Merritt, Robert, b.1771
John M. McDonald interview — 1848-12-06
Robert Merritt (b.1771) was a son of Robert Merritt and Phebe Merritt. He discusses a skirmish in Sawpitt (present-day Port Chester) in which a force of American soldiers pursued a party of Loyalist cavalry that had stolen cattle in Connecticut. Merritt believes that the Americans recovered the cattle. He notes that Hessian soldiers twice took a horse from his family’s property, and that his mother was able to reclaim the second horse by speaking to Lieutenant Colonel Andreas Emmerich. He concludes the interview by discussing the activities of whaleboat men Valentine Ryder and Fade Donaldson, and notes that his own father was politically neutral, but “reputed a tory.”
Manuscript page facsimiles
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Transcription
887 209 219 [margin: PARRS] [margin: (Augustus Mead near the Turnpike gate.)] [margin: Sawpits. ?] Dec. 6th Robert Merritt, of Rye. "I am in my 78th year. In the latter part of the Revolutionary war, there was a skirmish in the village of Sawpit between a party of Refugees who had been into Connecticut, and were taking a drove of cattle below, and a party of Continentals and militia who pursued. The Refugees were compelled to abandon the cattle. One Refugee had his horse shot whereupon he jumped up behind one of the others. One of the cattle was killed in the skirmish and afterwards butchered by the Continentals. The cattle were all, I believe, retaken. We had a fine young horse taken by the Hessians when they lay on Griffen's hill which we never got again. Another was taken and my mother went below to reclaim it. Col. Emmerick said "The woman shall have her horse", and my mother got him. I The whale boat was Valentine Ryders.
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210 888 220 [margin: PARRS] [margin: ?] Fade Donaldson and others used to come up Byram river and lay near our house which was the dwelling nearest to the Sound. They frequented our house very much. My father was neutral and reputed a tory.
Elizabeth Bush Wetmore. "I am in my 88th year. In the latter part of the war, in the Fall, I think a party of Refugees who had collected a drove in Connecticut were overtaken at Sawpitts by the militia and the troops that pursued. One of the prisoners was shot in the knee. There was some fighting as they passed through Sawpitts, but the drove went on to Rye. They crossed Sawpitt bridge below Byram. Bearmore was a slender & genteel man.