The 2nd Duke

Wealthy Scion

It has been some time since we have profiled a British Army officer, so I picked one whose understated but valuable contribution to the Crown, a chap with the very likely and straight-out-of-central casting name of Hugh Percy. Raised in a powerful family (his father was the First Earl of Northumberland), young Percy overcame a series of childhood maladies to enter into a military career, a career he would himself essentially terminate just as he reached the peak of success.

Hugh Percy

A Call to Arms

Percy joined the 24^th Regiment of Foot in 1759 as an ensign. Like so many from prominent and connected families, young Hugh managed to obtain a lieutenant colonelcy and position as aide de camp to Ferdinand of Brunswick. Also, like so many of his peers, The Seven Years' War provided the opportunity to garnish laurels in combat at the battles of Bergen and Linden.

Battle of Minden

Politician

By 1762, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Grenadier Guards, arguably the most elite unit in the Royal Army and guardian of the sovereign. He stunned many when he declined to serve as aide de camp to King George III. Instead, he stood for Parliament, earning a seat in the House of Commons as a Whig. His politics put him at odds with the Crown, particularly when it came to colonial policy. Ironically, Percy still maintained a tight connection to the King. He married the daughter of George III's tutor and mentor, Lord Bute.

Percy as Politico

A Gentler Colonel

In 1768, Percy bought a colonelcy in the Northumberland Fusiliers. He proved to be a very liberal and forward-thinking colonel. He took a different approach to leadership, treating his men with kindness and rejecting the traditional harsh discipline of the Army. He banned flogging and other harsh disciplinary measures. Percy also saw to their financial needs and those of their families, often providing funds to those in need. Rather than lead by fiat, he led by example. His actions quickly won the affection and trust of his soldiers. His approach resulted in a highly effective unit of men fiercely devoted to their commanding officer.

Northumberland Fusilier

Boston Bound

The political situation in North America continued to deteriorate over the next few years. Despite, or perhaps because of, his sympathies for the Americans, Colonel Hugh Percy received orders in 1774 to sail to America, where his regiment joined General Thomas Gage's garrison in Boston. Gage appointed him a brevet brigadier general and commandant of the British camp. Things continued to simmer in and around Boston, and in the following year, Gage began a series of pre-emptive strikes—punitive actions to reduce the power and threat from the militia.

Boston and Environs

The Shot Heard Round the World

Things came to a head in April 1775 when Gage sent Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith at the head of a column of some 800 regulars to seize militia gunpowder and arms thought to be at Concord. On 19 April, one of Smith's units, under the command of Major John Pitcairn, encountered a militia unit on Lexington Green. The short exchange, the so-called "Shot Heard Round the World," was followed by a larger firefight around Cambridge.

The Column Reaches Concord

Column in Chaos

Things went badly for the British, who began a retreat to Boston as thousands of locals grabbed their muskets and began to harass the column, cutting down many officers with aimed fire. Near Lexington, Smith's troops were reinforced by a brigade of some 1,400 men under Hugh Percy. Percy used cannon and volley fire to keep the militia (by now, we can call them rebels) at bay and brought Smith's demoralized men into some sort of order.

Percy guides the column home

Unlikely Savior

Throughout the long march back, under relentless and punishing fire from the rebel militia, Percy kept the British column together, maintaining discipline to prevent a disaster. When they reached Menotomy, Percy made a decision that likely saved the Army. Instead of pushing toward Cambridge, he changed their route of return and marched to Charlestown. This route had fewer rebels. The column arrived back in Boston. In July, Gage promoted Percy to Major General for his cool actions under duress. No small irony that an officer sympathetic to the rebels thwarted their best efforts to wipe out the column.

General Thomas Gage

Halifax Hiatus

Percy missed the Battle of Bunker Hill due to illness. To his chagrin, his Northumberland Fusiliers were cut to pieces under the heavy-handed command of General William Howe. True to his philosophy of command, Percy funded the return voyage of all the widows and arranged a small stipend for those in need. The British evacuated Boston in March 1776  and recuperated in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Gage had been recalled, and William Howe was now commander in chief.

