War

Warwick and the Revolution

Warwick Soldiers of the Revolutionary War

The following list of men from the Town of Warwick who served in the Revolution was compiled by Miss Genevieve VanDuzer, using Ruttenber's History and New York in the Revolution. Reprinted here from Richard Hull's History of Warwick, NY.

Please note that there were probably others who served who lived in Warwick. The list below shows those whom sources could verify lived in the town.

Robert Armstrong*

Joseph Benedict

William Benedict

Richard Benjamin

Crines Bertholf

Samuel Bertholf

Stephen Bertholf

Colville Bradner

Philip Burroughs

Andrew Christie

Thomas Decay, Jr.

Jacobus Demarest

Nathaniel Elmer

William Fitzgerald

Richard Johnson

Nathaniel Ketchum

Nathaniel Minthorn

Colville Shepherd

Benjamin Veal (Vail)

Richard Welling

Thomas Welling, Jr.

Nathaniel Wheeler

William Winfield

Zakariah Winter

*It is unknown why this name was omitted from Miss VanDuzer's list; he appears in Eager's The Battle of Minisink

Revolutionary era soldiers are interred in many local cemeteries. Gen. Hathorn and his wife are buried in the Warwick Cemetery. According to the monument marking the original Old School Baptist Meeting House at the corner of Forester Ave. and Galloway Rd., several Revolutionary soldiers are interred in the unmarked graves at this site along with other members of the congregation.

Short biographies of some of the known residents of the Town of Warwick who fought in the war are presented in The Battle of Minisink by Vernon Leslie. Brief information from those accounts is presented here; for more complete sketches and references to documents, see his book.

Colonel John Hathorn
John Hathorn moved to Warwick from Philadelphia as a young man to take up a position as a surveyor working on the boundary dispute between New York and New Jersey. He was also a local teacher. While staying at the home of John Walling he met Elizabeth Walling, presumably his daughter, whom he eventually married. He is mentioned as being a Quaker but if so apparently forsook his pacifist upbringing to become a colonial military leader.

He built his house, which still stands as a private residence, in 1773. He is described as medium height, slender, with bright gray eyes and was energetic, friendly, and impulsive. No portraits of him have ever been found. While still a young man doing surveying and teaching, he and Elizabeth ran a farm and store, and operated a forge for bar iron. At some point he became active in the colonial militia. He was said to have been friendly with Governor George Clinton and General Washington, and that Washington was their guest. Local tradition has it that Washington's accompanying soldiers camped in a meadow near the house.

Upon the mustering of the colonial militia in 1776 he was given command of the 4th Orange County Regiment, comprised mainly of men from the areas of Warwick and Florida. He was the commanding officer during the disastrous Battle of Minisink, and apparently bore the internal scars for the rest of his life. This did not keep him from a very busy political career following the war, however. He served in the State Senate and Assembly, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives. In later years he is said to have had financial difficulty, and when he died was buried in the family plot. Later his remains were moved to the Warwick Cemetery by the Minisink Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Some of his correspondence survives in the Draper Manuscript archived at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at Madison.

(For more information on John Hathorn see our pages on "John Hathorn and Elizabeth Welling" , "John Hathorn's Letters", and "The Battle of Minisink".)
Major John Poppino [Apr. 27, 1727?-Mar. 7, 1828]
A farmer who lived on the Warwick Road about 3 miles from Florida. A slim man of around 5 feet tall, he is described as being of French descent. He seems to have served in the French and Indian War as well. A man of strict integrity and a member of the Presbyterian Church (Florida?) His obituary indicates that he lived to the age of "one hundred, ten months, and ten days" (Obit. New York Spectator, Warwick NY, Apr. 4, 1828).

In a letter from his great grandson William Poppino in 1877, we learn the family story of his dramatic escape during the Battle of Minisink. When the company was surprised and overcome by the Indian forces, he evaded them by lying alongside a log and covering himself with leaves. There are differing accounts of his escape from the area, one saying that he also was wounded. He apparently crawled on his hands and knees in the dark for a long distance and arrived home several days after the battle. The residents of the area had assumed him dead, and his wife answered his well known knock at the door at night saying, "Come in, John Poppino, dead or alive."
Adjutant Robert Armstrong [1754-May 30, 1834]
Well educated, Robert Armstrong's home was in the in the Village of Florida. He served in the Commitee of Vigilance in the district during the Revolution, and he became Hathorn's aide when Hathorn was made a general. After the Revolution he served in the New York State Legislature, was a Justice of the Peace, County Clerk and Treasurer, and a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was an elder in the Florida Presbyterian Church for 53 years. His obituary from an unidentified local newspaper is reprinted in Eager's An Outline History of Orange County, pages 427-28.

