| Claudius Smith |
Article Index for Claudius |
Shopping Claudius |
Website Links For Claudius |
Information AboutClaudius Smith |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CLAUDIUS SMITH | |
| 1736 births | |
| 1779 deaths | |
| loyalists in the american revolution | |
| ramapos | |
| robin hood | |
| smith, claudius | |
| new york colonial people | |
| people of new york in the american revolution | |
|
Claudius, along with several members of his family – including three of his four sons: William, Richard, and James – allegedly terrorized the New York countryside during the American Revolution around an area formerly known as Smith's Clove (presently Monroe ), Orange County, New York where David Smith and his family moved to in and around 1741 from Brookhaven. Several accounts differ on his size and stature including his 1762 French And Indian War Muster Roll , which had him at 5'9" and his 1778 wanted poster, which had him at close to seven feet tall. It is obvious from all accounts, though, that Claudius was a Loyalist and fought in raids alongside the Mohawk Indian Chief, Joseph Brandt , which more often than not got him labeled a terrorist, as opposed to any sort of a legitimate Enemy Combatant . He, surprisingly killed no-one, and was often thought of as being a (1728–1776), the grandfather of John Brown the abolitionist; but when one of his party did kill a one Major Nathaniel Strong on October 6 , 1778 , the then Governor George Clinton became perturbed and put out a wanted poster for his arrest, which eventually did occur and resulted in Claudius' hanging on January 22 , 1779 in the town of Goshen , Orange County, New York , and in the deaths of at least two of his sons: William and James – the latter being captured in February of 1779 by a one Abner Thorpe, according to: Erastus C. Knight's ''New York in the Revolution'' (1901, Supp.), p. 165 Accounts of Governor Clinton . Richard remained at large at least through 1781 , when we see him on a letter addressed to Governor Clinton from Gen George Washington warning Clinton of his eminent kidnapping by the remaining members of the Claudius Smith Gang. He is the subject of Elizabeth Oakes Smith 's 1867 article, concerning the oldest surviving son who sought vengeance upon the people of Orange County after the hanging death of his father, Claudius. It is entirely within the realm of possibility that George Washington, upon discovering that Claudius was in fact a mere Robin Hood and not the real , Major John André , General Benedict Arnold , and even Governor George Clinton himself who seems to have taken General Washington to be somewhat of an extremist stating that Claudius was 7' tall in his wanted poster. But, for reasons unknown, it was actually Benedict Arnold who ordered Joshua Hett Smith , the Chief Justice's brother, to force Major André to go under guise in an American military costume as opposed to returning to the ship he came in on "under the sanction of a flag". And it was for this reason; and not any action that Washington took to arrest and detain Arnold, Chief Justice Smith, Joshua Hett Smith, and André; that André was captured and convicted on the charges of being a spy, although it may appear as though Washington had something to do with it, especially since the person André was handed over to – Major Talmadge – seemed to be aware well in advance that André quite probably had something of importance hidden in his shoes. Thomas Jones '' History Of New York During The Revolutionary War '' (1879) vol 1, pp. 370–388 . It was Arnold, holding true to his treasonous character, who set André up and betrayed him and who ''should'' have been hanged that day and not André or Smith; a fact that has been reiterated time and again by those who recount the stories surrounding Joshua Hett Smith, Benedict Arnold, Chief Joseph Brandt, Claudius Smith, and Major André. Arnold, upon seeing Washington landing, appeared to have made a legitimate escape, but he did so only under the very same "sanction of a flag" that André had originally used and on the very same boat that he had taken André in earlier. Most loyalists felt then, as they probably still do now, that in fact Joshua Hett Smith – who was already well known to be a ''former'' pursecutor of loyalists – was the person who truly betrayed André; but as above, it was ''Arnold'' who gave the peculiar orders for Smith to force André to go under guise as opposed to returning to the ship under the same circumstances that he had left – "under the sanction of a flag." As Thomas Jones (1730-1792) states in his History of New York, ''supra'', if Arnold had sent André off safely "under a flag", then why would he have supposed that it wouldn't have been safe to bring him back under the same circumstances? He ''didn't'' suppose that, and ''that'' is why he went back in that manner ''himself'' when he saw Washington making his landing. ENDNOTES |
|
|