THE TOWN OF YORKTOWN. 667 



above Pine's Bridge one mile and a half or more, crossing the Croton 

 at Vails ford, advanced upon Crompond from the east by a road which 

 rounds like a semi-circle, coming into the Crompond road a little south 

 of where Delavan lived. It was at Delavan's house, where they found 

 John Shaw, whom they killed — mistaking him for Capt. Delavan. This 

 happened in the morning of June 24th, on the road from Crompond to 

 Pine's Bridge, about three-quarters of a mile from Crompond. The 

 British burnt the Meeting House and parsonage and retired upon Pine's 

 Bridge. On the 3d of June, 1779, Major Abercombie, burnt Mayor 

 Strong's house then occupied as a Court House, and also burnt a store 

 house than used as a depot for arms and stores, &c, for the military. Shaw 

 was killed at Delavan's stables; he defended himself stoutly, but was 

 set upon by five or six burly horsemen and cut to pieces. The " Cow 

 boys, Tories and horse thieves penetrated Westchester and Dutchess 

 counties all the way to Albany. On the 24th of June, 1779, some of 

 Tarleton's men advanced a mile north of the meeting house as far as the 

 brook beyond my house." 



" Ezekiel Hyatt raised a company of minute men in rifle dress, say 

 about forty, with black gaiters, which were placed by the Provincial 

 Congress under the three committee men for Crompond, viz., Joseph 

 Strong, Abraham Purdy and Joseph Lee, who ordered Hyatt to appre- 

 hend one Chase a tor)- — very influential with the rabble. Chase was taken 

 and lodged in a guard house at Peekskill, whereupon two or three hun- 

 dred Tories assembled in arms and demanded his release ; Hyatt, how- 

 ever studily refused to give him up. Nathaniel Merritt, who lived in 

 Peekskill, was also another influential man among the Tories; he assem- 

 bled a large company at his house and threatened to release the prisoner, 

 upon this my father, uncle Henry, and Joseph Strong, obtained six hun- 

 dred Continental troops of the committee, and disarmed the Tories and 

 placed their arms and instruments in the Parsonage house for safe keep- 

 ing. A more queer collection of arms it was impossible to collect to- 

 gether, old fire locks, rusty and worn out pistols, and ancient swords of 

 all descriptions, &c." a 



At the time of its destruction, the old church appears to have been 

 used as a store house by the Continental troops; for, during the year 

 1739, a select committee appointed by Congress to investigate Revolu- 

 tionary claims, reported "That Congress pay the Yorktown congregation 

 the sum of three thousand five hundred dollars out of the first unappro- 

 priated funds — the Government having occupied the church and parson- 



a Testimony of the late Thomas Strang, of Yorktown, in 1S44. Mr. McDonald's MSS. in the 

 possession of George Moore, Esq., of N. Y. 