Battles for New York

In July, the reinforced British Army landed on Staten Island in New York harbor. Weeks later, a whirlwind campaign was launched on Long Island. Here, on 27 August, Percy distinguished himself by helping lead a night march that cut off a third of the Continental Army. In November, Percy led a British force that drew fire from the defenders at Fort Washington, allowing Hessian General von Knyphausen's men to overrun the garrison and force its surrender.

Percy led regulars in action on Long Island  

Newport Nexus

The following month, Percy and General Henry Clinton led a British expedition that seized Newport, Rhode Island. When Henry Clinton returned to Britain, Percy was made commander of the Newport garrison. Things were not all rosy, however. Percy was critical of Howe's strategy and his conduct of the war. He also suffered from ill health. This combination caused him to request relief from his command and a return to Britain. General Howe promptly granted it, and Hugh Percy left America forever in May 1777.

Sir Henry Clinton

The 2nd Duke

In 1779, Percy divorced his wife on the grounds of adultery but soon remarried and had nine children with his second wife. Upon the death of his father in 1784, Percy became the 2nd Duke of Northumberland. He spent the next several decades in various military postings in Britain, dabbling again in politics and tending to his estates. He was a benevolent landlord who took care of the farm folk who worked on his lands. He was a rare lord who had the esteem of his people. Hugh Percy died on his estate in July 1817. His years of poor health finally caught up with him.

2nd Duke of Northumberland

Liberal Legacy

One has to wonder how the course of the war in America would have gone for the British had Percy remained, possibly even rising to supreme command. His benign ways might have rallied more Americans to the Crown, and his ability to inspire troops and his coolness under fire might have been the difference in the campaigns that followed. One interesting nugget—Percy had an illegitimate half-brother, James Smithson. The same James Smithson who bequeathed the funds used to establish what became known as The Smithsonian Institution—the world's largest museum and research complex.

The Smithsonian

A Loyalist on Two Continents

Time to take another look into the experiences of those forgotten participants (along with the Indians and slaves ) of the American War for Independence—the Loyalists. The story of young Alexander Chesney is, in some ways, very typical of the experience of these British subjects who did not buy into the dream of independence and liberty. We will delve into his Revolutionary War escapades and take a peek at his post-war challenges—and challenges he had.

From Antrim to America

The fourteen-year-old Alexander emigrated with his parents from County Antrim to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1772. By then, the colonists' dispute with the Crown was in full swing, so the Scots-Irish family had placed themselves in a land that would soon be torn asunder by insurrection and rebellion, which for them would also become a civil war. 

He married Margaret Hodges around the time of the "Shot Heard Round the World—a marriage to be marked by hardship and sacrifice.

Tory Guide

In the early years of the war, the Carolinas remained firmly under patriot control, although many remained loyal, either openly or silently. These Loyalists were deemed a threat and were ruthlessly suppressed and oppressed. Young Chesney threw his hat in the ring and began helping loyalists, guiding them to safety through a maze of patriot militias. 

Fugitive

Eventually, his actions made him a target, and patriot militia Colonel Richard Richardson's men apprehended him in the spring of 1776. The militia ransacked his home and imprisoned him in Snowy Camp on the Reedy River in northwestern South Carolina. Richardson made him an offer he couldn't refuse: stand trial for assisting Loyalists and likely hang or join the patriot militia. 

Richard Richardson

Yankee Doodle Days

The young Chesney enlisted as a private and spent the next few years marching with the hated Yankee Doodles. Why? Seems his father, Robert, was imprisoned as a suspected Tory. The younger Chesney's service helped to keep him alive. Private Chesney served in campaigns against the Creek and Cherokee. Between these expeditions, he was a teamster bringing produce to Charleston, South Carolina, which was then in the possession of the patriots.

Militia Campaigns Against Creeks and Cherokees 

Serving the Crown

Things changed in May 1780 when the British returned (they had been repulsed in 1776) to Charleston and soon overran the state. When the British commander in chief, General Henry Clinton, issued his proclamation calling all loyal subjects to arms, Chesny came out of the patriot closet and joined one of the militia units raised by the renowned "counter guerilla," Major Patrick Ferguson. Ferguson's regiments racked up a string of victories in the bitter in-country fighting between Loyalist and patriot rebels. 

