Claudius Smith (1736 – January 22, 1779), the notorious Cowboy of the American Revolution was the oldest son of David Smith (1701–1787) – a tailor, cattleman, miller, constable, and finally judge – from Brookhaven, New York and Meriam (Williams) Carle from Hempstead, New York the daughter of Samuel Williams. David Smith's father was named Samuel too, but at this time it is not possible to distinquish which Samuel Smith he was – either Samuel Smith who married Mary Cory of New Haven, Connecticut, Samuel Smith the son or grandson of Arthur "Quaker" Smith, or some other Samuel Smith such as: Samuel Smith who married Elizabeth Lewis August 14, 1690 on the Isle of Barbados. ^[1] Events January 26 - Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne. ... January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1779 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... A cowboy (Spanish vaquero) tends cattle and horses on cattle ranches in North and South America. ... The American Revolution ended two toilets of Kingdom of Great stupidity rule for most of the North American colonies and created the modern United dindongs of America. ... A tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew clothes custom-fit to individuals, and to repair clothes. ... Ranching is the raising of cattle or sheep on rangeland, although one might also speak of ranching with regard to less common livestock such as elk, bison or emu. ... Profession A miller is a person who owns or operates a mill in which grain is crushed and ground to make flour. ... A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. ... Brookhaven, New York is a town (county subdivision) in central Suffolk County, New York. ... Hempstead is the name of some places in the State of New York, in the United States of America: Hempstead (village), New York Hempstead (town), New York This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Nickname: The Elm City Motto: Official website: www. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... Events Giovanni Domenico Cassini observes differential rotation within Jupiters atmosphere. ...

Claudius, along with several members of his family – including three of his four sons: William, Richard, and James – allegedly terrorized the New York countryside during the American Revolution around an area formerly known as Smith's Clove (presently Monroe), Orange County, New York where David Smith and his family moved to in and around 1741 from Brookhaven. Monroe (town), New York ... Monroe is a town located in Orange County, New York. ... The Orange County Government Center in Goshen, N.Y., designed by Paul Rudolph. ... // Events April 10 - Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz August 10 - Raja of Travancore defeats Dutch East India Company naval expedition at Battle of Colachel December 19 - Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 - Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius...

Several accounts differ on his size and stature including his 1762 French and Indian War Muster Roll, which had him at 5'9" and his 1778 wanted poster, which had him at close to seven feet tall. 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The French and Indian War is the common American name for the decisive nine-year conflict (1754–1763) in North America between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its North American Colonies against France and its North American Colonies, which was one of the theatres of the Seven Years War. ...

It is obvious from all accounts, though, that Claudius was a Loyalist and fought in raids alongside the Mohawk Indian Chief, Joseph Brandt, which more often than not got him labeled a terrorist, as opposed to any sort of a legitimate enemy combatant. Loyalists (often capitalized L) were British North American colonists who remained loyal subjects of the British crown during the American Revolution. ... The Mohawk (Kanienkeh or Kanienkehaka meaning People of the Flint) are an indigenous people of North America who live around Lake Ontario and the St. ... Joseph Brant (sometimes spelled Brandt) was a Mohawk leader during the American Revolutionary War. ... This term is used by the United States to describe a person whom has been designated by the President of the United States as such. ...

He, surprisingly killed no-one, and was often thought of as being a Robin Hood – even ending up in jail at one point with [Capt John Brown] (1728–1776), the grandfather of John Brown the abolitionist; but when one of his party did kill a one Major Nathaniel Strong on October 6, 1778, the then Governor George Clinton became perturbed and put out a wanted poster for his arrest, which eventually did occur and resulted in Claudius' hanging on January 22, 1779 in the town of Goshen, Orange County, New York, and in the deaths of at least two of his sons: William and James – the latter being captured in February of 1779 by a one Abner Thorpe, according to: Erastus C. Knight's New York in the Revolution (1901, Supp.), p. 165 [the Accounts of Governor Clinton]. Robin Hood is the archetypal English folk hero; a courteous, pious and swashbuckling outlaw of the medieval era who, in modern versions of the legend, is famous for his robbing the rich to feed the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. ... John Browns Oath Engraving from daguerreotype by Augustus Washington, ca. ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in Leap years). ... 1778 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... This page is for the Vice President George Clinton. ... January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1779 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Goshen is a village located in Orange County, New York. ... The Orange County Government Center in Goshen, N.Y., designed by Paul Rudolph. ...

