That of Judge John Thomas, who was taken prisoner in March 1777 and died and was buried in New York a few months later, on King Street a mile or so north of the present Harrison Avenue; that of Colonel Thomas Thomas of the 2nd Westchester Militia on Harrison Avenue with his mill close by at Blind Brook and another of the "Widow Thomas" about a quarter of a mile north of the latter in the fields, probably near the still existing Thomas Cemetery.

MOSIER'S FIGHT WITH REFUGEES 67

began, many of them enlisted in the army and did good service for the cause. Although Yorktown had surrendered six weeks before and the war was generally believed to be at an end, Washington took no risks and to guard against a rapid movement of Sir Henry Clinton, who was in New York, to gain control of the Hudson, he kept most of the regular Continental soldiers then in the North on duty along the river, while the territory be-tween it and Long Island Sound was guarded by small bodies of militia, too far apart to offer each other assistance in time of need. Such an outpost had been established at Merritts Corners under Captain Richard Sackett of Colonel Thomas' regiment, with William Mosier, a stone mason by trade as his lieutenant and a company of about thirty men,1 consisting of two former British sergeants who had joined the patriot side, four colored men-at least two of whom were slaves-two Indians from Long Island and a mixed collection of white men, mainly farmers and laborers from other parts of the county, who together were supposed to protect a rather indefinite territory in this vicinity.