Fall of Charleston

Chesney rose from lieutenant to captain over the next few months. But his fortunes took a turn for the worse in early October of that year. Ferguson, hot on the trail of patriots and hot to recruit new men for the Crown, marched his brigade away from General Cornwallis's main body and managed to get surrounded by a corps of back-country militia—some of the most experienced frontier  Indian fighters and angry for revenge against Ferguson, who had threatened to hang them all.

Parick Ferguson

King's Mountain

Ferguson made his stand on a piece of wooded high ground called King's Mountain. The "Over Mountain Men," led by a bunch of tough hombres that included such legends as colonels John Sevier, Benjamin Cleveland, and Isaac Shelby, quickly encircled the Loyalists and started up the hill. The battle saw lead slam into tree trunks, leafy branches, and the hapless Tories as the rebel militia came at them firing, Indian-style, from tree to tree. Loyalists dropped like turkeys under unrelenting fire. Ferguson fell mortally wounded trying to rally his men. 

Over Mountain Attack on King's Mountain

Captain Alexander Cheney was also wounded and taken prisoner along with some 668 others. The Loyalists also suffered 290 killed and 163 wounded. According to his account, Chesney later watched as the prisoners underwent a mock trial, with many sentenced to death. One of the American commanders, Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, offered him parole if he provided them with Ferguson's battle tactics. But the tough Irishman would not betray his cause.

Colonel  Cleveland Leading Prisoners

Yadkin Death March

With shoes taken and without coats to protect against the worsening weather, he and the others marched off into captivity under brutal conditions and threats of beating and shooting through the rugged hills toward the Yadkin River and prison in Salem, North Carolina. Chesney escaped along the way and hid in a nearby cave but was later captured and held until released in a prisoner exchange.

Joining the Legion

He soon joined the only Loyalist unit with an even more terrible reputation among the rebels—Tarleton's Legion! He raised a mounted Loyalist company and served Colonel Banastre Tarleton as a guide, helping the Legion negotiate the back roads and woods as they marched from Fort Ninety-Six in a search and destroy mission. Their prey—famed rifleman  Daniel Morgan and his Army.

Tarleton's Legion in Action

Ironically, Morgan's forces occupied Chesney's farm at Grindal Shoals just days before Tarleton caught him at a place called the Cow Pens in January 1781. There, the reckless Tarleton launched headlong against his prey. After all, just a few lines of militia blocked the way. 

Witness to a Debacle

But Morgan was ready, with stout lines of Continentals behind the militia and dragoons hidden from sight. In one of the most impressive showings of the war, Tarleton's elite force was stopped cold, then cut off and crushed. Chesney led his men in the battle and managed to flee to the safety of the British garrison in Charleston. Tarleton escaped, but his Legion suffered over 80% casualties.

American Dragoons at Cow Pens

Embittered by what he viewed as poor management at Cowpens, he moved his family from his despoiled farm to the protection of the British near Charleston and tried to reestablish a small plantation, which included some slaves.

Guiding Lord Rawdon

But with war raging through South Carolina, Chesney soon took the field at the head of various Loyalist units. He operated along the Edisto River, often skirmishing with the hated rebels. His mounted company scouted for Lord Rawdon as he fought the last engagements in the state. Chesney was wounded again during a skirmish near the critical outpost at Fort Ninety-Six.

Fort Ninety-Six 

Crumbling Fortunes

October 1781 brought General Charles Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown, serious negotiations in Paris, and what were likely bitter months for the Ulsterman.

Yorktown Surrender

Presumably not fit for the field, he was appointed Superintendent of Woodcutting to support Charleston's fuel needs, as it was the last rebel bastion. He hired displaced Loyalists and did what he could, but the Americans were closing in. Things got even worse when his wife Margaret died in December 1781. The new year proved no better. Chesney became sick and could not care for his son William, so he had to send the lad to live with relatives. His farm was destroyed, and as a veteran of two of the most feared and hated Brtissh contingents, he would get little quarter.  