Richard remained at large at least through 1781, when we see him on a letter addressed to Governor Clinton from Gen George Washington warning Clinton of his eminent kidnapping by the remaining members of the Claudius Smith Gang. 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was the successful Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783, and later became the first Elected President of the United States, an office to which he was elected, unanimously, twice and remained in...

He is the subject of Elizabeth Oakes Smith's 1867 article, concerning the oldest surviving son who sought vengeance upon the people of Orange County after the hanging death of his father, Claudius. 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

It is entirely within the realm of possibility that George Washington, upon discovering that Claudius was in fact a mere Robin Hood and not the real hoodlum of Orange County, decided to have vengeance on the behalf of Claudius' survivors who he had been living with & among after the execution of Claudius – the only problem here was that Washington was dealing with some extremely high profile individuals: The Chief Justice William Smith, Major John André, General Benedict Arnold, and even Governor George Clinton himself who seems to have taken General Washington to be somewhat of an extremist stating that Claudius was 7' tall in his wanted poster. Hoodlum is a 1997 United Artists blaxploitationfilm that gives an almost entirely fictional account of the gang war between the Italian/Jewish mafia alliance and the black gangsters of Harlem that took place in the late 1920s and early 1930s. ... William Smith (June 25, 1728 – November 3, 1793) was a lawyer, historian, speaker, loyalist, and eventually Chief Justice of the Province of New York from 1763 to 1782 and Chief Justice of Canada from 1786 until his death. ... Major John André John André (May 2, 1750 - October 2, 1780) was a British officer hanged as a spy during the American Revolutionary War for an incident in which he assisted Benedict Arnolds attempted surrender of the fort at West Point, New York to the British. ... Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (January 14, 1741 – June 14, 1801) was a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. ...

But, for reasons unknown, it was actually Benedict Arnold who ordered Joshua Hett Smith, the Chief Justice's brother, to force Major André to go under guise in an American military costume as opposed to returning to the ship he came in on "under the sanction of a flag". Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (January 14, 1741 – June 14, 1801) was a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. ...

And it was for this reason; and not any action that Washington took to arrest and detain Arnold, Chief Justice Smith, Joshua Hett Smith, and André; that André was captured and convicted on the charges of being a spy, although it may appear as though Washington had something to do with it, especially since the person André was handed over to – Major Talmadge – seemed to be aware well in advance that André quite probably had something of importance hidden in his shoes. [Cf. Thomas Jones History of New York During the Revolutionary War (1879) vol 1, pp. 370–388].

It was Arnold, holding true to his treasonous character, who set André up and betrayed him and who should have been hanged that day and not André or Smith; a fact that has been reiterated time and again by those who recount the stories surrounding Joshua Hett Smith, Benedict Arnold, Chief Joseph Brandt, Claudius Smith, and Major André.

Arnold, upon seeing Washington landing, appeared to have made a legitimate escape, but he did so only under the very same "sanction of a flag" that André had originally used and on the very same boat that he had taken André in earlier.

Most loyalists felt then, as they probably still do now, that in fact Joshua Hett Smith – who was already well known to be a former pursecutor of loyalists – was the person who truly betrayed André; but as above, it was Arnold who gave the peculiar orders for Smith to force André to go under guise as opposed to returning to the ship under the same circumstances that he had left – "under the sanction of a flag."

As Thomas Jones (1730-1792) states in his History of New York, supra, if Arnold had sent André off safely "under a flag", then why would he have supposed that it wouldn't have been safe to bring him back under the same circumstances?

He didn't suppose that, and that is why he went back in that manner himself when he saw Washington making his landing.

