MOSIER'S FIGHT WITH THE REFUGEES ON DEEMBER 2nd, 1781 BY OTTO HUFELAND A PAPER READ NEAR THE SCENE OF THE SKIRMISH AT RYE, ON THE OCCASION OF A PILGRIMAGE OF THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ON MAY 28TH, 1927 A FEW EXPLANATORY NOTES HAVE BEEN ADDED As much of the data on which this paper is based came from the interviews recorded in the McDonald manuscripts, its inclusion in their pap…

It had a national, even a world-wide interest, but to us in Westchester County it has the additional importance of showing that our farmers, in the 1 Silas Brundage, son of the then owner, says he was "born and brought up on the farm where the fight occurred" and describes the location as "Immediately west of the field of action you descend a hill." As this is the only "hill" on the farm and is j…

To the east, where the road here before us crossed the one that goes to Purchase, were "Merritts Corners" around which was gathered a small settlement of farm houses. The fine road over which we came was then a farm lane, none too straight, that ran east from "The Corners," passing Colonel Thomas' house 1 about half a mile to the right of us, then crossed Blind Brook where his mill stood a few hun…

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, p…

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…

It was early on Sunday morning, December 2nd, 1781, while Sackett was being shaved by a lad from the neighbor-hood, that a body of Refugees appeared so suddenly that the surprised captain did not have time to wipe the lather from his face, before they took him and his brother James prisoners.1 Mosier with most of the company was encamped in a field south of the lane, a little more to the east and …

His name is spelled in various ways in different accounts. Probably because he could not write. The company was raised shortly before for six months service. Only a few of these names appear on the roster of Colonel Thomas' regiment, published by the State of New York, but many of them including the officers had served at various times in other regiments raised in West-chester and the adjacent cou…

They had ridden up from their camp in what is now known as Mott Haven and were part of a body of irregulars who were justly feared, because they knew every lane and by-way and were in constant communication with local Tory friends who kept them in-formed of every movement of the Americans. The officers accompanying this detachment were Colonel James HolmesI of Bedford, who at the beginning of the …

For reasons not clear he placed himself in the power of Governor George Clinton in 1778 and was sent to prison from which he escaped only to be recaptured and escape again. Judging from interviews with some of his townspeople of Bedford, his reputation during and after the war was none of the best. In fact he is accused by some of his neighbors of having served as a volunteer in the raid in which …

Holmes and Kipp promised quarter to the Americans if they surrendered, but the answer returned was probably irritating, for Holmes drew his pistol and pointed it at Mosier, who at once gave a command that meant certain death to the Colonel and the pistol was dropped, while Kipp satisfied his anger and dis-appointment by abusing some of the privates whom he recognized, particularly a colored man, w…

MOSIER'S FIGHT WITH REFUGEES 71 None of the local accounts however mention any such firing and simply say that the British withdrew. A volley from twenty six guns at short range would certainly have killed and wounded many of the attacking party, but no such record appears. These accounts say that the body of Strang was taken to one of the nearby farm houses1 and was sent for by the British under…

And it was particularly difficult when a bayonet encumbered the muzzle of the gun. If the Americans had fired their one shot from open ranks upon the first charge of the cavalry, it would have emptied a few saddles, but the rest would have ridden down the fleeing infantry and dispatched them separately with their sabres without quarter, just as they did in the battle with the Stock-bridge Indians …

William Mosier had the instinct of a true soldier with a soldier's daring and a brave man's courage; his quick mind saw this difference and he promptly made use of the only possible means to save his command from a catastrophe. While the use of a compact formation of infantry with bayonets, in a defense against an attack by cavalry, became common in later wars, it was new then. At a time when the …

At a time when the whole world was at war and studying methods of warfare and both the infantry and cavalry arms had strong partizans defending their respective merits, the news of this skirmish was received with astonishment in Europe. Washington often referred to it and expressed his admiration for the skill and courage of the American officer who commanded here. In a strictly technical, militar…