Timeline of Events for Local Region

1750 --British order closure of iron forges in colonies, including Bellvale. Defiance results in destruction of forge.

1774-- Non-Importation Pledge adhered to by many in region (to not buy goods from Britain).

1775--(May)--Henry Wisner of Goshen appointed delegate to the second Continental Congress.

1776?--Goshen regiment formed, Warwick unit headed by Colonel John Hathorn.

1776-(October)--John Holly of Warwick first Orange County man to die in Rev. War, at Battle of White Plains.

?--Henry Wisner member of O.C. Board of Conspiracies (formed to expel and sell the assets of Loyalists).

1777--October--British prisoners being returned from Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga camp near current intersection of Galloway (17A) and Forester in Warwick.

1778--(April)--Great chain across the Hudson placed. Iron for its manufacture came from Sterling Mine and was smelted there.

1778--Local Militia harrasses those who have not signed the Revolutionary Pledge. Complaints follow.

1779--(January)--Claudius Smith executed in Goshen. Led raids by Loyalist band to harass Militia & seize goods for British. Operated from various bases including mountains behind Sugar Loaf.

1779--(July)--Joseph Brant, Mohawk sachem and British ally, raids homes in Minisink. Orange County Militia responds, despite numerous desertions in opposition. Engage on July 22nd near Port Jervis at Minisink Ford in the Battle of Minisink. Suffered heavy losses. In reaction, Hathorn ordered a blockhouse built in Warwick to protect the residents from Indian raids.(A thoughtful editorial on honoring the casualties of this battle gives another view.) Revolutionaries retaliated by deporting Loyalists and seizing their land.

1781--Cornwallis surrenders and British give up all hope of supressing the revolution.

George Washington in the Warwick Area

George Washington travelled through the Warwick Valley during the course of the war and probably afterwards. Local tradition has it that he was on friendly terms with John Hathorn, and stayed at his home. His soldiers reportedly camped in a field near the house, giving rise to the story of the "General's Oak" tree that grew in the vicinity of what is now "The General's Garden" nursery, off Rt. 94. Washington's expense documents indicate that he stopped on at least one occasion at the Baird Tavern for refreshments, and Martha Washington has been documented as staying overnight. The Continental Army remained encamped at Newburgh following the end of the Revolution for some time. An interesting historical note for Orange County history is that of the Newburgh Conspiracy to overthrow Washington.

The Battle of Minisink

One of the most traumatic events of the war for Warwickians was the Battle of Minisink. In 1779 the British ally and Mohawk sachem Joseph Brant staged a series of raids on settlements near the Delaware. On July 20 he attacked and burned much of the hamlet of Minisink, much to the horror of the militia and nearby residents. Immediately a group was gathered to follow and retaliate, led by two commanders. One of these was Col. John Hathorn of Warwick. Some troops apparently thought the pursuit ill advised and returned home, and some seem to have been delayed or separated. On July 22 a four hour pitched battle ensued which resulted in the deaths of 44 of the militia. Brant escaped with his booty. The survivors of the battle and the rest of their communities were so filled with fear and dismay that no one returned to the battleground to find the fallen soldiers until more than 40 years had passed. In 1822 the bones were gathered and interred in Goshen. and a monument erected where an annual commemoration is held to this day.

As complete an account of this battle as is possible is given in Vernon Leslie's The Battle of Minisink .

The Pulaski Legion

At a time when local militias could not contain raids and actions by the combined British and Indian forces on the western edge of Orange County, Congress was petitioned to send assistance. The famed Pulaski Legion, led by Polish Count Casimir Pulaski, arrived and spent time along this frontier, protecting the settlements. See notes on the history of their involvement in the area given by the nonprofit re-enactment group, Pulaski's Independent Legion. Pulaski Highway was named in his honor.

Primary Documents about the War

The colonists reacted strongly to the imposition of the Stamp Act. Two of their responses to the King and Parliament were:

Nearly on the eve of revolution, in July 1775 the Continental Congress hammered out:

The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms.

One of the most vocal advocates of complete independence was Patrick Henry. Reading the full text of one of his speeches evokes the passion and determination of the revolutionary ideal:

The Inevitability of War

The official account of the Battle of Minisink by John Hathorn gives a local perspective:

John Hathorn's Report of the Battle

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