Endnotes

1. ^  This Samuel Smith Jr. of Barbados is conjectured to have a direct relationship due to the fact that there exists 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 did travel 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 Arthur as is partially "proven" in the manner in which he originally signed his name: with an "A".

This article is about Long Island in New York State. ... Events February 2 - Earthquake in Aquila, Italy February 4 - In Japan, the 47 samurai commit seppuku (ritual suicide) February 14 - Earthquake in Norcia, Italy April 21 - Company of Quenching of Fire (ie. ... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ...

References

• George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799, Series 3c Varick Transcripts George Washington to George Clinton, August 10, 1781 (search for "Claudius Smith").
• Samuel W. Eager An Outline History of Orange County (1846-7) pp. 525–528, and 550–565.
• Lost Treasures USA (link now defunct, please write the website owner) Both Eager and this website coaborate the fact of Claudius hiding treasures in the hills of the Ramapo Valley
• Daniel Allen Hearn Legal Executions in New York State: A Comprehensive Reference, 1639-1963 (1997) [concerning the execution of Claudius Smith]
• The 1778 Wanted Poster for Claudius Smith
• Elizabeth Oakes (Prince) Smith Beadle's Dime Novels, No. 127 (2 July 1867) pp. 9–14 ["Bald Eagle; or, The Last of the Ramapaughs"]
• Benjamin F. Thompson History of Long Island (1839, 1918 Edition) vol. II, pp. 344–345
• 3rd Annual Report of the State Historian of New York (1897, Appendix "M") p. 712 [Capt Clinton's Muster Roll, Ulster County, 1762]
• Benjamin D. Hicks Records of the Towns of North and South Hempstead, Long Island, NY (1898, vol 3) pp. 179–181 [the January 20, 1728 Quitclaim of David Smith, Tailor]
• New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (1881, vol 12) p. 79 [the marriage of David Smith and Miriam Carle, March 25, 1735]
• Berthold Fernow Calendar of Wills, New York City, 1626-1836 (1896) p. 61, Will No. 260 [The Will of John Carle, 1733: mentions the sons of his diseased son, Jacob, and his wife Miriam]
• New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (1880, vol 11) p. 133 [the marriage of Jacob Carle and Meriam Williams, March 10, 1726]
• New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (1923, vol 54) p. 43 [Miriam Williams born: 17 December 1705 to: Samuel Williams]
• Benjamin D. Hicks Records of the Towns of North and South Hempstead, Long Island, NY (1902, vol 6) p. 159 [Record for the Earmark of Samuel Smith, 1767], p. 168 [Record for the Earmark of James Smith, 1773 – both Samuel and James are listed as "of David"]
• Edward Manning Ruttenber and L. H. Clark History of Orange County, New York (1881) p. 69 [Persons Refusing to Sign the 1775 Pledge of Association (cf. Samuel, Hophni, James, and David)], pp. 71–73 [The Story of Claudius Smith]
• Orange County Genealogical Society Early Orange County Wills (1991) vol II, p. 1 [Abstract of the Will of David Smith (1701-1787) of Smith's Clove, and the Will itself at: Liber A, page 5]
• Joanna McKree Sanders, Barbados Records (1982) [Vols. 1 & 2: "Marriages"]
• North Jersey Highlander (Fall 1968) Issue 12, Vol. IV, No. 3, pp. 3–7 [Claire K. Tholl: "The Career of Claudius Smith"].
• New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (1893, vol 24) p. 184 [St George's Church Records, Hempstead, NY] the marriage of David Smith and Elizabeth Luis in East Hampton, Long Island, NY January 21, 1703.
• Lil Heselton, editor, Will of Hophni [Hoss or Hopkin] Smith, the Brother of Claudius Smith (1826) [Will Book, Liber "H", pp. 103–106 of the Surrogate's Court of Goshen, Orange County, NY. Website currently located at: [2]]

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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 "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."

• Benedict Arnold's letter To the Inhabitants of America; and notice that one of Arnold's main reasons for committing treason, in his own words, was simply because he didn't like France.