Joshua Huddy

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 km2) 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. ==Capture and execution==

On February 1, 1782, Huddy was given command of the blockhouse, a small fort at the village of Toms River that was built to protect the local salt works. 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. Over 400 people gathered to protest his execution and sent a petition to General George Washington, demanding retribution by execution of a British officer of similar rank if Lippincott was not surrendered. Both Washington and General Henry Clinton condemned the hanging, and the British forbade the Board of Loyalists from removing any additional prisoners. Clinton's successor Guy Carleton later abolished the organization. ==Asgill Affair==

Patriotic sentiment ran high following the killing of Huddy. To avert independent reprisals by the New Jersey militia, Washington agreed to the proposition to select a British prisoner of war for retaliatory execution. 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. 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==