Charleston Harbor

Once the British Army left America, he would face a grim future. Although the last British soldier left the former colonies in December, Chesney decided to return to Ireland, arriving in Castle Haven in May of 1782.

Loyalist Recompense?

Normally, this would end the tale of Alexander Chesney. But in a sense, his life had only just begun despite the darkness of defeat and loss. Over the next several decades, he fought hard to rebuild his life. He went to England, where he sought to make his claim to the British government, and became a leader among the Loyalists there. He met with other key members of the Association of American Loyalists in London., where a petition was drawn for just compensation for their service to the Crown and the loss of property and land.

As with most of the Loyalist refugees, things came hard. Reaching out to former commanders such as Cornwallis and Rawdon did not help get through the British bureaucracy. While waiting on his claim, the doughty Chesney struck in a different direction. He sought and received an appointment as an Irish Customs Officer, specifically a coastal inspector.

Lord Francis Rawdon

Despite numerous petitions and a few trips back and forth across the Irish Sea, he was disappointed. His final compensation amounted to less than a quarter of his claim. What is the price of Loyalty? Undaunted, he went to work as a Coast Officer, chasing down smugglers along the northern coast of Ireland. He was highly effective at this.  

Another Rebellion

But in the late 1790s, Ireland broke out in its rebellion, with the Irish patriots hoping to capitalize on events in France.

United Irishman Hanged

By the autumn of 1796, the Association of United Irishmen in County Down and several neighboring counties were prepping for revolt. Possibly drawing on his American experience, Chesney got wind of this. He got a captain's commission and formed the Mourne Infantry in early 1797. His Irish Yeomanry company was the first formed in County Down. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, none other than General Charles Cornwallis, put down the rebellion and crushed the French invasion in 1798, ending the so-called "Year of the French."

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Lord Cornwallis

Customs Service

Chesney's work as a customs official kept him busy. The Napoleonic Wars saw much illegal trade, and Chesney was on the move—suppressing smugglers and illegal shippers seeking to profit from the war. Along the way, he started another family and had several children. Two of his sons later received commissions in the Army, and his surviving daughter had a successful marriage to a clergyman. 

Chesney vs. Smugglers

Letter from America

In February 1818, a great shock came. Chesney received a letter from his eldest son, William, whom he had left with relatives in America. The stunned Chesney thought he had died! But William Chesney was alive and in Tennessee. However, his son was not well off. William revealed that Chesney's father, Robert, was also alive. Chesney did not offer to bring him to Ireland. They were never reunited.  

Alexander Chesney

Life and Legacy

Chesney penned a journal of his Revolutionary War exploits, documenting the savage combat in the Carolinas. The Ulsterman spared no one in his account. But, of course, through decades of struggle, he never really spared himself. Against all odds, and as a testament to his basic toughness, this Loyalist on two continents, the survivor of two pitched battles and numerous skirmishes, imprisonment, and deprivations, lived to the ripe old age of 83, dying on 12 January 1843. 

Chesney Grave

Loyalist and Irish Yeomanry leader Captain Alexander Chesney is buried in the Mourne Presbyterian Churchyard in Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland.

Tradesman Spy

Patriotic Sons of the American Revolution

 marker near Trenton, New Jersey

Fort Lee, New Jersey, November 1776. The tall soldier in a blue jacket opened the door. "Your visitor is here, Your Excellency."

General George Washington wiped the dark liquid from his pen tip and nodded. A nondescript man in farmer clothes stepped in. Washington motioned toward a seat. "Thank you for coming, sir. I hope the journey did not discommode you."

"Not at all, sir. When we last met I gave you my word that I was at your service."

"Your nation thanks you for it. Our situation is bleak. The British regulars will be here within forty-eight hours. But the Army is too weak to make another stand."

"What will you do, Your Excellency?"

"Better you not know. Suffice it to say this state will be under British occupation for some time. That's where you come in."

"Me?"

Washington nodded. "I must trouble you to proceed to Trenton and its environs. Establish yourself there as a Loyal Tory. You are a hero of the last war—service under the great General Wolfe."

