Captain Joshua Huddy (November 8, 1735 – April 12, 1782) was an American military officer and privateer. Born in Salem County, New Jersey, he struggled with financial difficulties in adulthood and was repeatedly convicted of several crimes. During the American Revolutionary War, Huddy supported the Patriot cause and served in the New Jersey Militia along with captaining the privateer ship The Black Snake. In 1782, he was captured by Loyalist irregulars and turned over to the British.

Shortly thereafter, a group of Loyalists removed Huddy from British custody and summarily executed him by hanging. His execution led to a furore among Patriots and sparked the Asgill Affair, in which the Continental Army arranged for the summary execution of British officer Charles Asgill, an act that violated the terms of the 1781 Articles of Capitulation. After diplomatic pressure from the Kingdom of France, the Congress of the Confederation voted to order Asgill's release, ending the affair.

Early life

Huddy was born November 8, 1735, to a prosperous family in Salem County, Province of New Jersey, the oldest of seven brothers. His grandfather, Hugh Huddy, was a well-known judge in Burlington. Huddy spent most of his early life in Salem, where he was labeled a rebellious troublemaker. He was disowned by Quakers in Salem in 1757 for his "disorderly" conduct.

His troubles continued into adulthood; he was tried and convicted several times for crimes including assault and theft and repeatedly had financial difficulties. He was forced to sell a 300-acre (1.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) plantation in Salem to pay his debts and was forced into debtors' prison for a time.

In the 1770s, Huddy moved to Colts Neck in Monmouth County.

Military career

Huddy aligned with the Patriots during the American Revolutionary War. On September 4, 1777, he was appointed as a captain in the Monmouth Militia by the New Jersey State Legislature.

Huddy's involvement in the Philadelphia campaign is unclear, though it's widely believed that he and his men took part in the Battles of Germantown (1777) and Monmouth (1778). Huddy and the Monmouth militia also harassed the British as they marched from Freehold to Sandy Hook, where the British Army was planning to travel from New Jersey back to British-occupied New York. Huddy and his mistress Lucretia Edmonds held off the attackers in a two-hour-long gun battle, but the Loyalists set fire to his house and Huddy surrendered on the condition that they would extinguish the blaze. Colonel Tye took Huddy to Rumson, New Jersey and put him on a boat bound for New York City. Patriots on the other side of the Shrewsbury River opened fire on the boat, causing it to capsize. 6 loyalists were killed and Colonel Tye was wounded (which caused his death). Huddy was hit in the thigh by a bullet, but he escaped and swam to shore. The salt was needed to cure meat destined for American troops, and the Toms River was an important launch point for Patriot privateers. On March 24, a large, irregular force of approximately 80 Loyalists overwhelmed Huddy's small band of defenders and took the fort.

Huddy was transferred to a military prison ship in New York harbor. He was then taken from British custody by a band of Loyalists headed by Captain Richard Lippincott, ostensibly to make a prisoner exchange.

It was reported in a letter to Washington that Huddy maintained his innocence in the death of Phillip White, and that he "should Dye Innocent, and in a good Cause, and with uncommon Composure of Mind and fortitude prepared Himself for his End", and that "Capt. Huddy dyed with the firmness of a Lyon."

The next morning, Patriots found Huddy's body hanging from the gallows, cut it down, and took it to Freehold, where they buried him at Old Tennent Church. Washington turned to an old associate, General Benjamin Lincoln, formerly the second in command of the Continental Army and the acting Secretary of War of the Americans.

thumb|Huddy Park sign

Catherine Hart, Huddy's widow, also said that she wanted Asgill's life spared since the captain was innocent. Backed by diplomatic pressure to lift the execution order, the military turned the issue over to the Congress of the Confederation for decision. Asgill was freed by order of Congress passed on November 7, 1782.

Legacy

Huddy's legacy lives on throughout Central New Jersey, specifically Monmouth County. In Highlands, New Jersey, Huddy Park as well as a street are named after him. A plaque in West Park in Rumson, New Jersey honors Huddy's escape from the capsized boat he was captured on. Another plaque in Colts Neck, New Jersey was erected in 1977.

A restaurant in Colts Neck, Huddy's Inn, is situated on the opposite corner from the original Colts Neck Inn.

Huddy Park, the oldest municipal park in Toms River, New Jersey, is located approximately near the site of the original blockhouse.

References

Further reading

  • "Revolutionary War Sites in Toms River, New Jersey: Joshua Huddy Park," Revolutionary War New Jersey, www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/