Revolutionary War Bayshore ship capture story disappeared for 243 years, until now

The nor’easter of Dec. 28, 1779, must have been brutal. The wind gusts tore the Britannia — a two-masted, 20-cannon ship under the command of a British privateer — from its moorings along Sandy Hook.

As the vessel drifted across Sandy Hook Bay, heading for Middletown, word reached the patriots across the way.

During the American Revolution, the Bayshore was contested ground. The British occupied Sandy Hook with soldiers and privateers (hired guns at sea, basically), while the Monmouth militia held sway on the mainland. Within hours, the militia men captured the Britannia — a nice strategic prize, and an enormous financial one. How enormous? Put it this way: The raiders likely reached the ship using rowboats, willing to brave the storm and chunks of ice that dotted the bay.

This story might have been lost to history if not for Oceanport resident Maureen Foster, who uncovered it while seeking information about an ancestor. Now a Toms River artist has been commissioned to illustrate the seizing of the Britannia in a painting to be displayed in Middletown.

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“That’s great,” Foster said. “Middletown has changed a lot since I was born there. A lot of new people are coming into the area who may not understand just how important Middletown and Monmouth County were in the American Revolution. I like the idea that people may see it and say, ‘I had no idea about that.’”

'This story has been overlooked'

Foster, a retired computer programmer, is a member of the Middletown Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). Her fifth great-grandfather, Private Alexander Clark of the Monmouth militia, was killed in the Battle of Navesink in 1777.

She was researching another fifth great-grandfather, Richard Poling, in the archives of the Monmouth County Historical Association when she came across documents showing his involvement with the Britannia. She even found a slip documenting payment to him of seven pounds (about $1,100 today) for unloading and guarding the vessel after its capture.

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But what was the Britannia and how was it seized?

“That piqued my curiosity,” she said.

So Foster and fellow NSDAR Middletown chapter member Michele Donnelly dug into contemporary newspaper accounts and pieced the story together. While it’s unknown how many sailors were aboard the Britannia when it went adrift — probably very few — the ship was loaded with cargo (food, munitions, and other supplies).

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Under the direction of Monmouth militia Col. Asher Holmes, the patriots towed it out of Sandy Hook Bay and into the quieter Cheesequake Creek, in present-day Old Bridge, where it was stripped.

“They dismantled the ship and put the parts up for sale,” Foster said.

Before selling everything off, Holmes had to win the approval of the New Jersey Court of Admiralty, which he did. The court’s records are where Poling’s name pops up. Holmes’ share of the bounty was about 20,000 pounds — the equivalent of $3.2 million today. His house in present-day Marlboro is still standing, though barely.

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Foster wrote up her findings for “This Day in Monmouth County History,” a website published by local historian John Barrows.

“When I heard about this, the first thing I said is, ‘There’s no way this story isn’t out there (already),'” Barrows said. “But I couldn’t find it. It seems to me this story has been overlooked.”

There were fleeting references in other publications, but now it's been fleshed out. Barrows was impressed, and wanted to take things a step further.

“The whims of nature worked in the patriots’ favor,” he said. “To me, this is begging for illustration.”

Bringing visuals to history

Steve Schreiber is a Howell High School grad and former illustrator of children’s books. After years of living in Ohio, he recently returned to New Jersey and his first love — painting. He’s a history buff and reached out to Barrows about potential collaborations. This will be their first one, commissioned by Barrows.

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“It’s incredibly interesting,” said Schreiber, who lives and works in Toms River. “We don’t have visuals of all these things. I do a lot of Native American work, and the visuals people have (in their heads of Native Americans) is of the Plains tribes, because they were there after photography existed. Art is the thing that brings visuals to the culture pre-photography.”

Like the American Revolution. The idea of a tall ship being battered in Sandy Hook Bay as rowboats of militiamen close in, “it’s great to bring a visual to that,” Schreiber said. “It will interest people in history more if they can visualize it.”

The painting, likely oil on canvass and vertical — 24 by 36 inches or a bit larger — is in the conceptual phase. The goal is to finish it sometime this spring.

“The intention is to donate this to the Middletown Township Historical Society," Barrows said, and to display it in one of the township’s municipal buildings. "This is a Middletown story."

It’s a fascinating addition to local Revolutionary lore, and a message to anyone filled with curiosity. You don’t have to be a historian to unearth the past.

“I want this to encourage people,” Barrows said, to do their own digging. “Don’t be afraid. You might find a story that’s not known.”

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bayshore Revolutionary War privateer capture retold after 243 years