"He was a great man. As are you, Your Excellency. Now, what are your orders?"

"I need a spy in their midst."

The Spy?

Washington's visitor was one of the most enigmatic figures in the time of the Yankee Doodle Spies. An Irishman born in Scotland, John Honeyman became a key agent when the American cause was at its lowest. His chameleon ways, hiding in plain sight, may have inspired the protagonist Harvey Birch in James Fenimore Cooper's seminal work, The Spy, although most connect New Yorker Enoch Crosby to that role.

James Fenimore Cooper

Historians clash over Honeyman's role as his narrative was written in the following century by a grandchild. But this is the fate of many secret soldiers whose deeds, for reasons of secrecy and security, went undocumented. Retired CIA Case Officer and Revolutionary War Historian Kenneth Daigler built a case for Honeyman's being one of Washington's operatives.

Honeyman hailed from County Armagh, born to thrifty Scottish parents. Although his father was a hardscrabble farmer who could afford little education, Honeyman managed to learn to read and write. He had a knack for trades, such as weaving. But at age twenty-nine, Honeyman went in a different direction, joining the British Army and sailing to America to fight the French and Indians.

Honorable Service

At sea, he came to the attention of General Wolfe and became his servant and bodyguard. Action at Louisburg greeted him, but his military career ended tragically. Private Honeyman was at the side of Wolfe when the bold general was struck down in his moment of triumph on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec.

Death of Wolfe at Quebec

His officer gone, Honeyman mustered out a sort of hero with a letter vouching for his service with and for Wolfe, who became a beloved figure among all Britons, especially those in America.

Tradesman and Family Man

Honeyman made his way to Pennsylvania, where he set himself up as a butcher and weaver and married a girl from Ireland named Mary Henry in September 1764. Around the time of Shot Heard Round the World, Honeyman had moved to Philadelphia, the seat of the Continental Congress and a hotbed of political discussion and intrigue. Around that time, he may have come to the attention of George Washington. Some accounts say he offered the soon-to-be commander-in-chief his services.

A Spy Among Them

Honeyman left Fort Lee and arrived at Trenton. He had little trouble falling in among the local Tories—his letter from the late Wolfe and discharge made him a respected Briton and servant of the King. He set up his butcher and weaving enterprises with the British and soon came to their attention as a Loyal Briton. His home was behind rebel lines at Griggstown, and John Honeyman avowed Tory (as part of Washington's scheme) traveled back and forth in trade while collecting intelligence. Sometimes, plans can work too well. With tensions high that fateful year in the Jerseys, a patriot mob attacked his home. His family escaped unharmed, although it took a note from Washington to allow the Tory family safe passage to Trenton, now garrisoned by Colonel Johann Rall's brigade of Hessians.

Violence was not confined to the battlefield

Great Scheme Hits Paydirt

Using Trenton as his base for business and espionage, Honeyman was able to collect intelligence on the garrison's strength, morale, defenses, and other activities. A plan was concocted to give him cover—Honeyman allowed himself to be captured by a rebel patrol that had orders to take him to Washington's headquarters.

Washington meeting a spy

The commander in chief personally "interrogated" the "prisoner." Afterward, he ordered the notorious Tory to be thrown into a jail cell. Washington arranged a diversionary fire that allowed the Tory to escape. The skilled line crosser made his way past guards and sentries from both sides and reached the safety of Trenton. There, the loyal Tory dutifully reported his capture and escape. Under Johann Rall's questioning, he was able to plant a significant piece of disinformation—the rebels were in such a low state of morale and equipment the Hessian commander did not need to fear an attack.

Johann Rall

Deception Brings Defeat

Even though the Hessians had been on heightened alert for the past two weeks, Rall believed Honeyman's story and so felt confident enough to relax security on the nights of 25-26  December. The deception gave Washington just enough of an edge—his Army recrossed the Delaware River and marched through the snowy night to surprise the garrison, which soon surrendered. His victory saved the cause from inevitable collapse and perhaps turned the tide of the war.

