Claudius Smith
Encyclopedia
Claudius Smith was a notorious Loyalist
guerrilla leader during the American Revolution
. He led a band of irregulars who were known locally as the 'cowboys'.
Claudius was the eldest son of David Smith (1701–1787), a respected tailor
, cattleman, miller
, constable
, clergyman, and finally judge in Brookhaven, New York
. His mother was Meriam (Williams) Carle, a daughter of Samuel Williams of Hempstead, New York
. David Smith was the son of a Samuel Smith, but the identity of this Samuel is not certain.
), Orange County, New York
, where David Smith and his family had moved about 1741 from Brookhaven.
Accounts differ on Claudius Smith's size and stature. A 1762 French and Indian War
muster roll lists him as 5'9". However, a 1778 wanted poster for his arrest claims he stood nearly an unbelievable seven feet tall!
All accounts agree that Claudius was a Loyalist
and took part in Tory raids alongside the Mohawk
Indian Chief, Joseph Brant
.
Though he gained a fearsome reputation among the Patriots, Claudius is not actually known to have killed anyone. He was even viewed by some as sort of a Robin Hood
, helping to defend the Loyalists in the area. At one point, Smith even ended up in jail with a close relative of Capt John Brown (1728–1776), the grandfather of John Brown
the abolitionist.
However, when one of Smith's men did apparently rob and kill a Patriot leader, Major Nathaniel Strong, on October 6, 1778, New York Governor George Clinton
posted a reward of $1,200 for Smith's arrest. Claudius was soon captured and was hanged on January 22, 1779 in the town of Goshen
, Orange County, New York
. Two of his sons, William and James (the latter captured in February of 1779 by an Abner Thorpe ), would suffer the same fate.
Richard Smith remained at large at least through 1781, when his name appears in a letter addressed to Governor Clinton from Gen George Washington
warns Clinton that he was the target of a planned kidnapping by the remaining members of the Smith Gang.
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
guerrilla leader during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. He led a band of irregulars who were known locally as the 'cowboys'.
Claudius was the eldest son of David Smith (1701–1787), a respected tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
, cattleman, miller
Miller
A miller usually refers to a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a cereal crop to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents in other languages around the world...
, constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
, clergyman, and finally judge in Brookhaven, New York
Brookhaven, New York
The Town of Brookhaven is one of the ten towns into which Suffolk County, New York, United States, has been divided. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is located in central Suffolk County and is the only town in the county that stretches from the North Shore to the South Shore of Long...
. His mother was Meriam (Williams) Carle, a daughter of Samuel Williams of Hempstead, New York
Hempstead (village), New York
Hempstead is a village located in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 53,891 at the 2010 census.Hofstra University is located on the border between Hempstead and Uniondale.-Foundation:...
. David Smith was the son of a Samuel Smith, but the identity of this Samuel is not certain.
Claudius as a guerrilla leader
During the Revolutionary War, Claudius, along with several members of his family, including three of his four sons (William, Richard, and James), allegedly terrorized the New York countryside in an area formerly known as Smith's Clove (presently MonroeMonroe, New York
Monroe, New York may refer to two municipalities in Orange County, New York in the United States:*Monroe , New York*Monroe , New York, located entirely within the town...
), Orange County, New York
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
, where David Smith and his family had moved about 1741 from Brookhaven.
Accounts differ on Claudius Smith's size and stature. A 1762 French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
muster roll lists him as 5'9". However, a 1778 wanted poster for his arrest claims he stood nearly an unbelievable seven feet tall!
All accounts agree that Claudius was a Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
and took part in Tory raids alongside the Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
Indian Chief, Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
.
Though he gained a fearsome reputation among the Patriots, Claudius is not actually known to have killed anyone. He was even viewed by some as sort of a Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
, helping to defend the Loyalists in the area. At one point, Smith even ended up in jail with a close relative of Capt John Brown (1728–1776), the grandfather of John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
the abolitionist.
However, when one of Smith's men did apparently rob and kill a Patriot leader, Major Nathaniel Strong, on October 6, 1778, New York Governor George Clinton
George Clinton (vice president)
George Clinton was an American soldier and politician, considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was the first Governor of New York, and then the fourth Vice President of the United States , serving under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He and John C...
posted a reward of $1,200 for Smith's arrest. Claudius was soon captured and was hanged on January 22, 1779 in the town of Goshen
Goshen (village), New York
Goshen is a village in and the county seat of Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,676 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
, Orange County, New York
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
. Two of his sons, William and James (the latter captured in February of 1779 by an Abner Thorpe ), would suffer the same fate.
Richard Smith remained at large at least through 1781, when his name appears in a letter addressed to Governor Clinton from Gen George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
warns Clinton that he was the target of a planned kidnapping by the remaining members of the Smith Gang.
Claudius Smith in fiction
Richard Smith is a character in Elizabeth Oakes Smith's 1867 novel Bald Eagle; or, The Last of the Ramapaughs, which portrays Claudius's son as seeking vengeance on the people of Orange County for the killing of his father.Endnotes
- He may have been a Samuel Smith Jr. of Barbados, who is conjectured to have a direct relationship since a David Smith of Long Island, New York who married another Elizabeth Lewis in 1703 , and many inhabitants of the New York area at this time traveled back and forth between the West Indies and northern coastal areas. Most genealogists, on the other hand, feel as though David was in fact descended somehow from an Arthur Smith, as is partially "proven" in the manner in which he originally signed his name: with an "A".
For discussion
- William Nelson Archives of the State of New Jersey (Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New Jersey) (1894, vol XI) p. 84 [ September 20, 1724 advertisement in the American Weekly Mercury relating the escape of the servants: Clodius Smith, aged about 35, and Joseph Wells, aged about 22, from Abraham Porter of Porters Field, Glouster, NJ]
- William Nelson Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New Jersey (1901, vol XXIII) p. 370 [ December 17, 1729 – the Will of Abraham Porter of Portersfield, Gloucester County, New Jersey (Lib. 3, p. 34), proved March 24, 1730]
- William Nelson, Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey (1916, vol XXVIII) p. 564–565 [ July 19, 1773 article in "The New-York Gazette", No. 1125, concerning the apprehension of Claudius Smith. Mentions a horse he had with him with the brand of an "A" on it. "A" is how the same above-mentioned David Smith of Hempstead signed his mark on the above-said "quitclaim" of 1728.]
- Daniel Niles Freeland Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Times (1898) p. 52 [states that Joshua Hett Smith's brother was "supposed to have been the father, Claudius Smith, the famous Cowboy"], pp. 56–61 [Freeland's Story of Claudius Smith]
- But in: Chris Tami New York City Wills, 1754-60 (1998, vol 5) p. 470, it states ...
- "NOTE: The residence of Abraham Lynsen is now No.___ Wall Street. Thomas Smith, who married his daughter Elizabeth, was the brother of William Smith, the Historian. He was the owner of the famous 'Treason House' at Haverstraw, where Benedict Arnold and Major André held their conferences. It was then occupied by his brother, Joshua Hett Smith, the unfortunate dupe of Arnold and André. – W.S.P."