In the autumn of 1780, some Rhode Island Tory refugees took possession of the manor-house of General John Smith, at Smith s Point, fortified it and the grounds around it, and began cutting wood for the British army in New York.
* The expedition of Colonel Meigs against the enemy at Sag Harbor, and other exploits, will be noticed in the account of the whale-boat warfare, in the Supplement.
** Benjamin Tallmadge was born at Setauket, Long Island, on the twenty-fifth of February, 1754. He graduated at Yale College in 1773, and soon afterward took charge of a high school at Wethersfield. He entered a corps of Connecticut troops as lieutenant, in 1776, and was soon promoted to adjutant. He was one of the rear-guard when the Americans retreated from Brooklyn, and was in several of the principal battles in the Northern States during the war. His field of active exertions was chiefly in the vicinity of Long Island Sound. He had the custody of Major Andre from his arrest until his execution, and after that was actively employed against the enemy on Long Island. He was for a long time one of Washington's most esteemed secret correspondents. He retired from the army with the rank of colonel. He married the daughter of General William Floyd, of Mastic, in 1784. In 1800 he was elected a member of Congress from Connecticut, and served his constituents, in that capacity, for sixteen years. He died on the seventh of March, 1835, at the age of eighty-one years.
*** Lloyd's Neck is an elevated promontory between Oyster Bay and Huntington harbor. It was a strong position, and the fort covered the operation of wood-cutters for miles around. There the Board of Associated Loyalists established their head-quarters after their organization in December, 1780. This board was for the purpose of embodying such Loyalists as did not desire to enter military life as a profession, but were anxious to do service for the king. Governor William Franklin was president of the board, and in the course of 1781, they collected quite a little navy of small vessels in the Sound, and made Oyster Bay the place of general rendezvous. * Their chief operations were against the Whig inhabitants ol Long Island and the neighboring shore, by which a spirit of retaliation was aroused that forgot all the claims of common humanity. The manifest mischief to the royal cause which this association was working, caused its dissolution at the close of 1781. In July of that year, Count Barras, then at Newport, detached three frigates, with two hundred and fifty land troops, to attack this post, then garrisoned by about eight hundred refugee Tories. The enterprise proved unsuccessful, and, after capturing some British marines in Huntington Harbor, returned to New York. The stockade on Lloyd's Neck was called Fort Franklin.
* Oyster Bay was an important point during the British occupation of the island. Sheltered from the Sound by a large island, it afforded a secure place for small vessels, and the fertile country around supplied ample forage. It was the head-quarters of Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe with the Queen's Rangers (three hundred and sixty in number), who made the village of Oyster Bay his cantonment during the winter of 1778-9. He arrived there on the nineteenth of November, 1778, and immediately commenced fortifying his camp. He constructed a strong redoubt upon an eminence toward the west end of the town, now (1851) the property of the Rev. Marmaduke Earle. The diteh and embankments are yet very prominent. This work was capacious enough for seventy men, and completely commanded the bay. These preparations were made chiefly because General Parsons was encamped on the Connecticut shore with about two thousand militia, and controlled a large number of whale-boats. Oyster Bay was made the central point of operations in this quarter. According to Simcoe's account, great vigilance was necessary during the winter, to prevent a surprise. For a sketch and explanation of Simcoe's camp at Oyster Bay, see the next page. Simcoe made his quarters at the house of Samuel Townsend, who was a member of the Provincial Assembly of New York in 1776, and there Major André and other young officers of the army often visited. His daughter, Miss Sarah Townsend, was then about sixteen years of age, and very attractive in person and manner. She was the toast of the young officers, and on Valentine's day, 1779, Simcoe presented her with a poetical address in laudation of her charms. This production may be found in Onderdonk's Revolutionary Incidents of Long Island, i., 215. Miss Townsend died in December, 1842, at the age of eighty years. The dwelling now belongs to her grand-niece, Mrs. Sarah T. Thorne.
Capture of Fort George.—Destruction of Stores at Corum.—Capture of Fort Siongo.—Badge of Military Merit.
At the solicitation of General Smith, and with the approval of Washington, Major Tallmadge proceeded to dislodge them. They had named their fortress Fort George, and appeared too strongly intrenched to be in fear. * Tallmadge crossed the Sound from Fairfield with eighty dismounted dragoons, and landed in the evening at Old Man's, now Woodville.Nov. 21, 1780 On account of a storm, he remained there until the next night, when, accompanied by Heathcote Muirson, he marched toward Fort George.