Attack on Trenton

The Spy Who Stayed Out in the Cold

With combat raging around Trenton, Honeyman headed north to New Brunswick, the logistics hub for British forces in New Jersey. There, Honeyman maintained the fiction of being a Loyalist tradesman to avoid British reprisal for his espionage. Whether he played a continued espionage role for Washington is unknown. He did not return to his Griggstown home until the war's end.

Honeyman lived a quiet post-war life on a small farm near Bedminster, New Jersey. None of his neighbors and friends had any inkling of his connection to Washington, not to mention his role in espionage. Honeyman married a second time when Mary died in 1801. Honeyman passed away peacefully on 18 August 1822,  aged 93. The tradesman spy was laid to rest in the Lamington Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Lamington, New Jersey.

Honeyman's gravesite

 

 

 

The Strange Case of James Molesworth

 

Execution of a Spy

The key rattled in the cell's lock. "It's time, almost noon," said the Sergeant of the Guard. 

The prisoner rose from the musty cot and followed the escort out of the red brick jailhouse building to the town commons, where a large crowd of spectators awaited the condemned. The last fourteen days had been a whirlwind of intrigue, missteps, apprehension, and cross-examination. Now, the condemned man gazed at the simple noose that would, momentarily, squeeze the life from him—for he was a confessed spy.

"Does the prisoner have any last words, Sergeant?" asked the officer in charge.

"No, sir," replied the sergeant.

"I believe my statement to the examiner at my trial amply provides my last words, sir," said the prisoner." I only ask they be made public after my sentence is carried out."

The officer nodded, and a soldier threw a cord noose over his shoulders.

From Cold Winter to Warm Spring

The winter of 1777 was one of savage warfare—a struggle for the necessities of survival for two armies desperate to feed their men. But by March, General William Howe, the British commander in New York, was setting his sights on another try at the American capital in Philadelphia—even as London had dispatched a large Army to strike deep into the colonies from Canada that summer. So, while paying lip service to the British Minister for the Colonies, Lord George Germain's strategy, Howe was plotting a move south and an assault on Philadelphia from the mouth of the Delaware River. But to do this, he needed intelligence—and something more.

General Howe

No Man's Land

While the Americans held Philadephia and General George Washington's Continental Army encamped at Morristown, central Jersey became a no man's land of foraging parties, raiders, thieves, smugglers, and spies. The former colony was flush with Loyalists, as was the area around Philadelphia. Not yet a year old, the cause of liberty was not in every American's heart. There were plenty of high and low-born people who were willing to support the King, especially if there was some coin involved. Both sides had networks for spying and striking out against their enemies. One such network within the new nation's capital was active in helping prepare the way for the return of the British.

The Jerseys were a No Mans Land of Spies and More

Spy Highway

James Molesworth was a member of that spy ring. Born in Staffordshire, England, Molesworth made his way to America and established himself in the New World, eventually as a Clerk in the Office of the Mayor of Philadelphia. Like so many, Molesworth remained Loyal and got involved with their spy network in and around the capital. Molesworth agreed to go to New York and meet with the British authorities. 

Loyalist leader Joseph Galloway

The Loyalists had a sort of "Underground Railroad" to make their way past American patrols and sentries into the occupied City of New York. Molesworth traveled into the Jerseys with an accomplice named John Caton, who went by the alias of Warren. Warren took him to Bullions Tavern, where they met another accomplice named Smith, who guided them to Milestone Bridge. From there, the two slipped past rebel pickets and entered British lines. Molesworth met with Pennsylvania Loyalist leader Joseph Galloway, who recommended him to General Howe, who gave Molesworth a lieutenant's commission. Howe needed his services back in The City of Brotherly Love.

The Mission

Howe was planning a sea-borne attack on Philadelphia by sailing up the mouth of the Delaware River. He knew from spies and other informants that the Americans had several forts positioned there and had embedded Cheveaux de Frise-like traps along the riverbed. These were rows of long spikes with points hidden below the water level that could rip open the hulls of British warships. 

