The history of Monmouth County, N.J., during the American Revolution is complex. The Thirteen British Colonies along the Eastern Seaboard, including New Jersey, were in a state of rebellion against the Crown. However, within New Jersey, Monmouth County was arguably in a state of insurrection against the Patriot controlled state government throughout much of the war.
The revolution was a long, drawn-out event that changed over time. Some opportunists used either or both “causes” to rob their neighbors, taking goods and livestock away from political enemies and using the war as an excuse to hurt these “traitors.” Some used the war as an excuse to settle old scores with neighbors that had nothing to do with the American War for Independence.
The murder of Middletown resident and patriot militiaman Joseph Murray in 1780 is a prime example of this. Murray had previously confiscated horses from powerful loyalist neighbors during the war for the patriot cause. This included horses belonging to local Tory Edward Taylor. Murray was murdered while working on his farm for his deeds. He was shot and stabbed to death with a bayonet. In retaliation, his friends tracked down and killed at least one man suspected of slaying Murray.
Joshua Huddy was another patriot and privateer who attacked British ships off the coast of New Jersey. Later, he was surrounded by loyalist forces at his home in Colts Neck in 1782. The Tories set fire to his home. Huddy managed to fatally wound the commander of the Tories, Col. Titus Tye, before being forced to surrender. Huddy would escape from loyalist custody while he was being taken back to Sandy Hook (a local island) in a canoe. A party of 16 local patriot militia fired upon the boats and the canoe Huddy was in capsized, allowing him to swim away to freedom. He had suffered a bullet wound to his thigh but would live to fight another day.
In September of 1779, a skirmish occurred in Shrewsbury that has come to be known as the Allen House Massacre. Approximately 12 Continental soldiers from Virginia were stationed at Allen House, which had been operating as a tavern known as the Blue Ball Tavern since 1754. A party of five Tories led by Joseph Price and Richard Lippincott (ancestor of George W. Bush) traveled by the Shrewsbury River in boats and then hid in the graveyard of the Anglican Church across the road. They charged with bayonets fixed and attacked the Continental soldiers, killing three while the other nine surrendered.
