, John. *Interview with Strang, Thomas, 1763-1851; (1847-10-20). Experiencing the Neutral Ground of the American Revolution: The McDonald Interviews*, WCHS item 1344. Transcription courtesy of the Westchester County Historical Society.\n*   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.\n*   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.\n*   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.","sources_consulted":["Macdonald, John. Interview with Strang, Thomas, 1763-1851; (1847-10-20). Experiencing the Neutral Ground of the American Revolution: The McDonald Interviews, WCHS item 1344. Transcription courtesy of the Westchester County Historical Society (No copyright - United States).","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.","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."]}