Chevaux de Frise could tear open a ship's hull

The British instructed Molesworth to recruit sympathetic Delaware pilots to exfiltrate them north to New York and guide the British fleet around the traps. Howe also questioned him about the forts and the armed galleys used by the Americans. Although the British provided him with no cash, he was told to spare no expense in finding a couple of pilots. He was also to arrange for sabotage and other mayhem in preparation for the British attack.

Philadelphia Ring

On his return, Molesworth approached several  Loyalist sympathizers—clearly, they had a network well in place. He met a Mr. Sheppard and a Joseph Thomas. He connected with his other accomplices—a Clerk in General Mifflins's Office named Collins, a Clerk in the City Vendue Office named Keating, and a Livery Stable owner named Sheppard. At least two women were involved as well—a Mrs. Abigail McCay and a Mrs. Sarah O'Brien. The latter two had been actively feeling out (they used the word "tampering") Delaware pilots for a special mission and had a few they thought might agree to the enterprise. One, named John Eldridge, refused to go. However, another,  Andrew Higgins, agreed and was able to bring another, named John Snyder, into the plot.

City of Brotherly Love, or Nest of Spies?

Clandestine Meetings

Mrs.McCay was Molesworth's intermediary with Mrs. O'Brien, and it was at her boarding house that Molesworth finally met with "agreeable" pilots at seven in the evening. Although promised great rewards for their service, Molesworth could only offer fifty pounds, which he had gotten from Sheppard. Molesworth schemed to get horses from Sheppard's Livery and ride north. 

Women supported Molesworth's efforts

Sheppard, the livery owner, approached a farrier named Fox for a horse, but none was to be had that night, and it was decided that looking for a third horse at that hour might draw suspicion. Molesworth, instead, would travel the next day. But there was no next day's travel. Someone blew the whistle. For want of a horse...

Court Martial and Sentencing

Molesworth was arrested and faced a trial by court martial presided over by General Horatio Gates. Witnesses were questioned from 25 through 28 March. Molesworth gave his own testimony on the 27th. The court martial convicted the spy on the 29th, and after  Congress confirmed the sentence, Molesworth was hanged in the Philadelphia Commons on 31 March 1777.

General Horatio Gates

Justice for All?

But what of the others? Collins, Keating, and Sheppard escaped to British-held territory, eluding the pursuit by provosts under a captain named Proctor. According to General George Washington's report, it was the pilots who turned Molesworth in. But who? Eldridge? Higgins? Snyder? Or some combination? My take is Eldridge, with the other two plus two ladies providing testimony in exchange for leniency. For his part, Sheppard made his way to New  York, where he served as a pilot for the eventual British move on Philadelphia in the fall of 1777. For his services, Sheppard received the lucrative post of Deputy Commissioner of Forage during the British occupation.

British occupy Philadelphia September 1777

Justice for No One?

Years later, the infamous General James Wilkinson commented on the case in his memoirs. He alleges there had been no legal basis for a military court martial, and the political pressure on Gates for a swift outcome led to a conviction with a unanimous verdict. A conviction Gates and Congress swiftly approved. Wilkinson claimed to have met with him in his cell, offering mercy if he would give up his accomplices—Molesworth refused. 

James Wilkinson

No Peace for the Dead

Molesworth remained controversial, even in death. His body was relegated to a potter field—a burial ground for the indigent. Local Loyalists seethed (secretly) at the affront. When the British occupied Philadelphia later in the year, a group of Quakers had him exhumed and interred in a Quaker cemetery. Now, the local patriots seethed (secretly). When the Americans re-occupied Philadelphia in 1778, you guessed it, Molesworth's now rather tired corpse was once more exhumed and reinterred in the potter field.

Quaker Meeting House

Culper Prelude?

The British network in the heart of the capital sent a visceral chill through the Americans in the City, the Continental Army, and Congress. Had it remained undetected, it could have proven a more effective network than the celebrated Culper Ring in New York. Perhaps that explains the quick justice and burial. It might also have shaped General George Washington's thinking on espionage and the need for ultra-tight security and compartmentalization, as intelligence and espionage played an increasingly important tool in the struggle ahead.

George Washington as Spymaster